US 8,943,565 B2Granted

Recovery of information from commercial web portals

AssigneeRecondo Technology, Inc.

InventorsJohn L. Magee, David Cannon, Darin Omtvedt, Robert Larivee, Cory Harper

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Abstract

Novel tools and techniques for automated recovery of information from commercial web portals, including commercial web portals requiring credentials for access. In some instances images are captured and pushed to external processes for improving system performance. In some instances access to automated software agent remote control modules is balanced across a system comprising a plurality of processors hosting the automated software agent remote control modules. Some instances provide provisioning of credentials, in particular indicating credentials available for an unlimited or a select limited number of users and monitoring credential use of those credentials usable by a select number of users. Some instances provide cache management optimizes retrieval of data by external processes and ensures reliability of such data to reduce unnecessary web portal inquiries.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method of provisioning credentials to an automated software agent for accessing an insurance company web portal for the purpose of obtaining patient-specific information for a patient of interest, the method comprising:

providing a credentials database for storing credentials useable by the automated software agent for accessing an insurance company web portal;
associating, with a computer system, each credential with one or more roles the credential can enable on the insurance company web portal, without associating the one or more roles with any user, wherein each role comprises a user-independent role associated with the corresponding credential, wherein each credential is independent of any user;
storing, with the computer system and in the credentials database, each credential and its associated user-independent roles;
identifying, with the automated software agent, a credential for use in accessing a select insurance company web portal, wherein the credential is one of authorized for exclusive use by one instance of the automated software agent at a time, authorized for use by a finite number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent, or authorized for use by an unlimited number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent;
querying, with the automated software agent, the database to determine if the identified credential can enable a select user-independent role or a select group of user-independent roles;
querying, with the automated software agent, the database to determine if the identified credential is available for use;
and
providing, with the computer system, the identified credential to the automated software agent for its use in accessing the select insurance company web portal only if the identified credential can enable the select user-independent role or group of user-independent roles and the identified credential is available for use and, for each credential with a limited use role, after setting an in-use window having an in-use expiration time and associating the in-use expiration time with the identified credential and storing the in-use expiration time in the credentials database.

5 more elements

A computer system comprising:

one or more processors;
a database operatively associated with at least one of the one or more processors;
an automated software agent operatively associated with at least one of the processors;
a set of instructions executable by at least one of the one or more processors, to cause the at least one of the one or more processors to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
instructions for creating a credentials database for storing credentials useable by the automated software agent for accessing an insurance company web portal;
instructions for associating each credential with one or more roles the credential can enable on the insurance company web portal, without associating the one or more roles with any user, wherein each role comprises a user-independent role associated with the corresponding credential, wherein each credential is independent of any user;
instructions for storing, in the credentials database, each credential and its associated user-independent roles;
instructions for identifying, with the automated software agent, a credential for use in accessing a select insurance company web portal, wherein the credential is one of authorized for exclusive use by one instance of the automated software agent at a time, authorized for use by a finite number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent, or authorized for use by an unlimited number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent;
instructions for querying, with the automated software agent, the credentials database to determine if the identified credential can enable a select user-independent role or a select group of user-independent roles;
instructions for querying, with the automated software agent, the credentials database to determine if the identified credential is available for use;
and
instructions for providing the identified credential to the automated software agent for its use in accessing the select insurance company web portal only if the identified credential can enable the select user-independent role or group of user-independent roles and the identified credential is available for use and after setting an in-use window having an in-use expiration time and associating the in-use expiration time with the identified credential and storing the in-use expiration time in the credentials database.

9 more elements

An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors;
a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions executable by at least one of the one or more processors, to cause the at least one of the one or more processors to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
instructions for creating a credentials database for storing credentials useable by an automated software agent for accessing an insurance company web portal;
instructions for associating each credential with one or more roles the credential can enable on the insurance company web portal, without associating the one or more roles with any user, wherein each role comprises a user-independent role associated with the corresponding credential, wherein each credential is independent of any user;
instructions for storing, in the credentials database, each credential and its associated user-independent roles;
instructions for identifying, with the automated software agent, a credential for use in accessing a select insurance company web portal, wherein the credential is one of authorized for exclusive use by one instance of the automated software agent at a time, authorized for use by a finite number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent, or authorized for use by an unlimited number of concurrent instances of the automated software agent;
instructions for querying, with the automated software agent, the credentials database to determine if the identified credential can enable a select user-independent role or a select group of user-independent roles;
instructions for querying, with the automated software agent, the credentials database to determine if the identified credential is available for use;
and
instructions for providing the identified credential to the automated software agent for its use in accessing the select insurance company web portal only if the identified credential can enable the select user-independent role or group of user-independent roles and the identified credential is available for use and after setting an in-use window having an in-use expiration time and associating the in-use expiration time with the identified credential and storing the in-use expiration time in the credentials database.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/356,461Filed 23 Jan 2012
Published: US 2013/0191895 A125 Jul 2013
Granted: 27 Jan 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06F 21/33
User authentication: using certificates
G06F 16/951
Retrieval from the web: indexing; Web crawling techniques
G06F 21/6218
Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules: to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file…
G06Q 40/08
Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes: insurance