US6170013B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for controlling access to network information sources
Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC
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Filing: 1998-03-27
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Granted: 2001-01-02
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Expires: 2018-03-27
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus communicatively coupling at least one client to a data network is depicted, the apparatus comprising a storage device, operative to store and retrieve information on demand, and a controller coupled to the storage device. The controller is operative to receive information from the data network on behalf of and in response to a client request, and to provide the requesting client with the received information. In addition, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the controller is operative to modify an expiration time of the received information and store the received information in the storage device wherein subsequent requests for the information are satisfied by the information available within the storage device, rather than the data network, until the modified expiration time has expired.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard Y. Murata
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 08:48
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/01; H04L67/10; H04L67/1095; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/957; G06F16/9574; H04L67/50; H04L67/56; H04L67/563; H04L67/566; H04L67/568; H04L67/5683; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
An apparatus communicatively coupling at least one client to a data network, the apparatus comprising: a storage device, operative to store and retrieve information on demand; a controller, coupled to the storage device, operative to receive information from the data network on behalf of and in response to a client request and to provide the requesting client with the received information, wherein the controller is operative to modify an expiration time of the received information and store the received information in the storage device, wherein the subsequent requests for the information are satisfied by retrieving the information from the storage device at least until the modified expiration time has passed and a look-up table comprising a plurality of attributes of potential responses assigned to corresponding expiration time modifiers, wherein said controller is operative to determine which one of said plurality of attributes said received information corresponds to, and operative to modify said expiration time of said received information based on a corresponding expiration time modifier.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
165 words
An apparatus communicatively coupling at least one client to a data network, the apparatus comprising: a storage device, operative to store and retrieve information on demand; a controller, coupled to the storage device, operative to receive information from the data network on behalf of and in response to a client request and to provide the requesting client with the received information, wherein the controller is operative to modify an expiration time of the received information and store the received information in the storage device, wherein the subsequent requests for the information are satisfied by retrieving the information from the storage device at least until the modified expiration time has passed and a look-up table comprising a plurality of attributes of potential responses assigned to corresponding expiration time modifiers, wherein said controller is operative to determine which one of said plurality of attributes said received information corresponds to, and operative to modify said expiration time of said received information based on a corresponding expiration time modifier.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the storage device is a cache memory device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the information is web page information.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is operative to identify the expiration time embedded within the received information in accordance with a network protocol.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is operative to ignore no_cache directives embedded within the client request in accordance with a network access strategy.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is operative to ignore common gateway interface (CGI) directives embedded in the client request in accordance with a network access strategy.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is operative to ignore query requests embedded in the client request in accordance with a network access strategy.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
69 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein subsequent requests for the information by a client that indicate that the information is to be retrieved from the data network are, nonetheless, disregarded by the apparatus if the modified expiration time has not yet expired, and the information supplied to the client in response to such subsequent requests are satisfied by retrieving the information from the storage device of the apparatus.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the storage device is a random access memory (RAM) memory device configured as a RAM disk.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein as the storage device becomes full, the controller is operative to purge information from the storage device on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein as the storage device becomes full, the controller is operative to purge information from the storage device on a least-recently used (LRU) basis.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein modification of the expiration time encompasses both modifying a preexisting expiration time and creating a new expiration time.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a source of said received information.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a class to which said client belong.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to whether said client has paid to belong to said class.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
168 words
A method for controlling access to network information sources, the method comprising: (a) receiving a request from a communicatively coupled client, and processing the request in accordance with a network access strategy; (b) receiving a response from a network information source to a request from a client that could not be satisfied by information available in a local storage device; (c) analyzing an expiration time of the received response to determine whether the expiration time conforms with a network access strategy; and (d) modifying the expiration time of the received response based, at least in part, on whether the expiration time of the received response conforms with the network access strategy, wherein said modifying step comprises: (d-1) determining an attribute of said received response: (d-2) searching a look-up table comprising a plurality of different response attributes and assigned expiration time modifiers, for an expiration time modifier assigned to said received response attribute, and (d-3) modifying the expiration time of the received response based on said expiration time modifier.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
168 words
A method for controlling access to network information sources, the method comprising: (a) receiving a request from a communicatively coupled client, and processing the request in accordance with a network access strategy; (b) receiving a response from a network information source to a request from a client that could not be satisfied by information available in a local storage device; (c) analyzing an expiration time of the received response to determine whether the expiration time conforms with a network access strategy; and (d) modifying the expiration time of the received response based, at least in part, on whether the expiration time of the received response conforms with the network access strategy, wherein said modifying step comprises: (d-1) determining an attribute of said received response: (d-2) searching a look-up table comprising a plurality of different response attributes and assigned expiration time modifiers, for an expiration time modifier assigned to said received response attribute, and (d-3) modifying the expiration time of the received response based on said expiration time modifier.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: (e) storing a response in the storage device which conforms with the network access strategy.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising: (f) satisfying subsequent requests for the requested information from the response stored in the storage device which conforms with the network access strategy at least until the expiration time of the response has lapsed.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein storing a response (e) comprises storing the received response with the modified expiration time if it is determined that the expiration time of the received response does not conform with the network access strategy.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 14 , wherein storing a response (e) comprises storing the received response if it is determined that the expiration time of the received response conforms with the network access strategy.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein receiving a response (b) further comprises transmitting the response to the requesting client.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein step (a) comprises: ignoring a common gateway interface (CGI) directive embedded within the client request in accordance with the network access strategy.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein step (a) comprises: ignoring a no_cache directive embedded within the client request, in accordance with the network access strategy.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein step (a) comprises: ignoring a query request directive embedded within the client request, in accordance with the network access strategy.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a source of said received information.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a class to which said client belong.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to whether said client has paid to belong to said class.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
133 words
A storage medium having stored thereon a plurality of machine executable instructions for controlling access to network information sources, the plurality of machine executable instructions executable to implement a network access management function operative to analyze an expiration time of a response received to a client request, and modification function operative to modify the expiration time of the received response based, at least in part, on whether the expiration time conforms with a user definable network access strategy, wherein said modification function is operative to: determine an attribute of said received response; search a look-up table comprising a plurality of different response attributes and expiration time modifiers, for an expiration time modifier assigned to said received response attribute; and modify the expiration time of the received response based on said expiration time modifier.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
133 words
A storage medium having stored thereon a plurality of machine executable instructions for controlling access to network information sources, the plurality of machine executable instructions executable to implement a network access management function operative to analyze an expiration time of a response received to a client request, and modification function operative to modify the expiration time of the received response based, at least in part, on whether the expiration time conforms with a user definable network access strategy, wherein said modification function is operative to: determine an attribute of said received response; search a look-up table comprising a plurality of different response attributes and expiration time modifiers, for an expiration time modifier assigned to said received response attribute; and modify the expiration time of the received response based on said expiration time modifier.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The storage medium of claim 28 , further comprising a write function to store responses having an expiration time conforming with the network access strategy.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
The storage medium of claim 28 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a source of said received information.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
The storage medium of claim 28 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to a class to which said client belong.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
25 words
The storage of claim 31 , wherein said attribute of said received information relates to whether said client has paid to belong to said class.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-01-02 | 2004-07-03 | 2005-01-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-01-02 | 2008-07-03 | 2009-01-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-01-02 | 2012-07-03 | 2013-01-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |