US 6,199,076 B1
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(12) Unlted States Patent
`
`Logan et al.
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`USOO6199076B1
`
`(54) AUDIO PROGRAM PLAYER INCLUDING A
`DYNAMIC PROGRAM SELECTION
`CONTROLLER
`
`(76)
`
`Inventors: James Logan, 18 Castle Hill Rd.,
`Windham, NH (us) 03087; Daniel F.
`Goessling, 43 Davelin Rd., Wayland,
`MA (us) 01778; Charles G. Call, 4
`Pheasant Run, Hingham, MA (us)
`02043
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 08/724,813
`
`OCt- 2, 1996
`Filed:
`(22)
`Int. Cl.7 ............................... G06F 15/00; G09B 5/04
`(51)
`.
`.
`
`_
`707/501’ 434/319’ 434/320
`(52)
`(58) Fleld of Search ..................................... 707/501, 513;
`434/10> 308’ 318’ 319’ 320’ 185’ 156; 704/270>
`278; 345/328—335> 356—357
`
`(56)
`
`References Clted
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`..................... 340/825.22
`5,153,579 * 10/1992 Fisch et al.
`5,810,600 *
`9/1998 Okada .................................. 434/185
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—Joseph H. Feild
`Assistant Examiner—Alford W. Kindred
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`An audio program and message distribution system in Wthh
`a host system organizes and transmits program segments to
`client subscriber locations. The host organizes the program
`segments by subject matter and creates scheduled program-
`ming in accordance With preferences associated With each
`subscriber. Program segments are associated With descrip-
`tive subject matter segments, and the subject matter seg-
`ments may be used to generate both text and audio catalog-
`ing presentations to enable the user to more easily identify
`and select desirable programming. A playback unit at the
`subscriber location reproduces the program segments
`received from the host and includes mechanisms for inter-
`actively navigating among the program segments. A usage
`log is compiled to record the subscriber’s use of the provided
`program materials, to return data to the host for billing, to
`adaptively modify the subscriber’s preferences based on
`actual usage, and to send subscriber-generated comments
`and requests to the host for processing. Voice input and
`control mechanisms included in the player allow the user to
`perform hands-free navigation of the program materials and
`to dictate comments and messages Which are returned to the
`host for retransmission to other subscribers. The program
`segments sent to each subscriber may include advertising
`materials Which the user can selectively play to obtain
`credits against the subscriber fee. Parallel audio and text
`transcript files for at
`least selected programming enable
`subject matter searching and synchronization of the audio
`and text files. Speech Synthesis may be used to COHVert
`transcript files into audio format. Image files may also be
`transmitted from the server for synchronized playback With
`the audio programming.
`
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Charles G. Call
`
`17 Claims, 7 Drawing Sheets
`
`Establish Account
`
`203
`
`Download
`
`Programming &
`Catalog Updates
`
`
`
`
`214
`
`Edit Downloaded
`
`Program
`Sequence
`
`Program
`
`
`Playback
`
`Session(s)
`
`
`
`Edit Future
`
`Choices &
`Preferences
`
`Upload Session
`
`Log
`
`
`
`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
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`HTC, Ex. 1018
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`lPR2014-O1154
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`HTC, Ex. 1018
`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
`IPR2014-01154
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Ddar.6,2001
`
`Sheet170f7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 2 0f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`Establish Account
`
`203
`
`
`
`207
`
` Download
`Programming &
`Catalog Updates
`
`
`
`
`
`Edit Downloaded
`Program
`
`Sequence
`
`
`Playback
`Session(s)
`
`211
`
`214
`
`Program
`
`
`
`Edit Future
`Choices &
`
`Preferences
`
`
`Upload Session
`Log
`
`215
`
`217
`
`19
`
`Fig. 2
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`

`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 3 0f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
`
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`IPR2014-01154
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 4 0f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
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`
`
`Advertisers
`
` Content
`
`Providers
`Accounts
`«————URL————
`
`Advertisements
`
`
`Subscribers
`
`Supplementation
`
`Requested
`
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`
`
`311
`
`Programs
`
`342
`
`Matching
`
`
`
`Fig.4
`
`UsageLog
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 5 0f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`Selections / 353
`
`n LastSubj.
`
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`351
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`
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 6 6f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
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`421
`
`Content
`Sources
`
`
`
`Scan
`Potential
`Content
`
`
`
` Prepare Transcript of
`Audio Programs
`
`
`4
`
`25
`
`401
`
`405
`
`index by Subject
`
`431
`
`433
`
`Create Topic
`Description
`
`Parse into Paragraphs
`
`435
`
`
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`
`Prepare Voice Program
`from Script
`
`
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`
`Prog ram_Seg ment
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`Data Package
`
`440
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`F I g. 6
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`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 7 0f 7
`
`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`HTML File
`.
`.
`. <|MG SRc-"lMGFlLE1.JPG"><EM>Te|evision and motion pictures
`<IEM>offer the viewer a rich combination of sights and sounds which effectively
`convey a large amount of information to the viewer, and hence require an
`information delivery system having substantial <EM>bandwidth<lEM>. Radio
`programming requires only a fraction of the bandwidth of a <A
`HREF-"target">fuil-motion video<lA> presentation, and is especially suitable
`for conveying information expressed in text narrative form. Using suitable audio
`compression techniques, speech can be transmitted over communications
`pathways of much more limited bandwidth, <|MG
`SRC="|MGFlLE2.JPG">includi ng telephone dial up connections to the Internet,
`permitting that facility to be used to provide real-time telephone connections
`between two computers connected via the Internet,<lMGOFF> and play
`prerecorded audio files as they are transferred from an Internet server to a
`suitably programmed client computer. .
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`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`1
`AUDIO PROGRAM PLAYER INCLUDING A
`DYNAMIC PROGRAM SELECTION
`CONTROLLER
`
`2
`collection in an easy and intuitive way without the need for
`a visual display screen and using only simple selection
`controls.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to electronic information distribu-
`
`tion systems and more particularly to a system for dynami-
`cally and interactively selecting and playing particular pro-
`grams from a program library.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The three dominant commercial systems for providing
`audio programming to a listeners are broadcast
`radio
`systems, cassette tape playback systems and compact disk
`playback systems.
`Broadcast radio uses both the AM and FM frequency
`bands making a large number of simultaneously broadcast
`programs available on an essentially random access basis.
`Unfortunately, since most broadcast stations attempting to
`appeal to the same general listening audience, much of the
`programming is duplicative and special interest programs
`are broadcast on a limited basis. In addition, because there
`is no convenient way for listeners to be aware of the wide
`variety of materials scheduled for broadcast, most people
`listen to only a limited number of stations which dependably
`broadcast the programming considered to be most accept-
`able. Even when desired programming is found,
`it must
`typically be listened to when it is broadcast; that is, at times
`chosen by the broadcaster and not the listener.
`Tape and compact disk audio players offer the listener the
`opportunity to purchase specific music selections or albums
`performed by favorite artists and to replay selections from
`these purchased recording whenever desired. Pushbutton
`track selection, as well as improved fidelity, has made the
`CD player the preferred choice of many, despite the cost and
`inconvenience of purchasing a library of desired disks.
`Unfortunately, specialized information programming, unlike
`music, is largely unavailable on tape or disk, and that media
`is not capable of adequately conveying rapidly evolving
`information such as local and world news, weather reports,
`and rapidly changing trade and business information.
`Although broadcast
`radio provides adequate, up to the
`minute coverage of general news topics, specialized infor-
`mation continues to be largely unavailable on any of these
`three audio delivery systems, not withstanding the fact that
`radio, tape and CD players continue to be widely used,
`particularly in automobiles, for general news and music
`programming.
`More recently, “Internet radio” sources has been intro-
`duced which make files of audio program material available
`for downloading on the World Wide Web using conventional
`web browsers to locate and request specific files which are
`then played in real time by special programs, including the
`popular “Real Audio” program offered by Progressive Net-
`works. Although Internet radio systems make it possible to
`deliver a richly diverse selection of audio programs to
`interested listeners on request, including specialized infor-
`mation not offered by conventional broadcast media, the use
`of a visual web browser to search for and then play indi-
`vidual program selections one at a time makes conventional
`Internet radio players impractical for routine desktop use,
`and wholly unsuitable for use by an automobile drive.
`It is accordingly an object of the present invention to
`provide easy access to rich selection of audio programming
`and to allow the listener to dynamically and interactively
`locate and select desired programming from the available
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
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`
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`65
`
`The present invention takes the form of an audio program
`player which automatically plays a predetermined schedule
`of audio program segments and which further includes
`simple controls that allow the listener to perform one or
`more of the following functions:
`to skip the remainder of any segment being played in
`order to listen to the next program segment;
`to skip backward to the beginning of the current segment,
`and then backward again to the beginning of the prior
`segment on the schedule, thereby replaying any desired
`segment or search for a previously played segment in
`the sequence;
`to listen if desired to an audio speech announcement
`describing each segment before it is played, and to skip
`the forward or backward to the next or prior
`announcement,
`thereby immediately obtaining the
`information needed to determine whether a given seg-
`ment is or is not of interest;
`to listen if desired to an audio speech announcement
`describing a subject matter categories within which
`several program segments are grouped, and to skip
`from category announcement to category announce-
`ment in either the forward or reverse direction, skip-
`ping all program segments in categories of insufficient
`interest;
`a. to listen to only predetermined highlight passages in
`any program segment, thereby more rapidly review-
`ing the highlights only of a program segment with
`the ability to commence normal playing at any point
`where the highlight passage reveals information
`which the listener desires to hear in more detail;
`to execute a hyperlink jump to a different, cross-
`referenced position in the program sequence, or to a
`program segment not specified in the program
`sequence, and to provide audible cues to the listener
`to identify passages which identify the presence of a
`cross-referencing hyperlink.
`According to a further feature of the invention, the audio
`program player plays program segments in an order deter-
`mined by a session schedule which identifies an ordered
`sequence of program segments. The session schedule is
`preferably created in the first instance by a server subsystem
`which develops and periodically transmits to the session
`schedule to the player. According to still another feature of
`the invention, the player subsystem incorporates means for
`modifying the session schedule received from the server
`subsystem by adding or deleting specific programs and by
`altering the order in which the programs are presented.
`As contemplated by the invention, the player subsystem
`includes a control mechanism responsive to commands
`received from a listener to dynamically alter the sequence
`and content of the programming material actually presented.
`More specifically, the player may advantageously incorpo-
`rate means for skipping the remaining content of any pro-
`gram being played at any time, or returning to the beginning
`of a particular subject to replay its content. Each given
`program segment is preferably preceded by a topic descrip-
`tion segment, and the program skipping mechanism is the
`player is preferably adapted to automatically skip to the next
`topic description, bypassing the intervening program
`content, whenever a skip command is receive when a topic
`
`b.
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`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`3
`related topics
`description is being played. Similarly,
`(program segments) are sequentially grouped together by
`subject category, and a subject description program segment
`advantageously precedes each subject collection. When the
`user issues a skip command at the time a subject description
`is playing, the player automatically skips all of the program
`segments (topics) within the described subject and continues
`by playing the next subject description. In this way,
`the
`listener can rapidly skim through subject categories, one at
`a time, until a desired subject is reached, and then allow the
`player to play topic descriptions one at a time until a desired
`topic (program segment) is reached.
`In accordance with still another feature of the invention,
`means are employed for identifying one or more discrete
`passages within any program segment as being a
`“highlight,” and the player incorporates means operative
`when the player is placed in a “play highlights” mode for
`skipping those portions of the content which are not
`highlights, thus enabling the listener to review only the key
`points of a presentation, or to more rapidly locate particular
`passages on interest within the body of a particular program
`segment.
`According to yet another feature found in the preferred
`embodiment of the invention, a designated portion of a
`program segment may be designated as a hyperlink anchor
`from which, at the request of the user, the player jumps to
`another portion of the session sequence and begin playing a
`different sequence of program segments. Means are advan-
`tageously employed for generating an audible cue signal to
`inform the listener that a hyperlink anchor is being played,
`enabling the listener to request that the link be executed. The
`hyperlink capability may be used to advantage to implement
`cross references to related information, or to provide an
`audible menu of alternative programming which the user
`may select merely by executing the link when the anchor
`passage identifies other information of interest to the lis-
`tener. In the preferred embodiment, a stack mechanism is
`used to allow hyperlinks to be called in nested fashion, so
`that a hyperlink may be executed from a linked program
`segment, with each “return” command from the user causing
`play to be resumed at the program segment from which the
`last link was performed.
`As contemplated by still another aspect of the invention,
`the player subsystem includes means for identifying a pro-
`gram segment, or a particular passage within a program
`segment, as a bookmarked item for ease of reference later.
`In addition, the player system incorporates means for accept-
`ing a dictated annotation from the user which associated
`with any bookmarked passage. This annotation mechanism
`may be used to particular advantage when the program
`segments provided to the subscriber include email or voice
`mail messages, since the bookmarking may be used to
`identify specific messages, or portions thereof, which
`require later attention, and the annotation mechanism pro-
`vides a convenient mechanism for dictating replies and/or
`specifying actions to be take in response to particular
`messages or portions thereof.
`These and other objects, features and advantages of the
`present invention may be more completely understood by
`considering the following detailed description of a preferred
`embodiment of the invention.
`In the course of this
`
`reference will frequently be made to the
`description,
`attached drawings.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of an electronic
`program and advertising distribution system which embod-
`ies the invention;
`
`4
`FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the principle steps
`followed in the course of the performing the information
`distribution functions contemplated by the invention;
`FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the principle steps
`performed during a playback session in the illustrative
`embodiment;
`FIG. 4 is an information structure and data flow diagram
`illustrating the manner in which programming is selected
`and accounting functions are performed in the illustrative
`embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 5 is an information structure diagram illustrating the
`manner in which the program segments are dynamically
`selected and played in response to the user’s preferences and
`control decisions;
`FIG. 6 is a flow chart which describes a preferred proce-
`dure for preparing the program content which is distributed
`to subscribers in accordance with the invention; and
`FIG. 7 is an information structure diagram illustrating the
`manner in which a narrative text file expressed in hypertext
`markup language (HTML) may be translated in to the
`combination of an audio speech file, a text file transcript, and
`a sequencing file used by the player to create a multimedia
`presentation.
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`The illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in
`
`to provide communications
`FIG. 1 utilizes the Internet
`between a host computer indicated generally at 101 and an
`audio player device illustrated at 103.
`Subscriber Audio Player
`The player 103 may be advantageously implemented by a
`conventional laptop or desktop personal computer including
`a processor (the client CPU 105), a time of day clock 106,
`and a data storage system consisting of both high speed
`RAM storage and a persistent mass storage device, such as
`a magnetic disk memory, the data storage system being used
`for storing audio, text and image data at 107 and for storing
`usage data at 109 which records the nature of the program-
`ming reproduced by the player 103. The player 103 further
`includes a sound card 110 which receives audio input from
`a microphone input device 111 for accepting voice dictation
`and commands from a user and which delivers audio output
`to a speaker 113 in order to supply audio information to the
`user. The program data stored at 107 may advantageously
`include compressed audio recordings and/or text (files of
`characters) which may be converted into audio form by
`conventional speech synthesis programs executed by the
`client CPU 105.
`
`The sound card 110 is conventional and preferably com-
`plies with the recommendations detailed in the Hardware
`Design Guide for Microsoft Windows 95, by Doug
`Klopfenstein, Microsoft Press (1994), ISBN 1-55615-642-1.
`The sound card 110 advantageously supports a 44 kHz,
`16-bit, stereo codec providing analog to digital conversion
`of audio input signals from the microphone 111 as well as
`digital to analog conversion for programming directed to the
`speaker 111. The sound card provides external connections
`and hardware support for Microphone-In, Line-In, Line-Out,
`and Headphones-Out, with volume controlled by the player
`software (including volume level logging as discussed later
`in connection with FIG. 3 of the drawings).
`To support multimedia capabilities, the CPU 105 should
`meet or exceed the capabilities of an Intel 486 DX2-66
`computer to provide consistently good playback results and
`the sound card 110 should include a 16-bit digital-to-analog
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`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
`
`HTC, Ex. 1018
`
`|PR2014-O1154
`
`HTC, Ex. 1018
`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
`IPR2014-01154
`
`

`

`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`5
`converter for playback and a 16-bit analog-to-digital con-
`verter for recording. The sound card 110 should further
`support 8, 11, 22, and 44 kHz waveforms. A frequency of 44
`kHz is used for CD-quality sound and fractions of 44, such
`as 11 and 22, are often used for compressed waveforms
`meant
`to save CPU processing. Support for an 8 kHz
`frequency should be in order to properly support Windows
`95 TrueSpeechTM compression, which is optimized for com-
`pression and playback of human speech. Using TrueSpeech
`compression, programs containing largely voice narrative
`data can be substantially condensed, and users can record
`annotations and voice mail responses as discussed later.
`In addition,
`the sound card 110 should be capable of
`reproducing downloaded MIDI (Musical Instrument Device
`Interface) commands, enabling the system take a MIDI data
`stream and produce sound according to the compressed files
`consisting of digital sheet music instructions. Preferably, the
`sound card should support at least 16-voice polyphony (the
`ability to play several sounds at the same time), and poly-
`message MIDI, an capability included in Windows 95 that
`allows a sound card to receive and batch-process multiple
`MIDI messages (such as Note On and Note Off). The sound
`card 110 should also a microphone port for microphone 111,
`a speaker-out port (for one or two (stereo) unpowered
`speakers 113, and a headphone-out port.
`The personal computer CPU 105 is also preferably con-
`nected to a conventional personal computer video display
`118 and a standard keyboard 119, as well as a pointing
`device (such as a mouse, trackball or touchpad, not shown).
`The facilities provided by the operating system, such as
`Windows 95,
`typically includes multimedia support, as
`noted above, as well as a standard WINSOCK TCP/IP stack
`and modem dial up driver software to support a SLIPP/PPP
`Internet connection, as next discussed.
`The player 103 further includes a conventional high speed
`data modem 115 for receiving (downloading) the program
`information 107 from the remote server 101 and for trans-
`
`mitting (uploading) program selections and preferences as
`well as usage data in the file 109 to the server 101. To effect
`these file transfers, the modem 115 is connected via con-
`ventional dial up telephone SLIP or PPP TCP/IP series data
`communication link 117 to an Internet service provider 121
`which provides access to the Internet. The service provider
`121 is in turn connected to the host server 101 via a high
`speed Internet link seen at 123.
`Host File Server
`
`The host server 101 provides a FTP server interface 125
`which provides file transfer protocol services to the player
`103, a CGI interface 127 which performs Common Gateway
`Interface script program execution in response to requests
`from the player 103, and an HTML interface 129 which
`provides hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) World Wide
`Web server functions to the connected player 103. The host
`server 101 stores and maintains a plurality of data files
`including a program data library indicated generally at 130
`consisting of a collection of compressed audio program
`segments 131, announcement (“glue”) segments 132, text
`program segments 133, image segments 134, advertising
`segments 135 and program catalog information 137.
`The compressed audio segments program segments com-
`prise audio voice and music files which may be compressed
`using conventional compression mechanisms suited to the
`data being compressed, such as TrueSpeech compression for
`voice signals and MIDI files for compressed synthetic music
`reproducible by the sound card 110 as noted earlier.
`Compressed voice programming in the database 131 may
`advantageously be accompanied by text transcripts (files of
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`characters) stored in the text database 133. Similarly, images
`stored in the image database 134 may be used to provide a
`multimedia presentation which combines images repro-
`duced on the display 118 of player 103 with concurrently
`presented audio at the speaker 113 and/or displayed text.
`Program segments which present advertising , illustratively
`shown as being resident in a separate database 135 in FIG.
`1, may likewise consist of audio,
`text and/or image
`segments, as may the program segments which provide
`announcements between program segments as well as
`audible and visible menu options which the user may select
`as described later.
`As hereinafter described in connection with FIG. 5, each
`voice or
`text program segment preferably includes a
`sequencing file which contains the identification of high-
`lighted passages and hypertext anchors within the program
`content. This sequencing file may further contain references
`to image files and the start and ending offset locations in the
`audio presentation when each image display should begin
`and end. In this way, the image presentation may be syn-
`chronized with the audio programming to provide coherent
`multimedia programming.
`As contemplated by the invention, information which is
`available in text form from news sources, libraries, etc. may
`be converted to compressed audio form either by human
`readers or by conventional speech synthesis.
`If speech
`synthesis is used, the conversion of text to speech is pref-
`erably performed at the client station 103 by the player. In
`this way, text information alone may be rapidly downloaded
`from the server 101 since it requires much less data than
`equivalent compressed audio files, and the downloaded text
`further provides the user with ready access to a transcript of
`voice presentations. In other cases, where it is important to
`capture the quality and authenticity of the original analog
`speech signals, a text
`transcript
`file which collaterally
`accompanies a compressed voice audio file may be stored in
`the database 133 from which a transcript may be made
`available to the user upon request.
`The host server 101 further stores web page data 141
`which is made available to the player 103 by means of the
`HTML interface 128. The host server 101 additionally stores
`and maintains a user data and usage log database indicated
`at 143 which stores uploaded usage data received from the
`store 109 in the player 103 via the Internet pathway 123 and
`the FTP server interface 125. The user data 143 further
`
`contains additional data describing the preferences, demo-
`graphic characteristics and program selections unique to
`each subscriber which is developed largely from user-
`supplied data obtained when users submit HTML form data
`via the Internet pathway 123 for processing by the CGI
`mechanism 127.
`
`The host server 101 periodically transmits a download
`compilation file 145 upon receiving a request from the
`player 103. The file 145 is placed in a predetermined FTP
`download file directory and assigned a filename known to
`the player 103. At a time determined by player 103 moni-
`toring the time of day clock 106, a dial up connection is
`established via the service provider 121 and the Internet to
`the FTP server 125 and the download compilation 145 is
`transferred to the program data store 107 in the player 103.
`The compilation 145 is previously written to the download
`directory by a download processing mechanism seen at 151
`in the server 101. Download processing, as described in
`more detail later, extracts from the library 130 data defining
`compressed program, advertising, and glue segments, and/or
`associated text program data, based on selections and pref-
`erences made by (or inferred for) the user as specified in the
`subscriber data and usage log database 143.
`
`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
`
`HTC, Ex. 1018
`
`|PR2014-O1154
`
`HTC, Ex. 1018
`HTC v. Advanced Audio Devices
`IPR2014-01154
`
`

`

`US 6,199,076 B1
`
`7
`The download compilation file 145, though represented as
`a single file in FIG. 1, preferably takes the form of one or
`more subscriber and session specific files which contain the
`identification of separately stored sharable files. By way of
`example, the recommended order and the identification of
`the program files making up an individual playback session
`are stored in a session schedule file (to be described in detail
`in connection with FIG. 5) which contains program identi-
`fiers of the program segments to be played during an
`upcoming session. The player 103 downloads the session
`schedule file and then issues download requests for those
`identified program segment files which are not already
`available in the player’s local storage unit 107.
`Usage data in the store 109 maintained by the player 103
`is preferably uploaded as a file bearing a predetermined file
`name indicative of the particular subscriber and upload time
`and stored in a predetermined FTP upload directory. This
`upload advantageously occurs at the same time the player
`103 establishes a download connection to the FTP server
`
`125 as noted earlier, and occurs prior to the download of the
`compilation 145. Because the upload data from the store 109
`in the player 103 identifies program segments desired by the
`subscriber, program segments newly requested by the user
`are appended to the compilation 145. Note that, in typical
`cases, programming in addition to the specifically requested
`programming will be included in the download compilation,
`and the transfer of that programming can begin immediately
`while the newly uploaded user selections and other infor-
`mation are being processed as indicated at 153 to identify
`additional
`information to be included in the download
`
`compilation.
`the host server upload
`As indicated at 161 in FIG. 1,
`processing mechanism 153 also provides a number of
`reports, as described in more detail later, based upon the
`record of actual player use by individual subscribers and the
`community of subscribers as a whole. This report processing
`is advantageously performed on a periodic basis in connec-
`tion with financial and accounting functions including sub-
`scriber and advertiser billing, content provider royalty pay-
`ment accounting, and marketing analysis processing.
`It should be understood that numerous other information
`
`storage, processing and communications schemes may be
`substituted for the preferred Internet server and PC client
`player architecture shown in FIG. 1. A dedicated host
`computer which communicates directly with client stations
`via dial up telephone facilities may be used, and cellular
`radio, cable modem and satellite links may be used to
`provide data communications in lieu of the conventional
`SLIP/PPP telephone and Internet links shown in FIG. 1. To
`facilitate use of the system in an automobile, a “player”
`computer may be linked to the Internet via a local commu-
`nications server computer via a radio or infrared link when
`th