System and method for managing personal information

• US 6,957,229 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2000
• Issued: 10/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cufer Asset Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matthew Graham Dyor
• Inventors: Dyor, Matthew Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Shahid
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLEURANTIN, JEAN B
• Application Number:
  US09/749,732
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 709/206, 709217-219, 709/223
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99946 Object-oriented database structure network

Abstract

A system and method for managing personal information with increased efficiency and flexibility. In one embodiment, the system includes a group website tier made up of a plurality of group website objects, a group tier made up of a plurality of group objects, a user tier made up of a plurality of user objects, a first set of relationships that define relationships between the group website objects and the group objects, and a second set of relationships that define relationships between the group objects and the user objects. Furthermore, the system preferably is configured such that each of the objects may be uniquely identified from objects on the same tier and objects on different tiers. Additionally, the first set of relationships may include a first type of relationships that define which group objects have access to each of the plurality of group websites, and a second type of relationships that define which group objects appear as content for each of the plurality of group website objects.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system for managing personal information comprising:

a group website tier comprising a plurality of group website objects;

a group tier comprising a plurality of group objects;

a user tier comprising a plurality of user objects;

a first set of relationships that define relationships between the group website objects and the group objects, wherein the first set of relationships comprises;

a first type of relationships that define which group objects have access to each of the plurality of group website objects; and

a second type of relationships that define which group objects appear as content for each of the plurality of group website objects; and

a second set of relationships that define relationships between the group objects and the user objects.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second set of relationships comprises a third type of relationship that defines which user objects are members of each of the plurality of group objects.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the objects comprises an administrator group object attribute that determines an administrator group object that has rights to modify relationships and attributes associated with the object.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a profile tier comprising a plurality of profile objects, wherein each of the profile objects comprises:

an associated user object attribute that determines with which user object a profile object is associated;

an administrator group object attribute that determines an administrator group object that has rights to modify relationships and attributes associated with the object; and

a plurality of personal information attributes.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a profile tier comprising a plurality of profile objects, wherein each of the profile objects comprises an associated user object attribute, an administrator group object attribute, and a plurality of personal information attributes.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the system is configured to dynamically determine access rights to information in the profile tier based on:

a first set of groups to which the active user is a member;

a set of group websites to which the first set of groups has access;

a second set of groups that are content members of the set of group websites; and

a set of profiles which are associated with the second set of groups, wherein the active user has access rights to the set of profiles.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first set of relationships defines a many to many relationship between group tier and group website tier.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of database records comprises a group website identifier, a group identifier, and a relationship type such that a first collection of relationships comprise access relationships and a second collection of relationships comprise content relationships.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

a first group is an access member of a first group website and a second group is a content member of the first group website; and

the system is configured to grant access to the first website to members of the first group and deny access to the first group website to members of the second group, and to present only those profiles associated with the second group.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

an active user has rights to create a collection of group website objects and a collection of group objects, wherein objects created by the active user are referred to collectively as the created objects;

the active user has rights to designate an administrative group for each of the created objects;

the active user has rights to establish relationships between any two objects for which the active user has administrative rights;

the active user does not have rights to establish relationships between any two objects wherein the active user does not have administrative rights over at least one of the two objects; and

the active user has rights to establish an invitation between a first object for which the active user has administrative rights and a second object for which the active user does not have administrative rights, wherein a second user that has administrative rights over the second object has rights to accept the invitation.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a relationship manager configured to create the first and second set of relationships and further configured to determine an active user'"'"'s administrative rights.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the relationship manager is configured to create the second set of relationships by:

generating an invitation to join a group based on input from a user having administrative rights over the group; and

creating a relationship when the invitation is selectively accepted by an invited user, wherein said relationship comprises a profile object identifier.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the relationship manager is configured to create the second set of relationships by:

generating a request to join a group based on input from a requesting user; and

creating a relationship when the request is selectively accepted by a user having administrative rights over the group.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the relationship manager is configured to create the first set of relationships by:

determining administrative rights to a group website object and a group object;

enabling an active user to add a group object to a group website object when the active user has administrative rights over the group object and the group website object;

enabling an active user to invite a group object to a group website object when the active user has administrative rights over the group website object and does not have administrative rights over the group object; and

enabling an active user to request group membership to a group website object when the the active user has administrative rights over the group object and does not have administrative rights over the group website object.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the user objects comprises a first password having a first set of rights and a second password having a second set of rights.