NZ745787B2 - System and method for delivering digital content - Google Patents
System and method for delivering digital content Download PDFInfo
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- NZ745787B2 NZ745787B2 NZ745787A NZ74578718A NZ745787B2 NZ 745787 B2 NZ745787 B2 NZ 745787B2 NZ 745787 A NZ745787 A NZ 745787A NZ 74578718 A NZ74578718 A NZ 74578718A NZ 745787 B2 NZ745787 B2 NZ 745787B2
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- display
- devices
- streaming
- controller
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- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 41
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 claims description 31
- 230000010354 integration Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000005266 casting Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000001413 cellular effect Effects 0.000 claims 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 7
- 229910003460 diamond Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000010432 diamond Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000013507 mapping Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000011012 sanitization Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000007726 management method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010200 validation analysis Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
- G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
- G06F9/46—Multiprogramming arrangements
- G06F9/54—Interprogram communication
- G06F9/541—Interprogram communication via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
- H04L65/1066—Session management
- H04L65/1069—Session establishment or de-establishment
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/21—Server components or server architectures
- H04N21/214—Specialised server platform, e.g. server located in an airplane, hotel, hospital
- H04N21/2143—Specialised server platform, e.g. server located in an airplane, hotel, hospital located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/21—Server components or server architectures
- H04N21/218—Source of audio or video content, e.g. local disk arrays
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
- H04N21/258—Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data
- H04N21/25866—Management of end-user data
- H04N21/25875—Management of end-user data involving end-user authentication
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
- H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
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- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
- H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
- H04N21/4122—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices additional display device, e.g. video projector
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- H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
- H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
- H04N21/4126—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
- H04N21/414—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
- H04N21/41407—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
- H04N21/4363—Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
- H04N21/43637—Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11]
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- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/44—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream or rendering scenes according to encoded video stream scene graphs
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- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
- H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
- H04N21/4524—Management of client data or end-user data involving the geographical location of the client
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- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
- H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client
- H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
- H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
- H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
- H04W4/06—Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W8/00—Network data management
- H04W8/005—Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
Abstract
system (10) and method for selectively delivering digital content from a mobile device (22), to a display device (16), such as a Chromecast enabled television (18) in a hotel room (14). The method includes broadcasting advertisement signals from display devices (16) in different rooms over a first network (26) indicating that the display devices are available to receive digital content. A controller (24) generates a database of the room location of the display devices. Commands are sent from the mobile device to display digital content on the display device over a second network (28). The controller receives the commands on the second network and identifies the registered room number of the mobile device. The display commands are sent from the controller to the display device on the first network based on the room location of the display device and the room location of the mobile device. network (26) indicating that the display devices are available to receive digital content. A controller (24) generates a database of the room location of the display devices. Commands are sent from the mobile device to display digital content on the display device over a second network (28). The controller receives the commands on the second network and identifies the registered room number of the mobile device. The display commands are sent from the controller to the display device on the first network based on the room location of the display device and the room location of the mobile device.
Description
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING DIGITAL CONTENT
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of US Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 62/551,304, titled System and Method for Delivering
Digital Content, filed August 29, 2017, and US Provisional Patent Application Serial
No. 62/580,486, titled Improved System and Method of Delivering Digital Content,
filed November 2, 2017.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for
delivering digital content to a display device and, more particularly, to a system and
method for selectively casting audio-visual digital content from a user’s mobile device
to only a Chromecast display device in a hotel room registered to the user, where the
hotel has many Chromecast display devices in its rooms operating on the same
network.
Discussion of the Related Art
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no
way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part
of common general knowledge in the field.
Chromecast™ is a digital media device that connects to an HDMI port of a
high definition television, or other suitable device, and that allows a user to display
audio-visual digital content on the television that is streamed or casted using a
compatible streaming application or “app,” such a Hulu™, Netflix™, Pandora™,
YouTube™, Spotify™, etc., from the user’s cell phone or personal computer. The
user downloads the Chromecast app onto his/her cell phone, and during the set-up
process of the app the user can identify, list and name any number of televisions that
include a digital media device and that operate on the same network. The cell phone
is also loaded with one or more of the streaming apps, where the user will open the
desired streaming app, select the desired output device, such as a television, from
the list, select particular content on the streaming app to be cast or streamed, and
press a cast button on the app to stream the selected content to the selected output
device. The streaming app is used to navigate through the content while the content
is being displayed.
The Chromecast protocol discussed above operates as intended in a
private environment with a limited number of output devices that can be selected.
However, in a public environment, such as in a hotel, there may be many output
devices operating on the same network as a Chromecast media player, such as in
each separate hotel room. In the general Chromecast use case discussed above, the
user could identify and select from any of those output devices using the streaming
app, such as output devices in other people’s rooms, resulting in obvious problems
for other users in those rooms making that general use unacceptable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least
one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. It is also
an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a way in which only
the output device in the user’s room can be selected for streaming digital content.
The following discussion discloses and describes a system and method for
selectively delivering audio and/or visual digital content from a mobile device, such
as a cell phone, to a display device, such as a Chromecast enabled television in a
hotel room.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for
delivering audio and/or visual digital content from a mobile device to a display device,
the method comprising broadcasting advertisement signals from a plurality of the
display devices over a first WiFi network indicating that the display devices are
available to receive audio and/or visual digital content. A device controller receives
the advertisement signals on the first network and generates a database identifying
each display device that is available and its location. Display commands are sent
from the mobile device to display audio and/or visual digital content on one of the
plurality of display devices over a second WiFi network, wherein the mobile device is
not connected to the first WiFi network. The device controller receives the display
commands on the second network and identifies the location of the mobile device
that sent the display commands. The display commands are sent from the device
controller to a selected one of the display devices on the first network based on the
location of the selected one display device and the location of the mobile device, and
the audio and/or visual content is displayed on the selected one of the display
devices. At least some of the display commands are streaming signals including
information corresponding to the audio and/or visual digital content to be displayed
on the selected one of the display devices, wherein the streaming signals are
transferred from the mobile device to the device controller on the second network
and from the device controller to the selected one of the display devices on the first
network. The device controller does not decipher, interpret, or change the streaming
signals originating from the mobile device prior to transferring the streaming signals
to the selected one of the display devices.
Preferably, the mobile device is registered to a user in a certain hotel room
to display audio and/or visual digital content on the display device in that room over
the second WiFi network. It is also preferred that the device controller receives the
display commands on the second network and identifies the registered room number
of the mobile device that sent the commands. It is further preferred that the display
commands are sent from the display controller to the display devices on the first
network based on the room location of the display device and the room location of
the mobile device, and the audio and/or visual content is displayed on the display
device.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for selectively
delivering audio and/or visual digital content in a hotel, said method comprising:
providing a Chromecast enabled device in each of a plurality of rooms in
the hotel;
broadcasting advertisement signals from the Chromecast enabled devices
over a first WiFi network indicating that the Chromecast enabled devices are
available to receive and display audio and/or visual digital content;
registering mobile devices brought by guests staying in the hotel rooms in
a registration database using a second WiFi network, where each mobile device
includes a Chromecast application capable of operating the Chromecast enabled
device in the hotel room and at least one streaming application that is capable of
streaming audio and/or digital content to the Chromecast enabled device;
providing a controller that controls the delivery of the audio and/or digital
content from the mobile devices to the Chromecast enabled devices;
receiving the advertisement signals by the controller on the first network,
said controller generating a display device database identifying each of the
Chromecast enabled devices that is available and its room location;
sending display commands from a particular one of the mobile devices to
display audio and/or visual digital content on one of the Chromecast enabled devices
over the second network;
receiving the display commands on the second network at the controller,
said controller identifying the room location of the mobile device from the registration
database that sent the display commands; and
sending the display commands from the controller over the first network to
a selected one of the Chromecast enabled devices based on the location of the
selected one of the Chromecast enabled devices and the room location of the mobile
device and displaying the audio and/or visual content on the selected one of the
Chromecast enabled devices.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a system for delivering
audio and/or visual digital content from a mobile device to a display device, said
system comprising:
means for broadcasting advertisement signals from a plurality of display
devices over a first WiFi network indicating that the display devices are available to
receive audio and/or visual digital content;
means for receiving the advertisement signals on the first network at a
device controller, said device controller generating a database identifying each
display device that is available and its location;
means for registering mobile devices brought by guests staying in the hotel
rooms in a registration database using a second WiFi network, wherein the mobile
device is not connected to the first WiFi network;
means for sending display commands from the mobile devices to display
audio and/or visual digital content on the plurality of display devices over the second
WiFi network;
means for receiving the display commands on the second network at the
device controller, said device controller identifying a location of the mobile devices
that sent the display commands;
means for sending the display commands from the device controller to a
selected one of the display devices on the first network based on the location of the
selected one display device and the location of the mobile device and means for
displaying the audio and/or visual content on the selected one of the display devices;
wherein at least some of the display commands are streaming signals
including information corresponding to the audio and/or visual digital content to be
displayed on the selected one of the display devices, wherein the streaming signals
are transferred from the mobile device to the device controller on the second network
and from the device controller to the selected one of the display devices on the first
network; and
wherein the device controller does not decipher, interpret, or change the
streaming signals originating from the mobile device prior to transferring the
streaming signals to the selected one of the display devices.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description
and the claims, the words “comprise”, “comprising”, and the like are to be construed
in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say,
in the sense of “including, but not limited to”.
Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent from the
following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the drawings as set out below.
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital content delivery system for
selectively controlling streaming of audio-visual digital content from a mobile device
registered to a hotel room guest and a Chromecast enabled device in the hotel room;
Figure 2 is a flow chart diagram showing a process for identifying
Chromecast devices provided in a number of hotel rooms and registered guests of
those hotel rooms; and
Figure 3 is a flow chart diagram showing a process for allowing a
registered guest at the hotel having a Chromecast enabled mobile device to only
stream to the Chromecast device in his/her room.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The following discussion of the embodiments of the disclosure directed to a
system and method for selectively casting, streaming or otherwise delivering audio-
visual digital content from a mobile device to a Chromecast enabled device in a hotel
or other public area is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit
the invention or its applications or uses.
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital content delivery system 10 for
selectively controlling the delivery of audio-visual digital content to certain display
devices, such as televisions, in a public area, such as a hotel 12. Although it is the
hotel 12 that is used herein to illustrate the embodiments of this disclosure, it is noted
that the delivery of digital content as discussed within other public areas may be
equally applicable. The hotel 12 includes a number of hotel rooms 14 each including
a television 16, or other device, that is equipped with a Chromecast display device 18
that allows the television 16 to display audio-visual content that is cast or streamed
from a properly equipped source. Although the discussion herein refers to the
Chromecast device 18 as being the device that allows the audio-visual content to be
displayed on the television 16, it is meant as merely an example of such a device,
where other devices, such as an Android TV, may also be applicable.
A hotel guest 20 may be occupying a certain one of the hotel rooms 14 at
any given point in time, and may bring with him/her a personal mobile device 22,
such as a cell phone, smartphone, laptop, desktop computer, tablet computer, etc.
The personal device 12 may be loaded with the necessary Chromecast app that
allows it to recognize and communicate with the Chromecast device 18 on a common
network and be loaded with one or more streaming apps, such as Netflix, YouTube,
Spotify, etc., that allows the device 22 to stream audio and/or visual digital content to
the device 18 in the manner discussed above. The system 10 also includes a
controller 24 that is located in the network facility of the hotel 14, such as in a server
closet. The controller 24 is in communication with the Chromecast devices 18 in
every room 14 on a controller WiFi network 26 and is in communication with all of the
registered personal devices 22 in the hotel 12 on a separate guest WiFi network 28.
As will be discussed in detail below, the controller 24 operates various processes and
algorithms that only allow each personal device 22 to stream digital content to the
television 16 that is in the room 14 that is registered to the guest 20 associated with
that device 22.
Each of the Chromecast devices 18 broadcasts signals or advertisements
over the controller WiFi network 26 that indicate it is available to receive commands
from a Chromecast app to display the audio-visual content on the television 16 it is
connected to. Those signals are received by the controller 24, which generates a
database or “map” in its memory that identifies which Chromecast devices 18 are
available at what IP address and the specific room 14 in which each of the identified
Chromecast devices 18 is located. The controller 24 also monitors each of the
Chromecast devices 18 when in use over the controller network 26 to identify certain
statistics for each of the devices 18, such as what app they are currently running, for
example, Netflix, Hulu, etc., so that the controller 24 knows whether the Chromecast
devices 18 are on line and active.
The personal devices 22 do not see the signals or advertisements
broadcast from the Chromecast devices 18 indicating they are available to receive
and display content because they are not connected to the controller network 26, but
are connected to the guest network 28. The controller 24 operates a Chromecast
application protocol while in communication with the personal devices 22 over the
guest network 28 so that the personal devices 22 think they are in communication
with the Chromecast devices 18 when they actually are not. When the guest 20
opens a streaming app on his/her personal device 22 that is properly configured with
the Chromecast app to cast audio-visual digital content to a Chromecast device 18,
the controller 24 identifies what room 14 that device 22 is registered to and only
displays a selection for the Chromecast device 18 that is in the room 14 associated
with that guest 20 so that the guest 20 cannot select any other of the Chromecast
devices 18 in other rooms 14. In other words, when a guest 20 attempts to connect to
a Chromecast device 18, the controller 24 receives the command signal from the
guest’s personal device 22 on the network 28, and then verifies from previously
stored IP address information what room 14 that device 22 is associated with.
Usually, when a guest 20 attempts to connect his/her device 22 to the guest WiFi
network 28, they are required to enter their name and room number, so that the
controller 24 will have that information. The controller 24 transfers the streaming
signals it receives from the personal devices 22 on the guest network 28 to the
selected Chromecast device 18 on the controller network 26. In other words, the
controller 24 operates as only a gateway or tunnel between the Chromecast devices
18 and the personal devices 22 in that the controller 24 does not decipher, interpret
or otherwise change the commands from the personal device 22 to the Chromecast
device 18. In this manner, the controller 24 does not know what streaming apps the
personal device 22 is streaming on the Chromecast device 18 or the content that is
being streamed.
The discussion above concerning selectively displaying audio-visual digital
content on a certain one of the Chromecast devices 18 is described in more detail in
the following two flow chart diagrams. Figure 2 is a flow chart diagram 30 showing an
algorithm operating in the controller 24 for identifying all of the operating Chromecast
devices 18 that are available in the hotel 12 and their locations or room numbers and
identifying all of the personal devices 22 that are registered on the network 28 and
their location or registered room numbers. At box 32, the controller 24 obtains a list of
all the currently available Chromecast compatible streaming applications from
Google™, i.e., Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, etc., and generates a service profile,
using, for example, a RESTful™ application programming interface (API), that
includes all of the Chromecast applications, where the service profile mimics the
service availability of each of the Chromecast devices 18. This process may include
starting or restarting a third-party server daemon to announce the availability of the
controller 24 and support for the streaming apps in the service profile on all of the
network adapters.
At box 34, the controller 24 identifies each of the Chromecast devices 18
using, for example, a standard compliance service that supports casting connected to
the controller network 26. The controller 24 reaches out to a master Google database
over the Internet to obtain Chromecast mapping information that identifies which
Chromecast device 18 is in which of the rooms 14, and stores in the memory of the
controller 24 the mapping information for the Chromecast devices 18.
At box 36, the personal devices 22 are authenticated or registered, which
may include employing an authentication engine to authenticate the personal devices
22 and creating an in-memory database in the controller 24 containing information
about each of the devices 22. If available, user access gateway integration is
employed that includes reaching out to a third-party user access gateway, or the
same party user access gateway, to obtain a list of currently authenticated personal
devices 22 that have been registered on the network 28. The information is parsed
and sanitized, and then stored in an authentication engine database. The process
may require that the guest 20 subscribe to a certain level of bandwidth or require that
the guest 20 purchases the ability to utilize the in-room casting service. If user
access gateway integration is not available or the third-party does not support the
user access gateway, the controller 24 can use an API service for authenticating or
registering the personal devices 22 by last name and room number. When the
registration information is posted to the API service, the information is posted against
the third-party property management system for validation if the information is
available. The information is stored in the authentication engine database after being
parsed and sanitized. An error message is returned if the registration process of a
personal device 22 in the controller 24 fails.
Figure 3 is a flow chart diagram 40 showing how the guest 20 connects
his/her personal device 22 to the Chromecast device 18 in his/her room 14. At box
42, the guest 20 connects his/her device 22 to the guest WiFi network 28 using the
hotel registration process, and at box 44 the guest 20 authenticates his/her personal
device 22 with the third-party user access gateway or open access is granted by, for
example, selecting the guest network 28 in the settings of the personal device 22. At
decision diamond 46, the algorithm determines if the hotel 12 has user access
gateway integration, and if so, the guest 20 opens a Chromecast enabled streaming
application, such as Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, etc., on the guest device 22 and
presses the “cast” button on the device 22 at box 48. The guest 20 is then prompted
to connect to vCast on the personal device 22 or is auto-connected to vCast, which
connects the personal device 22 to the controller 24 over the network 28 at box 50.
When the personal device 22 attempts to connect to the controller 24 to stream the
content, a device request is matched to the information in the authentication engine
to determine what room number the guest 20 is registered to at box 52. If there is no
registration information, the connection is immediately dropped or rejected. At box
54, the controller 24 looks up the corresponding Chromecast device 18 in that
guest’s room, and accepts the incoming connection from the device 22 to the
Chromecast device 18. The controller 24 then creates a connection to the
corresponding Chromecast device 18, and the guest 20 proceeds to interact with the
streaming application and casts content to the Chromecast device 18 for that specific
guest room at box 56.
If the hotel 12 does not have user access gateway integration at the
decision diamond 46, the guest 20 can visit the app store on the device 22, and
download, install and launch the vCast application at box 60. The application
searches the wireless network 28 for the API service at box 62 discussed above, and
once located, the vCast application displays a prompt for the guest’s last name and
room number at box 64. The guest 20 clicks or presses “register” on the personal
device 22 at box 66 and the information discussed above is posted to the API. If the
registration does not fail, a success message is displayed. Once the device 22 is
registered the process then proceeds to the box 48 to launch the streaming
application. Alternately, if the hotel 12 does not have user access gateway integration
at the decision diamond 46, the controller 24 can manage and display a pairing code
on the Chromecast device 18 at box 68, where the guest 20 will enter the pairing
code at the box 64 instead of the last name and room number.
The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary
embodiments of the present disclosure. One skilled in the art will readily recognize
from such discussion and from the accompanying drawings and claims that various
changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from
the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined in the following claims.
Claims (18)
1. A method for delivering audio and/or visual digital content from a mobile device to a display device, said method comprising: broadcasting advertisement signals from a plurality of display devices over a first WiFi network indicating that the display devices are available to receive audio and/or visual digital content; receiving the advertisement signals on the first network at a device controller, said device controller generating a database identifying each display device that is available and its location; sending display commands from a mobile device to display audio and/or visual digital content on one of the plurality of display devices over a second WiFi network, wherein the mobile device is not connected to the first WiFi network; receiving the display commands on the second network at the device controller, said device controller identifying a location of the mobile device that sent the display commands; and sending the display commands from the device controller to a selected one of the display devices on the first network based on the location of the selected one display device and the location of the mobile device and displaying the audio and/or visual content on the selected one of the display devices; wherein at least some of the display commands are streaming signals including information corresponding to the audio and/or visual digital content to be displayed on the selected one of the display devices, wherein the streaming signals are transferred from the mobile device to the device controller on the second network and from the device controller to the selected one of the display devices on the first network; and wherein the device controller does not decipher, interpret, or change the streaming signals originating from the mobile device prior to transferring the streaming signals to the selected one of the display.
2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising authenticating and registering the mobile device and its location as part of a database that includes registrations for a plurality of mobile devices.
3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the location of the mobile device is a room number in a hotel room.
4. The method according to claim 2 or 3 wherein registering the mobile device includes employing user access gateway integration.
5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein registering the mobile device includes using an application programming interface.
6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein registering the mobile device includes displaying a pairing code on the display device.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the plurality of display devices are streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices to facilitate streaming of audio-visual content from one device to another.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the plurality of display devices are cellular (Android) devices.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the mobile device is a cell phone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer or any other computing device that supports the necessary communications protocol.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is used for selectively delivering audio and/or visual digital content in a hotel, said method comprising: providing a streaming (Chromecast) enabled device in each of a plurality of rooms in the hotel, the streaming enabled device being enabled to facilitate streaming of audio-visual content from one device to another; wherein the plurality of display devices comprise the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices; registering mobile devices brought by guests staying in the hotel rooms in a registration database using the second WiFi network, where each mobile device includes a streaming (Chromecast) application capable of operating the streaming (Chromecast) enabled device in the hotel room and at least one streaming application that is capable of streaming audio and/or digital content to the streaming (Chromecast enabled) device; providing a controller that controls the delivery of the audio and/or digital content from the mobile devices to the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices; wherein receiving the advertisement signals comprises said controller generating the database by identifying each of the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices that is available and its room location; wherein receiving the display commands on the second network at the controller comprises said controller identifying the room location of the mobile device from the registration database that sent the display commands; and wherein sending the display commands from the controller over the first network comprising sending the display commands to a selected one of the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices is based on the location of the selected one of the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices and the room location of the mobile device and displaying the audio and/or visual content on the selected one of the streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices.
11. The method according to claim 10 wherein registering the mobile devices includes employing user access gateway integration.
12. The method according to claim 10 or 11 wherein registering the mobile devices includes using an application programming interface.
13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein registering the mobile devices includes displaying a pairing code on the streaming (Chromecast) enabled device.
14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein registering the mobile devices requires obtaining a certain level of casting bandwidth.
15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14 wherein the mobile devices are cell phones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers or any other computing device that supports the necessary communications protocol.
16. A system for delivering audio and/or visual digital content from a mobile device to a display device, said system comprising: means for broadcasting advertisement signals from a plurality of display devices over a first WiFi network indicating that the display devices are available to receive audio and/or visual digital content; means for receiving the advertisement signals on the first network at a device controller, said device controller generating a database identifying each display device that is available and its location; means for registering mobile devices brought by guests staying in the hotel rooms in a registration database using a second WiFi network, wherein the mobile devices are not connected to the first WiFi network; means for sending display commands from the mobile devices to display audio and/or visual digital content on the plurality of display devices over the second WiFi network; means for receiving the display commands on the second network at the device controller, said device controller identifying a location of the mobile devices that sent the display commands; and means for sending the display commands from the device controller to a selected one of the display devices on the first network based on the location of the selected one display device and the location of the mobile device and means for displaying the audio and/or visual content on the selected one of the display devices; wherein at least some of the display commands are streaming signals including information corresponding to the audio and/or visual digital content to be displayed on the selected one of the display devices, wherein the streaming signals are transferred from the mobile device to the device controller on the second network and from the device controller to the selected one of the display devices on the first network; and wherein the device controller does not decipher, interpret, or change the streaming signals originating from the mobile device prior to transferring the streaming signals to the selected one of the display devices.
17. The system according to claim 16 wherein the means for registering the mobile device includes means for employing user access gateway integration, means for registering the mobile device using an application programming interface, or means for displaying a pairing code on the display device.
18. The system according to claim 16 or 17 wherein the display devices are streaming (Chromecast) enabled devices to facilitate streaming of audio-visual content from one device to another or cellular (Android) devices.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201762551304P | 2017-08-29 | 2017-08-29 | |
US62/551304 | 2017-08-29 | ||
US201762580486P | 2017-11-02 | 2017-11-02 | |
US62/580486 | 2017-11-02 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
NZ745787A NZ745787A (en) | 2021-06-25 |
NZ745787B2 true NZ745787B2 (en) | 2021-09-28 |
Family
ID=
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