Intermediate Tunnel Routing for Reliable Web Content Fetching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing communication methods over the Internet face inefficiencies and challenges in content fetching from web servers, particularly due to network congestion, traffic load balancing, and unpredictable network behavior, which can lead to packet loss, duplication, and out-of-order delivery.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing tunnel devices as intermediate nodes to enhance communication by optimizing content fetching processes, ensuring reliable and efficient data transfer through improved routing and error correction mechanisms.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional Internet communication methods are used for content fetching, then device complexity remains low, but network reliability deteriorates due to packet loss, duplication, and out-of-order delivery

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent fetching reliabilityVSAvoidcommunication system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces tunnel devices as intermediary nodes between content sources and requestors. These tunnel devices receive content requests, fetch content through established tunnel connections, and deliver content reliably. The tunnel devices act as mediators that handle packet routing, reassembly, and error correction, thereby improving content fetching reliability without requiring complex error handling in end devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes tunnel connections in advance before content fetching occurs. These pre-established tunnels include predefined routing paths and error correction mechanisms. By setting up the communication infrastructure beforehand with proper error handling protocols, the system ensures reliable content delivery without requiring complex real-time error correction at the content requestor level.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If direct content fetching from web servers is used, then device complexity remains low, but network congestion increases leading to slower content delivery

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent delivery speedVSAvoidrouting system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Tunnel devices serve as intermediary nodes that manage content fetching operations. They receive content requests from requestors, establish connections to content sources through pre-configured tunnels, and handle the actual content retrieval. This intermediary approach distributes the fetching workload across multiple tunnel devices rather than overwhelming direct server connections, thereby improving content delivery speed while the tunnel routing management handles the complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent divides the content fetching process into separate functional segments handled by different tunnel devices. One tunnel device may handle connection establishment, another may handle content retrieval, and yet another may handle content delivery to requestors. This segmentation of the fetching process across multiple specialized tunnel devices improves overall throughput and speed while distributing system complexity across manageable components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple content sources are accessed simultaneously, then content variety increases, but network traffic management becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent source accessibilityVSAvoidtraffic management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tunnel devices are designed with universal, multi-functional capabilities to handle various content sources and types through a unified interface. Each tunnel device can fetch content from different content sources using the same tunnel establishment and management protocols. This multi-functionality allows the system to access diverse content sources while maintaining consistent, manageable traffic control mechanisms rather than requiring separate management systems for each content source.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

Tunnel devices act as universal intermediaries between requestors and multiple content sources. They provide a standardized interface for content requests regardless of the ultimate content source. The tunnel devices manage traffic to and from multiple content sources through unified routing and connection management, thereby enabling access to diverse content while keeping traffic management complexity centralized and manageable at the tunnel device level.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Reliability

If error correction mechanisms are implemented in content fetching, then delivery reliability improves, but processing overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror-free deliveryVSAvoidprocessing energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Error correction processing is performed by tunnel devices acting as intermediaries rather than by end content requestors. The tunnel devices monitor packet transmission, detect errors, request retransmissions, and reassemble content with proper error handling. This approach achieves reliable error-free delivery while concentrating processing energy consumption in the tunnel infrastructure rather than requiring every end device to perform complex error correction, thereby reducing overall processing overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4184896B1Content fetching through intermediate device
Publication Date: 2026.02.11 BRIGHT DATA LTD
  • EP4184896B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4184896B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4184896B1 patent drawingFigure 2a

AI summary

A method for fetching a content from a web server to a client device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as intermediate devices. The tunnel device is selected based on an attribute, such as IP Geolocation. A tunnel bank server stores a list of available tunnels that may be used, associated with values of various attribute types. The tunnel devices initiate communication with the tunnel bank server, and stays connected to it, for allowing a communication session initiated by the tunnel bank server. Upon receiving a request from a client to a content and for specific attribute types and values, a tunnel is selected by the tunnel bank server, and is used as a tunnel for retrieving the required content from the web server, using standard protocol such as SOCKS, Web Socket or HTTP Proxy. The client only communicates with a super proxy server that manages the content fetching scheme.