FR2878101A1 - Multimedia data e.g. audiovisual document, transferring method for e.g. domestic gateway, involves transferring data by transfer manager to reception module in user equipment, where module stores data in cache memory - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves collecting and analyzing information for updating a habits table for a user (U). Priority data to be transferred is determined based on the table. The data is transferred by a transfer manager (GES) in a distribution network towards a multimedia file reception module (REC) in a user equipment. The module stores the data in a cache memory (C) of the equipment, where the cache memory is controlled by the network. The transfer manager uses the information on user line status for transferring the data. The reception module carries the information on state of the cache memory to a system in the distribution network. The reception module places software for consultation of content of data available in the cache memory. Independent claims are also included for the following: (A) a program including instructions for implementing a method of transferring data (B) a device for transferring data (C) a user equipment (D) a domestic gateway.

Description

2878101 1

  The present invention generally relates to the transfer of data through communication networks, and in particular the transfer of data from a server to a user equipment.

  Network service users, such as multimedia content consulting services, utilize user equipment that allows them to access the service provider's distribution network, and download multimedia content from a remote media server (s). These multimedia contents are of all types, both audiovisual documents and software.

  This user equipment is generally also designed to locally store multimedia contents. The purpose of this storage is to offer the user, in case of new consultation, faster access to content already read without loading delay as in the original request. This storage option is commonly referred to as a cache function and primarily uses storage space called "cache memory" on the disk: 20 hard of the user equipment.

  However, the mode of filling of the cache memory is not optimal. Indeed, it is necessary that the user has asked at least the first time information to initialize the cache with this information. As a result, the first consultation of an information does not benefit from the cache function. In addition, the read-only information unnecessarily uses the disk space of the cache memory.

  In addition, the size of the available disk space allocated to the storage of contents, for this cache function, is limited, and the increase is not without the disadvantages of price, congestion, noise, or power consumption. Moreover, even if storage performance increases, the needs, too, increase.

  2878101 2 A good management of the clisque space is therefore essential. This management consists in most cases of defining a quota of disk space for the cache function, allocated globally or specifically to the different contents, and in this quota, the most recent information is stored in place of the oldest ones.

  This management of the disk space also has drawbacks. In fact, the data read is stored in such a way that the most recent contents overwrite the oldest ones. This management can therefore prevent the replay of an old document that may be more interesting than more recent content. In addition, a large audiovisual document may be truncated after reaching the quota of disk space, which poses a significant risk of disruption during its reuse.

  Finally, the choice of multimedia content available in the multimedia servers is left to the user by access in menus, by search engine or by targeted proposal, for example by email. This targeting is based on preferences or interests that the user has specified in his profile, often during his registration to the multimedia content consultation service. It has the disadvantage of being static and to rely in general only on some items. This targeting does not make it possible to precisely determine the profile of the user, especially since the user seldom modifies his preferences in his profile. On the contrary, the habits of the user, which can change, would need to be constantly refined.

  The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a method and a device for the advance and automatic transfer of multimedia contents into the cache memory of a user equipment, these contents being selected so as to meet to the needs of the user.

  To this end, the invention proposes a method for transferring data from a distribution network to a user equipment, via a communication network, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: 2878101 3 gathering information concerning the interactions between a given user and the user equipment, - analysis of the information collected to update a table of habits for the given user, determination of priority data to be transferred according to the table of habits, the priority of these data being all the more important as the user's habit or expectation with respect to these data is high, - transfer of said data by a transfer manager in the distribution network to a receiving module in the equipment user, the receiving module having the function of storing said data in a storage space of the user equipment, said storage space being controlled by the distribution network.

  Thanks to the invention, the storage space for multimedia content at the user is used optimally, since it allows the multimedia servers to download relevant content in this storage space. The user thus has at his disposal data to consult in his fields of interest, without delay of transmission.

  According to a preferred characteristic, the updating of the habits table uses priority rules that analyze the collected information to determine the more or less priority nature of the elements of the habit table, said priority character influencing the determination of priority data to be transferred. This makes it possible to adapt the analysis of the information collected to each user. Indeed the priority character of the elements of the table of habits should best reflect the preferences of the user in terms of consumption of data that are transferred by the distribution network.

  According to a preferred feature, the habit table is used in combination with other data such as content databases, connectivity tables, user history or the user's declared preferences to determine a list. of data files 2878101 4 directly of interest to the user, to be transferred to the user equipment. This allows the system implementing the invention, to refine the selection of content directly likely to interest the user, taking into account all kinds of data collected, including aggregate statistics on the typical tastes of certain categories of user.

  According to a preferred characteristic, the transfer manager in the distribution network uses information on the state of the user line to transfer said data to the user equipment. This allows the service provider to transmit the data during low load periods of the servers and transmission networks, which contributes to a better profitability of the transport networks.

  According to a preferred characteristic, the module for receiving said data in the user equipment sends back information on the state of the storage space to the system in the distribution network implementing the method. This makes it possible to avoid the transfer of data when the available space in the cache is insufficient.

  According to a preferred characteristic, the module for receiving said data in the user equipment makes the contents of the data available in the storage space available to the consulting software.

  This allows the user equipment to directly propose new content immediately available to the user, without the latter having to formulate a request.

  The invention relates to a data transfer device which comprises means for implementing the characteristics mentioned above.

  The invention also relates to a computer program that includes instructions for implementing the features mentioned above.

  The device and the computer program have advantages similar to those of the method.

  Other features and advantages will become apparent upon reading a preferred embodiment described with reference to the figures in which: FIG. 1 represents a user equipment and functional entities according to the invention, in the network of FIG. distribution of multimedia contents, FIG. 2 represents an example of distribution of the functional entities in physical entities, according to the invention, FIG. 3 represents the format of an event sent back by event collectors represented in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 represents the coding of the types of events reported by the event collector in the user equipment represented in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 represents the coding of the types of events reported by the collector. FIG. events in the distribution network represented in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 represents the format of a table of the user's habits; FIG. 7 represents the coding of the types of the descriptors of the habits table represented in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 represents the main tasks performed by the analysis module represented in FIG. 1; FIG. 9 represents more precisely the first task shown in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 represents the priority rules applied by the analysis module represented in FIG. 1; FIG. 11 represents more precisely the second task represented in FIG.

  According to one embodiment of the invention, the system implementing the method according to the invention uses several functional entities both in the users and in the multimedia content distribution network.

  The system uses in particular an UE user equipment installed at a user U and represented in FIG. 1. The user U, who is subscribed to a multimedia content consultation service, can consult audiovisual contents 2878101 6 using an implemented multimedia software. in an ML module of the UE user equipment. Typically this user equipment is a home gateway connected to one or more terminals T, for example a digital television.

  As a variant, the functionalities of the user equipment are integrated in one of these terminals, for example in a computer.

  The UE also contains a CE event collector and a standalone multimedia file receiving module REC, which feeds a cache memory C for presenting contents to the user U in advance via the multimedia software module ML.

  The cache C is not directly accessible by the user U and is entirely managed by the provider of the multimedia content consultation service. In particular, the cache memory can not be emptied or filled by the user, it is the reception module REC which erases or adds files to the cache memory, following the instructions of a transfer manager GHG, which will be detailed in the following.

  To simplify the description, the UE user equipment has only one user, which is the user U, although the invention also applies to the case where the user equipment is used by several users. In the latter case, it is necessary to distinguish the events and flows concerning each user in the user equipment and in the network as well as the disk space of the cache memory reserved for each user in the user equipment.

  The reception module REC, the multimedia software module ML and the event collector CE exchange data with the distribution network via the connection of the user U, which is for example an ADSL connection, according to English Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

  The distribution network comprises several functional entities that are in separate physical entities or grouped together in the same server. The distribution network contains 2878101 7 - one or multimedia server SM for sending multimedia data to the user equipment EU, - a BDC database of all available multimedia files, - an information system SI which manages especially all the information

  underwriting U user and charging,

  a CR event collector in the network, an ALG analysis module which will be detailed hereinafter, a user BDU database, which groups together all the service user profile information and user logs. and a GES transfer manager, controlled by the analysis module ALG, responsible for transferring multimedia contents in advance to the reception module REC.

  An example of distribution of these functional entities into physical entities is represented in FIG. 2, in the case where the user equipment UE is a home gateway: the home gateway P implements all the functional entities of the user equipment UE.

  - The home gateway P is connected to several terminals T, which are a digital television, a box of services of voice over IP, according to the English Internet Protocol, a digital hi-fi system, and a personal computer. The user U uses one of these terminals to access the services of the home gateway P. - The content servers SC contain the multimedia servers SM and the database BDC.

  - The SG cache management server contains the ALG analysis module, the BDU database, the CR event collector and the GHG transfer manager.

  - The servers of the information system SSI contain the information system SI.

  The main entities necessary for this embodiment of the invention will now be presented separately.

  The event collector CE collects information on the actions performed by the user U in the user equipment locally, ie without any interaction with the distribution network, and information on the system events detected by the user equipment. The actions recorded by the CE collector concern the user commands placed with the ML module of the user equipment, in particular the menu choices, the requests for multimedia contents, the recordings and readings made by the user U The system events detected in the The UE user equipment concerns the warning signals or the error messages on the hardware and software states of the user equipment. For example, a content not found or an absent device is a system event reported by the collector CE. This makes it possible to keep up to date the list of contents that have actually been read. This list is contained in the user history stored in the BDU database.

  Each piece of information collected by the CE collector is time stamped for later analysis by the ALG analysis module. Moreover this information is assimilated to an E event described in a format shown in Figure 3. This format includes at least the following fields: - The field called "Code" and referenced CCO contains a code that identifies the type of the event E. - The field called "User Id" and referenced CUI uniquely identifies the user at the origin of the event E. The field called "Timestamp" and referenced CHO contains the date and time of the event E. The field called "Element" and referenced CEL contains the object on which the event E. is concerned. In general this object refers to a multimedia content, by DC content descriptors. In this case, the field 2878101 9 "Element" contains one or more descriptors DC of the multimedia content associated with the collected event E.

  These DC descriptors indicate for each content the genre, the style, the title or the actors associated with the corresponding multimedia file. They are derived from tables or program guides for example. All or part of this collection of events can be enriched later, for example by the analysis module ALG, if the collector CE has only the information of the title of a film at the time of collection of the corresponding event.

  The use of the CCO field for the coding of the collected events is represented in the table TAB1, which is not limiting, of FIG. 4. Thus, the action of reading a multimedia content is an event identified by a code Eal, and which comprises in its field "Element" the title of the corresponding multimedia content, - the action of recording a multimedia content is an event identified by a code Ea2, and which includes in its field "Element" the title of the corresponding multimedia content, l action of deleting previously recorded multimedia content is an event identified by a code Ea3, and which has in its field "Element" the title of the corresponding multimedia content, - the action of searching for a title among a genre in a menu is a an event identified by a code Ea4, and which includes in its field "Element" the name of the corresponding genre, - the action of searching for the characteristics of a multimedia content, for example the act The duration of a film, or its duration, is an event identified by a code Ea5, and which has in its field "Element" the name of the corresponding multimedia content.

  The CE event collector traces the events formatted according to FIG. 3 to the ALG analysis module, as the events arrive.

  In parallel with the collection of events at the level of the user equipment, the event collector CR in the distribution network records, for each user, at the same time: - the significant events of the exchanges of multimedia contents between the SM multimedia servers and the multimedia software module ML, and between the GES transfer manager and the reception module REC. These events are for example a request for downloading multimedia content by the user U or the response of the server to this request.

  o - the transactional events that frame these exchanges and which are linked to a communication between the multimedia servers SM and the information system SI. These events are for example a request for authorization, an acknowledgment or the sending of a tax ticket.

  the charging events that are detected at the level of the information system SI, for example the provision of its account by the user.

  Each event collected by the collector CR is presented in the same format as that used by the collector CE, which format is shown in FIG. 3. Each event is also time stamped and coded.

  Table TAB2 in FIG. 5 represents a non-limiting codification of events.

  Thus, the action of searching for a genre available in the multimedia servers SM is an event identified by an East code, and which includes in its field "Element" the name of the corresponding genre, - the action of searching for a title in the multimedia servers SM is an event identified by a code Es2, and which includes in its field "Element" the title of the corresponding multimedia content, 2878101 11 - the action of listing available titles, in the multimedia servers SM, for a genre, is an event identified by a code Es3, and which has in its field "Element" the name of the corresponding genre, - the action of requesting the transfer for reading the "title" document to the multimedia servers SM is an event identified by a code Es4, which has in its field "Element" the name of the corresponding title, - the action of buying a multimedia content is an event identified by a code Et1, and which includes in its field "Element" the name of the content corresponding multimedia, where the action of subscribing to a series for a duration is an event identified by a code Et2, and which includes in its field "Element" the name of the series and the corresponding duration, - the action of to supply his account with a certain amount is an event identified by an Et3 code, and which includes in its "Element" field the corresponding amount.

  The event collector CR records the events formatted according to Figure 3 to the ALG analysis module, as these events arrive.

  The user database BIDU contains user-specific data U, which are priority rules, the use of which is explained below, and three data tables. These tables are the table of habits TH represented in FIG. 6, a table of parameters TP and a table of states TE, described below and represented in FIG. 8.

  The habit table TH contains a profile of the habits of the user U and is recorded in the form of a sequence of descriptors DH, represented in FIG. 6. Each descriptor reflects a more or less marked habit of the user U for a genre, media content, style or actor. These descriptors are derived from the DC content descriptors associated with the events reported by the CE and CR collectors, that is to say concerning the contents likely to interest or have interested the user U. The DH descriptors are thus created. or destroyed in the habit table over the course of events. Each recently consulted content thus has in the table TH a descriptor DH corresponding to a descriptor DC extracted from this consultation action. It should be noted that the user's history, contained in the TP parameter table described below, retains information permanently.

  Each DH descriptor includes a PR field, which indicates the priority of the descriptor, a field called CODE, which characterizes the descriptor type, and a PARAM field, which contains a parameter qualifying the descriptor.

  In this embodiment of the invention, four types of DH descriptors are defined, but other types may be added to refine the user's pattern of habits.

  The description of the different types of descriptors is summarized in the table TAB3 of FIG. 7. Thus: the first type of descriptor DH is the type "GENRE", which identifies a user's habit for a kind of multimedia content, by example for symphonic music or for crime films. The type descriptor "GENRE" contains in the field "PARAM" the name of the genre corresponding to this habit.

  The second type of DH descriptor is the "TITLE" type, which identifies a user's habit for a well-defined multimedia content, for example for a preferred movie or a favorite show. The type descriptor "TITLE" contains in the field "PARAM" the name of the title corresponding to this multimedia content.

  - The third type of DH descriptor is the "ACTOR" type, which identifies a user's habit for a speaker, for example a favorite actor, singer or writer. The "ACTOR" type descriptor contains in the "PARAM" field the name of this preferred speaker.

  The fourth type of descriptor DH is the type "STYLE" which identifies a user's habit for a style of multimedia content, for example a style intended for teenagers or do-it-yourselfers. The 2878101 13 type descriptor "STYLE" contains in the field "PARAM" the name of this style.

  The priority value of the PR field is the defining element of habits. It allows to prioritize the habits for each user. For example, for a given user, the habit of a certain "gender" is more important than other habits.

  The habits table is updated by the analysis module ALG, according to the task T1 of FIG. 8 and explained below.

  W The priority rules are used in the aforementioned processing Ti. They indicate how to change the PR parameter DH descriptors of the TH habit table based on the arrival of an event E. The priority rules are either static or updated by the ALG analysis module, by example to each T2 'treatment shown in Figure 8 and explained later.

  The TP parameter table contains: - the preferences that the user U has meant during his subscription or updates in his subscriber profile, - the cumulative history of the U user's consultations, a connectivity table .

  The preferences of the user in the parameter table are updated by the information system. For example, these preferences will indicate a preferred style or genre.

  The cumulative history of the U user's consultations contains among other things the list of all the contents read by the user, for example since one year. This history is updated by the analysis module, but not necessarily during the arrival of each event: The history is for example periodically updated every night.

  The connectivity table is a way of linking certain multimedia content to other related multimedia content. This table is updated by the content providers, for example by using statistical programs that analyze the habits profiles of all users, and deduce which contents are related to each other. The connectivity table indicates in particular: for a given content style, all the contents related to this style: for example for the "teenager" style, the connectivity table provides a list of multimedia contents close to this style.

  - for a given genre, all genres related to this genre. For example for the genre "detective film", the connectivity table indicates o the genre "movie with suspense".

  - for a given title, all titles related to this title, for example for the title "Rambo 2", the table will indicate "Cobra", "Rambo 3", etc. related content "by default", that is, content that may be of interest to most users, such as content on a hot topic or the best book of the year.

  This connectivity table extends the usual elements of the user. The scope of the documents that will be proposed to him in advance, will be extended to topics related to those already requested, to the news, to his lifestyle.

  The state table TE contains information on the state of the cache C and on the state of the transmission line between the user equipment UE and the distribution network.

  The information on the status of the cache memory comprises: information on the state machine of the cache memory, that is to say its available state, unavailable or awaiting reception of contents for example, and information on the state of filling of the cache memory, i.e. the contents present in the cache memory, and the filling of the cache memory with respect to some content-based filler quotas, for example, information on the fact that the percentage of the television news cache is reached. The information on the state of the user line includes: -

  Subscription information on the user connection, including the nature of the line and the rate subscribed, for example the fact that the user has an ADSL connection at 512Kbit / s, - And information about the current state of the connection , especially on the status of the queues to the network, that is to say the number of requests in progress to the multimedia servers. This makes it possible not to transfer data to the cache memory when the user is viewing a video in real time from a media server.

  The C cache information is updated by the GES handler, and the line status information is updated by the SM media servers, the GES handler, and the system. SI information. The latter provides information on the nature and possibly the state of the connection of the user.

  The I3DC content database includes a list of all the multimedia files available in the multimedia servers, with their content descriptors DC. This table is updated by the content providers.

  The task of the GES data transfer manager is to trigger automatically and without a request from the user the transfer of multimedia data that are intended to be used by him according to a high probability rate. This transfer takes place in several stages and at times when the load of the networks is low, thus relieving the servers and networks of transmissions.

  The reception module REC, local to the user equipment, is an autonomous system of communication with the network. Its role is to recover the multimedia data sent by the transfer manager GHG, then store them in the cache C available to the multimedia software in the ML module. It also communicates to the GES transfer manager the states of the cache memory of the user equipment and the acknowledgments of good reception of the data. In general, it allows the GHG transfer manager to control the state of the cache memory C. It has in particular a program for managing the cache C and to know the contents available in the cache memory. In addition, it has a dialog interface with the GHG transfer manager. This interface uses, for example, a programming interface of XMLRPC type, according to the English eXtensible Markup Language Remote Procedure Cali. It allows the GHG handler to request the receiving module REC to start a client file transfer application to receive a file in advance. It also allows the GHG transfer manager to use other commands to control the cache C, for example to ask the REC receiver module to erase a file on the disk.

  The reception module REC maintains a table of contents available in the cache memory C. This table is used primarily by the multimedia software module ML. The latter therefore proposes, without delay, documents that correspond with a high probability to the expectations of the user.

  The ALG analysis module interacts with both the CR and CE information collectors, the BDU user database, the BDC content database and the GHG transfer manager.

  It identifies the habits of the user more and more precisely, thanks to the events reported by the collectors CE and CR, according to the task Ti, represented in FIG.

  2878101 17 II establishes a list of multimedia files to be sent to the user, and which is transmitted to the transfer manager for sending, according to task T2, represented in FIG. 8.

  It should be noted that T1 and T2 tasks are asynchronous.

  In addition to the T1 and T2 tasks, the analysis module updates, for example periodically, the user history and the priority rules. It also uses the events sent by the collectors CR and CE for functions other than that of the task Ti, in particular to request the transfer manager GHG to delete in the cache C the contents -io multimedia already registered by the User U. The operation of the system used in this embodiment of the invention is now described.

  The user U consults audiovisual contents via his multimedia software module ML present in the EU equipment. This phase is classic.

  Collectors CE and CR collecteni. in parallel and in a continuous manner the events relating to the user U and send them to the analysis module ALG, which processes them according to the task T1.

  The task Ti enables the analysis module to draw up a profile of the user's habits U, such as for example his interests in the musical domains or his habits of purchasing contents, by following the steps represented in FIG.

  In a first step E1, the analysis algorithm receives an event E collected by the collector CE or the collector CR.

  In a second step E2, the analysis algorithm searches for the DH descriptors of the table TH of habits concerned by this event E, by examining the content of the "Element" field of the event E. For example if the field " Element "contains a DC content descriptor corresponding to a movie title, the analysis algorithm looks for the descriptor DH corresponding to that movie title. If a DC content descriptor in the "Element" field has no associated DH descriptor in the TH pattern table, the analysis algorithm creates one.

  In a third step E3, the analysis algorithm processes the DH descriptors thus obtained using the priority rules contained in the database BDU, as explained hereinafter.

  Finally, in the last step E4 of the task Ti, the table of habits TH is updated. For this, the DH descriptors modified in step E3 are updated in the table TH. If one of these descriptors was created in step E2, it is added in the TH pattern table. El o

  According to the processing of step E3, the priority rules use the input event E to adapt the priority of the DH descriptors determined or created in step E2 as output. For this purpose, they define for each type of event collected by the CE and CR collectors, the evolution of the priority of the DH descriptors associated with the content relating to the event collected, in the

table of habits.

  For example, one of these priority rules indicates that the feedback of an event Eal corresponding to the reading of a content by the user U, increments the DH descriptor of type 'TITER' corresponding to this content of 1, and increments the DH type descriptor "STYLE" corresponding to this content of 2.

  An example of precedence rules is shown in Figure 10. The signs + or - at the intersection of a given column and row indicate an increase or decrease in the DH descriptor priority of the corresponding column, the type of event collected on the corresponding line.

  For example, if the user records a content, which corresponds to the event Ea2, the priority of the descriptor of type 'TITLE' corresponding to this content is incremented, because this translates Sun interest for this title.

  Events reported by CE and CR collectors that are not content-related have no effect on descriptors or affect all descriptors at once: for example, priority rules 2878101 19 indicate that user's account provision increments all descriptors by 1.

  The priority rules are regularly refined for each user according to his preferences and his history, for example each T2 treatment of the analysis module. Thus, if the user U declares that he does not want to watch the films twice, the priority of the films played is decremented in his table of habits, in order to favor the films not already seen.

  According to the task T2 shown in FIG. 8, the analysis module uses the table TH, the parameter table TP, the state table TE and the database BDC to determine a list of multimedia files. to be transferred from the GHG transfer manager to the reception module REC in the user equipment, in a certain order of priority.

  In particular, the parameter table allows the analysis module to weight the priorities of the habits table: for example, if the history proves that the user prefers a certain weekend, and that the task T2 is carried out on a Friday night, the priority of this kind is multiplied by a factor of 2 during the duration of the treatment of task T2.

  The habit table TH allows the analysis module to have a list of search criteria for multimedia files that may be of interest to the user, in order of priority. These criteria are the first n DH descriptors having the highest priority for example, n being a configurable parameter in the analysis module. Alternatively, these criteria are for example determined by the association of the highest priority genre and the highest priority style.

  The table of connectivity of the table of parameters TP makes it possible to obtain priority search criteria for the search of related contents to be transferred to the user. These additional criteria are obtained by applying at the input of the connectivity table the priority search criteria previously obtained from the table of habits TH. The priority of the additional criterion therefore depends on that of the priority criterion from which it is obtained.

  The status table is used to determine the number of files to be transferred according to certain quotas. For example, the cache has a quota of 80% of its free space to contain media files that are likely to interest the user, such as his favorite soap opera, and 20% of his free space to contain related topics.

  The BDC content database allows the ALG analysis module to search for the media files to be transferred in order of priority using the search criteria determined using the habit table, as well as the connectivity table, as previously explained. . Multimedia files that are already present in the cache are not retained in the result of this search. Taking the examples of cache quotas mentioned above, the analysis module will search for 80% of priority files directly likely to interest the user, and 20% of multimedia files on related subjects.

  The task T2 thus comprises the succession of the following steps, as represented in FIG. 11: The step E5 is the weighting by the analysis module ALG, of the priorities of the descriptors DH of the table of habits TH, in view of the user history 20 and its preferences.

  Step E6 is the search of the multimedia contents likely to interest the user by the analysis module ALG The analysis module uses as search criteria in the BDC contents database the types of descriptors DH the most priority of the TH table of habits.

  To search for related content, the analysis module also uses the search criteria obtained from the connectivity table.

  Step E7 is the ranking of the contents thus obtained in order of priority, the highest priority contents being those obtained with the highest priority criteria.

  Step E8 is the elimination in the list of multimedia contents thus obtained, by the analysis module ALG, multimedia contents already present in the cache memory.

  Step E9 is the determination by the analysis module ALG of lists of files to be transferred into the cache memory, from the list of multimedia contents thus obtained, and taking into account the state of filling of the memory. hidden. These files are ranked in order of priority in each list, each list corresponding to a content type governed by a quota.

  The step El0 is the sending, by the analysis module ALG, of the lists of files thus obtained to the transfer manager GHG.

  The transfer handler GES receives from the analysis module ALG the names of the files to be transferred for the user U. It uses the state table to determine the appropriate moment to transfer these files to the user U, depending on the available space in the cache and network constraints. Transfers, taking place in anticipation, are at restricted bandwidth and during the night or during busy hours. This presents a big advantage for access and content providers.

  When the GHG transfer manager decides to transfer data to the user U, he makes the appropriate requests to the media servers to receive the corresponding files, and then transfers the data to the receiving module REC.

Claims (1)

  1. A method for transferring data from a distribution network to a user equipment (UE), via a communication network, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: - collecting information concerning the interactions between a user (U ) and the user equipment, - analyzing the information collected (E2, E3) to update (E4) a table of habits (TH) for the given user, determining priority data to be transferred (E5, E6, E7, E8, E9) according to the table of habits, the priority of these data being all the more important that the habit or the expectation of the user with respect to these data is strong, - transfer of said data (El0) by a transfer manager (GES) in the distribution network to a receiving module (REC) in the user equipment, the receiving module having the function of storing said data in a storage space (C) of the equipment used r, said storage space being controlled by the distribution network.   Method for transferring data to a user equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the updating of the habit table (TH) uses priority rules which analyze the collected information to determine the character more or less priority of the elements of the table of habits (TH), said priority character influencing the determination of the priority data to be transferred.   Method for transferring data to a user equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the habit table (TH) is used in combination with other data such as content databases, tables of connectivity, the user history or the user's declared preferences, to determine a list of priority data files to be transferred to the user equipment.   A method of transferring data to a user equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the transfer manager (GES) in the distribution network uses information on the status of the user line for transfer said data to the user equipment. io   5. A method of transferring data to a user equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the receiving module (REC) of said data in the user equipment back information on the state of the storage space (C) to the system in the distribution network implementing the method.   6. A method of transferring data to a user equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the receiving module (REC) of said data makes available to the consulting software the content of the data available in the application. 'storage space.   7. Program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   8. Data transfer device containing means for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   9. User equipment containing means for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   10. Domestic gateway containing means for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.