US6415327B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automatic protocol rollover in streaming multimedia data delivery systems
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
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Filing: 2000-01-24
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Granted: 2002-07-02
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Expires: 2020-01-24
Abstract
Abstract The invention includes a streaming multimedia rendering system having a network client and a network server that form part of a hyperlink web such as the Internet. In accordance with the invention, a hyperlink to multimedia content is actually an indirect link to a reference file. The reference file contains a plurality of different resource specifiers and a preferred order for attempting communications using the resource specifiers. Each resource specifier designates a transport protocol. A streaming data client open the resource file in response to activation of a hyperlink to the resource file. In response to the resource specifiers contained in the resource file, the network data client repeatedly attempts to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers, in the preferred order specified in the reference file, or in the preferred order specified by a file referenced by the reference file, until a streaming data connection is successfully established. Each attempt with a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier. Different types of protocol specifiers are available. Some of the protocol specifiers override configuration settings made at the network data client relating to which transport protocols are permitted.
Inventors
- 👤 Mike Beckerman
- 👤 Chadd B. Knowlton
- 👤 Steven P. Levi
- 👤 Mark VanAntwerp
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 19:18
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L65/00; H04L65/80; H04L65/60; H04L65/61; H04L65/612; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04L65/1066; H04L65/1101; H04L67/00; H04L67/01; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/326
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system comprising: a network client; a network server; a reference file available from the network server, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a transport protocol; the network client being configured to retrieve the reference file from the network server and to repeatedly attempt to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
92 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system comprising: a network client; a network server; a reference file available from the network server, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a transport protocol; the network client being configured to retrieve the reference file from the network server and to repeatedly attempt to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system as recited in claim 1 , wherein each resource specifier includes a network URL.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
60 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the network client is configurable by a user to allow a selected subset of available transport protocols, the network client being configured to override the selected subset of available transport protocols to attempting communications using the transport protocols designated by the different resource specifiers of the reference file.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system as recited in claim 1 , the transport protocols including multicast and unicast protocols.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
A streaming multimedia rendering system as recited in claim 1 , the transport protocols including UDP, TCP, and HTTP protocols.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
93 words
A network client connected to receive streaming multimedia data from network sources, comprising: a data processor; the data processor being programmed to retrieve a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a transport protocol; the data processor being further programmed to repeatedly attempt to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
93 words
A network client connected to receive streaming multimedia data from network sources, comprising: a data processor; the data processor being programmed to retrieve a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a transport protocol; the data processor being further programmed to repeatedly attempt to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A network client as recited in claim 6 , wherein each resource specifier includes a network URL.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
59 words
A network client as recited in claim 6 , wherein the network client is configurable by a user to allow a selected subset of available transport protocols, the data processor being further programmed to override the selected subset of available transport protocols to attempting communications using the transport protocols designated by the different resource specifiers of the reference file.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
A network client as recited in claim 6 , the transport protocols including multicast and unicast protocols.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
A network client as recited in claim 6 , the transport protocols including UDP, TCP, and HTTP protocols.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
49 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: receiving a resource reference from a network source, the resource reference including different transport protocols; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different transport protocols until a streaming data connection is successfully established.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
49 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: receiving a resource reference from a network source, the resource reference including different transport protocols; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different transport protocols until a streaming data connection is successfully established.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as recited in claim 11 , wherein the resource reference designates a plurality network sources from which streaming multimedia data is available, the network sources corresponding respectively to the different transport protocols.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method as recited in claim 11 , wherein the network client is configurable by a user to allow a selected subset of available transport protocols, the method further comprising overriding the selected subset of available transport protocols to perform said attempting using the transport protocols including in the resource reference.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 11 , the transport protocols including multicast and unicast protocols.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as recited in claim 11 , the transport protocols including UDP, TCP, and HTTP protocols.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
20 words
A computer-readable medium containing instructions that are executable by a computer to perform the method recited in claim 11 .
Claim 20
Independent Claim
89 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a streaming data resource and an associated transport protocol; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the streaming data resource and the associated transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
89 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a streaming data resource and an associated transport protocol; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the streaming data resource and the associated transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 17 , wherein each resource specifier includes a network URL.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method as recited in claim 17 , wherein the network client is configurable by a user to allow a selected subset of available transport protocols, the method further comprising overriding the selected subset of available transport protocols to perform said attempting using the transport protocols designated by the resource specifiers.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 17 , the transport protocols including multicast and unicast protocols.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as recited in claim 17 , the transport protocols including UDP, TCP, and HTTP protocols.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
24 words
A computer-readable medium containing instructions that embody a hyperlink-based network browser, the instructions being executable to perform the method recited in claim 17 .
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
63 words
A computer-readable medium containing executable instructions for retrieving and viewing streaming multimedia content, the instructions comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a streaming data resource and an associated transport protocol; receiving the streaming multimedia content over the streaming data connection and rendering the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
63 words
A computer-readable medium containing executable instructions for retrieving and viewing streaming multimedia content, the instructions comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a streaming data resource and an associated transport protocol; receiving the streaming multimedia content over the streaming data connection and rendering the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing one or more resource specifiers, each resource specifier indicating a streaming data source and a protocol specifier; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the streaming data source and a transport protocol that corresponds to the protocol specifier indicated by that different resource identifier; if a particular resource specifier has a protocol specifier having a predefined value, repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection with the streaming data source specified by said particular resource specifier until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt uses a different transport protocol.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of establishing a streaming data connection to a network client, comprising: retrieving a reference file from a network source, the reference file containing one or more resource specifiers, each resource specifier indicating a streaming data source and a protocol specifier; repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt using a different resource specifier uses the streaming data source and a transport protocol that corresponds to the protocol specifier indicated by that different resource identifier; if a particular resource specifier has a protocol specifier having a predefined value, repeatedly attempting to establish a streaming data connection with the streaming data source specified by said particular resource specifier until a streaming data connection is successfully established, wherein each attempt uses a different transport protocol.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
24 words
A computer-readable medium containing instructions that embody a hyperlink-based network browser, the instructions being executable to perform the method recited in claim 24 .
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
21 words
A network computer client comprising a data processor that is programmed to perform the method as recited in claim 24 .
Claim 33
Independent Claim
51 words
A method of hyperlinking network clients to streaming multimedia data content, comprising: creating a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a source of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol; putting a hyper link to the reference file in a hypermedia document.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
51 words
A method of hyperlinking network clients to streaming multimedia data content, comprising: creating a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a source of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol; putting a hyper link to the reference file in a hypermedia document.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
56 words
Computer-readable media comprising: one or more sources of streaming multimedia content for downloading to network clients using different transport protocols; a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating one of the sources of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
56 words
Computer-readable media comprising: one or more sources of streaming multimedia content for downloading to network clients using different transport protocols; a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating one of the sources of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
62 words
A network server system comprising: one or more sources of streaming multimedia content for downloading to network clients using different transport protocols; a storage medium containing a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating one of the sources of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
62 words
A network server system comprising: one or more sources of streaming multimedia content for downloading to network clients using different transport protocols; a storage medium containing a reference file with a plurality of different resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating one of the sources of the streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
41 words
A computer-readable medium containing a reference file for downloading to network clients, the reference file comprising resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a source of streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
41 words
A computer-readable medium containing a reference file for downloading to network clients, the reference file comprising resource specifiers, each resource specifier designating a source of streaming multimedia content and an associated transport protocol for use in downloading the streaming multimedia content.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-07-01 | 2005-12-31 | 2006-07-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-07-01 | 2009-12-31 | 2010-07-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-07-01 | 2013-12-31 | 2014-07-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |