U.S. patent application number 12/115492 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-16 for using viewership profiles for targeted promotion deployment.
This patent application is currently assigned to NAVIC SYSTEMS, INC.. Invention is credited to Kirk Cameron, Mark Fagnani, Felix Yen.
Application Number | 20080255952 12/115492 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26943310 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080255952 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yen; Felix ; et al. |
October 16, 2008 |
USING VIEWERSHIP PROFILES FOR TARGETED PROMOTION DEPLOYMENT
Abstract
A system for generating viewership profiles to facilitate
distributing promotions based on the profiles to one or more
network devices, such as set top boxes. The system includes a
promotion agent associated with each network device which collects
viewing activity data of the network device. For example, the
viewing activity data may include a channel the network device was
tuned to, a time when the network device was tuned to the channel,
and a time the network device was tuned away from the channel. The
collected viewing activity data is then transmitted, for example,
every twenty-four hours, to a life-cycle manager server, which also
periodically receives a program schedule. The program schedule
typically specifies the channel on which a particular program was
displayed, as well as the time the program was shown. The
life-cycle manager server correlates the viewing activity data with
the program schedule to generate the viewership profile of the
network device. The life cycle manager server determines the
viewing behavior for four, eight, and twelve week periods, for
example, or for a time period specified by a user.
Inventors: |
Yen; Felix; (Sudbury,
MA) ; Cameron; Kirk; (Upton, MA) ; Fagnani;
Mark; (Watertown, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HAMILTON, BROOK, SMITH & REYNOLDS, P.C.
530 VIRGINIA ROAD, P.O. BOX 9133
CONCORD
MA
01742-9133
US
|
Assignee: |
NAVIC SYSTEMS, INC.
WALTHAM
MA
|
Family ID: |
26943310 |
Appl. No.: |
12/115492 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09873786 |
Jun 4, 2001 |
7370073 |
|
|
12115492 |
|
|
|
|
60253488 |
Nov 28, 2000 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.4 ;
348/E7.071 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/25891 20130101;
H04N 21/25883 20130101; G06Q 30/0264 20130101; H04N 21/2668
20130101; H04N 21/44222 20130101; G06Q 30/0241 20130101; H04N
21/812 20130101; H04N 7/17318 20130101; G06Q 30/0269 20130101; H04N
21/6582 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A system for distributing promotions to network devices,
comprising: a promotion agent, embedded in each of the network
devices, for collecting data corresponding to viewership activity
at each of the network devices; a life-cycle manager server, for
receiving the viewership activity data from the promotion agents
and correlating the viewership activity data with a program
schedule, to determine viewer behaviors associated with the network
devices; the life-cycle manager server also for matching the
determined viewer behaviors to group profiles, to determine at
least one class of viewer associated with the network devices; the
life-cycle manager server also for generating viewership profiles
for the network devices based on the viewer behaviors and the at
least one class of viewer associated with the network devices; a
promotion manager, for matching the viewership profiles with
promotion group membership criteria, to determine a promotion group
that includes network devices that are to receive a promotion
intended for viewers matching the viewership profile; and the
promotion manager also distributing the at least one promotion to
the network devices.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity data of
the network device includes a program channel on the network
device.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity data
includes a time at which the network device was tuned to the
channel.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity includes
a time at which the network device was tuned away from the
channel.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity data is
collected if the difference between a time the network device was
tuned to the channel and a time the network device was tuned away
from the channel is greater than a configurable time period.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity data is
collected by the promotion agent over a twenty-four hour period
before the viewership activity data is received by the life-cycle
manager.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership activity data
includes a program viewed by a viewer.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the viewership activity data
provides a percentage of time the program was viewed by the
viewer.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the program belongs to a
genre.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the viewership activity data
provides a percentage of time which the genre is viewed.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the percentage of time is
precise to within about one percent.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the program belongs to multiple
genres.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the viewership profile data is
matched with a promotion group profile.
14. The system of claim 14, wherein the promotion group profile is
based on viewer attributes.
15. The system of claim 15, wherein the viewer attributes include a
geographic location.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the viewer attributes include
demographic characteristics.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the viewer attributes include a
genre of programs.
18. A method for distributing promotions to at least one network
device, comprising the steps of: collecting viewership activity
data of work devices; correlating the viewership activity data with
a program schedule to determine viewer behaviors associated with
the network devices; matching the determined viewer behaviors to
group profiles to determine at least one class of viewer associated
with the network devices; generating viewership profiles for the
corresponding network devices based on the correlation and the
matching steps, the generated viewership profiles including the
viewer behaviors associated with the corresponding network devices
and the classes of viewer associated with the network devices;
using the viewership profiles to determine a type of individual
presently interacting with one of the network devices, the
determined type of individual used to match one of the viewership
profiles with a promotion group membership criteria, to determine a
promotion group that includes network devices that are to receive a
promotion intended for viewers matching the viewership profile; and
distributing one or more promotions to the promotion group so
determined.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/873,786, filed Jun. 4, 2001, which claims the benefit of
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/253,488, filed on Nov. 28,
2000.
[0002] The entire teachings of the above applications are
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] At the present time, most data network devices located in
the residences include some type of personal computer. Typically,
these personal computers are used to connect to Internet Service
Providers over dial-up connections to execute application programs
such as email clients and Web browsers that utilize the global
Internet to access text and graphic content. Increasingly, the
demand is for multimedia content, including audio and video, to be
delivered over such networks. However, the backbone architecture of
purely data networks, especially those designed for use with the
telephone network, were not originally designed to handle such high
data rates.
[0004] The trend is towards a more ubiquitous model where the
network devices in the home will be embedded systems designed for a
particular function or purpose. This has already occurred to some
degree. Today, for example, cable television (CATV) network set-top
boxes typically have limited data communication capabilities. The
main function of the data devices is to handle channel access
between residential users and a head end or server on the cable TV
network.
[0005] However, it is estimated that the worldwide market for
Internet appliances such as digital set-top boxes and Web-connected
terminals will reach $17.8 billion in 2004, and millions of such
digital set-top boxes have already been deployed. Increasingly,
advertisers and content providers view the cable set-top as the
first platform of choice for widespread delivery of a suite of
intelligent content management and distribution services.
[0006] In the future, the functionality offered by these set-top
boxes or other embedded platforms, such as a game system, will be
expanded. For example, they may offer Internet browsing
capabilities and e-commerce serving capabilities. Moreover, it is
anticipated that common-household appliances will also have network
functionality, in which they will be attached to the network to
automate various tasks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The digital set top box provides certain interesting
functionalities, such as the ability to collect data, such as a log
of the channels watched over time, and other events. The set top
box can be designed and programed to report this information to a
central location. At the central location, this data can be
aggregated for many hundreds of thousands of users. This
information, when coupled with other information such as
demographics, can then be used by advertisers and service providers
to target individuals or blanket defined market segments with
promotions, advertisements, and content. The digital delivery of
promotions can then allow for impulse responses yielding immediate
increases in revenues.
[0008] However, to effectively target specific set top boxes with
promotions, the viewership profiles of the set top boxes must be
generated. These profiles characterize the viewing behavior of the
viewers associated with the individual set top boxes.
[0009] The present invention implements a system for generating
viewership profiles to facilitate distributing promotions based on
the profiles to one or more network devices, such as set top
boxes.
[0010] Specifically, the system includes a promotion agent
associated with each network device which collects viewing activity
data of the network device. For example, the viewing activity data
may include a channel the network device was tuned to, a time when
the network device was tuned to the channel, and a time the network
device was tuned away from the channel.
[0011] The collected viewing activity data is then transmitted, for
example, every twenty-four hours, to a life-cycle manager server,
which also periodically receives a program schedule. The program
schedule typically specifies the channel on which a particular
program was displayed, as well as the time the program was
shown.
[0012] The life-cycle manager server correlates the viewing
activity data with the program schedule to generate the viewership
profile of the network device. The life cycle manager server
determines the viewing behavior for four, eight, and twelve week
periods, for example, or for a time period specified by a user.
[0013] In another aspect, the invention implements a method for
generating viewership profiles to facilitate distributing
promotions based on the profiles to one or more network devices.
The method includes collecting viewership activity data for each
network device, and correlating the viewership activity with
program schedules. The viewership profiles are generated for each
network device based on the correlation.
[0014] The implementation of a system for generating viewership
profiles in this manner assists network operators to cost
effectively support the advanced features of the set top box, such
as to provide targeted promotion and digital content distribution
services. This enables network operators to generate new revenues
and provide a richer interactive environment for consumers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of
the invention will be apparent from the following more particular
description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference
characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being
placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a set top box
attached to a television displaying a promotion in a full-screen
electronic program guide according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the television of
FIG. 1A displaying a promotion in a partial-screen electronic
program guide.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the interaction
between a server system and an embedded client system according to
the invention.
[0019] FIG. 3A is a process flow diagram illustrating a process for
generating viewership profiles.
[0020] FIG. 3B is a process flow diagram illustrating a process for
determining the type of individual tuned into a set top box at a
given time.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating a process for
targeting network devices.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating the
interaction of the system of FIG. 2 with multiple network
devices.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] A description of preferred embodiments of the invention
follows. Embodiments of the targeted promotion delivery system
allow advertisers and service providers the ability to effectively
utilize a multimedia network for targeting promotions at viewers
through network devices. Network devices are targeted for promotion
delivery based on device usage statistics collected from these
devices and on demographic data. The promotion delivery system can
target network devices in varying degrees of granularity from a
single network device to entire market segments. Furthermore, the
promotion delivery system is designed to ensure efficient use of
network bandwidth when delivering promotions to prevent network
congestion. The system can be implemented over a variety of
multimedia networks containing large populations of network
devices, such as television set top boxes, Internet phones, and
other similar network appliances.
[0024] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a video display system
with an active promotion according to one embodiment. Promotions
include promotional content that may be presented in various
multimedia formats including audio, video, graphics or icons, and
Internet hyperlinks. Promotions are used to advertise goods and
services, promote events, or present other commercial or
non-commercial information.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1A, the video display system 1 includes
network device or set top box 10 connected to a respective video
display 20, such as a television. Promotions 30 typically include
promotional content that may be presented in various multimedia
formats including standard audio visual clips, but also computer
graphics, icons, or Internet hyperlinks. Promotions are used to
advertise goods and services, promote events, or present other
commercial or non-commercial information. One or more promotions 30
may be simultaneously active within the video display 20 and may be
displayed in different ways. For example, promotions 30 can be
presented on electronic program guides, channel information bars 40
(FIG. 1B), or by overlaying video broadcast programming. Some
active promotions allow user interaction such as linking to
e-commerce web-sites via hyperlink connections or direct
communication with the server subsystem to obtain additional
software, such as device drivers, video games, or other application
software.
[0026] The promotions 30 can be stored locally or in a stream in
the network that is viewed as a virtual channel or a dedicated
channel and located using a local moniker. The promotions 30 can be
displayed as banners, hot spots, or full motion streams, such as
personal video recorders. The promotions 30 could be for a video on
demand (VOD) movie, commerce IPPV, an offer for a product, a pay
for view event, and walled gardens. Although the promotions 30 in
FIGS. 1A and 1B cover only a portion of the viewable screen area,
the promotions may cover the entire screen area. Further, there may
be multiple promotions 30 displayed on the video device 20, each
promotion 30 being independently selectable. The multiple
promotions 30 may cover a portion or the entire viewing screen area
of the video device 20. Clicking on or accepting the promotion 30
by the viewer may cause the network device 10 to tune away from
channel on which the promotion is displayed.
[0027] FIG. 2 is a high-level system diagram illustrating a
targeted promotion delivery system for a multimedia network
according to one embodiment. The system 100 includes a promotion
server subsystem 200 and a promotion agent subsystem 300 embedded
within each of the network devices. The promotion server subsystem
200 and the promotion agent subsystems 300 communicate with each
other through a combination of application-level messaging and
serialized bulk data transmissions.
[0028] A life-cycle manager server 250 periodically collects viewer
usage data from the promotion agent subsystem 300 of each of the
network devices to generate viewership profiles. In television
networks, the data collected by the life-cycle manager server 250
may include tuner data (i.e., a history of channels watched) and
responses to past promotions. This history is kept on a relatively
fine time scale, such as five seconds, or any other time period set
by the user. In this way, it can be determined how long a
particular promotion was deployed, or even which portions of a
promotion or video program were viewed.
[0029] In more detail regarding promotion delivery, the promotion
server subsystem 200 includes a database 210, a scheduler or
promotion manager server 220, a bulk data server 230, and a
promotion manager client 240 interfacing with the life-cycle
manager server 250. The bulk data server is typically located at a
central location in the multimedia network at a data center, head
end, or divided between the two depending on the density and
population of devices. The other components, the database 210, the
promotion manager server 220, and the promotion manager client 240,
are located at the data center.
[0030] The life-cycle manager server 250 of the promotion server
subsystem 200 generate viewership profiles for each of the network
devices from the collected data using a variety of statistical
models. The viewership profiles are then used to associate each
multimedia content viewing device with promotion groups.
[0031] Promotion groups are collections of network devices whose
individual viewership profiles match membership criterion
describing a particular demographic or viewership history. For
example, a promotion group may be demographically based, i.e.,
"married women in their 30's with more than one school age child
and a household income of at least $100,0000," or based on
viewership history, i.e., "tends to watch the Golf Channel on
Sunday afternoon." The membership criterion for a promotion group
may be specified broadly to target an entire market segment (e.g.,
sports enthusiasts) or narrowly to target a niche portion of a
market segment (e.g., badminton sport enthusiasts). Furthermore,
membership within a promotion group can change over time in
response to updates to the viewership profiles. Therefore, the
promotion delivery system is adaptable to changes in viewer usage
or viewership patterns by making adjustments to promotion
groups.
[0032] Promotions are then scheduled for delivery to specific
promotion groups. A promotion is scheduled for delivery to a
promotion group by an advertiser or service provider entering a
scheduling request for a promotion via the promotion manager client
240, or a promotion web console interfaced with an intranet and/or
the Internet. The promotion manager server 220 packages the
promotion for delivery and stores it in the database 210. Later,
the package information is read from the database 210 and used to
create customized transmission schedules that specify when and how
each of the network devices that is associated with a promotion
group is to receive it.
[0033] The promotion agent subsystem 300 embedded in each of the
network devices includes a promotion agent 310 and a bulk data
agent 320. Upon receipt of the transmission schedule messages, the
promotion agent 310 processes each schedule entry and waits for the
bulk data agent 320 to deliver each promotion identified in the
transmission schedule. The bulk data agent 320 then handles the
reception of the promotions from the scheduled data transmission as
specified in the promotion download requests. In one embodiment,
the bulk data agent 320 tunes into a multicast data transmission
stream at a specified time and channel or network address specified
in the transmission schedule.
[0034] The promotion manager server 220 extracts the promotion
package from the database 210 and converts it into a transmission
request that is sent to the bulk data server 230. The bulk data
server 230 fetches the promotions from the database 210 that are
identified in the transmission request message, and transmits them
via multicast or broadcast transmission depending on transmission
control data specified in the transmission request. The promotions
can also be stored in the bulk data server 230 or in a cache.
[0035] Once the promotions have been successfully delivered, the
promotions are activated at the network devices as specified in
promotion control data of the transmission schedules. Promotion
activation may be event, time, or channel driven. In addition,
Navic triggers or triggers embedded in broadcast streams such as
Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF), Vertical Blanking
Interval (VBI), or in Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) data
streams may activate the promotions. Promotion activation may also
occur because of some series of viewer events, for example, some
pattern of channel surfing by the viewer may activate a
promotion.
[0036] FIG. 3A illustrates a generalized process diagram 400 for
creating a viewership profile of a viewer 15 who has tuned to a
program channel on the set-top box 10. In a first step 402, the
promotion agent 310 of the promotion agent subsystem 300 embedded
in the set top box 10 creates a log of the viewer's activities. The
log records the channel to which the this set top box is tuned to,
the time the channel was tuned in, and the time the it left the
channel. In the described embodiment, the event is recorded only if
the period between the time the viewer tuned in the channel and the
time the viewer tuned away from the channel is greater than about
five seconds. By logging events that have only been watched for a
period greater than five seconds, the promotion agent is able to
distinguish shows that are actually watched from channel "surfing"
by the viewer. Time periods other than five seconds can be set by
the user. In fact, the collection of the viewership data is
entirely configurable. That is, the user can set the policies for
which the data is collected.
[0037] After the promotion agent 310 has logged viewer activities
for a period time, such as twenty four hours, the logged activities
are transmitted through messages, in a state 404, to the life cycle
manager server 250. Note that the transmission of the activities
can be governed entirely by policies configurable by the user.
Thus, the viewer activities can be logged for any time period, or
not at all. The messages are transmitted through a messaging
protocol for unicast transmission, such as TCP/IP or UDP. The
messaging protocol is described in more detail in the U.S.
Application Attorney Docket 2657.2002-000, entitled "PROTOCOL FOR
THROTTLING HIGH VOLUME MESSAGES," filed Nov. 28, 2000. In a state
406, the life cycle manager receives the log from the promotion
agent 310. Also, in the state 406 a program schedule 260 is
periodically transmitted to the life cycle manager server 250. Such
program schedule data for broadcast network is typically available
from commercial services.
[0038] After receiving the logged viewership activities and the
program schedule 260, the life cycle manager server 250 correlates
the data in the state 406. Then in a state 408, the life cycle
manager determines the viewer behavior associated with set top box
10. In this step, the life cycle manager determines what programs
were watched and the percentage of time each program was watched
during its scheduled time slot. Further, the life cycle manager
determines the genre of programs watched and the percentage of time
each genre were viewed. The genres may be collections of programs
associated with sports, news, comedies, or health shows. Note, that
the total percentage of genres watched can exceed 100% because some
shows may belong to multiple genres. The life cycle manager server
determines the viewer behavior for four, eight and twelve week
periods, for example, or for a time period specified by a user.
Finally, the viewership profile of the viewer associated with the
top box 10 is generated.
[0039] Next, in a state 410, the viewer behavior data generated by
the life cycle manager server is matched with group profiles 270
provided by third parties, such as advertisers, to the life cycle
manager server 250. These group profiles 270 may include age,
gender, residence and other demographic data.
[0040] Subsequently, in a state 412, the matched viewership
behavior data and group profiles 270 is used to determine the class
of the viewer associated with the set top box 10. In a state 414,
this viewership profile is transmitted to and stored in the
database 210.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 3B, the system 100 is also able in real
time to compare short term viewership activity 420 associated with
the set top box 10 with long term activity 430 as obtained in the
process just described above. The short term activity 420 is
collected by the promotion agent 310, and a compressed version of
the long term activity is transmitted from the life cycle manager
server 250 to the promotion agent 310. In a state 440, the
promotion agent 310 then correlates the short term activity 420
with the long term activity 430 to establish the type of individual
watching a program on a given set top box at a given moment.
[0042] After the viewership profiles of the set top box 10 in a
network is generated, an advertiser, or anyone else interested in
paying for the data, is able to make many uses of such data. For
example, the advertiser may target certain promotion groups which
are collections of network devices whose individual viewership
profiles are matched to membership criteria. The membership
criteria is usually based on demographics or geographic
locations.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 4, a process for generating promotion
groups is illustrated in detail. In a particular network, the set
top box 10 is associated with the viewer 15. The viewership profile
for the set top box 10 is obtained as described above. The data for
the set top box 10 is then transmitted to the database 210, in a
state 502, which in turn is transmitted to the promotion manager
server 220 in a state 504. In the state 504, the promotion manager
server 220 matches the viewership profile with the membership
criteria 505 provided by third parties, for example, through the
promotion manager client 240 (FIG. 2). The membership criteria may
be based, for example, on demographics, geographic locations of the
network devices, or channel and promotion history data of the
network devices.
[0044] In a state 506, promotion groups are generated by the
promotion manager server 220. Next, in a state 508, based on these
promotion groups, the promotion manager server 220 determines which
promotions to send to the set top box 10. As such, the promotion
manager server 220 generates promotion schedules which specify when
each promotion is to be shown on a particular set top box. The
scheduling information is transmitted to the promotion agent 320
through the messaging protocol discussed above. The actual content
or promotions is downloaded from the bulk manager server 230 to the
bulk server agent 320 embedded in the set top box 10 when
instructed by the promotion manager server 220. The bulk manager
server 230 does not transmit the content through the messaging
protocol discussed earlier. Rather, it employs a protocol, such as
UDP, which is capable of efficiently transmitting multicast and
broadcast media. The bulk data protocol is described in more detail
in the U.S. application Ser. No. 09/519,221, entitled "MESSAGE
ROUTER," filed Mar. 16, 2000. The scheduled promotions are then
displayed on the video display 20 (FIG. 1A) on a particular channel
at a specified time. Further, the promotions may be displayed at a
designated time independent of what the viewers are watching, or
the promotions may be displayed on particular shows the viewers are
watching.
[0045] After the targeted promotions have been displayed, the
system 100 is able to determine the success of the these
promotions. For example, in a state 510, the promotion agent 310
collects data as to which scheduled promotions were actually
watched by the set top box 10. That is, the promotion agent 310 can
determine if the viewer watched a particular promotion as intended,
or if the viewer to tuned away from the promotion by changing
channels, for example. This data is uploaded in a state 512 to the
life cycle manager 250 which transmits the data to the database 210
in a state 514. Thus, the system 100 is able to provide advertisers
information related to the success of the promotions. This
information can be provided in a state 516 directly to the
advertiser after its scheduled promotion was shown, or the
advertiser may make an inquiry of the information stored in the
database 210 in a state 518.
[0046] Although the above discussion has been directed to a single
viewer watching programs tuned to by a particular set top box, the
present embodiment is able to distinguish viewing patterns of
multiple viewers who watch programs delivered to a single set top
box.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 5, multiple viewers, 15-1 through 15-N, can
view programs on their respective video display 20, via their set
top boxes 10. Thus, by the process described above and as
illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the system 100 is able to generate
viewership profiles of each viewer associated with an individual
set top box 10. Further, once the viewership profiles are
generated, the process as described in reference to FIG. 4 enables
the system 100 to determine which viewer(s) of viewers 15-1 through
15-N, may be watching their respective video display 20 at a
particular time and what channel the set top box 10 is tuned to. As
such, the system 100 is able to determine a particular viewer to
target, as well as determining the success of the promotion which
was targeted at a particular viewer.
[0048] While this invention has been particularly shown and
described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will
be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in
form and details may be made therein without departing from the
scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
* * * * *