Automatically maintaining an address book

• US 8,112,437 B1
• Filed: 11/02/2009
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Katragadda, Lalitesh, Taylor, Bret Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): ORTIZ DITREN, BELIX M
• Application Number:
  US12/610,788
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 707/769, 707/767, 707/784
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for automatically generating and maintaining personal data, such as an address book, a financial portfolio, a discussion groups or blogs book, or other types of personal data stores, based on a person'"'"'s structured search data and/or usage data (e.g., browsing) and/or other sources of personal data (e.g., emails the user receives). Related metadata can also be used in the generating and/or maintaining of the personal data. Dynamic personal data ranking and/or autocomplete functions are also provided, which can be used in conjunction with the automatic generation and maintenance of the user'"'"'s personal data, to further ease the user'"'"'s burden in managing and/or handling such data.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for maintaining a user'"'"'s address book, the method executed by a computer and comprising:

receiving a user search request for a geographic data search in a web application that is independent from the address book, the user search request including structured data and metadata;

extracting the metadata included in the user search request;

identifying an entry in the user'"'"'s address book that is associated with the structured data;

updating metadata that is associated with the identified entry in the user'"'"'s address book using the extracted metadata; and

generating with the web application, search results associated with the user search request.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein updating metadata comprises updating metadata statistics associated with the identified entry.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the metadata statistics comprises at least one of time when the user search request is received, a location from which the user search query was transmitted based on an IP address associated with the search query, a context from which the user search request was performed, topics or services indicated in the search query, or search queries performed by the user prior to the user search request.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein updating metadata comprises updating one or more ranking signals associated with the identified entry based at least in part on a current time that the address book was accessed, a context of the user search request, and a current locality associated with the user search request.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein updating metadata comprises updating user localities associated with the identified entry.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending an updated address book incrementally to a client device for storage of the updated address book.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating the identified entry with a label indicating a name of a location where the user performed the geographic search that is associated with the identified entry.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating the identified entry with a user supplied label.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the user search request is for at least one of driving directions, a map, and a local search.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining duplicate entries in the address book for an address; and

merging the duplicate entries into a single entry.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a geographic location associated with browsing activity of the user; and

updating the user'"'"'s address book with the determined geographic location.

12. A machine-readable medium encoded with instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out a process for maintaining a user'"'"'s address book, the process comprising:

receiving a user search request for a geographic data search in a web application that is independent from the address book, the user search request including structured data and metadata;

extracting the metadata included in the user search request;

identifying an entry in the user'"'"'s address book that is associated with the structured data;

updating metadata that is associated with the identified entry in the user'"'"'s address book using the extracted metadata; and

generating with the web application, search results associated with the user search request.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein updating metadata comprises updating metadata statistics associated with the identified entry.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the metadata statistics comprises at least one of time when the user search request is received, a location from which the user search query was transmitted based on an IP address associated with the search query, a context from which the user search request was performed, topics or services indicated in the search query, or search queries performed by the user prior to the user search request.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein updating metadata comprises updating one or more ranking signals associated with the identified entry based at least in part on a current time that the address book was accessed, a context of the user search request, and a current locality associated with the user search request.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein updating metadata comprises updating user localities associated with the identified entry.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, the process further comprising:

sending an updated address book incrementally to a client device for storage of the updated address book.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, the process further comprising:

updating the identified entry with a user supplied label.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the user search request is for at least one of driving directions, a map, and a local search.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, the process further comprising:

determining duplicate entries in the address book for an address; and

merging the duplicate entries into a single entry.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, the process further comprising:

determining a geographic location associated with browsing activity of the user; and

updating the user'"'"'s address book with the determined geographic location.

22. A computer system for maintaining a user'"'"'s address book, the system comprising:

a server computer system for receiving a user search request for a geographic data search in a web application that is independent from the address book, the user search request including structured data and metadata and for generating with the web application, search results associated with the user search request;

an aggregator module operatively coupled to the server computer system, for extracting the metadata included in the user search request; and

a compactor module coupled to the server computer system for identifying an entry in the user'"'"'s address book that is associated with the structured data and updating metadata that is associated with the identified entry in the user'"'"'s address book using the extracted metadata.

23. The computer system of claim 22, wherein updating metadata comprises updating metadata statistics associated with the identified entry.

24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the metadata statistics comprises at least one of time when the user search request is received, a location from which the user search query was transmitted based on an IP address associated with the search query, a context from which the user search request was performed, topics or services indicated in the search query, or search queries performed by the user prior to the user search request.

25. The computer system of claim 22, wherein updating metadata comprises updating one or more ranking signals associated with the identified entry based at least in part on a current time that the address book was accessed, a context of the user search request, and a current locality associated with the user search request.

26. The computer system of claim 22, wherein updating metadata comprises updating user localities associated with the identified entry.

27. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the server computer system is further configured for:

sending an updated address book incrementally to a client device for storage of the updated address book.

28. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the aggregator module is further configured for:

updating the identified entry with a label indicating a name of a location where the user performed the geographic search that is associated with the identified entry.

29. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the aggregator module is further configured for:

updating the identified entry with a user supplied label.

30. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the user search request is for at least one of driving directions, a map, and a local search.

31. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the compactor module is further configured for:

determining duplicate entries in the address book for an address; and

merging the duplicate entries into a single entry.

32. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the aggregator module is further configured for:

determining a geographic location associated with browsing activity of the user; and

updating the user'"'"'s address book with the determined geographic location.