Systems and methods for providing content and services on a network system

• US 9,548,935 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Short, Joel E., Jacquet-Pagan, Florence, Goldstein, Joshua J.
• Primary Examiner(s): CRAWLEY, TALIA F
• Application Number:
  US14/335,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/22 Arrangements for preventing the taking of data from a data transmission channel without authorisation means for verifying the identity or the authority of a user of a secure or secret communication system H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/25 of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2503 Translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 : for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 : Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 : Session establishment or de-establishment
• 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 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 : Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 : using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/12 : Reselecting a serving backbone network switching or routing node
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing and providing content and services on a network system. Aspects of the invention include location-based determination of network content and services that may be provided to client computers. Other aspects of the invention include authorization and authentication components that determine access rights of client computers. Additional aspects include systems and methods for redirecting client computers to different network content. The disclosed systems and methods may be used in numerous network system applications.

Claims

1. A method of managing network access using a network management system, the method comprising:

receiving at a network management system a request from a computer to change a bandwidth associated with an established communications link between the computer and the network management system;

changing at the network management system the bandwidth associated with the computer for the established communications link after receiving the request from the computer to change the bandwidth, wherein said bandwidth for the established communications link is changed at the network management system during an active session; and

transmitting a notification to a property management system (PMS) device;

wherein the PMS device is configured to automatically charge a customer'"'"'s account for network access based on the request.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a packet from the computer at the network management system and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on the request; and

delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period to prevent the computer from achieving a data transmission greater than the request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein no specialized software configured for a computer network is required to be installed on the computer for the computer to communicate with the computer network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising formatting the request into a predetermined data format corresponding to a property management system (PMS) protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user interface via a home page redirection to the computer, wherein a user can select a bandwidth to be associated with the communications link from the user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request relates to upstream bandwidth.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request relates to downstream bandwidth.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the request relates to upstream and downstream bandwidth.

9. A network management system for managing network access, the network management system comprising a non-transitory storage device, said network management system having stored thereon executable program instructions for causing the network management system to:

receive a request from a user device to establish a communications link for network access;

redirect the user device to a first user interface responsive to the request for network access, wherein a user can select a first bandwidth to be associated with the communications link from the first user interface;

transmit a first notification to a property management system (PMS) device;

wherein the PMS device is configured to automatically add a charge to a customer'"'"'s account for network access based on the first bandwidth;

receive a request from the user device to change the first bandwidth associated with the established communications link to a second bandwidth; and

transmit a second notification to the PMS device responsive to the request to change bandwidth of the communications link from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth;

wherein the PMS device is configured to automatically charge the customer'"'"'s account for network access based on the second bandwidth and wherein said first bandwidth for the established communications link is changed at the network management system during an active session.

10. The network management system of claim 9, wherein the executable program instructions further comprise:

receiving a packet from the user device and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on a bandwidth associated with the communications link; and

delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period to prevent the computer from achieving a data transmission greater than the bandwidth.

11. The network management system of claim 9, wherein no specialized software configured for a computer network is required to be installed on the user device for the user device to communicate with the computer network.

12. The network management system of claim 9, wherein the executable program instructions further comprise formatting the request into a predetermined data format corresponding to a property management system (PMS) protocol.

13. The network management system of claim 9, wherein the first or the second bandwidth relates to upstream and downstream bandwidth.

14. The network management system of claim 9, wherein the first or the second bandwidth relates to one of the upstream or downstream bandwidth.

15. A network management system for managing network access, said network management system comprising a hardware processor for causing a selective execution of program instructions including at least:

receive a request from a computer to change a bandwidth associated with an established communications link;

change the bandwidth associated with the computer; and

transmit a notification to a property management system (PMS) device;

wherein the PMS device is configured to automatically associate the request with a customer'"'"'s account and wherein said bandwidth for the established communications link is changed at the network management system during an active session.

16. The network management system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions further include:

receive a packet from the user device at the network management system and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on a bandwidth associated with the communications link; and

delay transmission of the packet based on the delay period to prevent the computer from achieving a data transmission greater than the bandwidth.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein no specialized software configured for a computer network is required to be installed on the computer for the computer to communicate with the computer network.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions further include providing a user interface via a home page redirection to the computer, wherein a user can select a bandwidth to be associated with the communications link from the user interface.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the request relates to upstream and downstream bandwidth.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the request relates to one of the upstream or downstream bandwidth.