Real-time conversation thread

• US 20070033250A1
• Filed: 08/02/2005
• Published: 02/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Raghav, Amritansh, Levin, Danny, Shtiegman, Eran, Samdadiya, Parag
• Application Number:
  US11/195,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20070033250A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level

Abstract

Techniques for managing the continuity of real-time conversations are provided. Some techniques allow a participant to restore a conversation that previously occurred and has ended, and continue a thread of the conversation by reusing history data associated with the conversation and appending new data. A participant who is invited to a conversation that is being continued is provided with the history data or provided access to the history data, thus allowing the invited participant to “catch up” in the conversation. The invited participant may also continue the thread in a similar manner afterwards.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to manage continuity of a conversation thread at a client by:

detecting that the client is constructing the conversation thread; and

upon detecting that the client is constructing the conversation thread,

creating a first conversation thread instance for the conversation thread, the first conversation thread instance comprising a conversation thread instance identifier that uniquely identifies the first conversation thread instance, wherein the conversation thread instance identifier may be used to obtain information regarding the conversation thread up to the conversation thread instance identified by the conversation thread instance identifier; and

passing the first conversation thread instance to a called participant who is participating in the conversation thread,

wherein the conversation thread comprises at least one real-time session.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conversation thread instance identifier includes a conversation thread instance identifier of an immediately preceding conversation thread instance in the conversation thread.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conversation thread instance identifier comprises a conversation identifier that uniquely identifies a conversation to which the conversation thread belongs.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conversation thread instance identifier comprises an indication of a participant constructing the conversation thread and a time that the conversation thread is being constructed.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first conversation thread instance has associated with it a history of the conversation thread up to the first conversation thread instance.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the history of the conversation thread comprises information regarding the participants who have participated in the conversation thread.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the history of the conversation thread comprises information regarding the modes of the real-time sessions that occurred during the conversation thread.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the history of the conversation thread comprises content of at least one real-time session that occurred during the conversation thread.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising persistently storing the first conversation thread instance on the client.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising updating the first conversation thread instance.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting that the client is continuing the conversation thread; and

upon detecting that the client is continuing the conversation thread,

retrieving a copy of a conversation thread instance from which the conversation thread is being continued;

creating a continuing conversation thread instance for the conversation thread by updating the conversation thread instance identifier of the retrieved conversation thread instance, the updated conversation thread instance identifier uniquely identifying the continuing conversation thread instance, wherein the updated conversation thread instance identifier may be used to identify the retrieved conversation thread instance; and

passing the continuing conversation thread instance to a called participant who is participating in the continued conversation thread.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the updating the conversation thread instance identifier includes appending the conversation thread instance identifier with an indication of a participant continuing the conversation thread and a time that the conversation thread is being continued.

13. A computer-implemented method for continuing a conversation thread comprising:

detecting that a conversation thread is being continued from an existing conversation thread instance, the existing conversation thread instance being identified by a conversation thread instance identifier that uniquely identifies the existing conversation thread instance, the conversation thread instance identifier suitable for use in identifying the preceding conversation thread instances in the conversation thread up to a root conversation thread instance of the conversation thread; and

after detecting that the conversation thread is being continued from the existing conversation thread instance,

creating a new conversation thread instance;

identifying the new conversation thread instance using a new conversation thread instance identifier that uniquely identifies the new conversation thread instance, the new conversation thread instance identifier including the existing conversation thread instance identifier; and

passing the new conversation thread instance identifier to a called participant who is participating in the continued conversation thread.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the new conversation thread instance identifier is the existing conversation thread identifier appended with an indication of a participant who is continuing the conversation thread from the existing conversation thread instance and an indication of the time the conversation thread is being continued.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the new conversation thread instance identifier may be used to retrieve past information regarding the conversation thread.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the past information regarding the conversation thread is filtered.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the called participant may pass the new conversation thread instance identifier to a third participant who is participating in the continued conversation thread.

18. One or more data signals that collectively convey a data structure, the data structure comprising a conversation identifier that uniquely identifies a conversation and a list of at least one participant that either created a conversation thread in the conversation or continued the conversation thread in the conversation and a corresponding time when the participant either created or continued the conversation thread,

such that the contents of the data structure may be used to obtain the past content of the conversation thread.

19. The data signals of claim 18, wherein the data structure comprises information regarding participants who participated in the conversation thread.

20. The data signals of claim 18, wherein the data structure comprises policy information.