# US 9,521,106 B2 · Method, system and device for obtaining potential friends information > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,521,106 B2 - Document ID: US9521106B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/327,408 - Filed: 2014-07-09 - Published: 2014-10-30 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2012-03-12 - Assignees: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited - Applicants: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited - Inventors: Minge Li - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9521106B2 ## CPC - H04L 51/52: for supporting social networking services - G06F 16/9535: Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation - G06Q 10/42: Determination of affinities or common interests between users - G06Q 10/48: using social graphs - H04L 61/4594: Address books, i.e. directories containing contact information about correspondents (telephone directories in user terminals H04M1/27453) - H04L 67/306: User profiles - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract A method, a system and a device for obtaining potential friends information are disclosed in the present invention. The method includes: a server receives a request sent by a requesting client for obtaining potential friends information from a recommending user which is appointed by a requesting user; the server forwards the request for obtaining the potential friends information to a recommending client that pertains to the recommending user; the server receives the potential friends information sent by the recommending client, and determines whether users corresponding to the potential friends information and the recommending user are friends, and if yes, sends the potential friends information to the requesting client. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for obtaining potential friends information, comprising: receiving, by a server, a request sent by a requesting client and obtaining potential friends information from a recommending user that is appointed by a requesting user of the requesting client; forwarding, by the server, the request to a recommending client that pertains to the recommending user; and receiving, by the server, the potential friends information sent by the recommending client; and determining, by the server, whether users corresponding to the potential friends information and the recommending user are friends, and if yes, sending the potential friends information to the requesting client. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the recommending user is a friend in a friends list of the requesting user; before the step of receiving, by a server, a request sent by a requesting client and obtaining potential friends information from a recommending user that is appointed by a requesting user of the requesting client, the method further comprises: obtaining, by the requesting client, the friends list of the requesting user, and receiving a command for selecting a friend from the friends list, and considering the friend selected by the requesting user as the recommending user, and sending a request for obtaining the potential friends information of the recommending client to the server. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein the number of the friends selected by the requesting user is one or more than one. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, after the step of forwarding, by the server, the request to a recommending client that pertains to the recommending user, further comprising: obtaining, by the recommending client, a friends list of the recommending user, and receiving a command for selecting a friend who needs to be recommended from the friends list of the recommending user, and sending information of the friend selected by the recommending user to the server as the potential friends information. ### Claim 5 A system for obtaining potential friends information, comprising: a requesting client, a server and a recommending client; the requesting client, configured to receive a command for obtaining potential friends information of a requesting user, and send a request for obtaining the potential friends information of a recommending user that is appointed by the requesting user to the server, and receive the potential friends information sent by the server; the server, configured to forward the request sent by the requesting client to the recommending client that pertains to the recommending user, and receive the potential friends information sent by the recommending client, and determine whether users corresponding to the potential friends information and the recommending user are friends or not, and if yes, send the potential friends information to the requesting client; and the recommending client, configured to receive the request for obtaining potential friends information transmitted by the server, and send the potential friends information to the server. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system according to claim 5, wherein, the recommending user is a friend in a friends list of the requesting user; the requesting client is further configured to obtain the friends list of the requesting user, and receive a command for selecting a friend from the friends list, and consider the friend selected by the requesting user as the recommending user, and send a request for obtaining the potential friends information of the recommending client to the server. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The system according to claim 5, wherein the recommending client is further configured to receive a command for selecting a friend from a friends list of the recommending user, and choose information corresponding to the friend selected from the friends list as the potential friends information, and send the information of the friend to the server. ### Claim 8 A server for obtaining potential friends information, comprising: a memory storing a series of instructions; and a processor configured to perform the series of instructions for: receiving a request for obtaining potential friends information sent by a requesting client, and forwarding the request to a recommending client of a recommending user that is appointed by a requesting user, and receiving the potential friends information sent by the recommending client, and sending the potential friends information to the requesting client determining that the recommending user and users corresponding to the potential friends information are friends; and determining whether the recommending user and the users corresponding to the potential friends information are friends.