Mobile user classification system and method

• US 9,183,597 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2012
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Location Labs (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Myers, Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): MAPA, MICHAEL Y
• Application Number:
  US13/398,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20130217363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 455410-411, 4554121-4122, 455/414.1, 455418-420, 455/466, 726 26- 30, 705/319
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A system and method of classifying historic and real-time social contacts of one or more mobile users in such a manner that classification structures are implemented. Those classification structures are maintained in a database and updated with additional information that can either be found or heuristically inferred. The maintained classification structures can be searched to obtain information or used to send alerts that notify others of a change in a social network, such as an alert to a parent when their child'"'"'s social network changes.

Claims

1. A computerized classification system comprising:

a mobile device having an input manager operating in accord with software instructions, said input manager for accessing a user'"'"'s contacts and monitoring interactions between the user and those contacts so as to receive at least one action and to receive information from a cellular infrastructure;

a classification manager operating in accord with software instructions and operatively connected to the input manager and receiving the at least one action and the information from the cellular infrastructure, the classification manager for updating at least one of a profile classification, a relationship classification, or a network classification in response to the at least one action and in response to the information from the cellular infrastructure; and

a database operatively connected to and storing the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification in accord with software instructions;

wherein the at least one action is any one of a set of acts that impact on a profile classification, a relationship classification, or a network classification;

wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure indicates whether the user and a contact are on the same account; and

wherein the classification manager iteratively refines the age of the user in the profile classification by feeding back information from the relationship classification based at least on the existence of a parent-child relationship in the relationship classification.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an alerts subsystem for generating alerts based on the content of the profile classification.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the alerts subsystem generates alerts based on the contents of the relationship classification and the network classification.

4. The system according to claim 1, further including a query subsystem for interrogating the database to obtain information from at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the input manager obtains information from a cellular infrastructure, and wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure is sent to the classification manager which applies the information from the cellular infrastructure to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the input manager obtains information from an external source, and wherein the information from the external source is sent to the classification manager which applies the information from the external source to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the classification manager determines heuristic information from the information from an external source.

8. The system according to claim 5, wherein the classification manager determines heuristic information from the information from the cellular infrastructure.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the classification manager obtains heuristic information from the at least one action.

10. A system comprising non-transitory computer readable storage media comprising coded instructions to:

form an input manager in a mobile device for accessing a user'"'"'s contacts, for receiving information from a cellular infrastructure and for monitoring interactions between the user and those contacts so as to receive at least one social contact action;

put into operation a database operatively storing a profile classification, a relationship classification, and a network classification; and

produce a classification manager that is operatively connected to the input manager for receiving at least one social contact action and for receiving information from the cellular infrastructure, wherein the classification manager updates at least one of the profile classification, relationship classification, or network classification in the database in response to the at least one social contact action and in response to the information from the cellular infrastructure;

wherein the at least one social contact action is any one of a set of acts that impact on the profile classification, the relationship classification, or the network classification;

wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure indicates whether the user and a contact are on the same account; and

wherein the classification manager iteratively refines the age of the user in the profile classification by feeding back information from the relationship classification based at least on the existence of a parent-child relationship in the relationship classification.

11. The system according to claim 10, the non-transitory computer readable storage media further comprising coded instructions to create an alerts subsystem for generating alerts based on content of the profile classification.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the alerts subsystem generates alerts based on content of the relationship classification or the network classification.

13. The system according to claim 10, the non-transitory computer readable storage media further comprising coded instructions to implement a query subsystem for interrogating the database to obtain information from the database.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the classification manager obtains heuristic information from the social contact action and updates at least one of the profile classification, relationship classification, and network classification with that heuristic information.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein the input manager obtains information from a cellular infrastructure, and wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure is sent to the classification manager which applies the information from the cellular infrastructure to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the input manager obtains information from an external source, and wherein the information from the external source is sent to the classification manager which applies the information from the external source to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the classification manager produces heuristic information from the information from an external source and wherein the classification manager applies the produced heuristic information to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the classification manager produces heuristic information from the information from the cellular infrastructure and wherein the produced heuristic information is applied to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

19. The system according to claim 10, wherein the mobile device includes a client manager that controls features and settings.

20. A computerized classification system comprising:

a mobile device having an input manager operating in accord with software instructions, said input manager for accessing contacts of a first person and monitoring interactions between the first person and the contacts so as to receive information related to a social interaction performed by the first person and a second person and to receive information from a cellular infrastructure;

a classification manager operating in accord with software instructions and operatively connected to the input manager and receiving the social interaction information and the information from the cellular infrastructure, the classification manager updating at least one of a profile classification of the first person, a relationship classification of the first person, and a network classification of the first person in response to the received social interaction information and the information from the cellular structure; and

a database operatively connected to and storing the profile classification of the first person, the relationship classification of the first person, and the network classification of the first person in accord with software instructions;

wherein the social interaction is any one of a set of acts that impact on a profile classification, a relationship classification, or a network classification;

wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure indicates whether the first person and the second person are on the same account; and

wherein the classification manager iteratively refines the age of the first person in the profile classification of the first person by feeding back information from the relationship classification of the first person based at least on the existence of a parent-child relationship between the first person and the second person in the relationship classification of the first person.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein if the first person and the second person are on the same account, a heuristic determination is made that the first person and the second person are related.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the heuristic determination that the first person and the second person are related causes the classification manager to add that determination to at least one of the profile classification of the first person, the relationship classification of the first person, the network classification of the first person, the profile classification of the second person, the relationship classification of the second person, and the network classification of the second person.

23. The system according to claim 20, wherein the information from the cellular infrastructure comprises information about the social network of the first person.

24. The system according to claim 20, wherein the profile classification of the first person comprises at least one of the following:

age, gender, popularity, school attended, workplace, frequency of messaging, frequency of calling, travel, location, workdays, and work hours.

25. The system according to claim 20, wherein the relationship classification of the first person comprises at least one of the following:

a close friend, a co-worker, an employer, and a social status.

26. The system according to claim 20, wherein the network classification of the first person comprises information related to how the first person socially interacts with others.

27. The system according to claim 20, wherein the relationship classification of the first person comprises a type, frequency, content, and timing of social interactions.

28. The system according to claim 20, wherein the classification manager compares the relationship classification of the first person and the relationship classification of the second person with relationship classifications of others to determine if the first person and the second person have a parent-child relationship.

29. The system according to claim 20, wherein the classification manager iteratively refines the profile classification of the first person by feeding back information from the profile classification of the first person, the relationship classification of the first person, and the network classification of the first person.

30. The system according to claim 20, further comprising an alerts subsystem for generating alerts based on the content of the profile classification.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein the alerts subsystem sends an alert in response to changes to the profile classification of the first person.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein the second person is an adult and the alerts subsystem sends an alert in response to the first person socially interacting with an adult.

33. The system according to claim 31, wherein the alerts subsystem sends an alert in response to an existing relationship between the first person and the second person becoming hostile.

34. The system according to claim 31, wherein the alerts subsystem sends an alert in response to identity theft between the first person and the second person.

35. The system according to claim 31, wherein the alerts subsystem sends an alert in response to the second person being a new social contact of the first person.

36. The system according to claim 20, wherein the social interaction is the first person contacting the second person for the first time.

37. The system according to claim 20, wherein the social interaction is the first person adding the second person to a contact list.

38. The system according to claim 20, wherein a heuristic determination is made as to the gender of the first person based on the name of the first person.

39. The system according to claim 20, wherein the input manager seeks additional information about the second person comprising a cellular account number.

40. The system according to claim 20, wherein the input manager obtains information from an external source, and wherein the information from the external source is sent to the classification manager which applies the information from the external source to at least one of the profile classification, the relationship classification, and the network classification.

41. The system according to claim 40, wherein the information from an external source relates to an academic status of the first person.

42. The system according to claim 41, wherein the age of the first person is heuristically approximated using their academic status.

43. The system according to claim 20, further comprising a query subsystem for interrogating the database to obtain information from the database.

44. The system according to claim 43, wherein the query subsystem enables interrogating the database to obtain information from at least one of the profile classification of the first person, the relationship classification of the first person, and the network classification of the first person.

45. The system according to claim 44, wherein the query subsystem enables a parent to identify the at least one of closest relationships and outlying relationships of the first person.