WO2002037487A9

WO2002037487A9 - Bca writer serialization management

Info

Publication number: WO2002037487A9
Application number: PCT/US2001/048402
Authority: WO
Inventors: Todd R Collart; Jeff Blair; Allan Lamkin
Original assignee: Res Investment Network Inc
Priority date: 2000-10-30
Filing date: 2001-10-30
Publication date: 2003-05-01
Also published as: WO2002037487A3; WO2002037487A2; JP2004513446A; AU2002230855A1

Abstract

A serialization management system consists of a job control host for assigning serial numbers to storage media, and for generating a job; a replication facility host communicatively coupled to the job control host, wherein the job control host communicates the job to the replication facility host; and a serialization writer communicatively coupled to the replication facility host, wherein the replication facility host controls the serialization writer in response to the job, and communicates status information to the job control host. In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as method for operating the serialization management system.

Description

BCA WRITER SERIALIZATION MANAGEMENT

This patent document claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/244,558, filed October 30, 2000, for ARCHITECTURE FOR A BCA WRITER SYSTEM, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention advantageously provides a serialization management system and method.

In one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a serialization management system employing a job control host for assigning serial numbers to storage media, and for generating a job; a replication facility host communicatively coupled to the job control host, wherein the job control host communicates the job to the replication facility host; and a serialization writer communicatively coupled to the replication facility host, wherein the replication facility host controls the serialization writer in response to the job, and communicates status information to the job control host. In a variation of this embodiment, a serialization writer console is coupled to the serialization writer, the serialization writer console prompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicating a batch request to the replication facility host; wherein the replication facility host communicates to the serialization writer, in response to the batch request, batch data, the batch data being generated by the replication facility host as a function of the job.

In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a serialization management method having steps of assigning serial numbers to storage media in a job control host; generating a job in the job control host; communicating the job to a replication facility host; controlling a serialization writer in response to the job; and communicating status information to the job control host.

In a variation of this method, such method has the further step of prompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicating a batch request to the replication facility host; generating batch data at the replication facility host as a function of the job; and communicating to the serialization writer, in response to the batch request, the batch data.

In another variation of this method, such method has the additional steps of writing serialization onto media with the serialization writer in response to the batch data.

In yet a further variation of this method, such method has the further additional steps of receiving a job complete indicia at a replication facility console; communicating the job complete indicia to the replication facility host; generating a job complete status in the replication facility host in response to the job complete indicia; and communicating the job complete status to the job control host.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is hardware block diagram of a BCA writer serialization management system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a BCA writer serialization management system, such as in FIG. 1 , in accordance with the one embodiment; FIG. 3 is high-level block diagram illustrating workflow in a BCA writer serialization management system, such as in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a work flow diagram illustrating steps traversed by a BCA writer serialization management system such as in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is block diagram illustrating display screens for a console of a job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 , and navigational relationships between such display screens;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a job status display screen for the console of the job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an edit jobs display screen for the console of the job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a serialization data display screen for the console of the job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a replication facilities maintenance and status display screen for the console of the job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 10 is block diagram illustrating display screen for a console of a job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 , and navigational relationships between such display screens;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a replication facility job status display screen for the console of the replication facility host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a serialization data display screen for the console of the replication facility host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a BCA writers maintenance and status display screen for the console of the replication facility host of the BCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the presently contemplated best mode of practicing the invention is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. Referring to FIG. 1 , a hardware block diagram is shown of a serialization writer, e.g., a BCA writer, serialization management system 100 in accordance with one embodiment, and, simultaneously referring to FIG. 2, a functional block diagram is shown of a BCA writer serialization management system 100, such as in FIG. 1 , in accordance with the one embodiment. The present embodiment is directed to a turnkey serialization and control system for use within multiple replication facilities 202, 202', 202", such as DVD or other media replication facilities that can control multiple serialization writers, such as BCA writers. The serialization and control system employs a master control host 102 for receipt and transmission of serialization information.

Serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210", e.g., BCA writers of various manufacturers are preferably supported, and the serialization and control system is preferably scalable to multiple replication facilities 202, 202', 204', and multiple serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210', e.g., BCA writers, per replication facility

The serialization and control system can be controlled from the master control host 102. The master control host 102 automatically updates a central database 212 during BCA writing, and the central database 212 can be used, for example, for authentication and tracking of serialized media.

Work orders can be spread across multiple replication facilities 202, 202', 202" and serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210", e.g., BCA writers, within a replication facility. In accordance with the present embodiment, the serialization writers 206,

208, 210, 206', 208', 210' also perform verification of serialization information, e.g., the BCA numbers, having been written. The central database 212 is updated to reflect whether a BCA number is read during verification, or whether a read attempt during verification fails. The BCA number written to media for which verification fails is not used on any other media, which helps to prevent/detect piracy since no number can be used twice.

The serialization and control system also supports double sided media, and allows for a BCA number to be applied to each side of the double sided media, such as double sided a DVD disc, so that the side of the media that is accessed, e.g., played, can be tracked. The writing of the BCA numbers to double sided media is effected by offsetting the laser on each side media so as to burn down through the media and not interfere with the BCA number on the other side of the media. Two different BCA numbers are applied to each side of the media.

The serialization and control system of the present embodiment includes: a master control host 102 comprising a control server, such as an Intel-based personal computer, at a central location, connected and interfaced with (such as through a network 106, such as a TCP/IP based Ethernet network) individual replication control hosts 104, 104' at multiple replication facilities 202, 202', 202", and employing an operating system, such as Windows NT/2000 from Microsoft of Washington, U.S.A.; and a replication control host 104, 104' comprising a multiprocessor control host, such as a multi-processor Intel-based personal computer, 5 at a replication facility 202, 202', 202", connected and interfaced with (such as through a network 108, such as a TCP/IP based Ethernet network) individual BCA writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210' at the replication facility, and employing an operating system, such as Linux, an open-source operating system.

Note that in an alternative embodiment, where, for example, only a single 10 replication facility is used, the job control host and the replication facility host may be implemented on a single personal computer.

Thus, the serialization and control system of the present embodiment includes two major subsystems. The first subsystem (the replication control hosts

104, 104') resides at a replication facility 202, 202', 202" and manages the

15 application of specific data sets ("serial numbers") to media, such as DVD discs.

The second subsystem (the master control host 102) resides at a centralized facility 110, 110', 110" and manages the creation of serial number sets and their assignment to specification replication facilities. A replication control host 202,

202', 202" (or replication facility host 202, 202', 202") can take job sets from

20 multiple master control hosts 102 (or job control hosts 102), and similarly a job control host 102 can provide data sets to multiple replication facility hosts 104,

104'.

The serialization and control system further includes (or is coupled to) one or more serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210', such as BCA writers 25 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210', at the replication facility 202, 202', 202".

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a block diagram is shown illustrating a high-level system architecture for a serialization and control system.

The serialization and control system includes three main components:

1. The job control host 102 - A centralized system that creates and

30 manages batches of serial numbers (jobs). The jobs are assigned to specific replication facilities 202, 202', 202". The job control host 102 manages the assignment, transmission, and tracking of jobs to any number of replication facilities 202, 202', 202". The job control host is typically owned and managed by or for a content owner producing media, such as discs.

2. The replication facility host 104, 104' - A system that resides within a specific replication facility 202, 202', 202" and manages the application of the serial number batches (jobs) to actual DVD discs. The jobs may be assigned by any number of job control hosts. The replication facility host 104, 104' communicates and inter-operates with one or more BCA writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210' within the replication facility 202, 202', 202" to accomplish this task. The replication facility host 104, 104' should preferably be a high availability system as its failure will cause all attached serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210' to be unusable. The replication control host 104, 104' manages workload amongst the serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210' at the replication facility, including splitting work orders amongst multiple sterilization writers. 3. The Serialization Writers 206, 208, 210, 206', 208', 210'- A sophisticated piece of machinery that performs the actual application of a serial number (i.e., serialization) to, e.g., the BCA field of a DVD on a production line. There are two known types of BCA writers from Panasonic and Robi Systems. These writers, typically, can apply the BCA mark at line speeds (3-4 seconds per disc). The BCA writers communicate with the replication facility host 104, 104' using TCP/IP over an Ethernet connection. The present document does not discuss the BCA writers other than how they interface to the replication facility host 104, 104', as such BCA writers are well known in the art.

Referring next to FIG. 3, a high-level block diagram is shown illustrating workflow in the serialization writer serialization management system, and simultaneously referring to FIG. 4, a work flow diagram is shown illustrating steps traversed by the BCA writer serialization management system. These diagrams illustrate a typical flow of a job through the serialization and control system. Time is indicated vertically in FIG. 4 and flows from the top to the bottom (i.e., later- occurring events are depicted below earlier-occurring events).

1. At the outset a new production job 302 is created at a job control console 402 - job status entered 2. The job 404 is transferred to a replication facility host 304 - job status pending

3. Operator assigns 406 a disk master ID for the job on the replication facility host console 408 - job status assigned 4. The following steps repeat until the job is marked complete by an operator:

4.1. A BCA machine operator initializes 410, 410' a serialization production run on a BCA writer 414, 414',

4.1.1. If this is the first serialization run for a job, job status becomes in process,

4.2. The BCA machine operator inserts disks 416, 416' in BCA writer414, 414' and issues a command to start producing disks for a given job,

4.3. The following steps repeat until the BCA machine operator terminates the serialization production run: 4.3.1. The BCA writer requests a batch 418, 418' of serialization data for the job from the replication facility host 304 and receives batch data 420, 420' from the replication facility host 304,

4.3.2. The BCA writer 414, 414' writes serialization data onto disks, and

4.3.3. As batches complete, the BCA writer 414, 414' notifies the replication facility host 304 and sends the status 422, 422'. Two batches of 16 serial numbers are always in process per BCA writer,

5. The BCA writer operator marks a disk master ID as complete for each complete job on the replication facility host console 408,

6. The replication facility host 408 notifies 424 the job control host that the job is completed 426 - job status complete,

7. When confirmation is received from the job control host 428 the job is deleted from the replication facility host 304,

8. The job is exported from the job control console 430 - job status final, The job control host 428 of the present embodiment includes a collection of Windows NT tasks that collectively implement the job control host function. The user interface for the job control host 428 is a windows based interface.

The Windows NT task that implements the user interface for the job control host 428 is used to manage and display the status of production jobs.

Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram is shown illustrating display screens for a console of a job control host of the serialization writer serialization management system, and navigational relationships between such display screens. The console has three main screens: Job Status 502, Serialization Data 504, and Replication Facilities 506. The three main screens are accessed by tabs at the top of each of the three main screens.

The Job Status screen 502 has an additional sub-screen, Edit Job 508, which is accessed by clicking a New Job or Edit Job button on the Job Status screen. Referring to FIG. 6, an illustration is shown of a job status screen 502 for the console of a job control host of the serialization writer serialization management system. This is the main screen for all Job management. From here the operator is able to create, assign, track, and finalize jobs. This screen provides an overview of the current Job status, and provides convenient mechanisms for all Job management functions.

Referring to FIG. 7, an illustration is shown of an edit job screen 508 for the console of a job control host of the serialization writer serialization management system. This is the screen used to add or edit jobs. Jobs can only be entered when all information is available. Jobs may only be edited before the replication facility assigns a disk master ID and their status becomes Assigned.

Referring to FIG. 8, an illustration is shown of a serialization data display screen for the console of a job control host of the BCA writer serialization management system. This screen allows the operator to review the serial number set under management. The operator can view serial number utilization in sequential order or by status. In addition, the serial number data can be written to a file or printed. Note that only the export file will contain the full BCA mark data, including the appropriate authentication signatures.

Job Status 504, Clicking on one of these tabs brings, respectively, the Job Serialization Data Status, Serialization Data, or Replication Facilities screen 606, Replication forward. Facilities 608 tabs

Referring to FIG. 9, an illustration is shown of a replication facilities maintenance and status display screen 506 for the console of a job control host of the serialization writer serialization management system. This is the main screen for replication facility maintenance and status overviews. From here the operator is able to create, delete, and track replication facility host connections.

Referring to FIG. 10, a block diagram is shown illustrating display screens for a console of a job control host of the serialization writer serialization management system, and navigational relationships between such display screens. Thus, the console of the replication facility host has three main screens: replication facility job status 1002, serialization data 1004, and BCA writer maintenance and status 1006. The three main screens are accessed by tabs at the top of each of the three main screens.

Referring to FIG. 11 , an illustration is shown of a replication facility job status display screen 1002 for the console of a replication facility host of the BCA writer serialization management system. The replication facility job status display screen is used for keeping track of jobs sent to all replication facilities. A job is entered after a serial number range, job ID, and replication facility are known. Once the job is entered it is automatically downloaded to a replication facility host at a replication facility. Control of the job is then passed to the replication facility host.

The replication facility host periodically sends a status update the job control host including job statuses (see below) for each job that has been sent to, and is being handled at, the replication facility of the replication facility host. The job control host may request status changes, but the replication facility host actively manages and controls the job.

Once the job is marked complete by the replication facility host, control of that job is passed back up the job control host, where the operator is responsible for performing a finalize operation which results in an export of the final serial number data and status.

In accordance with the present embodiment, once entered, jobs may not be edited. This is due to the fact that in normal operations the jobs will quickly be downloaded to the replication facility host, and once downloaded, control of that job is passed to the replication facility host. Thus, if a job has errors and needs to be corrected, it should be placed on hold status when it is initially entered, then deleted/finalized, and then taken off of hold status. Any used serial numbers from hold/deleted jobs are not reused. As also noted above, job statuses are:

ENTERED - The job has been defined, but not downloaded to its replication facility host.

PENDING - The job has been downloaded to the replication facility host but no data has been received in a status update or in response to a status change request indicating that that the serialization of the job has begun.

ASSIGNED- The job has been assigned a disc master ID by the replication facility host, but serialization has not yet begun. INPROCESS - Serialization of the job has begun, but an indication that the job is complete has not yet been received.

COMPLETE - The replication facility host has marked the job as completed.

FINALIZED- Recordation/storing of completed serial number data has been performed, such as by saving the completed serial number data in a file.

HOLDPENDING - A Hold of the job has been requested, but not yet acknowledged by the replication facility host. This status is used when a particular job needs to be cancelled or work held for some reason, and a request to hold such job had been made at the job control host, but not yet acknowledged by the replication facility host.

HOLD - The job has been placed on hold in the replication facility host.

Jobs are preferably exported in a comma separated value (CSV) format suitable for importing into programs such as Microsoft Excel, or into a serialization database, such as a Microsoft Access database, or an Oracle Database. Each job is exported into a separate file, i.e., a separate comma separated value file.

A first line of the comma separated value file contains information pertaining to the overall job including the Job Name, Job Status, Replication Facility, disk identifier (e.g., an InterActual disk identifier), Disk Master ID, Production Quantity, Quantity Completed, and Job Control Host Operator ID. Subsequent lines each contain information for one serialization range including the fields Starting Serial Number, Status, Quantity, BCA writer operator ID, BCA writer ID, starting date/time, and ending date/time.

A job control database, such as a Microsoft Access or Oracle database, contains data relating to all production jobs in the system such as serialization information, assigned replication facilities, job quantities, job status, etc.

A format for the job control database is as follows:

The following is an explanation of the possible values for serial number range Status:

Good - Disks in this range were successfully produced Bad - Disks in this range were bad

Unknown - Disks in this range have an unknown status, serial number assigned to replication machine, but results undefined. These serial numbers may appear in the field.

All other serial numbers in the assigned range, but without detailed records are assumed to be unknown until the job status is Closed, at which time they are given the status Assigned.

A database of all known replication facilities, i.e., a replication facilities database, is also maintained at the job control host. In accordance with the present embodiment, the replication facilities database is a simple text file having one replication facility per line. Each line contains the following fields separated by commas:

As mentioned above, a replication facility host is a Linux based personal computer that is optimized for high availability (HA) operation, such as by having redundant systems, such as hard drives, power supplies, interface cards, processors, etc. The replication facility host is responsible for providing real-time management for a group of BCA writers that do the actual writing of BCA's to discs.

The principle task of the replication facility host is to keep track of jobs currently under production and assigning new production batches to each BCA writer as batch requests are received from the job control host.

The following summarizes the various job control commands that the replication facility host may receive from the job control host via the network:

A Job / Batch Console / Replication Job Management Task provides a user interface for the replication facility host. The console allows the operator of the replication facility host to assign and monitor jobs and BCA writers. The operator of the console is typically a back-office employee who has operational oversight of the overall job processes flow.

The Job / Batch Console / Replication Job Management Task has three main screens that are displayed on the replication facility host console: Job Status,

Serialization Data 1104, and BCA Machines 1106. In accordance with the present embodiment, these three main screens are accessed by tabs at a top of each of the three main screens.

The Job Status display screen has the following:

Failure Count 1136 The number of failed serial numbers in this job.

Referring to FIG. 12, an illustration is shown of a serialization data display screen 1004 for the console of a replication facility host of the BCA writer serialization management system. A serialization management screen includes the following features:

Referring to FIG. 13, A BCA Machine Screen is the primary monitoring screen for the BCA machines associated with a replication Host. The BCA Machine Screen allows individual BCA writer statuses to be viewed as well as associated jobs. The BCA writer screen includes the following features:

A job control host database is maintained by each replication facility host. The job control host database is a database of all known Job Control Hosts either remote or local.

A job / batch database is maintained by each replication facility host, and is a database of production jobs assigned to the replication facility host. The job / batch database contains the current state of each job, the number of batches each job contains, the number of batches already produced, etc.

A BCA writer database is maintained by each replication facility host and is a database of BCA Writers under control of the replication facility host. The BCA writer database includes the following:

The following is a description of a preferred serial number structure. This structure supports multiple individual records. Each record immediately follows the previous one on single byte boundaries. The header for the overall BCA number contains a version number and length field for an entire BCA data set, the date and time of serialization, and the BCA writer used. Each individual record then contains an owner & length field, which are standard, followed by owner specific data.

The company specific record is an example of one of the above individual records that contains overall information for company specific content, such as InterActual content, on the media, including sub data sets for each individual "title" on the media. Version 1 of the record contains no title specific sub-fields as no known data would exist and space is at a premium. Individual titles are sequential from the serial number of the first "title" on the disc (the serial number in the record). There is reserved space for title specific data in the field.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A serialization management system comprising: a job control host for assigning serial numbers to storage media, and for generating a job; a replication facility host communicatively coupled to the job control host, wherein the job control host communicates the job to the replication facility host; and a serialization writer communicatively coupled to the replication facility host, wherein the replication facility host controls the serialization writer in response to the job, and communicates status information to the job control host.

2. The serialization management system of Claim 1 further comprising: a serialization writer console coupled to the serialization writer, the serialization writer console prompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicating a batch request to the replication facility host; wherein the replication facility host communicates to the serialization writer, in response to the batch request, batch data, the batch data being generated by the replication facility host as a function of the job.

3. The serialization management system of Claim 2 wherein the serialization writer writes serialization onto media in response to the batch data.

4. The serialization management system of Claim 3 wherein the serialization writer writes a first serialization onto a first side of the media in response to the batch data, and write a second serialization onto a second side of the media in response to the batch data.

5. The serialization management system of Claim 2 wherein the serialization writer communicates a batch status to the replication facility host from time to time.

6. The serialization management system of Claim 5 wherein the serialization writer communicates the batch status to the replication facility upon completion of a batch.

7. The serialization management system of Claim 2 further comprising: a replication facility host console communicatively coupled to the replication facility host for receiving a job complete indicia, and for communicating the job complete indicia to the replication facility host; wherein the replication facility host generates a job complete status in response to the job complete indicia, and further wherein the replication facility host communicates the job complete status to the job control host.

8. The serialization management system of Claim 7 wherein the job control host generates a confirmation in response to the job complete status, and communicates a confirmation to the replication facility host in response thereto, the replication facility host deleting the job in response to the confirmation.

9. The serialization management system of Claim 8 wherein the job control hosts exports the job in response to receipt of the job complete status.

10. A serialization management method comprising: assigning serial numbers to storage media in a job control host; generating a job in the job control host; communicating the job to a replication facility host; controlling a serialization writer in response to the job; and communicating status information to the job control host.

11. The serialization management method of Claim 10 further comprising: prompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicating a batch request to the replication facility host; generating batch data at the replication facility host as a function of the job; and communicating to the serialization writer, in response to the batch request, the batch data.

12. The serialization management method of Claim 11 comprising: writing serialization onto media with the serialization writer in response to the batch data.

13. The serialization management method of Claim 12 wherein writing comprises writing a first serialization onto a first side of the media in response to the batch data, and writing a second serialization onto a second side of the media in response to the batch data.

14. The serialization management method of Claim 11 comprising: communicating a batch status to the replication facility host from time to time.

15. The serialization management method of Claim 14 comprising: communicating the batch status to the replication facility upon completion of a batch.

16. The serialization management method of Claim 12 further comprising: receiving a job complete indicia at a replication facility console; communicating the job complete indicia to the replication facility host; generating a job complete status in the replication facility host in response to the job complete indicia; and communicating the job complete status to the job control host.

17. The serialization management method of Claim 16 comprising: generating a confirmation in response to the job complete status; communicating the confirmation to the replication facility host in response thereto; and deleting the job at the replication facility host in response to the confirmation.

18. The serialization management method of Claim 17 further comprising: exporting the job in response to receipt of the job complete status.