Title: Method for using scheduled hyperlinks to record multimedia content
Abstract: A method of establishing communications with one or more devices located in an environment using a wireless communication device is disclosed. The wireless communication device comprises a short-range transceiver that is able to communicate with a short-range transceiver located in the environment. A communication is received from the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication device that includes a request to establish communications with one or more device located in the environment. A request is transmitted to an environment directory server to determine if a user associated with the wireless communication device has permission to access any of the devices in the environment. A response is received from the environment directory server in response to the request. A communication is made to the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication device indicating whether the device can communicate with any of the devices in the environment.
Patent Number: 6,983,312 Issued on 01/03/2006 to O'Neil
| Inventors:
|
O'Neil; Joseph Thomas (Staten Island, NY)
|
| Assignee:
|
AT&T Corp. (New York, NY)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
906252 |
| Filed:
|
July 16, 2001 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
709/217; 455/410 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
G06F 15/16 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
709/202,250,217
455/410,411,466,556.1
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 6763247 | Jul., 2004 | Hollstrom et al.
| |
| 6801604 | Oct., 2004 | Maes et al.
| |
| 6871063 | Mar., 2005 | Schiffer.
| |
| 2001/0056502 | Dec., 2001 | Hollstrom et al.
| |
| 2002/0103850 | Aug., 2002 | Moyer et al.
| |
| 2002/0103898 | Aug., 2002 | Moyer et al.
| |
| 2002/0177453 | Nov., 2002 | Chen et al.
| |
| 2002/0198941 | Dec., 2002 | Gavrilescu et al.
| |
| 2004/0203592 | Oct., 2004 | Kermode et al.
| |
Other References
Handley et al., Request for Comments 2543 ("RFC 2543"), §
4.2.6 (pp. 30-31) and § 16.1 (pp. 118-119), Mar. 1999.
|
Primary Examiner: Follansbee; John
Assistant Examiner: Chang; Jungwon
Claims
I claim:
1. A method of establishing communications with one or more devices located in
an environment using a wireless communication device, the wireless communication
device comprising a short-range transceiver and a long-range transceiver, the short-range
transceiver of the wireless communication device being able to communicate with
a short-range transceiver located in the environment, the method comprising:
a) receiving a communication from the short-range transceiver of the wireless
communication device, the communication including a request to establish communications
with one or more device located in the environment;
b) transmitting a request to an environment directory server to determine if
a user associated with the wireless communication device has permission to access
any of the devices in the environment;
c) receiving a response from the environment directory server in response to
the request, wherein said step of receiving a response from the environment directory
server includes:
c1) providing an indication as to whether access to the devices in the environment
is transient; and
c2) if so, providing dates and times at which the wireless communication device
can access the devices in the environment; and
d) communicating to the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication
device whether the device can communicate with any of the devices in the environment.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication device
is identified by a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said environment directory server
uses the SIP URL of the wireless communication device to determine if the wireless
device has access to any of the devices in the environment.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a cell phone.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a personal
communication device.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a handheld organizer.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the environment directory server
comprises a list of devices associated with an environment and a list of users
which can access the environment.
8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the list of users further includes
permission levels for each user.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to scheduled multimedia content, and more particularly,
to a method that allows a user to use a hyperlink to access scheduled multimedia
content by being able to locally record selected multimedia content on a designated
information appliance.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Today, many people have embraced the information age and depend upon multimedia
devices to provide them with a means to receive current information as well as
the ability to communicate with other people. Many homes now include at least one
personal computer and television. In addition, many people own Set Top Boxes (STB),
Digital Video Disc (DVD) players and equipment such as cameras, scanners and software
for enabling their personal computers and televisions to be used as multimedia
communication devices.
In addition, many offices, hotels and airplanes are equipped with multimedia
equipment
which may be used for either business or pleasure. It is a natural progression,
that people will want to be able to view particular multimedia content at a particular
time and at a particular place (e.g., view a broadcast program while in flight).
While the current technology allows for users to schedule a viewing of a particular
program at a particular time (e.g., video recorders), the current technology does
not conveniently allow for scheduling the availability of multimedia content on
a designated device, which may or may not be operated by the user, at a particular time.
In order to achieve this goal of being able to view multimedia content at a particular
time and a particular place, there must be a mechanism for identifying the available
multimedia content and for recording the content locally at the place in which
the content is to be viewed. While products such as TiVo™ allow for the
scheduled viewing of multimedia content on a local recording device, TiVo™
does not currently allow for the scheduled viewing of multimedia content on a variety
of devices located in a variety of places and which may be operated by more than
one entity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of scheduling to record multimedia
content on a first device via a second wireless communication device. The wireless
communication device includes a short range wireless transceiver that is able to
communicate with a short range wireless transceiver co-located in the environment
of the first device in order to schedule the recording of content on the first
device. The wireless communication device also includes a long range wireless transceiver
that is able to retrieve a web page containing a listing of multimedia content
provided by one or more content providers. Each listing of multimedia content includes
one or more scheduled hyperlinks. Each scheduled hyperlink corresponds to particular
multimedia content. In response to selection of a scheduled hyperlink, a scheduled
hyperlink file is retrieved that contains scheduling information pertaining to
particular multimedia content. A web page is communicated to the wireless communication
device that contains one or more web addresses corresponding to an environment
that is accessible by the user. In response to selection of a web address corresponding
to a particular environment, a second web page is communicated to the wireless
communication device that contains one or more web addresses corresponding to a
device located at the selected environment. In response to selection of a web address
corresponding to the first device, a third web page is communicated to the wireless
communication device that includes a listing of all content recorded on the first
device, a listing of all content scheduled to be recorded on the first device and
an indication of the available storage time on the first device. If there is enough
storage time on the first device, a communication is received from the wireless
communication device requesting that the selected content be scheduled to be stored
on the first device.
The present invention is also directed to a method of establishing communications
with one or more devices located in an environment using a wireless communication
device. The wireless communication device comprises a short-range transceiver that
is able to communicate with a short-range transceiver located in the environment.
A communication is received from the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication
device that includes a request to establish communications with one or more device
located in the environment. A request is transmitted to an environment directory
server to determine if a user associated with the wireless communication device
has permission to access any of the devices in the environment. A response is received
from the environment directory server in response to the request. A communication
is made to the short-range transceiver of the wireless communication device indicating
whether the device can communicate with any of the devices in the environment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in
the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements
and in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system architecture for creating hyperlinks to
scheduled multimedia content in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless system architecture for creating hyperlinks
to scheduled multimedia content in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the system of FIG.
1 which includes scheduled hyperlinks in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the system of FIG.
1 which includes a list of environments in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a web page that is retrieved by the system of FIG.
1 which includes a list of devices associated with an environment in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is an illustration of a web page that includes statistics pertaining
to a particular device in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an illustration of the web page of FIG. 6 in which content associated
with the device is to be deleted in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is an illustration of the web page of FIG. 6 in which the updated statistics
associated with the device are displayed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing of the environments
associated with a particular user in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 10 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing of environment
IDs and their associated locations in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 11 is an illustration of a table that provides a listing of devices in
a particular environment in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 12 is an illustration of a table listing the people and permission levels
associated with a particular environment in accordance with the present invention;
FIGS. 13-15 are illustrations of message sequences between the user's web browser
and a plurality of servers in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 16 is an illustration of a web page presented to a user that lists options
for obtaining desired content and alternatives to that content in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating how SIP is used to communicate between
two information appliances in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 18 illustrates a message sequence between the user's web browser and a
plurality of servers in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 19 illustrates an email message from a teacher to students that includes
a scheduled hyperlink in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 20 is a flow chart that depicts the steps required to record scheduled
content via a scheduled hyperlink communicated in an email message in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) access network which
can be used to record scheduled content in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 22 is a more detailed block diagram of the cable headend of FIG. 21 in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 23 is a more detailed block diagram of the set top box of FIG. 21 in accordance
with the present invention; and
FIG. 24 is a flow chart that depicts the steps required to record scheduled
content via a scheduled hyperlink using a wireless device in accordance with the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention is directed to a method and system for creating hyperlinks
for recording and viewing scheduled multimedia content where the multimedia content
is stored on a designated information appliance.
System Architecture
FIG. 1 is an illustrative embodiment of a system architecture for which a user
desiring to record and view multimedia content in accordance with the present invention
can be implemented. The user may be at an environment
102 which can be a
home or a business office or any other location which is occupied by the user and
have access to a plurality of information appliances
104,
106,
108,
110. The information appliances may include, but are not limited to personal
computers, televisions, Set Top Boxes (STBs), television originated Internet access
packages such as Microsoft's™ WebTV™, Digital Video Disc (DVD) players,
and Compact Disk (CD) players which are each networked together via a Local Area
Network (LAN)
116. The information appliance may also be a wireless device
(see FIG. 2) such as a wireless telephone with Internet capability, a handheld
organizer or personal communication device as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.
Each information appliance
104,
106,
108,
110 may
be located in the same room or one or more information appliances may be located
in different rooms. The user may also have access to information appliances
120,
122 located in one or more different environments, such as environment
118.
Each information appliance includes memory (not shown) that can be used to store
multimedia content, and access to an interface (e.g., SIP user agent
114
in device
104) used to communicate with other devices. In some cases, the
interface may be used to communicate with network servers (e.g., scheduled hyperlink
server
138 or email server
144) as will be described in detail hereinafter.
Furthermore, some of the devices may include a web browser (e.g., device
106)
that is used to communicate to network servers over a network, such as the Internet.
Each information appliance is also identifiable by a network address, such as,
but not limited to, an Internet Protocol (IP) address. In accordance with the present
invention, the appliance may be identified by a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
address as will be explained in detail hereinafter. Within a given environment,
the information appliances are networked together via a home network. Standards
for defining home network arrangements have been provided by various organizations.
For example, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has defined standards
for physical media, data link layers, mid-layer protocols and other services such
as directories, control, network management and security required for setting up
such a home network. These standards can be found at http://www.vesa.org and are
incorporated by reference. External access networks such as telephone (PSTN), cable
TV, broadcast TV and direct-broadcast satellite can interface with the home network
via access devices such as residential gateways or cable modems.
The information appliances
104,
106,
108,
110 are
connected to various network servers via access networks
124. In the present
example, the access networks
124 connect the user to a plurality of servers
130,
132,
134,
136,
138,
140,
142,
144 which are used to implement the present invention and to content provider
networks
152 which contain the multimedia content that the user wishes to
store locally on one of his associated devices. The access networks
124
may comprise the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Digital Subscriber
Link (xDSL), Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC), fixed wireless, Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Network (ATM), frame relay network, wireless
network, cable network or any other type of suitable transmission means. The plurality
of servers
130,
132,
134,
136,
138,
140,
142,
144 may be operated by a single entity or a number of different
entities without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Using one of the information appliances
106 (for exemplary purposes
it is assumed that the appliance is a personal computer (PC)), a user establishes
a connection with IP network
150 via a Point of Presence (POP) (not shown)
which is typically operated and maintained by an Online Service Provider (OSP).
The POP may illustratively, be a server which is connected to the IP network
150,
or may be any other server used for providing access to the IP network
150.
The user's information appliance
106 may include a monitor, keyboard, microphone,
mouse, camera or other equipment necessary to implement various software applications
or modes of communication. The POP provides access to the IP network
150
by providing software to information appliance
106, which allows the information
appliance
106 to access the IP network
150.
When a user wishes to access the IP network
150, the user types in a
command that causes the information appliance
106 to dial into the POP.
The POP requires that the user be authenticated prior to gaining access to the
IP network
150. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that
any type of authentication means can be used. For example, the POP may request
a user identification code and password that is verified by the POP. The POP then
acts as a gateway to provide the user access to the IP network
150. The
information appliance
106 is connected to the POP via the access networks
124.
A user that is connected to the Internet may cause a program known as a client
to request resources that are part of the World Wide Web. The collection of all
such publicly available resources, linked together using files written in Hypertext
Mark-up Language ("HTML"), is known as the World Wide Web ("web"). Server programs
then process the requests to return the specified resources. A standard naming
convention has been adopted, known as a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL"). This
convention encompasses several types of location names, presently including subclasses
such as Hypertext Transport Protocol ("http"), File Transport Protocol ("ftp"),
gopher and Wide Area Information Service ("WAIS").
As illustrated, the IP network
150 is connected to one or more web servers
134 which may host a plurality of online information services, software
applications or web sites. In accordance with the present invention, the web servers
134 are also used to store web pages that include scheduled hyperlinks as
will be described in greater detail hereinafter. These web pages may be provided
directly from the content providers (e.g., broadcast television stations) or may
be created by entities that aggregate content information to be disclosed to the
viewing community (e.g., TV guide). It is to be understood by those skilled in
the art that many web servers may be connected to the IP network
150 in
a known configuration and accessed by the user.
A scheduled hyperlink server
138 dynamically generates web pages that
provide
information to the user about environments and devices which are accessible to
the user. The scheduled hyperlink server
138 also coordinates the actions
of the various servers that are required to implement the scheduled hyperlinks.
Such actions may include programming a particular device to record scheduled content
as requested by the user.
A user directory server
132 maintains one or more databases that define
the environments that are available to each user. As will be described in detail
hereinafter, the user directory server
132 can be updated by the reservation
server
142 with regard to transient environments (i.e., environments which
may be temporarily available to the user). An environment directory server
136
defines the devices that are available in each environment. Each server may be
operated by the entity which controls the environment (e.g., airline, hotel) or
access to the environment (e.g., ISP).
A SIP location server
140 maintains databases that map a SIP URL for a
particular
device to an IP address associated with a SIP proxy server
130. The SIP
proxy servers
130 are situated between public and private networks and are
used in the communication of two appliances or the scheduled hyperlink server
138
and one or more appliances. In some cases, the appliance may include a SIP user
agent that is identified by a SIP URL and is used to facilitate the communication
with other SIP user agents. An email server
144 also allows for scheduled
hyperlinks to be communicated between users via email messages as will be described
in detail hereinafter.
As indicated above the information appliance may be a wireless device as illustrated
in FIG. 2. A wireless information appliance
210 can be used to program one
or more devices
202,
204,
206 within an environment
200
in which the wireless device
210 is located to record scheduled content.
The environment
200 may be at the user's home or office, or may be a transient
environment such as a hotel room or conference room. In accordance with the present
invention, the environment would include a short-range wireless transceiver
218
that periodically transmits the URL of the current environment to the device
210.
The short-range wireless transceivers
216,
218 may use wireless technology
such as that developed by the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group.
A short-range wireless transceiver
216 is also included in the wireless
device
210 that is capable of communicating with the short-range wireless
transceiver
218 in the environment
200. The wireless device
210
may be, but is not limited to, a wireless telephone with Internet capability or
a handheld personal communication unit. A web browser
212 is included in
the wireless device
210 to allow the device to retrieve web pages from the
Internet
224.
The wireless device
210 uses a long-range wireless transceiver
214
to communicate URLs to the Internet
224 via a wireless access network
220.
As with any device, communications from the wireless device
210 are communicated
to a proxy server
222 that registers the location of the wireless device
222 and transports communications to and from the wireless device
210.
Prior to the user of the wireless device
210 being able to schedule
the recording of multimedia content on one of the devices within the environment
200, a query is sent to the user directory server
226 to determine
if the user has permission to record content on any or all of the devices
202,
204,
206 in the environment. If the user has the appropriate permissions,
recording of content can be scheduled as will be described in detail hereinafter.
In the case of a transient environment, such as a conference room or hotel room,
the user may have permission to access the devices
202,
204,
206,
but the permission may be only for a limited period of time.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed from the perspective
of a user of an information appliance. It is to be understood by those skilled
in the art that the invention could be described from the perspective of any of
the information appliances mentioned above or illustrated in FIG. 1 or
2.
A user of information appliance
106 wishes to record scheduled multimedia
content on a designated information appliance which may or may not be information
appliance
106 and view the recorded multimedia content on that information
appliance at a later time.
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) User Agents and Proxy Server
In accordance with the present invention, SIP user agents are used to communicate
messages between the scheduled hyperlink server 138 and at least one information
appliance located within a given environment (e.g., device 104 in environment
102). SIP is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol standard
which can be used to create, modify and terminate multimedia sessions and is described
in "SIP: Understanding the Session Initiation Protocol", by Johnston, Artech, 2001
which is incorporated by reference. Each information appliance or server which
includes a SIP user agent is identifiable by a SIP URL which has the format of
sip:devicename@environment ID.isp.com. The SIP user agent is capable of receiving
and responding to requests from a SIP user agent 146 associated with the
scheduled hyperlink server 138. Such requests might include requests to
list content, record program and delete content as will be described in more detail hereinafter.
Referring to FIG. 17, in order for an information device to communicate
with other devices, the SIP user agent must be registered and recognized by a SIP
location server 1712. For discussion purposes, a user (Ann@att.com) is using
an information appliance 1702 (e.g., phone) that includes a SIP user agent
1704. The SIP user agent 1704 sends a message 1730 to a SIP
proxy server 1711 indicating that the associated information appliance 1702
wishes to establish communication with other devices. The SIP proxy server selected
is based on the proximity of the proxy server to the device and it is contemplated
that a plurality of SIP proxy servers would be geographically disbursed for ease
of communication. The SIP proxy server 1711 forwards the message 1732
to a SIP registration server 1714 that resides in the SIP location server 1712.
The SIP registration server 1714 includes a database of all registered
SIP user agents as well as a list of users who are able to access a particular
SIP user agent. If the SIP user agent and user are found in the SIP registration
server 1714, the device, user name and location of the information appliance
1702 is stored in a location database 1716. As such, when another
user (e.g., Joe@att.com-Joe) wishes to contact Ann@att.com (Ann), then the SIP
location server will know where to direct the communication.
When Joe wants to communicate with Ann, the SIP user agent 1708 associated
with Joe's information appliance 1706 sends a message 1736 to the
SIP proxy server 1710 which is geographically closest to the information
appliance 1706. The SIP proxy server 1710 forwards a message 1738
to the SIP location server 1712. The SIP registration server 1714
determines whether Joe's SIP user agent 1708 can communicate with Ann's
SIP user agent 1704. Such a determination may be based on a number of factors
including permission levels, availability of Ann, etc., for a given user. If Joe's
SIP user agent 1708 is able to communicate with Ann's SIP user agent 1704,
then a lookup 1740 is performed in the location database 1716 to
determine the location of the information appliance 1702 and the SIP proxy
server 1711 closest to the appliance 1702. Next, a message 1742,
1744 is sent from the SIP registration server 1714 to the SIP proxy
server 1711 and finally to the information appliance 1702. A communication
channel is then established between Joe's SIP user agent 1708 and Ann's
SIP user agent 1704.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, it is also
possible
for communication from one SIP user agent to another SIP user agent to be applied
to a device that does not have a SIP user agent. In arranging for the recording
of multimedia content on different information appliances, it is conceivable that
relatively simple devices (e.g., televisions, stereos, etc.), which do not have
SIP user agents, would be the designated device by the user for recording the desired
multimedia content. In accordance with the present invention, devices which do
not have SIP user agents can be connected to devices that do have SIP user agents
(e.g., set top boxes) and communication can occur between the SIP user agent of
the set top and the SIP user agent 146 of the scheduled hyperlink server
138 for arranging viewing of content on the device. As long as at least
one appliance in a particular environment has a SIP user agent, and the appliances
are networked together via a Local Area Network (LAN) or other similar arrangement,
then the device without the SIP user agent can be controlled by the device with
the SIP user agent.
FIGS. 21-23 illustrate an exemplary Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) network that includes
a SIP-enabled set top box in accordance with the present invention. An environment
2114, includes one or more devices 2118 which are connected to a
set top box 2116. The set top box 2116 is connected to an amplifier
2110 via a coax cable 2112. The amplifier 2110 amplifies the
signals transmitted to and from the set top box 2116. The amplifier 2110,
in turn, is connected via coax cable 2108 to a fiber optic node 2106.
The fiber optic node 2108 is connected by fiber to a cable headend 2102.
The cable headend 2102 is the originating point of a signal in the cable
television system. The cable headend 2102 may receive transmissions from
analog television 2120, digital television 2130, PSTN 2140
and the IP network 2150. In other words, scheduled content is transmitted
from the cable headend 2102 to the set top box 2116 to be recorded
for later viewing.
FIG. 22 is a more detailed block diagram of cable headend 2102. The cable
headend 2102 includes a firewall 2202 that acts as a filter to the
IP network 2150 and determines what communications can be received by the
set top box 2116 and other devices that are connected to the headend 2102.
The firewall 2202 includes a number of proxy servers including an HTTP proxy
server 2204, SIP proxy server 2206 and a media proxy server 2208.
The HTTP proxy server determines which web pages may be transmitted via the cable
headend 2102. The SIP proxy server 2206 is used to establish communication
with SIP user agents connected to the cable headend 2102. The media proxy
server 2208 determines which content providers can transmit content via
the cable headend 2102.
Also included in the cable headend 2102 is a Cable Modem Termination
System (CMTS) 2212. CMTS 2212 is an element of Data Over Cable Service
Interface Specification (DOCSIS) that has been developed for high-speed data transfer
over cable television systems. CMTS 2212 comprises CMTS-DRFI (CMTS-Downstream
RF Interface), CMTS-NSI (CMTS-Network Side Interface) and CMTS-URFI (CMTS-Upstream
RF Interface) in order to provide two-way communications. An operation support
system 2210 and security and access controller 2214 are also included
in the cable headend 2102 to provide additional provisioning capabilities.
FIG. 23 is a more detailed block diagram of set top box 2116. Included
in the set top box 2116 is a SIP user agent 2306 for communication
with the scheduled hyperlink server 138 as well as other devices. An HTTP
server 2304 allows the set top box 2116 to request and retrieve URLs
from the Internet. The set top box 2116 includes a number of interfaces
2310, 2312, 2314, 2316 and 2318 that can be
used to connect to other devices 2320, 2330, 2340, 2350,
2360. A more detailed description of set top box technology is disclosed
in "OpenCable Architecture", by Michael Adams, CiscoPress, 1999 which is incorporated
by reference in its entirety. As indicated above, SIP messages can be used to communicate
between two or more SIP user agents. In accordance with the present invention,
SIP is enhanced by using the protocol to transport Simple Object Access Protocol
(SOAP) messages in order to invoke activity on SIP-enabled devices. Details pertaining
to SOAP, in particular SOAP specification 1.1, are located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/general/SOAPspec.asp
which is incorporated by reference. SOAP message have the general form as follows:
| |
<SOAP:Header> |
| |
. . . |
| |
</SOAP:Header> |
| |
<SOAP:Body> |
| |
. . . |
| |
</SOAP:Body> |
As indicated above, in accordance with the present invention SIP is enhanced
by
using SOAP messages. The SIP messages take the following listing. The message includes
the SIP URL of the sender and recipient. It also specifies the type of the content
(viz. text/xml-SOAP).
| |
|
| |
APPLICATION sip:livingroomstb@att.com SIP/2.0 |
| |
Via: --- |
| |
From: Ann <sip:ann@att.com> |
| |
To: Device <sip:livingroomstb@att.com> |
| |
Call-ID: --- |
| |
CSeq: 1 APPLICATION |
| |
Content-Type: text/xml-SOAP |
| |
Content-Length: --- |
The SIP-enhanced SOAP messages are communicated between SIP user agents in order
to have the various devices and servers perform functions necessary to the implementation
of the present invention. Such functions include the ability to identify content
stored on various devices, storage availability on those devices, initiate the
recording of content on a designated device, and retrieval of the content from
the content providers servers.
EXAMPLE #1
An example of how a scheduled hyperlink can be used to record scheduled multimedia
content on a designated information appliance will now be described with reference
to FIGS. 1-8. A user that desires to record scheduled multimedia content (e.g.,
a television program) retrieves a web page from web server 134 by inputting
the appropriate URL corresponding to the web page address for a particular broadcaster
(e.g., www.channel50.com). The web page is displayed on the user's information
appliance 106. An example of a web page is illustrated in FIG. 3. Included
on the web page is identification of the content provider or broadcaster 320,
the date 325 for which the multimedia content is scheduled to be broadcast,
the content (e.g., program name) 302, 304, 306, 308
and the times 330, 332, 334, 336 at which it is to
be broadcast.
In accordance with the present invention, the program name 302, 304,
306, 308 is a scheduled hyperlink that can be selected by user. In
the present example, it is assumed that the user selects the program "Raiders of
the Lost Ark" as the content that is to be recorded. The scheduled hyperlink refers
to a scheduled hyperlink file that is stored on a scheduled hyperlink server 138.
The URL for the scheduled hyperlink uses the following format: http://www.server1.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch,
where .sch represents a new type of hyperlink. The scheduled hyperlink identifies
both a scheduled hyperlink server 138 (viz. http://www.server1.com) and
a scheduled hyperlink file (viz. raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch).
The scheduled hyperlink file is, for example, an XML file as shown in the following
example. The <name> tag defines the title of the content. Several options
for receiving this content are delimited by <option> tags. The first
option is television media. The <channel>, <date>, <time>,
and <duration> values specify how to receive this television program.
The second option is radio media. The <frequency>, <date>,
<time> and <duration> values specify how to receive this radio
program. The third option is streaming media. The <url> value specifies
how to receive this Internet content. An alternative is also provided. The <url>
value provides a scheduled hyperlink to the desired content. That scheduled hyperlink
may contain multiple options and alternatives of both formats and locations for
retrieving that content.
| |
|
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<scheduled-hyperlink> |
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<name> Raiders of the Lost Ark</name> |
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<type>television</type> |
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<channel>50</channel> |
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<date>02-26-01</date> |
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<time>21:00 EST</time> |
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<duration>2 hours</duration> |
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<type>radio</type> |
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<frequency>1010</frequency> |
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<date>03-10-01</date> |
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<time>20:00 EST</time> |
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<duration>2 hours</duration> |
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<type>internet</type> |
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<url>http://www.streamingserver.com/raiders.sdp</url> |
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<url>.http://www.server1.com/temple-of-doom.sch</url> |
The scheduled hyperlink file may also contain reference to other scheduled hyperlink
files having the following format:
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<url>http://www.movies.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark.sch</url> |
This referencing capability allows a content provider to host both the content
and the scheduled hyperlink file on their web site.
Referring back to the present example, once the user has selected the content
to be recorded, a web page is presented to the user (FIG. 4), which provides the
user with a listing of the environments in which the scheduled multimedia content
can be recorded and viewed. The web page provides a listing of the selected content
402 and a list of the environments 404, 406, 408, 410,
412 in which the content can be stored and viewed. The environments associated
with a particular user are identified by querying data stored in a user directory
server 132 and an environment directory server 136.
The user directory server 132 contains information about each user that
is necessary to provide the user with, among other things, the ability to record
and view multimedia content on a particular information appliance. Included in
the user directory server 132 are tables that contain information such as,
but not limited to, the user's name, address, telephone number(s), email address,
and preference information. Also included in the user directory server 132
is a list of the environments in which the user has access. Each environment is
identified by a URL (e.g., http://www.airline.com/environments/4589732). Included
in the URL is an identification (ID) that is unique to that environment (i.e.,
4589732). It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that access to a particular
information appliance may be temporary (e.g., an appliance on an airplane) or permanent
(e.g., a home set top box). Accordingly, a table (FIG. 9) contained within the
user directory server 132 lists the environments 904 accessible by
the user 902 and whether the environment is transient 906. If the
environment is transient, an expiration time and date 908 is provided.
The user selects an environment (e.g., home which is listed as URL http://www.isp.com/environments/6541973)
by clicking on hyperlink 404 (FIG. 4) and another web page is presented
to the user (FIG. 5) that provides a listing of the devices located in that environment.
Information pertaining to devices located in a particular environment is stored
in the environment directory server 136. A table (FIG. 10) contains a list
of environment IDs 1002 and the corresponding location 1004 of each
environment (e.g., home). Another table (FIG. 11) identifies the particular devices
1104 associated with a given environment ID 1102, the URL 1106
for the particular device (e.g., sip:livingroomstb@6541973isp.com), and the group
ID 1108 assigned to the device.
The group ID 1108 corresponds to a table (FIG. 12), which provides a list
of the users 1204 which may access the device and the permissions 1206
associated with each user. For example, the user Joe O'Neil has the ability to
configure, delete, list, record and view any content on the devices to which he
can access. However, the user Jennifer Casto may only view the content stored on
these devices. It is to be understood that while the present example shows the
data in the environment directory server 136 as separate tables, that the
data may be stored in a single table or a different combination of tables without
departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, SIP-enhanced SOAP messages may be communicated
between the scheduled hyperlink server 138 and the environment directory
server 136 to list, add or delete permissions for a given user. It is to
be understood by those skilled in the art, that each SOAP message described below
would include an appropriate SIP header as described in detail above.
The following message may be used to request a list of permissions available
to users of a particular environment::
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<m:ListPermissions> |
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</m:ListPermissions> |
The environment directory server 136 would return the following response:
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<ListPermissionsResponse> |
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<name>Default</name> |
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<rights>None</rights> |
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</permission> |
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<permission> |
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<name>Joe O'Neil</name> |
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<rights>Record</rights> |
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</permission> |
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<permission> |
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<name>John Casto</name> |
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<rights>Record, List, View, Delete</rights> |
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</permission> |
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<permission> |
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<name>Jennifer Casto</name> |
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<rights>View</rights> |
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</ListPermissionsResponse> |
The following message can be used to request that permission levels be added
for a particular user:
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<name>Jennifer Casto</name> |
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<rights>View</rights> |
The environment user directory 136 would respond with the following message:
| |
<SOAP:Body> |
| |
<AddPermissionsResponse> |
| |
</AddPermissionsResponse> |
The following message can be used to delete permission levels for a particular user:
| |
<name>Jennifer Casto</name> |
| |
<rights>View</rights> |
The environment directory server 136 would respond with the following message:
| |
<SOAP:Body> |
| |
<DeletePermissionsResponse> |
| |
</DeletePermissionsResponse> |
In the present example (FIG. 5), the devices available for storing the multimedia
content (i.e., the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark) are the living room set top box
504, the den set top box 506 and the family room set top box 508.
Also listed with each device are the number of total storage hours 510 associated
with each device and the number of available storage hours 512 available
for recording content. Each device listing 504, 506, 508 is
a hyperlink which can be selected by the user. In the present example, the user
selects the living room set top box hyperlink 504. As a result, another
web page is retrieved (FIG. 6) which provides additional data about that particular device.
The web page 600 provides a high level summary 602 of the storage
capacity and availability of the living room set top box. Also provided is a more
detailed listing 604 of the multimedia content which has been stored, is
scheduled for recording, or is being recorded. In the present example, the living
room set top box is capable of storing 10 hours of multimedia content and 9 hours
has been scheduled for use. Since the movie (i.e., Raiders of the Lost Ark) requires
2 hours of storage time and only 1 hour is available, the user must either delete
some of the content on the living room set top box or record the movie on a different
information appliance. To delete particular content, the user places an "x" in
the box associated with the particular content.
Hyperlinks 606, 608, 610, 612, 614
are presented on the web page 600 in order to allow the user to perform
other content management capabilities. An environments hyperlink 606 allows
the user to view other environments that the user has access to and in which he
may record content. A devices hyperlink 608 allows the user to view the
devices on which the user can record content as well as the content which may already
be stored on the device or which is scheduled to be stored on that particular device.
A record hyperlink 610 allows the user to schedule recording of the content
on the device. A configure hyperlink 612 allows the user to assign, configure,
delete, list, record, and view permissions for individual and groups. An email
hyperlink 614 allows the user to email the scheduled content information
to another user so that that user can record the content on a device of his or
her choosing.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the user decides to delete content (i.e., the movie
Gone With the Wind) from the memory of the living room set top box by placing an
"x" in the delete box 705 associated with that particular movie. By doing
so, the living room set top box now has 4 hours of storage time available and the
movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" can now be easily recorded on this device.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the web page 600 is updated to reflect the change in
the programming of the living room set top box. As a result of scheduling the recording
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" instead of "Gone with the Wind", there are now 2 hours
of storage time available on the living room set top box. At the appropriate time,
the movie is recorded on the living room set top box and can be viewed at the user's discretion.
MESSAGE SEQUENCE
The messaging sequence between the user's web browser and the various servers
needed to implement the present invention will now be described. Referring specifically
to FIGS. 13-15, a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request message is communicated
from the web browser (i.e., information appliance 106) to the content provider
web server 134 which requests a web page listing of available content from
that provider (message 1301). HTTP is a well-known protocol used to retrieve
documents from web servers over the Internet. An HTTP response message is communicated
from the content provider web server 134 to the user's web browser that
includes a web page which lists the available content (message 1302). Next,
an HTTP request
