ENHANCED DELIVERY OF AUDIO DATA FOR PORTABLE PLAYBACK

• US 20090077204A1
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ironworks Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: JANKY, James M., Schulhof, Nathan
• Application Number:
  US12/272,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20090077204A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/305 Internet or TCP/IP protocol use for any electrophonic musical instrument data or musical parameter transmission purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00797 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a content can be reproduced, e.g. using playback counters
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00855 involving a step of exchanging information with a remote server
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00869 wherein the remote server can deliver the content to a receiving device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00014 the compressed signal being an audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system for selection by a user and delivery to the user over an internetwork transmission channel of selected audio data files at a delivery rate of at least twice the delivery rate for normal, audibly perceptible playback of an audio data file. The user registers the user'"'"'s selection of audio material with a central library of audio and/or text data files, and a digitized and optionally compressed omnibus file containing the user'"'"'s selections is prepared and transmitted to the user at a high data transfer rate. The user receives downloads the selected data files to a personal computer or to a portable storage and playback unit (SPU) that may store and play back digitized text or audio data, using a docking station. The user carries this SPU until the user has an opportunity to audio process and play back the text or audio data files in audibly perceptible form.

Claims

1. An information distribution system comprising:

an audio file library;

a customer database including subscriber information regarding a subscriber to the distribution system, said subscriber information being registered in said customer database; and

a communication unit configured to provide a daily transmission of an audio file in said audio file library to a terminal apparatus of the subscriber in response to a request from the subscriber who is registered in the customer database, said audio file being periodically updated with new content.

2. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein said the audio file is digitized and compressed in MPEG format prior to being transmitted via said communication unit.

3. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the audio file includes an audio program created for radio or television.

4. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the audio file includes at least a portion of a daily news item.

5. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a text file library,

wherein said communication unit is configured to perform a daily transmission of a text file in said text file library to the terminal apparatus.

6. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a text file library stored in memory; and

a text-to-speech conversion unit configured to convert a text file into an audio file,

wherein said communication unit is configured to perform a daily transmission of the audio file converted by said text-to-speech conversion unit to the terminal apparatus.

7. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit is configured to perform a wireless transmission of an audio file in said audio file library to the terminal apparatus.

8. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a communication unit configured to wirelessly download an audio program via a remote server, in response to a selection by a user, said user being registered for downloading via said remote server in which the user is already registered,

a storage unit configured to store the downloaded audio program; and

a playback unit configured to play back the audio program.

9. The terminal apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication unit is configured to communicate with another terminal apparatus via peer to peer communication.

10. The terminal apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication unit is configured to download the audio program which is digitized and compressed in MPEG format.

11. The terminal apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a phone function.

12. The terminal apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a text-to-speech conversion unit configured to convert a text file into an audio file, the text file being downloaded from the remote server in response to a selection by the user by said communication unit,

wherein said playback unit being configured to play the audio file once converted by said text-to-speech conversion unit.