System and method for effectively transmitting content items to electronic devices

• US 20100011092A1
• Filed: 07/09/2008
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: SONY CORPORATION AND SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
• Inventors: Georgis, Nikolaos, Carpio, Fredrik, Frazier, Milton
• Granted Patent: US 8,572,211 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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

Abstract

A system and method for effectively transmitting content items to electronic devices includes a content server that is configured to access and store various types of content information. A recommendation engine of the content server analyzes network statistics and client profiles to identify appropriate content items for device users of the electronic devices. A transmitter receives the targeted content items from the content server, and responsively provides the content items to the electronic devices by broadcasting the content items over a unidirectional telecommunications link.

Claims

1. A system for supporting a content distribution procedure, comprising:

a content server that is configured to access and store content items;

a transmitter that obtains said content items from said content server; and

an electronic device that receives said content items from said transmitter through a unidirectional telecommunications link.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is implemented as a portable wireless device.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is implemented to include a wireless receiver without transmission capability.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said content items include news data, traffic data, weather data, audio/video data, program guide data, and Internet website data.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said content server includes a recommendation engine that automatically selects said content items for sending to said electronic device.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said recommendation engine analyzes network statistics for computer users in an electronic network to identify said content items.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said network statistics include Internet browsing statistics for said computer users.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said recommendation engine analyzes client profiles for computer users in an electronic network to identify said content items.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said client profiles are manually created by said computer users.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein said client profiles are automatically created by said content server by analyzing network statistics for said computer users.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein said client profiles include demographic information corresponding to said computer users.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein said demographic information includes a client age, a client gender, a client location, a client ethnicity, a client marital status, client family information, a client annual income bracket, a client occupation, client hobbies, client interests, and a client political affiliation.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said transmitter is implemented as a radio-frequency television broadcasting transmitter.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein a content manager of said electronic device determines whether to accept said content items based upon content acceptance criteria.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said content acceptance criteria are manually programmed in user preferences by a device user of said electronic device.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein a content manager of said electronic device determines whether locally-stored ones of said content items are obsolete.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said content manager performs a content update procedure by periodically deleting obsolete ones of said locally-stored ones of said content items.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein said content manager presents an information window interface to a device user of said electronic device for cataloguing and navigating said content items.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein said content manager indicates to a device user of said electronic device that requested functionalities are unavailable, said content manager offering said device user one or more alternative functionalities.

20. A method for supporting a content distribution procedure, comprising:

configuring a content server to access and store content items;

providing a transmitter that obtains said content items from said content server; and

utilizing an electronic device to receive said content items from said transmitter through a unidirectional telecommunications link.