Method and apparatus for portable digital entertainment system

• US RE42,550 E1
• Filed: 02/04/2005
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vincent C. Jackson
• Original Assignee: Vincent C. Jackson
• Inventors: Jackson, Vincent C.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHELEHEDA, JAMES R
• Application Number:
  US11/052,015
• Time in Patent Office: 2,349 Days
• Field of Search: 725 60- 61, 725/62, 463 40- 42, 455 301- 306
• US Class Current: 725/62
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6162 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

An improved method and apparatus for portable digital entertainment system which melds direct microwave communications with digital technology to provide a system for “on demand” distribution of digital data, such as songs or video games. The apparatus includes a microwave cellular tower capable of transmitting and receiving a plurality of digital transmissions, a storage unit of user selectable songs and games coupled to the microwave cellular tower through a selection processor for managing the exchange of song and game selections between the storage unit and the microwave cellular tower, and a plurality of user portable digital cellular devices exchanging digitally encoded transmissions with the microwave cellular tower in response to a user'"'"'s song or game selection request. The portable digital cellular devices include a liquid crystal display window which allows a user to select a desired song to be heard or game to be played. This selection by the user causes the portable digital cellular device, which includes a built in microwave cellular transmitter/receiver to transmit a signal to a microwave digital cellular tower. This microwave digital cellular tower is coupled to a mass storage unit comprised of solid state memory chips which contains hundreds, perhaps thousands of musical or game selections. The microwave digital cellular tower also includes a computer or central processing unit to control the retrieval of the desired musical or game selection from the mass storage unit. When the Data Storage Communications Tower receives a selection request from a portable digital cellular device, the computer bills a customer'"'"'s account, retrieves the selection from the mass storage unit and directs the selection to the microwave digital cellular tower for transmission to the user'"'"'s portable digital cellular device.

Claims

1. A dedicated cellular system for distribution by microwave transmission of digital music and video games by microwave transmission data comprising music and/or video games, comprising:

a microwave cellular tower capable of including a microwave cellular transmitter/receiver for transmitting and receiving a plurality of digital music and video games data by microwave transmissions transmission, each digital data transmission encoding a music selection or a video game;

a storage unit of user selectable music and/or video games connected to said microwave cellular tower,;

a selection processor coupled directly to said microwave cellular transmitter/receiver for receiving a transmission from said microwave cellular transmitter/receiver and managing exchange of user selectable music and/or video games between said storage unit and said microwave cellular tower, by retrieval from the storage unit a given music selection or a given video game selection and transmitting, as digital data, said given music selection or said video game selection to the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver;

and

a plurality of dedicated, user portable digital cellular devices exchanging digital each including a microwave transmitter/receiver for transmitting by microwave transmission requests in response to user selection of said user selectable music and/or video games as digital data transmissions to said microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of said microwave cellular tower and for receiving by microwave transmission selected music and/or video games transmissions with as digital data transmissions from said microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of said microwave cellular tower in response to user selection of said user selectable music and/or video games.

2. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 1 wherein:

said storage unit includes solid state memory recording chips.

3. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 2 wherein:

said solid state memory recording chips are programmable read only memory storage devices.

4. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 2 wherein:

said solid state memory recording chips are random access memory storage devices.

5. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 2 wherein:

said selection processor includes a central processing unit and a multiplicity of data bus and control bus lines connected to said solid state memory recording chips.

6. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 5 wherein:

said central processing unit controls data flow through said multiplicity of data bus and control bus lines in response to user initiated selection input signals transmitted to said microwave cellular tower by said dedicated, user portable digital cellular devices.

7. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 1 wherein said dedicated, user portable digital cellular devices include:

a further microwave cellular transmitter and receiver capable of transmitting and receiving digital cellular transmissions, transmitter/receiver;

an operation processor;

a further storage unit integral coupled directly with said microwave cellular transmitter operation processor, said further storage unit including solid state memory recording chips for storing user selectable music and/or video games received from said microwave cellular transmitter,;

ansaid operations processor integralcoupled directly with said further microwave cellular transmitter/receiver and said further storage unit for managing exchange of user selectable music and/or video games between said further storage unit and said further microwave cellular transmitter,;

and

a display window controlled by said operations processor for display of the currently selected user selectable music and/or video games.

8. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 7 wherein:

said solid state memory recording chips are programmable read only memory storage devices.

9. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 7 wherein:

said solid state memory recording chips are random access memory storage devices.

10. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 7 wherein:

said operations processor includes a central processing unit and a multiplicity of data bus and control bus lines connected to said solid state memory recording chips.

11. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 10 wherein:

said central processing unit controls data flow through said multiplicity of data bus and control bus lines in response to user initiated selection input signals.

12. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 11 wherein:

said user initiated selection input signals include voice recognition.

13. A The dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to of claim 7 wherein said dedicated, user portable digital cellular device devices further includes:

a means for processing said user selectable music and/or video games.

19. The dedicated cellular system of claim 1, wherein:

said storage unit and said selection processor are located on said tower.

20. The dedicated cellular system of claim 1, wherein:

said storage unit is coupled to said selection processor and said selection processor is coupled to said microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of said cellular tower.

14. A method of operating transmitting and receiving digital data by microwave transmission using a dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission, the digital data comprising music and/or video games, the dedicated cellular system including a microwave cellular tower including a microwave cellular transmitter/receiver capable of transmitting and receiving a plurality of digital transmissions with a storage unit of user selectable music and/or video games connected to said microwave cellular tower, a selection processor for managing exchange of user selectable music and video games between said storage unit and said microwave cellular tower adapted for digital data exchange with the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of the tower and the storage unit, and a plurality of dedicated, user portable digital cellular devices for exchanging digital music and/or video games as digital transmissions with said microwave cellular tower in response to user selection of said user selectable music and/or video games, said method comprising the steps of:

coupling directly the selection processor and the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver;

selecting a given music or video game using the dedicated, user portable digital cellular device;

transmitting a digital data signal by microwave transmission from a the dedicated, user portable digital cellular device to a the microwave cellular tower in response to a user request, selection;

receiving said digital data signal transmitted by microwave transmission from said the dedicated, user portable digital cellular device to said at the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of the microwave cellular tower,;

processingusing the selection processor to process said digital data signal by a selection processorreceived as a microwave transmission from the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of the microwave cellular tower for managing the exchange of user selectable music and video games between a storage unit and said microwave cellular tower,by instructing the storage unit to retrieve the user selected music and/or video game;

retrieving a user selected music or video game from said storage unit in response to instructions from said selection processor, and

transmitting said, as digital data, the retrieved user selected music and/or video game from said the selection processor to the microwave cellular tower to said dedicated user portable digital cellular device transmitter/receiver of the microwave cellular tower; and

transmitting, as digital data, the retrieved user selected music and/or video game from the microwave cellular transmitter/receiver of the microwave cellular tower to the dedicated, user portable digital cellular device.

15. A The method of operating a dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to claim 14, wherein:

said user request is voice activated.

16. A The method of operating a dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to claim 14, wherein:

said dedicated user, portable digital cellular device is a portable cellular stereo.

17. A The method of operating a dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to claim 14, wherein:

said dedicated user, portable digital cellular device is a portable cellular music and/or gaming unit.

18. A The method of operating a dedicated cellular system for distribution of digital music and video games by microwave transmission according to claim 14, wherein:

said dedicated user, portable digital cellular device is a home or automotive cellular music and/or gaming unit.