Methods and apparatus for delivering auxiliary data to device

• US 8,886,745 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2009
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kannan, Prasanna, Pazos, Carlos Marcelo Dias, Chen, An Mei, Balraj, Sajith
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Jimmy H
• Application Number:
  US12/419,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,045 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/203, 709/219, 707/695, 707/707, 725/37, 725/40, 725/42, 705/14.4
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for delivering auxiliary data to a wireless or other device. Content, such as audio, video or textual content, can be hosted by a server for delivery to the device. The content can have associated resources, for example icons, barkers, intros, and outros that are associated with television programming or other media content. A metadata document can describe the set of resources or other auxiliary data associated with a service, channel or content by indicating a resource descriptor, and a URL or other associated resource locator information. The metadata document can be encoded in XML or other formats. The device can locate resources that are intended to be delivered with selected content, since links to the resources are integrated in the metadata document. From the resource descriptor, the device can also identify how a particular resource should be utilized for the service, channel or content.

Claims

1. A method of delivering auxiliary data resource associated with a service, channel or content to a device, the service, channel or content being delivered to the device by at least one of multicast and broadcast, the method comprising:

associating at least one auxiliary data resource with at least one of the service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a reference to resource locator information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource;

configuring a broadcast end time to indicate a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

transmitting, on a first flow, a signal indicating the association between the at least one auxiliary data resource and the at least one of the service, channel and content, to the device, the signal including a location specified in the resource locator information;

determining whether the broadcast end time has elapsed; and

transmitting, on a second flow different than the first flow, the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device from the location specified in the resource locator information as long as it is determined that the broadcast time has not elapsed,

wherein the resource locator information comprises multiple alternative pathways to access the associated at least one auxiliary data resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network enabled media player.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying a location of the associated at least one auxiliary data resource.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting of the at least one auxiliary data resource is performed via at least one of an overhead flow mechanism and a data file delivery mechanism.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device over a unicast network in response to receiving a delivery request from the device.

8. A server for transmitting auxiliary data associated with a service, channel or content to a device, the service, channel or content being delivered to the device by at least one of multicast and broadcast, the server comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a communication interface coupled to the processor, wherein the processor executes software instructions stored in the memory to perform operations comprising;

associating at least one auxiliary data resource with at least one of the service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a reference to resource locator information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource;

configuring a broadcast end time to indicate a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

transmitting on a first flow, a signal indicating the association between the at least one auxiliary data resource and the at least one of the service, channel and content, to the device, the signal including a location specified in the resource locator information;

determining whether the broadcast end time has elapsed; and

transmitting, on a second flow different from the first flow, the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device from the location specified in the resource locator information as long as it is determined that the broadcast time has not elapsed,

wherein the resource locator information comprises multiple alternative pathways to access the associated at least one auxiliary data resource.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

10. The server of claim 8, wherein the communication interface comprises a wireless interface and the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network-enabled media player.

11. The server of claim 8, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

12. The server of claim 8, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying a location of the associated at least one auxiliary data resource.

13. The server of claim 8, wherein the transmitting of the at least one auxiliary data resource is performed via at least one of an overhead flow mechanism and a data file delivery mechanism.

14. The server of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured with software instructions to perform operations further comprising;

transmitting the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device over a unicast network in response to receiving a delivery request from the device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon software instructions configured to, when executed by a processor, the processor perform operations that cause a transmission of auxiliary data associated with a service, channel or content to a device, the service, channel or content being delivered to the device by at least one of multicast and broadcast, the operations comprising:

associating at least one auxiliary data resource with at least one of the service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a reference to resource locator information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource, wherein the resource locator information comprises multiple alternative pathways to access the associated at least one auxiliary data resource;

configuring a broadcast end time to indicate a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

transmitting, on a first flow, a signal indicating the association between the at least one auxiliary data resource and the at least one of the service, channel and content, to the device, the signal including a location specified in the resource locator information;

determining whether the broadcast end time has elapsed; and

transmitting, on a second flow different than the first flow, the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device from the location specified in the resource locator information and as long as it is determined that the broadcast time has not elapsed.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network-enabled media player.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying a location of the associated at least one auxiliary data resource.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the stored software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations further comprising:

transmitting the at least one auxiliary data resource or content via at least one of an overhead flow mechanism and a data file transmission mechanism.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the stored software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations further comprising transmitting the at least one auxiliary data resource to the device over a unicast network in response to receiving a delivery request from the device.

22. A method of receiving auxiliary data resource associated with a service, channel or content in a device, the service, channel or content being transmitted to the device by at least one of multicast and broadcast, the method comprising:

receiving, on a first flow, a signal indicating an association between at least one auxiliary data resource and at least one of the service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a location specified in resource locator information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource;

monitoring a second flow different from the first flow for a predetermined period of time, wherein the predetermined period of time indicates a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

determining whether the at least one auxiliary data resource is received via the second flow from the location specified in the resource locator information; and

transmitting a unicast request for delivery of the at least one auxiliary data resource when it is determined that the at least one auxiliary data resource is not received within the predetermined period of time.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network-enabled media player.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying the location.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the receiving the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises receiving via at least one of an overhead delivery mechanism and a data file delivery mechanism.

28. A device, the device being configured to receive auxiliary data associated with a service, channel or content, the service, channel or content being transmitted to the device by at least one of multicast and broadcast, the device comprising:

an interface to a delivery server; and

a processor and a memory, communicating with the interface, wherein the processor executes software instructions stored in the memory to perform operations comprising;

receiving, on a first flow, a signal indicating an association between at least one auxiliary data resource and at least one of the service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a location specified in resource locator information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource;

monitoring a second flow different from the first flow for a predetermined period of time, wherein the predetermined period of time indicates a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

determining whether the at least one auxiliary data resource is received via the second flow from the location specified in the resource locator information; and

transmitting a unicast request for delivery of the at least one auxiliary data resource when it is determined that the at least one auxiliary data resource is not received within the predetermined period of time.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content, and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

30. The device of claim 28, wherein the interface comprises a wireless interface and the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network-enabled media player.

31. The device of claim 28, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

32. The device of claim 28, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying the location.

33. The device of claim 28, wherein the processor is configured with software instructions to perform operations further comprising receiving the at least one auxiliary data resource via at least one of an overhead delivery mechanism and a data file delivery mechanism.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon software instructions configured to, when executed by a processor of a device, the processor performs operations comprising:

receiving, on a first flow, a signal indicating an association between at least one auxiliary data resource and at least one of a service, channel and content via a metadata document, the association in the metadata document comprising at least a resource descriptor that identifies a usage of the at least one auxiliary data resource and a location specified in resource location information for acquiring the at least one auxiliary data resource;

monitoring a second flow different from the first flow for a predetermined period of time, wherein the predetermined period of time indicates a termination time for the at least one service, channel and content to be broadcast to the device;

determining whether the at least one auxiliary data resource is received via the second flow from the location specified in resource locator information; and

transmitting a unicast request for delivery of the at least one auxiliary data resource when it is determined that the at least one auxiliary data resource is not received within the predetermined period of time.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the content comprises at least one of video content, audio content and textual content and the at least one auxiliary data resource comprises at least one of an icon, a barker clip, an intro clip, and an outro clip.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a network-enabled personal digital assistant, and a portable network-enabled media player.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the metadata document comprises an XML (extensible markup language) document.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the resource locator information comprises at least one URL (uniform resource locator) identifying the location.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the stored software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations further comprising:

receiving the at least one auxiliary data resource via at least one of an overhead delivery mechanism and a data file delivery mechanism.