Converged family network usage insights and actions

• US 10,412,232 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2015
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Jenzeh, Lisa, Bham, Ahmed A., Myers, Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US14/718,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20160344873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 709224, 455410, 455445
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/0793 Network aspects, e.g. central monitoring of transmission parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1414 in real-time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/72 by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/765 Linked or grouped accounts, e.g. of users or devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/7652 shared by users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/866 a predetermined or undetermined destination, e.g. notifying a prepaid accounting server of a successful delivery of a service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/887 limit per user or user related number

Abstract

A system receives, from an account holder, a customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions associated with notifying an account holder about a first family member'"'"'s network activity, wherein the first family member'"'"'s network activity includes a first device'"'"'s activity in a first network and a second device'"'"'s activity in a second network, and wherein the second network is a different network than the first network. The system monitors multiple first types of network activity of the first device in the first network, and monitors multiple second types of network activity of the second device in the second network. The system provides notifications to the account holder based on the customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions and based on the monitored first types of the network activity of the first device and the monitored second types of the network activity of the second device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, by a network device and to a device associated with an account holder, a list of activities to monitor to allow the account holder to choose particular activities from the list of activities;

providing, by the network device and to the device associated with the account holder, a list of actions, limitations, or restrictions to allow the account holder to choose particular actions, limitations, or restrictions to apply based on monitoring the particular activities;

providing, by the network device and to the device associated with the account holder, a list of types of notification to allow the account holder to choose how to be notified of the particular activities;

receiving, at the network device from the account holder and based on receiving the list of activities to monitor, a first customized selection of multiple different first types of network activity to monitor for activities performed by each first device of one or more first devices via a first network;

receiving, at the network device from the account holder and based on receiving the list of activities to monitor, a second customized selection of multiple different second types of network activity to monitor for activities performed by each second device of one or more second devices via a second network, wherein the second network is a different network than the first network;

receiving, at the network device from the account holder, a selection of one or more actions, limitations, or restrictions from the list of actions, limitations, or restrictions to apply based on monitoring the multiple different first types of network activity and the multiple different second types of network activity;

receiving, at the network device and from the account holder, a selection of one or more types of notification from the list of types of notification;

monitoring, at the network device, the multiple first types of network activity in the first network;

monitoring, at the network device, the multiple second types of network activity in the second network;

determining, from a profile associated with the account holder, an action to apply to one of the first devices, of the one or more first devices, or one of the second devices, of the one or more second devices, based on monitoring the multiple first types of network activity and the multiple second types of network activity, wherein the profile associated with the account holder stores;

an identifier associated with the account holder,

a first identifier associated with a first user associated with the account holder,

first device identifiers of the one or more first devices, wherein the one or more first devices are associated with the first user,

a first indication that the one or more first devices connect to the first network and that the first network should be monitored for activities performed by the one or more first devices,

indications of the multiple first types of network activity to monitor on the first network for activities performed by the one or more first devices,

first actions to apply to each first device based on the multiple first types of network activity, wherein the first actions include locking each first device to prevent usage of each first device,

a second identifier associated with a second user associated with the account holder,

second device identifiers of the one or more second devices, wherein the one or more second devices are associated with the second user,

a second indication that the one or more second devices connect to the second network and that the second network should be monitored for activities performed by the one or more second devices,

indications of the multiple second types of network activity to monitor on the second network for activities performed by the one or more second devices, and

second actions to apply to each second device based on the multiple second types of network activity, wherein the second actions include locking each second device to prevent usage of each second device; and

performing, based on determining the action, at least one of;

a) notifying, based on the selection of the one or more types of notification, the account holder of one of the multiple first types of network activity by the one of the first devices in the first network, or

b) applying, based on the selection of the one or more actions, limitations or restrictions, an action, limitation, or restriction to the one of the second devices in the second network based on the monitoring of the multiple second types of network activity.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing at least one of;

a) notifying the account holder of one of the multiple second types of network activity by the one of the second devices in the second network, or

b) applying an action, limitation, or restriction to the one of the first devices in the first network based on the monitoring of the multiple first types of network activity.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the network device from the account holder, an identification of a first family member of the account holder; and

receiving, at the network device from the account holder, an identification of the one of the first devices as being associated with the first family member, wherein the first family member is a user of the first devices.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving, at the network device from the account holder, an identification of a second family member of the account holder; and

receiving, at the network device from the account holder, an identification of the one of the second devices as being associated with the second family member, wherein the second family member is a user of the second devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network comprises an optical fiber network and wherein the second network comprises a cellular network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing comprises performing both of:

a) notifying the account holder of one of the multiple first types of network activity by the one of the first devices in the first network, and

b) applying an action, limitation, or restriction to the one of the second devices in the second network based on the monitoring of the multiple second types of network activity.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

a) notifying the account holder of one of the multiple second types of network activity by the one of the second devices in the second network, and

b) applying an action, limitation, or restriction to the one of the first devices in the first network based on the monitoring of the multiple first types of network activity.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the multiple first types of network activity comprise at least two of the following:

a) time or data usage per device of the first devices,

b) time or data usage of the first family member,

c) sites visited by the first family member,

d) applications accessed by the first family member,

e) content or television programming accessed by the first family member, or

f) attempts by the first family member to access blocked or flagged websites.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the time or data usage per device of the first devices comprises a data or time usage total per device for a certain period of time, and wherein the time or data usage of the first family member comprises a data or time usage total for the first family member for the certain period of time.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the action, limitation, or restriction comprises at least one of:

locking the one of the second devices to prevent device usage,

applying a time of day or week usage restriction,

applying content filtering by age, group, or category,

applying network connectivity restrictions,

applying texting restrictions, or

applying call restrictions.

11. A system, comprising:

one or more network devices comprising;

a communication interface configured to;

provide, to a device associated with an account holder, a list of activities to monitor to allow the account holder to choose particular activities from the list of activities,

provide, to the device associated with the account holder, a list of actions, limitations, or restrictions to allow the account holder to choose particular actions, limitations, or restrictions to apply based on monitoring the particular activities,

provide, to the device associated with the account holder, a list of types of notification to allow the account holder to choose how to be notified of the particular activities,

receive, from the account holder, an indication of one or more activities to monitor, from the list of activities to monitor,

receive, from an account holder, a first customized selection of one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions, from the list of actions, limitations or restrictions, to apply to each first device of at least one first device connected to a first network, wherein the one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions comprise a first subset of actions, limitations, or restrictions selected by the account holder from a set of actions, limitations, or restrictions, wherein the one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions include locking each first device to prevent usage of each first device,

receive, from the account holder, a second customized selection of one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions, from the list of actions, limitations or restrictions, to apply to each second device of at least one second device connected to a second network, wherein the one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions comprise a second subset of actions, limitations, or restrictions selected by the account holder from the set of actions, limitations, or restrictions, wherein the one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions include locking each second device to prevent usage of each second device,

receive, from the account holder, an indication of one or more types of notification from the list of types of notification;

store, for each first device and in a profile associated with the account holder, an indication that the first device is connected to the first network and that the first network should be monitored for the one or more activities performed by the first device and an indication of the first customized selection of the one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions corresponding to the first device, and

store, for each second device and in the profile, an indication that the second device is connected to the second network and that the second network should be monitored for the one or more activities performed by the second device and an indication of the second customized selection of the one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions corresponding to the second device; and

a processing unit configured to;

monitor multiple first types of network activity engaged in by the at least one first device in the first network,

monitor multiple second types of network activity engaged in by the at least one second device in the second network,

determine, from the profile associated with the account holder, at least one of the one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions to be applied to the at least one first device based on the monitoring of the multiple first types of network activity,

determine, from the profile associated with the account holder, at least one of the one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions to be applied to the at least one second device based on the monitoring of the multiple second types of network activity,

cause the determined at least one of the one or more first actions, limitations, or restrictions to be applied to the at least one first device, and

cause the determined at least one of the one or more second actions, limitations, or restrictions to be applied to the at least one second device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one first device comprises multiple first devices that are associated with, and used by, a first member of the account holder'"'"'s family and wherein the at least one second device comprises multiple second devices that are associated with, and used by, a second member of the account holder'"'"'s family.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the multiple first types of network activity comprise at least two of the following:

a) time or data usage per device of the at least one first device,

b) time or data usage of the first family member,

c) sites visited by the first family member,

d) applications accessed by the first family member,

e) content or television programming accessed by the first family member, or

f) attempts by the first family member to access blocked or flagged websites.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the first network comprises a fiber optic network and wherein the second network comprises a cellular network.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the first customized selection of the one or more actions, limitations, or restrictions include one or more of the following:

locking the one of the second devices to prevent device usage,

applying a time of day or week usage restriction,

applying content filtering by age, group or category,

applying network connectivity restrictions,

applying texting restrictions, or

applying call restrictions.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by at least one processor, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions for:

providing, to a device associated with an account holder, a list of activities to monitor to allow the account holder to choose particular activities from the list of activities;

providing, to the device associated with the account holder, a list of actions to allow the account holder to choose particular actions to apply based on monitoring the particular activities;

providing, to the device associated with the account holder, a list of notification methods to allow the account holder to choose how to be notified of the particular activities;

receiving, from the account holder, an indication of one or more activities to monitor, from the list of activities to monitor;

receiving, from the account holder, an indication of one or more actions from the list of actions to apply based on monitoring the one or more activities;

receiving, from an account holder, a customized selection of notification methods, from the list of notification methods, and notification conditions associated with notifying an account holder about a first family member'"'"'s network activity, wherein the first family member'"'"'s network activity includes a first device'"'"'s activity in a first network and a second device'"'"'s activity in a second network, and wherein the second network is a different network than the first network;

monitoring multiple first types of network activity of the first device in the first network, wherein the multiple first types of network activity include the one or more activities;

monitoring multiple second types of network activity of the second device in the second network, wherein the multiple second types of network activity include the one or more activities;

determining, from a profile associated with the account holder, an action of the one or more actions to apply to the first device or the second device based on monitoring the multiple first types of network activity and the multiple second types of network activity, wherein the profile associated with the account holder stores;

an identifier associated with the account holder,

a first identifier associated with a first user associated with the account holder,

a first device identifier of the first device, wherein the first device is associated with the first user,

an indication that the first device connects to the first network and that the first network should be monitored for activities performed by the first device,

a second device identifier of the second device, wherein the second device is associated with the second user,

an indication that the second device connects to the second network and that the second network should be monitored for activities performed by the second device, and

the customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions and actions to apply to the first device and the second device based on the multiple first types of network activity and the multiple second types of network activity, wherein the actions to apply to the first device and the second device include locking the first device or the second device to prevent usage of the first device or the second device; and

providing notifications to the account holder based on determining the action and based on the customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first network comprises a fiber optic network and wherein the second network comprises a cellular network.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein receiving the customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions includes:

receiving, from the account holder, a first customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions associated with notifying the account holder about the first device'"'"'s activity in the first network; and

receiving, from the account holder, a second customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions associated with notifying the account holder about the second device'"'"'s activity in the second network,

wherein the first customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions is different from the second customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions, and

wherein providing notifications to the account holder is further based on the first and second customized selection of notification methods and notification conditions.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the notification conditions comprise one or more of:

activity during certain hours,

new network devices being added or detected,

attempts to access blocked or flagged content, or

exceeding time limit or data usage thresholds of network or device usage; and

wherein the notification methods comprise automatic push notifications or pull notifications.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the automatic push notifications comprise email, text, or application notifications and wherein the pull notifications comprise web portal notifications.