Title of Invention

''A METHOD FOR GIVING ACCESS TO A LARGE NUMBER OF USERS TO A COLLECTION OF DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA DOCUMENTS''

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for providing access to a large number of users to a collection of digital multimedia. Said collection of digital multimedia documents is transmitted by satellite over a specific geographical zone. It is simultaneously received through receiver terminals by all the users present in said specific geographical zone. The digital multimedia documents received by the terminals are stored, preferably on the basis of the user"s interest profile, in a storage unit associated with each terminal. Subsequent access to a stored will require a digital file authorising access which is transmitted to the user after request for access to the document.

Full Text

-METHOD-FOR-ACeESS-TO-A-GOLbECTION OF MULTIMEDtA DOCUMENTS The present invention relates to a method for- providing access to a large [number of users, to a collection of digital multimedia documents. The term "digital multimedia document" means any digitized document as a computer file which may be of the video, graphical animation, photograph, ^udio, music, text, electronic game type or of any other composition of these hultimedia items and notably any type of Internet sites directly or indirectly accessible via Internet. The generally provided access to selections of digital multimedia documents on demand, and in particular to video documents or to Internet sites, is traditionally performed by a so-called point-to-point device. These accesses hence require a high rate computer connection between each access terminal and the computer server center, which has digital formatted multimedia documents in stored memory. These computer connections must provide minimum transfer rates of 300,000 (three hundred thousand) characters per second for accessing video documents of television quality. These connections may be earth-based such as cable, satellite or even radio connections. However, there must be as many computer connections as there are terminals. According to this scheme and within the framework of a device for on-demand access to multimedia documents for the general public, as many high rate computer connections are required as there are access terminals for allowing simultaneous transfer of these bulk digital files. The cost of a high rate computer connection is very high and such a configuration assumes a multiplication of this cost by the number of terminals, thereby making this type of on-demand access financially of a much higher cost today, for it to be actually deployed. Furthermore, the multimedia document server should then simultaneously send a certain number of files at least equal to the number of connected terminals. Within the framework of a project for the general public, this may exceed hundreds of thousands of terminals. No current computer server can provide the required transmission rate, which should then be greater than thirty thousand million characters per second. The object of the present invention is to provide a method for giving. access to a large number of users to a collection of digital multimedia documents and this from a unique server center and without multiplying the computer connections. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method according to claim 1, which may advantageously be completed by the features of the dependent claims. According to the invention, the collection of digital multimedia documents is transmitted via satellite over a given geographic zone. It is simultaneously received through receiver terminals by all the users present in this specific geographical zone. The digital multimedia documents received by the terminals are preferably stored according to an interest profile of the user, in a storage unit associated with each terminal. Subsequent access to a stored document, will normally require a digital file authorizing access, which is transmitted to the user after a request for accessing the document. The present invention relates to a method for giving access to a large number of users to a collection of digital multimedia documents characterized by: a satellite transmission of said collection of digital multimedia documents over a given geographic zone; simultaneous reception through receiver terminals, of said collection of documents, transmitted via satellite, by all the users present in said given geographic zone; and storage for a subsequent access of digital multimedia documents received by said terminals in a storage unit associated with each of said terminals. Other features and advantages of the invention will result from a detailed description of a few advantageous embodiments, which are shown below, by way of illustration, with reference to the appended drawings. The latter show, in Figures 1, 2-a, 2-b, 2-c, 3-a and 3-b, simplified diagrams for illustrating the methods according to the invention. Figure 1 illustrates the mechanism of a first step of a method according to the invention. This step corresponds to the sending of documents towards the dedicated receiver terminals 8. Multimedia documents to be made accessible to dedicated terminals are stored in a server center 1 as computer files. These files are sent to a digital data satellite transmission computer device 3 via a high rate earth-based computer network connection 2. The files are then coded and sent as an electromagnetic wave to a satellite 10 which sends it back 5 over a given geographic zone. This operation may concern several files simultaneously sent with priority levels for predefining the transfer rates to be allocated upon the sending of each file. All the satellite receiving terminals 8 present over the geographic zone covered by the satellite 10 simultaneously receive the transmitted wave 5, via a parabolic antenna 6 dedicated to satellite reception. This antenna 6 is connected to the terminal via a coaxial computer connection 7. The satellite decoding device present in the terminal 8 decodes the electromagnetic wave,5 in order to recreate the initially coded computer files. These files are then stored in a storage device 9 of terminal 8, which may physically be a traditional computer hard disk or any other digital storage medium. Thus, all the terminals 8 present in the geographic zone receiving the electromagnetic wave 5 simultaneously store the same files in their storage unit 9. And this happens, regardless of the number of terminals present in this geographic zone. According to an important aspect of the invention, the users may customize the profile of the digital multimedia documents that may actually be stored in the storage unit 9 of terminal 8. In this case, only the files restored according to the principle stated above and matching the profile defined by the user, are actually stored in the storage unit 9 of the terminal 8. The files that do not match this profile are erased as they are received by terminal 8. If the storage space remaining in the storage unit 9 of the terminal 8 is no longer sufficient, the stored files are automatically deleted gradually according to their precedence in order to free space for storing new received files. However, it will be appreciated that the user has the possibility of marking stored files as unerasable. Figures 2a, 2b and 2c illustrate the mechanism of a second step of a method according to the invention. This step corresponds to the control and access to the multimedia documents stored in the terminal. Figure 2-a illustrates the mechanism for accessing a file stored in the storage unit of the terminal 8. The user may search for one or more of these documents by using a remote control 12, a computer keyboard or mouse connected to the receiving terminal 8, for example. The list and the detail of the documents stored in the storage unit of terminal 8 are displayed on the monitor 14 connected to the terminal 8. This monitor 14 may be a traditional television set or a computer monitor. As soon as he/she has selected the multimedia document which he/she wishes to access and has recorded his/her request in the terminal 8 by means of his/her remote control 12, the user has two possibilities for obtaining access rights to this document as a digital authorization file. According to Figure 2-b, the terminal 8 connects to the server center 1 via a remote computer connection 16, which may be a telephone connection, for example. Terminal 8, after having been identified by the server center 1, sends its request for access rights to the desired multimedia document as a digital file. The server center 1 can then process the received access request. According to Figure 2-b ,the user 18 phones a dedicated phone server 20, through a traditional telephone line 22. The user 18 then dials, with his conventional telephone set, his/her identification number followed by the number of the document which he wishes to access. After validation from the phone server 20, the user 18 may disconnect, his/her command is acknowledged. This command, which is materialized by a digital file, is then sent by the phone server 20, via a computer connection 24, to the server center 1 for digital multimedia documents. The server center can then process the received access request. Figures 3a and 3b illustrate the mechanism of a third step of a method according to the invention, i.e. reception of rights for accessing multimedia documents stored in the terminal. With reference to Figure 3-a, it will be noted that for each received command, the multimedia document server center 1 generates an authorization as a digital file. This file is sent to the digital data satellite transmission computer device 3 via a high rate earth-based computer network connection 2. The file is then coded and sent as an electromagnetic wave 4 to the satellite 10, which sends it back over the geographic zone which it covers. The satellite receiver terminal 8 of the user from whom the command originated, receives this wave 5 via its parabolic antenna 6. The satellite decoding device present in the terminal 8, alone, decodes the electromagnetic wave 5 in order to recreate the file corresponding to the access authorization in response to the command performed by the user. With reference to Figure 3a, it will be noted that the file corresponding to the authorization enables the terminal 8 to display or to play the digital multimedia document, already stored in the storage unit 9 of the terminal 8 and which has been the object of a command emitted by the user. The multimedia document is then displayed on the monitor 14 and/or played by the sound restoration device. We Claim: 1. A method for giving access to a large number of users to a collection of digitalmultimediadocumentsComprising a satellite transmission of said collection of digital multimediadocuments over a given geographic zone; simultaneous reception through receiver terminals, of said collection of documents, transmitted via satellite, by all the users present in said given geographic zone; and storage for a subsequent access of digital multimedia documents received by said terminals in a storage unit associated with each of said terminals.characterized in that The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: a predefined interest profile of the user is associated with the receiving terminal; and said storage of said received digital multimedia documents is performed in a selective way according to said interest profile of the user, the digital multimedia documents of said emitted collection which do not match said predefined interest profile not being stored in said storage unit. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said stored digital multimedia documents are automatically erased according to their precedence in order to free memory space for storing other documents of said collection. 4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein it is possible for the user defining erasement criteria for the stored digital multimedia documents. wherein the access by the user to a particular digital multimedia document stored in its storage unit requires a digital authorization file for accessing said document wherein said digital access authorization file being selectively transmitted to the terminal of the user who has made a request for accessing said document. 5.The method as claimed in claim 1wherein the request for access to a document is performed through a point-to-point connection between the user and a server handling the access to the transmitted collection of digital multimedia documents. 6.The method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein several digital multimedia documents are transmitted via satellite simultaneously, and in that priority levels as regards their transmission rate are assigned to these documents.

Documents:

in-pct-2002-00642-del-abstract.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-claims.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-correspondence-others.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-correspondence-po.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-description (complete).pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-drawings.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-form-1.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-form-19.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-form-2.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-form-3.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-form-5.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-gpa.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-pct-210.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-pct-409.pdf

in-pct-2002-00642-del-petition-137.pdf