Internet Appliance Proxy Protocol for Location-Based Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for Internet Appliances to provide local information to third-party applications for location-based services are inflexible, inefficient, and limit the type of information that can be passed, requiring close manufacturer involvement, multiple communication channels, and restrictive data handling.
Innovation Solution
A text-based messaging protocol that allows Internet Appliances to replace substitutable variables in messages with local information, eliminating the need for third-party applications or users to supply information and enabling flexible data handling by the portal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the Internet Appliance contains a custom application to respond to third-party requests, then the appliance can process specific requests, but the system becomes inflexible and requires close manufacturer involvement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a portal as an intermediary between the third-party application and the service provider. The portal receives requests from third-party applications, automatically substitutes local variables with actual local information, and forwards the augmented requests to service providers. This eliminates the need for custom applications on each Internet Appliance while maintaining flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The portal is designed as a universal component that can handle multiple types of requests from different third-party applications. Instead of requiring each appliance to implement specific custom applications, the portal provides a general-purpose solution that works with various applications and service providers through standardized variable substitution.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the third-party application requests information from the Internet Appliance and composes a further request, then application developers have flexibility, but the communication process becomes inefficient and requires two separate channels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the information retrieval and request composition steps into a single communication channel. The third-party application sends one request to the portal, which automatically retrieves local information through variable substitution and forwards the complete augmented request to the service provider in one seamless operation, eliminating the need for two separate communication channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The portal performs preliminary actions by automatically retrieving and substituting local information before the request reaches the service provider. This preliminary variable substitution eliminates the need for the application to separately query the Internet Appliance, as the portal has already prepared the complete information set.
3Ease of operation
If the Internet Appliance acts on behalf of the third-party application using SIP REFER method, then the portal can pass local information, but the type of information is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter substitution mechanism from fixed SIP REFER methods to flexible variable substitution. The portal uses a standardized protocol that allows substitution of any local variable (such as location, device identifiers, user preferences) with actual values, enabling the passage of diverse information types beyond what traditional SIP REFER methods support.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing location and contact information about a user to a location-based service includes sending a request containing substitutable variables via an Internet portal. The Internet portal replaces the variables, en-route to the message's destination, thus eliminating the need for the location-based service to further query the Internet portal for the data, or for the data to be available to the sender when the message is sent.