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U.S. Patent: 8,705,097


Patent Title

Internet applications and services for rendering digital content

Meta Information

Issued Date: April 22, 2014
Inventor: William Ho Chang et al
External Links: UPSTO, Google Patents

Technical Fields

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Abstract

Digital content rendering services provided over the Internet are disclosed. The service enables multiple concurrent users to log on and access server and applications in separate and protected sessions. The server may receive content objects and instructions for manipulating the content with an information apparatus operated by a user. The server may further receive job objects including at least one of authentication, payment, and subscription information. The server may generate output data related to the rendering job and the content, and send the output data to an output controller or media box, internally included or externally connected, to an output device for rendering, the output device may be a television, a display device, a sound device, or a printer. The service may send service confirmation to the information apparatus. The service may also store user's digital content at a node over the Internet for later access by the user.

U.S. Patent Number: 8,705,097

Sample Claim

1. A data output service method implemented by a data output computing system for rendering digital content received over the Internet from an information apparatus, the information apparatus including a browsing application for viewing and selecting at least part of the digital content, and the browsing application operable for accessing the Internet, the data output computing system including:

a server over the Internet that is distinct from the information apparatus,

one or more server applications at the server over the Internet for receiving one or more objects in accordance with an object model or a software component model suitable for transferring over a network that includes the Internet,

a multi-user operating system at the server over the Internet for enabling multiple concurrent users, whom have subscribed to the data output service, to log on and access the one or more server applications, at the server over the Internet, in separate and protected sessions,

an output device for rendering digital content onto an output medium, the output device being a distinct device from the information apparatus and the server, and

an output controller having a connection to the output device, the output controller being a distinct device from the output device, the information apparatus, and the server, the method comprising:

receiving, at the server, one or more content objects from the information apparatus over the Internet, the one or more content objects being in accordance with an object model or a software component model suitable for transferring over the Internet and acceptable to the one or more server applications at the server, and the one or more content objects including:

at least part of the digital content for rendering;

receiving, at the server, one or more job objects from the information apparatus over the Internet, the one or more job objects being in accordance with an object model or a software component model suitable for transferring over the Internet and acceptable to the one or more server applications at the server, the one or more job objects including:

authentication information with at least one of a password, a signature, biometric information, fingerprints, and voice, individually or in any combination, the authentication information is restricted to a user of the information apparatus, and

at least one of payment information, or subscription information related to the user of the information apparatus;

generating, by the one or more server applications at the server over the Internet, an output data related to an output job, the output data for rendering the digital content at the output device, and the output data including information related, at least in part, to the one or more job objects received at the server, and the output data including information related, at least in part, to the one or more content objects received at the server;

sending, from the server over the Internet, at least part of the output data to the output controller for rendering at the output device;

receiving, at the output controller, at least part of the output data from the server over the Internet;

processing, at the output controller, at least part of the output data for rendering at the output device, the processing including an image processing operation and a decoding operation;

passing at least part of the output controller processed output data from the output controller to the output device for rendering;

rendering at least part of the digital content at the output device onto an output medium with the received at least part of the output data; and

sending a confirmation, by the data output computing system to the information apparatus, the confirmation including information associated with the output job; and

wherein, the rendering of at least part of the digital content at the output device being without the need of an output device driver associated with the output device installed in the information apparatus.