Distributed system to intelligently establish sessions between anonymous users over various networks
First Claim
1. A server network for enabling respective users to establish communications with other users, the network comprising:
- first and second server clusters, each cluster including at least a user server for performing user services and an intra-cluster server for connecting to remote intra-cluster servers in other clusters;
said user server in said first cluster including a routing service for a first user assigned to said first cluster, and said user server in said second cluster including a routing service for a second user assigned to said second cluster;
wherein the first user sends a communication invitation message or request to the routing service of the second user in the user server in the second cluster without knowledge of the type of client then being utilized by the second user, wherein the message or request is forwarded to the routing service of the second user via said user server in said first cluster, said intra-cluster server in said first cluster, and said intra-cluster server in said second cluster; and
wherein said routing service for the second user in the user server of said second cluster routes the invitation message or request to a client of the second user based on local routing logic for the second user.
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Abstract
A network provides users with a simple and secure way of establishing communication sessions with other users or services, running either over IP networks or other networks, e.g., PSTN. In a sense, the network can broker communication services between two or more users (e.g., people) and/or services. A plurality of different clusters of servers is provided, and each of the clusters may be linked together. In certain embodiments, each cluster includes multiple servers. Users are registered within some specific cluster and given a unique system/network ID. In certain embodiments, messages are not sent directly between users, but instead through at least one intermediate routing service (RS) provided on a server of one of the users. Thus, in certain embodiments, a user may hide or mask his/her personal information from other users even when communicating with them. In certain embodiments, a user may establish a communication session with another user without knowledge of the client device (e.g., PC, mobile phone, etc.) being used by the other user; as the network arranges for communication (e.g., text chat session, voice chat session (PC to PC, PC to PSTN, or PC to mobile phone), web conference, or pages (PC to PC, PC to SMS)) between the users regardless of the client device being used by the called user. Thus, the network enables any of the above communication services between users, and the initiating user need not know whether the other user is currently online via his/her PC or may instead be reached via pager or mobile phone.
1576 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A server network for enabling respective users to establish communications with other users, the network comprising:
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first and second server clusters, each cluster including at least a user server for performing user services and an intra-cluster server for connecting to remote intra-cluster servers in other clusters;
said user server in said first cluster including a routing service for a first user assigned to said first cluster, and said user server in said second cluster including a routing service for a second user assigned to said second cluster;
wherein the first user sends a communication invitation message or request to the routing service of the second user in the user server in the second cluster without knowledge of the type of client then being utilized by the second user, wherein the message or request is forwarded to the routing service of the second user via said user server in said first cluster, said intra-cluster server in said first cluster, and said intra-cluster server in said second cluster; and
wherein said routing service for the second user in the user server of said second cluster routes the invitation message or request to a client of the second user based on local routing logic for the second user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
wherein the second user is registered with the second cluster and given a unique user identification (UID) that includes a cluster identifier identifying only the second cluster, such that the UID of the second user constitutes a globally unique ID within the network.
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7. The network of claim 1, wherein, when the first user is using a personal computer (PC) as a client, the first and second clusters enable the first user and second user to communicate with one another in each of the follow manners:
- 1) text chat using PC to PC communication,
2) voice chat using PC to PSTN phone communication, and
3) voice chat using PC to mobile phone communication.
- 1) text chat using PC to PC communication,
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8. The network of claim 7, wherein, when the first user is using a personal computer (PC) as a client, the first and second clusters enable the first user and second user to communicate with one another in each of the additional follow manners:
- 4) pages using PC to PC communication, 5) pages using PC to SMS communication, and
6) web conference.
- 4) pages using PC to PC communication, 5) pages using PC to SMS communication, and
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9. The network of claim 1, wherein routing logic of the routing service of the second user is based upon preferences of the second user and/or a type of message sent thereto.
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10. The network of claim 1, wherein messages are not sent directly between users but instead via routing services thereof so that the first user does not know which client the second user is using, the routing service of the second user determining whether to ignore the invitation message or forward it to the client of the second user.
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11. The network of claim 1, wherein routing logic of the second user is transparent to the first user even though what client the second user is using is not known to the first user.
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12. A method of creating a communication session between first and second users in at least one server cluster, the method comprising the steps of:
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a client of the first user creating a communication session in a user server of the first user;
the client of the first user encoding an address of the session into an invitation message;
the client of the first user sending the invitation message to a user server of the second user, through at least one intermediate server;
a routing service of the second user on the user server of the second user determining whether to ignore the message or forward the invitation message to a client of the second user, so that messages are not sent directly between users but instead via routing services thereof whereby the first user does not know which client the second user is using;
the client of the second user accepting the invitation message and connecting to the communication session. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of establishing a communication session between first and second users, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one server cluster, and providing a user server for the first user, and a user server for the second user;
a client of the first user sending an invitation message regarding the communication session to the user server for the second user via a connection server;
the user server for the second user determining whether to forward the invitation message to a PC of the second user or a mobile phone of the second user depending upon an online status of the PC of the second user, and the user server for the second user forwarding the invitation message to one of the PC and the mobile phone accordingly;
the second user receiving the invitation message via the second the PC or mobile phone and accepting the invitation; and
wherein messages are not sent directly between users but instead via routing services thereof so that the first user does not know which client the second user is using, the routing service of the second user determining whether to ignore the invitation message or forward it to a selected client of the second user.
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17. A network comprising:
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a first cluster and a second cluster;
each of the first and second clusters including a plurality of user servers in communication with a database, at least one connection server for connecting to external user clients, and at least one intra-cluster server for communicating with other clusters of the network; and
wherein the clusters enable a first user connected to the first cluster to establish a communication session with a second user of the second cluster without the first user knowing an IP address or phone number of the second user. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A network enabling a communication session between first and second users in at least one server cluster, the network comprising:
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a client of the first user for creating a communication session in a user server of the first user;
the client of the first user for encoding an address of the session into an invitation message;
the client of the first user sending the invitation message to a user server of the second user, through at least one intermediate server;
a routing service of the second user on the user server of the second user determining whether to ignore the message or forward the invitation message to a client of the second user, so that messages are not sent directly between users but instead via routing services thereof whereby the first user does not know which client the second user is using; and
the client of the second user accepting the invitation message and connecting to the communication session.
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Specification