Sharing content among a group of devices

• US 8,386,619 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2012
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Color Labs Inc. (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Mallet, Vincent, Cheng, Jessica, Fiedel, Noah, Gillum, Eric William, Ramanarayanan, Ganesh, Woods, Nicholas James
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Application Number:
  US13/404,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20120246267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• Field of Search: 709/213, 709/217, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17306 Intercommunication techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/287 Visualization; Browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 : User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 : Processing of subscriber group data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 : Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 : Version management

Abstract

Systems and methods for the sharing of content among user devices of a device group are presented. In one example, content generated in a first user device is received from the first user device. A device group to which the first user device was associated when the first user device generated the content is determined. The device group, which includes a plurality of user devices, is determined based on at least one logical relationship between the first user device and the plurality of user devices. The received content is transmitted to the plurality of user devices of the device group.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

recording logical relationship information, the logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user device and other user devices, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking site;

monitoring communications between the first user device and the other user device;

transmitting a recommendation to the first user device to join a device group based on the logical relationship information;

receiving an acceptance from the first user device to join the device group;

receiving content from the first user device, the content having been generated in the first user device, wherein the first user device is a mobile device;

receiving metadata from the first user device, the metadata corresponding to the received content, the metadata including information indicating acceleration of the first user device when the content was generated;

determining, at a server using at least one processor, the device group to which the first user device was associated when the first user device generated the content, the device group comprising a plurality of user devices, the determining of the device group being based on at least one logical relationship between the first user device and the plurality of user devices as described in the recorded logical relationship information, based on the metadata, based on the monitored communications, and based on the acceptance; and

transmitting the received content to the plurality of user devices of the device group.

2. The method of claim 1, the metadata comprising information indicating a physical location of the first user device when the content was generated.

3. The method of claim 1, the first user device not being a current member of the device group due to a change of location of the first user device, the determining of the device group comprising determining the first user device was a member of the device group when the content was generated based on the metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, the determining of the device group being based on the first user device being a member of the device group at the time the content is received.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the received content in a data structure comprising other content transmitted to the plurality of devices of the device group.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a second user device with the device group after receiving the content, and transferring the content from the data structure to the second user device in response to associating the second user device with the device group.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting a notification to the first user device that the second user device has joined the device group.

8. The method of claim 1, the content comprising at least one of video content, photo content, audio content, and annotation content.

9. The method of claim 1, the logical relationship information comprising at least one of information regarding communications between the first user device and the other user devices, proximity information regarding the first user device relative to the other user devices, and proximity information regarding the first user device relative to a physical location identified with the device group.

10. The method of claim 1, the transmitting of the content comprising pushing the content via a push data transfer mechanism maintained for each of the plurality of user devices of the device group.

11. A server system comprising:

at least one processor; and

data storage comprising modules including instructions to be executed by the at least one processor, the modules comprising;

an interaction recording module recording logical relationship information, the logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user device and other user devices, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking site and monitoring communications between the first user device and the other user device;

an interface module transmitting a recommendation to the first user device to join a device group based on the logical relationship information, receiving an acceptance from the first user device to join the device group, receiving content from the first user device, the content having been generated in the first user device and receiving metadata from the first user device, the metadata corresponding to the received content, the metadata including information indicating acceleration of the first user device when the content was generated;

a group ranker module determining the device group to which the first user device was associated when the first user device generated the content, the device group comprising a plurality of user devices, the group ranker determining the device group based on logical relationships between the first user device and the plurality of user devices as described in the recorded logical relationship information, based on the metadata, based on the monitored communications, and based on the acceptance; and

a push module transmitting the received content to the plurality of user devices of the device group.

12. The server system of claim 11, the metadata comprising at least one of information indicating a physical location of the first user device when the content was generated.

13. The server system of claim 11, further comprising a content queue module storing the received content in a data structure comprising other content for the device group.

14. The server system of claim 13, the group ranker module associating a second user device with the device group after receiving the content, and the push module transferring the content from the data structure to the second user device in response to the group ranker module associating the second user device with the device group.

15. The server system of claim 14, the interface module transmitting a notification to the first user device that the second user device has joined the device group.

16. A user device, wherein the user device is a mobile device, comprising:

a user interface module recording logical relationship information, the logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user device and other user devices, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking site, monitoring communications between the first user device and the other user device, receiving a recommendation to the first user device to join a device group based on the logical relationship information, and sending an acceptance from the first user device to join the device group;

a content ingestion module generating content;

an environmental detection module capturing metadata for the content indication acceleration of the user device when the content was generated

a location services module generating location information indicating a location of the user device when the content is captured; and

a content push module transmitting the content and metadata to a server system for distribution to a plurality of user devices of the device group to which the user device belongs based on at least one logical relationship between the user device and the plurality of user devices as described in the recorded logical relationship information, based on the metadata, based on the monitored communications, and based on the acceptance.

17. The user device of claim 16, further comprising a time synchronization module generating timing information indicating when the content is captured, the content push module transmitting the timing information to the server system in association with the content.

18. The user device of claim 16, further comprising a content caching module storing the content prior to the content push module transmitting the content to the server system when the server system is unavailable.

19. The user device of claim 16, further comprising a tuning parameters module receiving tuning parameters from the server system, the location services module accessing the tuning parameters to control the generation of the location information.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

recording logical relationship information, the logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a first user device and other user devices, the logical relationship information associated with a social networking site;

monitoring communications between the first user device and the other user device;

transmitting a recommendation to the first user device to join a device group based on the logical relationship information;

receiving an acceptance from the first user device to join the device group;

receiving content from the first user device, the content having been generated in the first user device, wherein the first user device is a mobile device;

receiving metadata from the first user device, the metadata corresponding to the received content, the metadata including information indicating acceleration of the first user device when the content was generated;

determining, at a server using at least one processor, the device group to which the first user device was associated when the first user device generated the content, the device group comprising a plurality of user devices, the determining of the device group being based on at least one logical relationship between the first user device and the plurality of user devices as described in the recorded logical relationship information, based on the metadata, based on the monitored communications, and based on the acceptance; and

transmitting the received content to the plurality of user devices of the device group.