METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RAPID DISSEMINATION OF PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
First Claim
1. A method for disseminating public announcements over an IP-based network, wherein there isone or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected servers performing the steps of:
- receiving and storing data identifying current announcements and particular locations to which they relate;
identifying eitherIP addresses of users making requests, for either a URL or a target application, to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server, oran access point by which a network-connectable mobile device is connected to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server;
determining a location for each of said users from either said IP addresses or said access point;
determining whether an IP address or an access point of a user is an IP address or an access point corresponding to a location for which an announcement has been posted; and
displaying said announcement to said user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and system for disseminating urgent public announcements over an IP-based network. One or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected servers receive and store data identifying particular geographic locations to current announcements. The servers identify IP addresses of users making URL requests or requests for target applications (an access point by which a network-connectable mobile device is connected to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server), determine a location for each user from the user'"'"'s IP address (or access point), and determine whether an IP address (or access point) of a user corresponds to a location for which an announcement has been posted. If the user is identified to a location for which a current announcement is available, the announcement is displayed to the user.
The announcement may be displayed by redirecting the user to a web page containing the announcement. Alternatively, the announcement may be displayed in a pop-up window or in a banner on a web page requested by said user. A banner displaying such an announcement may incorporate a link to permit the user to click through to a web page containing a more detailed version of the announcement.
246 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for disseminating public announcements over an IP-based network, wherein there is
one or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected servers performing the steps of: -
receiving and storing data identifying current announcements and particular locations to which they relate; identifying either IP addresses of users making requests, for either a URL or a target application, to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server, or an access point by which a network-connectable mobile device is connected to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server; determining a location for each of said users from either said IP addresses or said access point; determining whether an IP address or an access point of a user is an IP address or an access point corresponding to a location for which an announcement has been posted; and displaying said announcement to said user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for disseminating public announcements over an IP-based network, comprised of
one or a plurality of Internet- or Intranet-connected servers with: -
means to receive and store data identifying current announcements and particular locations to which they relate; means to identify either IP addresses of users making requests, for either a URL or a target application, to an Internet- or Intranet-connected server, or an access point to which a network-connectable mobile device is connected to an Internet- or Intranet-connectable server; means to determine a location for each of said users from said IP addresses or said access point; means to determine whether an IP address or an access point of a user is an IP address or an access point corresponding to a location for which an announcement has been posted; and means to display said announcement to said user. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A network-based warning or public announcement system, comprising:
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a plurality of servers that are selectively connectable to a plurality of clients, each of said plurality of clients capable of providing at least one of said plurality of servers with a network address, said plurality of servers being connected by a network; one or more tables which correlate location information for one or more of said plurality of clients with said network address; and a source of a warning or public announcement which electronically provides a warning or public announcement to at least a portion of said plurality of clients, without action being taken by said portion of said plurality of clients, using at least a portion of said plurality of servers and at least one of said one or more tables based on said location information. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification