(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2009/0089288 A1
`
` Petersen (43) Pub. Date: Apr. 2, 2009
`
`
`US 20090089288A1
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FILTERING
`CONTENT ON A MOBILE DEVICE BASED
`ON CONTEXTUAL TAGGIhG
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor:
`
`Steven L. Petersen. Los Gatos, CA
`(US)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`CONCERT TECHNOLOGY AND WITHROVV &
`TERRANOVA
`100 REGENCY FOREST DRIVE ., SUITE 160
`CARY, NC 27518 (Us)
`
`(73) Assignee:
`
`CONCERT TECHNOLOGY
`CORPORATION Durham. NC
`US
`’
`'
`
`(
`
`)
`
`(21) APPL N05
`
`11/362,835
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Sep. 27, 2007
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int Cl
`(2006.01)
`G06F 7/06
`(52) US. Cl. ............................................................ 707/9
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A system and method of contextually filtering content pre-
`sented to a user on a mobile device based on contextual
`tagging. The user controls how content will be filtered by the
`mobile device by creating contextual tags and associating or
`tagging content with the contextual tags. The contextual tag
`includes a contextual behavior that is either satisfied or not
`based on the current context of the mobile device. During
`operation, content accessible to the mobile device is searched
`to determine Which contextual taos are met based on the
`.
`P
`7
`.
`current context of the mobile dev1ce. Content tagged With
`contextual tags Whose behavior is currently met based on the
`current context ofthe mobile device are filtered and presented
`to the user. This allows the automatic presentation of a more
`manageable subgroup of content to the user on the mobile
`device based on the current context of the mobile device.
`
`/’—10
`
`
`
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`Page 1 of 23
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`SNAP EXHIBIT 1007
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 2, 2009 Sheet 1 0f 12
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`’//»—10
`
`
`
`
`
` SERVER
`
`26
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`DABABASE
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`FIG. 1
`
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 2, 2009 Sheet 2 0f 12
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
`
`30
`
`ESTABLISH ONE OR MORE CONTEXTUAL TAGS AND
`ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS
`
`32
`
`
`ASSOCIATE CONTEXTUAL TAGS WITH
`
`
`CONTENT ACCESSIBLE BY MOBILE DEVICE
`
`DONE
`34
`
`
`ESTABLISHING
`
`
`CONTEXTUAL TAGS/TAGGING
`
`CONTENT
`?
`
`YES
`
`36
`
`UPDATE CURRENT CONTEXT OF MOBILE DEVICE
`
`
`SCAN NEXT CONTENT ACCESSIBLE TO MOBILE DEVICE
`
`
`
`44
` IS
`
`FILTER OUT
`BEHAVIOR(S)
`
`CONTENT
`ASSOCIATED
`
`
`
`WITH CONTEXTUAL TAG
`FROM
`
`
`ASSOCIATED WITH CONTENT MET
`PRESENTATION
`
`
`
`
`ON MOBILE
`BASED ON CURRENT
`
`
`CONTEXT
`DEVICE
`
`
`
`?
`
`46
`
`DONE
`
`SCANNING YES
`CONTENT
`ALLOW CONTENT TO
`
`BE PRESENTED
`ACCESSIBLE ON
`
`ON MOBILE DEVICE
`MOBILE
`
`DEVICE
`
`?
`
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Page 3 of 23
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 2, 2009 Sheet 3 0f 12
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 2, 2009 Sheet 10 of 12
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`US 2009/0089288 A]
`
`Apr. 2, 2009
`
`SYSTEM AND l\IETHOD FOR FILTERING
`CONTENT ONA DIOBILE DEVICE BASED
`ON CONTEXTUAL TAGGING
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`invention relates to a system and
`[0001] The present
`method of filtering content, including but not limited to mul-
`timedia content, on a mobile device based on contextual
`tagging. Content is filtered based on whether a current context
`of a “contextually aware” mobile device satisfies the contex-
`tual behavior defined in a contextual tag associated with the
`content.
`
`
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`large
`form factor,
`[0002] The development of small
`memory capacity hard drives and other memory devices has
`facilitated growth of mobile devices for accessing and play-
`ing digital media. Mobile devices are particularly useful
`because they facilitate convenient “on—the—go” access of digi—
`tal media for their users. Media content is stored in local
`memory in the mobile device for access by the user when
`desired. An example of such a mobile device is the Apple®
`iPOD® media player. The Apple® iPOD® media player pro-
`vides gigabytes of memory storage. Media software applica-
`tions, such as Apple® itunes® for example, are executed on a
`user’s computer to store and manage the user’s media library
`and facilitate downloading of desired media content to local
`memory in mobile devices.
`[0003] Given the plethora of media content available, users
`may not have all desired media content stored on their mobile
`device. Thus, many mobile devices are increasingly being
`equipped with wireless comm1mication capabilities. Wireles s
`communications allow media devices to access media content
`not stored locally on the mobile device. Short-range wireless
`communication allows users to share media content with
`other users. Many manufacturers are also adding cellular
`communication capabilities to mobile devices so that media
`players can access media content over cellular networks from
`remote service providers. An example ofsuch a mobile device
`is the Apple® iPhone®, which provides a combined cellular
`phone and media player into one mobile device.
`[0004] Because of the plethora of media content available
`to users of mobile devices, both from locally stored and
`remotely accessed content, it is increasingly important to
`provide filtering capabilities. Without filtering, users may
`have to navigate through large and unmanageable media file
`listings to find desired media content. Filtering capabilities
`allow content to be provided to users in more manageable
`subgroups. To provide filtering, media content can be tagged
`with one or more static criterion that delineates the content in
`
`some manner. For example, if the media content are audio
`files, the audio files may include a genre tag. If an audio file is
`of a “Comedy” genre, the media item may be tagged with a
`“Comedy” genre tag in this example. Thus, if the user of the
`mobile device only wants to access audio files in the “Com—
`edy” genre, the mobile device can consult the genre tag ofthe
`audio files to only provide those files having a “Comedy”
`genre tag.
`[0005] One disadvantage of such filtering systems is that
`they use static-based criterion and are thus non-intelligent.
`The filtering criterion provided by the tag does not adapt to
`changes in the environment or context of the mobile device.
`For example, some media items tagged with a “Comedy”
`
`genre tag maybe appropriate for some contexts such as home,
`but not for others such as a work place. Other media items
`may also be tagged with the “Comedy” genre tag, but may be
`appropriate for either home or work use. In such systems,
`media items tagged with “Comedy” genre tags would be
`filtered equally. Thus, the user may not be able to filter based
`on the presence of the “Comedy” genre tag effectively,
`because this filter may include media items that are both
`appropriate and inappropriate for a particular environment or
`context of the mobile device. If the mobile device could
`determine which “Comedy” media items were appropriate
`for which contexts on an individualized basis, the user could
`effectively use the “Comedy” genre filter without fear of a
`contextually inappropriate selection being made.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0006] The present invention is a system and method of
`contextually filtering content presented to a user on a mobile
`device based on contextual tagging. The user controls how
`content will be filtered by the mobile device during operation
`by creating contextual tags and associating ortagging content
`with the contextual tags. The contextual tag includes a defined
`contextual behavior. The contextual behavior is an expression
`that is either satisfied or not based on the current context ofthe
`mobile device, a set of logical rules that apply to the current
`context and, an optional initial context. In this manner, the
`user controls the context that must exist for the mobile device
`in order for particular tagged content to be presented during
`operation. The user may use contextual tags to tag content
`deemed appropriate for certain contexts, but inappropriate for
`others. The mobile device is equipped to be “context aware.”
`The mobile device may use a sensed context to define the
`initial context of a contextual tag when created as well as the
`current context of the mobile device during operation. The
`context of the mobile device can be any condition or sur-
`rounding able to be sensed by the mobile device, includingthe
`user’s interaction with the mobile device that can change and
`can be sensed or determined.
`[0007] During operation, after contextual tags have been
`created and assigned to content by the user, content
`is
`searched to determine which have contextual tags whose
`behavior is satisfied based 011 the current context of the
`mobile device. Content tagged with contextual tags whose
`contextual behaviors are satisfied are presented to the user.
`This means the particular content was previously designated
`by the user to be presented based on the current context ofthe
`mobile device. Content tagged with contextual tags whose
`contextual behaviors are not satisfied based on the current
`context of the mobile device are filtered and not presented to
`the user. In this mamier, the present invention facilitates man-
`aging and automatically being presented with a more man-
`ageable subgroup of content on the mobile device based on
`the context of the mobile device from the user’s perspective.
`This is opposed to solely filtering content based on static-
`based criterion that does not adapt or change based on the
`context of the mobile device.
`
`[0008] For example, the contextual behavior defined by a
`contextual tag may be location based. A location-based con-
`textual tag may include a contextual behavior defined as the
`mobile device being at or in close proximity to a specified
`location as the initial context. How close is decided by the
`user via a logical expression assigned to the contextual tag
`that defines the desired behavior. For example, the desired
`behavior assigned by the user may be that the mobile device
`
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`
`must be located within ten miles of a work place for the
`contextual behavior to be satisfied. When the detected current
`
`location of the mobile device (i.e. the current context) indi-
`cates that the mobile device is located within ten miles of the
`work place in this example (i.e. the initial context), the behav-
`ior will be satisfied. The mobile device would then make any
`content tagged with this location-based contextual tag avail-
`able to the user.
`
`[0009] The user can establish and associate contextual tags
`having any desired behavior with the content. A contextual
`tag may include only one contextual behavior. Alternatively,
`a contextual tag may include more than one contextual behav-
`ior to include a composite contextual behavior. Contextual
`behavior included in contextual tags can be based on any
`contextual attribute(s) that can be sensed by the mobile
`device. As examples, the contextual attributes could include
`conditions such as the location of the mobile device, time of
`day, day of week, date, velocity, acceleration, direction of
`travel, weather, amount of sunlight, proximity of the mobile
`device to other users, state or data of applications running on
`the mobile device, or combinations thereof. For contextual
`attributes that require sensing of the mobile device’s external
`environment or surroundings, one or more context sensors or
`other hardware components which may be associated with
`the mobile device may be used to determine the current con-
`text ofthe mobile device. In this manner, the mobile device is
`“context aware.” Contextual behaviors can also be based on
`the context ofthe user and/or their interaction with the mobile
`device. For example, the user may establish contextual tags
`for “home” and “work” behaviors. Content assigned with a
`contextual tag associated with “home” behavior may not be
`appropriate for a “work” context, and Vice versa.
`[0010] The contextual tags may be established in data
`structures stored in association with the mobile device. These
`data structures may be implemented using object-oriented
`design (ODD) principles. OOD may be particularly well
`suited since it defines methods and attributes so as to associate
`behavior with data. For example, when a user desires to create
`a contextual tag, a tag factory object may be called upon to
`create a contextual tag object from a tag class. The tag factory
`may also be called upon to allow the user to create and
`associate one or more behavior objects with contextual tag
`objects. A contextual tag object does not contain any behavior
`evaluations. Instead, the one or more behavior objects asso-
`ciated with a contextual tag object are called upon. The
`behavior evaluations in the behavior objects are separated
`from the contextual tag objects to support decoupling, thus
`allowing easier reuse of behavior objects by other contextual
`tag objects. If the one or more contextual behavior objects
`associated with a contextual tag object are satisfied by the
`current context according to rules and state attributes in the
`behavior objects, the content tagged with the contextual tag
`will be made accessible by the mobile device to the user.
`[0011]
`In an alternative embodiment, the mobile device
`may allow the user to manually force or override the current
`context even if the forced context does not naturally exist
`based on the current context ofthe mobile device. This allows
`
`a user to force the mobile device to filter content contextually
`based on the context desired by the user as opposed to the
`natural context sensed by the mobile device. For example, the
`user may want to access all content contextually tagged with
`a work location contextual tag, but when the user is on vaca—
`tion. Instead ofthe user having to retag the content designated
`
`for a work context, the user can simply override the current
`context of the mobile device to force a work location context
`as the current context.
`
`In another embodiment, the mobile device may be
`[0012]
`directed to implicitly contextually tag content without the
`user having to explicitly assign contextual tags. This allows
`the user to later recall content based on making a selection
`from previous contexts in which the user browsed and/or
`accessed content. For example, as a user accesses content in a
`normal fashion, the mobile device may automatically and
`silently in the background and unknown to the user contex-
`tually tag the content. Ifthe user desires to later recall specific
`content, but the user can only remember the context in which
`the content was previously accessed, the user can review and
`select contextual tags assigned by the mobile device to recall
`content.
`
`[0013] The mobile device employed by the present inven—
`tion may be any type of mobile device, including but not
`limited to a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA),
`or a portable media player, as examples. The mobile device
`may or may not have communication capability. Communi-
`cation capabilities may include either wired communication,
`wireless communication, or both. If the mobile device has
`communication capability, content and/or the context of the
`mobile device, which is used to determine if the contextual
`behavior ofcontextual tags for filtering are satisfied, both can
`be obtained from a remote system, such as a central content
`server for example.
`[0014] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of
`the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof
`after reading the following detailed description of the pre-
`ferred embodiments in association with the accompanying
`drawing figures.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`FIGURES
`
`[0015] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in
`and forming a part of this specification illustrate several
`aspects of the invention, and together with the description
`serve to explain the principles of the invention.
`[0016]
`FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary mobile device sys—
`tem and network architecture according to one embodiment
`of the present invention;
`[0017]
`FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary over-
`all process of establishing contextual tags and filtering con-
`tent based on whether the current context ofthe mobile device
`satisfies the contextual behavior ofcontextual tags associated
`with the content, according to one embodiment ofthe present
`invention;
`[0018]
`FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary song file listing
`displayed on a mobile device before contextual filtering is
`activated, according to an embodiment of the present inven-
`tion;
`FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary song file listing
`[0019]
`displayed on a mobile device after contextual filtering is
`activated and applied to the song listing illustrated in FIG. 3A,
`according to an embodiment of the present invention;
`[0020]
`FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary mobile device archi-
`tecture that may be employed to allow the mobile device to be
`“contextually aware” and filter contextually tagged content
`based on the context of the mobile device, according to one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`
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`US 2009/0089288 A1
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`
`FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary tag management
`[0021]
`architecture and exemplary tags created using the tag man-
`agement architecture;
`[0022]
`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of
`creating a location-based contextual tag for filtering content
`based on the mobile device’s location, according to one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`[0023]
`FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example ofa
`user explicitly creating a location-based contextual tag for
`content, according to one embodiment of the present inven-
`tion;
`FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of
`[0024]
`the mobile device implicitly creating a location-based con-
`textual tag for content, according to one embodiment of the
`present invention;
`[0025]
`FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an exemplary tag table
`containing examples of contextual tags created and associ-
`ated with content, according to one embodiment of the
`present invention;
`[0026]
`FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of
`evaluating a location-based contextual tag to determine if its
`location-based behavior is satisfied based on the current con-
`
`text location of the mobile device, according to one ernbodi—
`ment of the present invention; and
`[0027]
`FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of
`evaluating a location-based contextual tag to determine if its
`location—based behavior is satisfied using a hypothetical loca—
`tion provided by the user according to one embodiment ofthe
`present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`[0028] The embodiments set forth below represent the nec-
`essary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice
`the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the
`invention. Upon reading the following description in light of
`the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art
`will understand the concepts of the invention and will recog-
`nize applications ofthese concepts not particularly addressed
`herein. It should be understood that these concepts and appli-
`cations fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accom—
`panying claims.
`[0029] The present invention is a system and method of
`contextually filtering content presented to a user on a mobile
`device based on contextual tagging. The user controls how
`content will be filtered by the mobile device during operation
`by creating contextual tags and associating or tagging content
`with the contextual tags. The contextual tag includes a defined
`contextual behavior. The contextual behavior is an expression
`that is either satisfied or not based on the current context ofthe
`mobile device, a set of logical rules that apply to the current
`context and, an optional initial context. In this manner, the
`user controls the context that must be present for the mobile
`device in order for particular tagged content to be presented
`during operation. The user may use contextual tags to tag
`content deemed appropriate for certain contexts, but inappro-
`priate Iorothers. The mobile device is equipped to be “context
`aware.” The mobile device may use a sensed context to define
`the initial context of a contextual tag when created as well as
`the current context ofthe mobile device during operation. The
`context of the mobile device can be any condition or sur-
`rounding able to be sensed by the mobile device, including the
`user’s interaction with the mobile device that can change and
`can be sensed or determined.
`
`[0030] During operation, after contextual tags have been
`created and assigned to content by the user, content
`is
`searched to determine which have contextual tags whose
`behavior is satisfied based on the current context of the
`mobile device. Content tagged with contextual tags whose
`contextual behaviors are satisfied are presented to the user.
`This means the particular content was previously designated
`by the user to be presentedbased on the current context ofthe
`mobile device. Content tagged with contextual tags whose
`contextual behaviors are not satisfied based on the current
`context of the mobile device are filtered and not presented to
`the user. In this mamrer, the present invention facilitates man—
`aging and automatically being presented with a more man-
`ageable subgroup of content on the mobile device based on
`the context of the mobile device from the user’s perspective.
`This is opposed to solely filtering content based on static-
`based criterion that does not adapt or change based on the
`context of the mobile device.
`
`[0031] For example, the contextual behavior defined by a
`contextual tag may be location based. A location-based con-
`textual tag may include a contextual behavior defined as the
`mobile device being at or in close proximity to a specified
`location as the initial context. How close is decided by the
`user via a logical expression assigned to the contextual tag
`that defines the desired behavior. For example, the desired
`behavior assigned by the user may be that the mobile device
`must be located within ten miles of a work place for the
`contextual behavior to be satisfied. When the detected current
`
`location of the mobile device (i.e. the current context) indi—
`cates that the mobile device is located within ten miles of the
`work place in this example (i .e. the initial context), the behav-
`ior will be satisfied. The mobile device would then make any
`content tagged with this location-based contextual tag avail-
`able to the user.
`
`[0032] The user can establish and associate contextual tags
`having any desired behavior with the content. A contextual
`tag may include only one contextual behavior. Alternatively,
`a contextual tag may include more than one contextual behav-
`ior to include a composite contextual behavior. Contextual
`behavior included in contextual tags can be based on any
`contextual attribute(s) that can be sensed by the mobile
`device. As examples, the contextual attributes could include
`conditions such as the location of the mobile device, time of
`day, day of week, date, velocity, acceleration, direction of
`travel, weather, amount of sunlight, proximity of the mobile
`device to other users, state or data of applications running on
`the mobile device, or combinations thereof. For contextual
`attributes that require sensing of the mobile device’s external
`environment or surroundings, one or more context sensors or
`other hardware components which may be associated with
`the mobile device may be used to determine the current corr-
`text ofthe mobile device. In this manner, the mobile device is
`“context aware.” Contextual behaviors can also be based on
`the context ofthe user and/or their interaction with the mobile
`device. For example, the user may establish contextual tags
`for “home” and “work” behaviors. Content assigned with a
`contextual tag associated with “home” behavior may not be
`appropriate for a “wor "’ context, and Vice versa.
`[0033]
`FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system and network
`architecture 10 for mobile devices that may employ a contex-
`tual filtering system and method according to embodiments
`ofthe present invention. The mobile device architecture 10 in
`FIG. 1 will be described in conjunction with FIG. 2, which is
`a flowchart illustrating an exemplary contextual filtering pro-
`
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`Apr. 2, 2009
`
`cess. The contextual filtering process involves contextually
`tagging content with contextual tags. The mobile device fil-
`ters content based on whether the current context of the
`mobile device satisfies the contextual behavior of the contex-
`tual tag associated with the content. As illustrated in FIG. 1,
`an exemplary platform for a mobile device 12 is provided.
`The mobile device 12 includes an output device 14, such as a
`display, and an input device 16, such as input keys. to allow a
`user 18 to control, interact, and be presented content on the
`mobile device 12. The mobile device 12 may include a cel—
`lular handset with an accompanying cellular antenna 20 for
`cellular communications. However, the mobile device 12 can
`be any type of device adapted to store and manage digital
`content, including but not limited to a personal data assistant
`(PDA), a personal media player (PMP), or other handheld
`device. The mobile device 12 can include multimedia related
`functionality, including searching, organizing, browsing, pre-
`viewing, rendering, and/or sharing/transferring content. In
`one embodiment ofthe present invention, one or more mobile
`devices 12 may be included that participate in a wirelessly-
`connected network 22. However, it should be understood that
`the present invention does not require the mobile device 12 to
`be networked. Further, the mobile device 12 may be con-
`nected to a wired network.
`
`[0034] Before any content can be tagged, the user 18 first
`establishes one or more contextual tags (step 30, FIG. 2).
`Because contextual tags are defined by contextual behaviors,
`the user 18 associates one or more contextual behaviors with
`the contextual tags (step 30). A contextual behavior may be a
`logical expression that can be determined as either being
`satisfied or not based on the current context of the mobile
`device 12. An initial context or state may also be associated
`with the contextual tag. The initial context may be used as part
`of the contextual behavioral expression to determine if the
`current context of the mobile device 12 satisfies the contex-
`tual behavior. For example, if the contextual behavior is loca-
`tion-based, the desired location in order for the behavior to be
`satisfied is stored as an initial context or location. The initial
`location (i .e. init