System and method for associating a MAC address of a wireless station with personal identifying information of a user of the wireless station

• US 9,749,813 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Radius Networks, inc.
• Original Assignee: Radius Networks, inc.
• Inventors: Bradish, Stillman, Smith, Scott A., Wallace, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Dung B
• Application Number:
  US14/108,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20140169256A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A wireless station receives a message broadcast by a string broadcast station, which message includes a network information string. The wireless station generates an identifier comprising a tag component and a content component and sends the identifier and the network information string to a datastore. The identifier is stored in association with the network information string in the datastore.

Claims

1. A method of managing content exchanges in a wireless network, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless station, a message broadcast by a string broadcast station, wherein the string broadcast station message comprises a network information string associated with content stored in an information string server in association with a MAC address of the string broadcast station such that the content acquired by the wireless station corresponds to a venue at which the string broadcast station is located is stored without regard to ownership of registration of the network information string;

generating, by the wireless station, an identifier comprising a tag component and a content component, the tag component specific to the string broadcast station;

storing a list of personal identifying information and a list of tag components in the datastore over a specified time period;

filtering the tag component list to associate individual tag components with individual personal identifying information; and

identifying a location of the wireless station based on an association of the MAC address to the individual personal identifying information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless station is selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a Wi-Fi enabled device, a Bluetooth enabled device, and a Zigbee enabled device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless station and the string broadcast station communicate over a wireless network selected from the group consisting of a Wi-Fi network, an RFID network, a Zigbee network, a Bluetooth network and a 3G/4G cellular network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message broadcast by the string broadcast station comprises a network name identifier and wherein the network information string comprises at least a portion of the network name identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the network name identifier is a service set identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message broadcast by the string broadcast station comprises a MAC address of the string broadcast station and wherein the network information string comprises the MAC address of the string broadcast station.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tag component identifies a location of the string broadcast station using the MAC address.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content associated with the network information string is also associated with a network information string rule allowing delivery of the content during a specified time period.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a list of personal identifying information and a list of tag components in the datastore over a specified time period; and

filtering the tag component list to associate individual tag components with individual personal identifying information.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the identifier and the network information string to a datastore;

and

in response to sending the identifier and the network information string, storing the identifier in association with the network information string in the datastore.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer instructions for managing content exchanges in a wireless network, that when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving, by a wireless station, a message broadcast by a string broadcast station, wherein the string broadcast station message comprises a network information string associated with content stored in an information string server in association with a MAC address of the string broadcast station such that the content acquired by the wireless station corresponds to a venue at which the string broadcast station is located is stored without regard to ownership of registration of the network information string;

generating, by the wireless station, an identifier comprising a tag component and a content component, the tag component specific to the string broadcast station;

storing a list of personal identifying information and a list of tag components in the datastore over a specified time period;

filtering the tag component list to associate individual tag components with individual personal identifying information; and

identifying a location of the wireless station based on an association of the MAC address to the individual personal identifying information.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the wireless station is selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a Wi-Fi enabled device, a Bluetooth enabled device, and a Zigbee enabled device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the wireless station and the string broadcast station communicate over a wireless network selected from the group consisting of a Wi-Fi network, an RFD network, a Zigbee network, a Bluetooth network and a 3G/4G cellular network.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the message broadcast by the string broadcast station comprises a network name identifier and wherein the network information string comprises at least a portion or the network name identifier.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the network name identifier is a service set identifier.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the message broadcast by the string broadcast station comprises a MAC address of the string broadcast station and wherein the network information string comprises the MAC address of the string broadcast station.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium or claim 16, wherein the tag component identifies a location of the string broadcast station using the MAC address.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the content associated with the network information string is also associated with a network information string rule allowing delivery of the content during a specified time period.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, the one or more processors further perform the steps of:

sending the identifier and the network information string to a datastore; and

in response to sending the identifier and the network information string, storing the identifier in association with the network information string in the datastore.