Method for downloading content from a server onto a recording medium as well as recording medium being suitable therefor

• US 8,645,486 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2006
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony DADC Austria AG (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony DADC Austria AG (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Riegler, Andreas, Hoepoldseder, Erich
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU HA T
• Application Number:
  US11/408,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242262A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,843 Days
• Field of Search: 709/210, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/223, 709/207, 709/208, 370/252, 726/30
• US Class Current: 709/210
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method for transferring content from a server (2) onto a recording medium (14), said server (2) being accessible via a communication network (4), comprises the following steps:

• a) connecting said recording medium (14) to a networkable device (3),
• b) establishing a connection between the networkable device (3) and said server (2) via said communication network (4), and
• c) transferring content from said server (2) onto said recording medium (14) via said networkable device (3),
  wherein at least one of steps b) and c) is managed by an application which is provided on said recording medium (14) and which is activated or is activatable after said recording medium (14) has been connected to said networkable device (3).

Claims

1. A method for operating a networkable device, the method comprising:

connecting a recording medium to the networkable device;

establishing a connection between the networkable device and a server via a communication network;

receiving content from the server at the networkable device;

managing the establishing the connection or the receiving content with an application which is provided on said recording medium;

activating said application after said recording medium has been connected to said networkable device;

reading the access information which is stored as data on said recording medium;

accessing downloadable content stored on the server based on the read access information; and

updating, by said application, said access information stored on the recording medium after the downloadable content is accessed in the accessing, wherein said updating includes changing the access information to indicate to said application or said server how much content or which kind of content is allowed to be received from said server, and storing said changed access information onto the recording medium as data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said application is activated automatically when said recording medium is connected to said networkable device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said access information determines which amount or kind of content may be received from said server during said receiving process.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein, in order to establish said connection between said networkable device and said server, a network software included within said networkable device or within said application is activated which connects said networkable device to said server according to communication network address information being contained within said access information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said network software sends authentication information being contained within said access information to said server.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein an authentication procedure is performed on said networkable device, said authentication procedure denying access to at least a part of said content to be received from said server when authentication information being input by a user into said networkable device does not match authentication information being included within said access information.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said access information comprises encrypted internet address information or encrypted authentication information.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein said application activates a content selection user interface enabling a user to select specific content items to be received from said server, wherein the kind or amount of content items is determined by said authentication information or internet address information.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said application is a software program which is read out of said recording medium and executed on said networkable device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said recording medium is a recordable CD, a recordable DVD, a recordable blue ray disk, a hybrid CD, a harddisk, a memory stick, a memory card, or a memory part of a MP 2/3/4 player.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said access information includes a certain amount of credit or credit points, wherein the amount of credit or the number of credit points specifies which amount or type of content is allowed to be received from said server.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein updating of said access information includes decreasing the amount of credit or credit points, and storing the decreased amount of credit or credit points on said recording medium according to the amount or type of received content.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of said communication network is the internet.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transferring the content received from said server to the recording medium, and storing the content onto the recording medium.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the receiving the content from the server and the storing the content onto the recording medium is implemented as a direct downloading process, wherein parts of the content that have already been received by the networkable device from the server are transferred and stored onto the recording medium before all remaining parts of the content are received by the networkable device from the server.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the application is used to transfer the content from the networking device to the recording medium, and to store the content onto the recording medium.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein, prior to the connecting the recording medium to the networkable device, the recording medium has stored thereon:

the application utilized in the managing the establishing the connection or the receiving the content, and

the access information utilized in the reading the access information.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, prior to the establishing the connection, the server has been supplied the read access information.

19. A recording medium, comprising:

a data storage area having available data storage capacity;

an encoded application which, upon connection of said recording medium with a networkable device, establishes a network connection between said networkable device and a server being connectable to said networkable device by a communication network, and transfers content from said server to said networkable device; and

access information stored as data on the recording medium by a supplier of the recording medium, the access information indicating whether the content is permitted to be transferred from said server to said networkable device, wherein

said encoded application is configured to update said access information, when content is transferred from said server to said networkable device, to indicate to said application or said server how much content or which kind of content is allowed to be transferred from said server to said networkable device, and

said encoded application is configured to store the updated access information on the recording medium as data.

20. The recording medium according to claim 19, wherein said application is a software program which is pre-stored within said data storage area, and which can be read out of said data storage area and be executed on said networkable device.

21. The recording medium according to claim 20, wherein said access information determines which amount or kind of content may be transferred from said server during said transferring process.

22. The recording medium according to claim 20, wherein said recording medium is a recordable CD, a recordable DVD, a hybrid CD, a recordable blue ray disk, a harddisk, a memory stick, a memory card, or a memory part of a MP 2/3/4 player.

23. The recording medium according to claim 19, wherein said application is adapted to be activated automatically when said recording medium is connected to said networkable device.

24. The recording medium according to claim 23, wherein said access information determines which amount or kind of content may be transferred from said server during said transferring process.

25. The recording medium according to claim 23, wherein said recording medium includes a recordable CD, a recordable DVD, a hybrid CD, a recordable blue ray disk, a harddisk, a memory stick, a memory card, or a memory part of a MP 2/3/4 player.

26. The recording medium according to claim 19, wherein said application comprises graphical user interface software allowing a user to graphically control said application when said graphical user interface is executed on said networkable device or said recording medium.

27. The recording medium according to claim 19, wherein:

the application is encoded on the recording medium by the supplier of the recording medium.

34. Computer program product comprising computer program means adapted to perform the tasks of said application according to claim 19 when it is executed on a computer or a digital signal processor.

28. A server being accessible via a communication network, the server comprising:

means for storing content which is downloadable by a networkable device from said server via said communication network;

means for receiving access information from the networkable device, the access information including device specific status information, the device specific status information allowing the server to decide how much content or which kind of content that is still allowed to be transferred by a specific application, from the server to the networkable device; and

means for creating or changing the device specific status information each time when content is transferred or has been transferred from said server to said specific device.

29. The server according to claim 28, further comprising:

notifying means for sending a notification to said networkable device, said notification specifying which amount or kind of content has already been transferred or is presently transferred to said networkable device.

30. The server according to claim 29, wherein said status information or said notification comprises credit or credit point information, wherein the amount of credit or the number of credit points specifies which amount or type of content has already been transferred or is presently transferred from said server to said networkable device.

31. The server according to claim 29, wherein said status information or said notification comprises credit or credit point information, wherein the amount of credit or the number of credit points specifies which amount or type of content has already been transferred or is presently transferred from said server to said networkable device.

32. The server according to claim 28, further comprising:

a notifying unit configured to send a notification to said networkable device, said notification specifying which amount or kind of content has already been transferred or is presently transferred to said networkable device.

33. A method for providing a backup, wherein content is transferred from a computing device onto a recording medium, the method comprising:

connecting the recording medium to the computing device;

transferring an application from the recording medium to the computing device; and

using the application to transfer content from the computing device to and store the content onto the recording medium,

wherein said application is activated or is activatable after said recording medium has been connected to the computing device.

35. A server being accessible via a communication network, the server comprising:

a storing unit configured to store content which is downloadable by a networkable device from said server via said communication network;

a receiving unit configured to receive access information from the networkable device, the access information including device specific status information, the device specific status information allowing the server to decide how much content or which kind of content that is still allowed to be transferred by a specific application, from the server to the networkable device;

a transfer unit configured to transfer content to the networkable device via the communication network; and

a device status information unit configured to create or change device specific status information each time when content is transferred or has been transferred from said server onto said device.

36. A method for operating a networkable device, the method comprising:

connecting a recording medium to said networkable device, access information of a supplier of the recording medium being stored on the recording medium;

establishing a connection between the networkable device and a server via a communication network;

receiving content from the server;

transferring the content to and storing the content onto said recording medium without storing the content as a whole on the networkable device;

managing the establishing the connection or the transferring the content with an application which is provided on said recording medium; and

activating said application after said recording medium has been connected to said networkable device.