Machine-implemented activity management system using asynchronously shared activity data objects and journal data items

• US 7,624,125 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2007
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Callahan Cellular LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Tarabunk Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Feinsmith, Jason B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu; Kuen S
• Application Number:
  US11/708,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150496A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707/101, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

Machine-assisted methods and apparatus are described for allowing individual users to develop and organize respective activity descriptions and supporting journal items according to their respective preferences. Cross-referencing mappings may be created between activity descriptions and journal items in order to find, filter and organize disparate data. Cross-referencing mappings may also be created between the developed activity descriptions of different users so they can better understand each others perspectives and possibly overlapping goals. Different users'"'"' activity descriptions can be presented to a user even while the user may be disconnected from communication networks. Hierarchical relationships between activity descriptions may be provided. Machine-assisted means may be provided for creating work-sharing, work-delegating and/or informational sharing agreements between different users. Further machine-implemented means may be provided for automatically and asynchronously updating users on shared activities by other users even though all users are not necessarily connected to one or more respective communication networks at same time.

Claims

1. An expression storing and transmitting system for use by a first user to develop expressions of ideas for one or more activities and share selectable ones of the expressed activity ideas with one or more other users, wherein the expression storing and transmitting system comprises:

activity description recording means for recording in an activity description in a hierarchy within a holding area belonging to a first user, a first set of first one or more activity descriptions wherein each said recorded activity description comprises an activity data object (ADO) and wherein each given ADO comprises;

at least one of a short activity descriptor field and long activity descriptor field for respectively providing a relatively short description and a comparatively longer and more detailed description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO; and

an ADO owner identifying field for identifying an owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the said ADO for thereby creating or modifying at least one of said short description and comparatively longer and more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO;

a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users with whom the owner-user of the given ADO is sharing activity idea information; and

at least one parent activity description associated therewith and at least one child activity description associated therewith within the hierarchy;

first sharing means for transmitting copies of selected activity description expressions stored in the said activity descriptions holding area to other systems for use by one or more other users; and

progeny presenting means for automatically selecting children activity descriptions of the selected activity description expressions and transmitting the automatically selected children activity descriptions to said other systems.

2. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further wherein:

the said activity description recording means includes means for recording in one or more activity descriptions holding areas, corresponding ones of activity descriptions.

3. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further comprising:

journaling means for recording in one or more journal data items holding areas corresponding ones of journal data items.

4. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further comprising:

second sharing means for receiving and recording a second set of second one or more activity description expressions where the second set includes ADO structures associated with second users of said other systems, wherein portions or wholes of said second set of activity descriptions are recorded into the said activity descriptions holding area as at least one of updates to and new members of respective first one or more activity descriptions; and

expressing means for presenting to the first user in an integrated presentation, expressions of the first set of one or more of the recorded activity descriptions and expressions of the received and recorded second set of one or more activity descriptions.

5. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further including:

a common-idea-tying field for identifying each given ADO as being a member of a corresponding and exclusive first group of further ADOs that can be logically tied together under an exclusive, common-idea-tying field such that a first group of common-idea-tied ADOs is unique among at least all other common-idea-tied groups of ADOs that are recorded in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user and in the activity description holding areas of other users in a specifiable sharing pool, and such that no ADO member of said exclusive, first group of common-idea-tied ADOs is also a member of another alike and exclusive group of common-idea-tied ADOs recorded in the said activity descriptions holding area of the first user and the holding areas of other users in a specifiable sharing pool.

6. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 5 and further comprising:

second sharing means for receiving a second set of second one or more activity description expressions where the second set may include ADO structures associated with, and owned by second users of said other systems;

and further wherein;

the storage means includes means of automatically updating said activity descriptions in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user wherein if both the common-idea-tying field and the owner-user indicated by a said first activity description respectively match the common-idea-tying field and the owner-user indicated by a said received second activity description, then one or more portions of the received second activity description are used to update the values of the corresponding one or more portions of the matching first activity description in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user.

7. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 5 and further wherein:

the transmitting means includes means of automatically transmitting derived copies of said one or more first activity descriptions that are owned by said first user to machine areas of other users who are respectively indicated as originators of respective activity idea expressions corresponding to the respectively said common-idea-tying fields of the one or more first user owned first activity descriptions.

8. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 5 and further wherein:

the transmitting means includes means of automatically transmitting derived copies of said one or more first activity descriptions that are owned by said first user, to machine areas of other users who are respectively indicated as the owners of respective other one or more of the said first activity descriptions wherein;

the common-idea-tying field corresponding to the respective said owned activity descriptions match the common-idea-tying field corresponding to the said respective other one or more activity descriptions.

9. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 5 and further comprising:

second sharing means for receiving and recording a second set of second one or more activity description expressions where the second set may include ADO structures associated with, and owned by second users of said other systems; and

expressing and preview means for presenting to the first user a presentation including one or more of said second activity descriptions that may not yet have been reviewed by said first user, for which the ADOs corresponding to said presented second activity descriptions comprise said common-idea-tying fields that do not match such fields corresponding to any other ADOs that are already recorded in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user.

10. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further wherein:

the transmitting means includes means of automatically transmitting derived copies of said one or more first activity descriptions that are owned by said first user, to machine areas of other users who are indicated as supervisory users relative to said first user and wherein;

said automatic transmitting means is initiated directly and/or indirectly when said one or more first activity descriptions are created by said first user or if said one or more first activity descriptions are modified by said first user.

11. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 wherein each given ADO further comprises:

common-idea-tying reference data which alone, or overlappingly with one or both of said ADO owner identifying field and said uniqueness providing field, logically ties the given ADO to one or more other ADO'"'"'s to thereby define a corresponding, first group of ADOs that are logically tied together under a unique identification for an expressed activity idea.

12. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 wherein each given ADO further comprises:

one or more ADO naming fields which, alone or in combination, uniquely identify the said ADO from amongst at least all other ADO'"'"'s that are recorded in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user.

13. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further wherein each given ADO comprises at least one of:

an indication of privacy level;

an indication of other users to whom activity descriptions or derived copies of activity descriptions may be transmitted; and

an indication of other users to whom activity descriptions or derived copies of activity descriptions may not be transmitted.

14. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further including:

a sharing request type indicating field for identifying each given activity description as corresponding to a respective sharing request type, wherein the said indication of sharing request type is selected from a group of sharing request types including;

a “

For Your Information”

type (FYI) or equivalent type, wherein the “

For Your Information”

sharing type does not correspond to a request for receiving users to actively participate in regard to the activity description.

15. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further wherein sharing means for transmitting includes:

transmitting translated ADO copies in one or more formats from the group consisting of;

message body ASCII text;

message body rich text;

message body HTML;

a message and/or email encoded binary attachment;

or

data encrypted and/or compressed into message body ASCII text.

16. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further wherein:

the transmitting means includes means of automatically transmitting derived copies of said one or more first activity descriptions that are owned by said first user to machine areas of other users to whom the first user has indicated the activity descriptions should be shared to; and

wherein;

said automatic transmitting means is initiated directly and/or indirectly when said one or more first activity descriptions are created by said first user or if said one or more first activity descriptions are modified by said first user.

17. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 wherein those of said activity descriptions that are owned by a given user are hierarchically organized at least as parent nodes and corresponding child nodes of a primary hierarchical tree, wherein each said activity description has as its parent in the primary hierarchical tree, only one primary parent node, unless said activity description defines a root node, and each said activity description has as its children, zero or more primary child nodes.

18. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1 and further comprising:

expressing means for presenting to the said first user, second activity description expressions owned by users other than the first user, wherein underlying activity descriptions are recorded in the activity descriptions holding area of the first user.

19. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 18 wherein:

said expressing means includes presenting to the first user even when the said expression storing and transmitting system is decoupled from any telecommunications networks.

20. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1, wherein said recorded activity description further comprises at least one parent activity description associated therewith;

and wherein the progeny presenting means is further configured for transmitting copies of the at least one parent activity description to said other systems.

21. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1, further comprising a linking means configured to associate a web forum accessed by means of a network with one or more of the activity descriptions.

22. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1, wherein the at least one parent activity description is a primary parent activity description and at least one of the activity descriptions has associated therewith a secondary parent activity description stored in the hierarchy.

23. The expression storing and transmitting system of claim 1, wherein the activity description only comprises a long activity descriptor field.

24. A method comprising:

recording in an activity descriptions hierarchy within a holding area stored in a memory of a computer system belonging to a first user a first set of first one or more activity descriptions wherein each said recorded activity description comprises an activity data object (ADO) and wherein each given ADO comprises;

at least one of a short activity descriptor field and long activity descriptor field for respectively providing a relatively short description and a comparatively longer and more detailed description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO; and

an ADO owner identifying field for identifying an owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the said ADO for thereby creating or modifying at least one of said short description and comparatively longer and more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO;

a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users; and

at least one parent activity description associated therewith and at least one child activity description associated therewith within the hierarchy;

transmitting copies of selected activity description expressions stored in the said activity descriptions holding area to other systems for use by one or more other users; and

automatically selecting at least one child activity description of the selected activity description expressions and transmitting the at least one selected child activity description to said other systems upon transmitting of the selected activity description expressions.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said recorded activity description further comprises at least one parent activity description associated therewith, the method further comprising transmitting copies of the at least one parent activity description of the selected activity description expressions to said other systems.

26. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a user system including a processor, are operable to cause the processor to execute a method including:

recording by means of an activity description recording means in an activity descriptions hierarchy within a holding area belonging to a first user a first set of first one or more activity descriptions wherein each said recorded activity description comprises an activity data object (ADO) and wherein each given ADO comprises;

at least one of a short activity descriptor field and long activity descriptor field for respectively providing a relatively short description and a comparatively longer and more detailed description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO; and

an ADO owner identifying field for identifying an owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the said ADO for thereby creating or modifying at least one of said short description and comparatively longer and more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO;

a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users; and

at least one parent activity description associated therewith and at least one child activity description associated therewith within the hierarchy;

transmitting copies of selected activity description expressions stored in the said activity descriptions holding area to other systems for use by one or more other users; and

automatically selecting children activity descriptions of the selected activity description expressions and transmitting copies of the selected children activity descriptions to said other systems upon transmitting of the selected activity description expressions.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor to

transmit copies of the at least one parent activity description expression of the selected activity description expressions to said other systems.

28. A system including a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to execute a method including:

recording by means of an activity description recording means in an activity descriptions hierarchy within a holding area belonging to a first user a first set of first one or more activity descriptions wherein each said recorded activity description comprises an activity data object (ADO) and wherein each given ADO comprises;

at least one of a short activity descriptor field and long activity descriptor field for respectively providing a relatively short description and a comparatively longer and more detailed description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO; and

an ADO owner identifying field for identifying an owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the said ADO for thereby creating or modifying at least one of said short description and comparatively longer and more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO;

a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users; and

at least one parent activity description associated therewith and at least one child activity description associated therewith within the hierarchy;

transmitting copies of selected activity description expressions stored in the said activity descriptions holding area to other systems for use by one or more other users; and

automatically selecting children activity descriptions of the selected activity description expressions and transmitting copies of the selected children activity descriptions to said other systems upon transmitting of the selected activity description expressions.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor to

transmit copies of the at least one parent activity description expression of the selected activity description expressions to said other systems.