Method and apparatus for distributed upload of content

• US 8,301,770 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2011
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Right Brain Interface NV
• Original Assignee: Right Brain Interface NV
• Inventors: van Coppenolle, Bart P. E., Vandormael, Philip W. J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mirza, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US13/278,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20120110179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/08 Learning methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/00 Data switching networks interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units G06F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A system and method for distributed uploading of content utilizes one or more viewer systems, coupled over a network to a remote content source, to upload transmit at least a portion of the content to a remote storage system along with authorization/identification indicia identifying the viewer system. In one embodiment, fractional portions of the same content program from multiple different viewer systems are aggregated at the remote storage system for subsequent download streaming to a requesting of the viewer systems for viewing thereby at a second time, which is time-shifted from the initial transmission from the content source.

Claims

1. A method for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:

A) providing a network accessible memory for storing content representing a content program;

B) receiving into the network accessible memory uploaded portions of the content program from a plurality of viewers having access to the content program from another source;

C) assembling the uploaded portions received from the plurality of viewers into an aggregate version of the content program; and

D) upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, download transmitting the aggregate version of the content program to the requesting viewer, wherein the downloaded aggregate version of the content program is larger than a portion of the content program uploaded from the requesting viewer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the portions of the content program are received from the plurality of viewers asynchronously.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the content program is accessible to the plurality of viewers from the other source during a first time period and wherein the aggregate version of the content program is download transmitted to the requesting viewer during a second time period not identical to the first time period.

4. An system for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:

A) an aggregation server comprising;

A1) a network accessible memory for storing data representing a content program;

A2) a network interface for asynchronously receiving into the network accessible memory uploaded portions of the content program from a plurality of viewers having access to the content program from a source;

A3) an aggregation engine for assembling the uploaded portions of the content program received from the plurality of viewers into an aggregate version of the content program; and

A4) a streaming interface for download transmitting the aggregate version of the content program to one of the plurality of viewers upon request, wherein the aggregate version of the content program downloaded from the aggregation server is larger than a portion of the content program upload transmitted to the aggregation server from the requesting viewer.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the portions of the content program received from the plurality of viewers are identified by one of temporal or sequential identifiers associated with the content program.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the aggregation engine assembles the portions of the content program received from the plurality of viewers based on the temporal or sequential identifiers.

7. The system of claim 4 wherein the network accessible memory is configured to store multiple copies of the content programs.

8. The system of claim 4 wherein the network accessible memory is further configured to store a data structure received with the portion of the content program from one of the plurality of viewers, the data structure comprising any of:

i) data identifying a portion of the content program;

ii) data identifying at least one authorized viewer;

iii) data identifying one of temporal or sequential identifiers associated with the content program;

iv) data identifying a network address of the authorized viewer;

or

v) data identifying an encryption key for decrypting the content program.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the data structure further comprises data identifying a user defined channel associated with the viewer process.

10. The system of claim 4 further comprising:

B) a viewer system operably coupled over a network to the source of content programs, the viewer system further comprising;

B1) program logic for determining which of a plurality of content programs are accessible from the source and for requesting download transmission of at least a portion of the content program from the source to the viewer system at a first time; and

B2) program logic for upload transmitting at least a portion of the content program received by the viewer system to the aggregation server along with authorization indicia identifying the viewer system.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein B) further comprises:

B3) program logic for requesting download transmission of the aggregate version of the content program from the aggregation server to the viewer system at a second time different from the first time.

12. The system of claim 4 wherein the data representing the content program may be stored at plural locations operatively coupled to a network in distributed configuration.

13. The system of claim 4 wherein the data representing the content program may be stored temporarily among multiple locations operatively coupled to a network in a migrating configuration.

18. The system of claim 8 wherein the data structure further comprises data identifying a user defined channel associated with the viewer.

14. A method for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:

A) providing a network accessible memory for storing content representing a content program received from a source;

B) receiving into the network accessible memory authorization indicia identifying a plurality of viewers having access to the content program from the source; and

C) upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, verifying the authorization indicia to determine if the requesting viewer has authorized access to an aggregate version of the content program assembled from uploaded portions of the content program received from the plurality of viewers; and

D) download transmitting the aggregate version of the content program to the requesting viewer upon verification of authorization, wherein the download transmitted aggregate version of the content program is larger than a portion of the content program uploaded from the requesting viewer.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the content program is accessible to the plurality of viewers from the source during a first time period and wherein the aggregate version of the content program is transmitted to the requesting viewer during a second time period not identical to the first time period.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the network accessible memory is further configured to store a data structure received with the portion of the content program from one of the plurality of viewers, the data structure comprising any of:

i) data identifying a portion of a content program;

ii) temporal or sequential identifiers associated with the content program;

iii) authorization indicia identifying a viewer process;

or

iv) data identifying a network address of the authorized viewer;

or

v) data identifying an encryption key for decrypting the content program.

16. An apparatus for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:

A) a network accessible memory for storing content representing a content program received from a source;

B) a network interface for receiving into the network accessible memory authorization indicia identifying a plurality of viewers having access to the content program from the source;

C) a verification engine for determining, upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, if the requesting viewer has authorized access to the content program; and

D) a streaming interface for download transmitting an aggregate version of the content program to the requesting viewer upon verification of authorization, the download transmitted aggregate version of the content program being larger than a portion of the content program upload received from the requesting viewer.