Interactive service device metering systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A metering system comprising:
- passive data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, wherein said passive data acquiring means is configured to;
distinguish between an on-line communication protocol and an off-line communication protocol;
identify which of the on-line communication protocol or the off-line communication protocol is employed by the interactive service device;
designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; and
extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique; and
data communicating means for communicating the usage data to a remote facility.
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Abstract
A metering system meters usage of on-line and off-line services by way of interactive service devices. Interactive service devices may include personal computers and non-personal-computers. Non-personal-computers may include network computers, gaming devices, Internet televisions, Internet telephones, and the like. The on-line service usage may include Internet usage such as which home pages, advertisements, and other Internet resources are accessed by a user. The off-line service usage may include application program usage such as which application programs are executed by a user.
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Citations
103 Claims
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1. A metering system comprising:
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passive data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, wherein said passive data acquiring means is configured to; distinguish between an on-line communication protocol and an off-line communication protocol; identify which of the on-line communication protocol or the off-line communication protocol is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; and extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique; and data communicating means for communicating the usage data to a remote facility. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A metering system comprising:
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communication line tapping means for tapping into a communication line coupled to an interactive service device, wherein said communication line tapping means is a probe coupled to a signal being processed by the interactive service device; and passive data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from communications on the communication line without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, wherein the passive data acquiring means is configured to; distinguish between at least two communication protocols; identify which of the at least two communication protocols is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying a first communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol; and extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A metering system comprising:
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data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from an interactive service device, wherein the data acquiring means includes code detecting means for detecting an identification code in content being processed by the interactive service device, wherein the data acquiring means acquires usage data from the interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, and wherein the data acquiring means is configured to; distinguish between at least two communication protocols; identify which of the at least two communication protocols is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying a first communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol; and extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique; and data storing means for storing the usage data and the identification. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A metering system comprising:
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usage data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, wherein the usage data acquiring means is configured to; distinguish between at least two communication protocols; identify which of the at least two communication protocols is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying a first communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol; and extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique; television ratings data acquiring means for acquiring ratings data relating to the tuning of television signals by a television; data communicating means for communicating the usage data and the ratings data to a remote facility; and wherein the usage data acquiring means acquires data relating to on-line usage by way of the television. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A metering system comprising:
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usage data acquiring means for acquiring usage data from an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device, wherein the usage data acquiring means is configured to; distinguish between at least two communication protocols; identify which of the at least two communication protocols is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying a first communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol; and extract the usage data using the designated first or second data extraction technique; television ratings data acquiring means for acquiring ratings data relating to the tuning of television signals by a television; data communicating means for communicating the usage data and the ratings data to a remote facility; and wherein the television ratings data acquiring means comprises signature extracting means for extracting signatures from television signals tuned by the television.
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75. A metering system for use with an interactive service device, the metering system comprising:
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a memory; and a passive communication listener coupled to the memory and the interactive service device, the passive communication listener being configured to; distinguish between an on-line and an off-line communication protocol; identify which of the on-line communication protocol or the off-line communication protocol is employed by the interactive service device; designate a first usage information extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage information extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; extract usage information from a signal associated with the interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device using the designated first or second usage information extraction technique; and store the extracted usage information in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A metering system comprising:
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a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and programmed to; acquire a signal associated with an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device; distinguish between an on-line communication protocol and an off-line communication protocol; determine if the signal is conveyed using the on-line or the off-line communication protocol; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; and extract usage data from the acquired signal using the designated first or second usage data extraction technique. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
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90. A method of metering usage data comprising:
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acquiring a signal associated with an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device; distinguishing between an on-line communication protocol and an off-line communication protocol; determining if the acquired signal is conveyed using the on-line or the off-line communication protocol; designating a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; and extracting the usage data from the acquired signal using the designated first or second usage data extraction technique. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to:
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acquire a signal associated with an interactive service device without intercepting communications of the interactive service device; distinguish between an on-line communication protocol and an off-line communication protocol; determine if the signal is conveyed using the non-line or the off-line communication protocol; designate a first usage data extraction technique based on identifying the on-line communication protocol or a second usage data extraction technique based on identifying the off-line communication protocol; and extract usage data from the acquired signal using the designated first or second usage data extraction technique. - View Dependent Claims (98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103)
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Specification