WO1998032082A1

WO1998032082A1 - Computer and computer networks

Info

Publication number: WO1998032082A1
Application number: PCT/GB1998/000147
Authority: WO
Inventors: Timothy James Hammond; Jonathan Elliott Hammond
Original assignee: Taxi Interactive Ltd.
Priority date: 1997-01-17
Filing date: 1998-01-16
Publication date: 1998-07-23

Abstract

A computer network system and computer are disclosed which can be used as a virtual billboard and to provide convenient access to associated information sites. The computer has a facility which causes to be displayed on the display unit of the computer a display (20) made up of a plurality of sections (22, 24) each associated with an information site on a network, said facility also providing a means which responds to an instruction provided for example by positioning a graphical marker by means of a mouse or similar device relative to one of said sections (22, 24) on the display and actuated to thereby cause the computer to be connected via the network to the site associated with that section (22, 24) of the display. The system also includes means which allow particular images to be displayed in dependence on a user's interests and demographic information. This means that information can be targeted to particular users.

Description

Computer and Computer Networks

This invention relates to computers and computer networks and in particular to the access to and provision of information over such a network.

The Internet is now a very widely used facility. Anyone with a personal computer (PC) or similar device such as a netstation and a modem potentially has access to a vast quantity of information via the Internet. Currently access to the Internet is typically by way of Internet Service Providers (ISP's) or servers such as those which trade under the name Pipex and CompuServe. The ISP's incorporate software which provides the necessary search engines to enable users to identify the information sites in which they may be interested. Thus, the ability of a user to access relevant sites can depend upon whether the search engine brings those sites to his attention. It can also depend on the user's knowledge of those sites. It may be that there are many sites which would be of interest which are never accessed. This can be particularly important in the advertising field since advertisers rely on potential customers viewing the information at their site in order to sell their products or services . The present invention is concerned with a novel way of allowing users of a network to access such sites and in particular provides a facility which enables a user's PC to display information relevant to a number of sites even when that PC may not be connected to the network as such.

Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer having a facility which, when the computer is inactive, causes to be displayed on the display unit of the computer a display made up of a plurality of sections each associated with an information site on a network, said facility also providing a means which responds to an instruction provided for example by positioning a graphical marker by means of a mouse or similar device relative to one of said sections on the display and actuated to thereby cause the computer to be connected via the network to the site associated with that section of the display. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer having a facility which causes to be displayed on the display unit of the computer a display made up of a plurality of sections each associated with an information site on a network, said facility also providing a means which responds to an instruction provided for example by positioning a graphical marker by means of a mouse or similar device relative to one of said sections on the display and actuated to thereby cause the computer to be connected via the network to the site associated with that section of the display.

Preferably, a user profile is assigned to each user of the system.

A main database can be provided at an Internet Service Provider or server for storing user profiles and other information.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer network system comprising a computer which is connectable to a network and which has a facility which causes to be displayed on the display unit of the computer a display made up of a plurality of sections each associated with an information site on the network, said facility also providing a means which responds to an instruction provided for example by positioning a graphical marker by means of a mouse or similar device relative to one of said sections on the display and actuated to thereby cause the computer to be connected via the network to the site associated with that section of the display, wherein a user profile is associated with each user of the system and a main database is provided at a server or internet service provider, which database is arranged to store the user profiles, other pieces of information and codes indicative of the content of the other pieces of information and the arrangement being such that particular pieces of said other pieces of information are made accessible to particular users on the basis of a comparison between the codes and the user profiles .

The user profiles can comprise demographic information such as location, age, sex, occupation etc., as well as information concerning the users interests and user preferences.

It is envisaged that the invention will operate as a virtual billboard and will have particular application in the advertising, media and entertainment fields and the sections of the display will be used by advertisers to enable PC users to observe such advertisements and then access the sites of those in which they are interested. An important feature of the facility is that information relating to a number of sites can be displayed on the display unit of a PC and the PC user can therefore identify those sites without having to access an Internet Service Provider in the conventional manner. It is envisaged that the software controlling this facility will be stored on the hard disc implemented by that part of the computer operating system, which provides the screen saver facility. The normal screen saver display will then be replaced by the display described above so that that display will be displayed automatically in place of the conventional screen saver. The arrangement can be such that the information display in each section is moved periodically to the next adjacent section so that the display does not remain static. The software will be held permanently at an Internet Service Provider or a server and will normally be downloaded, upon request from a user, to a PC the first time that PC accesses the Internet. Alternatively the software can loaded directly onto a computer from a data carrier for example a CD ROM. Once the software has been loaded, it will not be necessary subsequently to continuously download to the PC other than updates to the data relating to the actual information displayed on the display unit. The arrangement can be such that a display bar which is a reduced version of the display described above can be displayed over and in addition to a browser (such as MS Internet Explorer or Netscape) display on the display unit. Whilst the display can be caused to be displayed when the computer is inactive, the arrangement can be such that it is also possible to bring up the display manually. This can be done in any way conventionally used to launch an application.

Preferably each user of the present invention has a user ID.

The information stored in the database at the server or internet service provider can comprise any one of or any combination of the following: user profiles, advertisements, links to information sites and information items such as, news items, weather reports, sports results, TV programme listings, what's on guides etc. Each link and/or advertisement and/or information item can have a code associated therewith, which code is indicative of the subject of that link, advertisement or information item. The arrangement can be such that particular links and/or advertisements and/or information items can be downloaded to and/or made accessible to a user on the basis of a comparison between said codes and the user's profile.

Typically, whilst the present invention is in use, some sections of the display will be used to display advertisements which are targeted at the user under whose user ID the related software is running. The adverts can comprise links to information sites which might be of interest. An advertiser can specify criteria which a user should have before being presented with a particular advertisement.

A local database can be provided and the computer can be arranged to record and store, in the local database, data relating to actions carried out by a user. Typically the data will relate to the instructions generated by the positioning of said mouse or similar device relative to said display and the actuation thereof. Thus the information stored in the local database can be indicative of the interests of the users of the computer. Preferably the database can be arranged to independently store entries relating to specific users.

The local database can also store any one of or any combination of user profiles, advertisements, links to information sites and information items such as, news items, weather reports, sports results, TV programme listings, what's on guides etc which are relevant to the users of that computer. The computer, display unit, controlling software loaded on the computer, the local database and all relevant asset files (data files which can contain text and graphics for example) form a stand alone system. This stand alone system is able to function independently whether or not the computer is not connected to the Internet Service Provider or server. The arrangement can be such that when the computer is connected to the network and said display is displayed, data contained in the local database is uploaded to the Internet Service Provider or server. The information which is uploaded can then be used to update the user profiles stored in the main database provided at the Internet Service Provider or server.

The information displayed in each section of the display can be different for different users. Even if several users use a single computer the display can be dedicated to each user as identified by their user ID. Some aspects of the display can be controlled by the user and some will be controlled by the main database. A number of levels of subject menus can be provided and the items on the menus can be customised. Each subject menu can comprise sub-menus and/or links to information sites on a network. The menus can serve to organise a relatively large number of links by subject. It will be appreciated that icons or display elements corresponding to the links can also serve as advertisements .

The arrangement can be such that links to information sites and/or information items such as, news items, weather reports, sports results, TV programme listings, what's on guides etc. are downloaded automatically when the computer is connected to the Internet Service Provider or server and the controlling software is active. The arrangement can be such that the information items are then stored locally, for example on the computer's hard disc, and can be viewed both on-line and off-line. Further, icons or display elements corresponding to the links can be added to appropriate menus and stored locally. The icons or display elements added to the menus can be viewed both on-line and off-line. Preferably the links and information items automatically downloaded are dependent on the user's profile .

Typically the content of the information items are periodically updated on the main database and new links are added to the main database. Preferably the arrangement is such that only information items which have been updated since a user's last connection are automatically downloaded when a user connects . The arrangement can be such that new links are downloaded and added to the appropriate subject menus automatically. Preferably the arrangement is such that highlights are provided on the user's display to indicate any information item and/or subject menu that has been updated. Preferably the arrangement is such that the automatic downloading of data is controllable by the user, for example the arrangement can be such that the user must issue appropriate instructions before the automatic downloading commences. Similarly, the arrangement can be such that the automatic uploading of data is controllable by the user.

The arrangement can be such that where more than one information item is to be updated, the order in which the information items are updated is determined on the basis of the user's profile, preferably the order is determined in accordance with data relating to the frequency with which that information item has been viewed by the user. In this way the information item most frequently viewed by a user can be updated first and further items can be updated in order. This increases the chances that the user's preferred item(s) are updated when only a limited amount of on-line time is available.

According to further aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer network system comprising a computer connectable via a network to a server, a main database being provided on the server and a local database being provided at the computer, the main database comprising information concerning individual users and the computer having a facility to record, in the local database, data relating to instructions generated by actions of a user and the arrangement being such that when the computer is connected to the server the data stored in the local database is uploadable to the server to modify the information relating to that user stored in the main database.

Whilst the present invention can have utility as a virtual billboard, it will be appreciated that it can also be used as a tool for accessing desired information on the internet. At least certain embodiments of the present invention have the advantage that the information made available to a user is targeted to the user's interests and preferences. Further, information concerning user's interests, the adverts and information items viewed, and the sites visited is gathered by the system and ultimately stored in the main database. This information can be gathered even when the computer is not connected to the service provider or server. A further advantage of at least some embodiments is that information is downloaded automatically and can then be viewed off-line if desired, the need for the user to actually search for and/or view the appropriate sites and/or screens online being avoided.

The invention will be described now by way of example only, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a link between a PC and an Internet Service Provider; Figure 2 is an illustration of a typical display which can be generated by means of the present invention,

Figure 3 illustrates an enhancement of the basic display, and Figure 4 illustrates the basic steps which the software of the present invention has to be able to effect .

Figure 1 shows schematically how a PC (10) is linked by a modem (11) and telephone line (12) to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or server (14) in order to gain access to the Internet. The ISP or server contains software including search engines which enable a user to search for information sites in which he is interested. Conventionally this is the typical way in which users gain access to the information sites on the network. Quite often it is a matter of chance whether a user will gain access to any particular site.

In embodiments in accordance with the present invention a radically different way of allowing a user to access information is proposed. The facility is based upon software stored permanently at the ISP (14) or server. This software which effectively comprises a software engine and associated data relating to information to be displayed is arranged so that when, for example, a PC is currently connected to the

Internet and the connection has been inactive for a preselected time, will cause to be displayed on the display unit of the PC (10), a display of the type shown in Figure 2. As can be seen this comprises a generally rectangular or square area (20), with a border section (21) divided into a number of individual sections (22). The border (21) surrounds a central area (24). Each section (22) can display information relating to information available at a site on the Internet. Typically the information will be advertising-type information. The central area (24) can display in more detail and on an enlarged scale the information in one of the sections (22). The object of this display is to attract a user's attention and to provide the user with a rapid means for accessing any one of the information sites illustrated in the sections (22). In order to do this the user simply manipulates his mouse so that the graphical marker on the screen is located over one of the sections (22). Then by clicking on the mouse at that point, the PC is automatically connected to the site associated with the section (22) which has been selected. The information from this site will then be displayed on the screen and the user can view that site at his leisure. The present facility and the information at the site can be so configured that the user accesses only those parts on the site which interest the user so that only the data relating to the information of interest has to be downloaded.

The arrangement is also such that on the first occasion that a user accesses the ISP subsequent to the facility being made available at the ISP then the software concerned is downloaded, upon request from the user, from the ISP to the user's PC. Furthermore, the software is loaded onto the hard disc and can be made active by the area of the operating system of the PC which normally controls the screen saver facility. Thus, once this software has been loaded into the user's PC and that PC is switched on and currently inactive, the software will cause to be displayed on the display unit of the PC, a screen display of the type shown in Figure 2. This means that for example advertisers will have displayed on the display unit information which it is intended will attract the user to access their site. Thus, advertisers are not reliant on the ability of search engines in ISP's or servers to direct users to their sites, but can have information relating to their site displayed automatically on the screen of a user. This is believed to be a radically novel means of providing access to a site on the Internet. It should be noted that the software can also be arranged, even when the PC is not currently connected by a modem to the telephone line (12), to provide that connection automatically. Thus, if a user's PC and modem are currently switched on and there is an idle internet connection, then even though the PC is not currently connected to the Internet, if a user notes an advertisers display on his screen, he can, by manipulating his mouse, click on the relevant section (22) following which the software will automatically provide the connection to the ISP or server and thus to the website.

The facility will operate such that the display does not remain static. Thus periodically the material displayed in each section (22) will be moved successively to the central section (24) for a preselected time.

It is envisaged that users will be able to buildup their own customised displays which can be considered as layers beneath the basic display shown in Figure 2. Such an arrangement is illustrated schematically in Figure 3 of the drawings where personalised layers are illustrated at numeral (35). This is a conceptual rather than an actual representation of the idea. Thus if a user has identified one or more sites which are likely to be of interest to him, he can use the present facility to retain information relating to those sites on the sublayers. This means that even though the basic data relating to the sections (22) may be changed at the ISP, the user is not deprived of that information since he has created his own personalised version of it and this will enable the user to gain access to the information sites in question, even though that site is not currently displayed on the main display section (20). This facility will be particularly effective in allowing a user to access only those parts of a website in which he is interested.

Figure 4 illustrates the various steps which the software has to be able to be put into effect. It is believed that this Figure will enable a man skilled in the art to implement the necessary software to carry out the functions described. Figure 4A shows that the first step is to log on to the Internet in a conventional manner. At stage 2 the software identifies that the computer has been idle for a preselected time, following which it causes to be displayed on the screen of the user's PC a display of the type shown in Figure 2. (Figure 4B)

Assuming the user wishes to do so he can then click on any appropriate section (22) to cause the PC to be connected automatically to the website associated with that section, whereby there appears in the central section (24) of the screen display the information from the section in question, typically an advertisement. (Figure 4C)

The next stage illustrated at Figure 4D is for the user to manipulate his mouse and click on the central area (24) of the screen display, following which the software automatically links the PC directly to the website associated with the section (22) which has been selected. The user can then, therefore view the information at that website.

After a further time lapse the software is arranged to cause the screen to revert to the form shown in Figure 2 and this is illustrated at Figure 4E. It should be noted that the screen layout of Figure 2 can be temporarily removed by clicking the mouse on the border area of the screen.

Referring now to Figure 4F, when a user disconnects from the Internet, the software engine of the present facility, after a predetermined time period, automatically loads the default screen saver onto the user's desk top. The content is installed onto the hard disc and updated whenever it is changed.

Referring to Figure 4G, the present facility operates even when the PC is not logged on to the Internet so that if a user's PC has been inactive for a predetermined period of time, the display of the form shown in Figure 2 is caused to be displayed on the display unit as shown in Figure 4G. If a user's attention is attracted to this display he can automatically log back on to the Internet simply by clicking on an appropriate one of the sections (22). Subsequent connection to the Internet is effected under the control of the software.

Figure 4H illustrates the feature by which customised layers can be added to allow a user to maintain selected websites on a menu created effectively the user. This enables a user to gain rapid access to the sites identified on the screen layout so created. Figure 41 illustrates that some of the personalised layers can be arranged to contain suggestions of relevant websites of interest which match a user's general requirements.

Information items are also stored at the user's PC which can be accessed by clicking on suitable regions of the display. When some of the sections (22) are clicked on, an information item is displayed in the central section. No connection to the web site is required for this operation.

Although as described above the arrangement can be such that the display is displayed when the computer has been inactive for a predetermined period, the arrangement can be such that the display will be displayed in response to instruction input by a user. This method of bringing up the display can be provided in addition to or as an alternative to the display being displayed when the computer is inactive.

The additional features of a further embodiment will now be described, this embodiment has many features in common with the above description and detailed description of these common features has been omitted below.

In this embodiment each user of the present invention is assigned a user ID which serves to uniquely identify the user. A user profile can then be assigned to each user and the profile can comprise demographic information such as the location, age, sex and occupation of the user, as well as other information concerning the user's interests and any preferences which the user has specified. The information in this user profile can come from various sources. When a user first installs the controlling software, a registration form will be presented which can be filled out with various items of information. Further, as the present invention is used various information concerning the user's interests can be entered by the user and/or automatically gathered by the system.

A main database can be provided at the Internet service provider or the server. The information stored in this database can comprise user profiles organised under the user IDs, advertisements, links to information sites and information items such as news items, weather reports, sports results, TV programmes listings, what's-on guides etc. The links and information items stored in the main database can be determined by the organisation responsible for the Internet service provider or the server. Each link, advertisement and information item can have a code associate therewith. This code is indicative of the subject matter of that link, advertisement or information item. The purpose of such codes is to allow each link, advertisement or information item only to be downloaded to a specified group of users. The arrangement is such that whether a particular link, advertisement or information item is downloaded to a user is determined on the basis of a comparison between the codes assigned to that link, advertisement and information item and the user's profile.

This facility allows the organisation responsible for the Internet service provider or server to provide only links, advertisements and information items which are of interest to the user and to allow advertisers to specify criteria which a user should have before being presented with a particular advertisement. For example, an advertiser might have a set of advertisements with separate advertisements for different geographical regions . When this is the case, the main database at the Internet service provider or server can be arranged so that the each geographically targeted advert is downloaded only to those users in the desired geographical area.

To enable the user profile stored at the main database to be updated and refined, a local database is provided at the computer. The computer is arranged to record and store in the local database, data relating to actions carried out by the user. Because the database is local to the computer this recording and storing of actions carried out by the user can take place whether or not the computer is connected to the Internet service provider or server. Typically the data recorded and stored in the local database will relate to the instructions generated when the user positions the mouse or similar device relative to the display and actuates it. Because the various sections of the display relate to different information areas or subject matter, information regarding which of these sections is selected gives an indication of the interests of the users of the computer. Further, because each user has a user ID, actions carried out by different users can be independently stored and recorded. When such viewing of the display and the various sections is carried out without the computer connected to the Internet service provider or server, the data is merely recorded and stored in the local database and retained until such time that the computer is reconnected to the Internet service provider or server and the controlling software is active, at which time this information can be uploaded to the main database provided that the user gives the necessary instructions to allow the uploading to take place. In this way the information regarding users stored in the main data base can be updated and the information stored in the local database is no longer required and will be overwritten when the computer is next used to prevent unnecessary files of data building up on the user's hard drive. It will be noted however, that the user has control over whether the upload takes place. Because each user has a unique user ID the information displayed in each section of the display can be different for different users. Some items appearing in the various sections of the display can be controlled by the users and some will be controlled by the main database. In particular, it is envisaged that the user will be able to specify which links to information sites are added to the display whereas, the advertisements displayed in various sections of the display will be determined and controlled by the main database. In this respect, the display for each user can be made up of a number of levels of subject menus and items on these menus can be customised by each user. Each subject menu will typically comprise sub-menus and/or links to information sites on a network. The menus thus serve to organise a relatively large number of links by subject area. It will also be appreciated that the icons or display elements corresponding to the links can also serve as advertisements.

As mentioned above, a considerable amount of time can be spent attempting to search the Internet using conventional search engines. With the present system the arrangement is such that links to information sites and/or information items such as news items etc listed above, are downloaded automatically when the computer is connected to the Internet service provider or server, the controlling software is active and the user issues the necessary instructions. Again it should be noted that the user has control over whether the data is downloaded. The information items, advertisements and display elements or icons for the links, are then stored locally, typically on the computer's hard disk and can be viewed both on-line or off-line. However, rather than downloading a large volume of information, little of which may be of interest to a particular user, the system is arranged so that only some of the links, advertisements and information items are automatically downloaded and those which are downloaded are determined in dependence with the user's profile. However, if the user desires to do so he can download other items by issuing appropriate instructions.

Typically the advertisements and the content of the information items will be periodically updated on the main database and new links to information sites which are of interest will be added. However, many of the advertisements, information items and links on the main database may correspond exactly with those already stored on the user's computer. The system is arranged so that only relevant new advertisements and links, and information items which have been updated since the user's last connection are automatically downloaded when a user connects . The arrangement is such that highlights are provided on the user's display to indicate any information items which have been updated or any subject menus to which new links have been added. The arrangement is such that the highlighting of a new items is maintained until those items are viewed or until a pre-determined time period has elapsed. It is recognised that certain users may have limited on-line time available and/or may wish to limit their connection costs. Therefore the system is arranged so that when there is more than one information item to be updated, the order in which the information items are updated is determined on the basis of the user's profile. In particular, the order is determined in accordance with data relating to the frequency with which that information item has been viewed by the user. In this way the information item which is most frequently viewed by a user will be updated first and subsequent items will be updated only if there is sufficient time. This increases the chances that the user's preferred item or items are updated when only a limited amount of on-line time is available.

When more than one user uses a particular computer, each user will have their own information items, links and advertisements stored on the computer and when connecting to the Internet service provider or server, the corresponding updates can be made for each user. This can be arranged so that when a user connects under his user ID only those updates relevant to that user are downloaded. Alternatively the system can be arranged so that when a particular computer is connected to the Internet service provider or server, all the updates relating to all the users on that computer are downloaded. Where users on one computer have similar interests, the arrangements is such that to some extent the information downloaded is shared to reduce duplication of data transmitted and stored. The arrangement is such that whilst the display is in use, icons or display elements corresponding to links to information sites which might be of interest to the user can be displayed on the display to serve as suggested sites. Which links are so displayed can be determined on the basis of the user's profile. In an alternative the main database can additionally store account information concerning a user's "virtual money" which can be used at on-line shopping sites. Further, a loyalty scheme can be included in which points are awarded when certain operations are undertaken by a user. Data concerning the points awarded can be recorded and stored in the local database and uploaded as described above.

In a further alternative the arrangement can be such that a display bar which is a reduced version of the display described above, can be displayed over and in addition to a browser (such as MS Internet Explorer or Netscape) display on the computer display unit. This enables a user to have immediate access to at least some of the features accessible from the display in addition to those of the browser.

Claims

Claims :

1. A computer network system comprising a computer which is connectable to a network and which has a 5 facility which causes to be displayed on the display unit of the computer a display made up of a plurality of sections each associated with an information site on the network, said facility also providing a means which responds to an instruction provided for example by 0 positioning a graphical marker by means of a mouse or similar device relative to one of said sections on the display and actuated to thereby cause the computer to be connected via the network to the site associated with that section of the display, ? wherein a user profile is associated with each user of the system and a main database is provided at a server or internet service provider, which database is arranged to store the user profiles, other pieces of information and codes indicative of the content of the other pieces 0 of information and the arrangement being such that particular pieces of said other pieces of information are made accessible to particular users on the basis of a comparison between the codes and the user profiles.

5 2. A computer network system according to claim 1 which is arranged so that, in use, some sections of the display are used to display advertisements which are targeted at users with a particular user profile or users with particular user profiles.

3. A computer network system according to claim 2 which is arranged so that an advertiser can specify criteria which a user should have before being presented with a particular advertisement.

4. A computer network system according to any preceding claim in which a local database is provided and the computer is arranged to record and store, in the local database, data relating to actions carried out by a user.

5. A computer network system according to claim 4 in which the data storable in the local database relates to the instructions generated by the positioning of said mouse or similar device relative to said display and the actuation thereof.

6. A computer network system according to claim 4 or claim 5 in which the arrangement is such that when the computer is connected to the network and said display is displayed, data contained in the local database is uploaded to the Internet Service Provider or server and the information which is uploaded is then be used to update the user profiles stored in the main database.

7. A computer network system according to any one of claims 4 to 6 in which the computer, display unit, controlling software loaded on the computer, the local database and all relevant asset files form a stand alone system which is able to function independently whether or not the computer is not connected to the Internet Service Provider or server.

8. A computer according to any preceding claim which is arranged so that information relating to a number of sites can be displayed on the display unit of the computer and the user can identify those sites without having to access an Internet Service Provider in the conventional manner.

9. A computer network system according to any preceding claim in which the arrangement is such that particular pieces of said other pieces of information are downloaded automatically when the computer is connected to the Internet Service Provider or server and the controlling software is active, and the arrangement is such that said particular pieces of information are then stored locally and accessible both on-line and off-line.

10. A computer network system according to claim 9 in which said other pieces of information comprise information items which are periodically updated on the main database and the arranegment is such that only information items which have been updated since a user's last connection are automatically downloaded when a user connects .

11. A computer network system according to claim 10 in which the arrangement is such that where more than one updated information item is to be downloaded, the order in which the information items are downloaded is determined on the basis of the user's profile, preferably the order is determined in accordance with data relating to the frequency with which the information items have been viewed by the user.

12. A computer network system according to any preceding claim in which said facility causes said display to be displayed on the display unit when the computer is inactive .

13. A computer network system according to any preceding claim in which a user ID is assigned to each user of the system.