Reducing latency while downloading data over a network

• US 6,023,268 A
• Filed: 06/30/1998
• Issued: 02/08/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: WebTV Networks Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Goldman, Phillip Y., Leak, Bruce A., McFadden, Andrew T., Britt, Joe F. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US09/106,937
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 345/327, 345/356, 345/328, 345/326, 345/329, 345/330-335, 345/336-338, 345/339, 345/340-357, 345/348-349, 345/350-351, 345/352, 345/353 , 345/354-355, 345/358, 707/102, 707/100, 348/4
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1433 during software upgrading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04897 Special input arrangements or commands for improving display capability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/027 Arrangements and methods specific for the display of internet documents
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/0235 specially adapted for remote control, e.g. of audio or video apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234336 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures or audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2356 by altering the spatial resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25808 : Management of client data terminal profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 : involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• 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 21/2662 : Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 : Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 : Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4355 : involving reformatting operations of additional data, e.g. HTML pages on a television screen optimising the visualization of content for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/9577; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/066; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 : Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 : Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 : e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 : involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34

Abstract

A World Wide Web browser software is implemented in a processing system housed in a set-top box connected to a television and communicating over a wide-area network with one or more servers. The browser software allows a user to navigate using a remote control through World-Wide Web pages in which a number of hypertext anchors are displayed on the television. User inputs are entered from a remote input device using an infrared (IR) link. The processing system includes a read-only memory (ROM) and a flash memory. The mask ROM and the flash memory are assigned adjacent memory spaces in the memory map of the processing system. Browser software and configuration data are stored in the flash memory. Other software and configuration data are stored in a mask ROM. The browser is upgraded or reconfigured by downloading to the box replacement software or data transmitted from a server over the network and then writing the replacement software or data into the flash memory. A mechanism is provided to temporarily maintain power to the processing system in the event power to the box is lost during downloading. The mechanism allows the writing of a current block to be completed. An indication of the current block is maintained while power is absent so that downloading can be resumed once power is restored from the last block that was written.

Claims

1. In a wide area network including a server processing system and a client processing system connected thereto, the client processing system including a processor and computer-executable instructions for enabling the client processing system to access information from the server processing system, a method of reducing latency experienced by the client processing system when accessing the information, comprising the steps of:

caching, in a non-volatile memory device at the client processing system, a first set of data representing a first portion of information to be accessed at the server processing system, said first portion representing frequently accessed information at the server processing system;

maintaining at the server processing system a record of all data cached at the client system, and in response to a request by the client processing system to access information from the server processing system, transmitting a second set of data representing a second portion of the information from the server processing system to the client processing system, the second portion of the information representing only that portion of the requested information that is not already cached at the client processing system;

retrieving at the client processing system the first set of data cached in the non-volatile memory device; and

combining the downloaded second set of data with the retrieved first set of data so as to reduce actual latency, and outputting the combined first and second sets of data to a user of the client processing system.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the information is a Web resource provided by the server processing system.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising, prior to the step of transmitting the second set of data, the step of requesting, by the client processing system, access to the information from the server processing system.

4. In a wide area network including a server processing system and a client processing system connected thereto, the client processing system including a processor and computer-executable instructions for enabling the client processing system to access the World Wide Web, a method of reducing latency experienced by the client processing system when accessing a Web resource from the server processing system, comprising the steps of:

caching a first set of data stored in a non-volatile memory device at the client processing system, the first set of data representing a first portion of the Web resource;

maintaining at the server processing system a record of all data cached at the client system, and in response to a request by the client processing system to access the Web resource at the server processing system, transmitting a second set of data representing a second portion of the Web resource from the server processing system to the client processing system, the second portion of the Web resource representing only that portion of the requested Web resource that is not already cached at the client processing system;

requesting, by the client processing system, access to the Web resource;

recognizing at the server processing system that the Web resource includes the first portion;

transmitting a second set of data from the server processing system to the client processing system, wherein the second set of data represents a second portion of the Web resource and excludes the first portion;

retrieving, by the client processing system, the first set of data cached in the non-volatile memory device; and

outputting a combination of the first set of data and the second set of data to a user of the client processing system.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the step of caching the first set of data stored in the memory device comprises the step of writing the first set of data to the memory device during a process of manufacturing the client processing system.

6. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the memory device is a mask ROM.

7. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting an updated version of the first set of data from the server processing system to the client processing system; and

writing the updated version to a programmable memory device at the client processing system.

8. A method as defined in claim 7, further comprising, when the client processing system again accesses the Web resource from the server processing system, the step of retrieving the updated version from the programmable memory device instead of retrieving the first set of data from the non-programmable non-volatile memory device.

9. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the memory device is a programmable non-volatile memory device.

10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the programmable non-volatile memory device is a flash memory.

11. A method as defined in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting an updated version of the first set of data from the server processing system to the client processing system; and

replacing the first set of data stored in the memory device by writing the updated version to the flash memory.

12. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the first set of data comprises graphics formatting information relating to the Web resource.

13. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the first set of data comprises at least one graphical image.

14. In a wide area network including a server processing system and a client processing system connected thereto, the client processing system including a processor and computer-executable instructions for enabling the client processing system to access the World Wide Web, a method of reducing latency experienced by the client processing system when accessing a Web resource from the server processing system, comprising the steps of:

maintaining a first set of data stored in a non-volatile memory device at the client processing system, the first set of data representing a first portion of the Web resource;

maintaining, at the server processing system, a knowledge of the first set of data stored in the non-volatile memory device;

requesting access to the Web resource, including transmitting a URL associated Web resource from the client processing system to the server processing system;

comparing, by the server processing system, the URL with the knowledge of the first set of data so as to recognize that the Web resource includes the first portion;

transmitting a second set of data from the server processing system to the client processing system, wherein the second set of data represents a second portion of the Web resource and excludes the first portion;

retrieving, by the client processing system, the first set of data from the non-volatile memory device; and

outputting a combination of the first set of data and the second set of data to a user of the client processing system, thereby reconstructing the Web resource at the client processing system.