Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9407673B1/en
Timestamp: 2019-12-07 23:17:46
Document Index: 321743699

Matched Legal Cases: ['§120', '§120', '§120', '§119', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60']

US9407673B1 - Apparatus, system and method for maintaining a persistent data state on a communications network - Google Patents
Apparatus, system and method for maintaining a persistent data state on a communications network Download PDF
US9407673B1
US9407673B1 US14/266,780 US201414266780A US9407673B1 US 9407673 B1 US9407673 B1 US 9407673B1 US 201414266780 A US201414266780 A US 201414266780A US 9407673 B1 US9407673 B1 US 9407673B1
US14/266,780
2007-01-25 Priority to US11/627,332 priority patent/US8380856B1/en
2012-12-26 Priority to US13/727,158 priority patent/US8819251B1/en
2014-04-30 Priority to US14/266,780 priority patent/US9407673B1/en
2014-04-30 Application filed by Priceline com LLC filed Critical Priceline com LLC
2015-11-12 Assigned to PRICELINE.COM INCORPORATED reassignment PRICELINE.COM INCORPORATED ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: LENZ, CHRISTOPHER, NEDDERMAN, SCOTT, TAYLOR, JONATHAN
2015-11-12 Assigned to PRICELINE.COM LLC reassignment PRICELINE.COM LLC ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: PRICELINE.COM INCORPORATED
2016-08-02 Publication of US9407673B1 publication Critical patent/US9407673B1/en
230000002085 persistent Effects 0 abstract description title 25
The present application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 USC §120 to prior application Ser. No. 13/727,158 filed Dec. 26, 2012, which in turn claims priority under 35 USC §120 to prior application Ser. No. 11/627,332 filed Jan. 25, 2007, which in turn claims priority under 35 USC §120 to prior application Ser. No. 09/707,211 filed Nov. 3, 2000; the present application also claims priority under 35 USC §119 to U.S. provisional application No. 60/177,462, filed Jan. 20, 2000; U.S. provisional application No. 60/178,986, filed Jan. 28, 2000; and U.S. provisional application No. 60/180,074 filed Feb. 3, 2000. The entirety of the aforementioned applications are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
FIG. 2A-B illustrates another embodiment of the present invention in the form of a distributed system interacting through a communications network;
FIGS. 2A-B show another embodiment of a system incorporating the present invention. In this embodiment, the centralized controller 1101 embodiment of FIG. 1 has been decentralized into components: a user interface controller 2201 or alternatively a user interface device 2202, a session server controller 2203, a web browser controller 2204, a database controller 2205, and an information server controller 2206.
FIG. 3 shows an overview of the basic interaction of the system. The information server 3106 acts as an in-between for: a user interface 3110 on a system, a user interface device 3202, or a web browser 3112 taking requests. The information server can make further requests of a session server 3109 that itself may access one or more databases to access stored session states or other information. Both the information server and the session server may service multiple instances of any of the aforementioned. Also, there may be one or more instances of the session server and/or information server that may severally or jointly interact with one or more information servers 3106. Session servers service information servers. In turn, the information servers and/or session servers may interact and Service one or more databases 3113 for various purposes such as, but not limited to: validation rules, session state storage, and electronic commerce (E-commerce) order fulfillment. FIG. 3 shows that the session server and information server may service multiple sources at once, and that the session server and information server may access more than one database. For example, any information server may request a session state from any number of session servers; thus allowing a user's session to be maintained and provided by any number of session servers, thus increasing performance and fault tolerance.
1. A method of maintaining a session state on at least one server, comprising:
generating a session key, wherein each user session key is uniquely associated with a user and a session state;
transmitting the user session keys to a remote computing device;
providing the user session keys to a requesting session client associated with session information;
providing session information for each session key,
wherein the session information for each session key comprises at least one entry to a form segment data field, and
wherein the session key, state and session information are provided from at least one server separate from a server interacting with the requesting session client; and
associating the session information with each session key.
2. The method of claim 1 further wherein the session states are maintained on a server separate from a server for which the session states are associated.
3. The method of claim 2 further wherein said separate server is a plurality of servers.
4. The method of claim 3 further wherein said plurality of servers are distributed servers.
5. The method of claim 1 further wherein said separate server is a web server.
6. The method of claim 1 further wherein said separate server is a non-web server.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the session key is uniquely associated with one user.
8. The method of claim 1 where the session keys are associated with a plurality of users.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein said form segment data field is a segment data field.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said form segment data field is a web segment data field.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein said form segment data field is a request data field.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said form segment data field is a web request data field.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein said form segment data field is an application data field.
14. The method of claim 1 where the user session keys are provided via any of: embedding in a web page, or outside a web page.
15. A method of maintaining a session state on a server, comprising:
generating unique user session key uniquely associated with a user and a state;
transmitting said unique user session key to a remote computing device for storage and subsequent transmission to a requesting session client associated with session information;
providing the session information, wherein the session information for each session key comprises at least one entry to a form segment data field, and wherein the session key, state and session information are provided from at least one server separate from a server interacting with the requesting session client; and
associating the session information with the unique user session key.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said form segment data field is a segment data field.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said form segment data field is a web segment data field.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein said form segment data field is a request data field.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein said form segment data field is a web request data field.
20. The method of claim 15 wherein said form segment data field is an application data field.
21. The method of claim 15 wherein said session information is maintained on a web server.
22. The method of claim 15 wherein said session information is stored on an server outside a web server.
23. The method of claim 15 wherein said session information is stored on a computing device outside a web server.
24. The method of claim 15 where the user session key is provided via any of: embedding in a web page, or outside a web page.
25. A method of maintaining a plurality of session states on at least one server, comprising:
generating a plurality of user session keys, wherein each user session key is uniquely associated with a user and a state;
transmitting said plurality of user session keys to remote computing devices;
providing the plurality of session keys to requesting session clients associated with session information;
providing session information for each session key, wherein the session information for each session key comprises at least one entry to a form segment data field; and
26. The method of claim 25 further wherein said session states are stored on a server separate from a server for which the session states are associated.
27. The method of claim 26 further wherein said separate server is a plurality of servers.
28. The method of claim 27 further wherein said plurality of servers are distributed servers.
29. The method of claim 25 further wherein said separate server is a web server.
30. The method of claim 25 further wherein said separate server is a non-web server.
31. The method of claim 25 wherein said plurality of session keys are uniquely associated with one user.
32. The method of claim 25 where said plurality of session keys are associated with a plurality of users.
33. The method of claim 25 where the user session keys are provided via any of: embedding in a web page, or outside a web page.
34. A method of maintaining a plurality of session states on a server, comprising:
generating a plurality of user session keys based on a user IP address, wherein each user session key is uniquely associated with a user and a state;
providing the plurality of session keys to a requesting session client associated with session information;
providing the session information for each session key, wherein the session information for each session key comprises at least one entry to a form segment data field; and
35. The method of claim 34 wherein said state is a web form state.
36. The method of claim 34 wherein said form segment data field is a web form segment data field.
37. The method of claim 34 wherein said form segment data field is a web request data field.
38. The method of claim 34 where the user session keys are provided via any of: embedding in a web page, or outside a web page.
39. A method of maintaining a plurality of session states on a server, comprising:
generating a plurality of user session keys based on a user IP address, wherein each user session key is uniquely associated with a user and a web form state;
providing the session information for each session key, wherein the session information for each session key comprises at least one entry to a web form segment data field; and
US14/266,780 2000-01-20 2014-04-30 Apparatus, system and method for maintaining a persistent data state on a communications network Active US9407673B1 (en)
US13/727,158 Continuation US8819251B1 (en) 2000-01-20 2012-12-26 Apparatus, system, and method for maintaining a persistent data state on a communications network
US9407673B1 true US9407673B1 (en) 2016-08-02
US7188176B1 (en) 2007-03-06
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PRICELINE.COM INCORPORATED;REEL/FRAME:037022/0244
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NEDDERMAN, SCOTT;TAYLOR, JONATHAN;LENZ, CHRISTOPHER;REEL/FRAME:037020/0651