FR2863737A1 - Relational database forming process for use over e.g. Internet, involves analyzing stored communication paths in order to determine relation data characterizing relation between user terminals in paths - Google Patents

Abstract

The process involves storing and transferring communication paths in a server connected to an access network (RA) through a packet network (RP). The stored communication paths are analyzed in order to determine relation data characterizing a relation between user terminals (T1-T3) in the communication paths. The relation data is transferred and stored in a data management server connected to the packet network.

Description

Automatic constitution process

  The present invention relates to an automatic constitution of a relationship database qualifying relations between terminal users and based on an analysis of the communications between the user terminals.

  Currently a conventional directory, for example a directory Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), provides user terminals with a list of usernames, or even complete user records including fields relating in particular to a first name, an address, a profession, etc. A user queries the directory through a search engine according to search attributes corresponding to one or more user profile fields, and the directory responds with a list of user profiles whose fields correspond to the search attributes. . But the search carried out ignores possible relations between the user performing the search and users whose profiles are stored in the directory.

  In addition, it is known that software applications querying directories include a user connection module. At the request of a user who has carried out a search, the module puts the user in direct contact with one of the users listed in the result of the search.

  The present invention aims to automatically build a database of relationship between users of terminals so that the relationship data enrich any search application referring to the users of the terminals.

  To achieve this objective, a method of automatically constituting relationship data qualifying relationships between users of terminals connected to access networks is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: transfer and storage of communication traces in a network. a trace server connected to the access networks through a packet network; analyzing stored communication traces to determine relationship data qualifying relationships between terminal users that result from communication traces; and transferring and storing the relationship data in a data management server connected to the packet network.

  The communication traces can be established and stored in at least one server connected to the packet network before being transferred to the trace server and at least one of the terminals can establish and store at each communication end a communication trace. before it is transferred to the trace server.

  An advantage of the invention is to involve in the result of a search on users, the relations between the user ordering the search and the users belonging to the results of the search, possibly the relations of users belonging to the results of the search. search and thus to obtain a highly personalized search according to the user.

  For this purpose, the method may comprise sending a search request by a terminal to a service server connected to the packet network, sending an intermediate search request depending on the search request by the service server. to a directory server connected to the packet network, sending a response to the intermediate search query containing user records by the directory server to the service server of a response to the intermediate search request containing user records, a sending of a user identifier dependent relationship request included in the user records by the service server to the data management server, and a sending by the management server of data to the service server of a response to the relationship request containing relationship data each qualifying the relationship between the user of the terminal and users corresponding to the user identifiers.

  The method may comprise a determination of the weights of the relationship data qualifying each of the relations between the user of the terminal and the users corresponding to the user identifiers included in the user cards, a scheduling of user cards according to the weights relationship data, and sending ordered user cards to the terminal.

  The method may comprise in the data management server a recovery of communication states of the terminals corresponding to the user cards from servers connected to the packet network and according to which the scheduling of the user cards depends on the communication states. terminals corresponding to the user cards.

  The relationship request may depend on predetermined context parameters defining a context of the search request in the data management server.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of several preferred embodiments of the invention, given by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the corresponding appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a search system implementing a method of automatic constitution of a database for relationships between terminals according to the invention; FIG. 2 is an algorithm of a method of constituting relationship data according to the invention and FIG. 3 is an algorithm of a search exploiting the relationship data according to the invention from a user terminal.

  A communication trace TC is a set of information characterizing a communication between two terminals, such as for example an identifier such as the calling user identifier, the called user identifier, a calling terminal identifier, the number or the address of a calling terminal and / or the number or the address of a called terminal, a date of communication, a type of communication. The type of communication can be a phone call, sending an e-mail (e-mail), SMS (Short Message Service) message, instant message, etc. Relationship data is relevant data to qualify each relationship between two terminal users that results from a recent communication trace. The relationship data is for example, for a pair of terminals having had at least one recent communication between them, a number of communication traces, a total duration of communication, a communication frequency, numbers by types of communication, and privileged hours of communication.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the search system implementing the method of automatic constitution of relationship data according to the invention mainly comprises a STR communication trace server, a SW service web server, a basic management server. SGB, a SA directory server, an SMI instant messaging server, an SME mail server, a PC communication gateway, and at least one user terminal T. In FIG. 'has represented only three user terminals T1, T2 and T3 indifferently designated by T in the

following the description.

  The trace server STR communicates with the servers SGB, SA, SMI and SME and the PC gateway through an Internet-based high-speed RP packet network, and with user terminals T through the PC communication gateway. connected to RA access networks.

  The service web server SW communicates with the servers SGB and SA through the network of packets RP and with user terminals T through the communication gateway PC and the access networks RA.

  In one variant, the user terminal T directly accesses the service web server SW connected to the respective access network RA or to the packet network RP via an intranet.

  In the context of an intelligent communication network, the PC communication gateway is a service control point or is connected to a service control point.

  According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal T is connected to a respective access network RA 20 by an LT link.

  The terminal T is for example a mobile cellular radio terminal Tl, the link LT is a radio communication channel, and the respective access network RA comprises the fixed network of a radio communication network, for example of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile communications) with a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).

  According to another example, the terminal T is a personal computer T2, connected directly by modem to the line LT xDSL line or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) connected to the corresponding RA access network.

  In another example, the terminal T is a fixed telecommunications terminal T2, the link LT is a telephone line and the respective access network RA comprises the switched telephone network.

  According to other examples, the user terminal T comprises a device or electronic personal telecommunications object to the user which can be a personal digital assistant communicating PDA. The terminal T may be any other portable or non-portable home terminal such as a video game console, or a smart TV receiver cooperating with a remote control display or an alphanumeric keyboard also used as a mouse through an infrared link.

  The user terminals T and the access networks RA are not limited to the above examples and may be constituted by other known terminals and access networks.

  The communication trace server STR mainly comprises a central unit UTR, an ATR communication trace analyzer, an MTR communication trace module and an MT buffer memory.

  The MTR communication trace module retrieves TC communication traces in order to store them in the MT buffer memory. The ATR analyzer analyzes the recovered TC communication traces to determine relevant DR relationship data on relationships between terminal users. The central unit UTR controls a storage of these relevant DR relationship data in the management server SGB.

  The service web server SW is a conventional web server including a UW CPU and a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server. The HTTP protocol used can be replaced by other suitable communication protocols.

  A user terminal T interrogates the service web server SW which makes available to the terminal T, through the HTTP server, a search service interface on a directory whose data are stored in the directory server SA. The DR relationship data stored in the management server SGB will complete the result of the search on the directory.

  The relationship database management server SGB is a standard server comprising a database and an HTTP server. The DR relationship data of the terminals are stored in the database of the management server SGB.

  The SA directory server is a classic directory server of the LDAP directory server type. It comprises a database of user records associated respectively with the users. The data sheet for a given user contains information about the given user, for example a given user identifier, a name, a first name, a digital photo, an address or a fixed telecommunications terminal number, an address or a mobile cellular mobile terminal number, an e-mail, a profession, a hierarchical or professional level and skills. A user terminal most often directly queries the directory server SA, for example by asking him to look for people whose profession is a lawyer. In the present invention, the service web server SW is an intermediary between the directory server SA and the user terminal T. The directory server SA is often specific to a company.

  One of the servers SW, SGB, or SA may contain user identifier equivalence tables in order to link the user identifiers stored in the database management servers of SGB, SA directory relationships. and possibly SW service.

  The SMI instant messaging server is a standard instant messaging server, typically used in instant messaging services between computers. The mail server SMI establishes and makes available to the trace server STR traces of instant messaging communication of one or more terminals connected to the access networks RA and / or the packet network RP. An IM communication trace may include a sender ID, a recipient ID, a date, a time, a server address, and so on. The SME e-mail server is a classic e-mail or email server, establishing and providing, as the SMI instant messaging server, e-mail communication traces. An email communication trace may contain in particular a sender identifier, one or more recipient identifiers, one or more hidden copy recipient identifiers, one or more hidden hidden recipient identifiers, an object, a date, an hour, etc. The PC communication gateway includes, in particular, IA access interfaces, an IH HTTP interface and an MGT voice communication trace management module. The IA access interfaces respectively interface the RA access networks with the PC gateway. The HTTP IH interface allows the PC gateway to communicate with the RP packet network. The MGT module establishes and provides the STR trace server with traces of telephone communication between terminals. A telephone communication trace includes a calling user identifier, a called user identifier, a calling terminal identifier, a called terminal identifier, a date, a time, and so on. The traces of telephone communication may come from communication between communicating terminals of the fixed telecommunications terminal type or mobile cellular radio terminal. In one variant, the communication traces originating from a fixed telecommunications terminal and the communication traces originating from a mobile cellular radio terminal are taken by the trace server STR respectively in different communication gateways.

  Other devices providing TC communication traces, such as web servers hosting forums or chats, can be envisaged.

  Since the users of the terminals are referenced by user identifiers in the different servers or modules, the STR trace server optionally comprises a database in which are stored matches between the user identifier used in the STR trace server. and other user identifiers used in the SMI, SME and SGB servers and the PC gateway.

  In another variant, the terminal T comprises a communication setup module which, for example, automatically requests or after an action a communication with another terminal, in response to the result of a search sorted according to different types of communication. The user then selects the type of communication with one of the users identified by the search, for example by clicking on a button to set SMS communication among SMS communication buttons, E-MAIL, MOBILE, etc., proposed on the screen of the user's terminal. A click on the SMS message button automatically opens the SMS message sending interface whose destination field is filled automatically with the telephone number of the mobile cellular radio terminal of the user corresponding to his search.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the method of automatic constitution of relationship data according to the invention comprises steps E1 to E6.

  The MTR communication trace module initially stored a list of server addresses to query with possibly connection parameters. For example, this list contains the addresses of the SMI, SME and PC servers.

  In step El, the trace module MTR sends a request to each of the servers according to the address list by requesting recent communication traces that they have respectively stored since the last request of the STR trace server.

  In step E2, each of the interrogated servers SMI, SME and PC transmits to the server STR traces recent communication traces stored in response to the request.

  Steps E1 and E2 are carried out periodically, for example every 5 to 10 minutes approximately.

  According to a variant of steps E1 and E2, the SMI, SME and PC servers regularly file the recent communication traces on the STR trace server, using, for example, the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) transfer protocol.

  In another variant of steps E1 and E2, each terminal T is equipped with a software application that controls the storage of a communication trace in the terminal T for each communication of the terminal T with another terminal, and then the transfer at least a communication trace stored in the STR trace server. The transfer is made, for example, at the end of the communication with the other terminal. In this variant, the connections between the STR communication trace server and the servers transmitting SMI, SME and PC communication traces through the RP packet network are useless since the terminal T transfers the communication traces to the server STR.

  In step E3, the MTR communication trace module stores the recent transferred communication traces in the buffer memory MT.

  In step E4, the ATR analyzer analyzes the recent traces in order to determine relevant relationship data to qualify each relationship between two terminal users that results from a recent communication trace. The analyzer can also make use of known analyzes of social networks whose results are pre-stored and exploitable in the server STR.

  In step E5, the central unit UTR sends the relationship data determined by the analysis to the management server SGB so that in step E6 the management server SGB stores the relationship data and thus discloses them.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a search exploiting the relationship data according to the invention comprises steps F1 to F10.

  In step F1, a user terminal T connects to the service server SW so that the service server delivers the search service interface to the terminal T after an identification of the terminal T with the server SW. At this stage, the user has on his terminal T a web page inviting him to enter variable values for search attributes defined in the search service interface. Each piece of information contained in a user card stored in the directory server SA is likely to satisfy a search attribute. Other search attributes can be derived from the relationship data stored in the management server SGB.

  In step F2, after the user has entered and validated the values of the search attributes, the user terminal T sends a search request to the service server SW. The search query contains the search attributes and their corresponding values entered and validated by the user of the terminal T. For example, the search query contains the search attributes "profession" and "place" respectively corresponding to the values "jurist" and "Marseille".

  In step F3, the central unit UW of the service server SW determines context parameters. The context parameters provide information on the context in which the user of the terminal T has made the search request. For example, the context parameters are the date and time of the search request, the type of the terminal T from which the search request has been established and transmitted, and the location where the terminal T sent the request to search. research.

  The service server SW establishes an intermediate search query depending on the search request, that is to say according to the search values and attributes contained in the search query, and sends it to the directory server. SA at step F4.

  In step F5, the directory server SA sends a response to the intermediate search request, which response contains user records corresponding to the values of the search attributes, or alternatively contains a part of the information of these data sheets. 'user.

  In step F6, the central unit UW forms a request for relationship depending on the response to the intermediate request, that is to say according to the context parameters and the user identifiers designating the user records sent, then sends the relationship request to the management server SGB. On the basis of the relationship request, the service server SW queries the management server SGB on the relations between the user of the terminal T and each user corresponding to the user cards sent, taking into account the parameters of the context. in which the search was performed. For example, when the user terminal T is a mobile cellular radio terminal, the terminals of other users likely to receive telephone calls or SMS messages are privileged in the relationship request.

  The service server SW optionally comprises a correspondence table between the user identifiers stored in the directory server SA and the user identifiers stored in the management server SGB.

  In step F7, the management server SGB sends a response to the relationship request. The response to the relationship request contains DR relationship data, i.e. information on the relationship between the user of the terminal T having ordered the search and each of the users corresponding to the user cards sent and satisfied. the context.

  Alternatively, the response to the relationship request contains information about the user relationships corresponding to the user records sent and satisfying the context.

  In another variant, the response to the relationship request contains information on the relations between the users corresponding to the user cards sent and satisfying the context and users close to the user of the terminal T. The users close to the terminal user T can be determined previously by a second relationship request. For example, the second relationship request consists in determining the users most frequently communicating with the user of the terminal T. The central unit UW weighting, through the response to the relationship request, the relationship between the user of the terminal T having ordered the search and each of the users associated with the aforementioned user cards by a respective relationship weight, at step F8. The relationship weight is a representative number of the more or less close approximation in the relationship between the users and based on the DR relationship data in the response to the relationship query and possibly on other data, such as data from social networks external to the system. For example, if a user of a terminal launches a search in Marseille, a user card corresponding to a user living in Marseille is preferred and the weight of the relationship with the user corresponding to this form is higher than if this user is distant and for example remains in Lyon. Another weighting may depend on the number of calls established between the user of the terminal T and the user associated with a card for a predetermined period.

  In step F9, the central unit UW orders the user cards according to the relationship weights of the users corresponding to the aforementioned user cards, for example according to the descending order of the relationship weights. A high relationship weight of one of the aforementioned user plug means a strong relationship between the user of the terminal and the user corresponding to this form. The central unit UW then first presents the identifier of the user corresponding to the highest relationship weight.

  The central unit UW sends to the terminal T a response to the search request of the terminal T, including at least partially each ordered file, or one or more information on the user associated with the card, in step F10. Thus, the user of the terminal T has a search result depending on its relations with other terminal users.

  In a preferred variant, the server SW comprises an MPE publication module used to make terminal communication states public. The MPE publishing module retrieves communication states of the different terminals from different servers such as the SMI and SME servers and the PC gateway. A communication state is for example "busy", "unavailable" or "free". Depending on the communication states of the terminals, the server SW specifies in the result of the search ordered by the terminal T, the type of communication in which the terminal T can communicate with a user belonging to the result of the search. The display of communication buttons relating to each user belonging to the result of the search in the terminal T depends on the communication state of the terminal of said each user. The central unit UW can also consider the communication states of the users' terminals belonging to the search result for sorting or ordering the user cards in step F9.

  The directory server SA may be replaced by any means remotely searchable and providing user records containing data identifying and characterizing a user.

  For example, the directory server SA is an address book server containing at least one address book associated with a user identifier. An address book includes user contact cards, including a name and an e-mail. A search of a user made in the address book server and using the relationship data may consist of searching among the contacts of the user those with whom the user has communicated for the last three days. In this search, the user cards are the user contact cards and the intermediate search query consists of searching all the contact cards of the address book of the user.

  In another variant, one or more SME, SMI, PC, SA, SGB and SW servers are installed in the STR trace server. The ATR communication trace analyzer and the MTR communication trace module can each be in a separate server connected to the RP packet network.

  In another variant, the directory server SA is confused with the database management server SGB relationship.

Claims (1)

19 CLAIMS   1 - Method of automatically constituting relation data qualifying relations between users of terminals (T) connected to access networks (RA), characterized in that it comprises the following steps: transfer (E2) and storage ( E3) communication traces (TC) in a trace server (STR) connected to the access networks (RA) through a packet network (RP); analyzing (E4) stored communication traces (TC) to determine relationship data (DR) describing relationships between terminal users that result from the communication traces; and transferring (E5) and storing (E6) relationship data (DR) in a data management server (SGB) connected to the packet network (RP).   2 - Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication traces (TC) are established and stored in at least one server (SMI, SME, PC) connected to the packet network (RP) before being transferred ( E2) in the trace server (STR).   3 - Process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the terminals (T) establishes and stores at each communication end a communication trace (TC) before it is transferred ( E2) in the trace server (STR).   4 - Process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a sending (F2) of a search request by a terminal (T) to a service server (SW) connected to the packet network (RP), a sending (F4) of an intermediate search request depending on the search request by the service server (SW) to a server (SA) connected to the packet network (RP), a sending (F5) of an answer to the intermediate search request containing user records by the server (SA) to the service server (SW) of a response to the intermediate search query containing user records, a sending (F6) of a user identifier dependent relationship request included in the user records by the service server (SW) to the data management server (SGB), and a transmission (F7) by the data management server (SGB) ) to the service server (SW) of a response to the relationship request containing relationship data (DR) qualifying each of he relations between the user of the terminal (T) and users corresponding to the user identifiers.   Method according to claim 4, comprising determining (F8) the weights of the relationship data (DR) describing each of the relations between the user of the terminal (T) and users corresponding to the user identifiers included in the data sheets. user, a user card scheduling (F9) based on the weights of the relationship data, and a sending of the ordered user cards to the terminal (T).   6 - Process according to claim 5, comprising in the data management server (SGB) a recovery of communication states of the terminals corresponding to the user records from servers (SMI, SME, PC) connected to the network of packets (RP) and according to which the scheduling of the user cards depends on the communication states of the terminals corresponding to the user cards.   The method according to any one of claims 5 or 6, wherein the relationship request depends on predetermined context parameters defining a context of the search query LO in the data management server (SGB).