Network-based processing of data requests for contact information

• US 9,369,542 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2009
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Vance, Michael Steffen, Armantrout, Jeffrey Allen, Alva, Jessi E., Valdez Klein, Teresa S.
• Primary Examiner(s): PARK, GRACE A
• Application Number:
  US12/413,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20100250606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,636 Days
• Field of Search: 707732-734
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4594 Address books, i.e. directories containing contact information about correspondents telephone directories in user terminals H04M1/27453
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading

Abstract

A system, method and computer-readable media for managing contact information via a network-based interface. A network resource transmits a data request to a contact information processing service. The contact information processing service processes the data request in accordance with the parameters included in the data request and information maintained by the contact information processing service. Examples of the processing facilitated by the contact information processing service include contact identification routines, contact verification routines, group-based information routines, and communication information routines. The contact information processing service returns the results to the requesting network resource.

Claims

1. A system for managing communications comprising:

a data store for maintaining data request information corresponding to an association of an identifiable entity to one or more contacts, plan information, group-based information, communication category information or communication activity information, the data request information maintained on behalf of the identifiable entity;

a computing device having a processor and a memory, the computing device operable to execute computer-executable instructions to implement a contact management component, the contact management component operative to;

obtain a data request to access the data store for the data request information associated with the identifiable entity and maintained on behalf of the identifiable entity, wherein the data request includes an identification of the identifiable entity and an indication of a specified contact, and wherein the data request does not identify a first subset and a second subset of a plurality of subsets of the one or more contacts associated with the identifiable entity;

process the data request to access the data store, wherein processing the data request includes verifying a plurality of associations between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the plurality of subsets of contacts, wherein each association of the plurality of associations corresponds to a respective subset of the plurality of subsets of contacts containing the specified contact;

determine communication cost information corresponding to a first association of the plurality of associations between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and the plan information, wherein the first association corresponds to the first subset of contacts and wherein the communication cost information distinguishes the first association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

determine organizational criteria corresponding to a second association of the plurality of associations between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and group information, wherein the second association corresponds to the second subset of contacts and wherein the organizational criteria distinguish the second association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

generate response information comprising the communication cost information corresponding to the first association between the specified contact and the identifiable entity and identifying a set of applications or executable components associated with the organizational criteria corresponding to the second association between the specified contact and the identifiable entity; and

transmit the response information.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the data request information corresponding to the association of the identifiable entity to one or more contacts is based, at least in part, on a manual selection of a subset of contacts by the identifiable entity.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the data request information corresponding to the association of the identifiable entity to one or more contacts is based, at least in part, on an automatic selection of a subset of contacts to the identifiable entity.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the automatic selection of the subset of contacts is based, at least in part, on a frequency of communication.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the content management component obtains the data request in accordance with an application protocol interface.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is operative to identify the first subset of contacts common to a plurality of identifiable entities.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify contact description information for the specified contact as included in the first subset of contacts.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the contact description information corresponds to an identification of a type of contact.

9. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the contact description information corresponds to information about the specified contact including at least one of communication preferences, communication history, or privacy information.

10. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the group information is indicated in the data request and wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify the group-based information based, at least in part, on the organizational criteria.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the group-based information includes the second subset of contacts.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the group-based information includes the set of applications or executable components associated with the organizational criteria.

13. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify the group-based information based, at least in part, on an identification of a set of the one or more contacts.

14. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify at least one communication category based, at least in part, on the specified contact.

15. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify at least one communication activity based, at least in part, on a specified communication category.

16. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact management component is further operative to identify the second subset of contacts.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, implemented by executing instructions on a processor associated with a computing device, the computer-executable components comprising:

an interface component operative to receive a data request corresponding to an identifiable entity, wherein the data request requests information maintained on behalf of the identifiable entity, wherein the data request includes an identification of at least one target contact, and wherein the data request does not identify a first subset and a second subset of a plurality of subsets of contacts associated with the identifiable entity; and

a data request processing component operative to;

process the data request with regard to information accessible to the data request processing component, wherein the information accessible to the data request processing component comprises plan information maintained on behalf of the identifiable entity;

verify a first association of a plurality of associations between the at least one target contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the plurality of subsets of contacts, wherein each association of the plurality of associations corresponds to a respective subset of the plurality of subsets of contacts containing the at least one target contact;

determine communication cost information corresponding to the first association between the at least one target contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and the plan information, wherein the first association corresponds to the first subset of contacts and wherein the communication cost information distinguishes the first association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

determine organizational criteria corresponding to a second association of the plurality of associations between the at least one target contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and group information, wherein the second association corresponds to the second subset of contacts and wherein the organizational criteria distinguish the second association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

generate response information comprising the communication cost information corresponding to the first association and identifying a set of applications or executable components associated with the organizational criteria corresponding to the second association; and

transmit the response information.

18. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component identifies the first subset of contacts based, at least in part, on a specification of at least one identifiable entity.

19. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the data request processing component identifies the first subset of contacts common to two or more identifiable entities.

20. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the data request processing component groups contacts common to two or more identifiable entities.

21. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component identifies contact description information for the at least one target contact as included in the first subset of contacts.

22. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component identifies at least one of communication preferences, communication history, associated groups, or privacy information for the at least one target contact as included in the first subset of contacts.

23. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component identifies group-based information based, at least in part, on the organizational criteria, the organizational criteria corresponding to group selection information.

24. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the organizational criteria is derived from a specification of a set of contacts included in the information accessible to the data request processing component.

25. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component identifies at least one communication category based, at least in part, on a specification of the at least one target contact.

26. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the information accessible to the data request processing component further comprises an indication of the first association.

27. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the indication of the first association is provided manually by a user of a telecommunication device.

28. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the information accessible to the data request processing component further comprises at least one of group-based information, communication category information or communication activity information.

29. The computer-readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the data request processing component is further operative to identify the second subset of contacts.

30. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining a data request specified in accordance with an application protocol interface, the data request transmitted over a communication network, wherein the data request is submitted on behalf of an identifiable entity, wherein the data request includes an identification of at least one specified contact, and wherein the data request does not identify a first subset and a second subset of a plurality of subsets of contacts associated with the identifiable entity;

processing the data request in accordance with data processing information maintained in a data store, the data processing information comprising plan information maintained on behalf of identifiable entities;

verifying a first association of a plurality of associations between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the plurality of subsets of contacts, wherein each association of the plurality of associations corresponds to a respective subset of the plurality of subsets of contacts containing the specified contact;

determining communication cost information corresponding to the first association between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and the plan information, wherein the first association corresponds to the first subset of contacts and wherein the communication cost information distinguishes the first association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

determining organizational criteria corresponding to a second association of the plurality of associations between the specified contact and the identifiable entity based, at least in part, on the data request and group information, wherein the second association corresponds to the second subset of contacts and wherein the organizational criteria distinguish the second association from at least one remaining association of the plurality of associations;

generating response information comprising the communication cost information corresponding to the first association and identifying a set of applications or executable components associated with the organizational criteria corresponding to the second association; and

transmitting the response information,

wherein the method is implemented by a computing system under control of executable program code.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising identifying the first subset of contacts based, at least in part, on a specification of at least one identifiable entity.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein identifying the first subset of contacts includes identifying a subset of contacts common to two or more identifiable entities.

33. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising identifying contact description information for the specified contact as included in the first subset of contacts.

34. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising identifying group-based information based, at least in part, on the organizational criteria, the organizational criteria corresponding to group selection information.

35. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein determining the organizational criteria comprises deriving the organization criteria from a specification of a set of contacts included in the data processing information maintained in the data store.

36. The method as recited in claim 30 further comprising transmitting the response information in accordance with the application protocol interface.

37. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30, further comprising identifying the second subset of contacts.