System and method for using an application on a mobile device to transfer internet media content

• US 10,558,735 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2015
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Sherwood, Greg, Kosmach, James J., Al-Shaykh, Osama, June, Richard, MacKay, Eva
• Primary Examiner(s): Mercado, Ariel
• Application Number:
  US14/830,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20160048485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82

Abstract

A system and a method use an application on a mobile device to transfer internet media content to a rendering device in a home network. The application may use an HTML rendering engine to display a web page to a user of the mobile device, and the web page may have controls for accessing the internet media content. The application may receive a user interaction signal which may indicate that a user invoked one of the controls for accessing the internet media content. In response, the application may initiate transfer of the internet media content to the rendering device in the home network and/or may queue the internet media content for later playback using the rendering device.

Claims

1. A method for transferring internet video content using an application on a mobile device to transfer the internet video content, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving web content for a web page on the mobile device, wherein the web content has an internet video object representing the internet video content and an original media control for initiating playback of the internet video content on the mobile device;

identifying the original media control in the web content, wherein the application on the mobile device processes the web content to identify the original media control;

modifying the web content to form modified web content having an additional media control for performing a media action involving the internet video content, wherein the application on the mobile device modifies the web content;

causing to display the modified web content as a rendered web page using a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) rendering engine;

receiving a user interaction signal which indicates user interaction with the rendered web page;

processing the user interaction signal, wherein the application on the mobile device processes the user interaction signal to identify whether the user interaction signal invoked the additional media control; and

initiating the media action in response to identifying that the user interaction signal invoked the additional media control, wherein the media action involves the application on the mobile device instructing a rendering device external to the mobile device to playback the internet video content.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the application receiving the web content in response to a content request message sent by the application.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the HTML rendering engine receiving the web content in response to a content request message sent by the HTML rendering engine.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the HMTL rendering engine generating the user interaction signal in response to user interaction with the rendered web page.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile device has an operating system which provides the HTML rendering engine.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the application modifying the web content using a structured representation of the web page created by the HTML rendering engine.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the additional media control comprises an HTML <

a>

tag which links to a first Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the internet video content; and

the user interaction signal conveys the first URL to the application.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the additional media control is created by a scripting code fragment provided by the application to the HTML rendering engine.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the additional media control is created by a scripting code fragment retrieved by the application from a database of scripting code fragments; and

each of the scripting code fragments in the database corresponds to a content source.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the database is remote from the mobile device and accessible to the mobile device via the internet.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of:

the application retrieving the scripting code fragment by querying the database using a content source identified.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interaction signal is generated by a scripting code fragment inserted into the web content by the application.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein:

said modifying comprises forming the modified web content to include another additional media control for performing another media action involving the internet video content;

the method further comprises initiating the another media action in response to identifying that the user interaction signal invoked the another additional media control; and

the another media action comprises adding the internet media video content object to a playback queue of a device external to the mobile device, wherein the playback queue tracks a plurality of internet video content objects and a sequence for playing back internet video content identified by the plurality of internet video content objects.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, with a mobile device, a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document comprising a video object representing video content and a first media control for initiating playback of the video content on the mobile device;

processing, with the mobile device, the HTML document to identify the first media control in the HTML document;

modifying, with the mobile device, the HTML document content to form a modified HTML document that includes a second media control for instructing a rendering device external to the mobile device to initiate playback of the video content;

using an HTML rendering engine of the mobile device to display the modified HTML document as a rendered web page on the mobile device;

generating a user interaction signal in response to user input received by the mobile device; and

in response to the user interaction signal invoking the second media control, the mobile device instructing the rendering device to initiate playback of the video content.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

sending, from the mobile device, a content request message;

wherein said receiving an HTML document comprises receiving the HTML document in response to said sending.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said generating a user interaction signal comprises the HTML rendering engine generating the user interaction signal in response to user interaction with the rendered web page.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein said using the HTML rendering engine of the mobile device comprises using an HTML rendering engine provided by an operating system of the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein:

said modifying the HTML document content comprises generating an HTML <

a>

tag for the second media control such that the HTML <

a>

tag links to an URL for the video content; and

said generating the user interaction signal comprises generating the user interaction signal such that the user interaction signal comprises the URL.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises providing the HTML rendering engine with a scripting code fragment for the second media control.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises retrieving a scripting code fragment for the second media control from a database of scripting control fragments.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises retrieving a scripting code fragment for the second media control from a database of scripting code fragments that is remote from the mobile device and accessible to the mobile device via the internet.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein:

said modifying comprises forming the modified HTML document to include a third media control for performing another media action involving the video content; and

the method further comprises adding the video object to a playback queue of a device external to the mobile device in response to identifying the user interaction signal invoking the third media control, wherein the playback queue tracks a plurality of video objects and a sequence for playing back the video content identified by the plurality of video objects.

23. A method, comprising:

receiving, with a mobile device, a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document comprising an audio object representing audio content and a first media control for initiating playback of the audio content on the mobile device;

processing, with the mobile device, the HTML document to identify the first media control in the HTML document;

modifying, with the mobile device, the HTML document content to form a modified HTML document that includes a second media control for instructing a rendering device external to the mobile device to initiate playback of the audio content;

using an HTML rendering engine on the mobile device to display the modified HTML document as a rendered web page on the mobile device;

generating a user interaction signal in response to user input received by the mobile device; and

in response to the user interaction signal invoking the second media control, the mobile device instructing the rendering device to initiate playback of the audio content.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

sending, from a mobile device, a content request message;

wherein said receiving an HTML document comprises receiving the HTML document in response to said sending.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein said generating a user interaction signal comprises the HTML rendering engine generating the user interaction signal in response to user interaction with the rendered web page.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein said using the HTML rendering engine of the mobile device comprises using an HTML rendering engine provided by an operating system of the mobile device.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein:

said modifying the HTML document content comprises generating an HTML <

a>

tag for the second media control such that the HTML <

a>

tag links to a URL for the audio content; and

said generating the user interaction signal comprises generating the user interaction signal such that the user interaction signal comprises the URL.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises providing the HTML rendering engine with a scripting code fragment for the second media control.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises retrieving a scripting code fragment for the second media control from a database of scripting code fragments.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein said modifying the HTML document content comprises retrieving a scripting code fragment for the second media control from a database of scripting code fragments that is remote from the mobile device and accessible to the mobile device via the internet.

31. The method of claim 23 wherein;

said modifying comprises forming the modified HTML document to include a third media control for performing another media action involving the audio content; and

the method further comprises adding the audio object to a playback queue of a device external to the mobile device in response to identifying the user interaction signal invoking the third media control, wherein the playback queue tracks a plurality of audio objects and a sequence for playing back audio content identified by the plurality of audio objects.