Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COMBINING SERVICES IN AN INTERNET-TYPE NETWORK -
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and equipment for combining
services of especially different types in an Internet-type network.
In the present application, 'Internet' must be interpreted broadly to
refer to a network covering a large geographical area and/or a plurality of
users. Particularly, the purpose is not to exclude restricted subnetworks of
the
actual Internet, called Intranet, Extranet etc. 'Client' (C) refers to a user
of the
services or to a user computer. A client may be an actual person or a process
operating in a computer, such as a search robot. 'Page' is an abbreviation of
a
World Wide Web page. The primary field of use of the invention is the
combination of different types of services such that the first services are
more
technical than the second services, which are in turn more entertainment-
oriented than the first services. A producer of a technical service is called
a
'service provider' (SP), and a producer of a more entertainment-oriented
service is called a 'content provider' (CP). Also the corresponding servers
are
referred to by these terms. It should be remembered, however, that the
division between technical and entertainment-oriented services is only a
concrete example intended to illustrate the invention, and that entertainment-
oriented services may typically include facts and news.
The Internet has become a new tool for companies for providing
services. Marketing and distribution of services through the Internet are
increasing very rapidly. On the other hand, companies must make significant
investments to maintain the technical quality, content and style of their
services at least on the same level as their competitors. It is a problem in
many companies that after the initial enthusiasm wears off, there are not
enough resources for developing the Web site.
The Web site of Microsoft is an example of a well-designed service
package. On the same home page it is possible to find both technical services,
such as help in problem situations and downloading of new software updates,
and entertaining services, such as news. A problem is, however, that no other
company has similar resources for providing different types of services.
Smaller companies have tried to solve this problem, for example,
such that a service provider supplements his pages with links to the services
of a content provider. A problem with this method is that the service provider
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cannot control what a client sees on the pages of the content provider. For
example, the service provider cannot prevent the client from seeing
advertisements of competing companies. The content provider may even sell
the identification data of the client to the companies whose advertisements
the
client has seen. Correspondingly, the problem for the client is that a jump
via a
permanent link to the web site of the content provider produces the same page
for all the clients instead of customization of the page according to the
client's
personal preferences. Locating a relevant service or data takes up a great
deal of the client's time and consumes the resources of the telecommunication
system.
'Profile' refers to the part of the client data that is transmitted to the
other server and used by this server to customize the service. The profile may
comprise, for example, the following data (from general to detailed): the
client
has shares, the client has shares of a car company, the client has shares of a
certain company, or the client has a stock portfolio with a specific content.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to develop a method and equipment
implementing the method so that the aforementioned problems can be solved,
in other words a service can be customized according to the needs and/or
interests of a client. The objects of the invention are achieved with a method
and a system which are characterized by what is disclosed in the independent
claims. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the
dependent claims.
The invention is based on combining at least two different servers
or server processes. A server of a service provider SP is called a first
server
and a server of a content provider CP is called a second server. A client
contacts the first server via an Internet-type telecommunication network and
gives the server his identification data, such as client identity and/or
password.
The client is directed to another server, which produces services for the
client.
The first server transmits the client's profile data to the second server,
which
adapts its services according to the client's profile data and/or the identity
of
the first server. The client identification data is preferably concealed from
the
second server. In the service-adaptive stage, the client may be prevented from
accessing some of the services of the second server, for example based on
the identification data of the first server. The services that are primarily
offered
to the client may be selected from the services provided by the second server
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based on the profile data. In this manner, it is, for example, possible to
prevent
the administrator of the first server from directing the client to see
competing
advertisements or services.
The method and system according to the invention have an
advantage that the technical service provider does not have to use his time
and resources to provide content, and vice versa. The content provider is able
to distribute its services via several technical servers. With one contact the
client receives customized service, for example data or news that is of
current
interest to the client. Since the client does not have to specifically look
for the
data that interests him, the invention saves the resources of the
telecommunication system. The invention can be implemented with known
devices by means of rather simple changes in software.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail in
connection with preferred embodiments and with reference to the
accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a block and signalling diagram illustrating the invention,
Figure 2 shows the operation of a service provider SP, and
Figure 3 shows the operation of a content provider CP.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Figure 1 shows equipment according to a preferred embodiment of
the invention and the operation thereof. In step 1, a client C activates with
his
computer a browser. The computer sets up a connection to the server of a
service provider SP via the Internet under the control of the browser. From
the
point of view of the invention it does not matter whether the client's
connection
to the Internet is fixed or set up via a switched telephone network. The
server
of the service provider SP usually identifies the client such that the client
has a
client identity CID and a password PW. Other means of identification include
the use of a smart card or callback. The relationship between the SP and the
client is usually confidential. The 'client profile' PR (CID) refers below to
the
part of the client data that is transmitted to the server of a content
provider CP.
A good example of a content provider CP is a media company, such as a
newspaper publisher. Assume that the service provider, for example a bank,
manages the client's stock portfolio. The bank knows the client's identity and
the contents of the portfolio. Outsiders are not allowed to know at least the
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specific content of a certain client's stock portfolio. In this case, the
client-
profile may be, for example, information that the client has shares of certain
companies.
Assume also that the client C owns shares of Car Factory Ltd and is
interested in news concerning the company. A user interface provided by the
SP may be, for example, such that the content of the stock portfolio is shown
as a listing where the name of each share is also a link to the server of the
CP.
The client thus activates the link to Car Factory Ltd (for example by clicking
the
company name). The server of the SP then transmits to the server of the CP a
service request which preferably contains:
- the identity of the server SP
- the client identity
- the client profile
- service control data.
Control data refers to, for example, communication between the SP
and the CP related to different manners of customizing the service. For
example, the clients may be divided into different types and the code of the
client type can be transmitted in the form of control data. !n step 2,
according
to a preferred embodiment of the invention the service request is not
transmitted directly from the SP to the CP, but there is between them an
encryption function, which is represented in Figure 1 by a separate server
called 'profile proxy' PP. The encryption function may also be a separate
function in the server of the SP, for example. The purpose of the encryption
function is to convert the identity andlor profile data of the client into
such a
form that the CP cannot recognize the client's identity if the service in
question
is anonymous. An anonymous service means a service of the CP which foes
not require user identification. In some services of the content provider, the
client is identified, for example, by means of user identity, in which case
the
client does not use the service as an anonymous user. An example of such
services is real-time data on the stock exchange which can only be accessed
by those with valid service subscription. By means of the encryption function,
information about the client's identity is only limited to the company whose
server the client has contacted. The advantage of the encryption function to
the client is, for example, that the client is able to contact the server of a
content provider without the CP coming to know the client's identity. The
identity of the client is only known to the service provider (in this case the
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bank) whose server the client has contacted first. If the client trusts the
bank,
he may safely browse through advertisements, for example, without fear of
becoming a target of aggressive marketing.
The content provider may combine the received client profile with its
5 own profile data, if the use of the content requires client identification.
When
the client is identified in the service of both the SP and the CP, the latter
is
also able to use its own client profile data in the service customization and
to
combine the profile data received from the SP with its own profile data. The
CP may already know, for example, the fields of activity the client is
interested
in. The SP transmits the names of the companies in the stock portfolio
together with the client's profile data. The CP is then able to combine the
information on the fields of activity and the names of the listed companies
for
the purpose of customization of content without finding out the client
identity
used by the service provider.
Another alternative is that a service which normally requires user
identification can be provided to the clients of the service provider as a
service
that is anonymous with respect to the content provider. In this case, the SP
in
a way treats its clients to the service. For example a stock exchange service,
which is normally liable to charge and requires a user identity, may be used
by
the clients of the SP without any extra charge and user identification when
the
search comes to the CP via the encryption function PP. Thus the CP will not
be able to find out the client's identity. The encryption function can be
described by means of a conversion function f:
C1D -~f(CID) = CID'
wherein the apostrophe means that the data has been converted
with the conversion function f. In addition to ccncealing the client identity
CID,
it may be preferable to filter or distort the profile data PR(CID) transmitted
to
the CP. In the case of the stock portfolio, this may be carried out such that
the
detailed content of the portfolio is not transmitted to the CP but, for
example,
the exact number of the shares is converted into size ranges or omitted
completely. PR'(CID') refers to a client profile distorted in such a manner.
In step 3, the content provider receives a search request where the
client data is preferably concealed and/or distorted. Next, the CP provides
the
clients with customized media content. The customization may include one or
more of the following steps. The client may see, for example, news concerning
companies that interest him, either companies mentioned in the profile data
{in
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this case Car Factory Ltd) or companies that operate in the same general
field.
On the basis of the identity of the SP, news can be selected for the client
from
the field in question (in this case for example financial news and news of the
stock exchange).
In steps 4 and 5, according to another preferred embodiment of the
invention the customization of the media content also includes that the CP
filters off the advertisements competing with the SP, in other words it
prevents
the client from seeing these advertisements. This takes place by means of a
database DB, for example. in the database, each service provider with which
the content provider has a co-operation agreement is assigned a list of the
companies whose advertisements are filtered off when the client arrives at the
CP server from the server of this SP. Alternatively, it is possible that a
list of
the companies whose advertisements are allowed is obtained from the
database when the client arrives at the CP server from the server of the SP in
question. In step 6, the CP forms a service that is customized according to
the
client's needs.
By means of the functionality described so far, the invention solves
the problems described in the introduction, in other words service
customization and limiting the client identity to the company whose server the
client has contacted. According to yet another preferred embodiment, the
invention is complemented such that in step 7 the content provider returns to
the service provider usage information UI'(CID') and/or profile conversion
data
DPR(CID'). In the presert application, usage information refers to unprocessed
data, such as log data. It may include a complete path of the pages of the CP
the client has visited and possibly the time spent on each page.
Correspondingly, the profile conversion data is data processed from the usage
information.
When the client uses services of the CP, he makes choices which
may shape the user profile. Some of the choices are of interest to the SP. The
SP and the CP may come to an agreement about exchanging such data. For
example, in a stock exchange service the client has indicated his interest in
certain fields of activity and the SP and the CP have agreed on exchange of
this data. However, the client now changes his interests by selecting new
fields of activity and deleting some of the earlier choices. This profile
conversion data is transmitted from the CP to the SP.
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Assume that the service provider directs the client to the server of
the CP and the profile data PR indicates that the client is interested in news
related to the stock exchange, car industry or a certain car factory. The
client
finds from the CP server also other interesting things, for example he spends
a
considerable amount of time in the section of holiday houses, maybe houses
in a certain area or of a certain size/price. In such a case, the profile
conversion data includes corresponding information about the client's other
interests.
When the encryption function PP is used, the usage information UI'
and the profile conversion data APR' are reconverted or the encryption is
decrypted with an inverse conversion function f -':
UI(CID) = f''(UI'(CID')
In step 8, the usage information UI andlor the profile conversion
data APR is transmitted to the SP in a form the SP understands. The usage
information may contain data of the services the client has used in the SP
server. The SP may supplement its client register on the basis of this data.
Alternatively or in addition, the CP may return to the SP profile conversion
data APR that has already been processed.
The encryption function f and the decryption function f-' are
implemented most suitably by means of symmetrical encryption, which is
presented as f~'key(fkey(x)) = x, wherein 'key' is the encryption key as well
as the
decryption key. According to yet another preferred embodiment, the converted
identification data of the client is intended for a single use, which means
that
the client always appears as a new client to the CP, so that the data about
the
client's areas of interests is only limited to the company whose server the
client has contacted himself.
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the operation according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention from the point of view of the SP and the CP,
respectively. In step 21 of Figure 2, the service provider identifies the
client
and determines the client identity CID and the client profile PR(CID). In step
22, this data is transmitted to the CP in an encrypted form, for example by
means of transmission via the encryption function PP. In step 23, when the
client has terminated the use of the CP, the SP receives unprocessed usage
information UI or preferably processed profile conversion data APR. In step
24, the SP updates the client profile PR{CID).
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In step 31 of Figure 3, the CP receives from the SP the client
identity CID' and the client profile PR'(CID'). In step 32, the CP forms a
service
customized according to the client's needs. Service customization may include
selecting facts, news and/or advertisements on the basis of the profile data
and/or the identity of the SP. Usage information indicating, for example, how
long the client has been on each page is maintained simultaneously. When the
client terminates the use of the CP server, in step 34 the usage information
is
processed into profile conversion data OPR. (If the CP does not perform this
in
a centralized manner, each SP must carry it out separately in step 24). !n
step
35, the CP transmits the profile conversion data APR to the SP.
It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the basic idea of the
invention can be implemented in several different manners. In the embodiment
described above, the functions SP, PP and CP are provided in different
servers which communicate together via the Internet. This is not necessary,
but some or all of these functions can be regarded as different processes of
one and the same server. This common server is controlled by an external unit
which is neither the SP nor the CP. Even though the functions are situated at
the different servers SP, PP and CP, they may communicate with each other
for example via a local area network. The invention and the embodiments
thereof are thus not restricted to the examples described above, but they may
vary within the scope of the claims.
