U.S. patent application number 16/849019 was filed with the patent office on 2020-07-30 for method and apparatus for associating an identifier with network traffic.
The applicant listed for this patent is Bridge and Post, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jasminder S. Banga, Amul Patel, Miten Sampat, Nitin J. Shah.
Application Number | 20200242664 16/849019 |
Document ID | 20200242664 / US20200242664 |
Family ID | 1000004754374 |
Filed Date | 2020-07-30 |
Patent Application | download [pdf] |
United States Patent
Application |
20200242664 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shah; Nitin J. ; et
al. |
July 30, 2020 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSOCIATING AN IDENTIFIER WITH NETWORK
TRAFFIC
Abstract
Embodiments within describe a system and method of tagging
network traffic with relevant user information. In an embodiment,
an identifier is generated from client device information. The
identifier is associated with a network-related message from the
client device. The tagged network-related message is then
transmitted.
Inventors: |
Shah; Nitin J.; (Cupertino,
CA) ; Banga; Jasminder S.; (San Francisco, CA)
; Sampat; Miten; (San Francisco, CA) ; Patel;
Amul; (Pacifica, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Bridge and Post, Inc. |
Little Rock |
AR |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004754374 |
Appl. No.: |
16/849019 |
Filed: |
April 15, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15489061 |
Apr 17, 2017 |
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16849019 |
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14512348 |
Oct 10, 2014 |
9659314 |
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15489061 |
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12045693 |
Mar 10, 2008 |
8862747 |
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14512348 |
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60894195 |
Mar 10, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0269 20130101;
G06Q 2220/00 20130101; H04L 67/20 20130101; H04L 67/18 20130101;
H04W 4/029 20180201; H04L 67/2804 20130101; H04L 67/306
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08; H04W 4/029 20060101
H04W004/029 |
Claims
1. A method for improving the selection of media for delivery to a
targeted user of a client computing device, comprising: determining
user information for a user; generating a user identifier for the
user from the determined user information; tagging, with a network
routing device, network traffic that is bound for a destination
site, the tagging including: generating a request identifier by
encrypting the user identifier in an alphanumeric string, and
adding the request identifier to the network traffic to generate
tagged network traffic; transmitting the tagged network traffic to
the destination site; receiving from a requester associated with
the destination site a decode request to decode the tagged network
traffic; decoding the tagged network traffic to obtain the user
identifier; retrieving stored user information associated with the
user identifier; and transmitting the stored user information to
the requester.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request identifier comprises
a key that provides access to a set of stored user information.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored user information
associated with the user identifier includes: previously determined
demographic information related to the user, previously determined
geographic information related to the user, or previously
determined user determining user preferences.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining, or
updating, or both, the stored user information.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining user information
includes: determining demographic information related to the user,
determining geographic information related to the user, and
determining user preferences.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user identifier is generated
using the determined demographic information and determined
geographic information.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the tagging further includes
encrypting the determined user information in the alphanumeric
string, and wherein decoding the tagged network traffic further
includes obtaining the encrypted user information, the method
further comprising storing the obtained user information with the
stored user information associated with the user identifier.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the determined user preferences
include: profile data, browsing patterns, site preferences, product
preferences, consumption preferences, or service preferences.
9. The method of claim 5, wherein the determined user preferences
include: user network usage information, the user network usage
information including one or more of: usage frequency, usage
patterns, length of sessions, or time of use.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the user identifier
includes determining a unique device identifier for a client
computing device.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating the user identifier
includes performing a one-way hashing operation on the unique
device identifier to generate the local user identifier.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising verifying a right of
the client computing device based in part on the unique device
identifier.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the right of the client
computing device determines a time that content may be
accessed.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein after the transmitting the
stored user information to the requester, the requester, using a
server, transmits targeted content to the user, the targeted
content determined by the requester based in part on the user
information.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the targeted content was chosen
by the requestor based on demographic information within the
transmitted user information.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the targeted content was chosen
by the requestor based on geographic information within the
transmitted user information.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the targeted content includes
information about one or more commercial interests.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the targeted content includes
information about a location itself.
19. A method for improving the selection of media for delivery to a
targeted user, comprising: determining, at a server, user
information for a user; generating, at the server, a user
identifier for the user from the determined user information;
receiving, at the server from a requester associated with a
destination site, a decode request to decode tagged network
traffic, wherein the tagged network traffic was transmitted to the
destination site from a network routing device, and wherein the
network routing device had tagged intercepted network traffic to
create the tagged network traffic, the tagged network traffic
including a request identifier comprising the user identifier
encrypted in an alphanumeric string; decoding, at the server, the
tagged network traffic to obtain the user identifier; retrieving,
at the server, stored user information associated with the user
identifier; and transmitting, at the server, the stored user
information to the requester.
20. A method for improving the selection of media for delivery to a
targeted user, comprising: determining, by a network routing
device, user information for a user; generating, by the network
routing device, a user identifier for the user from the determined
user information; tagging, with the network routing device, network
traffic that is bound for a destination site, the tagging
including: generating a request identifier by encrypting the user
identifier in an alphanumeric string, and adding the request
identifier to the network traffic to generate tagged network
traffic; and transmitting, by the network routing device, the
tagged network traffic to the destination site, the destination
site receiving stored user information from a server after the
destination site transmitted a decode request to a server to decode
the tagged network traffic.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 15/489,061, filed on Apr. 17, 2017, entitled
"Method And Apparatus For Associating An Identifier With Network
Traffic," which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
14/512,348, filed on Oct. 10, 2014, entitled "Method And Apparatus
For Tagging Network Traffic Using Extensible Fields In Message
Headers," now U.S. Pat. No. 9,659,314, which is a continuation of
U.S. application Ser. No. 12/045,693, filed on Mar. 10, 2008,
entitled "Method And Apparatus For Tagging Network Traffic Using
Extensible Fields In Message Headers," now U.S. Pat. No. 8,862,747,
which claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/894,195 entitled "Systems, Methods And Computer Program Products
Including Session And Tagging Features," and filed on Mar. 10,
2007. The present application is related to PCT Application No.
PCT/US08/56454, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Tagging Network
Traffic Using Extensible Fields In Message Headers," and filed Mar.
10, 2008.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments of the invention relate generally to network
data processing, and more particularly, to tagging network traffic
with user relevant information.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The ability to provide directed or targeted message delivery
to users based on network access is of critical importance to
content providers, such as online is advertisers. Traditional means
of mass communication, such as radio and television broadcast all
accommodate some degree of customized content delivery for ads and
messages targeted at a localized group of consumers, even in the
context of widely distributed or nation-wide programming. For
example, in-band message delivery, such as used by television and
radio networks, allows for the insertion of localized ads between
national ad slots or content. This targeted content delivery is
made possible by the control of localized content by local
broadcasters within a distinct area, such as a city or state.
[0004] In the context of wide-scale global computer networks, such
as the Internet, in-band message delivery techniques are not
applicable since content is essentially provided point-to-point
between a very large number of individual users and content
providers, with no intermediate distribution control. Within the
framework of Internet Protocol (IP) communication over the Internet
and the World Wide Web, certain mechanisms have been adopted by
content providers to tailor content to specific classes of users.
During a typical web browsing session a user on a client computer
will access content on a server computer through a GET request that
specifies the network address of relevant content. Typically this
involves providing the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a web page
of interest on the destination site. The content provider server
computer then serves the page through a POST operation. Existing
systems and methods of processing network requests often include
components that obtain valuable information about client devices or
the users that initiated the requests. Such components generally
employ, or at least obtain or process personally identifiable
information (PII) regarding a specific user associated with the
request and may rely on mechanisms such as HTTP (hypertext
transport protocol) cookies as a foundation of that information.
Web cookies are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser
that are sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses
that server. They are used to authenticate, track and maintain
information about users, such as site preferences or contents of
electronic shopping carts. Cookies suffer from several
disadvantages, such as concerns regarding Internet privacy and the
ability of users to disable or erase cookies during browsing
sessions. Moreover, the information provided by cookies may not be
very accurate, and does not often identify or profile a user to a
sufficient degree that allows a content provider from serving
directed content to the user. Present methods of delivering content
also have several drawbacks relating to user profiling. For
example, because most websites can only mark the behavior of users
that have visited the site, they only gain a compartmentalized view
of the user based on the website's limited past experience with the
user. Users are also required to visit the particular website that
set the cookie, or other marker, before it can be used to deliver
any targeted content. Because of limitations of cookie technology,
online content providers typically do not determine whether the
user who is accessing the page originates from a particular
location or has a particular demographic background. Such location
and demographic information can be very valuable in determining the
type and frequency of directed content that should be served to
users during a web browsing session. Problems of present marker
technology are particularly notable in the mobile computing
environment. In the context of mobile client devices, cookies and
other markers can quickly become irrelevant or hopelessly
inaccurate. For example, the content displayed, played, or streamed
on a website (e.g., audio, video, etc.) may be drastically
different from the statistically consumed content that is
distributed and consumed in an offline manner in that geographic
area, including the language of the content as well as the genre of
content (i.e., video clips, audio clips, ad messages, etc.).
[0005] Traditional methods of delivering targeted messages over the
Internet have often relied on IP addresses of client devices. To
some extent, the IP address of the device provides some indication
of device location. The IP address method, however, has proven to
be highly unreliable, with some estimates indicating correlation
between IP address and location only as high as 60%. Such
inaccuracy is due to a number of factors, such as use of proxy
addresses, dynamic IP addressing, and other factors. The
ever-increasing use of mobile clients will only exacerbate the
inaccuracy of IP address based location determination techniques.
Besides user location, user profile or demographic information,
such as gender, age, race, income level, consumption preferences,
and the like can also be of great value in serving targeted
content. Such information however is usually difficult for online
content providers to obtain. Traditional methods, such as
questionnaires are often utilized, but are not often popular with
users, and are not made widely available to all possible content
providers. Other less intrusive measures, such as use of historical
information, browsing patterns, and marker technology are woefully
inaccurate, and raise familiar privacy concerns.
[0006] A major class of targeted content providers is the Internet
advertiser. However, increased exposure to online ads is leading
Internet users to become increasingly unreceptive to traditional
advertising techniques such as banner ads or pop-up windows. Thus,
advertisers are resorting to more content-rich advertising, where
advertising is done more suggestively through content-placement at
strategic points in a presentation. Content-rich advertising is
effective but demands greater data bandwidth thus leaving less time
for content deliverers to process user-profile related information
and make real-time targeting decisions. Moreover, with increasing
concerns about privacy and data security, a large number of users
routinely delete cookies and other tracking information stored on
their computers making such targeting decisions difficult, if not
impossible. As a result, content servers have resorted to a fixed
pool of content that is served up to website-users round robin with
little or no effort directed at targeting. Drawbacks associated
with present directed content serving solutions, thus prevent such
providers with the effective means of delivering truly relevant
advertisements and other directed messages to users who may most
benefit from such targeted delivery. These drawbacks also prevent
effective and efficient revenue modeling for advertising content
deliverers based on inaccurate accountability metrics, such as
click-through rates by users. For example, revenue streams often
depends on the number of users responding to an advertisement
rather than specific receipt information directed to quantifiable
accountability of advertisements served to users. Ad networks and
advertisers lose revenue because poorly accounted for/targeted
advertising generally results in lower click-through rates. This
prevents companies from formulating truly effective online
advertising campaigns. In view of the above limitations, there is
currently a need to optimize the manner in which targeted online
content is delivered. In particular, there is a need to provide
content providers with a method and system which enables them to
accurately deliver the most applicable content to their users, so
as to ensure higher access rates, longer browse times, and
increased consumption of media, all in a manner that maintains user
privacy and data integrity.
SUMMARY
[0007] Embodiments of a system and method of tagging network
traffic with relevant user demographic and location information for
facilitating the delivery of directed media are described. A tag
processing module within a router device coupling a client computer
to a destination site served by a server computer intercepts a
request from a client computer to a server computer over a network.
The tag processing module determines a unique device identifier
corresponding to the client computer, generates a local user
identifier for the client computer by performing a one-way hashing
operation on the unique device identifier, derives demographic and
location (geographic) information for a user of the client
computer, generates a request identifier associated with the
intercepted request by encrypting the local user identifier,
demographic information and geographic location information in an
alphanumeric string, and embeds the alphanumeric string in an
extensible field of a packet within the request to generate a
tagged request identifier. The destination site receives the
alphanumeric string comprising the tagged request identifier and
transmits a request to a tag-related processing service to decode
the request identifier. In response to the request, the tag-related
processing service provides the corresponding location and
demographic information to the destination site. Using this
information, the destination site, or any associated ad partner or
other supplemental content provider can serve directed ads or
messages through the destination site to the client computer.
[0008] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are exemplary
and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as
described. Further features and/or variations may be provided in
addition to those set forth herein. For example, the present
invention may be directed to various combinations and
sub-combinations of several further features disclosed below in the
detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way
of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying
drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example network system consistent
with one or more embodiments.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a client-server network including a
network tagging component, according to an embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flowchart that illustrates a method of
generating a request ID, under an embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flowchart that illustrates a method of tagging
network traffic with relevant user and/or network client
information, under an embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates an HTTP header including a network
traffic tag, according to is an embodiment.
[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates the composition of the RID tag, under an
embodiment.
[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a network system including a tag
processor component within a router for multiple different client
devices, under an embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the components of tag
processing component, under an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] In the following description, numerous specific details are
introduced to provide a thorough understanding of, and enabling
description for, embodiments of a network traffic tagging process.
One skilled in the relevant art, however, will recognize that these
embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific
details, or with other components, systems, and so on. In other
instances, well known structures or operations are not shown, or
are not described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the
disclosed embodiments.
[0019] Many systems and environments are used in connection with
networks, network operation, and associated information processing.
These systems and environments can be implemented with a variety of
components, including various permutations of the hardware,
software, and firmware disclosed below. Throughout the following
description, the terms "component," "module," or "process" may be
used interchangeably to denote a hardware circuit, software
program, or combination hardware/software structure that is
configured to perform a particular task.
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example system
consistent with one or more embodiments described herein. While the
description of FIG. 1 is directed to the illustrated hardware and
software elements, the components of the system can be implemented
through any suitable unitary or distributed combination of
hardware, software and/or firmware. The system of FIG. 1 may
include an access device 121 (e.g., one or more of access devices
121A-121D), one or more routing/connectivity device ("ROD")
components 125 (e.g., access points 125A, routers or other
access/connectivity devices 125B, etc.), a tag-related processing
("TRP") component 160, as well as other unitary, connected,
interconnected or distributed processing entities or components
such as other routers or additional providers such as network
management components, content servers 130, ad components 140,
service/business components 150, and other third party
entities/components, connected via a network 170, such as the World
Wide Web. Data processing between the RCDs 125, the access devices
121 and their users, and the other components, over the network
170, is used to implement various aspects of information, unique
identifier (UID) and tag-related processing disclosed herein.
[0021] When a network user/internet-connected-device begins,
restarts or continues a browsing session through an access device
121 to obtain Internet based content, several network
connectivity-granting devices within the network may be utilized to
initiate, continue or facilitate operation. The access devices 121
consistent with the embodiments described herein may include any
suitable computing device, such as client computers, laptop
computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile devices (e.g.,
mobile phones), gaming devices, media playback devices, etc.,
interconnected by any means, for any length of time, for the
purpose of utilizing information or features consistent with
various applications, such as processing digital content associated
with or delivered in connection with the tag-based functionality
set forth herein.
[0022] During system operation, a request from a user of an access
device 121 associated with a browsing session on the network may be
transmitted from access device 121 to a first RCD component 125B.
Subsequent communication between the first RCD component 125B and
the router or network management component sets the stage for
operations of generating UIDs as well as inserting UIDs/tags into
web-bound requests, as set forth herein. For example, methods of,
first, generating global unique identifiers associated with
web/network-related requests may comprise, in the context of
processing a web-bound request associated with a browsing session,
receiving information associated with a device that initiated a
web-bound request, extracting non-personal/device information
during MAC/network layer processing, wherein the
non-personal/device information includes one or more of data
associated with a device/user, data related to the device, software
on the device, and/or any user/input data that is resident on the
device, and creating a persistent, anonymous UID based on the
non-personal/device information. Further, enablement of a globally
persistent UID (GUID) correlates as a function of the extraction of
non-personal/device data during MAC/network layer processing.
Further, methods of inserting a UID into a web-bound request may
comprise, in the context of processing a web-bound request
associated with a browsing session, extracting non-personal/device
information during MAC network layer processing, creating an
anonymous UID based on the non-personal/device information, and
inserting the UID in the HTTP header or other extensible locations
within the web-bound request.
[0023] in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the
routing/connectivity device is comprised of a first RCD component
125A (e.g., an access point) and a second RCD component 125B (e.g.,
a gateway, first router, etc.), although the RCD may readily be
implemented as a unitary or otherwise distributed system
element(s).
[0024] The information stored in various system components, such as
user profile information, may be updated over network 170 using
information gathered by RCDs 125 from users 121 connecting with or
attempting to connect to the network. In some embodiments the RCDs
or routers may request user and device profile is information from
the various information-providing components if the particular user
or device has accessed the system on a prior occasion. In some
embodiments, user or device profile information may be downloaded
to a local network cache (not shown) for quicker access. In some
embodiments, according to the present invention, multiple routers
and/or servers may be used and physically and geographically
distributed across network 170. Network 170 could be a LAN (Local
Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network) or the Internet. Further, a
request associated with the network may be associated with a user
of an access device in that the request may either be an explicit
instruction of the user or it may simply be the result of the uses
innate access device functionality. In some embodiments, the RCD
125 could be consistent with existing access point ("AP") systems
such as remote wireless access points/servers from generic
providers. In some embodiments, the present information processing
system may also be used or implemented with wired technology.
Embodiments of the present system may also include signal
amplifiers, external antennas, signal splitters, and other standard
equipment as components.
[0025] In some embodiments, the servers and related systems shown
in FIG. 1 may he standard off-the-shelf components, routers and/or
server class computing components. For example, a router of the
present invention may be implemented with, e.g., a Cisco 6500 or
7600 Router, or comparable routers from other manufacturers, and
the web server can be a MS IIS server. Additionally, any other
programs or code capable of accessing and/or providing information
in the database may also be used. In further embodiments, the
system, servers, and/or system elements may use languages such as
SQL, XML, SOAP, ASP, and HTTP, etc., to enable data transmission
and processing, although any suitable programming language or tool
could also be used.
[0026] Systems and methods of the present invention can be
implemented on a variety of networks, including wireless networks
such as WiFi, WiMAX, and any mobile Ethernet network. Systems and
methods can also be implemented on wired is and other networks,
such as Cable, DSL and Fiber-based broadband networks, or any
combinations of wired and wireless networks (e.g. combined
Cable+WiFi). Certain embodiments of the present invention, as set
forth herein, pertain to wireless/WiFi systems (not limited to
varieties of 802.11b/a/g/n mobile Ethernet standards) and
associated methods of information processing.
[0027] Certain implementations may collect and provide pertinent
information about a user by virtue of collecting information about
the access device associated with the user. Thus, the information
is anonymous in the sense that it is not a profile of a particular
user, but rather information associated with a computing device
they use. This information can be related to the device, the
temporary or permanent software on the device, and/or any
user-input data which is resident on the device. Any or all these
data may be captured and retained, and indexed with an identifier,
unique identifier (UID) such as a MAC identifier, so the
information from a repeat user can be verified and enhanced each
time the same device accesses the network. While acquired
information could be, for example, the full range of unrestricted
information typically sought by commercial entities, aspects of the
present innovations enable specific non-PII implementations
consistent with prohibitions dictating that end user name, race,
phone numbers, addresses, and other personally identifiable or
sensitive information is not collected/disclosed in adherence to
restrictions or local laws, such as those directed to privacy, and
user trust.
[0028] Implementations of the system of FIG. 1 can also include a
profile engine having the capability of processing unique
identifier data and/or any other specific software or
hardware-based identifier information. The profile engine may be a
subcomponent of one of the components shown, such as the TRP
component 160, although it may also be distributed anywhere within
the system of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, TRP component 160
includes a profile engine 163, database 165 and relevant software
components to tag the network traffic with appropriate user or user
device information. For example, in one embodiment, the profile
engine 163 may include an algorithm designed to profile the
identifier data/user based on the frequency and locations that the
associated access device joins a network, coupled with other user
data such as non-personal/device information. Such profile
information can be correlated in the processor, weighted according
to value (such as incremental numeric value, etc.), and then
assigned for various additional processing purposes. For example,
it can be placed in profile groups or pools to enable correlation
with sponsors interested in that type or group of users. When a
user begins or continues association with the network, the
identifier can be associated with a location tag, and the request
associated with this information can be matched up with an
appropriate sponsor for that location. Content that is directly
targeted to the user is thereby enabled, including customized
content from third-party databases that contain information related
to the location. For example, the customized content may include
information about the location itself, places, attractions, and
events in the proximity of that location, as well as information
related to what has happened and what will happen in that locality
(e.g. historical events, future community or concert events, sale
events planned at the local stores, etc.).
[0029] In one embodiment, the profile engine 163 provides a decode
function that looks up relevant user profile information within
database 165 in response to a decode request from a content server
or supplemental message server computer. In one embodiment, the
request comprises a key that is encoded within a tag associated
within an HTTP header or other extensible field that is part of
network traffic between a client computer and the content server or
supplemental message server. According to such further embodiments,
the profile processing provided by TRP 160 can provide highly
relevant, targeted information, advertising or specific services
that are unique to each user from the same network. Further,
repeated accesses to and/or use of the network by a user enables
the profile engine to collect more and more network usage
information for the user or associated access device. Additionally,
the profile engine may also determine trend rates per geographic
zone, which is of value to advertisers in the local region or
remote sponsors seeking local presence. This can allow for local
advertising, local billing of services, and the ability is of
nationwide advertisers and brands to customize their content
according to a location or groups of locations with similar
characteristics. In some embodiments, user and/or device profile
information received by a content server from RCD component 125 or
a router or network management component may be used by the content
server to determine which advertisements to retrieve from an ad
source, such as ad component 140.
[0030] In one embodiment, a network traffic tagging component
utilizes information that is collected in a
telecommunications-based access network, such as WiFi, WiMAX.
mobile, DSL (digital subscriber line), cable, IPTV (Internet
Protocol Television), etc., to be used by destination sites, such
as web server sites, publishers, content providers, peer-to-peer
sites, user generated content sites, advertising networks, search
engines, and so on. The network tagging component obtains relevant
user and user device information, such as accurate location data
and demographic information, and formats the information into a
small footprint and universally accessible format. FIG. 2
illustrates a client-server network including a network tagging
component, according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, a client
computing device 202. accesses network 208 through a
telecommunications pathway provided by carrier network operation
center (NOC) 204 One or more routers (e.g., RCD 125) may also be
inserted in the transmission line between client 202 and network
208. The environment shown in FIG. 2 illustrates a standard
IP-based access system in which client 202 executing a web browser
process 203 accesses a web site destination 210 served by server
computer 210 executing a web server process 211 The web server 210
provides content in the form of web pages which may be sourced from
a local database 215 or remotely from other servers or data stores.
One or more supplemental messages, such as advertisements, may be
served by an ad server 212, or similar supplemental content
provider that has its own data store 213. The ad server generates
ads or supplemental messages that are embedded in, or displayed in
conjunction with the content served by the web server 210.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, a tag processor component 206 is
associated with carrier NOC 204. The tag processor component may be
a software or hardware component that is included within the
functionality provided by carrier NOC 204 (as well as RCD 125B in
FIG. 1), or it may be a component that is tightly or loosely
coupled to carrier NOC 204. The tag processor component 206 obtains
certain identification information associated with the client 206
and encodes the identification information into a portion of the
network traffic transmitted by client 202 to server 210. This
information is then used by ad partner 212 to determine which ads
or messages from among a selection of ads (such as may be stored in
database 213) to transmit to server 210 for incorporation into
content that is served back to client 202. A separate tag related
process (TRP) 214 decodes the encoded identification information
and provides the corresponding geographic and location information
to the server 210. The TRP 214 can also compile relevant traffic
data related to the client 202, or even multiple client computers
This traffic data can then be used by ad partner 212 to dictate
appropriate ad serving campaigns.
[0032] In one embodiment, the tag processor component 206 generates
a unique request ID (RID) based on certain information associated
with the client 202 and the user. FIG. 3 is a flowchart that
illustrates a method of generating a request ID, under an
embodiment. The tag processor 206 first intercepts the unique
identifier (DID) for the client device, block 302. The unique
identifier can be the MAC address, port identifier, or any other
hardcoded unique identifier assigned to the client 202. In the case
of a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, the unique identifier
can be the SIM (subscriber identity module) number, or similar
identifier. The DID is then encoded using a standard one-way hash
algorithm to create a Local User ID (LUID). Alternatively, any
equivalent coding method that ensures adequate privacy may be used
to encode the UID as an LUID. In block 306, the tag processor 206
obtains instance information relating to the request, as well as
location information relating to the client device and demographic
information relating to the user. The instance information can
comprise time of the request and can be obtained from clock or is
timing circuitry within the client computer, or any routing devices
that transmit the request. The location information can comprise
zip code, phone area code, latitude/longitude, street address, or
other available location information for the client device, and may
be obtained from location circuitry, such as GPS (global
positioning system) circuitry within the client or any associated
router or access point, or it may be provided by a database that
has such location information. The demographic information can be
any relevant profile information related to the user, such as
gender, age, race, occupation, income level, product or service
preferences, and so on, and may be provided by profile data held by
the client device or third party services or related databases. The
LUID is then encrypted along with the instance information,
location information, and demographic information to generate a
Request ID (RID)
[0033] Once the RID has been generated by the tag processor, it is
associated with (tagged to) the network traffic between the client
and server computers. FIG. 4 is a flowchart that illustrates a
method of tagging network traffic with relevant user and/or network
client information, under an embodiment, in block 402, the user,
through client 202, logs onto the network and attempts to connect
to server 210 over the web network (Internet) 208. During this
process, the HTTP requests being made will pass through the carrier
NOC 204. Standard HTTP requests include various content fields,
such as headers and data fields. They also accommodate incremental
information from the network and adjunct databases, as these
requests are distributed without filtering across the Internet. In
one embodiment, the RID is encrypted in the extensible space of the
HTTP header in an appropriate format. In an alternative embodiment,
the TCP Option in the Transmission Control Protocol can be used to
encode the RID. In a further alternative embodiment, both the HTTP
and TCP Option can be used to encode all or respective portions of
the RID.
[0034] As shown in block 404, at the carrier NOC, the tag processor
intercepts the client network traffic comprising the HTTP requests,
and tags the outgoing HTTP headers with the request ID's formed in
block 308 of FIG. 3. The tagged HTTP is requests are then sent on
as regular Internet traffic to all destinations on the Internet, as
opposed to only destinations on a single network, block 406.
[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates an example HTTP header including a
network traffic tag, according to an embodiment. The header shown
in FIG. 5 has some example values entered for each of the requisite
fields. A standard HTTP header includes various fields such as the
Host field specifying the URL of the destination site, the
User-Agent field specifying the web browser program on the client,
an Accept field specifying the format accepted by the browser, an
Accept Language field, an Accept Encoding field, and Accept
Character Set field, a Cache Control field, a Max-Forwards field
and a Connection field. The HTTP header also includes one or more
extensible fields that are essentially blank, but can be used to
store additional data. For the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5,
the RID is encoded in HTTP header 500 as a tag (or watermark) in a
field denoted "F-T" 502. The RID tag is encoded as a hexadecimal
number of a defined length. The length and position of the RID tag
within the HTTP header can be modified depending upon system
constraints and requirements.
[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates the composition of the RID tag, under an
embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the RID tag 600 is specified by a
header code (e.g., F-T), and has a specified size, for example 64
bytes. The schema 602 illustrates the actual coding of the data
elements within the RID. The version field 610 contains a control
code that uniquely identifies the RID and is different for every
HTTP request. The Time field 612 encodes the time that the request
was transmitted from the client. The Source field 614 contains the
unique ID associated with the client. The LUID field 616 contains
the local user ID generated through the hash process executed by
the tag processor component in block 304 of FIG. 3. The Demographic
field 616 encodes the demographic data for the user. The Geographic
field 620 encodes the location data of the client device. As shown
in field 502 of FIG. 5. an example RID tag in the F-T field
comprises the values for each of these fields into a single
hexadecimal number of length 64-bytes. Each individual field can be
encoded according to a specific scheme. For example, the geographic
data could comprise zip or zip+4 data, latitude/longitude, or
street address data that is encoded into a corresponding
hexadecimal number. Likewise, the demographic data comprises a
hexadecimal number that corresponds to the profile information
relating to various characteristics (e.g., gender, race, age, etc.)
of the user. Actual coding schemes can be defined by the user.
Similarly, each of the other fields encodes their respective data
into hexadecimal values. Alternatively, any other appropriate
numerical base, other than hexadecimal, could be used to encode the
RID tag.
[0037] With reference to FIG. 4, in block 408, the destination site
intercepts the RID from the HTTP header and passes it on to any
associated ad partner or supplemental content provider. Many
popular web destinations use advertising partners to provide and
place ads. They may also have content partners or search engines or
other media/content services. These supplemental servers are
normally used to send a request for particular information related
both to the destination website as the request from the user. The
RID is used to enhance the relevance of the ads or supplemental
messages provided by these supplemental servers. It can be used to
select appropriate ads from a set of ads, or tailor ads for
specific users by insertion of customized information. In the case
of a TCP Option request, sockets are used to extract the RID
information and require either a software stack or network
appliance.
[0038] In general, the destination site (server computer 210 or ad
partner 212) receive and collect the tagged RIDs as they are
extracted from the HTTP requests sent by the client computer. In
one embodiment, they may be provided with decoding capability so
that they can extract the corresponding location and demographic
information directly themselves. In a preferred embodiment,
however, this decoding process is provided by a separate process
provided by TRP 214. Thus, for the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in
block 410, the destination site, or the ad server/supplemental
server queries TRP 214 to decipher the true value embedded in the
request ID. This is typically accomplished by decoding the RID
value encoded in the HTTP header (or TCP Option). The TRP then
returns specific profile information to the destination site or ad
partner. This information comprises the geographic (location)
demographic, technographic, psychographic, or other values
pertaining to the RID. The destination or ad partner then uses the
profile information to direct appropriate content to the user,
block 414. This appropriate content is referred to as "directed
media" and can comprise a media tag identifying a media or type of
media, and can consist of or reference advertisement messages,
coupons, video content, audio content, or any other media which is
tailored to the user identity, location, and/or preferences.
[0039] In one embodiment, the user information (e.g., geographic,
demographic, psychographic information) for the tag is obtained at
run-time. In the context of an ad-serving application or any other
third party content or supplemental message serving system,
run-time refers to the moment when the ad or supplemental message
is served to the user and displayed on the user device. For this
embodiment, the tag is decrypted by the content provider in
real-time coincident with the web-based request by the user. This
allows the content provider to serve the appropriate message or ad
based on the generic anonymous data of the user, thus enabling the
delivery of targeted content to specific users or classes of users.
The combination of real-time serving and decryption of tag
information relating to the user efficiently enables the creation
of dynamic ad campaigns and effective targeted ad serving to large
populations of users. According to embodiments described herein,
network statistics regarding a plurality of users can be obtained
at runtime by the content provider and used for the aggregation of
metrics regarding the users. This facilitates the creation of
comprehensive ad campaigns and targeted content serving based user
preferences, geographic data, and other related data that are tied
to and obtained from persistent profiles associated with each
individual user.
[0040] In one embodiment, the ad campaign management feature
provided by the TRP allows for the implementation of certain
advanced features, such as ad sequencing. In this embodiment,
certain scheduling parameters can be set based on a static set of
profile data or on periodically obtained profile data. A forecast
module may provide a forecast of actual profile data based on
historic profile data for a user or client computer, or predictions
based on certain relevant trends. This information can be used by
the content provider to automatically serve content based on
previously obtained profile data. it also allows for the serving of
messages based on content and/or defined business rules.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, a network system connecting a client
computer to a destination site maintained by a server computer can
include several different types of client computers, as well as
several different supplemental content providers. FIG. 7
illustrates a network system including a tag processor component
within a router for multiple different client devices, under an
embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, a number of different client
computers are coupled to a. single router 720 through various
access points and gateway/router devices. For example, a mobile
phone 702 access router 720 through a radio access network 703 and
an SSGN/PDSN (Serving GPRS Support Node/Packet Data Serving Node)
router 713. Wireless client 704 goes through a wireless access
point 705 and wireless gateway 715 to access router 720. Home
client computer 706 accesses router 720 through a Digital
Subscriber Line. Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) 706 and a broadband
remote access server (BRAS) 717. Client computer 708 utilizes a
cable HFC (hybrid fiber coax) modem or router 709 and accesses
router 720 through cable modern termination system (CMTS) 719. Each
client computer has a unique ID, such as a MAC address, SIM
address. or the like. An authentication server 722, such as
provided by Radius/AAA authenticates the client ID associated with
each gateway that is connected to router 720. In one embodiment,
router 720 includes or is tightly coupled to a tag process
component. This component generates an RID from an LUID and certain
geographic/demographic information, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.
it also encodes the RID information as a tag in the HTTP header of
the network traffic from the respective client computer. The HTTP
header and tag (or watermark) is then transmitted over Internet 701
to the destination site. The existence of the RID tag UID's during
different stages of network processing is depicted in FIG. 7 by the
"a" symbol. The destination site could be an e-commerce site 750
that is associated with one or more of an ad server 740 and/or a
supplemental content provider site 730. The TRP 724 decodes the RID
information for use by the destination site and any associated ad
or supplemental server site.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier NOC 204 includes or is
tightly coupled to tag process 206. Through this incorporation of
functionality at the carrier NOC level, the RID is incorporated
into the network traffic essentially at main pipeline, such that
all traffic from the client to the destination site is
appropriately tagged. In one embodiment. the tag process 206 is
also incorporated in router 720 of FIG. 7. The tag process includes
several functional components that facilitate the encoding of the
RID data into the HTTP header or other extensible field. FIG. 8 is
a block diagram illustrating the components of tag process 206
under an embodiment. The tag processing component 206 includes a
device information extraction component 820 that receives
information from network 810. This device information extraction
component derives relevant ID information for the client device and
passes it along to UID encryption processing component 830 and a
session processing component 840. The session processing component
then provides the encrypted DID information to an insertion module
850 that inserts the tag into the HTTP header. The encoded (tagged)
header is then transmitted out to network 810.
[0043] As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the destination sites
extract the tag from the network packet and send a tag
decryption/analysis request along with the tag to TRP component
214. The TRP component itself consists of a decode process 216 and
an RTMS process 218. The functionality of TRP 214 includes and is
not restricted to, receiving, deciphering and fulfilling the
requests received from the destination sites in real and non-real
time. The decode process interacts with and receives information
from third party data providers, network carrier, and RCD and UID
enabling components. The analysis performed on this data is used
eventually to fulfill the request received by the destination
sites. This process generally involves extracting the hexadecimal
numbers associated with the relevant fields (LUID, Demo, Geo, etc.)
and performing a database lookup to find the corresponding location
and geographic data. This data is then passed back to the
destination site in any type of appropriate format accepted by the
destination site, that is, zip code, address, text description of
user profile, and so on. In one embodiment, the tagged RIP
comprises or contains a key that facilitates the database lookup
operation by the TRP. In one embodiment, it is the LUID, which is
the hashed UID for the client device, which acts as the secure
encrypted key for this operation.
[0044] As described in relation to FIG. 5, the RID tag may comprise
an alphanumeric text string that is encoded within a specific
section of a data packet within the request command sent from or
built up based on the user device/access for transmission over the
network, such as encoded within a header portion of the command,
such as the HTTP header, and can be of any format that is capable
of encoding device/user identifying information and other
parameters relevant to the device/user, and/or representations
thereof, such that tags provide unique differentiation from other
devices/users. The tag may encode relevant user information, which
may be non-PII information, though is not limited thereto. The tags
can be encrypted via any appropriate encryption techniques.
Separate encoding and decoding components may be provided in the
user and content provider computing devices and/or the routing or
other RCD devices associated with these computing devices.
Alternatively, common or unitary encoding and decoding components
may be provided in a central server or RCD device that is coupled
to both the user and content provider computing devices. In
general, any extensible space of the header or similar portion of a
pervasively used network traffic component can be used.
[0045] In one embodiment, the processing of the RID tag is handled
by the RTMS (Real Time Market Segmentation) process 218 in TRP 214.
The RTMS system is used to process the tag in real-time, such that
the consumer of the tag can then make a decision based on the reply
from the RTMS system. Another example application of the RTMS
system is to save the tags for a period of time to allow the RTMS
system to process all of the tags in batch. In return, the consumer
of the tags receives a tabular report containing the associated
parameters of each tag or/and a aggregate report of all of the
tags, such as how many tags or percentage of the tags are from a
certain zip code or concentrated in certain period of the
date/time. An alternate manner in which the mechanics of an RTMS
system could be implemented is to make it directly available at the
tag consumer site, which allows the consumers of the tag to decrypt
the tag and its associated values.
[0046] The RTMS system is responsible for processing tag requests
from the destination sites and replying to them with RTMS
parameters. It also collects data for billing purpose and trend
analysis. The RTMS process is designed to handle requests in
real-time with extremely fast response time. The RTMS process is
also capable of handle batch requests in large volume in
non-real-time mode.
[0047] In generating the RID tag, the tag process 206 utilizes
several different items of information in addition to the LUID.
These include demographic information relating to the user. Such
data can be sourced by third party data sources, such as direct
marketing data, psychographic data, and preference data provided by
user questionnaires or provided in a database. Other relevant
information that might be used include carrier data provided by the
network carrier.
[0048] Consistent with such overall system processing, a method of
processing information associated with web/network-related requests
throughout all phases of network processing and information
delivery is disclosed. An example method, here, may comprise
receiving a web/network-related request initiated via a device
and/or a user associated with a device, wherein the request is
appended with a unique identifier (UID) that is an anonymous
identifier contained in the HTTP header or other extensible
locations within the request, transmitting the UID to an
information provider associated with the UID, and receiving
profile/identification information regarding the device or the user
via the information provider.
[0049] Regarding, in particular, the wireless implementation
addressed above, the present invention provides particular
advantages pertaining to direct access, location, traffic and
network operations. With respect to direct access, the present
invention provides direct connection to the customer and eliminates
third party involvement in the delivery of content, as well as
allowing for the licensee/subscriber/vendor to be the starting
point of each and every communication (e.g., page, flash page,
search, etc.) with the customer. With respect to location, the
present invention provides the exact location of the customer,
providing significantly greater value to related advertising and
information. In other words, the more granular the information is
about the customer, the more valuable it is to the advertisers
(e.g., for directed advertising and other communications).
Alternately, a more generalized location may be provided for the
customer, such as region, zip code, etc., to protect user
anonymity. With respect to traffic considerations, the cost
methodologies addressed herein provide for greater accessibility,
as costs present a significant competitive barrier. Specifically,
embodiments of the present inventive methodology can provide free
access by users, rather than requiring some sort of direct revenue
from the end-user (although there can be fees associated with each
subscription). Thus, regarding the maximization of traffic, these
embodiments are particularly advantageous for networks that are;
(1) carrier class, (2) easy to log onto, and (3) ubiquitous.
Finally, with respect to network operations, the present
methodology provides relatively low equipment costs with respect to
prior network access of this nature, as well as the capability of
avoiding the expenses of otherwise implementing/managing a network
of this quality.
[0050] The technology set forth herein has particular applicability
to the operation of WiFi networks, and especially companies closely
associated with WiFi technology. The systems and methods of the
present invention provide numerous advantages in the areas of
network management and operation, data collection and aggregation,
real-time provision of user demographics, location and other
information, and reporting of WiFi network usage (summaries,
aggregates, even real-time). For example, the WiFi embodiments have
specific applicability to service providers, portals, and internet
ad intermediaries.
[0051] For example, these WiFi embodiments provide unique
advantages to service providers like VoIP (Voice over IP) Internet
telephony companies, such as authentication or authorization of the
telephones on log-in, logging of the calls for statistics and
billing, network management (e.g., bandwidth, ports, etc.), and
security management (e.g., firewall, eliminating unwanted third
parties, etc.). These WiFi embodiments also provide significant
advantages to portals, such as real-time user demographics and
location that allow for immediate, directed advertising. These WiFi
embodiments also provide significant advantages to internet ad
intermediaries, such as information management applicable to all of
the many layers of service providers involved in having an ad
(e.g., banner) displayed on a web page.
[0052] In another exemplary implementation, the present invention
may help prevent click-fraud, or other activity of interest
performed by users of the network. Here, the TRP component has
information about identifiers (such as MAC addresses) of every
device on the network. This information can be associated with the
cumulative number of clicks (on advertisements, marketing media
etc), which can then be used to trigger a further audit if there is
an anomalous number of clicks. This may allow an operator of the
network, for example, to provide information about such anomalous
behavior. This can be important, as the total number of clicks can
be also traced to the number of clicks on a particular website
and/or a particular advertiser's content. As a result, the
invention can be used as both an alerting mechanism and then a
tracing mechanism to monitor and prevent click-fraud. In addition,
if it is required, access to the network can be blocked for the
offending device based on its identifier, so the user cannot access
the network and continue with fraudulent or non-compliant
practices.
[0053] In a further exemplary implementation, the present invention
may also provide benefit in the areas of security and access
control. Again, since user identifiers (such as MAC address) are
known in the network, they can be mapped into dynamic databases
which are used as a secondary mechanism of physical machine
verification for access to networks, websites, and/or specific
classes of digital content on a network or networks. Since the TRP
component has a database of all devices, it can interface with a
large number of third-party databases. For example, it can
interface with databases of allowed users who have high priority
for access to the network in case of an emergency response
situation, such as one directed, for example, to the whole network
or just to a specific geographic location. Therefore, multiple
classes of access, rules, syntax, and associations of such
databases are done inside the TRP component, enabling the network
to develop intelligent rules for access to services and content
based on unique combinations of these databases, and apply them to
the identifier of the device.
[0054] In yet another exemplary implementation, the present
invention may also provide benefit in the area of rule-based
blocking of content. Specifically, the TRP component may be
employed to ensure that "no" content is delivered when none is
desired. This functionality may be applicable, for example, when a
network TV broadcast is scheduled for particular show times in
certain regions in the world, or when movies and other digital
content, such as music, are released in a carefully controlled
fashion in a network. By having rules associated with content of
this type, the TRP component can determine if the user has the
rights to receive and play the appropriate content. Such rights not
being based solely on traditional DRM techniques, but rather on the
time, location, and other parameters that the content provider can
specify. For example, if an online program is released in
Australia. with a release time scheduled hours later in New York,
then the content provider can tag the content such that it cannot
be downloaded and/or played until the appropriate release time
determined by the content creator/distributor. Utilization of
specific user identifiers ensures a layer of digital rights
management enforceable via the network by association of the
identifier and the TRP component, by virtue of database interfaces,
with the content rights and rules to be enforced by the content
distributor.
[0055] The described method of tag insertion can be implemented on
many different types of IP traffic protocols, such as HTTP, TCP,
VoIP, etc depending on the nature of the application environment.
The insertion can be conducted at different, or even multiple
layers of the OSI stack implementation. The network based
processing of these data and insertion processes makes the
identification and classification of the user/user-device anonymous
and persistent, especially when compared to cookies implemented at
Layer 7/Application Layer, as used by existing web-serving
technologies.
[0056] In one embodiment, the functional components described
herein may be implemented as functionality programmed within one or
more units of a router, or similar connectivity device that
functions to interconnect one or more processing units in a network
system.
[0057] In the present description, the terms component, module, and
functional unit, may refer to any type of logical or functional
process or blocks that may be implemented in a variety of ways. For
example, the functions of various blocks can be combined with one
another into any other number of modules. Each module can be
implemented as a software program stored on a tangible memory
(e.g., random access memory, read only memory, CD-ROM memory, hard
disk drive) to be read by a central processing unit to implement
the functions of the present invention. Alternatively, the modules
can comprise programming instructions transmitted to a general
purpose computer or to graphics processing hardware via a
transmission carrier wave; or they may be implemented as hardware
logic circuitry.
[0058] As disclosed herein, embodiments and features of the
invention may be implemented through computer-hardware, software
and/or firmware. For example, the systems and methods disclosed
herein may be embodied in various forms including, for example, a
data processor, such as a computer that also includes a database,
digital electronic circuitry, firmware, software, or in
combinations of them. Further, while some of the disclosed
implementations describe components such as software, systems and
methods consistent with the present invention may be implemented
with any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.
Moreover, the above-noted features and other aspects and principles
of the present invention may be implemented in various
environments. Such environments and related applications may be
specially constructed for performing the various processes and
operations according to the invention or they may include a general
purpose computer or computing platform selectively activated or
reconfigured by code to provide the necessary functionality. The
processes disclosed herein are not inherently related to any
particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other
apparatus, and may be implemented by a suitable combination of
hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, various
general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in
accordance with teachings of the invention, or it may be more
convenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to
perform the required methods and techniques.
[0059] Aspects of the method and system described herein may be
implemented as functionality programmed into any of a variety of
circuitry, including programmable logic devices ("PLDs"), such as
field programmable gate arrays ("FPGAs"), programmable array logic
("PAL") devices, electrically programmable logic and memory devices
and standard cell-based devices, as well as application specific
integrated circuits. Some other possibilities for implementing
aspects include: memory devices, microcontrollers with memory (such
as EEPROM), embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc.
Furthermore, aspects may be embodied in microprocessors having
software-based circuit emulation, discrete logic (sequential and
combinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy (neural) logic, quantum
devices, and hybrids of any of the above device types. The
underlying device technologies may be provided in a variety of
component types, e.g., metal-oxide semiconductor field effect
transistor ("MOSFET") technologies like complementary metal-oxide
semiconductor ("CMOS"), bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled
logic ("ECL"), polymer technologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated
polymer and metal-conjugated polymer-metal structures), mixed
analog and digital, and so on.
[0060] It should also be noted that the various functions disclosed
herein may be described using any number of combinations of
hardware, firmware, and/or as data and/or instructions embodied in
various machine-readable or computer-readable media, in terms of
their behavioral, register transfer, logic component, and/or other
characteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted
data and/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not
limited to, non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g.,
optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage media) and carrier waves
that may be used to transfer such formatted data and/or
instructions through wireless, optical, or wired signaling media or
any combination thereof. Examples of transfers of such formatted
data and/or instructions by carrier waves include, but are not
limited to, transfers (uploads, downloads, e-mail, etc.) over the
Internet and/or other computer networks via one or more data
transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and so on).
[0061] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout
the description and the claims, the words "comprise," "comprising,"
and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed
to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of
"including, but not limited to." Words using the singular or plural
number also include the plural or singular number respectively.
Additionally, the words "herein," "hereunder," "above," "below,"
and words of similar import refer to this application as a whole
and not to any particular portions of this application. When the
word "or" is used in reference to a list of two or more items, that
word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any
of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any
combination of the items in the list.
[0062] Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those
skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and
practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended. that
the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only,
with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by
the disclosure above in combination with the following paragraphs
describing the scope of one or more embodiments of the following
invention.
* * * * *