Systems and methods for distributing content objects in a telecommunication system

• US 20050022007A1
• Filed: 06/02/2003
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Phillips, Bruce A., Casey, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,376,386 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for distributing content objects to a requester. Some of the systems include at least one content object origination, and two or more content object destinations. The two or more content object destinations are associated with customer premises. Communication links communicably couple the content object origination and at least one of the content object destinations, and at least two of the content object destinations. Local storage is associated with at least one of the content object destinations. A content object from the content object origination is maintained on a local storage associated with one of the content object destinations, and the content object is accessible via the local storage to another content object destination. The methods provide various ways for distributing content objects using systems similar to that previously described.

Claims

1. A system for distributing content objects, the system comprising:

a content object origination;

a first content object destination, wherein the first content object destination is associated with a first customer premises;

a second content object destination, wherein the second content object destination is associated with a second customer premises;

a first communication link, wherein the first communication link communicably couples the content object origination with the first content object destination;

a second communication link, wherein the second communication link communicably couples the first content object destination with the second content object destination;

a local storage associated with the first content object destination, wherein a content object from the content object origination is maintained on the local storage, and wherein the content object is accessible to the second content object destination.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second communication link is a subset of the first communication link.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication link and the second communication link include a common physical layer portion, wherein the first communication link operates at a first spectrum on the common physical layer portion, and wherein the second communication link operates at a second spectrum on the common physical layer portion.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the content object origination is a device operated at the first customer premises.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the content object origination is selected from a group consisting of a central office server, a remote terminal, and a content object production center.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the content object origination is a central office server that is maintained by a telecommunication service provider.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the content object origination is a central office server that is maintained by a cable television provider.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the content object is selected from a group consisting of:

a digital video object, a digital audio object, a digital still picture object, and a digital data object.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the digital video object is selected from a group consisting of a live video object and a pre-recorded video object.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises:

a first network interface device, wherein the first network interface device is physically coupled to a physical layer of the first communication link; and

a second network interface device, wherein the second network interface device is physically coupled to a physical layer of the second communication link.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the physical layer of the first communication link is physically coupled to the physical layer of the second communication link.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the first communication link is a physical layer extending through the first customer premises.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first communication link includes a physical layer communicably coupling the first network interface device to a central office server.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the second communication link includes a physical layer communicably coupling the second network interface device to the central office server.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a network interface device installed at the first customer premises, and wherein the local storage is physically coupled to the network interface device.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a network interface device installed at the first customer premises, wherein the network interface device comprises a converter that is operable to convert information in a first format to information in a second format.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the information in the first format is accessed via the first communication link, and wherein information in the second format is provided via the second communication link.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the first format is selected from a group consisting of:

MPEG2, MPEG4, text, digital audio, program data, Bitmap, JPEG, GIF, HTML, dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets, MP3 audio, MPEG 1 layer one and three audio, digital video, and XML.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second format is selected from a group consisting of:

MPEG2, MPEG4, text, digital audio, program data, Bitmap, JPEG, GIF, HTML, and XML.

20. A method for distributing content objects, the method comprising:

receiving a first request for a content object;

distributing the content object to a first customer premises based at least in part on the first request, wherein the content object is maintained on a local storage associated located at the first customer premises;

marking the content object as accessible from the local storage;

receiving a second request for the content object; and

redirecting the second content request to the local storage, wherein the second content request is at least partially satisfied from the local storage by distributing the content object to a second customer premises based at least in part on the second content request.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the local storage is associated with a network interface device installed at the first customer premises.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the first request for the content object is received at a central office.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the central office is communicably coupled to the first customer premises by a first communication link, and wherein the second communication premises is communicably coupled to the second customer premises by a second communication link.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first communication link and the second communication link include a common physical layer portion, wherein the first communication link operates at a first spectrum on the common physical layer portion, and wherein the second communication link operates at a second spectrum on the common physical layer portion.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the first request for the content object is received at the first customer premises.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the content object is originated from a central office server.

27. The method of claim 20, the method further comprising:

providing a first network interface device at the first customer premises; and

providing a second network interface device at the second customer premises;

wherein distribution of the content object from the first customer premises to the second customer premises is performed via the first network interface device and the second network interface device.

28. The method of claim 20, the method further comprising:

converting the content object from a first format to a second format prior to distributing the content object to the second customer premises.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first format is selected from a group consisting of:

MPEG2, MPEG4, text, digital audio, program data, Bitmap, JPEG, GIF, HTML, and XML.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the second format is selected from a group consisting of:

MPEG2, MPEG4, text, digital audio, program data, Bitmap, JPEG, GIF, HTML, and XML.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein portions of the second content requests are satisfied by a plurality of local storages associated with a plurality of customer premises.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises:

building a query database that identifies content objects, content object originations, and content object destinations.

33. A method for distributing content objects, the method comprising:

generating a content object, wherein the content object is maintained on a local storage associated with a first customer premises;

identifying the content object as a sharable content object;

receiving a request for the content object; and

distributing the content object to a second customer premises based at least in part on the request for the content object and the identification of the content object as sharable.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the method further comprises defining a scope of distribution for the content object, and wherein the scope of distribution is defined in relation to an access control list.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the scope of distribution is defined to limit sharing to a segment selected from a group consisting of:

a device within a customer premises, a user associated with the customer premises, a predefined group of users, and a paying user.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the access control list includes information selected from a group consisting of:

a user identification, a user password, a group identification, and a group password.

37. A method for transferring content objects, the method comprising:

communicably coupling a first content object destination to a content object origination, wherein the first content object destination is the source of a content object;

receiving the content object from the first content object destination at a content object origination;

receiving a request for the content object from a second content object destination; and

providing the content object to the second content object destination.