Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Remote data accessing – Accessing a remote server
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-16
2001-04-03
Flynn, Nathan (Department: 2711)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Remote data accessing
Accessing a remote server
C709S217000, C381S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212555
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of audio record and playback devices (cassette players and tapes, compact disc players and CDs, etc.), and more particularly to the such devices which incorporate digitally stored audio data on a stationary or removable memory device such as a computer disk drive or flash card which is converted into an audio output. Even more particularly, the invention relates to such devices where the data storage and output device is portable and provided with means to receive and store data from a computer server capable of high speed delivery of audio programming in the form of time-compressed, encrypted and encoded data.
Radio has been available for many years, and provides the consumer with a selection of audio programming directed at different tastes. The radio signal is locally broadcast and thus limited in range to the power of the transmitter and the quality of the receiver. The consumer is at the mercy of the radio programmer, in that the material transmitted is chosen by the radio station, and the only option available to the consumer is to change stations. Certain musical or informational formats may not even be available in a given locale. Because of these limitations, cassette players and compact disc (CD) players have become very popular. The cassette or CD players give the listener control of the format—the listener can play whatever prerecorded cassette or CD he or she desires at any time. The downside to these devices is that the consumer must individually purchase the cassettes or CDs (buying new CDs or cassettes when new artists arise or new work is produced by familiar artists), the cassettes or CDs have limited storage capacity, the user must transport a large number of cassettes or CDs to provide a range of choices or preselect certain CDs or cassettes based on the listener's mood when a portable player is utilized (either a personal device carried by the listener or a player in a car), and the listener is stuck with cassettes or CDs which he or she no longer desires to listen to, or which turn out to be not as good as originally anticipated prior to purchase.
It is an object of this invention to provide an audio player device and system which is capable of storing a relatively large amount of audio programming, whether music or voice, in a digital data format with relatively instant access to any piece of stored data for playback, where the stored data may be replaced with new data when the listening desires of the consumer change. It is a further object to provide such a device and system where the transfer of data to the audio player device is accomplished through alternative communication means in a time-compressed manner with a computer server having a substantially greater storage capacity than the audio player device, such that the consumer can choose from a vast array of data encompassing all formats of musical and voice programming. It is a further object to provide such a device and system where the data stored in the computer server is received via wireless transmission.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a system for providing recorded audio programming in digital form in an audio player device where the consumer chooses the particular programming so recorded, and further where the recorded programming is replaceable periodically. The system comprises a computer server capable of digitally recording, holding and uploading audio programming in either musical or voice formats and able to transmit such modulated digital data in a time-compressed, encrypted and encoded format through a wireless transmission, where the data is stored for transfer to a combination audio receiver/player/data storage device, hereafter referred to as an audio receiver/player device. This storage device comprises a readable/writable memory storage mechanism (e.g., disk drive, hard drive, memory or flash card system) and playback or player feature interfaced with a mobile or fixed site radio receiver capable of receiving wireless transmissions. As the transmissions are received through the antenna assembly, using the receiver's RF electronics, the programming signal is demodulated and then stored in digital form within the storage device as a buffer to be accessed by the playback mechanism, in effect, delaying the playback of the received data until the audio works are needed. The compressed data is then converted to “real time” audio, utilizing a digital-to-analog converter, one file at a time and played back to the listener. As each file is played back, the listener may choose to save the file for future replay or do nothing. If the latter occurs, the storage device would default to over-write or replace the file with a new file or files of similar size. The listener could also elect to skip the file. As before, the storage device would replace the skipped file with a new one. As available memory allows, additional audio works will continue to be received and stored until the data storage device is filled to capacity, even as the consumer simultaneously listens to a previously received file. The storage device is designed to have a relatively limited storage capacity, such that only a chosen number of files, such as 25 or 50 for example, could be stored at any one time.
These new files are constantly being fed through a wireless transmission, such as a satellite or cellular transmission as described above. The data storage mechanism therefore, is constantly refreshing the database as old files are expended by the listener. As an option, the audio receiver/player device could have access to a modem, which would allow the listener to request custom files using a conventional voice/data 2-way communications gateway (e.g., telephone, cellular, pager, etc.) between the consumer and the computer server. The computer server would then send the requested file to the consumer's audio receiver/player device via a separate wireless transmission. These custom files could include, but are not limited to, weather reports, sports scores, books on audio, foreign language lessons, etc. The audio receiver/player device may provide means to display alphanumeric information related to the data chosen to be played. This display may also show other information such as traffic and weather reports.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5303393 (1994-04-01), Noreen et al.
patent: 5848398 (1998-12-01), Martin et al.
Brooks William G.
Brooks, Jr. William E.
Flynn Nathan
Gardner Carton & Douglas
Srivastava Vivek
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