IP Library Granted Patent US 11,703,987
Granted Patent B2
US 11,703,987 · App. 17/836,785 · Granted Jul 18, 2023

Systems and methods for facilitating communication between users of a content management service

Inventor: Ivan Kirigin (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
G06F3/048G06F16/176H04L12/1813H04L12/1831
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,703,987
App. No.
17/836,785
Granted
Jul 18, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Computer systems and methods, according to various embodiments, allow users with shared access to a shared file or folder to communicate with one another via online chat. In particular embodiments, the system is configured to facilitate a chat session among all users that have shared access to a particular file or folder in response to a particular user selecting a “chat” button (or other suitable chat initiation element) associated with the shared file or folder. After a chat session is complete, the system may archive the chat session for later viewing and use.

Claims (49)

1. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions are effective to cause the at least one processor to:

store a shared content item at a content management system, the shared content item being accessible by a first account of the content management system and a second account of the content management system, wherein the content management system is configured to synchronize the shared content item and the shared content item is a particular file or folder;

associate, by the content management system, at least one archived chat session with the shared content item, wherein the at least one archived chat session is tagged with the shared content item after receiving a chat input via the content management system, and wherein the at least one archived chat session is different from the shared content item;

provide, by the content management system and for display on a client device associated with the first account, an indicia of the shared content item and an indicia of the at least one archived chat session tagged with the shared content item;

in response to receiving an indication of a user selection of the indicia of the at least one archived chat session, provide, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, a chat archive interface including a list of users with permission to access the shared content item and the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive an additional chat input; and

initiate a chat session with at least one user in the list of users with permission to access the shared content item.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the chat input of the at least one archived chat session is available to user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item.

3. The system of claim 2 , the instructions further effective to cause the at least one processor to:

receive a selection of a sub-set of user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item; and

display the chat input associated with the sub-set of user accounts.

4. The system of claim 1 , the instructions further effective to cause the at least one processor to:

receive a new chat input associated with the content management system; and

update the at least one archived chat session based on the received new chat input.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein indicia of the at least one archived chat session is a link to the at least one archived chat session.

6. The system of claim 1 , the instructions further effective to cause the at least one processor to:

in response to receiving a second indication of a user selection of a second indicia of a second archived chat session for a second content item, provide, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive the additional chat input and the second indicia of the second archived chat session for the second content item configured to receive a second additional chat input.

7. A computer-implemented method for facilitating communication between users of a particular shared file or folder, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a shared content item at a content management system, the shared content item being accessible by a first account of the content management system and a second account of the content management system, wherein the content management system is configured to synchronize the shared content item and the shared content item is a particular file or folder;

associating, by the content management system, at least one archived chat session with the shared content item, wherein the at least one archived chat session is tagged with the shared content item after receiving a chat input via the content management system, and wherein the at least one archived chat session is different from the shared content item;

providing, by the content management system and for display on a client device associated with the first account, an indicia of the shared content item and an indicia of the at least one archived chat session tagged with the shared content item;

in response to receiving an indication of a user selection of the indicia of the at least one archived chat session, providing, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, a chat archive interface including a list of users with permission to access the shared content item and the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive an additional chat input; and

initiate a chat session with at least one user in the list of users with permission to access the shared content item.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the chat input of the at least one archived chat session is available to user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving a selection of a sub-set of user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item; and

displaying the chat input associated with the sub-set of user accounts.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving a new chat input associated with the content management system; and

updating the at least one archived chat session based on the received new chat input.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein indicia of the at least one archived chat session is a link to the at least one archived chat session.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

in response to receiving a second indication of a user selection of a second indicia of a second archived chat session for a second content item, providing, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive the additional chat input and the second indicia of the second archived chat session for the second content item configured to receive a second additional chat input.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to:

store a shared content item at a content management system, the shared content item being accessible by a first account of the content management system and a second account of the content management system, wherein the content management system is configured to synchronize the shared content item and the shared content item is a particular file or folder;

associate, by the content management system, at least one archived chat session with the shared content item, wherein the at least one archived chat session is tagged with the shared content item after receiving a chat input via the content management system, and wherein the at least one archived chat session is different from the shared content item;

provide, by the content management system and for display on a client device associated with the first account, an indicia of the shared content item and an indicia of the at least one archived chat session tagged with the shared content item;

in response to receiving an indication of a user selection of the indicia of the at least one archived chat session, provide, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, a chat archive interface including a list of users with permission to access the shared content item and the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive an additional chat input; and

initiate a chat session with at least one user in the list of users with permission to access the shared content item.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the chat input of the at least one archived chat session is available to user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions, when executed by a computing system, further cause the computing system to:

receive a selection of a sub-set of user accounts at the content management system with permission to access the shared content item; and

display the chat input associated with the sub-set of user accounts.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions, when executed by a computing system, further cause the computing system to:

receive a new chat input associated with the content management system; and

update the at least one archived chat session based on the received new chat input.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions, when executed by a computing system, further cause the computing system to:

in response to receiving a second indication of a user selection of a second indicia of a second archived chat session for a second content item, provide, by the content management system for display on the client device associated with the first account, the shared content item in combination with the chat input of the at least one archived chat session configured to receive the additional chat input and the second indicia of the second archived chat session for the second content item configured to receive a second additional chat input.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Dec 12, 2024
From: DROPBOX, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069604/0611 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 9, 2022
From: KIRIGIN, IVAN
To: DROPBOX, INC.
Reel/Frame 060154/0349 →