Multi-media content at a digital download kiosk

• US 10,296,726 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2010
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Henderson, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Winter, John
• Application Number:
  US12/881,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20120066089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,171 Days
• Field of Search: 705 51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0607 Regulated

Abstract

A digital download kiosk network is described. The network comprises: an authorization database including a digital rights management facility; a first digital download kiosk coupled to the authorization database to receive digital rights management data; and a second digital download kiosk coupled to the authorization database to receive digital rights management data, and coupled to the first digital download kiosk in a peer-to-peer manner to share multi-media content therebetween.

Claims

1. A digital download kiosk network comprising:

an authorization database including a digital rights management facility, the authorization database distributing multi-media content to at least one digital download kiosk;

a first digital download kiosk comprising a first storage storing multi-media content and configured for purchase or rental from the first digital download kiosk and the multi-media content configured for delivery from the first storage, the first digital download kiosk coupled to the authorization database through a high-bandwidth network connection and receiving digital rights management data from the authorization database, and the first digital download kiosk including a first touch-sensitive display configured to provide a first input mechanism to a consumer, and the first digital download kiosk including a first card reader configured to read a first payment card provided by the consumer, wherein the first digital download kiosk further includes a first flash memory card reader/writer and a first T1 communications connection;

a second digital download kiosk comprising a second storage storing multi-media content and configured for purchase or rental from the second digital download kiosk and the multi-media content configured for delivery from the second storage, the second digital kiosk coupled to the authorization database through another cellular connection and receiving digital rights management data from the authorization database, and wirelessly coupled to the first digital download kiosk in a peer-to-peer manner employing a first wireless transceiver in the first digital download kiosk and a second wireless transceiver in the second digital download kiosk, and utilizing the first and second wireless transceivers to share multi-media content therebetween, and the second digital download kiosk including a second touch-sensitive display configured to provide a second input mechanism to the consumer, and the second digital download kiosk including a second card reader configured to read a second payment card provided by the consumer, and wherein the first digital download kiosk managing the first storage utilizing the second storage of the second digital download kiosk through a peer-to-peer network connection between the first digital download kiosk and the second digital download kiosk avoiding utilization of a content server by the first digital download kiosk and the second digital download kiosk utilizing, and wherein when a particular piece of content is requested by the consumer from the first digital download kiosk, the particular piece of content resided in the second storage of the second digital download kiosk and the consumer is unaware of the particular piece of content being in the second storage, and wherein the second digital download kiosk further includes a second flash memory card reader/writer and a second T1 communications connection;

additional digital download kiosks coupled to the first and second digital download kiosks to increase storage space of the first and second digital download kiosks as needed, wherein the first digital download kiosk, the second digital download kiosk, and the additional digital download kiosk interact and operate with one another without the content server and without any other server while maintaining a content catalogue for the multi-media content on each of the digital download kiosks; and

a content management application configured to execute on the first digital download kiosk, the content management application is executed and is further configured to perform processing to;

i) allocate newly-received multi-media content available from the authorization database between the first digital download kiosk, the second digital download kiosk, and the additional digital download kiosk, ii) determine whether local storage on the first digital download kiosk is sufficient to receive newly-received multi-media content and when there is insufficient local storage transferring select existing multi-media content from the local storage to one of the second digital download kiosk and the additional digital download kiosk to make room in the local storage for the newly-received multi-media content, and iii) process a distribution criterion algorithm that manages the local storage and storages of the second digital download kiosk and the additional digital download kiosk to determine when specific multi-media content is to be deleted and to determine where each multi-media content is to be stored between the local storage and the storages of the second digital download kiosk and the additional digital download kiosk;

wherein the first flash memory card reader/writer and the second flash memory card reader/writer configured to write purchased multi-media content with purchased digital rights onto consumer-inserted memory cards at the first and second digital download kiosks.

2. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second digital download kiosks includes a catalogue listing multimedia content available at any digital download kiosk in the digital download kiosk network.

3. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 1, wherein the authorization database is located remotely from the first and second digital download kiosks.

4. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 1, wherein the first digital download kiosk is coupled to the authorization database by a permanent connection and the second digital download kiosk is coupled to the authorization database by a dial-up connection.

5. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 4, wherein the first digital download kiosk receives all new multi-media content for both the first digital download kiosk and the second digital download kiosk and deletes old multi-media content to make sufficient space for the new multi-media content.

6. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 4, wherein the first digital download kiosk is configured to receive all new multi-media content and transfers some old multi-media content to the second digital download kiosk to make space for the new multi-media content.

7. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 1, wherein the first and second wireless transceivers are mutually coupled using a high speed short range transceivers.

8. A digital download kiosk network according to claim 1, wherein the second kiosk provides information to the first kiosk identifying the multi-media content stored in the second storage utilizing the second wireless transceiver;

and

wherein the first kiosk is configured to receive a request for multi-media content, determine whether the requested multi-media content is located in the first storage or the second storage, and retrieve the requested multi-media content from the determined location; and

wherein the first kiosk receives digital rights management data corresponding to the requested multi-media content from the authorization database.

9. The digital download kiosk network of claim 8, wherein the authorization database-distributes multi-media content to the first kiosk.

10. The digital download kiosk network of claim 9, wherein the first kiosk sends the distributed multi-media content to the second kiosk for storage in the second storage in an instance in which the first storage has insufficient capacity for the distributed multi-media content.

11. The digital download kiosk network of claim 9, wherein the first kiosk sends multi-media content stored in the first storage to the second kiosk for storage in the second storage in an instance in which the first storage has insufficient capacity for the distributed multi-media content;

and

wherein the first kiosk stores the distributed multi-media content in the first storage.

12. The digital download kiosk network of claim 1, wherein the multi-media content comprises a movie, an audio file, or a video game.

13. The digital download kiosk network of claim 8, wherein the multi-media content comprises a movie, an audio file, or a video game.

14. The digital download kiosk network of claim 7, wherein the first and second wireless transceivers are at least 60 GHz transceivers.

15. The digital download kiosk network of claim 1, wherein the first digital download kiosk is coupled to the authorization database through the first T1 communications connection.