Systems, methods, and apparatus to process background requests while monitoring network media

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10757209-B2
Application number	US-201816188157-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 12, 2018
Priority date	Aug 31, 2016
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to monitor mobile Internet usage are disclosed. Example apparatus disclosed herein to monitor application usage associated with a device include a request analyzer to detect a burst of logged requests based on respective timestamps included in the logged requests, the logged requests obtained from a proxy server in communication with the device. The request analyzer is also to differentiate between foreground requests and background requests included in the burst of logged requests based on the respective timestamps. Disclosed example apparatus further include a duration calculator to determine a presentation duration for a first application executed by the device based on at least a subset of the foreground requests identified in the burst of logged requests.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus to monitor application usage associated with a device, the apparatus comprising:
a request analyzer to:
detect a burst of logged requests based on respective timestamps included in the logged requests, the logged requests obtained from a proxy server in communication with the device; and
differentiate between foreground requests and background requests included in the burst of logged requests based on the respective timestamps; and

a duration calculator to determine a presentation duration for a first application executed by the device based on at least a subset of the foreground requests identified in the burst of logged requests.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the request analyzer is to compare a difference between the respective timestamps of two consecutive logged requests to a threshold time period to determine whether to include the two consecutive logged requests in the burst of logged requests.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to differentiate between foreground requests and background requests included in the burst of logged requests, the request analyzer is to compare a timestamp included in a last logged request of the burst to a timestamp of a next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst to determine whether the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst occurred at least a threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the last logged request of the burst is associated with the first application, and the request analyzer is to determine the last logged request of the burst corresponds to a first foreground request associated with the first application when the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst occurred at least the threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the threshold time period is a first threshold time period, and when the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst did not occur at least the threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst, the request analyzer is to determine the last logged request of the burst corresponds to the first foreground request associated with the first application when:
a group of logged requests preceding the last logged request of the burst indicate that two application sessions each lasting no more than a second threshold time period preceded the last logged request of the burst;
the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request is associated with a second application different than the first application and occurred at least a third threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst, the third threshold time period being less than the first threshold time period; and
a next subsequent logged request following the last logged request and associated with the first application occurred at least the first threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein when the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst did not occur at least the threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst, the request analyzer is to determine the last logged request of the burst corresponds to a background request when at least one of:
the group of logged requests preceding the last logged request of the burst indicate that two application sessions each lasting no more than the second threshold time period did not precede the last logged request of the burst;
the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request and associated with the first application did not occur at least the first threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst; or
the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request and associated with the second application did not occur at least the third threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the request analyzer is to associate the first foreground request with a default presentation time, and the duration calculator is to determine the presentation duration for the first application based on the default presentation time associated with the first foreground request.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:
detect a burst of logged requests based on respective timestamps included in the logged requests, the logged requests obtained from a proxy server in communication with a device;
differentiate between foreground requests and background requests included in the burst of logged requests based on the respective timestamps; and
determine a presentation duration for a first application executed by the device based on at least a subset of the foreground requests identified in the burst of logged requests.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to compare a difference between the respective timestamps of two consecutive logged requests to a threshold time period to determine whether to include the two consecutive logged requests in the burst of logged requests.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to compare a timestamp included in a last logged request of the burst to a timestamp of a next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst to determine whether the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst occurred at least a threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the last logged request of the burst is associated with the first application, and the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine the last logged request of the burst corresponds to a first foreground request associated with the first application when the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst occurred at least the threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the threshold time period is a first threshold time period, and when the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request of the burst did not occur at least the threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine the last logged request of the burst corresponds to the first foreground request associated with the first application when:
a group of logged requests preceding the last logged request of the burst indicate that two application sessions each lasting no more than a second threshold time period preceded the last logged request of the burst;
the next subsequent logged request following the last logged request is associated with a second application different than the first application and occurred at least a third threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst, the third threshold time period being less than the first threshold time period; and
a next subsequent logged request following the last logged request and associated with the first application occurred at least the first threshold time period after the last logged request of the burst.

13. The non-transit

Assignees

• The Nielsen Company(Us) Llc
• Nielsen Co Us Llc

Inventors

• Papakostas Achilleas
• Cimino Susan

Classifications

• H04L67/02 Primary

  based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP] · CPC title

• H04L67/56

  Provisioning of proxy services (store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54) · CPC title

• H04L67/62

  Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests · CPC title

• H04L67/60

  Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources (admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70) · CPC title

• H04L67/564

  Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data · CPC title