Gaming server providing on demand quality of service

• US 8,475,280 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2010
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gould, Kenneth
• Primary Examiner(s): Bumgarner, Melba
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leiva, Frank M
• Application Number:
  US12/951,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20110065500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40- 42, 370/352, 370/236, 370/395.21, 370/231, 370/347, 709/228, 345/419, 713/153
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/792 for payment purposes, e.g. monthly subscriptions

Abstract

The present invention teaches methods and systems for providing a gaming server system (Gaming System) for enabling a quality-of-service on-demand (QoS) broadcast system to provide a gaming computer or game console with premium levels of quality-of-service. The gaming server provides premium network connection service levels based upon customer profile, current activity, account status or other criteria.

Claims

1. A method for providing enhanced quality-of-service to an online gaming user comprising:

connecting a game console to a gaming web server via a gaming network;

selecting a game from the gaming web server;

transmitting the game selection to a gaming agent;

matching the game selection to a set of quality-of-service parameters determined by the gaming agent from the game selection without further input from the online gaming user;

providing service over the gaming network to the game console in accordance with the quality-of-service parameters determined from the game selection by the gaming agent.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting a request from the gaming agent to a quality-of-service controller, wherein the quality of service controller comprises instructions for managing network resources associated with the gaming network;

polling the gaming network from the quality-of-service controller to determine whether the network resources are available to grant the request; and

,

reserving the network resources are available to grant the request when the quality-of-service controller determines that the network resources are available to grant the request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game console comprises a personal computer.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting gaming user authentication information to the gaming web server from the game console.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the gaming web server restricts online gaming to authenticated gaming users.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting gaming user authentication information to the gaming agent from the gaming web server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the gaming agent restricts enhanced quality-of-service-game to authenticated gaming users.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording the time duration of enhanced quality-of-service game provisioning; and

charging a time-duration based fee for enhanced quality-of-service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the time-duration based fee is charged for the time that enhanced quality-of-service is active.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising recording the time duration of enhanced quality-of-service game provisioning and charging the gaming user a time-duration based fee for enhanced quality-of-service, wherein the time-duration based fee is charged for the time that enhanced quality-of-service is reserved.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the available quality-of-service parameters are selected from a database of desired gaming quality-of-service parameters indexed to a game identifier.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the available quality-of-service parameters are selected from a database of desired gaming quality-of-service parameters indexed to a class-of-game identifier.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming agent receives data from the gaming web server and transmits data to the gaming web server over a secure communications network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the secure communications network is a data encrypted communications network.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming agent is integrated with the gaming web server.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming agent further comprises parental controls.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhanced quality-of-service request further comprises an upstream enhanced quality-of-service request and a downstream enhanced quality-of-service request.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the gaming agent matches the upstream enhanced quality-of-service request and the downstream enhanced quality-of-service request by referring to a database comprising fields for game identification, upstream quality-of-service fields and downstream quality-of-service fields.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the upstream quality-of-service fields are selected from the group consisting of a poll-interval, a poll-jitter, a minimum-rate, a maximum-rate, a maximum-burst, a maximum-concatenation-burst, a request-transmission-policy, an activity-timeout, an admission-timeout, a schedule-type and a TOS-overwrite.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the downstream quality-of-service fields are selected from the group consisting of a priority, a minimum-rate, a maximum-rate, a maximum-burst, an activity-timeout and an admission-timeout.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming network comprises a carrier network component.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming network comprises a carrier network component and the Internet.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the carrier network component is selected from the group consisting of a wireless network, a wired network component, and a fiber network component.

24. A system for providing enhanced quality-of-service to an online gaming user comprising:

a game console connected to a gaming network;

a gaming web server connected to the gaming network so as to receive a gaming user selection for a game available for the game console; and

a gaming agent comprising instructions for;

receiving the selected game selection transmitted from the gaming web server; and

matching the game selection to a set of quality-of-service parameters determined by the gaming agent from the game selection without further input from the online gaming user,

wherein the gaming web-server comprises instructions for providing game data to the game console over the gaming network using the quality-of-service network resources.

25. The system of claim 24 further comprising a quality-of-service controller, wherein the gaming agent further comprises instructions for transmitting a request from the gaming agent to the quality-of-service controller and wherein the quality of service controller comprises instructions for:

managing network resources associated with the gaming network;

polling the gaming network to determine whether the network resources are available to grant the request; and

reserving the network resources when the quality-of-service controller determines that the network resources are available to grant the request.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the game console comprises instructions for transmitting gaming user authentication information to the gaming web server.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the gaming web server comprises instructions for restricting online gaming to authenticated gaming users.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the gaming web server further comprises instructions for transmitting gaming user authentication information to the gaming agent.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the gaming agent further comprises instructions for restricting enhanced quality-of-service-game to authenticated gaming users.

30. The system of claim 24, wherein the gaming agent further comprises instructions for recording the time duration of enhanced quality-of-service game provisioning and wherein the system further comprises a billing system adapted to charge the gaming user a time-duration based fee for enhanced quality-of-service.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the time-duration based fee is charged for the time that enhanced quality-of-service is active.

32. The system of claim 25, wherein the gaming agent further comprises instructions for recording the time duration of enhanced quality-of-service game provisioning, wherein the system further comprises a billing system adapted to charge the gaming user a time-duration based fee for enhanced quality-of-service and wherein the time-duration based fee is charged for the time that enhanced quality-of-service is reserved.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein the available quality-of-service parameters are selected from a database of desired gaming quality-of-service parameters indexed to a game identifier.

34. The system of claim 24, wherein the gaming agent further comprises instructions for selecting the available quality-of-service parameters from a database of desired gaming quality-of-service parameters indexed to a class-of-game identifier.

35. The system of claim 24, wherein the gaming agent is integrated with the gaming web server.

36. The system of claim 24, wherein the enhanced quality-of-service request further comprises an upstream enhanced quality-of-service request and a downstream enhanced quality-of-service request.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the gaming agent matches the upstream enhanced quality-of-service request and the downstream enhanced quality-of-service request by referring to a database comprising fields for game identification, upstream quality-of-service fields and downstream quality-of-service fields.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the upstream quality-of-service fields are selected from the group consisting of a poll-interval, a poll-jitter, a minimum-rate, a maximum-rate, a maximum-burst, a maximum-concatenation-burst, a request-transmission-policy, an activity-timeout, an admission-timeout, a schedule-type and a TOS-overwrite.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the downstream quality-of-service fields are selected from the group consisting of a priority, a minimum-rate, a maximum-rate, a maximum-burst, an activity-timeout and an admission-timeout.

40. The system of claim 24, wherein the gaming network comprises a carrier network component.

41. The system of claim 24, wherein the gaming network comprises a carrier network component and the Internet.

42. The system of claim 24, wherein the carrier network component is selected from the group consisting of a wireless network, a wired network component, and a fiber network component.