Method and system for efficient and dynamically adaptable digitally-encoded-information distribution

• US 7,779,064 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2007
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hunts Point Ventures Incorporated, Media IP LLC.
• Original Assignee: MOD Systems
• Inventors: Phillips, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOO, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US11/974,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20080133546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention include efficient and dynamically self-adaptive digitally-encoded-information distribution systems that monitor digitally-encoded information transactions in order to continuously reconfigure themselves by redistributing stored digitally-encoded information among computer systems that together compose the digitally-encoded-information distribution systems and by dynamically balancing tradeoffs between storing particular encodings of particular information objects and generating particular encodings of particular information objects only as needed to satisfy requests. Distribution efficiency is further optimized by ensuring that the types, configurations, capacities, and capabilities of requesting consumer-electronics devices are accurately and precisely determined, so that stored information appropriately encoded for requesting consumer-electronics devices can be efficiently located or generated for rapid delivery to requesting devices.

Claims

1. A distributed content-distribution system comprising:

one or more system servers that each stores content-object instances; and

one or more kiosk-like content servers in retail locations that each

stores content-object instances,

requests content objects from one or more of the system servers,

connects to a consumer-electronics devices on behalf of a user,

determines the type of the connected consumer-electronics device,

receives, from users, requests for download of content objects to the users'"'"' consumer-electronics device, and

responds to each request for download of a content object to a user'"'"'s consumer-electronics device by one of;

requesting a content-object instance compatible with the user'"'"'s request and compatible with the user'"'"'s consumer-electronics device from a system server, retrieving, from a data-storage component within, or from a data-storage facility associated with, the kiosk-like content server, a content-object instance compatible with the user'"'"'s request and compatible with the user'"'"'s consumer-electronics device and downloading the retrieved content-object instance to the user'"'"'s consumer-electronics device, and

retrieving a content-object instance from the data-storage component or the data-storage facility and transcoding the retrieved content-object instance to generate a content-object instance compatible with the user'"'"'s request and compatible with the user'"'"'s consumer-electronics device;

wherein the system servers include one or more back-end servers;

wherein the system servers, the kiosk-like content servers, and the consumer-electronics devices are hierarchically organized, with the consumer-electronics devices at a lowest level, with the one or more kiosk-like content servers at a next-to-lowest level in the hierarchy, and the one or more backend servers at a highest level in the hierarchy;

wherein each request for a content object is received from a user by the one or more kiosk-like content server at the next-to-lowest level; and

wherein, when a kiosk-like content server, in response to a received request for a content object, requests the content object from a system server, the request for the content object forwarded upward through the hierarchically organized system servers.

2. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 1

wherein the system servers include the one or more back-end servers at the highest level and one or more intermediate servers at each of one or more intermediate levels below the highest level comprising one or more back-end servers and above the next to-lowest level comprising one or more kiosk-like content servers;

and

wherein a request for a content object received by a kiosk-like content server may be forwarded through one or more intermediate servers at one or more intermediate levels to a back end server at the highest level.

3. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back- end server, upon receiving a content object:

determines, from stored data, whether or not to transcode the received content object;

determines, from stored data, whether or not to locally store the received content object; and

determines, from stored data, whether or not to forward the received content object to a lower-level server or consumer electronics device.

4. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 3

wherein, when the sever determines to transcode the received content object, the server determines to which type or types of content-object instances to transcode the received content object and, for each content-object instance produced by transcoding the received content object, the server determines whether to locally store the content-object instance and whether or not to forward the content-object instance to a lower-level server of consumerelectronics device.

5. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back- end server, upon receiving a request for a content object from a lower-level requestor:

determines whether a locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, and, when the locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, retrieves the locally stored content-object instance and returns the retrieved content-object instance to the lower-level requestor;

when no locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, determines whether a locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, and, when a the locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, retrieves the locally stored content-object instance, transcodes the retrieved content-object instance to the content-object instance that satisfies the request, returns content-object instance that satisfies the request to the lower level requestor as well as optionally locally storing the content-object instance that satisfies the request; and

when no locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object and when no locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, requests the content object from a higher-level server.

6. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back-end server, periodically evaluates locally stored content-object instances for deletion.

7. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein, by continuously determining whether or not to locally transcode store content-object instances, whether or not to locally store content-object instances, and whether or not to delete locally stored content object instances, the kiosk-like content servers, intermediate servers, and back-end servers that together compose the distributed content-distribution system optimally or near-optimally deliver content-object instances to requesting users'"'"' consumer-electronics device.

8. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 1 wherein a kiosk-like content server determines the type and, when possible, the configuration, capacity, and compatibilities with digital encodings, of a connected consumer-electronics device from one or more of:

data supplied by a communications interface to the consumer-electronics device;

data obtained by querying the consumer-electronics device using a communications protocol recognized by the consumer-electronics device;

data obtained by accessing the consumer-electronics device using a communications protocol recognized by the consumer-electronics device, an operating-system or control rogram interface provided by the consumer-electronics device, including accessing content object instances stored within the consumer electronics device; and

data supplied by user.

9. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 8 wherein the kiosk-like content server independently determines the type of a connected consumer-electronics device from first data and verifies the type determination from second, different data.