PROVIDING SERVICES FROM A REMOTE COMPUTER SYSTEM TO A USER STATION OVER A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

• US 20110016192A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1994
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TMI Solutions LLC (Strategic Intellectual Solutions, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Twintech E.U.
• Inventors: Reisman, Richard R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,484,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/18 Address timing or clocking circuits; Address control signal generation or management, e.g. for row address strobe [RAS] or column address strobe [CAS] signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing services from a remote computer system to a user station over a communications network, including automated identification of users. During a first communication session between a user station and a remote computer system, the user station provides first user identification information to the remote computer system. The remote computer system uses the first user identification information in transaction during the first communication session. The remote computer system also stores at least a portion of the first user identification information. The remote computer system also provides second user identification information to the user station, which is stored at the user station. The remote computer system also generates an association between the stored first user identification information and the second user identification information. During subsequent communication sessions between the user station and the remote computer system, the user station automatically provides the stored second user identification information to the remote computer system, that is, without user-prompting. The remote computer system uses the received second user identification information and the association, during the subsequent communication session, to identify and retrieve the stored first user identification information. The remote computer system then uses the retrieved first user identification information in the subsequent transaction.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for identifying a user station to a remote computer system over a communications network, at least a portion of which includes the Internet, comprising:

receiving first user station information at the remote computer system during a first user-initiated communication session for a user station not previously identified to the server;

sending second information that is a function of the first user station information and that is different from the first user station information to the user station over the communications network during the first user-initiated communication session to be stored automatically at the user station;

storing third information based on the first user station information at a location remote from the user station and accessible to the remote computer system;

receiving the second information over the communications network during a subsequent and separate user-initiated communication session automatically from the user station;

retrieving the stored third information using the received second information, during the subsequent and separate communication session; and

using the retrieved third information for interaction with the remote computer system during the subsequent and separate communication session.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving and acknowledging a password from the user station during the subsequent user-initiated communication session before permitting the interaction with the remote computer system.

3. A computer implemented method for identifying users over a communications network, at least a portion of which includes the Internet, comprising:

receiving first user identification information at a remote computer system from a user station during a first user-initiated communication session for a user not previously identified to the server;

sending second information that is a function of the first user identification information and that is different from the first user identification information to the user station over the communications network during the first user-initiated communication session to be stored automatically at the user station;

storing third information that is based on the first user identification information at a location remote from the user station and accessible to the remote computer system;

receiving the second information over the communications network during a subsequent and separate user-initiated communication session automatically from the user station;

retrieving the stored third information using the received second information, during the subsequent and separate communication session; and

using the retrieved third information for interaction with the remote computer system during the subsequent and separate communication session.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

receiving first user station identification information at the remote computer system from the user station during the first user-initiated communication session;

sending fourth information that is a function of the first user station identification information and that is different from the first user station identification information to the user station over the communications network during the first user-initiated communication session to be stored automatically at the user station;

storing fifth information that is based on the first user station identification information at the location remote from the user station and accessible to the remote computer system;

receiving the fourth information over the communications network during the subsequent and separate user-initiated communication session automatically from the user station; and

retrieving the stored fifth information using the received fourth information during the subsequent and separate communication session.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

receiving and acknowledging a password from the user station during the subsequent user-initiated communication session before permitting the interaction with the remote computer system.