Granted Patent B2

US 12,381,947 · App. 18/221,338 · Granted Aug 5, 2025

Inventors: Silvia Bartolucci (London, GB); Daniel Joseph (London, GB); Simone Madeo (London, GB)

Assignee: NCHAIN LICENSING AG

H04L67/108G06Q20/065H04L45/16H04L63/1441

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. A node to propagate data packets in a network of nodes, each node in the network having one or more connections to other nodes, the node comprising:

a processor;

a network interface to provide network connectivity; and

memory including processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

collect a set of data packets of a first type during a first time period

arbitrarily select two or more neighbouring nodes connected to the node for each data packet in the set; and

transmit each data packet in the set to the selected two or more neighbouring nodes, wherein the node is further configured to transmit a command to a receiving node to forward a data packet using a mode of propagation based at least in part on a weighted random selection to balance a level of anonymity protection for the node with an overall speed of propagation.

2. The node claimed in claim 1 , wherein processor-executable instructions that cause the processor to transmit each data packet are executed in response to a triggering condition that is based at least in part on collection of a sufficient number of incoming data packets and/or collection of incoming data packets for a sufficient amount of time.

3. The node claimed in claim 2 , wherein the triggering condition comprises expiry of a predetermined duration since a time of generation of at least one data packet of the first type by the node.

4. The node claimed in claim 2 , wherein the triggering condition comprises expiry of a predetermined duration since a time of receipt of a first of at least one data packet of the first type from one or more nodes in the network.

5. The node claimed in claim 2 , wherein the triggering condition comprises a number of data packets collected during the first time period reaching a threshold number.

6. The node claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first time period has a predefined length.

7. The node claimed in claim 1 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, prevent the processor from transmitting any data packets of the first type during the first time period.

8. The node claimed in claim 1 , wherein the command is transmitted with the data packet.

9. A computer-implemented method of propagating data packets in a network of nodes, each node in the network having one or more connections to other nodes, the method, implemented at one of the nodes, comprising:

collecting a set of data packets of a first type during a first time period

arbitrarily selecting two or more neighbouring nodes connected to the node for each data packet in the set;

transmitting each data packet in the set to the selected two or more neighbouring nodes and;

transmitting a command to a receiving node to forward a data packet using a mode of propagation based at least in part on a weighted random selection to balance a level of anonymity protection for the node with an overall speed of propagation.

10. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein transmitting each data packet is implemented in response to a triggering condition that is based at least in part on collection of a sufficient number of incoming data packets and/or collection of incoming data packets for a sufficient amount of time.

11. The method claimed in claim 10 , wherein the triggering condition comprises expiry of a predetermined duration since a time of generation of at least one data packet of the first type by the node.

12. The method claimed in claim 11 , wherein the triggering condition comprises expiry of a predetermined duration since a time of receipt of a first of at least one data packet of the first type from one or more nodes in the network.

13. The method claimed in claim 10 , wherein the triggering condition comprises a number of data packets collected during the first time period reaching a threshold number.

14. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the first time period has a predefined length.

15. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, prevent the processor from transmitting any data packets of the first type during the first time period.

16. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the command is transmitted with the data packet.

17. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions to participate in a process for propagating data packets in a network of nodes, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by a processor in a node of the network of nodes, cause the processor to carry out the method claimed in claim 9 .

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (39)