Authorization Code Grouping for Cable Billing Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cable billing systems face inefficiencies due to a large number of authorization codes representing video packages, leading to overwhelming code management and potential byte size limits, as companies create numerous packages with similar video channels for promotions, resulting in thousands of codes that are difficult to track and manage.

Innovation Solution

A method that identifies duplicate content packages, assigns a reference code to each group, forms non-duplicate packages with original and reference codes, and creates new packages with unique codes for overlapping and non-overlapping sources, providing a unified map for content delivery, allowing for reduced code tracking and efficient authorization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If companies create numerous content packages with different codes for promotions and pricing variations, then pricing flexibility and promotional capabilities are improved, but code management complexity and tracking difficulty increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepricing flexibilityVSAvoidcode management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple content packages that share common video channels into unified groups represented by single reference codes. Instead of managing thousands of individual package codes, the system consolidates them into grouped representations where shared content is identified and grouped together, significantly reducing code management complexity while preserving pricing flexibility through the grouping structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

Reference codes are designed to serve multiple functions: they represent groups of content packages, enable identification of shared video channels across packages, and facilitate efficient authorization. A single reference code can represent multiple original content packages that share common content, making the code system universal and multi-functional

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If thousands of authorization codes are created to represent different video packages, then content package variety is improved, but code tracking and system performance deteriorate due to overwhelming numbers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent package varietyVSAvoidcode tracking efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the code system into two distinct layers: reference codes that represent groups of content packages, and original codes that represent individual packages within groups. This segmentation allows the system to manage thousands of content packages by tracking only the smaller set of reference codes, dramatically improving code tracking efficiency while maintaining content package variety

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Reference codes act as intermediaries between the billing system and the actual content delivery. Instead of directly managing thousands of original content package codes, the system uses reference codes as mediators that point to groups of packages, reducing the tracking burden while preserving access to all individual packages through the intermediary reference code structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If duplicate content packages are assigned different codes for different pricing, then pricing differentiation is improved, but code redundancy and management overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepricing differentiationVSAvoidcode quantity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges content packages that have duplicate or overlapping video channels into groups represented by single reference codes. Even when packages have different pricing, they are grouped by their shared content characteristics, reducing the total number of codes needed while preserving pricing differentiation through the grouping relationships and associated metadata

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS9674566B2Unique grouping of communication sources

Publication Date: 2017.06.06 CHARTER COMM OPERATING LLC

AI summary

The specification and drawings present a new method, apparatus and software related product (e.g., a computer readable memory or storage device) for optimization of authorization codes (or identifications, IDs) for delivery of multimedia content such as video channels using unique grouping of sources (to be delivered to users) into content packages assigned new authorization codes. Then each original content package may be represented by a combination of uniquely grouped packages assigned with a plurality of corresponding new codes.