Patent US6578079B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6578079B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Communications node for providing network based information service
Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC
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Filing: 1998-10-14
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Granted: 2003-06-10
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Expires: 2018-10-14
Abstract
Abstract A node (and method) provides a network-based information service in an intelligent communications network. The node is arranged to store customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items. It responds to a message from a customer requesting access to the information service and indicating an item which the customer wants sent to him, by ascertaining whether the requested item is in the customer's list, and, if so, retrieving the item from its respective source, and sending it to the customer. If the message does not contain an item identity, the list of items is sent to the customer for him to make a selection.
Inventors
- 👤 Christopher J Gittins
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 12:01
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0029; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/4228; H04M3/487; H04M3/493; H04M2201/00; H04M2201/60; H04M3/38; H04M3/382; H04M7/00; H04M7/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 34
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A node for providing an information service in an intelligent communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading an access request message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity extracted therefrom; and control means responsive (a) to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity not accompanied by an item identity to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to send a message including said retrieved list to the customer via said signalling means, and (b) to the provision by said reading means of an item identity received in a reply message from the customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
206 words
A node for providing an information service in an intelligent communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading an access request message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity extracted therefrom; and control means responsive (a) to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity not accompanied by an item identity to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to send a message including said retrieved list to the customer via said signalling means, and (b) to the provision by said reading means of an item identity received in a reply message from the customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
55 words
A node as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said identities of said item-associated information sources are stored in a list, and the control means is arranged to ascertain the identity of the information source associated with said item identity by accessing said list of item-associated information sources in accordance with the received item identity.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
66 words
A node as claimed in claim 1 , and further comprising caching storage, and wherein said control means is arranged to write a retrieved requested item into the caching storage, and for each item so written into the caching storage to replace the original stored identity of the item-associated information source from which the requested item was retrieved with an identity corresponding to the caching storage.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
68 words
A node as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising means for counting the respective numbers of occurrences of the item identities in said respective customer-associated lists and to rank the item identities accordingly, and wherein said control means is arranged to retrieve, in the rank order of the item identities, corresponding items from their respective information sources and to write the retrieved items into said caching storage.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
A node as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control means is arranged to send the first two pages of the retrieved item to the calling terminal in response to receipt of said access request message.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
72 words
A node as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the control means is responsive to received Next Page and Previous Page request messages in respect of the retrieved item to keep track of the number, n, of the page thereof which has current display status, and upon receipt of a Next Page request, or a Previous Page request, in respect of the retrieved item to send page n+2, or page n−2, respectively.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
219 words
A node for providing an information service in an intelligent communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading a message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity and an item identity extracted therefrom; comparison means; and control means responsive (a) to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity and an item identity received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide to said comparison means said item identity and the retrieved list, and (b) to an indication provided by the comparison means of a match between said received item identity and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
219 words
A node for providing an information service in an intelligent communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading a message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity and an item identity extracted therefrom; comparison means; and control means responsive (a) to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity and an item identity received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide to said comparison means said item identity and the retrieved list, and (b) to an indication provided by the comparison means of a match between said received item identity and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
239 words
A method of operating an intelligent communications network to provide a network-based information service, the method comprising the steps of: (a) storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources from which the respective items can be retrieved; (b) receiving at the network a message requesting access to the information service and comprising at least a customer identity; (c) reading the contents of the received message; (d) retrieving from storage the list of information item identities associated with the received customer identity; if no item identity is received in step (b), (e)(i) sending said list to the customer; and (ii) reading an item identity from a further message received from the customer; or, on the other hand, if an item identity is received in step (b), (f) ascertaining whether or not that received item identity is in said list; and for such item identity received in step (b), if it is ascertained in step (f) that said received item identity is in said list, or, alternatively, for the item identity received in step (e)(ii), as the case may be, (g) ascertaining the identity of the information source associated with that received item identity; (h) retrieving the requested item from that information source; and (i) sending at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
239 words
A method of operating an intelligent communications network to provide a network-based information service, the method comprising the steps of: (a) storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items (hereinafter referred to as items) for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources from which the respective items can be retrieved; (b) receiving at the network a message requesting access to the information service and comprising at least a customer identity; (c) reading the contents of the received message; (d) retrieving from storage the list of information item identities associated with the received customer identity; if no item identity is received in step (b), (e)(i) sending said list to the customer; and (ii) reading an item identity from a further message received from the customer; or, on the other hand, if an item identity is received in step (b), (f) ascertaining whether or not that received item identity is in said list; and for such item identity received in step (b), if it is ascertained in step (f) that said received item identity is in said list, or, alternatively, for the item identity received in step (e)(ii), as the case may be, (g) ascertaining the identity of the information source associated with that received item identity; (h) retrieving the requested item from that information source; and (i) sending at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein step (a) comprises storing said identities of said item-associated information sources in a list, and wherein step (i) is performed by accessing said list of item-associated information sources in accordance with the received item identity.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
56 words
A method as claimed in claim 8 , including the further steps of: (j) writing a retrieved requested item into a caching storage, and, for each item so written into the caching storage, (k) replacing the original stored identity of the item-associated information source from which the requested item was retrieved with the caching storage identity.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
59 words
A method as claimed in claim 10 , including the steps of: (l) counting the respective occurrences of the item identities in said respective customer-associated lists; (m) ranking the item identities accordingly; (n) retrieving, in the rank order of the item identities, corresponding items from their respective information sources; and (o) writing the retrieved items into the caching storage.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein step (i) comprises sending the first two pages of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method as claimed in claim 12 , including the steps of: (p) keeping track of the number, n, of the page thereof which has current display status at the calling terminal; and (q) upon receipt of a Next Page, or a Previous Page, request in respect of the retrieved item, sending page n+2, or page n−2, respectively.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
203 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading an access request message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity extracted therefrom; and control means responsive to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity not accompanied by an item identity to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to send a message including said retrieved list to the customer via said signalling means, and to the provision by said reading means of an item identity received in a reply message from the customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
203 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading an access request message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity extracted therefrom; and control means responsive to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity not accompanied by an item identity to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to send a message including said retrieved list to the customer via said signalling means, and to the provision by said reading means of an item identity received in a reply message from the customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
53 words
A node as in claim 14 wherein said identities of said item-associated information sources are stored in a list, and the control means is arranged to ascertain the identity of the information source associated with said item identity by accessing said list of item-associated information sources in accordance with the received item identity.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
64 words
A node as in claim 14 and further comprising caching storage, and wherein said control means is arranged to write a retrieved requested item into the caching storage, and for each item so written into the caching storage to replace the original stored identity of the item-associated information source from which the requested item was retrieved with an identity corresponding to the caching storage.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
66 words
A node as in claim 16 further comprising means for counting the respective numbers of occurrences of the item identities in said respective customer-associated lists and to rank the item identities accordingly, and wherein said control means is arranged to retrieve, in the rank order of the item identifies, corresponding items from their respective information sources and to write the retrieved items into said caching storage.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
35 words
A node as in claim 14 wherein the control means is arranged to send the first two pages of the retrieved item to the calling terminal in response to receipt of said access request message.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
70 words
A node as in claim 18 wherein the control means is responsive to received Next Page and Previous Page request messages in respect of the retrieved item to keep track of the number, n, of the page thereof which has current display status, and upon receipt of a Next Page request, or a Previous Page request, in respect of the retrieved item to send page n+2, or page n−2, respectively.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
216 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading a message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity and an item identity extracted therefrom; comparison means; and control means responsive to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity and an item identity received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide to said comparison means said item identity and the retrieved list, and to an indication provided by the comparison means of a match between said received item identity and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
216 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage means for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources which store the respective items; means for accessing the data storage means; signalling means for receiving and transmitting messages; means for reading a message received by said signalling means and providing at least a customer identity and an item identity extracted therefrom; comparison means; and control means responsive to the provision by said reading means of a customer identity and an item identity received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said accessing means, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide to said comparison means said item identity and the retrieved list, and to an indication provided by the comparison means of a match between said received item identity and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said accessing means, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested item from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer via said signalling means.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
238 words
A method of operating a communications network to provide a network-based information service, the method comprising the following steps: step a—storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources from which the respective items can be retrieved; step b—receiving at the network a message requesting access to the information service and comprising at least a customer identity; step c—reading the contents of the received message; step d—retrieving from storage the list of information item identities associated with the received customer identity; if no item identity is received in step b, step e1—sending said list to the customer; and step e2—reading an item identity from a further message received from the customer; or, on the other hand, if an item identity is received in step b, step f—ascertaining whether or not that received item identity is in said list; and for such item identity received in step b, if it is ascertained in step f that said received item identity is in said list, or, alternatively, for the item identity received in step e2, as the case may be, step g—ascertaining the identity of the information source associated with that received item identity; step h—retrieving the requested item from that information source; and step i—sending at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
238 words
A method of operating a communications network to provide a network-based information service, the method comprising the following steps: step a—storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of identities of information items, hereinafter referred to as items, for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of item-associated information sources from which the respective items can be retrieved; step b—receiving at the network a message requesting access to the information service and comprising at least a customer identity; step c—reading the contents of the received message; step d—retrieving from storage the list of information item identities associated with the received customer identity; if no item identity is received in step b, step e1—sending said list to the customer; and step e2—reading an item identity from a further message received from the customer; or, on the other hand, if an item identity is received in step b, step f—ascertaining whether or not that received item identity is in said list; and for such item identity received in step b, if it is ascertained in step f that said received item identity is in said list, or, alternatively, for the item identity received in step e2, as the case may be, step g—ascertaining the identity of the information source associated with that received item identity; step h—retrieving the requested item from that information source; and step i—sending at least the first page of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method as in claim 21 wherein step a comprises storing said identities of said item-associated information sources in a list, and wherein step i is performed by accessing said list of item-associated information sources in accordance with the received item identity.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method as in claim 21 including the further following steps: step j—writing a retrieved requested item into a caching storage, and, for each item so written into the caching storage, step k—replacing the original stored identity of the item-associated information source from which the requested item was retrieved with the caching storage identity.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method as in claim 23 including the further following steps: step l—counting the respective occurrences of the item identities in said respective customer-associated lists; step m—ranking the item identities accordingly; step n—retrieving, in the rank order of the item identities, corresponding items from their respective information sources; and step o—writing the retrieved items into the caching storage.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as in claim 21 wherein step i comprises sending the first two pages of the retrieved item to the customer.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
56 words
A method as in claim 25 including the further following steps: step p—keeping track of the number, n, of the page thereof which has current display status at the terminal; and step q—upon receipt of a Next Page, or a Previous Page, request in respect of the retrieved item, sending pages n+2, or page n−2, respectively.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
204 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of aliases of documents for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of document-associated information sources which store the respective documents; a processor for accessing the data storage; a signaller for receiving and transmitting messages; a reader for reading a message received by said signaller and providing at least a customer identity and an alias for a document extracted therefrom; a comparator; and a controller responsive to the provision by said reader of a customer identity and an alias for a document received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said processor, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide said comparator said alias and the retrieved list, and to an indication provided by the comparator of a match between said received alias and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said processor, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested document from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved document to the customer via said signaller.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
204 words
A node for providing an information service in a communications network, the node comprising: data storage for storing customer identities, respective customer-associated lists of aliases of documents for which the respective associated customer has access rights, and identities of document-associated information sources which store the respective documents; a processor for accessing the data storage; a signaller for receiving and transmitting messages; a reader for reading a message received by said signaller and providing at least a customer identity and an alias for a document extracted therefrom; a comparator; and a controller responsive to the provision by said reader of a customer identity and an alias for a document received in an access request message from a customer to retrieve, via said processor, a customer-associated list corresponding to said customer identity and to provide said comparator said alias and the retrieved list, and to an indication provided by the comparator of a match between said received alias and a member of the retrieved list to retrieve, via said processor, the corresponding information source identity, to retrieve the requested document from the corresponding information source, and to send a message including at least the first page of the retrieved document to the customer via said signaller.
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