Independent information network

• US 9,078,288 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Okada, Ted T, Suthar, Paresh S, Liu, Ming, Ozzie, Jack E, Augustine, Matthew S, Ozzie, Raymond E
• Primary Examiner(s): Beharry, Noel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Acolatse, Kodzovi
• Application Number:
  US12/427,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20100265935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,268 Days
• Field of Search: 370/350
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A localized collaboration of wireless communication enabled devices can be provided for sharing of information that is independent of external communications. A local hub can communicate with a remote hub and end users using one or more wireless communication points, and provide for uploading and downloading of collaborative information from the local hub by an end user device. The local hub wirelessly broadcasts a message that has contact information that allows a remote hub to wirelessly retrieve collaborative information from the local hub. The local hub can synchronize collaborative information with a remote hub, if present, by retrieving a remote version of collaborative information using the remote hub'"'"'s broadcast contact information; comparing the remote version with a locally stored version, if present; updating the local version with differences between the remote version if the remote version is a desired; and creating a local version if one is not present.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

synchronizing collaborative information, associated with a collaborative information feed contributed to by an end user device, between a local hub not connected to the Internet and a remote hub not connected to the Internet, the collaborative information feed comprising at least one of;

a schedule for an organization of a neighborhood watch, comprising a time that a first user indicated the first user can participate and a time that a second user indicated the second user can participate;

a list of supplies, comprising food stores that a third user indicated the third user has available and additional supplies that a fourth user indicated the fourth user has available;

statuses, comprising a status and location of a fifth user indicated by the fifth user and a status and location of a sixth user indicated by the sixth user;

or

services, comprising a time and location that a first service will be available and a time and location that a second service will be available, the synchronizing comprising;

wirelessly retrieving a remote version of the collaborative information from the remote hub;

determining if the local hub comprises a locally stored version of the collaborative information; and

creating a local version of the collaborative information from the remote version if the local hub does not comprise a locally stored version of the collaborative information;

wirelessly broadcasting contact information from the local hub to the remote hub, the contact information comprising;

a protocol address, configured to be used by the remote hub to contact the local hub, concatenated with a list of locators, comprising a first locator for the collaborative information feed and a second locator for a second feed; and

wirelessly broadcasting, via a short-wave radio signal from the local hub to two or more remote hubs, at least one of at least some of a version of the collaborative information or the contact information.

2. The method of claim 1, the collaborative information feed comprising two or more of the schedule for the organization of the neighborhood watch, the list of supplies, the statuses or the services.

3. The method of claim 1, the collaborative information feed comprising three or more of the schedule for the organization of the neighborhood watch, the list of supplies, the statuses or the services.

4. The method of claim 1, the collaborative information feed comprising the schedule for the organization of the neighborhood watch, the list of supplies, the statuses and the services.

5. The method of claim 1, the collaborative information feed comprising both the schedule for the organization of the neighborhood watch and the list of supplies.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

detecting a wireless broadcast from the remote hub; and

saving information broadcast by the remote hub to a local external feed information cache.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising:

determining whether the wireless broadcast comprises a collaborative information feed locator; and

if the wireless broadcast comprises a collaborative information feed locator;

determining whether the local hub comprises a locally stored version of a second collaborative information feed corresponding to the collaborative information feed locator; and

if a locally stored version of the second collaborative information feed is not comprised in the local hub;

creating a local version of the second collaborative information feed; and

adding the local version of the second collaborative information feed to the local external feed information cache.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

enumerating a local collaborative information feed for the local hub;

constructing a message for the local hub, the message comprising a locator for the local collaborative information feed;

broadcasting the message; and

updating a local feed information cache with information for the local collaborative information feed.

9. The method of claim 8, the broadcasting the message performed upon initialization of the local hub.

10. The method of claim 8, the broadcasting the message performed upon reaching a desired timed interval point.

11. The method of claim 8, the broadcasting the message performed upon initiation by a user.

12. A system, comprising:

one or more processing units; and

memory comprising instructions that when executed by at least one of the one or more processing units perform a method, comprising;

synchronizing collaborative information, associated with a collaborative information feed contributed to by an end user device, between a local hub not connected to the Internet and a remote hub not connected to the Internet, the collaborative information feed comprising at least one of;

a schedule for an organization of a neighborhood watch, comprising a time that a first user indicated the first user can participate and a time that a second user indicated the second user can participate;

a list of supplies, comprising food stores that a third user indicated the third user has available and additional supplies that a fourth user indicated the fourth user has available;

statuses, comprising a status and location of a fifth user indicated by the fifth user and a status and location of a sixth user indicated by the sixth user;

or

services, comprising a time and location that a first service will be available and a time and location that a second service will be available, the synchronizing comprising;

wirelessly retrieving a remote version of the collaborative information from the remote hub;

determining if the local hub comprises a locally stored version of the collaborative information; and

creating a local version of the collaborative information from the remote version if the local hub does not comprise a locally stored version of the collaborative information;

wirelessly broadcasting contact information from the local hub to the remote hub, the contact information comprising;

a protocol address configured to be used by the remote hub to contact the local hub, concatenated with a list of locators, comprising a first locator for the collaborative information feed and a second locator for a second feed; and

wirelessly broadcasting, via a short-wave radio signal from the local hub to two or more remote hubs, at least one of at least some of a version of the collaborative information or the contact information.

13. The system of claim 12, the local hub configured to display a signal that indicates when the remote hub is within a wireless communications range.

14. The system of claim 12, a first local wireless communications point used by the local hub to communicate with the remote hub based on at least one of Wi-Fi or WiMAX, a second local wireless communications point used by the local hub to communicate with the end user device based on Bluetooth.

15. The system of claim 12, the method comprising updating the locally stored version of the collaborative information based upon differences between the remote version and the locally stored version if the local hub does comprise a locally stored version of the collaborative information.

16. The system of claim 12, the method comprising providing one or more end user devices access to one or more collaborative information feeds from the local hub.

17. The system of claim 12, the wirelessly retrieving comprising:

issuing a get remote feed command using an Internet protocol (IP) address for the remote hub.

18. The system of claim 12, the method comprising:

storing, in an external feed information cache, a remote hub address, a remote hub locator, and a feed descriptor for the collaborative information feed.

19. The system of claim 12, the protocol address comprising an Internet protocol (IP) address, the first locator comprising a first uniform resource locator (URL), the second locator comprising a second URL.

20. A computer readable storage device comprising instructions that when executed perform a method comprising:

synchronizing collaborative information, associated with a collaborative information feed contributed to by an end user device, between a local hub not connected to the Internet and a remote hub not connected to the Internet, the collaborative information feed comprising at least one of;

a schedule for an organization of a neighborhood watch, comprising a time that a first user indicated the first user can participate and a time that a second user indicated the second user can participate;

a list of supplies, comprising food stores that a third user indicated the third user has available and additional supplies that a fourth user indicated the fourth user has available;

statuses, comprising a status and location of a fifth user indicated by the fifth user and a status and location of a sixth user indicated by the sixth user;

or

services, comprising a time and location that a first service will be available and a time and location that a second service will be available, the synchronizing comprising;

wirelessly retrieving a remote version of the collaborative information from the remote hub;

determining if the local hub comprises a locally stored version of the collaborative information; and

creating a local version of the collaborative information from the remote version if the local hub does not comprise a locally stored version of the collaborative information;

wirelessly broadcasting contact information from the local hub to the remote hub, the contact information comprising;

a protocol address, configured to be used by the remote hub to contact the local hub, concatenated with a list of locators, comprising a first locator for the collaborative information feed and a second locator for a second feed; and

wirelessly broadcasting, via a short-wave radio signal from the local hub to two or more remote hubs, at least one of at least some of a version of the collaborative information or the contact information.