Method and apparatus for implementing file transfers to receivers in a digital broadcast system
First Claim
1. A receiver in a digital broadcast system comprising:
- a memory device for storing content from a transmitted broadcast signal using said digital broadcast system, the content comprising data files, said data files each being partitioned into segments that are interspersed in said transmitted broadcast signal, said transmitted broadcast signal being provided with at least one header comprising information indicating the number of said segments that constitute at least one of said data files and information to identify each of said segments;
a reception device for receiving said transmitted broadcast signal and processing said broadcast signal to obtain at least part of said content including said segments corresponding to at least one of said data files therein; and
a processing device connected to said memory device and said reception device and being programmable to use said at least one header in said transmitted broadcast signal to determine the size of at least one section in said memory device to allocate for storing the data file, to store said segments corresponding to the data file in said allocated section, and to monitor the progress of the storage of said segments in said allocated section, said at least one header comprising data to indicate how much of said memory device needs to be allocated to store the data file;
wherein said at least one header provides a unique identification code for each of said segments belonging to the data file and indicates in what order said segments are to appear in the data file for playback, said processing device being programmable to determine which of said segments in the data file have not been received and stored in said memory device; and
wherein the data file is rebroadcast at least once, said processing device being operable to determine which of said segments corresponding to the data file have been stored and to store said segments that are rebroadcast if said segments are not yet stored in said memory device, and to discard said segments that are rebroadcast if said segments were previously stored in said memory device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for implementing transfer of files to receivers in a digital broadcast system. The data files are partitioned into segments that are interspersed in a broadcast signal. Segment headers are provided to indicate the number of segments that constitute a corresponding data file and to uniquely identify each of segment in a data file. Receivers allocate memory to store segments for a selected data file based on data in the segment headers. The headers can be provided with data to address data files to selected receivers. Receivers are programmed to monitor the progress of storing segments of a selected data file during an initial broadcast and to use rebroadcasts to complete a file transfer.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A receiver in a digital broadcast system comprising:
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a memory device for storing content from a transmitted broadcast signal using said digital broadcast system, the content comprising data files, said data files each being partitioned into segments that are interspersed in said transmitted broadcast signal, said transmitted broadcast signal being provided with at least one header comprising information indicating the number of said segments that constitute at least one of said data files and information to identify each of said segments; a reception device for receiving said transmitted broadcast signal and processing said broadcast signal to obtain at least part of said content including said segments corresponding to at least one of said data files therein; and a processing device connected to said memory device and said reception device and being programmable to use said at least one header in said transmitted broadcast signal to determine the size of at least one section in said memory device to allocate for storing the data file, to store said segments corresponding to the data file in said allocated section, and to monitor the progress of the storage of said segments in said allocated section, said at least one header comprising data to indicate how much of said memory device needs to be allocated to store the data file; wherein said at least one header provides a unique identification code for each of said segments belonging to the data file and indicates in what order said segments are to appear in the data file for playback, said processing device being programmable to determine which of said segments in the data file have not been received and stored in said memory device; and wherein the data file is rebroadcast at least once, said processing device being operable to determine which of said segments corresponding to the data file have been stored and to store said segments that are rebroadcast if said segments are not yet stored in said memory device, and to discard said segments that are rebroadcast if said segments were previously stored in said memory device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of implementing a file transfer from a broadcast station to a receiver in a digital broadcast system comprising the steps of:
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receiving a transmitted broadcast signal having content, said transmitted broadcast signal comprising content comprising data files, said data files each being partitioned into segments that are interspersed in said broadcast signal, said transmitted broadcast signal being transmitted with at least one header comprising information indicating the number of said segments that constitute at least one of said data files and identifying each of said segments; selecting one of said data files to store in a memory device; allocating a portion of said memory device that corresponds in size to the number of said segments that constitute said selected data file as indicated by said information in said at least one header; analyzing said information in said at least one header to identify said segments received via said transmitted broadcast signal and corresponding to said selected data file; and storing said segments in said portion of said memory device that correspond to said selected data file; wherein said selected data file is rebroadcast at least once, and further comprising the steps of analyzing said information relating to the rebroadcast said segments; storing the rebroadcast said segments that are determined to have not been previously stored in said portion of said memory device; and discarding the rebroadcast said segments that are in said portion of said memory device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification