Patent US6233606B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6233606B1
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US
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Automatic cache synchronization
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 1998-12-01
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Granted: 2001-05-15
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Expires: 2018-12-01
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for reducing the number of conditional requests for network content to a server by maintaining state for selected URIs in a local cache indicative of a confidence level that the files are unchanged. When a request for content is received that corresponds to such a URI in the cache, a synchronization time is determined based on a confidence level for that URI. If the synchronization time is achieved, a conditional request is sent to the server, otherwise the URI data is returned from the cache to respond to the request. Synchronization intervals for such files may be increased as the likelihood that the item is unmodified increases. URIs may need to be of a certain content type and required to pass a confidence test before being selected for automatic synchronization.
Inventors
- 👤 Rajeev Dujari
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 05:51
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/957; G06F16/9574
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 44
Claim 1
Independent Claim
70 words
In a computer system, a method for synchronizing content with content stored in a cache, comprising the steps of, receiving a request for content, at least part of the requested content corresponding to data in the cache, determining a synchronization time for the content based on a confidence level therefor, and if a current time is before the synchronization time, returning data from the cache in response to the request.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
70 words
In a computer system, a method for synchronizing content with content stored in a cache, comprising the steps of, receiving a request for content, at least part of the requested content corresponding to data in the cache, determining a synchronization time for the content based on a confidence level therefor, and if a current time is before the synchronization time, returning data from the cache in response to the request.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time includes the steps of, performing a confidence test to test the stability of the content, and setting an automatic synchronization mode for the content if the confidence test indicates that the content is relatively stable.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the time that the content has been in the cache without having changed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of marking the content as volatile if the content changes before having been in the cache for a predetermined time.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the number of times that the content has been checked without having changed.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of marking the content as volatile if the content changes before having been checked a predetermined number of times.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the time that the content has been in the cache without having changed, and a test of the number of times that the content has been checked without having changed.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of marking the content as volatile if either the content changes before having been in the cache for a predetermined time or if the content changes before having been checked a predetermined number of times.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time for the content based on the confidence level includes the step of checking to determine if the content is marked as volatile.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 9 wherein if the content is determined to be volatile, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time for the content based on the confidence level includes the step of checking to determine if the content corresponds to a specific type.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 11 wherein if the content does not correspond to a specific type, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein if the content does not have a minimum confidence level, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the content comprises network content corresponding to a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), and wherein if the synchronization time is achieved, performing the step of sending a conditional request to a server for the content, and further comprising the step of gathering confidence information based on a response of the conditional request sent to the server.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 14 wherein the confidence information is used to modify the confidence level for the URI.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 1 wherein if the synchronization time is achieved, making a request for current content, and further comprising the steps of, receiving the current content, testing if the current content is modified relative to the cached content, and if not modified, increasing the confidence level for the cached content.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
88 words
In a computer system, a method for synchronizing network content with content stored in a cache, comprising the steps of, receiving a request for content, at least part of the requested content corresponding to data in the cache, determining a synchronization time for a URI based on a confidence level for the URI, and if the synchronization time is achieved, sending a conditional request to a server for the content, and if the synchronization time is not achieved, returning data from the cache in response to the request.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
88 words
In a computer system, a method for synchronizing network content with content stored in a cache, comprising the steps of, receiving a request for content, at least part of the requested content corresponding to data in the cache, determining a synchronization time for a URI based on a confidence level for the URI, and if the synchronization time is achieved, sending a conditional request to a server for the content, and if the synchronization time is not achieved, returning data from the cache in response to the request.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time for the URI includes the steps of performing a confidence test to test the stability of the URI and setting an automatic synchronization mode for the URI if the confidence test indicates that the URI is relatively stable.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the time that the content has been in the cache without having changed.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of marking a URI as volatile if the content changes before having been in the cache for a predetermined time.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the number of times that the URI has been checked without having changed.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of marking a URI as volatile if the content changes before having been checked a predetermined number of times.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the time that the content has been in the cache without having changed, and a test of the number of times that the URI has been checked without having changed.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of marking a URI as volatile if either the content changes before having been in the cache for a predetermined time or if the content changes before having been checked a predetermined number of times.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time for the URI based on a confidence level for the URI includes the step of checking to determine if the URI is marked as volatile.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 25 wherein if the URI is determined to be volatile, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step of determining a synchronization time for the URI based on a confidence level for the URI includes the step of checking to determine if the content corresponds to a specific type.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 27 wherein if the content does not correspond to a specific type, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 17 wherein if the URI does not have a minimum confidence level, the synchronization time is achieved.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of gathering confidence information based on a response of each conditional request sent to the server.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 30 wherein the confidence information is used to modify the confidence level for a URI.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of testing if a content has been modified after sending a conditional request to the server, and if not modified, increasing the confidence level for that URI.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of, receiving another request for content corresponding to the URI, determining if the URI is in the automatic synchronization mode, and if so: determining a time for synchronizing the URI, and, if the time for synchronizing is achieved, sending another conditional request to the server, and if the time for synchronizing is not achieved, returning content data from the cache.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 33 wherein if the URI is not in an automatic synchronization mode, sending another conditional request to the server, and further comprising the step of gathering information for the URI including information on whether the conditional request indicates the content has changed.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 34 further comprising the step of determining whether to enter the URI into the automatic synchronization mode based on the information.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
115 words
In a computer system, a system for synchronizing network content with content stored in a cache, comprising, a network interface for receiving a request for content, a cache manager component for determining that at least part of the requested content corresponds to data in the cache, a storage for maintaining a confidence level for the URI, and an automatic synchronization mechanism for accessing the storage to determine a synchronization time for the URI based on the confidence level therefor, the interface responding to the request by sending a conditional request to a server for the content if the synchronization time is achieved, and returning data from the cache if the synchronization time is not achieved.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
115 words
In a computer system, a system for synchronizing network content with content stored in a cache, comprising, a network interface for receiving a request for content, a cache manager component for determining that at least part of the requested content corresponds to data in the cache, a storage for maintaining a confidence level for the URI, and an automatic synchronization mechanism for accessing the storage to determine a synchronization time for the URI based on the confidence level therefor, the interface responding to the request by sending a conditional request to a server for the content if the synchronization time is achieved, and returning data from the cache if the synchronization time is not achieved.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system of claim 36 wherein the automatic synchronization mechanism further performs a confidence test to test the stability of the URI, and sets an automatic synchronization mode for the URI if the confidence test indicates that the URI content is relatively stable.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 37 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the time that the URI content has been in the cache without having changed.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 37 wherein the confidence test includes a test of the number of times that the URI has been checked without having changed.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 36 wherein the automatic synchronization mechanism further gathers confidence information based on a response of each conditional request sent to the server, and stores the confidence information in the storage for that URI.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 40 wherein if URI content has not been modified after sending a conditional request to the server, the automatic synchronization mechanism increases the confidence level for that URI.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-05-14 | 2004-11-13 | 2005-05-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-05-14 | 2008-11-13 | 2009-05-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-05-14 | 2012-11-13 | 2013-05-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |