SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATIONS
CENTER
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a virtual network operations center which allows
operators using customer interfaces to communicate with remote network-related
interfaces.
Background of the Invention
Telemetry, remote control, and remote monitoring and management
applications are becoming increasingly complex and widespread. Typically,
telemetry technology is used to monitor and/or control devices which are remote
from the user. For example, telemetry technology may be used to monitor remotely
located meters (e.g., fuel tank gauges, electric power meters etc.), vending
machines, credit card readers, alarm systems, and other devices. As the
applications become widespread, more customers are exposed to the technology.
Often, these customers are not familiar with the technological intricacies and
become frustrated or discouraged when attempting to manipulate the interfaces of
existing systems. Existing telemetry and remote monitoring networks utilize numerous
platforms to accomplish their respective applications. For example, existing
telemetry and remote monitoring and control networks may operate over RF,
cellular, microwave, satellite, IP or other transmission media and network
protocols. Each transmission network has characteristics which influence the
nature of the hardware needed to implement the system. Thus, customers can be
exposed to a wide variety of hardware platforms which may unduly complicate
their use of such telemetry systems.
Existing remote monitoring systems transmit acquired data to a central
location, either over hardwired landlines or by broadcasting the data. The data
transmission capability of each system depends on the medium of transmission
available at that location. Existing remote monitoring systems thus require pre¬
selection of the desired transmission medium for the system before manufacture or
installation so the appropriate communication equipment can be included. This
limits the flexibility of existing remote monitoring systems.
These and other drawbacks exist.
Summary of the Invention
An object of the invention is to overcome these and other drawbacks in
existing devices. Another object is to provide telemetry, remote control and monitoring
customers a virtual network operations center (VNOC) system which insulates the
customers from the intricacies of transporting data across different networks.
Another object is to provide a VNOC system which relieves the customer
from the need to operate, maintain, or update the system.
Another object is to provide a VNOC system which allows one-to-one, one-
to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many type connections between users and
remote monitoring points.
Another object is to provide a VNOC system for which messages may be of
a wide variety of sizes and types.
In general, according to the invention a VNOC system monitors and
communicates the occurrence of events. Events may include discrete data
representing something that happened, or did not happen, at a location or time.
Events may also include initiation or receipt of data representing a message or file
(e.g., point-to-point messaging or file transfer). Events may be collected from an
Input/Output (I/O) device, users, or other peripheral devices. Events may be
classified as inbound or outbound. An inbound event denotes a communication
from an I/O point, user or other peripheral device to the VNOC and subsequently to
a terminal device. An outbound event denotes a communication from the VNOC to
an I/O point, user or other peripheral device and generally may be used for feedback and monitoring control. I/O points generally include an input/output
device with monitoring, collection and feedback of event data.
Accordingly, the invention relates in part to a VNOC architecture to meet
the growing and dynamic needs of telemetry, control and monitoring (e.g.,
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)), and point-to-point
information service customers. Specifically, the VNOC system according to the
invention refers to a reliable, computer-implemented service in which customers
can homogeneously interact with their input/output (I/O) points, mobile data and
communication devices, computers or other client devices without having to deal
with proprietary physical, network, transport, or other protocols. The VNOC
system according to the invention manages the requirements and idiosyncrasies of
the protocols used to accomplish telemetry and remote monitoring and control. In
addition, the VNOC system according to the invention provides customers with a
consistent and integrated conduit to interact with their I/O points, mobile data and
communication devices, computers and other clients, networks, databases,
developer interfaces, printers, facsimile equipment and other output devices, and
other assets or resources.
These interfaces are powerful and flexible enough to satisfy the needs of the
most demanding customers who may also want control of their systems. The
VNOC system according to the invention may be implemented using multi-
redundant servers, multi-redundant connections, and multiple locations to enable high availability and reliability according to customer demand. Different I/O
points, hand held devices, computers or the like may be implemented using
different media and networks for connectivity. Physical media, network topologies,
third party service providers, other system elements and combinations thereof may
be chosen to provide the best cost per performance point according to customer
demand. Existing wireless technologies and platforms such as Cellemetry™, Aeris
MicroBurst™, Mobitex™, OrbComm™, Global System for Messaging (GSM),
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
Global Positioning System (GPS), Bluetooth, IEEE 802.1 lb-standard wireless
LAN, HyperLAN II and others may be used. Satellite links such as those offered
by low Earth orbit (LEO) or geosynchronous Earth orbit (LEO) platforms may also
be used. Wired technologies, buses and platforms such as ModBus™, VMEBus™ ,
General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB), RS-232, Metrum-Datatape and others may
be implemented to provide back-end network facing interfaces.
Front-end, customer facing interfaces are provided and may also implement
the most prevalent and desired technologies, such as TCP/IP, hyper text transfer
protocol (HTTP), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Wireless Application
Protocol (WAP) or other data or Internet-related protocols, email, simple network
management protocol (SNMP), interactive voice response (IVR), facsimile, paging,
Research in Motion (RIM), dial-up or others. Furthermore, many customer facing
interfaces are provided for development platforms used by customers. For example, customer facing interfaces for development platforms such as Java Beans,
ActiveX™ Controls, ODBC, Win32DLL, OLE for process controls, ORBs,
D/COM, TCP/IP connections, and other platforms may be provided.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the system for an embodiment of
the invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of various events for an embodiment
of the invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic representation of various transactions for an
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic representation of components of the system for an
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 5A is a schematic of an embodiment of the architecture for an
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 5B is a schematic of an embodiment of network architecture.
Figure 6 is a schematic of an embodiment of the invention employing
redundant architecture.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments Typically, a VNOC system according to the invention is intended to provide
seamless service for the customer monitoring or controlling remote resources or
assets. For example, the following description of one embodiment of a VNOC
system according to the invention is provided with reference to a remote water
meter controller. The water metering customer has a remotely located water supply
implementing a remotely controllable water metering valve. The customer desires
to control the metering valve, monitor its status, and collect other data pertaining to
the valve such as daily throughput, average water temperature, or other data. If a
particular circumstance should occur, such as a drop in water flow below a
predetermined level, the water valve meter may send a signal in whichever network
format the remote controller implements, such as cellular, wireline, Internet, or
other format.
The VNOC system of the invention provides the interface to receive data
from the remote valve in that format and records the occurrence of an incoming
event. The VNOC translates the incoming event into the outgoing event format or
formats, which may be preselected by the customer. If the incoming event is one
that the customer designated as requiring notification, the selected notification
report is sent to the customer over the appropriate customer interface, such as
facsimile, pager, email, instant messaging, telephone, cellular telephone, Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) or other channels. If desired, the customer can take appropriate action through a customer
interface. For example, the customer may send a command to the remote valve,
such as open until the flow rate reaches a certain level. Such a command may be
sent through the customer interface, such as inputting a code through a telephone
tone/number sequence, inputting a command into a web browser, sequencing a
code through a cellular phone or PDA, responding to screen icons or other
elements, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) interfaces or other methods. The
VNOC receives the command from the customer and may record another incoming
event. The VNOC then translates the customer incoming event into the proper
network outgoing event format and sends the command to the remote valve for
implementation.
The above example is but one possible implementation of the VNOC.
Additional applications and embodiments will be apparent from the following
detailed description.
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the overall system 10 according to
the invention. VNOC system 15 is shown communicating between various
customer interfaces 14 and network interfaces 16. Customer interfaces 14 may
include any interface over which a customer may directly or indirectly
communicate with the monitoring or control device. For example, customer
interfaces 14 may comprise an Internet web browser 20, an electronic mail (email)
interface 22, a custom Internet protocol (IP) application 24, a modem 26, an IVR 28, a facsimile machine 30, a pager 32, or some other custom device 34, such as
control and monitoring (SCAD A) host. Other customer interfaces 14 are possible.
One or more of the various customer interfaces 14 may communicate with VNOC
15 over a communications link 50. For example, computer-related customer
interfaces 14 such as web browser 20, email interface 22, or custom IP application
24 may communicate with VNOC 15 over a computer network 36.
The communications link 50 may be, include or interface to any one or
more of, for instance, the Internet, an intranet, a PAN (Personal Area Network), a
LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network) or a MAN
(Metropolitan Area Network), a storage area network (SAN), a frame relay
connection, an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, a synchronous
optical network (SONET) connection, a digital Tl, T3, El or E3 line, Digital Data
Service (DDS) connection, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) connection, an Ethernet
connection, an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, a dial-up port such
as a V.90, V.34 or V.34bis analog modem connection, a cable modem, an ATM
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode) connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data
Interface) or CDDI (Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. The
communications link 50 may furthermore be, include or interface to any one or
more of a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) link, a GPRS (General Packet
Radio Service) link, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) link, a
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) or TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) link such as a cellular phone channel, a GPS (Global Positioning System)
link, CDPD (cellular digital packet data), a RIM (Research in Motion, Limited)
duplex paging type device, a Bluetooth radio link, or an IEEE 802.11-based radio
frequency link. The communications link 50 may yet further be, include or
interface to any one or more of an RS-232 serial connection, an IEEE-1394
(Firewire) connection, a Fibre Channel connection, an IrDA (infrared) port, a SCSI
(Small Computer Systems Interface) connection, a USB (Universal Serial Bus)
connection or other wired or wireless, digital or analog interface or connection.
Thus, in addition to computer and data networks, telephone-related
customer interfaces 14 such as modem 26, IVR 28, fax machine 30, pager 32 or
others may communicate with VNOC 15 over a telephone network 38. Telephone
network 38 may be wired or wireless. Custom devices 34 may communicate with
VNOC 15 over a suitable custom network 40 such as X.25, VSAT, SCADA,
wireless or others.
The various network- facing interfaces 16 may communicate with VNOC 15
over another communications link 52. That communications link may be or
include a wire line, wireless, or other network or other communications resources
similar to communications link 50. For example, the VNOC 15 may communicate
with network- facing interfaces 16 over cellular, satellite, interconnected computer
(e.g., the Internet), or other networks. VNOC 15 may communicate over networks
with various third party network services 42. For example, VNOC 15 may communicate with third party network services 42 such as Cellemetry, MicroBurst,
Mobitex, OrbComm, GSM, and other platforms. The third party network services
42 may communicate with various I/O devices 44. The I/O devices 44 may enable
monitoring and control of various systems. Monitoring and control may be
implemented by any suitable input, output and protocol. For example, input and
output may comprise digital, analog, AMR, or other signal formats.
Developer interfaces 46 may also communicate with VNOC 15. The
developer interfaces 46 may be used by customers or others to enable other desired
programs and applications. For example, developer tools such as Java/Bean,
ODBC/SQL, OPC, LIB/DLL, ActiveX, COM, DCOM, ORB and others may be
used to adapt telemetry applications in communication with VNOC 15.
As shown in Figure 2, the various customer and network interfaces may
communicate the transmission of events through VNOC 15. Inbound events may
originate at the customer interface (e.g., inbound event 200), or the network
interface (e.g., inbound event 206). These inbound events may be processed into
corresponding outbound events (e.g., outbound events 204 and 202). As noted
above, events may correspond to occurrences (or the lack of an occurrence) selected
for customer monitoring. In other words, the events are situations for which the
customer desires to be notified, based on preselected or dynamic criteria. Thus,
events may comprise physical occurrences such as a meter recording a certain
value, a pre-selected inventory item is shipped, etc. or other less tangible occurrences such as when a pre-selected stock price is reached, a certain sales
volume is reached, a particular email message is received, a particular time period
has expired, a data file has been transferred, a point-to-point message is received,
etc..
For certain events a customer may desire notification. Such notification
may comprise a report sent to the customer in a pre-selected format or formats for
multiple reports. Other events may trigger other services. For example, some
events may be set up to cause an automatic response from VNOC 15, for example,
if a predetermined meter safety reading is exceeded, then automatically shut down
the I/O device. Other services and network behaviors are possible. Reports and
services associated with an event may be collectively considered as transactions.
As shown in Figure 3, transactions may be inbound 300 or outbound 305. Such a
configuration enables the reporting and processing of event data using a
publish/subscribe paradigm. Reports and services triggered by an event may be
handled as a single transaction.
Figure 4 is a schematic representation of internal structure of VNOC 15.
VNOC manager 100 manages communication between customer interfaces 14 and
network interfaces 16. Event manager 102 enables the management of events
passing through VNOC 15. For example, events such as incharge, onset to offload,
dependencies, concurrence, and others may be managed by event manager 102.
Publication/subscription manager 104 enables the management of customer subscription to, and network publication of events. Configuration manager 106
manages the configuration of various VNOC 15 components by enabling, for
example, customer specification of interfaces, protocols, services and other criteria.
Security manager 108 enables management of various security measures
implemented in the VNOC system.
For example, security measures such as access rights, revocation, auditing,
and other security functions may be managed by security manager 108. Error and
recovery management manager 1 10 enables the management of error detection and
recovery from errors. For example, error and recovery functions such as,
notification, logging, recovery, backups, secondary paths, and other functions may
be managed by error and recovery manager 110. Replication redundancy manager
112 enables various replication features. For example, redundancies between
machines and locations, hot failure switchovers, persistence, rollovers, and other
replication features may be managed by replication redundancy manager 112.
Customer billing module 114 enables, among other things, the tracking and
billing of customer usage. For example, customer billing module 114 may manage
the tracking of the level of usage, accumulation of bills, charges to third party
interfaces, and other billing functions. Audit and log module 1 16 enables auditing
and logging of various information. For example, location, levels, access,
presentation, historical presence, and other information may be managed by audit
and log module 116. Event naming module 118 manages the naming of events and may communicate with event database 120. For example, using an extensible
markup language (XML) style event naming.
Figures 5 A and 5B represent an embodiment of the VNOC architecture. As
shown in Figure 5A, the VNOC architecture compares with the open systems
interconnection (OSI) reference model network architecture. The OSI reference
model 550 provides for various layers of network architecture (as shown in Figure
5B). For example, the OSI layers may include a physical layer 1 , a data link layer
2, a network layer 3, a transport layer 4, a session layer 5, a presentation layer 6 and
an application layer 7. In an embodiment of the VNOC, physical layer 510 may
comprise the various Ethernet, serial port, RF, modem, wireless, and other, physical
connections as supported by the I O device. Transport, network and data link
layers 505 may comprise the various protocols that make up the network and
customer interfaces (e.g., WinSock, TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, UDP, SLIP/PPP, and other
protocols). The session, presentation and application layers 500, comprise the
various VNOC processes described herein.
The VNOC architecture according to the invention enables various features
which provide for increased flexibility. For example, the VNOC system allows
uniform representation of event data collected from a variety of I/O points, hand
held devices, computers and networks. In addition, the reporting and receipt
verification of events can be provided in any available customer protocol and
interface. The symmetric design also provides for the customer to be an I/O point and provide an incoming event into VNOC 15. The VNOC architecture may allow
one user to connect to one point (one-to-one), to multiple I/O points, hand held
devices or computers (one-to-many), multiple users to connect to one I/O point,
hand held device or computer (many-to-one) and multiple users to connect to
multiple I O points, hand held devices or computers (many-to-many).
Additional features of the VNOC according to the invention exist. For
example, users may be provided with simple and flexible interfaces, which they are
accustomed to, and over which they can interact with their I O points for feedback
and control purposes. Furthermore, the VNOC may allow users to query the
system to retrieve desired data. Additionally, the VNOC may provide the ability to
summarize data at user specified level of detail and for user specified periods of
time.
Figure 6 represents a schematic of an embodiment of a VNOC system
according to the invention. As shown, such an embodiment enables high
availability of the VNOC by providing multi-redundant systems (e.g., VNOC 15 A,
VNOC 15B, and VNOC 15C). Other multi-redundant features (e.g., multi-
redundant servers, connections, and geographic locations) also ensure reliability
and availability of the VNOC system.
The VNOC remote monitoring system of the invention may be combined
with other technologies to provide more sophisticated notification and/or data
collection systems. For example, two-way pager notification can be employed as an add-on to the system. Also, integrated voice response can be employed in the
system to enable the system to confirm that a particular notification has, in fact,
been received by the proper personnel. Other features, such as fax on demand and
web presence, can be employed to provide periodic information updates via fax or
Internet.
This feature is particularly useful when a data collection center is collecting
data from a plurality of remote monitoring systems and compiling the data for
analysis purposes. A variety of other technologies may be interfaced with the
remote monitoring system of the invention to allow customization of each product
to the user's needs. For instance, the system can be adapted for security monitoring
and reporting applications to use, for example, the Mobitex PCS network for the
transmission of video capture of intrusions or status of monitored area.
The invention may be employed in a variety of different applications which
are suited for remote monitoring. For example, in addition to monitoring devices
such as water flow meters and aerial tower lights, the invention may be employed
to monitor devices such as vending machines, drop boxes, sewer and water
treatment facilities, flood control systems, generators, switch gear, gate access,
railroad systems, waste management systems, environmental management systems,
oil and gas pipelines, downhole well data analysis, well head monitoring, traffic
systems, electric, gas and water utility systems, medical alert systems, or the invention may be employed as part of a quality management system. Other
applications of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.
The invention may be employed for the remote monitoring of vending
machines such as food or beverage dispensing machines. For example, a remote
monitoring system can be installed in or near a vending machine and connected to
appropriate sensors to monitor such characteristics as power status, product
inventory, available monetary change status and a variety of general dispensing
functions to ensure that the vending machine is operating properly at all times.
Sensors may be any conventional system for acquiring the type of data which is to
be monitored. For example, many vending machines include electronic circuitry
which acquires some or all of the data required by the remote monitoring system of
the invention. In such a case, it is only necessary to connect the electronic circuitry
of the vending machine with the input/output and/or expansion ports of an
appropriate interface.
A main power module can be connected to the available power source for
the vending machine for operation. When a remote monitoring system detects a
problem with the vending machine, data indicating the type of problem, such as a
malfunction or depletion of inventory, can be communicated to the appropriate
source for action. This allows service personnel to be dispatched promptly when
they are required. Moreover, with appropriate equipment, information about the
cause of the problem can be communicated to service personnel to provide them with an idea of the situation that needs to be addressed. Thus, the vending machine
can be promptly serviced, when required, and unnecessary visits to the vending
machine can be eliminated.
The invention is also suitable for monitoring drop boxes used by various
delivery services (e.g., USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.) to monitor the status of the drop
box. For example, a remote monitoring system can be employed to determine
whether the drop box currently contains any items for delivery and/or whether a
particular drop box has been filled to capacity. In this manner, pickup schedules for
certain drop boxes can be altered to avoid sending personnel to an empty drop box
and/or to immediately send personnel to a full drop box. Conventional sensing
devices can be employed to detect the presence of an item in the box or to detect
the condition that the box is full. The monitoring system for a particular drop box
may be manually or automatically reset each time the box is emptied.
The invention is also suitable for monitoring various aspects of sewer and
water treatment facilities. For example, sensors can be employed to monitor the
chemical composition of the outlet stream of sewer and water treatment facilities to
determine whether a malfunction has occurred. Alternatively, key apparatus or
process parameters can be remotely monitored including system pressure, power
supply, the operational status of pumps, feed devices, purifiers, etc. Moreover, the
invention can be interfaced with one or more control devices to permit not only
remote monitoring of the system but also remote adjustment of certain parameters of the system responsive to the data collected by the remote monitoring operation.
Such parameters as flow rate, system pressure, feed rate of chemical additives,
among others, may be remotely adjusted using the invention. This permits not only
the ability to remotely diagnose problems, but also the ability to remotely correct
some of the problems.
The invention is also applicable to the monitoring of flood control systems
and/or the collection of data required for proper operation of such flood control
systems. More specifically, the invention can be employed, for example, to
monitor the water level in various bodies of water to provide indications of
dangerous flood conditions and to collect the data required to react to such
conditions. The invention can also be employed to monitor and adjust various
types of flood control systems including gates, dams, and other water control
devices. Flow rates can be monitored using conventional flow sensors and, based
on collected data, remote adjustments can be made to open or close flood gates, as
necessary, to react to dangerous flood conditions. The invention is particularly
advantageous for such applications since for flood control, it is usually necessary to
monitor conditions in remote locations which would otherwise be impracticable
using conventional means.
Another advantageous application of the invention is for the monitoring of
various aspects of railroad transportation systems. The remote monitoring system
can be employed to detect malfunctions such as track switch failure, road crossing equipment failure, as well as various parameters of individual rail cars such as
refrigeration equipment, hazardous cargo leaks, among other things. The remote
monitoring system of the invention can also be used to track particular rail cars
and/or inventory, to monitor railroad traffic patterns and to implement collision
avoidance systems. Again, due to the flexibility of the system of the invention, it is
particularly suited for mounting on rail cars and/or at remote locations since it can
take advantage of whatever communication system may be available to it at a
particular location and/or switch among different communication systems, as
required.
The invention may also be employed as part of a waste management system
to monitor such things as the need for pick-up at a particular dumpster, the truck
count at a dumpster and/or to determine whether a particular truck is full and needs
to unload. In this manner, trucks can be more efficiently deployed to make pick¬
ups where needed and to avoid unnecessary pick ups. This may permit a reduction
in the number of trucks required to service a particular area and/or allow alterations
of the size or placement of dumpsters to efficiently accommodate the need for
same.
The invention is also suitable for deployment as part of an environmental
management system. For example, regulatory agencies could employ the invention
to monitor the operation of key pollution control equipment, or important waste
streams from industrial facilities to provide early warning of hazardous waste spills. Also, water supplies can be remotely monitored to detect changes in the water
composition.
Yet another application of the invention is in the monitoring of oil and gas
pipelines. The remote monitoring system can be employed to monitor flow rates,
important pipeline equipment and system pressure. Also, the system can be used
for valve control or to monitor and adjust conditions at the well head responsive to
collected data or supply and demand considerations. Further, the remote
monitoring system can be employed as a security device to detect signs that that
pipeline system has been tampered with in some manner. The invention in another
regard may be deployed in the extraction phase of oil, gas or other wells to monitor
well heads for flow rates, temperatures and other parameters on operating wells.
The invention may also be employed in the monitoring of downhole data analysis
in oil, gas and other facilities, for instance to measure temperature, pressure, flow
rates, depth readings and other parameters.
A still further application of the invention is in the field of traffic
monitoring and/or control. The system can be employed, for example, to count
vehicles and collect data for analysis of traffic patterns. Also, the system can be
employed to provide indications that theaters, stadiums, parking lots and other
public places have reached their full capacity.
The invention is also applicable to monitor various aspects of utilities
including gas, electric and water utilities. For example, the meters in individual households can be replaced by, or upgraded with the invention to provide remote
reporting of utility usage to a data collection center. Further, water, gas and
electricity distribution systems can be monitored using the invention for both
failure detection and to collect data useful to determine efficient ways to operate
such distribution systems. Additionally, a variety of different key pieces of
equipment employed by utilities can be monitored using the system of the
invention.
In the medical field, devices which monitor heartbeat, blood sugar
concentration and other important parameters, can employ the system of the
invention to alert the patient and the doctor, paramedic or hospital to a dangerous
condition.
Additionally, the remote monitoring device of the invention is particularly
suitable for quality management. Specifically, various parameters of
manufacturing processes can be remotely monitored to ensure quality and/or
adherence to certain manufacturing practices. The present system may be used by
licensor's to ensure compliance with one or more licensing conditions by a plurality
of licensees from a single, central data collection center. Such things as compliance
with quality control standards, number of units produced, operation of
manufacturing equipment within predetermined tolerances, etc. can be monitored
using the system of the invention. The system of the invention is also applicable to various data mining
applications. For example, by monitoring the appropriate sources an individual
could employ the system to obtain notification when a certain stock reaches a
predetermined price (e.g., by monitoring NYSE price ticker data). Additionally,
the invention can be employed to monitor news wires, broadcast stations and other
media sources and notify when a certain announcement or condition occurs (e.g.,
press release is announced, legislation is passed, court decision is announced,
litigation is filed, corporation is mentioned in a news article, etc.).
Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to those
skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the
invention disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be considered
exemplary only.