Content delivery system
First Claim
1. A content delivery system comprising:
- a content server connected to a network;
a gatekeeping apparatus connected to said network; and
a user terminal for transmitting to the gatekeeping apparatus a first message containing a request for content from the network and a second message to said content server for requesting the content therefrom,wherein said gatekeeping apparatus is responsive to said first message for making a comparison between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision as to whether or not the content can be retrieved from said content server and performing control on the transmission of said second message according to said decision, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by the content server to generate said content, wherein said user terminal includes;
a cache memory; and
control circuitry for (a) making a search through said cache memory for detecting an indication of decision using an indicator of said content as a key prior to the transmission of said first message to the gatekeeping apparatus, (b) if said search fails, transmitting said first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and mapping an indication of said decision of said gatekeeping apparatus to the indicator of said content in said cache memory, and (c) if said search succeeds, acquiring said parameter data if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a content delivery system, a gatekeeping apparatus is connected to a network. Prior to the transmission of a request message to a content server, a user terminal transmits an enquiry message to the gatekeeping apparatus. In response, the gatekeeping apparatus makes a decision as to whether or not a content can be retrieved from the content server and performs control on the transmission of the request message according to the decision. If the decision indicates that a content can be retrieved, the user terminal transmits the request message to the content server. In a preferred embodiment, the gatekeeping apparatus makes comparison between user'"'"'s preference data and server'"'"'s policy data and determines whether the requested content can be retrieved from the server. A cache memory may be provided in the user terminal or gatekeeping apparatus to store past decisions regarding requested contents.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A content delivery system comprising:
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a content server connected to a network; a gatekeeping apparatus connected to said network; and a user terminal for transmitting to the gatekeeping apparatus a first message containing a request for content from the network and a second message to said content server for requesting the content therefrom, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus is responsive to said first message for making a comparison between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision as to whether or not the content can be retrieved from said content server and performing control on the transmission of said second message according to said decision, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by the content server to generate said content, wherein said user terminal includes; a cache memory; and control circuitry for (a) making a search through said cache memory for detecting an indication of decision using an indicator of said content as a key prior to the transmission of said first message to the gatekeeping apparatus, (b) if said search fails, transmitting said first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and mapping an indication of said decision of said gatekeeping apparatus to the indicator of said content in said cache memory, and (c) if said search succeeds, acquiring said parameter data if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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2. A content delivery system comprising:
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a content server connected to a network; a gatekeeping apparatus connected to said network; and a user terminal for transmitting to the gatekeeping apparatus a first message containing a request for content from the network and a second message to said content server for requesting the content therefrom, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus is responsive to said first message for making a comparison between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision as to whether or not the content can be retrieved from said content server and performing control on the transmission of said second message according to said decision, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by the content server to generate said content, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus includes; a cache memory; and control circuitry for (a) making a search through the cache memory, when said first message is received, for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key, (b) if said search fails, acquiring said policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with said preference data and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the content'"'"'s indicator and the user terminal address in said cache memory, and (c) if said search succeeds, performing said control according to the decision indication in said cache memory. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A method of delivering content via a communications network from a content server to a user terminal, comprising the steps of:
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a) transmitting a first message from the user terminal to a gatekeeping apparatus, the first message containing a request for content from the content server; b) receiving the first message at said gatekeeping apparatus, comparing between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision based on a result of the comparison as to whether or not the content is retrievable from said content server, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by said content server to generate said content; c) transmitting a notification message from the gatekeeping apparatus to said user terminal for indicating said decision; and d) receiving the notification message at said user terminal and transmitting a second message to said content server only if said decision indicates that said content is retrievable, wherein the step (a) comprises the steps of; making a search through a cache memory prior to the transmission of said first message to the gatekeeping apparatus for detecting an indication of said decision using an indicator of said content as a key; if said search fails, transmitting said first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and mapping the indication of said decision to the address of said content server in said cache memory; and if said search succeeds, acquiring said parameter data according to said preference data if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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6. A method of delivering content via a communications network from a content server to a user terminal, comprising the steps of:
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a) transmitting a first message from the user terminal to a gatekeeping apparatus, the first message containing a request for content from the content server; b) receiving the first message at said gatekeeping apparatus, comparing between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision based on a result of the comparison as to whether or not the content is retrievable from said content server, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by said content server to generate said content; c) transmitting a notification message from the gatekeeping apparatus to said user terminal for indicating said decision; and d) receiving the notification message at said user terminal and transmitting a second message to said content server only if said decision indicates that said content is retrievable, wherein the step (b) comprises the steps of; making a search through a cache memory in response to receipt of said first message from the user terminal for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key; if said search fails, acquiring said policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with said preference data and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the content'"'"'s indicator and the user-terminal address in said cache memory; and if said search succeeds, performing the step (c). - View Dependent Claims (7, 9, 10, 11, 18)
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12. A gatekeeping apparatus for a content delivery system in which a user terminal and a content server are connected to each other via a communications network, comprising:
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a line interface connected to said network; and control circuitry for receiving a first message via said line interface from said user terminal containing a request for a content from said content server, making a comparison between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision as to whether or not said content can be retrieved from said content server and performing control on the transmission of a second message from said user terminal to said content server according to said decision, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by said content server to generate said content, further comprising a cache memory, wherein said control circuitry performs the functions of; making a search through the cache memory, when said first message is received, for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key; if said search fails, acquiring said policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with said preference data and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the contents indicator and the user terminal address in said cache memory; and if said search succeeds, performing said control according to the decision indication in said cache memory. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A gatekeeping method for a content delivery system in which a user terminal and a content server are connected to each other via a communications network, comprising the steps of:
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a) receiving a first message from said user terminal containing a request for a content from said content server; b) making a comparison between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and making a decision based on a result of the comparison as to whether or not said content can be retrieved from said content server, wherein said policy data and said preference data include information as to precision of parameter data for use by said content server to generate said content; and c) performing control on a transmission of a second message from said user terminal to said content server according to said decision, the second message containing parameter data for the transmission, further comprising the steps of; making a search through a cache memory, when said first message is received, for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key; if said search fails, acquiring said policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with said preference data and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the content'"'"'s indicator and the user terminal address in said cache memory; and if said search succeeds, performing the step (c) according to the decision indication in said cache memory. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A user terminal for a content delivery system, wherein the system includes a content server and a gatekeeping apparatus connected to each other via a communications network, and wherein said gatekeeping apparatus makes a decision as to whether or not a content can be retrieved from said content server by comparing between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal, comprising:
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a line interface connecting said user terminal to said network; a cache memory; and control circuitry for (a) making a search through said cache memory for detecting an indication of decision using an indicator of said content as a key prior to the transmission of a first message to the gatekeeping apparatus, (b) if said search fails, transmitting a first message to said gatekeeping apparatus via said line interface and mapping an indication of said decision of said gatekeeping apparatus to the indicator of said content in said cache memory, (c) if said search succeeds, acquiring parameter data for use by said content server to generate said content if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved and transmitting a second message containing the acquired parameter data to said content server for requesting said content. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 27)
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17. A method of operating a user terminal of a content delivery system, wherein the system includes a content server and a gatekeeping apparatus connected to each other via a communications network, and wherein said gatekeeping apparatus makes a decision as to whether or not a content can be retrieved from said content server by comparing between policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal, comprising the steps of:
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a) making a search through a cache memory for detecting an indication of a decision using an indicator of said content as a key prior to the transmission of a first message to the gatekeeping apparatus; b) if said search fails, transmitting a first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and mapping an indication of said decision of said gatekeeping apparatus to the indicator of said content in said cache memory; c) if said search succeeds, acquiring parameter data for use by said content server to generate the content if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved; and d) transmitting a second message containing the acquired parameter data to said content server for requesting said content. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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21. A content delivery system comprising:
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a content server connected to a network; a gatekeeping apparatus connected to said network; and a user terminal for transmitting a first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and a second message to said content server for requesting a content therefrom, said first message containing a request for content from said network, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus is responsive to said first message for making a decision as to whether or not a content can be retrieved from said content server by comparing policy data from said content server and preference data from said user terminal and wherein said gatekeeping apparatus performs control on the transmission of said second message according to said decision, wherein said user terminal includes; a cache memory; and control circuitry for (a) making a search through said cache memory for detecting an indication of decision using an indicator of said content as a key prior to the transmission of said first message to the gatekeeping apparatus, (b) if said search fails, transmitting said first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and mapping an indication of said decision of said gatekeeping apparatus to the indicator of said content in said cache memory, and (c) if said search succeeds, acquiring parameter data for use by said content server to generate the content if the decision indication in said cache memory indicates that said content can be retrieved. - View Dependent Claims (22, 29)
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23. A content delivery system comprising:
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a content server connected to a network; a gatekeeping apparatus connected to said network; and a user terminal for transmitting a first message to said gatekeeping apparatus and a second message to said content server for requesting a content therefrom, said first message containing a request for content from said network, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus is responsive to said first message for making a decision as to whether or not a content can be retrieved from said content server by comparing policy data of said content server and preference data of said user terminal and wherein said gatekeeping apparatus performs control on the transmission of said second message according to said decision, wherein said gatekeeping apparatus includes; a cache memory; and control circuitry for (a) making a search through the cache memory, when said first message is received, for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key, (b) if said search fails, acquiring said policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with said preference data and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the content'"'"'s indicator and the user terminal address in said cache memory, and (c) if said search succeeds, performing said control according to the decision indication in said cache memory. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A gatekeeping apparatus for a content delivery system in which a user terminal and a content server are connected to each other via a communications network, comprising:
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a cache memory; a line interface connecting the gatekeeping apparatus to said network; and control circuitry for receiving a first message via said line interface from said user terminal containing a request for a content from said content server, making a decision as to whether or not said content can be retrieved from said content server and performing control on the transmission of a second message from said user terminal to said content server according to said decision, wherein said control circuitry performs the functions of; making a search through the cache memory, when said first message is received, for detecting an indication of decision using a pair of an indicator of said content and an address of said user terminal as a key; if said search fails, acquiring policy data from said content server, making said decision by comparing the acquired policy data with preference data of said user terminal and mapping an indication of the decision to said pair of the content'"'"'s indicator and the user terminal address in said cache memory; and if said search succeeds, performing said control according to the decision indication in said cache memory. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification