EP0649121A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Digital information accessing, delivery, and reproduction
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1994-10-17
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-10-17
Abstract
Abstract A digital data on-demand turnkey system at a customer premise wherein N number of servers provide for 100% of content distribution of remotely stored digitized information, which information may be previewed in real-time, and product incorporating selected digitized information can be manufactured on-site and within a short response time to a customer's request at a point of sale location. In a retail environment customers, at a point-of-sale location are able to exhaustively search and preview the content database using graphics-based touch screens at consumer kiosks. Previews including audio and video segments are made available. Prompting screens allow customers to make purchasing decisions by stipulating content which is available from any number of categories of subject matter including music. Content can be identified by album, artist or partial portions of material within the content of the totality of the work. The selected media for the manufacture and production of the digital data may be from a myriad of different selections and can include CD's, cassette tapes, CD ROM technology, reel-to-reel tapes, and video disks, as an example. Since the system is adaptable to having an unlimited number of servers, strategic and economic networking is accomplished to allocate proportionally the preview material as well as the total content of a specific work at the respective servers depending, in particular, on the popularity of the content and the costs of transmission. A master server will be situated geographically so as to be accessible to chain and network subservers. Its geographic and networked location is dependent upon communication network systems and subsystem costs and availability in order to best serve a customer's premise, whether it be a retail store or similar point-of-sale or other end-user location. The strategy of allocating the content between the servers, preview and for the final manufacturing process for a particular work, is done so as to eliminate the need for any in-store inventory of, for example, an artist's composition regardless of format. Security mechanisms that require centralized database authorizations prior to the transmission of content and/or the manufacture of any of the products is provided in addition. The systems provides simplified financial and accounting services. The total authorization, accounting and management reporting and marketing system collects and maintains data useful to the retailer and the content data owners or managers, such as label companies.
Inventors
- 👤 James T. Tsevdos
- 👤 Ross L. Cook
- 👤 Nancy Lee Ring
- 👤 Robert S. Barnhill
- 👤 Glen E. Hamblin
- 👤 Kenneth L. Milstead
- 👤 Craig N. Kindell
- 👤 Susan Elizabeth Waefler
- 👤 Carlos Portela
- 👤 Brent C. Anderson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 14:19
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B27/00; G11B27/10; G11B27/34; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/06; G06Q30/0601; G06Q30/0641; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/08; G06Q20/12; G06Q20/123; G06Q20/20; G06Q20/209; G06Q30/0621; G07; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/0014; G07F17/16; G07F9/00; G07F9/02; G07F9/023; G07F9/0235; G11B27/002; G11B27/02; G11B27/031; G11B2220/00; G11B2220/20; G11B2220/21; G11B2220/215; G11B2220/218; G11B2220/25; G11B2220/2537; G11B2220/2545; G11B2220/40; G11B2220/41; G11B2220/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
167 words
A method for accessing digital information stored in a source library at a first location and recording a portion of the digital information, which information is processed for subsequent playback, onto a recordable medium at a location other than the first location, the method including the steps of: identifying, at a second location remote from the first location, a portion of the digital information in the source library; sending a request from the second location to the source library for the identified portion of the digital information in the source library to be transferred from the source library; validating that the identified portion of the digital information is authorised for playback; transferring in real-time information within the identified portion of the digital information to a manufacturing device at a location other than the first location for incorporation of the digital information on a medium suitable for playback; and incorporating the identified portion of the digital information on the medium in real-time in a manner suitable for playback.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 1, including logging the validation step of the identified portion of the digital information in an accounting database.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein information transferred from the source library is first transferred to the second location and then information is selected from said transferred information for transferring onwards to the manufacturing device for incorporation on a medium suitable for playback.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 3, including logging the selection step in an accounting database.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
26 words
A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manufacturing device to which the information is transferred is located at said second location.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
49 words
A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step of transferring in real-time information within the identified portion of the digital information, transfers the identified portion of the digital information to the manufacturing device at a third location remotely disposed from the first location.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
37 words
A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of transferring in real-time information within the identified portion of the digital information transfers the digital information at a high speed constant bit rate.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to Claim 5, wherein the step of transferring in real-time the identified portion of the digital information transfers the digital information at a high speed constant bit rate in asynchronous transfer mode.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein the step of transferring in real-time the identified portion of the digital information transfers the digital information at a high speed constant bit rate which exceeds 44.7 megabits per second.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
84 words
A method according to any one of the preceding claims, where the digital information is stored in a source library at a first location as encrypted and compressed digital information, the method further comprising the step of decrypting and decompressing the selected portion of the digital information, and wherein the step of providing the manufacturing device with the selected portion of the digital information for incorporation of the digital information on the medium provides the decrypted and decompressed selected portion of the digital information.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
22 words
A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein audio and video digital information is stored in the source library.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
286 words
A method of allocating for storage 100 percentage of content data amongst a plurality of data servers remotely disposed to each other and connected in hierarchal levels having a low and high end and in data communication with a data accessing station also remotely disposed from each of the plurality of data servers, but less so disposed from the data server at the low end of the hierarchy than from each succeeding data server at the next succeeding higher level of the hierarchy through and to the data server at the high end of the hierarchy of data servers, comprising the steps of: allocating for storage X percentage of the content data at the data server at the low end of the hierarchy least remote from the data accessing station which X percentage of allocated content data is a function of content data for most frequent accessing by the data accessing station; allocating for storage Y percentage, where Y is < 100 and > X, of the content data at the data server at the high end of the hierarchy of data servers most remote from the data accessing station as a function of content data for least frequent accessing by the data accessing station; and allocating for storage 100-X-Y percentage, of content data between any other data servers disposed between the low end and the high end data servers, allocating for each succeeding data server more remote from the data accessing station a greater percentage of content data for storage than an allocation for any data server less remotely disposed from the data accessing station and a lesser percentage of content data than the next succeeding server more remotely disposed from the data accessing station.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
158 words
A method according to claim 1, including: storing digital audio information and digital video information in a source library at a first location, which audio information when originally recorded was for playback at X rate and which video information when originally recorded was for playback at Y rate; following the steps of validating that the identified portion of the information is authorized for playback, transferring the identified portion of the digital information at a communication rate appropriate for real-time playback at the second location; providing the manufacturing device with information within the identified portion of the digital information at a communication rate appropriate for direct incorporation of the digital information on the medium for playback of the digital information at X rate for audio information and at Y rate for video information; and incorporating the selected portion of the digital information on the medium in a manner for playback of audio and video information at the recorded rate.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
175 words
A data communication system for transmitting digital data between remotely located system stations where each station is adapted to participate in a process of storing, accounting for and manufacturing media with digitized content data packaged for playback, comprising: a point of access station for identifying selected digitized content data and for generating a communication requesting said content data; a content data storage station having digitized content data remotely disposed from the point of access station; an accounting station for recording transactional data for each customer point of access station communication requesting digitized content data from the content data storage station; a manufacturing station remotely disposed from said content data storage station for generating media incorporating the digitized content data requested by the point of access station from the content data storage station; and a communication network for interconnecting the remotely disposed content data storage station with the point of access station, the accounting station and the manufacturing station to transfer digitized content data in real-time between the content data storage station and the manufacturing station.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
A data communications system according to claim 14, wherein the communication network for interconnecting the system stations transfers the digitized content data at a high speed constant bit rate from the content data storage station to the manufacturing station.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
194 words
A data communications system according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the content data storage station includes: a master server system station for performing a plurality of server functions, including a first master unit interconnecting a plurality of master units and managing data communications within the master server system and between the master server system station and remotely located system stations, a second master unit for routing data request messages, a third master unit remotely disposed from the point of access station for serving content data stored for fulfilling content data requests made by a consumer at the customer point of access, a fourth master unit for storing customer demographic information for promoting consumer interest in content data and a fifth master unit for managing accounting data as a function of consumer transactions involving consumer requests for content data; said manufacturing station being remotely disposed from the third master unit; and said communication network interconnecting the master server system's first master unit with the point of access station and the manufacturing station to transfer in real-time digitized content data between the third master unit for serving stored content data and the manufacturing station.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
180 words
A multimedia preview station including an audio system, a touchscreen monitor and a controller for individually presenting a plurality of screens on the monitor for touch control by a consumer to present to the consumer, consumer identified and requested screen presentations, comprising; a library screen identifying a plurality of categories of content data for screen presentation on the monitor including a touch point for activating the presentation of a category; an alphabetical listing screen identifying content data for presentation by alphabetical listing of the category subject matter of the library screen including a touch point for activation by the consumer; a search screen including monitor touch points for identifying a consumer request either alphabetically or numerically; a preview screen including monitor touch points for previewing consumer identified audio and video listed content data transferred to the preview screen in real-time and monitor touch points for selecting for purchase listed content data; and a purchase selection screen including purchase selections made by the consumer, listed by item selected, quantity, format and price, including monitor touch points for altering the item selection.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
156 words
An accounting system including a touchscreen monitor and a controller for individually presenting a plurality of screens on the monitor for touch control by an operator to present to the operator, accounting worktools for analysis of remotely stored digitized data of consumer purchases as a function of sales operation, quantity, monetary amount, purchase format, purchase subject matter and consumer demographics, comprising: a report screeen identifying a plurality of analysis reports for screen presentation on the monitor including a touchpoint for activating the presentation of an analysis report as a function of consumer sales, consumer demographics, sales unit, and sales group; a digitized data storage unit remotely disposed from the report screen for transferring at a high speed constant bit rate the digitized data corresponding to a touchpoint activated analysis report on the report screen of the touchscreen monitor; and an analysis report screen presenting in quantified format the remotely stored digital data corresponding to consumer purchases.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
183 words
A manufacturing system for manufacturing media with digital data content including a plurality of data servers storing digital data content remotely disposed to each other and connected in hierarchal levels comprising: top level servers each storing a high percentage of the stored digital data content; intermediate level servers each storing a lesser percentage of stored digital data content than the top level servers; a high level communication network for interconnecting the top level servers and the intermediate level servers and for transferring digital data content between the top level servers and the intermediate level servers in asynchronous transfer mode; end site servers each storing a lesser percentage of stored digital data content than the intermediate level servers; a low level communication network for interconnecting the intermediate level servers and the end site servers and for transferring digital data content between the intermediate level servers and the end site servers in asynchronous transfer mode; and a manufacturing device interconnected to one of the end site servers for receiving in asynchronous transfer mode digital data content for manufacturing media with the received digital data content.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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