Aggregating data from multiple issuers and automatically organizing the data

• US 8,949,940 B1
• Filed: 10/12/2011
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deepa G. Shenoy, Ganesh N. Shenoy
• Original Assignee: Mahasys, LLC
• Inventors: Shenoy, Ganesh N, Shenoy, Deepa G
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ashok
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gracia, Gary
• Application Number:
  US13/271,901
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 726/4
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Some implementations provide techniques and arrangements to aggregate data from multiple issuers. An aggregator server may receive data associated with a user from an issuer. The data may include an issuer identifier associated with the issuer, account access data associated with the user, and a storage location identifier. The aggregator server may authenticate an identity of the issuer based on the issuer identifier and determine whether the issuer is authorized to provide the data for the user. In response to determining that the issuer is authorized to provide the data for the user, he aggregator server may identify an account associated with the user based on the account access data and store the data in the account associated with the user based at least partially on the storage location identifier.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by an aggregator via a network, first data from a first issuer, the first data including;

confidential information associated with a user;

an account identifier to enable the first issuer to access an account hosted by the aggregator that is associated with the user, the account identifier including at least a portion of user registration data provided to the user when the user initially registered with the aggregator; and

an issuer identifier associated with the first issuer;

authenticating an identity of the first issuer based on the issuer identifier;

determining whether the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data based at least in part on the account identifier and the issuer identifier;

in response to determining that the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data, identifying the account associated with the user based on the account identifier;

in response to determining, based on a type of the first data, that the first data is to be stored using a hierarchical structure, determining whether the account includes the hierarchical structure;

in response to determining that the account does not include the hierarchical structure, automatically creating the hierarchical structure within the account based on the type of the first data;

in response to determining that the account includes a user-specified location provided by the user, storing the first data in the account based on the user-specified location;

in response to determining that the account does not include the user-specified location, determining whether the first data includes a first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data includes the first storage location identifier, storing the first data in a first location within the account based on the first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data does not include the first storage location identifier, storing the data in a default location in the account;

receiving, by the aggregator via a network, second data from a second issuer, the second data including the account identifier to indicate that the second data is associated with the user, wherein the second issuer is an auto-issuer that sends user data to the aggregator using an application programming interface (API) provided by one of the aggregator or the auto-issuer, the API enabling the auto-issuer to automatically send the user data to multiple user accounts hosted by the aggregator; and

in response to authenticating the identity of the second issuer based at least partly on the account identifier, storing the second data in a second location within the account based on a second storage location identifier included in the second data, the second location used to store data received from the second issuer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the first data is encrypted; and

in response to determining that the first data is encrypted, decrypting the first data before storing the first data in the account.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first data comprises (i) information associated with the user and (ii) a first set of tags associated with the data, the first set of tags provided by the issuer.

4. The method of claim 3, the method further comprises:

associating a second set of tags with the data based on user preferences associated with the account, the first and second set of tags searchable by a search engine provided by the aggregator, individual tags from the first and second set of tags identifying a characteristic of the first data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the issuer identifier comprises a key associated with the user,

the key including identification data to enable the aggregator to automatically authenticate the first issuer, the aggregator automatically storing the data in the account in response to successfully authenticating the first issuer using the key.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user provides the key to the first issuer before the first issuer sends the data to the aggregator, the aggregator rejecting other data received from other issuers when the other data does not include the key.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before storing the first data, automatically associating one or more tags with the first data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more tags are selected at least partly based on a user profile associated with the user, the user profile hosted by the aggregator server.

9. An aggregator server comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving first data from a first issuer via a network, the first data including;

confidential information associated with a user;

an account identifier to enable the first issuer to access an account hosted by the aggregator server that is associated with the user, the account identifier including at least a portion of user registration data provided to the user when the user initially registered with the aggregator server; and

an issuer identifier associated with the first issuer;

authenticating an identity of the first issuer based on the issuer identifier;

determining whether the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data based at least in part on the account identifier and the issuer identifier;

in response to determining that the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data, identifying the account associated with the user based on the account identifier;

in response to determining, based on a type of the first data, that the first data is to be stored using a hierarchical structure, determining whether the account includes the hierarchical structure;

in response to determining that the account does not include the hierarchical structure, automatically creating the hierarchical structure within the account based on the type of the first data;

in response to determining that the account includes a user-specified location provided by the user, storing the first data in the account based on the user-specified location;

in response to determining that the account does not include the user-specified location, determining whether the first data includes a first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data includes the first storage location identifier, storing the first data in a first location within the account based on the first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data does not include the first storage location identifier, storing the data in a default location in the account;

receiving, by the aggregator via a network, second data from a second issuer, the second data including the account identifier to indicate that the second data is associated with the user, wherein the second issuer is an auto-issuer that sends user data to the aggregator server using an application programming interface (API) provided by one of the aggregator server or the auto-issuer, the API enabling the auto-issuer to automatically send the user data to multiple user accounts hosted by the aggregator server; and

in response to authenticating the identity of the second issuer based at least partly on the account identifier, storing the second data in a second location within the account based on a second storage location identifier included in the second data, the second location used to store data received from the second issuer.

10. The aggregator server of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

receiving a user registration request from the user;

registering the user at the aggregator server;

creating the account and the account identifier corresponding to the account; and

providing, to the user, user registration data including the account identifier.

11. The aggregator server of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

receiving, at the aggregator server, a registration request from the first issuer;

determining whether the first issuer is authorized to send user data to the user based at least partially on the registration request; and

in response to determining that the first issuer is authorized to send the user data to the user, registering the first issuer at the aggregator server to enable the first issuer to send the user data to the account associated with the user.

12. The aggregator server of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

determining a user notification preference based on a user profile associated with the user; and

after storing the second data in the second location, sending a notification to the user based on the user notification preference.

13. The aggregator server of claim 9, wherein:

the first issuer comprises the user; and

the first data is received from another account associated with the user.

14. The aggregator server of claim 9, further comprising:

determining whether the first data is encrypted; and

in response to determining that the first data is encrypted, decrypting the first data before storing the first data in the account.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media to store instructions executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by an aggregator via a network, first data from a first issuer, the first data including;

confidential information associated with a user;

an account identifier to enable the first issuer to access an account hosted by the aggregator that is associated with the user, the account identifier including at least a portion of user registration data provided to the user when the user initially registered with the aggregator; and

a first issuer identifier associated with the first issuer;

authenticating an identity of the first issuer based on the first issuer identifier;

determining whether the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data based at least in part on the account identifier and the first issuer identifier;

in response to determining that the first issuer is authorized to provide the first data, identifying the account associated with the user based on the account identifier;

in response to determining, based on a type of the first data, that the first data is to be stored using a hierarchical structure, determining whether the account includes the hierarchical structure;

in response to determining that the account does not include the hierarchical structure, automatically creating the hierarchical structure within the account based on the type of the first data;

in response to determining that the account includes a user-specified location provided by the user, storing the first data in the account based on the user-specified location;

in response to determining that the account does not include the user-specified location, determining whether the first data includes a first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data includes the first storage location identifier, storing the first data in a first location within the account based on the first storage location identifier;

in response to determining that the first data does not include the first storage location identifier, storing the data in a default location in the account;

receiving, by the aggregator via a network, second data from a second issuer, the second data including the account identifier to indicate that the second data is associated with the user, wherein the second issuer is an auto-issuer that sends user data to the aggregator using an application programming interface (API) provided by one of the aggregator or the auto-issuer, the API enabling the auto-issuer to automatically send the user data to multiple user accounts hosted by the aggregator; and

in response to authenticating the identity of the second issuer based at least partly on the account identifier, storing the second data in a second location within the account based on a second storage location identifier included in the second data, the second location used to store data received from the second issuer.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the first data comprises an email addressed to an email address associated with the user.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the user, a filter request to filter a set of items stored within the account, the filter request including one or more filtering criteria;

identifying at least one item from the set of items based on the one or more filtering criteria; and

displaying the at least one item.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the one or more filter criteria comprise at least one of a date, an issuer identifier, or a data type.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a search request from the user, the search request including one or more search terms and at least one tag;

identifying one or more items in the account corresponding to the user based on the one or more search terms and the at least one tag; and

displaying the one or more items.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the first issuer, a request to provide contact information associated with the user, the contact information including at least one of an email address, a mailing address, or a phone number;

determining, based on a user profile associated with the user, that the user has authorized providing the contact information to the issuer;

retrieving current contact information associated with the user from the user profile; and

sending the current contact information associated with the user to the first issuer.