Method of modulating the transmission frequency in a real time opinion research network

• US 7,254,605 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2000
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• 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 E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell; Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US09/695,932
• Time in Patent Office: 2,476 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/223, 709/224, 709/217, 709218-219, 709/231, 709/232, 709/228, 709/246, 709/247, 705/10, 705/12, 725 9- 10, 725/24, 725 86- 88, 725/98, 725/14, 725101-106, 725111-113, 370/346, 370/449, 370/230, 370/437, 370/458, 370/468, 375/355
• 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 computer network, including the global Internet. A polling management unit sets and manages the transmission mode that includes event-driven and periodic interchanges. Periodic interchanges can be simultaneously or staggeredly transmitted to a sampling pool of active clients. A transmission mode unit implements the transmission scheme set by the polling management unit. A parameter selector establishes the transmission interval and transmission period which are used to trigger each communication interchange. A client assignor creates one or more sampling classes from the sampling pool by applying a sampling quotient that is 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, wherein said sampling occurs at the last transmission interval within the transmission period;

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

interchanging communications based on a transmission schedule, wherein the transmission schedule defines the transmission period for interchanging communications between the server and each sampling class.

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

3. A method of claim 1, wherein said 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 the routing of composite results or graphical representations of the composite results from the server to the clients.

4. A method of claim 1, wherein said interchanging communications step further 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.

5. A method of claim 1, wherein said interchanging communications step further comprises the step of polling, by the server, the clients at the transmission interval designated by the transmission schedule.

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

7. A method of claim 1, wherein said interchanging communications step further 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.

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

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

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

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

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

13. A method of claim 3, wherein said 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.

14. A method of claim 13, wherein said 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.

15. A method of claim 3, wherein said 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.

16. A method of claim 3, wherein said 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.