Communication system for providing a transport entity with mutually related objects

• US 6,727,955 B2
• Filed: 06/10/1998
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Pereboom, Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Assistant Examiner(s): Booker, Kelvin
• Application Number:
  US09/090,037
• Publication Number:
  US 20030225902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,148 Days
• Field of Search: 709/300, 709/200, 707/201, 707/104, 707/500, 717/11, 717/1, 717/168, 717/169, 717/165, 717/174, 717/175, 345/327, 345/716, 345/700, 348/468, 348/473, 348/730, 348/467, 348/466, 348/465, 715/500.1
• US Class Current: 348/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/16 Arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/07 characterised by processes or methods for the generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/25 Arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4349 by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
• 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 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63 Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing real-time session protocols H04L65/1101; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8402 involving a version number, e.g. version number of EPG data arrangements for version control in computers G06F8/71

Abstract

A communication system in which a transmitter transmits cyclically a plurality of mutually related objects to a terminal. If the objects are used in the terminal there is no mechanism to establish whether the objects are consistent, e.g. that they are originated at the same time. To ensure that the objects are consistent, they are combined in a common transport entity. The receiver is arranged to extract only the complete set of mutually related objects from the common transport entity. Consequently, the consistency is always ensured.

Claims

1. Communication system comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting cyclically a plurality of mutually related objects via a communication network to a terminal, wherein the transmitter comprises an assembler for combining said mutually related objects into a combined transport entity, and is arranged for introducing into the combined transport entity an update indicator having a version number to indicate that the combined transport entity is updated,

wherein the terminal comprises a processor arranged for extracting only a portion of the plurality of mutually related objects from the common transport entity, if an update is indicated, and wherein the transport entity comprises a header indicating the size of the header and the size of the objects combined into said transport entity.

2. A transport entity, which when transmitted between terminals within a communication network, comprises a cyclic sequence of a plurality of mutually related objects, wherein said mutually related objects are combined into a combined transport entity, characterized in that said combined transport entity comprises an update indicator having a version number for providing an indication to a user each time the signal has been updated, and wherein the combined transport entity comprises a header indicating the size of the header and the size of the objects combined into said transport entity.

3. A terminal comprising:

a processor arranged for receiving a plurality of mutually related objects in a common transport entity,and extracting only a portion of the plurality of mutually related objects, if an update is indicated,

wherein the transport entity comprises a header indicating the size of the header and the size of the objects combined into said transport entity.