System and method for transmission of data

• US 6,021,433 A
• Filed: 01/24/1997
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SimpleAir, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wireless Internet Inc.
• Inventors: Starr, David, Payne, John M., Katz, Jason, Wang, Jeffrey, Odell, Jeffrey, Von Kaenel, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): CALDWELL, ANDREW T
• Application Number:
  US08/788,613
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.76, 395/200.49, 395/200.33, 709/203, 709/219, 709/236, 340/311.1
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1836 with heterogeneous network architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1877 Measures taken prior to transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system and method for data communication connecting on-line networks with on-line and off-line computers. The present system provides for broadcast of up to the minute notification centric data thereby providing an instant call to action for users who are provided with the ability to instantaneously retrieve further detailed information. Information sources transmit data to a central broadcast server, which preprocesses the data for wireless broadcast. The notification centric portions of data are wirelessly broadcast to wireless receiving devices that are attached to computing devices. Upon receipt of the data at the computing device, the user is notified through different multimedia alerts that there is an incoming message. Wirelessly broadcasted URL'"'"'s, associated with the data, are embedded in data packets and provide an automated wired or wireless connection back to the information source for obtaining detailed data.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data to selected remote computing devices, comprising the steps of:

transmitting data from an information source to a central broadcast server;

preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server, further comprising the step of;

providing data to servers in said central broadcast server;

parsing said data with parsers corresponding to said servers;

transmitting said data to a content manager for determining how said data is handled;

transmitting said data from said content manager to an information gateway for building data blocks and assigning addresses to said data block; and

transmitting said data blocks from said information gateway to a transmission gateway for preparing said data block for transmission to receivers;

transmitting preprocessed data to receivers communicating with said computing devices; and

instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting said data from said content manager to said information gateway for building data blocks and assigning addresses to said data block, further comprises the step of:

building data blocks and assigning addresses to said data block based on information in a subscriber database.

3. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting preprocessed data to remote receivers communicating with said computing devices, further comprises the step of:

wirelessly transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers.

4. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers further comprises the step of:

transmitting said preprocessed data utilizing a paging network.

5. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers further comprises the step of:

transmitting said preprocessed data utilizing a Vertical Blanking Interval.

6. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers further comprises the step of:

transmitting said preprocessed data utilizing a satellite system.

7. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said step of wirelessly transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers further comprises the step of:

transmitting said preprocessed data utilizing a FM subcarrier, digital, analog, cellular, GSM or PCS carrier.

8. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting preprocessed data to remote receivers communicating with said computing devices, further comprises the step of:

transmitting said preprocessed data to remote receivers by wired transmission.

9. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user an automatic connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data.

10. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said Internet address location is a Uniform Resource Locator.

11. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said step of attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user an automatic connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data, further comprises the step of:

providing an automatic connection back to said information source through an user activating a single function on said computing device.

12. The method claimed in claim 11, wherein said single function comprises a single click on said computing device.

13. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data is an automated wired connection.

14. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data is an automated wireless connection.

15. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said step of attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user an automatic connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data, further comprises the step of:

determining at said central broadcast server said Internet address location from said information source.

16. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said step of attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user an automatic connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data, further comprises the step of:

attaching said Internet address location to said preprocessed data.

17. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said step of attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user an automatic connection back to said information source for obtaining further information related to said preprocessed data, further comprises the step of:

transmitting said Internet address location with said preprocessed data to said computing device.

18. The method claimed in claim 9, further comprising the step of:

extracting said Internet address location from said preprocessed data at said computing device.

19. The method claimed in claim 9, further comprising the step of:

displaying said Internet address location with said preprocessed data to said user such that said user can with a single click on said Internet address location to obtain additional information from said information source.

20. The method claimed in claim 9, further comprising the step of:

launching an Internet browser and passing said Internet address location to said browser for automatic connection back to said information source.

21. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein said Internet address is a proprietary on-line addressing scheme.

22. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off, further comprises the step of:

providing at least one alert which when activated allows display of data.

23. The method claimed in claim 22, wherein said at least one alert comprises a visual alert.

24. The method claimed in claim 22, wherein said at least one alert comprises an audio alert.

25. The method claimed in claim 22, wherein said at least one alert is related to type of information present at computing device.

26. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off, further comprises the step of:

providing a dockable user interface alert panel on a display communicating with computing device for providing alerts to said user, wherein said alert panel is dockable on top of other applications.

27. The method claimed in claim 26, wherein said step of providing a dockable user interface alert panel on a display communicating with computing device for providing alerts to said user, further comprises the step of:

displaying fly-in graphics and icon buttons to alert said user that new data has been received by said computing device.

28. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server further comprises the step of:

deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user.

29. The method claimed in claim 28, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the step of:

parceling a data block into at least one incoming message.

30. The method claimed in claim 29, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the step of:

parceling said messages into k information packets.

31. The method claimed in claim 30, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the step of:

selecting a number of parity-check packets p.

32. The method claimed in claim 31, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the step of:

encoding column-wise with a modified Reed-Solomon code for generating parity-check packets.

33. The method claimed in claim 32, wherein said Reed-Solomon code is defined in accordance with:

##EQU3##

34. The method claimed in claim 32, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the step of:

parceling said data packets into code words for transmission to said user.

35. The method claimed in claim 34, wherein said step of deriving redundant data packets for transmission to said user further comprises the steps of:

performing error correction and detection on said code words after said data packets have been parceled.

36. The method claimed in claim 34, further comprising the step of:

assembling a data block from said code words.

37. The method claimed in claim 36, wherein said step of assembling a data block from said code words further comprises the step of:

counting the number of code words which have errors;

determining whether each packet has any errors;

saving packets without error;

discarding packets with at least one error; and

assembling a message when the required number of packets has been received.

38. The method claimed in claim 28, wherein said data packets include information packets and parity-check packets.

39. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server further comprises the step of:

combining Huffman compression and the dictionary-based compression based algorithms.

40. The method claimed in claim 39, wherein said step of combining Huffman compression and the dictionary-based compression based algorithms further comprises the steps of:

scanning input texts;

searching for next item previously seen text;

searching for next item in a static Huffman dictionary; and

choosing said search method which produces a better result for compression.

41. The method claimed in claim 40, further comprising the step of:

decompressing said compressed data.

42. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server further comprises the step of:

utilizing a differencing algorithm for compressing said coded data, thereby significantly reducing the number of bytes sent with each transmission.

43. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

processing data in accordance with feed type from said information source.

44. The method claimed in claim 43, wherein said feed type comprises binary type feeds.

45. The method claimed in claim 43, wherein said feed type comprises common user information type feeds.

46. The method claimed in claim 43, wherein said feed type comprises feeds for modifying registry keys which control processing of data.

47. The method claimed in claim 43, wherein said step of processing data in accordance with feed type from said information source, further comprises the step of:

using tags to differentiate types of information.

48. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off, further comprises the step of:

instantaneously alerting said user to personal alerts through the use of sound, graphics, bit maps or video, wherein said user can instantaneously access information.

49. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

encoding said data with information relating to message parameters for filtering.

50. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off, further comprises the steps of:

monitoring said transmissions utilizing multiple viewers;

filtering said transmitted preprocessed data;

post processing said preprocessed data; and

notifying said user instantaneously of receipt of filtered postprocessed data.

51. The method claimed in claim 50, wherein said step of filtering said transmitted preprocessed data further comprises the step of:

filtering said transmitted preprocessed data in accordance with preferences set by said user.

52. The method claimed in claim 51, wherein said step of filtering said transmitted preprocessed data in accordance with preferences set by said user, further comprises the step of:

setting said preferences with respect to sound, video and animation.

53. The method claimed in claim 50, wherein said step of filtering said transmitted preprocessed data further comprises the step of:

filtering said preprocessed data in accordance with virtual addresses.

54. The method claimed in claim 50, wherein said step of filtering said transmitted preprocessed data further comprises the step of:

filtering said preprocessed data in accordance with physical addresses.

55. The method claimed in claim 50, further comprising the step of:

controlling said viewers from said central broadcast server.

56. The method claimed in claim 55, wherein said step of controlling said viewers from said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

adding viewers from said central broadcast server.

57. The method claimed in claim 55, wherein said step of controlling said viewers from said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

removing viewers from said central broadcast server.

58. The method claimed in claim 50, further comprising the step of:

utilizing a remote control interface for controlling said viewers.

59. The method claimed in claim 58, wherein said step of utilizing a remote control interface for controlling said viewers further comprises the step of:

launching said remote control interface through a user interface alert panel.

60. The method claimed in claim 50, further comprising the step of:

storing entries in a viewer server connected to said viewer; and

providing filtering means for filtering particular types of messages a viewer can look at.

61. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

activating said preprocessed data at a scheduled time.

62. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

modifying said preprocessed data instantaneously and wirelessly.

63. The method claimed in claim 56, wherein said step of modifying said preprocessed data instantaneously and wirelessly, further comprises the step of:

activating services wirelessly through activation codes which enable or disable services.

64. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

postprocessing said preprocessed data.

65. The method claimed in claim 64, wherein said step of postprocessing said preprocessed data further comprises the step of:

recombining, decoding and decompressing said preprocessed data.

66. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said information source may be an Internet access provider providing data feeds.

67. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said information source may be an on-line service provider providing data feeds.

68. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting said data from said content manager to said information gateway for building data blocks and assigning addresses to said data block, further comprises the step of:

building data blocks and assigning addresses to said data block based on information in a subscriber database.

69. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

displaying contextual graphics on said computing device to show data in a predefined format.

70. The method claimed in claim 69, wherein said predefined format is a scoreboard.

71. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

attaching to said preprocessed data an Internet address location of said preprocessed data for providing to said user a message that causes a process or transaction on said computing device to occur.

72. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

sending said data on groups of pooled capcodes.

73. The method claimed in claim 72, wherein said step of sending said data on groups of pooled capcodes, further comprises the step of:

multiplexing data over multiple capcodes to be reassembled at said user as if data were being sent over a single capcode.

74. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server, further comprises the step of:

assigning data packets to a group of capcodes;

transmitting said data over a paging network using said group of capcodes;

receiving packets at said user on said group of capcodes; and

combining said packets from group of capcodes into one data message.

75. A method for transmitting data to selected remote computing devices, comprising the steps of:

transmitting data from an information source to a central broadcast server;

preprocessing said data at said central broadcast server;

transmitting preprocessed data to remote receivers communicating with said computing devices;

instantaneously notifying said computing devices of receipt of said preprocessed data whether said computing devices are on or off, further comprising the steps of;

monitoring said transmissions utilizing multiple viewers;

filtering said transmitted preprocessed data;

post processing said preprocessed data; and

notifying said user instantaneously of receipt of filtered postprocessed data;

utilizing a remote control interface for controlling said viewers.

76. The method claimed in claim 75, wherein said step of utilizing a remote control interface for controlling said viewers further comprises the step of:

launching said remote control interface through a user interface alert panel.

77. The method claimed in claim 76, further comprising the step of:

storing entries in a viewer server connected to said viewer; and

providing filtering means for filtering particular types of messages a viewer can look at.