Patents Portfolio

U.S. Patent: RE48,088

Patent Title

Methods, devices, or applications for accessing a service provided over the internet for connecting to another user or device, the service data mines transactions and information of its user

Meta Information

Issued Date: June 7, 2020
Inventor: Christina Ying Liu, William Ho Chang
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents

Technical Fields

Internet Communication, Data Mining

Abstract

Anonymous voice communication between a first station and a second station is facilitated by providing an interface that allows input of a transaction specification from at least one of the first and second stations. A reference code associated with the transaction is generated, there being a defined relationship between the reference code and the address of the second station for voice communication. The reference code is supplied to the first station, and a voice communication request and the reference code are received from the first station. The reference code is used to recover said address and a channel for voice communication is opened between said first and second stations. Voice communication can thereby be established between the first and second stations without providing the address of the second station to the first station.Client (e.g., a device, a station, or an application) for accessing an Internet-based service that data mines user information is herein disclosed and enabled. The service may facilitate a user of the client connecting to other users over the Internet. Data obtained from each transaction submitted through the service are data mined. The collected or obtained data may include private data, interests, intellectual property, and the like. The client may (1) provide, to the user, a proposed transaction specifying a transaction between the user and another user, which is based, at least in part, on data mining the user's history of transactions; (2) provide a reference code to the user related to the proposed transaction; and (3) receive a communication request from the user employing the reference code. The reference code may include text, image(s), video(s), audio, or communication link(s), and the proposed transaction may include an advertisement.

Sample Claim

1. A method of facilitating anonymous communication between a first station and a second station, the second station having an address for communication, and each station being enabled to transmit and receive packet data and being connected directly to a packet data network, the method comprising:
providing a transaction specification from at least one of the first and second stations,
generating a reference code in response to the transaction specification, there being a defined relationship between the reference code and said address,
supplying the reference code to at least the first station,
receiving a communication request from the first station,
receiving the reference code from the first station,
using the reference code to recover said address, and
opening a channel for communication between said first and second stations,
whereby anonymous communication can be established between the first and second stations without providing said address to the first station.