Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Switching a message which includes an address header
Patent
1998-01-05
2000-12-26
Ton, Dang
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Switching a message which includes an address header
H04L 1256
Patent
active
061670448
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
Conventional cable tv systems deliver video data from a distribution company through a cable to a number of monitors of viewers. Although nowadays many programs are distributed through many channels by each cable tv company, the user or viewer has to wait until the desired program is started and transmitted through a selected channel.
Recently, also interactive video systems have been proposed, in such interactive video system a viewer can chose a desired movie to be displayed on a monitor. In such video-on-demand system a direct connection to the monitor or end device of a user is established, whereafter a demanded movie can be viewed by the end user.
In this known system it is however virtually impossible to upscale the system after it has been established e.g. at a distribution company. When the number of members for such a system increases ad the number of demanded videos is increased, a new interactive video system has to be built.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system for serving information, comprising: information data; means and display means, wherein the end devices output demand data requesting the selected information data; information data, the manager receiving the demand data from the end devices, wherein the manager output distribution control data including channel information of the selected information data,
wherein said storage medium unit outputs selected information data with routing information in the form of one or more packets according to the distribution control data, and
wherein said router comprise a table wherein data representing a relation between the routing information between the storage medium unit and the routing information of the end devices is stored, wherein the routing information from the storage medium unit is replaced with corresponding routing information for the end devices in the router according to data, when more than at least one of the end devices require the same information data.
The system according to the present invention provides an interactive information service system of simple configuration which is able to provide the information data to a (great) number of end devices.
Preferably the router means comprise at least one ATM switch. The basics and standards of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) are laid down in recommendations I.150 and I.327 as published on March 1993 by the International Telecommunication Union. ATM is generally used for addressing a specific packet-oriented transfer mode which uses asynchronous time division multiplexing techniques. The multiplexed information flow is organized into blocks of fixed size called cells. A cell consists of an information field and a header. The primary role of the header is to identify cells belonging to the same virtual channel within the asynchronous time division multiplex.
Preferably said information data are video and/or audio data although the present invention is not limited to this application. This system according to the present invention may also comprise applications for video-games, library functions, databanks etc., although a first promising application field relates to video-on-demand services.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further details, features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following referring to the next drawings with shell diagrammatic representations of embodiments of the present invention, and wherein
FIG. 1 is a representation of an entire system for information on demand;
FIG. 2 is a representation of a first embodiment of a storage medium unit;
FIG. 3 is a representation of a second embodiment of a storage medium unit;
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of control and data flow in the storage medium unit shown in FIG. 2 and 3;
FIG. 5 is a representation of a third embodiment of a storage medium unit;
FIG. 6 is a representation of a storage medium unit corresponding to the storage medium unit shown in FIG. 2, with a resulting flow of data groups;
FIG. 7 is a diagram of the timing of an ATM interface
REFERENCES:
patent: 5586121 (1996-12-01), Moura et al.
Patent Abstract of Japan, vol. 16, No. 139, (P-1334), Apr. 8, 1992 of JP-A-03 296851, Dec. 27, 1991.
Barraud Claude
De Vos Johan
Frommer William S.
Kessler Gordon
Sony Europa B.V.
Ton Dang
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