 |
Claims  |
|
|
What I claim is:
1. A method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over a network, comprising:
(a) converting analog video and/or audio data into digital data;
(b) crippling the video and/or audio files on the storage medium, whereupon
the files are rendered unusable without an uncrippling trigger;
(c) storing the digital data representing the video and/or audio on a
storage medium for use by an end user's computer means;
(d) storing uncrippling trigger data comprising selected information at a
host computer means which is independent of platform for use in
uncrippling the data files on the storage medium;
(e) transmitting the uncrippling trigger data from the host computer means
through a network to the end-user's computer means with which the storage
medium having the crippled data files thereon is associated;
(f) receiving the uncrippling trigger data at the end-user's computer means
in the volatile RAM of the end-user's computer means; and
(g) substantially instantly uncrippling the crippled data files on the
storage medium by means of combining in RAM the uncrippling trigger data
sent by the host computer means in said step (e) with the crippled data on
the storage medium; and
step (g) being carried out immediately after said step (f), and,
immediately after said step (g), playing the video and/or audio on a
player means;
said step (f) comprising:
1) directing the incoming uncrippling trigger data to RAM for temporary
storage therein;
2) combining in RAM said uncrippling trigger data with said crippled video
and/or audio files; and
3) said step (g) being performed while said uncrippling data is in said RAM
for immediate playback of said video and/or audio files on said storage
medium.
2. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
1, wherein said step (f) comprises catching the uncrippling trigger data
for the crippled data files, and directing the encoded trigger data to a
specific cache directory of the end-user computer means.
3. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
1, wherein said step (c) comprises removing the header data from the
video/audio files; said step (d) comprising storing the header data
representing the header data removed from the video/audio files in said
step (c).
4. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
1, said step of playing comprising converting the digital binary data back
into analogue.
5. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
1, wherein said storage medium comprises memory means for representing the
necessary information for automatically and directly connecting via the
Internet the end-user's computer, with which the storage medium is
associated, to a host computer which stores the uncrippling trigger data
for the video/audio files on the storage medium.
6. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
1, further comprising:
(h) allowing, by server-permission only, the end-user the ability to store
said trigger on non-volatile media for permanent ownership of said data.
7. A method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio data over the Internet, comprising:
(a) storing uncrippling trigger data which is independent of platform at a
host computer for use in uncrippling video/audio files on a storage
medium;
(b) transmitting the uncrippling trigger data from the host computer
through the Internet to the end-user's computer with which the storage
medium having the crippled files thereon is associated;
(c) receiving the uncrippling trigger data at the end-user's computer over
the Internet;
(d) immediately after said step (c), uncrippling the crippled data files on
the storage medium by means of the uncrippling trigger data sent by the
host computer in said step (b);
(e) immediately after said step (d), playing the video and/or audio on a
player;
said step (c) comprising directing the incoming uncrippling trigger data to
volatile RAM for temporary storage therein, combining in RAM said trigger
data with said crippled file, and preventing the copying thereof to
nonvolatile memory; said step (d) being performed while said uncrippling
data is in said volatile RAM for immediate playback of said video and/or
audio files by said step (e).
8. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio data over the Internet, according to
claim 7, wherein said step (c) comprises catching the uncrippling trigger
data for the crippled data files and retrieving the data to a specific
cache-directory location of the end-user computer from the remote server
into the end-user's RAM for immediate playback by said step (e).
9. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio data over the Internet, according to
claim 7, wherein before said step (a), removing the header data from the
video/audio files; said step (d) comprising restoring the header data
representing the header data removed from the video/audio files.
10. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio data over the Internet, according to
claim 7, wherein said steps (c) and (d) are carried out substantially
simultaneously so that said step (e) plays back the video and/or audio
data substantially immediately after said step (d).
11. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
7, wherein said storage medium comprises memory means for representing the
necessary information for automatically and directly connecting via the
Internet the end-user's computer, said method further comprising before
said step (a), automatically and directly connecting the end user's
computer to the host computer which has stored thereat the uncrippling
trigger data for the video/audio files on the storage medium by means of
the memory means of the storage medium for representing the necessary
information for automatically and directly connecting via the Internet.
12. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
7, wherein said step (a) comprises storing at least one of the following:
Video/audio header data; data for removing the hidden-status flag for the
video/audio data files on the storage medium; data for unzipping the
zipped data files of the video/audio data files on storage medium; data
for changing the extension of the video/audio data files.
13. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
7, wherein said storage medium comprises at least one of: CD-ROM, floppy
disk, and hard drive.
14. The method of transmitting data invoking a crippled file on a storage
medium containing video and/or audio over the Internet, according to claim
8, further comprising permanently storing the incoming uncrippling trigger
data in ROM of the end-user's computer, for repeatedly uncrippling the
crippled file when the playing thereof is required.
15. In a storage device, for use with a computer, which storage device
comprises memory means for storing digital data thereon, the improvement
comprising:
said memory means comprising crippled data files representative of video
and/or audio;
an end-user's computer for use in playing back the crippled data files on
the storage device;
a host computer having a memory means for storing uncrippling data
comprising selected data thereon for said crippled data files on said
storage device;
a network system which is independent of platform system for linking said
end-user's computer with said host computer, whereupon said host
computer's sending said uncrippling data stored in said memory means
thereof to said end-user's computer, said crippled data files on said
storage device, associated with said end-user's computer is uncrippled in
the RAM of the end-users's computer and rendered playable;
volatile memory means for receiving said uncrippling triggering data; means
for immediately joining said uncrippling triggering data and said data
files of said storage device in said RAM, for immediate playback of said
data files;
said end-user's computer further comprising player means for playing back
the uncrippled data files;
said means for immediately joining said uncrippling triggering data and
said data files of said storage device, for immediate playback of said
data files comprising means for preventing the copying of said uncrippling
triggering data sent from said host computer to nonvolatile memory.
16. The storage device for use with a computer according to claim 15, said
wherein said storage device comprises CD-ROM means. |
|
 |
|
 |
Claims |
|
|
|
Description |
|
|
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which
is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection
to facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent
disclosure, as it appears in the Patent & Trademark Office patent file or
records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Reference is had to a Microfiche appendix containing a total of one
Microfiche and a total of 44 frames, listing computer programs referred to
in the specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of transmitting "triggering
data" over a network to cause video and/or audio information data on a
CD-ROM at an end-user's computer to be made readable. In addition, the
CD-ROM comprises program files for automatically dialing and connecting
the end-user's computer to a targeted host's server using an operating
system such as "Windows 95". The CD-ROM will only allow the end-user
access to the video/and or audio on it by logging onto the host's server
via a network such as the Internet.
The Internet is a conglomeration of computer networks that are linked
together. Each network of the Internet may have one or more servers, and
an operating system that may be different from that of others in the
Internet. To link one network to another, and in order to overcome these
operating differences between computer networks, the Internet system
utilizes hardware and software devices called: bridges, routers, and
gateways, all of which adapt the information being sent on one network to
the operating and protocol requirements of the receiving network. For
example, a gateway will connect, or "splice" a network operating on the
Novell protocol to a network that operates on a DECnet or SNA protocol.
There are currently more than 10,000 computer networks that are linked
together, worldwide, which together constitute the "Internet". Because
they do not all operate on the same operating system, and because of
different protocols, the data sent from one host computer of one network
to a receiving computer of another network--which may be many thousands of
miles away from the host computer--may take a relatively long time, since
the gateways, bridges and routers must conform or adapt the protocol of
the sending host computer to the receiving computer's protocol.
In addition to the time-delays associated with protocol variances, the
Internet when connecting to an end-user via Plain Old Telephone Service
(POTS), has a maximum data-transmission capacity of 3.6 kbytes per second,
which is not enough for sending video images in real time.
The Internet system utilizes two types of file-transfer protocols (FTP) for
copying a file from a host computer to the receiving computer: ASCII and
binary. An ASCII file is a text file, while every other kind of file is
binary. ASCII files are transmitted in seven-digit ASCII codes, while the
binary files are transmitted in binary code. Because all data stored in
computer memory is stored in binary format, when one sends a file in the
Internet, it is sent in binary format. However, as discussed above, owing
to the data-transmission constraints imposed by the Internet system
because of the differing operating systems, and a multitude of gateways,
routers, and bridges, the file data must be sent out in packets of a size
no greater than 1536 bytes. Since the size of just a thirty-second video
may be as great as 2.5 megabytes, it may take up to one-half hour or more
to send a thirty-second video over the Internet from a host computer to a
receiving computer. Presently, there are compression techniques that
compress the files in order to reduce this playback-time, which data is
decompressed at the receiving computer. An example of such a system is
VDOLive, manufactured by VDOnet Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif. However,
these compression-systems still send the data in binary format, requiring
packet-data sizes of no greater than 1536 bytes. Thus, even with these
compression-systems, the length of time to receive a thirty-second video
over the Internet after being buffered in the user's computer is near real
time, but is unstable, choppy and drops as much as 96% of the video data
over a conventional phone line.
In the Internet, there is an electronic-mail delivery system called E-mail.
The E-mail system utilizes addresses to direct a message to the recipient,
with each address having a mailbox code and a daemon, with the mail box
and daemon being separated by the symbol @. In the E-mail delivery system,
all of the messages or "mail" are routed through selected routers and
gateways, until it reaches what may be called a "post office" that
services the recipient to whom the electronic mail is to be delivered. The
"post office" is a local server. The need for these local "post offices"
is because there is every reason to assume that the recipient-computer, to
which the mail is being sent, is either not powered up, or is performing a
different task. Since most computers in the Internet are not multi-tasking
machines, such as, for example, computers running on the DOS operating
system, if such a computer be engaged in performing a task, it is not
possible for it to receive the E-mail data at that time. Thus, the local
"post office" or server stores the message until such a time as it may be
delivered to the end-user to whom it is intended.
In the E-mail system, there has really been only one format standard for
Internet messages. A variation has been the MIME version, which stands for
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, which defines a new header-field,
which is intended for use to send non-text messages, such as multimedia
messages that might include audio or images, by encoding the binary into
seven-digit ASCII code. Before MIME, the limitation of E-mail systems was
the fact that it would limit the contents of electronic mail messages to
relatively short lines of seven-bit ASCII. This has forced users to
convert any non-textual data that they may wish to send into seven-bit
bytes representable as printable ASCII characters before invoking a local
mail UA (User Agent, a program with which human users send and receive
mail). Examples of such encodings currently used in the Internet include
pure hexadecimal, uuencoded, the 3-in-4 base 64 scheme specified in RFC
1421, the Andrew Toolkit Representation ›ATK!, and many others. Even
though a user's UA may not have the capability of dealing with the
non-textual body part, the user might have some mechanism external to the
UA that can extract useful information from the body part. Moreover, it
does not allow for the fact that the message may eventually be gatewayed
back into an X.400 message handling system (i.e., the X.400 message is
"tunneled" through Internet mail), where the non-textual information would
definitely become useful again. With MIME, video and/or audio data may be
sent using the E-mail system. MIME uses a number of header-fields, such as
"Content-Type" header field, which can be used to specify the type and
subtype of data in the body of a message and to fully specify the native
representation (encoding) of such data; "text" Content-Type value header
field, which an be used to represent textual information in a number of
character sets and formatted text description languages in a standardized
manner; "multi-part" Content-Type value, which can be used to combine
several body parts, possibly of differing types of data, into a single
message; "application" Content-Type value, which an be used to transmit
application data or binary data, and hence, among other users, to
implement an electronic mail file transfer service; "message" Content-Type
value, for encapsulating another mail message; "image" Content-Type value,
for transmitting still image (picture) data; "audio" Content-Type value,
for transmitting audio or voice data; "video" Content-Type value, for
transmitting video or moving image data, possibly with audio as part of
the composite video data format; "Content-Transfer-Encoding" header field,
which can be used to specify an auxiliary encoding that was applied to the
data in order to allow it to pass through mail transport mechanisms which
may have data or character set limitations. Two additional header fields
may be used to further describe the data in a message body: The
"Content-ID" and "Content Description" header fields.
However, there are considerable drawbacks and deficiencies in transmitting
video images and/or audio data over the Internet using E-mail's MIME.
Firstly, there is often considerable time delays, such that it may take up
to ten or more minutes to send a thirty-second video clip over the E-mail
system. In times of high-traffic usage, the delay may even be more than
ten minutes. Secondly, the video image or audio data cannot be viewed or
listened to by the end-user, or recipient, until all of the data of the
entire video or audio file has been received by the receiving computer,
which, also, adds a considerable time lag to the actual viewing or
listening. Thirdly, the end-user or recipient computer must have the
necessary E-mail and MIME software for decoding the data. Fourthly, since
MIME is an E-mail protocol system, the data is transmitted via the E-mail
system, meaning that it is routed through one or more post offices and
servers, which delay the transmission of the data, and which require that
no other task be performed by the receiving computer if it is a
single-tasking machine, like DOS-operating system machines. Fifthly, like
all E-mail deliveries, the requisite E-mail software at the recipient
computer must decode the encoded data received, and then cut-and-paste the
data into a new file, such as NOTEPAD, which is time-consuming, before the
new file is played back by a viewer or player.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary objective of the present invention to separate keys and
data by providing a CD-ROM having its informational data of video and/or
audio that is crippled, which data may only be read after it has been
"uncrippled" by receiving "uncrippling" triggering data over the Internet
from a server of a host system, so that a company's host computer serving
the Internet may transmit the "uncrippling" data over the Internet to an
end-user's receiving computer in order to uncripple and, thereby, actuate
the CD-ROM, so that the data thereon may be read by the end-user's
receiving computer only in volatile memory such as RAM.
It is another objective of the present invention to enable server control
of the local media data by providing such a "crippled" CD-ROM with video
and/or audio data thereon, whereby content by a company on the Internet
may be better controlled, and whereby in conjunction with the content,
video and/or audio playback may be combined with any updated, textual
information, such as current price of a product or products, location of a
store or stores in the vicinity of the end-user's residence, etc. Specific
tracks on the CD-ROM can thereby be controlled by the remote server.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide such a
"crippled" CD-ROM with video and/or audio data thereon, whereby the CD-ROM
is inherently provided with Internet start-up and connecting program that
automatically and directly connects the end-user's computer to the
company's or content provider's host server via the Internet, whereby, not
only does such facilitate and encourage the connection of the end-user to
the content provider's web page, but also provides the content provider
with valuable marketing information, such as the physical location of the
caller, whereby selected information unique to that caller may be
downloaded to him over the Internet, such as name and addresses of stores
of the company or advertiser nearest to the caller, etc.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide such video
imaging, with or without audio, such that the use of the E-mail system or
the Internet system itself is entirely obviated.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide such video
imaging, with or without audio, such that the data representing the video
and/or audio is accessed off the end-user's CD-ROM, with the transmitted
de-crippling triggering data from the content provider's host server (URL)
being a trigger as small as a few bytes.
It is another objective of the present invention to allow by server
permission only, the end-user the ability to store said trigger on
non-volatile media for permanent ownerships of said data.
It is also an objective of the invention to provide a software program in
the end-user computer called a "catcher" for catching the trigger data
such as the file header, decoding it, and playing the file header data
substantially "on the fly", so that the video and/or audio data on the
CD-ROM may be played back on the end-user's computer substantially
immediately after having received the trigger data.
Toward these and other ends, the method of the invention for transmitting
the de-crippling triggering data for video and/or audio off a CD-ROM
("HyperCD") over the Internet consists of encoding the data representing
critical information of the file keys such as the header of the
video/audio files on the CD-ROM, and transmitting that encoded key to the
local server of the local web of the Internet serving the caller, or
end-user computer. The local server then establishes a point-to-point
socket-connection between the transmitting, host computer, and the
receiving or end-user computer, thereby obviating the need to send the
actual video data over the Internet. When the encoded key is received by
the receiving, or end-user, computer, the data is decoded and matched to
the video/audio files of the CD-ROM, whereupon, since the data files on
the CD-ROM now have an associated and complete header, the data thereof
may be read, to thus allow the instant playback of the video-audio data on
the CD-ROM.
Since the encoded header data that is sent over the Internet is a necessity
before the end-user may playback the video/audio data from the CD-ROM, the
host computer may send along with the encoded data, additional information
pertinent to the information contained on the CD-ROM, such as current
prices, special offers or deals, locations of local stores or dealers, or
any information that the host computer, content provider, would like the
end-user to receive.
In order to encourage the end-user to view the video/audio, the CD-ROM is
provided with its own Internet dial-up program files for connecting to the
host web server, so that very little time and effort is required on the
part of the end-user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be more readily understood with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a pictorial representations of the hardware systems and software
processes used for carrying out the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the end-user's computer
used for carrying out the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart at a user's computer for accessing the trigger-data
from a web-site;
FIG. 4 is a flow chart for the server associated with the Internet for
evaluating the trigger-request from the user's computer and for sending
the trigger;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the socket-to-socket connection for
transmitting the de-crippling, triggering key for causing the display of
the video images and/or audio data of a "HyperCD" at the end-user's PC
over the Internet from a host computer combined with a targeted URL to a
recipient or end-user's computer;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the steps for forming on the CD-ROM the
encoded video and audio data for use by the end-user recipient computer
after having been crippled by removing the header-triggering key sent from
the media files;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the process of triggering in order to
invoke "HyperCD" video and/or audio data at the receiving computer for
playback; and
FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of the hardware component and software
processing involved;
FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the server-side of the Internet with the
encrypted files thereat;
FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the "catcher" program of the invention at
the end-user's computer for playing back the receiving data immediately;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the catcher-program process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, and to FIGS. 1 and 2 for
now, the hardware used to carry out the present invention is shown. All of
the hardware is conventional and well-known, and includes an end-user
computer 1 having a CD-ROM drive 2 for playing a CD-ROM 3 having stored
thereon crippled data 4 that is unreadable without first having received a
trigger or uncrippling key 5. The end-user's computer 1 is connected via
the Internet 6 to a host-computer server 7 which has stored thereat the
uncrippling or triggering key 5 for the information stored on the
end-user's CD-ROM 3. The end-user's computer 1 has a display and a CPU 9
and a communication-device, such as a modem 10 for establishing
communication with the Internet 6. The computer 1 also has the CD-ROM
drive 2, hard-drive 11, RAM 13, and video system 8 including monitor as
well as audio system 13.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown the flow charts for receiving the
uncrippling key. The end-user first submits a request over the Internet
for the uncrippling key (block 60). The user then waits for that key
(block 62), and if the user is not authorized, the request is denied. If
the request is authorized, then the uncrippling key is sent by the server
and received by the end-user's computer (block 64), whereupon the
end-user's computer directs the uncrippling key into volatile memory such
as RAM, not into a RAM-disk to be visible, but saved in a dynamically
allocated data structure in RAM accessible only by the receiving program,
combined with crippled data read from the CD-ROM and displays the
video/animation (block 68).
FIG. 4 shows the process-flow that at the server side. The server
conventionally provides the web pages to the Internet users (block 70),
and awaits a user-request (block 72). If a request is received from an
end-user's computer, the server evaluates the request (block 74) in order
to authorize the transfer of the uncrippling key (block 76). If an
authorization is granted, then the uncrippling, trigger key is sent (block
78).
Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, video images and/or audio are converted from
analogue to digital and stored in crippled fashion in digitized for | | |
