Multi-Channel Signal Transmission Management System

• US 20150373425A1
• Filed: 09/01/2015
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kianoush Namvar
• Original Assignee: Kianoush Namvar
• Inventors: Namvar, Kianoush
• Application Number:
  US14/842,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20150373425A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/33 by plural channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/07 characterised by processes or methods for the generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26225 involving billing parameters, e.g. priority for subscribers of premium services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 : Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for organizing a plurality of signals to be transmitted to a plurality of subscriber receivers. At least one client computer having an interface towards a central management server. The client computer is configured to produce administrative instructions for organizing signals to be transmitted over at least one of a number of transmission resources. The administrative instructions produced by each computer specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, at least one particular transmission resource of a number of transmission resources available to each client computer. The administrative instructions for at least one signal determines which signal that will be transmitted through which transmission resource. The central management server adapted to receive, from the at least one computer, the administrative instructions pertaining to the transmission of the signals. In response to the administrative instructions, the central management server organizes and synchronizes signals originating from one or more signal sources before these signals are transmitted to the subscriber receivers.

Claims

1. A system for organizing a plurality of signals to be transmitted to a plurality of subscriber receivers, comprising:

at least one central management server; and

at least one client computer having an interface towards the central management server, wherein the at least one client computer configured to produce administrative instructions for organizing at least a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted to the subscriber receivers, whereby the administrative instructions produced by each client computer specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, at least one particular transmission resource of a number of transmission resources available to each client computer,

the central management server adapted to receive, from the at least one client computer, the administrative instructions produced at the at least one client computer pertaining to the transmission of the signals to the subscriber receivers, and in response to the administrative instructions organize signals from the at least one signal source before transmitting the signals to at least one of the plurality of subscriber receivers.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the administrative instructions specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, at least a contents category and a time instance.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the administrative instructions specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, a transmission unit through which the signals being transmitted.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the transmission unit is adapted to receive the signals from the central management server and, in accordance with an organisation scheme produced by the central management server, transmit the signals to the subscriber receivers.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the organization scheme specifies a scalable timeline which represent an absolute time reference for at least one transmission resource.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the central management server is adapted to generate a compiled data set representing the activity-monitoring information, and at least one of the at least one client computer is adapted to receive the compiled data set from the central management server, and produce the administrative instructions on basis thereof.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein it comprises at least one billing unit adapted to produce billing information pertaining to a respective utilization of the transmission resources administrated by the central management server.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein it comprises at least one auxiliary distribution channel which includes at least one distribution resource in addition to the central signal distribution system adapted to transmit signals to the subscriber receivers outside the central management server.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the signals represent at least one of text information, acoustic information, image information and video information.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the subscriber receivers is represented by at least one of a TV-tuner, a satellite signal decoder, a computer and a broadband mobile communication terminal.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one client computer is represented by at least one of an advertiser operator, a satellite operator, a cable network operator, a TV operator or other distribution network operator.

12. A client computer for transmitting a set of signals to a plurality of subscriber receivers, comprising:

the client computer having a graphical user interface towards a central management server, and configured to produce administrative instructions for organizing a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted over at least one of a number of channels, whereby the administrative instructions produced by the client computer specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, at least one particular transmission resource of a number of transmission resources available to each client computer,

and wherein the central management server adapted to receive the administrative instructions pertaining to the transmission of the signals to the subscriber receivers from the client computer, wherein the central management server is further adapted to, in response to the administrative instructions, organize signals from at least one signal source before transmitting the set of signals to the subscriber receivers.

13. A client computer according to claim 12, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to, for each of the signals to be transmitted on the at least one channel, present the signal'"'"'s contents category, and a second graphical means adapted to, for at least a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted on the at least one channel, enable a user to manipulate segments of each signal such that a particular sub-segment will be transmitted over a particular channel.

14. The client computer according to claim 12, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to verify the content of the each of the signals to be transmitted with respect to the contents of any neighbouring signal segments.

15. A client computer according to claim 12, wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to, for at least a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted on the at least one channel, enable the user to select a suitable sub-segment.

16. A client computer according to claim 14, wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to allow the user to, for each sub-segment select a geographical area within which subscriber receivers will present the sub-segment, wherein a default geographical area is based on positional information pertaining to signals having been presented in the subscriber receivers.

17. A client computer according to claim 14, wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to enable the user to, for each sub-segment select a priority level denoting a relative position of the sub-segment within a particular segment.

18. A client computer according to claim 12, comprising a compiler adapted to produce a preliminary organization of the signals on the at least one channel before transmitting corresponding administrative instructions to the central management server.

19. A client computer according to claim 17, wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to enable a user to manipulate the preliminary organization of the signals, and the client computer comprises processing means adapted to, based on the user manipulations, produce administrative instructions to the central management server.

20. A computer program product comprising at least one electronic computer readable storage memory storing computer executable instructions for transmitting a set of signals to a plurality of subscriber receivers, the executable instructions comprising:

first computer instructions for producing, at the client computer, administrative instructions for organizing a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted over at least one transmission resource of a number of transmission resources,

second computer instructions for receiving, at the central management server, administrative instructions produced at the client computer pertaining to the transmission of the signals to the subscriber receivers, and in response to the administrative instructions, organizing signals from at least one signal source before transmitting the set of signals to the subscriber receivers, and

third computer instructions for receiving, at the central management server, the signals and, in accordance with the administrative instructions, transmitting these signals to at least a portion of plurality of the subscriber receivers, wherein the administrative instructions specifies, for each signal to be transmitted, at least one particular transmission resource of a number of transmission resources available to each client computer, over which the signal is to be transmitted to the subscriber receivers.