A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings that form a part of this document: Copyright 2010, Jake Knows, Inc, All Rights Reserved.
Example embodiments relate to discovering, and determining the value of, referrals from an entity or entities having relationships with one or more people, based on a database that links the entity requesting the referral, such that the requesting entity will be given a list of one or more referrals with a ranked score indicating the relative value of each referral.
In one's business and personal life, a referral to a reliable source for a product, service or skill is frequently needed but often proves difficult to find, resulting in many referrals having undesired outcomes.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some example embodiments. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details.
The operating system 208 provides base hardware control mechanism to applications, tasks, and services running on the phone 101. In example embodiments, the operating system 208 is provided by the manufacturer of the phone (e.g., 101, see
The operating system 307 provides base hardware control mechanism to the modules of the Internet appliance client architecture 300. The operating system 307 may be provided by a manufacturer of the client system or a third party. The communications control 305, database 306, and data manager 304 are built on the services of the operating system 307.
The communications control 305 is an interface from the client application 303 to a communications network. As described earlier, in the case of the cell phone based systems, the communications network may be the common carriers network, represented by trunk line 107 and central office 109 (of
The data manager 304 controls the physical storage in the client by controlling access, security, and space management for the client application 303, third party applications 308 and database 306. The client application 303 provides an interface to the various services provided by the referral server 110. The third party applications 308 are provided by a number of sources (e.g., third party developers) and share the Internet appliance 113 with the client application 303. The database 306 manages the information in the various databases of other contact sources' data 310, client application data 309, email contact information 301 and the email folders 302, and provides various database services, such as query and update services for these data 310, 309, 301, and 302. Other contact sources' data 310 includes information about the user contact such as photograph, likes, dislikes, activities participated in, and other user information. The client application data 309 includes the new data structures to support the client application 303.
Email contact information 301 is used by email programs for the entity's contacts. It is augmented by the client application 303 to support the applications hosted on the referral server 110. Email folders 302 contain the email that has been received and sent by the user. The email folders 302 are the analog of the call log 203 of cell phone client architecture 200. (See
Entity ID 501 is the unique ID for an entity table entry. Table entry mode 502 indicates if this is the root entry for the entity, and contains one entity ID 501 that identifies the entity. The entity table 500 further includes:
Aspects such as “carpenter”, “machinist”, etc. indicate skills with entities and their attributes describe the services that they offer. For a carpenter, the services include: “furniture”, “framing”, and “restoration” among others. Aspects such as “retailer’, “service station owner”, etc, have attributes indicating the kinds of products they offer. For a retailer the products are quite diverse. For example, a retailer may be in the furniture business, in which case the attributes for the retailer might include: “furniture”, “recliners”, “bedroom sets”, etc. The structure of the aspect allows the rich description of the skills, products, and services that one might need a referral to. The fields in this structure were picked as representative and should not be construed to limit what is taught herein.
The communications log 800 is used to identify communications between an entity requesting a referral and the one or more entities or companies that were referred.
An appropriate attribute description is used when adding attributes to the database. For example, when adding the attribute “Baseball Referee” to an entity's profile, the system would substitute “Baseball Umpire”.
This list is created and updated in the process of adding entities and contacts to the system, and while updating the various entities and contacts information. Attribute descriptors are maintained in a separate table in the database and can be queried by various query languages including SQL. The attribute descriptors are stored in a database table with one entry for each unique attribute. The fields in this structure were picked as representative and should not be construed to limit what is taught herein.
RV=c1f1(degree)□c2f2(strength)□c3f3(aspect referral value),
Where c1, c2, and c3 are fitting constants derived by data mining the history contained in database 111, and f1, f2, and f3 are functions derived from the database 111 by data mining. The value RV, entity ID 501, and aspect ID 507 are recorded in a temporary table and then sorted into descending order by RV; then the topped ranked entities are presented to the entity ID 501 specified in the referral query 700. The process operations in this diagram were picked as representative and should not be construed to limit what is taught herein.
Example embodiments may utilize a variety of metrics to indicate the value of potential referrals to a first entity. For example, as described above, the referral value may include a calculation based on degree, strength or aspect referral value, or some combination thereof. Other example embodiments may utilize the call logs to determine a metric based on experience. That is, an entity that communicates often with another entity may have a stronger relationship, for example. Other example embodiments may include actions that are stored in the database that are used to update the second entity's referral value, responsive to a request.
Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute either software modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) or hardware modules. A hardware module is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardware module that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.
In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module may comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) to perform certain operations. A hardware module may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.
Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner and/or to perform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modules comprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, the general-purpose processor may be configured as respective different hardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module at one instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at a different instance of time.
Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive information from, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardware modules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiple of such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in which multiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at different times, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. For example, one hardware module may perform an operation, and store the output of that operation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a later time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the stored output. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input or output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information).
The various operations of example methods described herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in some example embodiments, comprise processor-implemented modules.
Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed by one or more processors or processor-implemented modules. The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors may be located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments the processors may be distributed across a number of locations.
The one or more processors may also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines including processors), these operations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., Application Program Interfaces (APIs)).
Example embodiments may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Example embodiments may be implemented using a computer program product, e.g., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers.
A computer program can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.
In example embodiments, operations may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Method operations can also be performed by, and apparatus of example embodiments may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In embodiments deploying a programmable computing system, it will be appreciated that that both hardware and software architectures should be given consideration. Specifically, it will be appreciated that the choice of whether to implement certain functionality in permanently configured hardware (e.g., an ASIC), in temporarily configured hardware (e.g., a combination of software and a programmable processor), or a combination of permanently and temporarily configured hardware may be a design choice. Below are set out hardware (e.g., machine) and software architectures that may be deployed, in various example embodiments.
The example computer system 1200 includes a processor 1202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both), a main memory 1204 and a static memory 1206, which communicate with each other via a bus 1208. The computer system 1200 may further include a video display unit 1210 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 1200 also includes an alphanumeric input device 1212 (e.g., a keyboard), a user interface (UI) navigation device 1214 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 1216, a signal generation device (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 1220.
The disk drive unit 1216 includes a machine-readable medium 1222 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 1218 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1218 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1204 and/or within the processor 1202 during execution thereof by the computer system 1200, the main memory 1204 and the processor 1202 also constituting machine-readable media.
While the machine-readable medium 1222 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more data structures and instructions 1218. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present embodiments of the invention, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with such instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media include non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.
Transmission Medium
The instructions 1218 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 1226 using a transmission medium. The instructions 1218 may be transmitted using the network interface device 1220 and any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), the Internet, mobile telephone networks, Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Wi-Fi and WiMax networks). The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software.
Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, show by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. The embodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/328,595, filed on Apr. 27, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61328595 | Apr 2010 | US |