Context-based notification delivery

• US 8,589,495 B1
• Filed: 04/01/2009
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Beckert, Joerg
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheema, Umar
• Application Number:
  US12/416,409
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A notification relay service architecture can utilize one or more computing platforms that are configured to rely on a connectivity descriptor. The connectivity descriptor can express permissions of various users of the notification relay service to publish to and/or listen to notifications from one or more “exchange points.” The notification relay service can receive notifications from publishers intended for various exchange points and push notifications at exchange points to users without need for the notification relay service components to manage or even understand the underlying relationship(s) between publishers and subscribers. Server-based and/or client-based evaluations of a client'"'"'s current context can be used to control whether and how notifications are relayed to/from the client.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing, by a computing system, data representing a first contextual value for a notification client;

determining, by the computing system, that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to a second contextual value for at least one exchange point of a plurality of exchange points, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points comprises a logical grouping of notifications, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points is accessible by a plurality of clients for publishing or listening to the notifications;

establishing, by the computing system, a persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point based on the first contextual value corresponding to the second contextual value, wherein the persistent connection is configured to provide access to streams of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point; and

terminating, by the computing system, the persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point in response to at least one of the first contextual value and the second contextual value being modified such that the first contextual value does not correspond to the second contextual value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first contextual value for the notification client comprises a geographical limitation and the second contextual value for the at least one exchange point comprises an association between a geographic location and the at least one exchange point.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the geographical limitation is specified as relative to a current geographic location of a client device associated with the notification client.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that the geographic location has a set of coordinates satisfying the geographical limitation.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first contextual value for the notification client comprises a proximity limitation based on a first geographic location of a client device associated with the notification client and the second contextual value for the at least one exchange point comprises an association between a second geographic location of the at least one exchange point;

and

wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that the first geographic location is in a proximity to the second geographic location such that the proximity limitation is satisfied.

6. The method set forth in claim 5, wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that a velocity of the client device during movement of the client device has a maximum or minimum velocity.

7. The method set forth in claim 5,

wherein the first contextual value for the notification client further comprises a directional limitation specifying a required direction of movement or a required range of directions of movement, and

wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that the client device has a direction of movement relative to the second geographic location of the at least one exchange point such that the directional limitation is satisfied.

8. The method set forth in claim 1,

wherein the first contextual value for the notification client comprises data indicating a level of past treatment by the notification client of previous notifications associated with the at least one exchange point;

wherein the second contextual value comprises a threshold level of past treatment by the notification client of previous notifications associated with the at least one exchange point; and

wherein determining that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that the past treatment of the previous notifications satisfies the threshold level of past treatment.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting, by the computing system, a notification based on a stream of notification data received from the at least one exchange point, wherein outputting the notification comprises outputting at least one of a visual or audio alert.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying program code executable by a computing system, the program code comprising:

program code for accessing data representing a first contextual value for a notification client;

program code for determining that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to a second contextual value for at least one exchange point of a plurality of exchange points, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points comprises a logical grouping of notifications, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points is accessible by a plurality of clients for publishing or listening to the notifications; and

program code for providing a persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point, wherein the persistent connection is configured to provide access to streams of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point;

wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises at least one of;

determining that the first contextual value comprising a direction of movement relative to the at least one exchange point by a client device associated with the notification client satisfies the second contextual value comprising a required direction of movement or a required range of directions of movement;

or

determining that the first contextual value comprising a past treatment of the previous notifications satisfies the second contextual value comprising a threshold level of past treatment of previous notifications associated with the at least one exchange point.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising:

program code for receiving a stream of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point;

program code for outputting a notification based on the stream of notification data, wherein outputting the notification comprises outputting at least one of a visual or audio alert.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying program components executable by a processor to provide a notification client, the program components comprising:

an interface module configured to establish a connection to a notification relay service;

an access manager module configured to identify a plurality of exchange points for which the notification client has listening or publishing permission, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points comprises a logical grouping of notifications, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points is accessible by a plurality of clients for publishing or listening to the notifications;

a context manager module configured to;

access data representing a first contextual value for the notification client; and

determine that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to a second contextual value for at least one exchange point; and

a notification request module configured to request a persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point based on the first contextual value corresponding to the second contextual value, wherein the persistent connection is configured to provide access to streams of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point, wherein the persistent connection is terminated based on at least one of the first contextual value and the second contextual value being modified such that the first contextual value does not correspond to the second contextual value.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the interface module is configured to identify the second contextual value for the at least one exchange point from a stream of notification data received from the notification relay service and published to other exchange points.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12,

further comprising program code for determining a first geographic location of the notification client;

wherein the first contextual value for the notification client comprises a geographical limitation and the second contextual value for the at least one exchange point comprises an association between a second geographic location and the at least one exchange point; and

wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that the second geographic location has a set of coordinates satisfying the geographical limitation.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the geographical limitation is specified as the first geographic location of the notification client relative to the second geographic location associated the at least one exchange point.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the context manager module is configured to determine that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to the second contextual value for the at least one exchange point by determining that a current geographical location of the notification client is within a radius of a geographical location associated with the at least one exchange point.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein determining that the first contextual value corresponds to the second contextual value comprises determining that a velocity of a client device associated with the notification client during movement of the client device has a maximum or minimum velocity.

18. A notification server comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible by the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to execute program components embodied in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein executing the program components causes the notification server to perform acts comprising;

determining a plurality of exchange points for which a notification client has listening or publishing permission, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points comprises a logical grouping of notifications, wherein each of the plurality of exchange points is accessible by a plurality of clients for publishing or listening to the notifications;

accessing data representing a first contextual value for the notification client;

determining that the first contextual value for the notification client corresponds to a second contextual value for at least one exchange point of the plurality of exchange points;

establishing a persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point based on the first contextual value corresponding to the second contextual value, wherein the persistent connection is configured to provide access to streams of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point; and

terminating the persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point in response to at least one of the first contextual value and the second contextual value being modified such that the first contextual value does not correspond to the second contextual value.

19. The notification server set forth in claim 18, wherein executing the program components causes the notification server to perform additional acts comprising:

updating data in a connectivity descriptor indicating that a subset of the plurality of exchange points satisfies a contextual delivery or publication preference.

20. The notification server set forth in claim 18, wherein the program components cause the notification server to establish the persistent connection between the notification client and the at least one exchange point by pushing at least one stream of notification data to the notification client, the at least one stream of notification data associated with the at least one exchange point.