System, method, and computer program product for modulating the transmission frequency in a real time opinion research network

• US 20070266086A1
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Austen Services LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Strum, William
• Granted Patent: US 7,806,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests

Abstract

A computer-implemented transmission scheme is provided to control client-server interchanges within a distributed communications network, such as a real time opinion research system. Interchanges include transmitting media streams between one or more clients to a server over a network. Periodic interchanges can be simultaneously or staggeredly transmitted to a sampling pool of active clients. A transmission mode unit implements the transmission scheme. A parameter selector establishes the transmission interval and transmission period used to trigger each interchange. A client assignor creates one or more sampling classes from the sampling pool by applying a sampling quotient generated by the parameter selector. A schedule editor produces a transmission schedule for the active clients. If more than one sampling class has been created, each sampling class would receive a separate transmission schedule for providing staggered transmissions at designated transmission intervals. The transmission schedule can include other data preparation and formatting instructions for compression, aggregation and packetization.

Claims

1. A method of managing communications between a server and one or more clients over a computer network, comprising the steps of:

selecting a transmission period to define a time frame for sampling one or more sampling classes created from the clients, wherein the transmission period is divided into a plurality of transmission intervals, and wherein the sampling occurs at the last transmission interval within the transmission period; and

interchanging communications between the server and each sampling class in accordance with a transmission schedule based on the transmission period.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dividing the clients by the transmission period to derive a sampling rate, wherein the sampling rate designates a sampling size of each sampling class.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises staggering interchange of communications between the server and the clients depending on each client'"'"'s assigned sampling class.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of sending an interchange application to the clients to implement the transmission schedule.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

reporting opinion data streams from the clients to the server; and

routing composite results or graphical representations of the composite results from the server to the clients.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the interchanging communications step further comprises the step of aggregating, by the clients, multiple payloads containing the opinion data streams into a single data packet based on instructions provided with the transmission schedule.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interchanging communications step further comprises the step of compressing and encrypting, by the clients, the payloads or the data packet based on instructions provided with the transmission schedule.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the interchanging communications step further comprises the step of aggregating, by the clients, multiple payloads containing the opinion data streams generated during the transmission period into a single data packet based on instructions provided with the transmission schedule.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the interchanging communications step further comprises the step of aggregating, by the clients, a predetermined quantity of payloads containing the opinion data streams into a single data packet based on instructions provided with the transmission schedule.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises the step of synchronizing, by the clients, a clock associated with the respective client based on instructions provided with the transmission schedule, wherein the clock is configured to compute the transmission intervals for the transmission period.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises the step of polling, by the server, the clients at the transmission interval designated by the transmission schedule.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises the step of automatically reporting from the clients to the server at the transmission period designated by the transmission schedule.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the interchanging communications step comprises the steps of:

polling a first sampling class at a first transmission interval; and

polling each subsequent sampling class at a subsequent transmission interval within a common transmission period.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission intervals are measured in seconds, milliseconds, nanoseconds or minutes.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a transmission period step comprises the step of analyzing a quantity of clients having active sessions with the server to select the transmission period.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of analyzing the transmission period to create one or more sampling classes from the clients.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning each of the clients to one of the sampling classes.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of interchanging communications between the server and each sampling class over the global Internet.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embedded in the computer usable medium for causing an application program to execute on a computer that interchanges communications with one or more clients over a computer network, the computer readable program code means comprising:

a first computer readable program code means for causing the computer to determine a transmission period defining a time frame for sampling one or more sampling classes created from the clients, wherein the transmission period is divided into a plurality of transmission intervals, and wherein the sampling occurs at the last transmission interval within the transmission period; and

a second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to generate a transmission schedule, based on the transmission period, and according to which each sampling class interchanges communications at the transmission interval within a transmission period.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the second computer readable program code means includes a third computer readable program code means for causing the computer to prepare an interchange application to be sent to the clients to implement the transmission schedule.

21. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the transmission schedule staggers the interchange of communications depending on each client'"'"'s assigned sampling class.

22. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the computer network include the global Internet.

23. A system for interchanging communications between a server and one or more clients over a computer network, comprising:

a transmission mode unit having a parameter selector that determines a transmission period to define a time frame for sampling one or more sampling classes created from the clients, wherein the transmission period is divided into a plurality of transmission intervals, and wherein the sampling occurs at the last transmission interval within the transmission period,

wherein the transmission mode unit generates a transmission schedule, based on the transmission period, and according to which each sampling class interchanges communications at the transmission interval within a transmission period.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising:

a registering unit that maintains a current log of one or more clients having active sessions with the server.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the transmission mode unit further comprises:

a client assignor that creates the one or more sampling classes.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the transmission mode unit further comprises:

a schedule editor that prepares an interchange application to be sent to the clients to implement the transmission schedule.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the transmission schedule staggers the interchange of communications depending on each client'"'"'s assigned sampling class.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein the computer network includes the global Internet.