Data clustering

• US 8,549,086 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Loofbourrow, Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Philip B
• Application Number:
  US12/969,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 709206-207, 709223-224
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

A method and apparatus of a device that creates message affinity groups uses the affinity groups to relate messages and threads is described. In an exemplary method, the device receives messages, where the messages include message addresses. The device determines multiple affinity groups of message addresses based on a probability that a message including one of the message addresses also includes one or more of the other message addresses in the affinity group. In addition, the device presents one or more of the affinity groups.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions to cause one or more processing units to perform a method comprising:

receiving a plurality of messages, wherein the plurality of messages include a plurality of message addresses;

clustering two or more of the plurality of message addresses into an affinity group, wherein the two or more of the plurality of message addresses represent entities that communicate with each other for a particular common purpose and the clustering of the two or more message addresses includes,

computing a probability that the one of the message addresses appears in a message in the plurality of messages with another message address; and

generating data to display a representation of the affinity group.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein an affinity group is a group of message addresses that are related to each other.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein a message is of a type selected from the group consisting of email, Short Message Service, Multimedia Message Server, Enhanced Message Service, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, telephone message log, and instant messaging.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the plurality of messages includes a plurality of message types.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the determining an affinity group further comprises:

ranking the address probabilities.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the determining an affinity group further comprises:

partitioning the address probabilities into groups; and

creating the affinity group from one of the address probability groups.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of messages corresponds to a collection of messages for a message account for one of the plurality of message addresses.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of message corresponds to a plurality of message accounts.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the entities that communicate above a minimum frequency regarding the particular common purpose.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the plurality of message corresponds to a plurality of message accounts.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions to cause one or more processing units to perform a method comprising:

receiving a plurality of messages, wherein the plurality of messages include a plurality of message addresses;

determining an affinity group of message addresses based on a probability that one of the message addresses appears in one or more of the plurality of messages with other message addresses of the affinity group and the determining the affinity group includes,

computing the probability that the one of the message addresses appears in a message in the plurality of messages with another message address; and

generating data to display a representation of the affinity group.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein an affinity group is a group of message addresses that are related to each other.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the plurality of messages includes a plurality of message types.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the determining an affinity group further comprises:

ranking the address probabilities.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the determining an affinity group further comprises:

partitioning the address probabilities into groups; and

creating the affinity group from one of the address probability groups.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the plurality of messages corresponds to a collection of messages for a message account for one of the plurality of message addresses.

17. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of messages, wherein the plurality of messages include a plurality of message addresses;

means for determining an affinity group of message addresses based on a probability that one of the message addresses appears in one or more of the plurality of messages with other message addresses of the affinity group and the means for determining the affinity group includes,

means for computing the probability that the one of the message addresses appears in a message in the plurality of messages with another message address; and

means for generating data to display a representation of the affinity group.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein an affinity group is a group of message addresses that are related to each other.