U.S. patent application number 12/207368 was filed with the patent office on 2009-01-08 for method and system for limiting time for online game users, ppp server, and online game server.
This patent application is currently assigned to HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Qi SHU, Jun WANG, Jieping ZHONG.
Application Number | 20090011830 12/207368 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37297667 |
Filed Date | 2009-01-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090011830 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WANG; Jun ; et al. |
January 8, 2009 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LIMITING TIME FOR ONLINE GAME USERS, PPP
SERVER, AND ONLINE GAME SERVER
Abstract
The invention discloses a method for limiting the game time of
an online game user. The method includes: according to the
information about the game time of all online game accounts of the
user recorded in a PPP server, acquiring the cumulative online time
of all online game accounts of the user; acquiring the cumulative
online time of all online game accounts of the user after the user
logs in through an online game account; counting time on the basis
of the acquired cumulative online time, and limiting the game time
of the user according to the counted time. The invention also
discloses a system for limiting the game time of an online game
user, a PPP server and an online game server. With the invention,
the game time of a user is limited according to the information
about the game time of all online game accounts of the user, and
thus a time limited is executed on an online game user who owns
multiple online game accounts.
Inventors: |
WANG; Jun; (Shenzhen,
CN) ; ZHONG; Jieping; (Shenzhen, CN) ; SHU;
Qi; (Shenzhen, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd;(for Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd)
Two Prudential Plaza Suite 4900, 180 North Stetson Avenue
Chicago
IL
60601
US
|
Assignee: |
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO.,
LTD.
Shenzhen
CN
|
Family ID: |
37297667 |
Appl. No.: |
12/207368 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/CN2007/000340 |
Jan 31, 2007 |
|
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|
12207368 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/29 ;
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2300/5546 20130101;
A63F 13/79 20140902; A63F 13/75 20140902; A63F 13/71 20140902; A63F
13/12 20130101; A63F 2300/5586 20130101; A63F 2300/407
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/29 ;
463/42 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 10, 2006 |
CN |
200610058519.0 |
Claims
1. A method for limiting the game time of an online game user,
comprising: acquiring cumulative online time of all online game
accounts of the user after the user logs in through an online game
account according to the information about the game time of all
online game accounts of the user; and counting time on the basis of
the acquired cumulative online time, and limiting the game time of
the user according to the counted time.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the game
time of all online game accounts of the user is stored in a
personal portable profile (PPP) server.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the game
time includes the user's cumulative online time, cumulative offline
time, and user status; and the method further comprises: updating
the user status to "offline" after the user logs out.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: counting the
cumulative online time of the user when the user is online;
counting the cumulative offline time of the user when the user is
offline.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: resetting the
cumulative online time of the user to zero if the user's cumulative
offline time reaches or exceeds the threshold of refreshing the
cumulative online time, when the user is offline.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the process of acquiring
cumulative online time of all online game accounts of the user
after the user logs in through an online game account according to
the information about the game time of all online game accounts of
the user comprises: by the user, logging in to an online game
server through the online game account, and sending the user's
PPP-related information to the online game server; sending, by the
online game server, a user login message and the user's PPP-related
information to an anti-addiction system; sending, by the
anti-addiction system, a login update request to the PPP server,
carrying the user's PPP-related information; by the PPP server,
after receiving the request, updating the game time information in
the user's PPP according to the user's PPP-related information in
the login update request, and returning the cumulative online time
of the user to the anti-addiction system; and the process of
updating the user status to "offline" after the user logs out
comprises: sending, by the online game server, a user logout
message and the PPP identifier in the user's PPP-related
information to the anti-addiction system after the user logs out of
the online game server through an online game account; sending, by
the anti-addiction system, a logout update request inclusive of the
user's PPP identifier to the PPP server; and updating, by the PPP
server after receiving this request, the information about the game
time in the user's PPP according to the PPP identifier in the
logout update request.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the process of updating the game
time information in the user's PPP according to the user's
PPP-related information after the PPP server receives a login
update request comprises: by the PPP server, querying the user
status in the user's PPP after receiving a login update request; if
the user status in the user's PPP is "offline," setting the user
status in the user's PPP to "online," setting the cumulative
offline time in the user's PPP to "0," and continuing to count the
online time of the user on the basis of the cumulative online time;
if the user status in the user's PPP is "online," returning the
cumulative online time of the user to the anti-addiction system
directly; the process of updating the game time information in the
user's PPP after the PPP server receives a logout update request
comprises: by the PPP server, judging whether all online game
accounts of the user are offline after receiving a logout update
request; if so, setting the user status to "offline"; otherwise,
finishing the step directly.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the PPP server presets an online
status counter for the user and sets an initial value; further,
upon receiving a login update request, the PPP server increases the
online status counter value of the user by one; further, upon
receiving a logout update request, the PPP server decreases the
online status counter value of the user by one; and the process of
judging whether all online game accounts of the user are offline
comprises: judging whether the online status counter value of the
user is the initial value.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the game
time includes login time and logout time of every online game
account of the user; the process of acquiring the cumulative online
time of all online game accounts of the user comprises: acquiring
the login time and the logout time of every online game account of
the user; and calculating the cumulative online time of the user
according to the acquired login time and logout time of every
online game account of the user; after acquiring the cumulative
online time of all online game accounts of the user, the method
further comprises: updating the login time of the online game
account that logs in to the game server; the method further
comprises: updating the logout time of the online game account
after the online game account logs out.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the process of acquiring
cumulative online time of all online game accounts of the user
after the user logs in through an online game account according to
the information about the game time of all online game accounts of
the user comprises: by the user, logging in to the online game
server through an online game account, and sending the user's
PPP-related information to the online game server; sending, by the
online game server, an online game account login message and the
user's PPP-related information to the PPP server; by the PPP
server, updating the game time information in the user's PPP
according to the received information, and returning the login time
and the logout time of all online game accounts of the user before
update to the online game server; by the online game server,
forwarding the time information from the PPP server to an
anti-addiction system; by the anti-addiction system, acquiring the
cumulative online time of the user according to the received time
information; by the anti-addiction system, acquiring cumulative
online time of all online game accounts of the user after the user
logs in through an online game account according to the information
about the game time of all online game accounts of the user; and
the process of updating the logout time of an online game account
after the online game account logs out comprises: by the online
game server, after the user logs out through the online game
account, sending a logout message of the online game account of the
user and the corresponding PPP identifier information to the PPP
server; by the PPP server, updating the logout time of the online
game account, and returning an update confirmation message to the
online game server; by the online game server, sending an online
game account logout message to the anti-addiction system; and by
the anti-addiction system upon receiving the message, stopping
monitoring the game time; or the process of updating the logout
time of an online game account after the online game account logs
out comprises: by the online game server, after the user logs out
through the online game account, sending an online game account
logout message to the anti-addiction system; by the anti-addiction
system upon receiving the message, stopping monitoring the game
time; by the online game server, sending a logout message of the
online game account of the user and the corresponding PPP
information to the PPP server; and by the PPP server, updating the
logout time of the online game account, and returning an update
confirmation message to the online game server.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the online game server forwards
the time information from the PPP server to the anti-addiction
system; and the anti-addiction system acquires the cumulative
online time of the user according to the received time information,
comprising: by the online game server, processing the time
information after receiving the time information from the PPP
server, acquiring the cumulative online time of the user, and
sending the acquired cumulative online time to the anti-addiction
system; or, by the online game server, sending the time information
to the anti-addiction system after receiving the time information
from the PPP server; and by the anti-addiction system, processing
the received time information, and acquiring the cumulative online
time of the user.
12. The method of claim 6, further comprising: sending, by the PPP
server, the user's PPP-related information to the user terminal
when the user accesses the network through a terminal.
13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: sending, by the PPP
server, the user's PPP-related information to the user terminal
when the user accesses the network through a terminal.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein after the user accesses the
network through a terminal, the method further comprises: sending,
by the terminal, the user attribute information to the network;
before the PPP server sends the user's PPP-related information to
the user terminal, the method further comprises: by the network,
authenticating the user attribute information from the terminal,
and notifying the PPP server if the authentication is passed.
15. The method of claim 6, wherein the PPP-related information
comprises the user's PPP identifier information or the user's PPP
information.
16. A system for limiting the game time of an online game user,
comprising an anti-addiction system wherein: the anti-addiction
system is adapted to receive the login message of an online game
account of the user, acquire cumulative online time of all online
game accounts of the user according to the information about the
game time of all online game accounts of the user, count time on
the basis of the cumulative online time, and limit the game time of
the user according to the counted time.
17. A system of claim 16, further comprising an online game server
system, adapted to send the login message of an online game account
of the user to the anti-addiction system.
18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a personal portable
profile (PPP) server, adapted to store the information about the
game time of all online game accounts of the user in the user's
PPP, and provide the information to the anti-addiction system.
19. The system of claim 18, further comprising: a user attribute
collection unit, adapted to collect the attributes that may
identify the user, and send the collected user attributes to a user
attribute authentication unit; a user attribute authentication
unit, adapted to acquire information through interaction with the
PPP server, authenticate the user attribute information from the
user attribute collection unit, and notify the PPP server according
to the authentication result; and the PPP server send the user's
PPP-related information to the terminal according to the
authentication result from the user attribute authentication
unit.
20. A personal portable profile (PPP) server, comprising a PPP
access control unit, and a PPP storage unit, wherein: the PPP
storage unit is adapted to store the PPP data about the game time
of all online game accounts of a user; and the PPP access control
unit is adapted to receive a login update request and a logout
update request, update the information about the game time in the
PPP storage unit according to the received request, read the
information about the game time from the PPP storage unit, and send
the read information; or, further search for the PPP requests of
the user, read the information in the PPP of the user, and return
the user's PPP identifier information to the user terminal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of International Patent
Application No. PCT/CN2007/000340, filed Jan. 31, 2007, which
claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200610058519.0,
filed Mar. 10, 2006, each of which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to online game services, and
in particular, to a method and system for limiting time for online
game users, a personal portable profile (PPP) server, and an online
game server.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Online games bring social problems such as Web addiction
while providing a means of entertainment. Therefore, online games
are negatively known as "electronic heroin." As a side effect of
online games, Web addiction troubles the development of the
Internet culture industry. It is a common responsibility of
governments, enterprises and the society to work out an effective
solution to Web addiction, especially juvenile addiction to online
games.
[0004] Limiting the time of playing online games may help solve
juvenile addiction to online games. In the prior art, after a user
logs in through an online game account, the online game server
counts the online game time of the account from 0, and monitors the
game time of the account according to the counted time.
[0005] Specifically, the anti-addiction system in the online game
server limits the online game time of the user. The online game
server further includes an online game server system and an online
game account management system. In the prior art, the foregoing
anti-addiction system executes a time limit on an online game based
on a single online game account of the user.
[0006] Consequently, a single online game account is under the time
limit, but online games come in many types, and a user can have
many online game accounts for each type of online game. For a user
with multiple online game accounts, the time limit based on a
single online game account is futile. For example, user A has three
online game accounts: account 1, account 2 and account 3. User A
logs in to the online game server through account 1, and logs out
after reaching the fatigue time threshold; and then logs in to the
online game server through account 2 to play, and logs out after
reaching the fatigue time threshold; and then logs in through
account 3. In this way, the total game time of the user is far
greater than the fatigue time threshold, but the online game server
system is unable to limit the bonus of the user. Therefore, the
prior art is unable to limit the game time of an online game user
that has multiple online game accounts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A method for limiting the game time of an online game user
provided in an embodiment of the invention includes:
[0008] acquiring cumulative online time of all online game accounts
of the user after the user logs in through an online game account
according to the information about the game time of all online game
accounts of the user; and
[0009] counting time on the basis of the acquired cumulative online
time, and limiting the game time of the user according to the
counted time.
[0010] A system for limiting the game time of an online game user
provided in an embodiment of the invention includes an
anti-addiction system and an online game server system,
wherein:
[0011] the anti-addiction system is adapted to receive the login
message of an online game account of the user, acquire cumulative
online time of all online game accounts of the user according to
the information about the game time of all online game accounts of
the user, count time on the basis of the cumulative online time,
and limit the game time of the user according to the counted time;
and
[0012] online game server system is adapted to send the login
message of an online game account of the user to the anti-addiction
system.
[0013] A PPP server provided in an embodiment of the invention
includes: a PPP access control unit, and a PPP storage unit,
wherein:
[0014] the PPP storage unit is adapted to store the PPP data about
the game time of all online game accounts of the user; and
[0015] the PPP access control unit is adapted to receive a login
update request and a logout update request, update the information
about the game time in the PPP storage unit according to the
received request, read the information about the game time from the
PPP storage unit, and send the read information; or, further search
for the PPP requests of the user, read the information in the PPP
of the user, and return the user's PPP identifier information to
the user terminal.
[0016] An online game server provided in an embodiment of the
invention includes an anti-addiction system and an online game
server system, wherein:
[0017] the anti-addiction system is adapted to receive the login
message of an online game account of a user, acquire cumulative
online time of all online game accounts of the user according to
the information about the game time of all online game accounts of
the user, count time on the basis of the cumulative online time and
limit the game time of the user according to the counted time;
and
[0018] the online game server system is adapted to send the login
message of an online game account of the user to the anti-addiction
system.
[0019] The foregoing scheme may bring the following benefits: In
the embodiments of the present invention, the system may acquire
the cumulative online time of all online game accounts of the user
according to the information about the game time of all online game
accounts of the user after the user logs in through an online game
account, and execute a time limit on the user; and update the
information about the game time of the user in the PPP server after
the user logs out through an online game account, thus executing a
time limit on an online game user who has multiple online game
accounts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a general flowchart of the method provided in a
embodiments of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method provided in the first
embodiment of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the method provided in the second
embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 4 shows the cumulative online time of a user acquired
in the method provided in the second embodiment of the
invention;
[0024] FIG. 5 shows the general architecture of the system provided
in a embodiments of the invention;
[0025] FIG. 6 shows the architecture of the system provided in the
first embodiment of the invention; and
[0026] FIG. 7 shows the architecture of the system provided in the
second embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The embodiments of the invention comprise acquiring the game
time of multiple online game accounts of a user, and limiting the
game time of the user according to the acquired game time of
multiple online game accounts.
[0028] Network operators have network resources that are
unavailable from application service providers. By providing the
basic access service for users, operators can provide unified
access management for users and application service providers.
Operators can provide a personal portable profile (PPP, also known
as communication fingerprint) for a user through the access number
of the user (for example, mobile phone number in the case of a
mobile operator, fixed telephone number in the case of a fixed
network operator, access account in the case of a broadband
operator) or through the specific user attribute information such
as sound wave, fingerprint, and Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) information. The PPP is a minimum complete set that is
established by a network operator to uniquely identify
communication attributes of a user. For example, the PPP may
contain the attributes of the bearer network resources used by the
user, and attributes of service resources such as upper-layer
service capability components, platforms, and applications. Such
information may serve as basic information for network
authentication and service authentication of the user.
[0029] The embodiments of the invention set information about the
game time of all online game accounts of a user in the PPP of the
user; acquire the information about the game time of all online
game accounts of the user according to the interaction between the
PPP server and the online game server system, or the online game
account management system, or the online game client system; and
limit the game time of the user according to the acquired
information about the game time of all online game accounts of the
user, thus effectively controlling the game time of an online game
user who has multiple online game accounts.
[0030] The following elaborates on the method and the system for
limiting the game time of an online game user provided in an
embodiment of the invention.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the general process of a method for
limiting the game time of an online game user provided in an
embodiment of the invention includes the following steps:
[0032] Step 101: According to the information about the game time
of all online game accounts of the user recorded in the PPP server,
acquire cumulative online time of all online game accounts of the
user after the user logs in through an online game account.
[0033] Step 102: Count time on the basis of the acquired cumulative
online time, and limit the game time of the user according to the
counted time.
[0034] Step 103: Update the information about the game time of the
user in the PPP server after the user logs out through an online
game account.
[0035] The foregoing steps 101 and 102 may be performed by an
attached anti-addiction system or a standalone anti-addiction
system. The information about the game time of all online game
accounts of a user recorded in a PPP server may be cumulative
online time, cumulative offline time and user status information
acquired by the PPP server, which derive from the processed login
time and logout time of every online game account of the user. In
this case, the way for the anti-addiction system to acquire the
information about the game time of all online game accounts of the
user may be: the PPP server sends the cumulative online time
acquired after information processing to the anti-addiction system
directly. The information about the game time of a user recorded in
a PPP server may be the login time and logout time of every online
game account of the user acquired by the PPP server from each
online game server. In this case, the way for the anti-addiction
system to acquire the information about the game time of all online
game accounts of the user may be: acquiring the login time and
logout time of every online game account of the user from the PPP
server through an online game server.
[0036] The method of the present invention is hereinafter described
in detail with reference to two specific embodiments.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the process of the method provided in
the first embodiment of the invention includes the following steps,
where step 201 to step 206 describe how a user accesses the network
through a terminal to perform PPP-related authentication and
processing:
[0038] Steps 201-203: The user accesses the network through a
terminal. The user attribute collection unit in the terminal
collects the user attributes in the terminal, and sends the
attributes to the user attribute authentication unit in the uniform
access management unit of the operator for authentication. After
the authentication is passed, step 204 is executed.
[0039] In this embodiment, the user attribute information is
associated with the PPP of the user. When the user gets registered
on the network, the user attribute information is registered. The
user attribute information may be information that uniquely
identifies the user such as an ID card number, or other user
attribute information such as sound wave, fingerprint, portrait,
and RFID, or special hardware of the user terminal such as CPU
serial number or MAC address.
[0040] Step 204: The user attribute authentication unit in the
uniform access management unit sends the attribute identifier to
the PPP server, and the PPP server searches for the corresponding
PPP information of the user. If the user accesses the network for
the first time, the PPP server generates the corresponding PPP
information for the user. In the present invention, the operator
generates a PPP for each user that accesses the network. Here the
uniform access management unit may also send the network access
identifier of the user to the PPP server, and the PPP server
searches the PPP database for the PPP or generates a PPP for the
user according to the network access identifier of the user.
[0041] Step 205: The PPP server performs network authentication and
service authentication for the user.
[0042] The authentication here is not to verify the identifier of
the user, but to verify the PPP information of the user, including
the basic service capability attributes and the network capability
attributes in the PPP, for example, network elements and service
capability components used by the user. After the authentication is
passed, the user can use the network normally.
[0043] The user's PPP records the information about communication
facilities and resource facilities. The generation network (NGN)
technology based on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) separates control
from bearer and separates service from control. Here the network
control layer authenticates the bearer capabilities of the user
(for example, access bandwidth, or line QoS) according to the PPP
of the user. The service capability authentication here is not to
authenticate the specific service applications, but to authenticate
the basic service capabilities of the network operator.
[0044] Step 206: The PPP server returns the user's PPP-related
information to the terminal.
[0045] The PPP-related information here may be the user's PPP
identifier information, or the user's PPP information. The user's
PPP identifier information includes some attributes of the PPP
server such as interaction mode and license, and the uniform
resource locator (URL) of the user's PPP. The PPP server may also
send the PPP information to the terminal directly, where the PPP
information contains information about the game time of the user.
In this case, the anti-addiction system will limit the game time of
the user according to the information about game time acquired by
the online game server from the terminal.
[0046] A part of XML-based PPP identifier information of the user
is exemplified below:
TABLE-US-00001 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PPPid> <PppId>8016800289007</PppId> //PPP
identifier <UserId>493005100592800</UserId> //User
identifier
<PppURL>www.pppserver.com/ppp/8016800289007</PppURL>
//PPP URL <Cred> //License information item <Meta>
<Type xmlns="syncml:metinf">syncml:auth-md5</Type>
//MD-5 encryption <Format
xmlns=`syncml:metinf`>b64</Format> //Data format
</Meta> <Data> <!-base64 formatting of
userid:password --> //License information data </Data>
</Cred> </PPPid>
[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the process of monitoring the user after
the user logs in to a game includes steps 207-217:
[0048] Step 207: The online game client logs in to the game through
a registered online game account. The game client sends a login
message to the online game server system. This message includes not
only the online game account information, but also the user's PPP
identifier information, or even the user's PPP information. If the
login message includes the user's PPP information, the PPP
information includes at least the information about the game time
of the user, for example, cumulative online time of the user.
[0049] Step 208: The online game server sends an online game
account login message to the anti-addiction system, carrying the
user's PPP identifier information or the user's PPP
information.
[0050] Step 209: The anti-addiction system sends a login update
request to the PPP server, carrying the PPP identifier
information.
[0051] Step 210: The PPP server authenticates the license in the
PPP identifier information sent by the anti-addiction system.
[0052] Here the authentication of the license in the PPP identifier
information aims to ensure that the modification of the user's PPP
is legal, and prevent attackers from faking the online game server
to modify the user's PPP. If the authentication is failed, the PPP
server may take some tracking and restrictive measures such as
masking the IP address of the opposite party. Generally, any system
that performs data exchange with the PPP server has been certified
by the operator. Therefore, the PPP information of the user can be
protected from illegal modification through a user confirmation
mechanism in addition to use of a license. A user confirmation
mechanism may include: After receiving an update request from the
anti-addiction system, the PPP server sends an anti-addiction
system update notification to the terminal, and executes the update
operation only after the user makes a confirmation; once the user
terminal returns a reject message to the PPP server, the PPP server
may return an error message to the anti-addiction system without
modifying the user's PPP, and then the anti-addiction system
notifies the online game server.
[0053] Step 211: After the authentication is passed, the
information about the game time in the user's PPP will be
updated.
[0054] In this embodiment, the game time information recorded by
the PPP server in the user's PPP includes: the user's cumulative
online time, cumulative offline time, and user status. The PPP
server may count time automatically according to the user status,
including: If the user is online, the PPP server counts the
cumulative online time of the user; if the user is offline, the PPP
server counts the cumulative offline time of the user. Besides, if
the PPP server detects that the cumulative offline time of the user
reaches or exceeds the preset threshold of refreshing the
cumulative online time, for example, 5 hours, the user's cumulative
online time may be refreshed to 0. In this case, the process of
updating the game time information in the user's PPP includes:
First, check the user status recorded in the user's PPP
information. If the user status recorded in the user's PPP is
"offline," set the user status recorded in the user's PPP to
"online," set the cumulative offline time recorded in the user's
PPP to "0," and continue counting the user's online time on the
basis of the originally recorded cumulative online time, starting
from the foregoing offline time; if the user status recorded in the
PPP is "online," it indicates that another online game account is
being used under time monitoring, and step 212 will be performed
directly.
[0055] Step 212: The PPP server returns an update confirmation
message together with the user's cumulative online time to the
anti-addiction system.
[0056] Step 213: The anti-addiction system starts counting time
based on the cumulative game time sent from the PPP server, and
monitors the game time of the user according to the preset
policy.
[0057] The preset policy in this step may be: A prompt message is
sent to the online game server according to the healthy game time,
fatigue game time, and unhealthy game time mentioned in the
anti-addiction system standard formulated by the General
Administration of Press and Publication of the People's Republic of
China. After receiving the prompt message, the online game server
may reduce the bonus of the user, and send a prompt message to the
user. Here the cumulative game time sent from the PPP server
includes cumulative online time, and cumulative offline time. If
the cumulative offline time reaches the threshold of refreshing the
online time, for example, 5 hours, the anti-addiction system starts
from 0 to count the online game time; otherwise, if the cumulative
offline time is less than 5 hours, the anti-addiction system counts
the user's online time on the basis of the acquired cumulative
online time. For example, if the cumulative online time sent from
the PPP server is 02:30:00 and the anti-addiction system sets the
fatigue time to 3 hours, the anti-addiction system counts time on
the basis of the received cumulative online time. After the user
spends 30 minutes in the game, the 3-hour fatigue time threshold is
reached, and the anti-addiction system sends a prompt message to
the online game server to adjust the game status of the user, for
example, reduce the bonus.
[0058] A part of XML-based PPP that records the game time of the
user in the foregoing steps is exemplified below:
TABLE-US-00002 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PppML> <PppHdr>
<PppId>8016800289007</PppId> //PPP identifier
<UserId>493005100592800</UserId> //User identifier ...
</PppHdr> <PppBody> <dimension name="Base
Information" typeId="1"> //Other dimension information ...
</dimension> <dimension name="PIM" typeId="2"> //User
data dimension information <item id="PIM001" name="Total"
type="Time"> <Description>cumulative online
time</Description> //Information item description
<online>02:30:20</online> //Cumulative online time
<offline>00:00:00</Offline> //Cumulative offline time
<state>online</state> //User status <item>
</dimension> </PppBody> </PppML>
[0059] Step 214: After the user quits the game through an online
game account, the terminal sends a quit message to the online game
server. The message may include the PPP identifier of the user.
[0060] Step 215: The online game server notifies the anti-addiction
system about the logout of the user's online game account and the
user's PPP identifier information.
[0061] Step 216: The anti-addiction system sends a logout update
request to the PPP server, carrying the PPP identifier
information.
[0062] Steps 217-218: The PPP server authenticates the license in
the PPP identifier information sent by the anti-addiction system,
and updates the user's PPP information after the authentication is
passed, and then proceeds to step 219.
[0063] As in step 210, here the authentication of the license in
the PPP identifier information aims to ensure that the modification
of the user's PPP is legal, and prevent attackers from faking the
online game server to modify the user's PPP. If the authentication
is failed, the PPP server may take some tracking and restrictive
measures such as masking the IP address of the opposite party.
Generally, any system that performs data exchange with the PPP
server has been certified by the operator. Therefore, the PPP
information of the user can be protected from illegal modification
through a user confirmation mechanism in addition to use of a
license. A user confirmation mechanism includes: After receiving an
update request from the anti-addiction system, the PPP server sends
an anti-addiction system update notification to the terminal, and
executes the update operation only after the user makes a
confirmation; once the user terminal returns a reject message to
the PPP server, the PPP server may return an error message to the
anti-addiction system without modifying the user's PPP.
[0064] The PPP server updates the user's PPP information in this
way: The PPP server searches out the user corresponding to the
received PPP identifier, and judges whether all online game
accounts of the user are offline. If so, the PPP server records the
user status as "offline," whereupon the PPP server counts offline
time until receiving the login message of an online game account of
the user. The PPP server can monitor the game time during the
counting. For example, when the offline time exceeds 5 hours, the
PPP server refreshes the cumulative online time to 0; if the user
keeps online, the PPP server proceeds to step 219 directly.
[0065] To accurately know whether all online game accounts are
offline, the PPP server may set a counter for the user beforehand,
and set the initial value of the counter. When receiving the login
message of an online game account of the user, the PPP server
increases the counter value; when receiving the logout message of
an online game account of the user, the PPP server decreases the
counter value. The PPP server judges whether all online game
accounts of the user are offline, namely, whether the foregoing
counter value set by the PPP server for the user is the initial
value. If so, the PPP server determines that all online game
accounts of the user are offline; otherwise, the PPP server
determines that the user is online.
[0066] Steps 219-220: The PPP server returns an update confirmation
message to the anti-addiction system, and the anti-addiction system
finishes time monitoring on the online game account of the
user.
[0067] The first embodiment of the method of the present invention
has been described above. Unlike the information recorded in the
first embodiment of the method of the present invention, the game
time information recorded in the PPP server in the second
embodiment is the game time information of every online game
account of the user rather than the cumulative time information,
and includes the login time (namely, when to log in) and logout
time (namely, when to log out) of every online game account. Here,
for an online user, the logout time may be recorded as a logout
identifier, for example, 00:00:00, to indicate that the online game
account is online. In this case, when the user logs out at midnight
exactly, the time is recorded as 24:00:00 to be different from the
logout identifier. In addition, the online status of every online
game account may be set to indicate whether the user is online.
[0068] A part of XML-based PPP that includes the game time of
online game accounts in this embodiment of the invention is
exemplified below:
TABLE-US-00003 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PppML> <PppHdr>
<PppId>8016800289007</PppId> //PPP identifier
<UserId>493005100592800</UserId> //User identifier ...
</PppHdr> <PppBody> <dimension name="Base
Information" typeId="1"> //Other dimension information ...
</dimension> <dimension name="PIM" typeId="2"> //User
data dimension information <item id="PIM001" name="WOW"
type="ACC"> //Information item of online game account 1
<Description>World of Warcraft</Description>
//Information item description <ACL>
read=www.wow.com&write=www.wow.com </ACL> //Description
of the access control list <Online>12:05:20<Online>
//Login time of the online game account
<Offline>14:30:00</Offline> //Logout time of the online
game account <item> ... <item id="PIM002" name="FWest"
type="ACC"> //Information item of online game account 2
<Description> Dreams in the West </Description>
//Information item description
<ACL>read=www.163.com&write=www.163.com</ACL>
//Description of the access control list
<Online>15:00:00</Online> //Login time of the online
game account <Offline>00:00:00</Offline> //Logout time
of the online game account <item> </dimension>
</PppBody> </PppML>
[0069] Because the game time information recorded in the user's PPP
information is different, the interaction process is different. The
process of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. The process for the
user to access the network through a terminal to undergo
PPP-related authentication and processing is the same as the case
of the first embodiment, and is not described further. The
following elaborates on how a user logs in to a game and how to
limit the game time of the user in this embodiment of the
invention.
[0070] Step 301: The online game client logs in to a game through a
registered online game account, and gets connected with the online
game server to perform data interaction. This step differs from
step 207 only in that the login message sent by the online game
client to the online game server system includes the PPP identifier
information of the user.
[0071] Step 302: The online game server sends an online game
account login message to the PPP server, carrying the user's PPP
identifier information.
[0072] Step 303: The PPP server authenticates the license in the
PPP identifier information sent from the online game server.
[0073] Step 304: After the authentication is passed, the PPP server
updates the PPP information of the corresponding online game
account.
[0074] In this step, the update of the PPP information of the
corresponding online game account of the user is to update the
online time of the corresponding online game account to the current
time; and record the logout time as 00:00:00, or set the online
game account to the online state.
[0075] Step 305: The PPP server sends an update confirmation
message and the information about game time of all online game
accounts of the user before PPP update to the online game
server.
[0076] Step 306: The online game server sends an online game
account login message and the game time of all online game accounts
of the user to the anti-addiction system.
[0077] Alternatively, in this step, the online game server
determines the current cumulative online time after processing the
game time of all online game accounts of the user according to the
game time of all online game accounts of the user sent from the PPP
server, and then sends the cumulative online time to the
anti-addiction system. As shown in FIG. 4, the processing of the
game time of all online game accounts of the user includes: If the
online game server determines that all online game accounts are
offline according to such information, the online game server
judges whether the duration from the last logout time among all
online game accounts to the current time exceeds the threshold of
refreshing the online time. If so, the online game server sets the
cumulative online time to 0; if not, the online game server
calculates the cumulative online time of the user according to the
login time and the logout time of all online game accounts. If the
online game server determines that all online game accounts of the
user are online currently according to the game time of all online
game accounts of the user, the online game server calculates the
cumulative online time of the user according to the login time and
the logout time of all online game accounts.
[0078] Step 307: The anti-addiction system monitors the game time
of the user according to the online game account login message and
the information about game time of the user sent from the online
game server.
[0079] Here, if the information sent from the online game server
contains unprocessed time information about all online game
accounts of the user, the anti-addiction system processes the time
information, determines the cumulative online time of the user,
counts time on the basis of such cumulative online time, and
monitors the game time of the user; if the information sent from
the online game server contains cumulative online time, the
anti-addiction system counts time directly on the basis of the
cumulative online time and monitors the game time of the user.
[0080] Step 308: After the user quits the game through an online
game account, the terminal sends a quit message to the online game
server. The message may include the PPP identifier information of
the user.
[0081] Step 309: The online game server sends an online game
account logout message and the user's PPP identifier information to
the PPP server.
[0082] Step 310: The PPP server authenticates the license in the
PPP identifier information sent from the online game server, and
updates the PPP information of the user after the authentication is
passed.
[0083] The PPP server updates the user's PPP information by setting
the logout time of the corresponding online game account to the
current time in the user's PPP information.
[0084] Step 311: The PPP server returns an update confirmation
message to the online game server.
[0085] Step 312: The online game server sends an online game
account logout message to the anti-addiction system to notify the
anti-addiction system that the online game account of the user has
logged out.
[0086] Step 313: The anti-addiction system stops monitoring the
game time of the corresponding online game account of the user
according to the received online game account logout message.
[0087] In this embodiment, the online game server may perform step
312 before performing step 308.
[0088] The specific embodiments of the method of the present
invention have been described above. The system provided in an
embodiment of the invention is described in detail below with
reference to accompanying drawings.
[0089] As shown in FIG. 5, the system provided in an embodiment of
the invention includes an anti-addiction system 501 and an online
game server system 502. The anti-addiction system 501 is adapted to
receive the login message of an online game account of a user,
acquire cumulative online time of all online game accounts of the
user according to the information about the game time of all online
game accounts of the user, count time on the basis of the
cumulative online time and limit the game time of the user
according to the counted time; the online game server system 502 is
adapted to send an online game account login message to the
anti-addiction system.
[0090] The foregoing system further includes: a PPP server, adapted
to store information about the game time of all online game
accounts of the user in the user's PPP, and provide such
information to the anti-addiction system. This PPP server may
provide the information about the game time of all online game
accounts of the user to the anti-addiction system directly, or
provide such information to the anti-addiction system through an
online game server system.
[0091] The PPP server may send the information about the game time
of all online game accounts of the user to the online game server
system through an online game client system, and the online game
server system sends the information to the anti-addiction
system.
[0092] The foregoing system may further include: a user attribute
collection unit, adapted to collect the attributes that can
identify the user from a terminal, and send the collected user
attribute information to the user attribute authentication unit;
and a user attribute authentication unit, adapted to acquire
information through interaction with the PPP server, authenticate
user attributes from the user attribute collection unit, and notify
the authentication result to the PPP server.
[0093] According to the authentication result sent from the user
attribute authentication unit, the PPP server sends PPP-related
information to the terminal, including the information about the
game time of all online game accounts of the user.
[0094] The foregoing anti-addiction system is set in an online game
server, or set in a service provision platform connected to the
online game server and the operator's network, or set
separately.
[0095] FIG. 6 shows the composition of the system provided in the
first embodiment of the invention, where an online game server 61
is connected to a PPP server 63 through a service provision
platform 62, and connected to a user terminal 65 through a service
provision platform 62 and a uniform access management unit 64.
[0096] The online game server 61 includes an anti-addiction system
611, an online game server system 612 and an online game account
management system 613. The anti-addiction system 611 and the online
game server system 612 have the functions of the foregoing
anti-addiction system 501 and the online game server system 502,
respectively, except that, as shown in FIG. 6, the anti-addiction
system 611 and the online game server system 612 interact with
other parts through the uniform open service gateway 621 in the
service provision platform 62. The online game account management
system 613 is adapted to manage all online game accounts of a user,
for example, interact with the online game client system on the
user terminal for account login, login authentication, and account
logout. The online game account management system interacts with
the outside through the uniform open service gateway 621.
[0097] The service provision platform 62 includes a uniform open
service gateway 621, adapted to connect components of the online
game server, serve as an interface gateway for interaction between
the foregoing components and the interior parts of the operator's
network such as a PPP server and a uniform access management unit,
and be responsible for protocol conversion in the interaction
process.
[0098] The PPP server 63 includes a PPP access control unit 631 and
a PPP storage unit 632. The PPP storage unit 632 is adapted to
store the PPP data of the user. The PPP access control unit 631 is
adapted to (i) receive a login update request sent from the
anti-addiction system or the online game server system, and
authenticate the request message; (ii) if the authentication is
passed, update the data in the PPP storage unit, and return the
information about the game time of the user read from the PPP
storage unit to the anti-addiction system or the online game server
system; (iii) receive a logout update request sent from the
anti-addiction system or the online game server system, and
authenticate the request message; (iv) if the authentication is
passed, update the data in the PPP storage unit, and return an
update confirmation message to the anti-addiction system or the
online game server system upon completion of update; (v) according
to the request for searching for the user's PPP sent from the user
attribute authentication unit, read the information in the user's
PPP, and perform network authentication and service authentication
for the user; (vi) if the authentication is passed, return the
user's PPP identifier to the user terminal. The specific
embodiments of the PPP server are described in the Chinese Patent
Application No. CN200510135987.9, filed with the Chinese Patent
Office on Dec. 19, 2005, and will not be described further here.
Chinese Patent Application No. CN200510135987.9 is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety and for everything that
it teaches.
[0099] The uniform access management unit 64 includes a uniform
access gateway 641, which serves as an interface gateway between
the online game client on the user terminal and the PPP server or
the online game server and may perform traffic control and content
charging. The uniform access management unit 64 may further include
a user attribute authentication unit 642, adapted to acquire
information through interaction with the PPP server and
authenticate the user attribute information sent from the
terminal.
[0100] The user terminal 65 includes an online game client system
651, adapted to interact with the online game server system 612
about game logics and data; interact with the online game account
management system to authenticate the online game account of the
user; and send the user's PPP information received from the PPP
server to the online game server system.
[0101] The user terminal 65 may further include a user attribute
collection unit 652, adapted to collect the attributes that can
identify the user; and, through the uniform access gateway 641,
send the collected user attributes to the user attribute
authentication unit for authentication. The user attribute
collection unit may be a voice collection unit, a hardware
information collection unit inside a special computer, fingerprint
collection unit, portrait collection unit, intelligent card
information collection unit, or a combination thereof.
[0102] The system provided in first embodiment of the present
invention has been described above. As shown in FIG. 7, the system
provided in the second embodiment differs from the system provided
in the first embodiment: The anti-addiction system 722 is set on a
service provision platform, and performs the functions of the
anti-addiction system 611 except that the anti-addiction system is
connected to the online game server system through a uniform open
service gateway and is directly connected to the PPP server.
[0103] Although the invention has been described through some
exemplary embodiments, the invention is not limited to such
embodiments. It is apparent that those skilled in the art can make
various modifications and variations to the invention without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention
is intended to cover the modifications and variations provided that
they fall in the scope of protection defined by the following
claims or their equivalents.
* * * * *