Abstract:
A remotely controlled uplink server system has a remote access interface that allows multiple user groups to individually control their respective media files. The user groups also have individual control over their respective remote receivers. The control over the media files includes file uploading, file management and file distribution and the control over the remote receivers includes the identification and grouping of receivers, managing the play list, scheduling and storage space on the receivers and selecting media channels. Through the remote access interface into the uplink server system, each one of the user groups operates and controls its own fully functioning network operations center, sharing the uplink facility with the other user groups. The uplink server also includes a media manager for storing and managing the media files, a network controller for combining control instructions for the remote receivers with the media files in a broadcast signal, and a transmitter for sending the broadcast signal to the remote receivers over the satellite network.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/453,540, filed Mar. 11, 2003. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0004]     This invention relates generally to satellite transmission systems and, more particularly, to a multi-point to multi-point network in which a plurality of user group operators remotely access an uplink server through a computer network and the uplink server transmits over a satellite to remotely located receivers.  
         [0005]     2. Related Art  
         [0006]     A known satellite point to multi-point network is illustrated in  FIG. 1 , wherein the point is referred to as the uplink and the multi-points are called downlinks with the equipment at each downlink referred to as a remote, including a remote receiver. In the satellite control network  10 , control information is generated at the uplink  12  and transmitted via the satellite  14  to the downlinks  16 . Control information is preferably generated at the uplink  12  by a control computer  18 , fed to various conditioning and modulation circuits  20  and combined with other media signals in a combiner  22 . These media signals may be video and/or audio fed to the combiner  22  through a modulator  24 . These combined signals are transmitted by a transmitter  26  to a particular satellite  14  on a particular frequency. The transmitted signal is retransmitted by the satellite  14  back to locations within a particular geographic footprint area. Remote receivers, using the appropriate receive antenna and addressable logic receive the transmitted signals and determine whether they are an intended recipient.  
         [0007]     As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,895, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, a microprocessor in each remote receiver assemblies and interprets information in the transmitted signals according to a predefined protocol. The protocol enables the transmitter to direct commands to identified sets of remote receivers rather than all of the remote receivers and can switch channels and frequency at will to improve flexibility and security. The protocol defines a special way of packeting asychronously encoded bytes of data so that the remote receiving units may detect packet boundaries, detect one or two bit errors in a packet and correct single bit errors.  
         [0008]     The remote receivers may also determine if a packet is targeted or addressed to itself and may parse and execute the implied command of the packet. Multiple data fields in each frame contain identification, data and command instructions.  
         [0009]     In the point to multi-point network  10 , all of the media content (i.e., the audio and video) is locally managed and controlled at the network operation center for the uplink facility. This is a great benefit for an organization that maintains its own network operation center (NOC) and set of remote receivers. However, many organizations cannot afford their own network operation center and must use a third party service provider that manages the media and possibly the remote receivers for multiple organizations and user groups. In such a case, the use of the uplink facility is shared between the multiple user groups, each one with its own respective sets of media and remote receivers. When the user groups want to change their media content, they must send the audio and/or video to the network operation center for an administrator to upload into media storage. This system creates a bottleneck with the administrator at the network operation center and prevents the user groups from directly controlling their media and sometimes even their remote receivers. Additionally, the user groups have less privacy because the administrators learn the particular operations of each one of the organizations that they service and have access to the media from the respective organizations.  
         [0010]     Some prior art satellite systems have limited multi-point to multi-point capabilities, allowing the user groups to directly control their respective remote receivers. However, the user groups must still send their media content to the network operations center for the administrator to upload and manage in the uplink server. Therefore, there still remains the need to increase privacy controls for the media by limiting its access to only those persons in the particular organization and the individuals reached by the remote receivers and the need to reduce the time delay in controlling the media by removing the administrative bottleneck at the network operation center.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     It is in view of the above problems that the present invention was developed. The invention is a remotely controlled uplink server system with a remote access interface that allows multiple user groups to individually control their respective media files, including file uploading, file management and file distribution, as well as providing the user groups with individual control over their respective remote receivers. In this manner, each one of the user groups operates and controls its own fully functioning network operations center and merely shares the uplink with the other user groups. The uplink server also includes a media manager for storing and managing the media files, a network controller for combining control instructions for the remote receivers with the media files in a broadcast signal, and a transmitter for sending the broadcast signal to the remote receivers over the satellite network.  
         [0012]     Therefore, in addition to directly controlling their respective remote receivers by remote control of the uplink server, the present invention allows user groups to directly control their media files also by remote control of the uplink server. The user groups operate their own network operations centers, thereby increasing privacy control over the media and reducing the time to upload and manage the media.  
         [0013]     Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a prior art point to multi-point satellite network;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-point to multi-point satellite network according to the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the web browser interface;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of the media manager;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of the remote control process for managing the remote receivers and the media distribution using remote network operations centers; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a flowchart of the process to define the control instructions. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like elements,  FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic diagram of a satellite network distribution system  30  according to the present invention. The satellite network distribution system has an uplink server  32  that broadcasts signals  34  over a satellite  14  to remote receivers  36  at downlink facilities  16 . The uplink server  32  has a network controller  38 , a remote access interface  40  and a media manager  42 . Preferably, the controller  38 , interface  40  and manager  42  are three separate computers that are locally connected at the uplink server location for direct communication with each other. The network controller  38  remotely controls each one of the remote receivers  36  at the downlink facilities  16  by transmitting control instructions  44  to the receivers, preferably in a portion of the broadcast signals  34 , with the other portion being used for the program content  46 .  
         [0022]     As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,895, each receiver  36  with remote control capabilities can be programmed to store the unique receiver address and group address information that is common to several receivers. Therefore, the control instructions  44  can be used to control a selected group of receivers at multiple downlink facilities  16 , from all receivers that receive the broadcast  34  to a particular set of receivers, including a single intended receiver. In addition to defining a set of receivers, the control instructions  44  can configure the receivers and command the selected set of receivers with actions to perform, such as activating the receivers to play out the program content  46  over a speaker  48  or a monitor  50 .  
         [0023]     The remote access interface  40  allows a network operator to access and control the uplink server  32  from any remote computer  52  having access to the interface  40  via a computer network  54 . With the remote access interface  40 , the uplink server  32  provides a web browser interface  56  ( FIG. 3 ) for remote control operations at the uplink side of the network. Accordingly, through the remote access interface  40 , any remote computer  52  can access the network controller  38 , upload and store media files  58  to the media server  42  and generate control instructions  44  for the distribution of the files  58  over the satellite network  30 . The remote access interface  40  can be accessed through any type of computer network  54 , including the internet, and permits simultaneous access to the network controller  38  and media manager  42  by multiple computers  52 .  
         [0024]     The uplink server  32  may host different user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C (i.e., organizations, user communities and/or business entities) that each has its own set of receivers  36 A,  36 B,  36 C and its media files  58 A,  58 B,  58 C ( FIG. 4 ), respectively. The media manager  42  is any type of storage device or multiple storage devices that can store files for all of the user groups  60 , and the network controller  38  can provide satellite distribution to all of the receivers  36 . However, the remote access interface  40  limits the control authority of each user group  60 A,  60 B,  60 C to only its media files  58 A,  58 B,  58 C and its receivers  36 A,  36 B,  36 C, respectively. In this manner, each one of the user groups  60  can use its own respective computer to access of the remote access interface  40  to operate the uplink server facility  32  as its own virtual remote network operations center  52 A,  52 B,  52 C to maintain control over its media  58  and receiver  36  resources apart from the other user groups while all user groups share the same satellite network  14  and control system infrastructure  32 . To limit the control authority of each group  60  to only its files and receivers, the uplink server maintains database records  62  of the resources belonging to each user group  60 , and the remote access interface  40  limits the network operators  52 A,  52 B,  52 C to their respective groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C.  
         [0025]     The operation of the uplink server  32  is generally illustrated according to the flowchart in  FIG. 5 . As discussed above, the uplink server  32  provides the web browser interface  56  over the computer network  54  for the network operator  60  to interactively and remotely access the network controller  38 , remote access interface  40  and media manager  42  ( 500 ). The uplink server  32  communicates with the remote network operations centers  52 A,  52 B,  52 C over the computer network  54  through the web browser interface  56  ( 510 ). As discussed above, each one of the remote network operations centers respectively corresponds at least one of the user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C having authorization to use the uplink server  32 . The network operator  60  uploads files  58  containing media content  46  to the uplink server  32  through the web browser interface  56  ( 520 ). The media content files  58  are preferably stored locally at the uplink server  32  on the media manager  42 . The network operator  60  also enters unique names  64  for the media content files  58  and the names are also stored in a corresponding relationship with the media content files ( 530 ). The network operator  60  also defines the set of control instructions  44  through the web browser interface  56  ( 540 ), and the media content  46  and control instructions  44  are transmitted to the receivers  36  over the satellite network  14  ( 550 ).  
         [0026]     The network operators  60  launch their web browser application on their respective remote computers  52 A,  52 B,  52 C and connect to the web browser interface  56  provided by the remote access interface  40 . To identify the network operator&#39;s user group  60  and protect the uplink server system  32  from unauthorized entries, the remote access interface  40  presents an entry screen  66  that preferably requires logging into the uplink server with a valid user identifier  68  and corresponding password  70 . With a successful log-in, the uplink server  32  selects the user group database records  62 A,  62 B,  62 C to which the network operator belongs and then only provides the options to manipulate or otherwise control those media and receiver resources  36 ,  58  that are available for the particular group  60 .  
         [0027]     The web browser interface  56  can provide similar basic functions for all network operators  60 , and the remote access interface  40  controls the information retrieved from the uplink server  32  and provided to the network operators according to their respective user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C. For example, the web browser interface  56  can provide a similar operational menu or web page that has options for uploading a media file  72  and/or controlling the distribution of the media files  74 . For those media files  58  that are already uploaded into the media manager  42 , the uplink server  32  will only display those file names  62  that correspond to the network operator&#39;s user group  60  according to the database records  62 . Similarly, the uplink server  32  will only display those receivers  36  that correspond with the network operator&#39;s user group  60 . The web browser interface  56  could also be customized for the different user groups  60  and their particular broadcast methods and operations. Depending on the levels of sophistication for the respective user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C, the web browser interface  56  could be simplified for basic functionality and control or could be enhanced for special applications.  
         [0028]     To upload a file to the uplink server  32 , the network operator  52  connects to the remote access interface  40  through a browser  74  using a standard protocol, such as hyper-text transfer protocol (http), selects a media file  58  and sends the file to the media manager  42  through the web browser interface. The web browser interface  56  is preferably menu driven and can prompt the network operator with data fields for entering information to the uplink facility and can also include graphical representations to assist the network operators. For example, the user could select an upload command from a file management menu  72 . The web browser interface would then communicate the upload and/or store mode command  76  to the media manager through the remote access interface. One upload command could be UPLOAD MESSAGE, and the web browser interface would respond by providing a name field and an upload screen for the network operator to describe or otherwise identify the media file to be uploaded. The network operator uses the browser to select the media file at their remote location and selects UPLOAD FILE on the upload screen. In response, the remote access interface uploads the media file into the media manager and a new record is created in the user group&#39;s database. It will be appreciated that there are also other options for managing the files, including modifying or updating a media file or its name  78 , deleting media files  80 , and uploading additional media files  76 . Regardless of the sophistication of the user groups  60 , the remote access interface  40  preferably communicates with the remote network operators  52 A,  52 B,  52 C by using sessioning functionality, including using a key to identify the information belonging to each of the remote network operations centers  52 A,  52 B,  52 C sessions which can be simultaneous with each other.  
         [0029]     In the preferred embodiment, the media manager  42  periodically scans an incoming-file folder for new files  58 . Additionally, the media manager may also process the uploaded media file to transform it into a different format  82 . For example, the satellite receivers  36  may be configured to receive files in a particular format, such as MP2 format for audio files or MPEG2 format for audio-visual files. The receivers distribute the media files to corresponding media devices that can play the media files, such as players for audio files and/or audio-visual files. However, the files uploaded to the uplink server could be a different format, such as MP3-formatted audio files or proprietary-formatted audio-visual files. The media manager transforms the files into the proper format for the satellite receivers  36 . In the preferred embodiment, MP3 audio files uploaded to the uplink server  32  are converted first into WAV-formatted files and then into MP2-formatted files. Differently formatted files can be stored in different directories.  
         [0030]     The web browser interface also provides a network control menu  74  for defining a set of control instructions  44  for a set of the user group&#39;s files  58  and a corresponding set of the group&#39;s receivers  36 . It will be appreciated that the set of receivers  36  can vary from an individual receiver to any group of receivers belonging to, and therefore controllable by, the network operator&#39;s group. As particularly set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,895, the receivers can store information about any receiver groups that they belong to, allowing receiver sets to be grouped using boolean operators in the control instructions. Similarly, the set of files  58  can also vary in number as well as their play list order and other play list options, as discussed below.  
         [0031]     The process to define the control instructions  44  is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The remote network operations center  52  can create a play list by defining the name of a play list and selecting a set of media files in a sequential order ( 600 ). In particular, the remote network operator  52  identifies the selected media files according to their respective names and preferably defines a time interval between the play out of the files ( 610 ). The network operator also schedules the time period over which the receivers are to distribute the media files ( 620 ). As discussed, above, a set of the receivers  36  belonging to the user group  60  are identified and grouped ( 630 ).  
         [0032]     In the preferred embodiment, the receivers use the time intervals to space the media files between other programs that the receivers are playing out. The played programs can be received in real time from a broadcast or can be played out from the receivers&#39; storage during the defined time period. The time intervals can vary from zero, in which case the receivers can be commanded to play only the media files in the play list, to some time that is a portion of the total time period, in which case the receivers will accordingly intersperse the media files with the other programs being played. The play list can also be scheduled according to different times of the day, days of the week, particular dates, parts of the day, or for weeks at a time. Once a play list has been scheduled, it continues until it is changed or terminated. It will be appreciated that during each scheduled time for a play list, the play list may be repeated a number of times according to the time interval and the time period. A termination time can be designated in advance by the control instructions. As discussed above,  
         [0033]     The control instructions  44  include information identifying the set of receivers, the play list and the scheduling information ( 640 ). Preferably, the control instructions  44  are sent together with the media files  46  and the selected set of receivers store the control instructions and the media files. However, the play list  44  could be sent to the receivers  36  first, followed by the content  46 . The receivers  36  can be configured such that anything scheduled in the receiver can be stored in the receiver. When there is limited storage space in the receivers, only the media files in the scheduled play list would need to be stored at the receivers. The other broadcast programs in which the media files are interspersed could be received and relayed in real time without any storage. It will also be appreciated that the media files could also be sent out in real time to the receivers but do not necessarily need to be sent out in real time. The media files and control instructions  44  could be trickled out to the receivers, slower than real time, or pushed out to the receivers, faster than real time. The uplink server  32  preferably sends out a signal to activate the scheduled play list for the corresponding media files  58  on the corresponding set of receivers  36 . However, it is possible for the receivers to activate the play list according to the scheduling information stored on the receivers.  
         [0034]     An example of the present invention in a real time live broadcast feed with a spaced interspersion of the media files is the play out of advertisements at set intervals in the broadcast. The advertisements could be scheduled based on the time of day in different time zones. Different groups of receivers in different regions could be programmed with different sets of media files—having some of the same national advertisements along with different regional advertisements. In this manner, the entire set of receivers for a user group could be commanded to play out the same broadcasts with some of the same advertisements being interspersed in all of these receivers while the receivers in different regions intersperse different regional advertisements. Another example of the present invention is for receivers programmed to play only the media files, without any live broadcast feed, as in the on-hold audio for a telephone system. In this example, there would be no interval between the media files.  
         [0035]     From the description of the embodiments above and the particular examples provided, it will be appreciated that the network operators at the remote network operations centers  52  can interactively communicate with the uplink server  32  over the computer network  54 . As discussed above, the network operator can upload the media content files to the uplink server  32  from any remote location  52  and can also manage the media content files  58  stored on uplink server  32 . Additionally, network operators can create control instructions  44  for network control and for controlling distribution over the satellite. Through the web browser interface  56 , the network operator can interactively manage and control receiver groups using boolean operations  84 , manage play lists  86 , select media channels (audio and/or video) for live play broadcasts  88 , schedule and trigger channels and play lists to play out, manage receiver storage space  90 -including the deletion of old media content files and setting retention times and priorities for the files, as well as directing other various receiver control functions-including audio and/or video on/off, setting audio levels, and tuning to a new transponder.  
         [0036]     For controlling distribution, the media server can provide the network operator with the means to optimize the timing and bandwidth of media content transmission for best use of receiver storage and transmission bandwidth. For example, in managing file delivery, the uplink server system  32  checks the media files  58  to be broadcast for validity when it is uploaded and then either immediately sends it or puts in a queue to be sent as soon as possible. The user groups  60  may also want to be able to resend their files using an intelligent resend feature, especially when using a Ku-band satellite network. One option for resending files is to make use of the available bandwidth during low bandwidth usage times. The uplink server  32  would look for low bandwidth usage based on an idle bandwidth timer that can be selected by the user groups  60 . Once the uplink server  32  identifies an idle bandwidth period that fits the user&#39;s criteria (indicating that the satellite network is in a low bandwidth usage period), the uplink server  32  selects at least a portion of the media files  58  and resends them, and then repeats the process until all of the media files have been resent  58 . Sometimes only a portion of the media files  58  can be sent, such as when several hours of material are to be resent or when the resend period is greater than the idle bandwidth period. At other times, the entire set of media files  58  may be resent, such as when a few minutes worth of media files are being resent and the uplink server is directed to resend (or determines it can resend based on file size compared with available bandwidth) several minutes worth of material.  
         [0037]     Another option for resending media files  58  can be based on a priority system. For example, all initial file transfers would be assigned a top level priority while all resends would be assigned a lower level priority. The uplink server  32  would not resend the lower priority files until all upper priority files in the queue have already been sent.  
         [0038]     Yet another option for sending media files  58  can be based on just-in-time-delivery (JITD). For example, the schedule can be prepared several weeks or months ahead. However, the files are sent immediately to the receivers, which is acceptable in many cases, but the memory in some remote receivers could limit the ability to schedule ahead, especially if there is a large volume of media files or the remote receivers have a low storage capability. In JITD, the uplink server  32  would calculate the time at which the files must be sent to the receivers (based on file size as compared with the available bandwidth) and would send the files at the designated time. In this embodiment, the media manager  42  serves as a main storage unit, and the memory in the remote receivers  36  only stores files for the periods that they are needed.  
         [0039]     In this manner, it is possible to remotely operate the uplink server  32  and the receivers  36  in the satellite network. The remote operations include media content upload  76 , media content management  78 ,  80 , network control (including control over live broadcasts) and the distribution of the media content throughout the network of receivers  84 ,  86 ,  88 . The remote operators  52  can be given authority to completely control the media content and receivers belonging to the remote operator&#39;s user group, without any intermediary controller at the uplink server. For example, according to the present invention there is no need to send a physical copy of media content files to a central location for uploading onto the uplink server.  
         [0040]     This remote control operation increases the speed and independence with which media content files  58  can be uploaded and distributed for a particular user group  60 . Once the network operator  52  for the user group  60  has a new media content file  58  at the remote location, the file can be uploaded, distributed and played out at any one or all of the receivers within several minutes or even seconds, such as with the simplified web browser interface discussed above. There is no bottleneck with a central operator  18  at the uplink server or any need to transfer any content in a physical medium. Costs are reduced because multiple user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C can use the same infrastructure provided by the uplink server  32 , and privacy is maintained because each user group  60  maintains control over its own media  58  and receiver resources  36  apart from the other user groups. Therefore, the interactive remote control of the uplink server, from media content upload and management to network control and distribution over a satellite to a set of receivers allows many user groups  60 A,  60 B,  60 C to operate their own network operations centers  52 A,  52 B,  52 C and manage their own resources  36 ,  58  in a timely and cost-effective manner and without compromising privacy.  
         [0041]     In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the several advantages of the invention are achieved and attained. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.  
         [0042]     As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.