Linking of personal information management data

• US 7,917,468 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2005
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks Inc
• Inventors: Ariel, Ido, van Gent, Robert Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Morrison, Jay A
• Application Number:
  US11/229,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20070027917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,020 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A system and method for linking information of one user to other users via a data aggregation server is provided. Various security settings govern the linking of information. Various methodologies for initiating a link of PIM data are also provided including automatic linking, targeted linking and requested linking. Implementations utilizing group profiles are also provided.

Claims

1. A system for sharing Personal Information Management (PIM) data comprising:

a first computing device configured to provide PIM data;

a second computing device configured to receive PIM data;

an intermediate computing device coupling the first computing device to the second computing device, the intermediate computing device configured to;

host a user profile associated with a user of the first computing device and a user profile associated with a user of the second computing device,

identify a common relationship between the user profiles, wherein identification of the relationship includes identification of information common to both the user profiles, and

overwrite out-of-date PIM data at one of the two computing devices, whereby the overwritten PIM data will correspond to up-to-date PIM data at the other of the two computing devices when the intermediate computing device identifies the information common to both the user profiles, wherein overwriting out-of-date PIM data includes changing one or more values of the out-of-date PIM data at the one of the two computing devices when the one or more values differ between the user profiles and populating one or more values when the one or more values is unpopulated for the out-of-date PIM data at the one of the two computing devices.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the intermediate computing device is a data aggregation server implemented by a network service provider.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user profile of at least one of the first computing device and second computing device comprises e-mail PIM data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the user profile of at least one of the first computing device and second computing device comprises name PIM data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user profile of at least one of the first computing device and second computing device comprises phone PIM data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device pushes PIM data to the intermediate computing device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the PIM data from the first computing device is pushed to the second computing device by the intermediate computing device.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the PIM data from the first computing device is pulled from the intermediate computing device by the second computing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the intermediate computing device pulls PIM data from the first computing device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the PIM data from the first computing device is pushed to the second computing device by the intermediate computing device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the PIM data from the first computing device is pulled from the intermediate computing device by the second computing device.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the user of the first computing device identifies the user of the second computing device and causes the first computing device to push the PIM data to the second computing device via the intermediate computing device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user of the second computing device identifies the user of the first computing device and causes the second computing device to pull the PIM data from the first computing device via the intermediate computing device.

14. A method for updating Personal Information Management (PIM) data amongst a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a first set of PIM data, the first set of PIM data including up-to-date PIM data;

providing a second set of PIM data, the second set of PIM data including out-of-date PIM data;

establishing a link between a user of the first set of PIM data and a user of the second set of PIM data, wherein the link between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data is established as a result of information in the first set of PIM data also being in the second set of PIM data;

causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data such that the out-of-date PIM data is overwritten by the up-to-date PIM data, wherein causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data is subject to security limitations on updating PIM data imposed by the user of the first or second set of PIM data, and wherein overwriting the out-of-date PIM data includes changing one or more values of the out-of-date PIM data when the one or more values differ between the first set of PIM data and second set of PIM data and populating one or more values into the second set of PIM data when the one or more values is unpopulated for the second set of PIM data.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the information in both the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to an organization.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to a geographic area.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the information in both the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a particular user.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the particular user is one of the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data.

15. A method for updating Personal Information Management (PIM) data amongst a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a first set of PIM data, the first set of PIM data including up-to-date PIM data;

providing a second set of PIM data, the second set of PIM data including out-of-date PIM data;

establishing a link between a user of the first set of PIM data and a user of the second set of PIM data, wherein the link between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data is established as a result of a data aggregation server identifying a correlation between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data, the correlation based at least in part on information common to the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data;

causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data such that the out-of-date PIM data is overwritten by the up-to-date PIM data, wherein causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data is subject to security limitations on updating PIM data imposed by the user of the first or second set of PIM data, and wherein overwriting the out-of-date PIM data includes changing one or more values of the out-of-date PIM data when the one or more values differ between the first set of PIM data and second set of PIM data and populating one or more values into the second set of PIM data when the one or more values is unpopulated for the second set of PIM data.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the information common to the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to an organization.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to a geographic area.

28. The method of claim 15, wherein the information common to the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a particular user.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the particular user is one of the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data.

16. A method for updating Personal Information Management (PIM) data amongst a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a first set of PIM data, the first set of PIM data including up-to-date PIM data;

providing a second set of PIM data, the second set of PIM data including out-of-date PIM data;

establishing a link between a user of the first set of PIM data and a user of the second set of PIM data, wherein the link between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data is established as a result of the user of information in the second set of PIM data also being in the first set of PIM data;

causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data such that the out-of-date PIM data is overwritten by the up-to-date PIM data, wherein causing the second set of PIM data to correspond to the first set of PIM data is subject to security limitations on updating PIM data imposed by the user of the first or second set of PIM data, and wherein overwriting the out-of-date PIM data includes changing one or more values of the out-of-date PIM data when the one or more values differ between the first set of PIM data and second set of PIM data and populating one or more values into the second set of PIM data when the one or more values is unpopulated for the second set of PIM data.

30. The method of claim 16, wherein the information in both the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to an organization.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the set of which the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data are members corresponds to a geographic area.

33. The method of claim 16, wherein the information in both the first set of PIM data and the second set of PIM data corresponds to a particular user.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the particular user is one of the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data.

17. A method for completing Personal Information Management (PIM) data entries amongst a plurality of users, comprising:

providing a first set of PIM data, the first set of PIM data including an incomplete user contact profile;

providing a second set of PIM data, the second set of PIM data including at least one PIM data entry not present in the user contact profile of the first set of PIM data;

identifying the presence of the second set of PIM data including the at least one PIM data entry not present in the user contact profile of the first set of PIM data;

establishing a link between a user of the first set of PIM data and a user of the second set of PIM data, the link based at least in part on information in the first set of PIM data also being in the second set of PIM data;

updating the first set of PIM data in accordance with a security limitation imposed by a user of the first set of PIM data such that the user contact profile comprises at least the one PIM data entry of the second set of PIM data, and wherein updating the first set of PIM data includes changing one or more entries in the first set of PIM data based at least in part on one or more corresponding entries in the second set of PIM data when the one or more entries differ from the one or more corresponding entries.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the link between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data is established as a result of the user of the first set of PIM data requesting the at least one PIM data entry from the user of the second set of PIM data.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the link between the user of the first set of PIM data and the user of the second set of PIM data is established as a result of a data aggregation server identifying the at least one PIM data entry not present in the user contact profile of the first set of PIM data.