Network information delivery system for delivering information based on end user terminal requirements

• US 6,035,339 A
• Filed: 03/13/1997
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cash, Glenn Lawrence, Markowitz, Robert Edward, Rosen, Kenneth H., O'Neil, Joseph Thomas, Agraharam, Sanjay, Ramamurthy, Ram S., Bruno, Richard Frank, Nurenberg, Steven Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US08/816,234
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• Field of Search: 364/140, 395/126, 709/246, 709/228, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A network information delivery system automatically determines end-user information output requirements based on predetermined data corresponding to each requesting end-user terminal. A user profile is maintained in a database either associated with a network information delivery system or with the end-user terminal and is accessed by the network information delivery device. If the network information delivery device has authority to access the end-user terminal, a program may be downloaded to the end-user terminal to determine the exact end-user terminal configuration. The program executing in the end-user terminal returns to the network information delivery device a user profile containing the end-user terminal capabilities so that the requested information may be formatted and delivered to the end-user in an optimal manner. The information to be delivered to end-users may be pre-stored in predetermined formats. The predetermined formats may be determined based on a volume of requests and the characteristic of the information. The information may also be stored in a generic format so that packaging the information for a specific user may be efficiently and timely performed.

Claims

1. A method for operating a network information delivery system, comprising:

determining end-user terminal information output multimedia viewer requirements based on predetermined data corresponding to said end-user terminal and type of multimedia viewer used on said end-user terminal;

packaging information based on the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements by retrieving the information to be packaged from an information source, setting parameters directed to the end-user terminal for regulating information presentation based on the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements, selecting one of a predetermined multimedia viewer formats of the information, and formatting into the selected multimedia viewer format the information and the parameters into the package information based on the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements; and

sending the packaged information to the end-user terminal through a network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:

retrieving the predetermined data from at least one of a network information delivery device database and an end-user terminal database; and

generating the end-user multimedia viewer requirements based on the retrieved predetermined data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the multimedia viewer requirements include at least one of information format, presentation speed, information transmission speed, and information transmission medium.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the multimedia viewer requirements further include end-user terminal feature parameters for reproducing the packaged information on the end-user terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information source includes a database of the network information delivery device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the formatting the information step comprises transforming the information from a generic format into a format selected based on the end-user multimedia viewer requirements.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending step comprises:

setting a network transmission speed based on the end-user multimedia viewer requirements;

selecting a transmission medium based on the end-user multimedia viewer requirements; and

sending the packaged information on the transmission medium at the network transmission speed.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the sending step further comprises:

monitoring transmission progress; and

changing the transmission medium if the transmission progress fails to meet the end-user multimedia viewer requirements.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined data includes an end-user profile comprising:

end-user terminal hardware features;

end-user software features; and

end-user preferences.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:

accessing the end-user terminal based on the predetermined data;

executing a program in the end-user terminal to determine the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements; and

sending the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements to the network information delivery device.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing the end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements in either a network information delivery device database or an end-user terminal database.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined data comprises access authority to the end-user terminal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the access authority includes a password of the end-user terminal.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining step further comprises downloading the program from the network information delivery device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the network includes at least one of Integrated Services Digital Network, Asynchronous Transfer Mode and analog telephone switching service, the network having physical mediums that includes at least one of wired, wireless and optical.

16. A network information delivery system, comprising:

a network;

an end-user terminal connected to the network;

a network information delivery device connected to the network that determines end-user terminal multimedia viewer requirements based on predetermined data corresponding to the end-user terminal and type of multimedia viewer used on said end-user terminal, retrieves information requested by said end-user terminal from an information source, selects one of a predetermined multimedia viewer formats, packages the retrieved information and parameters directed to the end-user terminal into the selected multimedia viewer format based on the end-user multimedia viewer requirements, and sends said package information to said end-user terminal through the network.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a first database coupled with the network information delivery device, the first database storing the predetermined data, wherein the network information delivery device retrieves the predetermined data from the first database and generates the end-user multimedia viewer requirements based on the retrieved predetermined data.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a second database coupled with the end-user terminal, the first database storing the predetermined data, wherein the network information delivery device retrieves the predetermined data from the second database and generates the end-user multimedia viewer requirements based on the retrieved predetermined data.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the predetermined data includes authorization for accessing the end-user terminal, the network information delivery device determining the end-user multimedia viewer requirements by executing a program in the end-user terminal, the program determining the end-user terminal capabilities and sending a user profile that includes end-user terminal capabilities information.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the program is downloaded to the end-user terminal from the network information delivery device.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the network multimedia viewer device generates the end-user information output requirements based on the user profile sent by the program executing in the end-user terminal.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the information source includes a database of the network information delivery device.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the network information delivery device transmits the package through a transmission medium at a transmission speed based on the end-user information output requirements.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the network information delivery device monitors a transmission of the packaged information, if the transmission fails to meet the end-user multimedia viewer requirements, then the network information delivery device changing a transmission medium or a transmission speed to meet the end-user multimedia viewer requirements.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein the network includes at least one of Integrated Services Digital Network, Asynchronous Transfer Mode and analog telephone switching service, the network having physical mediums that includes at least one of wired, wireless and optical.