Management of user interface elements

• US 8,010,531 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Mehta, Japan, Ruiz-Velasco, Enrique, Patel, Laxmi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pannala; Sathyanarayan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choi; Yuk Ting
• Application Number:
  US11/760,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20080168067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A first set of data includes a plurality of presentation elements. A second set of data includes metadata concerning the presentation elements, the metadata including at least a hash value related to each of the presentation elements and a location of each of the presentation elements. An element management subsystem is configured to provide the presentation elements to a remote element server. The element server is configured to serialize and transmit the elements in a binary stream in response to a request, the elements being formatted according to a parameter of the request.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a video hub office that serves as a point of aggregation of media content, the video hub office comprising at least one device configured to

receive a media signal from a head end through a media distribution network, and

provide the media signal to a content processing device located at a customer premises, the content processing device configured to process the media signal and provide media programming included in the media signal to a media playback device for playback at the customer premises;

an element server in the video hub office; and

at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the at least one computing device comprising;

a first data store that includes a first set of data that includes a plurality of presentation elements,

a second data store that includes a second set of data that includes metadata concerning the presentation elements, the metadata including at least a hash value related to each of the presentation elements and a location of each of the presentation elements in the first data store, the second set of data further including information concerning one or more associations of one or more of the presentation elements in the first set of data with a chunk that is a logical grouping of the one or more of the presentation elements, and

an element management subsystem that provides the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to the element server in the video hub office by way of a packet network, the element server configured to cache the one or more of the presentation elements for use by the element server in fulfilling a request provided by the content processing device to the element server;

wherein the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises provides a user interface that presents a screen displaying a description of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first data store is a file system and the second data store is a relational database.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises is further configured to receive input from the user interface to add a new element to the first set of data, to calculate a hash value of the new element, and to check the hash value of the new element against the second set of data to determine whether the new element was previously added to the first set of data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device further comprises a publisher that receives at least some of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk from the element management subsystem and that provides the at least some of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to the element server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the element server is configured to serialize and transmit the cached one or more of the user interface presentation elements associated with the chunk in a binary stream in response to the request provided by the content processing device to the element server, the one or more of the user interface presentation elements associated with the chunk being formatted according to a parameter of the request.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the parameter specifies for the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to be provided according to one of a big endian format and a little endian format.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen further displays information indicating one or more types of content processing devices with which the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk are compatible.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen further displays information indicating one or more types of content processing devices for which the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk are intended.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen further displays information indicating one or more types of files in which the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk are stored.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen further displays a preview of one of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen further displays the chunk as an image showing the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk together as the one or more of the presentation elements would appear on the media playback device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface provides a mechanism for a user of the element management subsystem to cause the element management subsystem to provide the one or more presentation elements associated with the chunk to the element server in the video hub office by way of the packet network.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user is an administrator of the element management subsystem.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface provides a mechanism for a user of the element management subsystem to create or edit the chunk.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk consist of one or more graphical images stored in one or more portable network graphics (PNG) files, one or more graphical interchange format (GIF) files, or one or more joint photographic experts group (JPEG) files.

16. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a video hub office that serves as a point of aggregation of media content, a media signal from a head end through a media distribution network;

providing, by the video hub office, the media signal to a content processing device located at a customer premises, the content processing device configured to process the media signal and provide media programming included in the media signal to a media playback device for playback at the customer premises;

storing, by at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, a first set of data that includes a plurality of presentation elements in an element database;

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, a second set of data that includes metadata concerning the presentation elements in a metadata database, the metadata including at least a hash value related to each of the presentation elements and a location of each of the presentation elements in the element database, the second set of data further including information concerning one or more associations of one or more of the presentation elements in the first set of data with a chunk that is a logical grouping of the one or more of the presentation elements;

providing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to an element server in the video hub office by way of a packet network, the element server configured to cache the one or more of the presentation elements for use by the element server in fulfilling a request provided by the content processing device to the element server;

providing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, a user interface that presents a screen displaying a description of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk;

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, input from the user interface to add a new element to the first set of data;

calculating, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, a hash value of the new element; and

checking, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the hash value of the new element against the second set of data to determine whether the new element was previously added to the first set of data.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the first set of data in a first data store; and

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the second set of data in a second data store.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, input from the user interface to add a new element to the first set of data;

calculating, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, a hash value of the new element; and

checking, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the hash value of the new element against the second set of data to determine whether the new element was previously added to the first set of data.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, input from the user interface selecting the chunk from a list of chunks;

querying, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the metadata database for information concerning the chunk;

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, information concerning the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk from the metadata database; and

displaying, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the information concerning the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk in the user interface.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, information concerning one or more locations of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk in the element database from the metadata database;

querying, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the element database for the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk based on the one or more locations received from the metadata database;

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk from the element database; and

displaying, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, an image of the chunk showing the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk in the user interface as the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk would appear on a playback device connected to a content processing device that receives the binary stream from the remote element server in response to the request.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, the new element in the first set of data in the element database;

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, metadata associated with the new element in the second set of data in the metadata database;

receiving, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, input from the user interface to add the new element to the chunk; and

storing, by the at least one computing device remote from the video hub office and the customer premises, information concerning an association of the new element with the chunk in the metadata stored in the metadata database.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the element server is configured to serialize and transmit the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk in a binary stream in response to a request, the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk being formatted according to a parameter of the request.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the parameter specifies for the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to be provided according to one of a big endian format and a little endian format.

24. A system, comprising:

a video hub office that serves as a point of aggregation of media content, the video hub office comprising at least one device configured to

receive a media signal from a head end through a media distribution network, and

provide the media signal to a content processing device located at a customer premises, the content processing device configured to process the media signal and provide media programming included in the media signal to a media playback device for playback at the customer premises;

a first data store that includes a first set of data that includes a plurality of presentation elements;

a second data store that includes a second set of data that includes metadata concerning the presentation elements, the metadata including at least a hash value related to each of the presentation elements and a location of each of the presentation elements in the first data store, the second set of data further including information concerning one or more associations of one or more of the presentation elements in the first set of data with a chunk that is a logical grouping of the one or more of the presentation elements;

an element server in the video hub office;

at least one computing device separate and remote from the video hub office and the customer premises and that provides the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk to the element server, provides a user interface that presents a screen displaying a description of the one or more of the presentation elements associated with the chunk, and is configured to receive input from the user interface to add a new element to the first set of data, to calculate a hash value of the new element, and to check the hash value of the new element against the second set of data to determine whether the new element was previously added to the first set of data;

wherein the element server is configured to receive and cache the one or more of the presentation elements for use by the element server in fulfilling a request provided by the content processing device to the element server.