Digital Signage Network Bandwidth Optimization via Subscription

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital signage systems face challenges with bandwidth inefficiency and limited flexibility in content rendering and provisioning, particularly as networks grow, leading to scalability issues and difficulties in managing customized content across multiple displays.

Innovation Solution

A digital signage system that uses a method of receiving content, building layers, overlaying, and flattening them for rendering, allowing for live data integration and flexible content management through a common data model, with features like subscription-based data delivery and decentralized administration to reduce bandwidth consumption and enhance rendering capabilities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If centralized provisioning transmits all location specific data to each display, then ease of operation is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprovisioning easeVSAvoidbandwidth consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the necessary location identifier from each display and transmits it centrally, while the full location specific data is retrieved locally by each display from distributed sources, eliminating the need to transmit entire data sets to each display

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the data transmission process into two parts: centralized transmission of minimal provisioning data (location identifiers) and distributed retrieval of full location specific data from multiple sources, reducing overall bandwidth consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If displays poll the centralized content server frequently to check for new data, then measurement precision of data availability is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata availability detectionVSAvoidnetwork traffic

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a publish-subscribe mechanism with a content server as intermediary that notifies displays of data changes asynchronously, eliminating the need for continuous polling while maintaining real-time data availability detection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces frequent periodic polling with event-driven periodic notifications, where the content server pushes updates to displays only when data changes occur, reducing network traffic while maintaining data freshness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the system uses template-driven content distribution with segmented regions, then adaptability of content display is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent display flexibilityVSAvoidtemplate management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic template rendering where display nodes can dynamically assemble content from multiple data sources based on location context, allowing templates to adapt to different locations without centralized reconfiguration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-configures templates with placeholder regions for different data types, and automatically populates these regions with relevant location specific data from distributed sources, reducing the complexity of template management while maintaining versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Reliability

If centralized control maintains strict provisioning authority, then reliability of network management is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork control reliabilityVSAvoidcustomized content management

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables local quality by allowing individual display nodes to autonomously retrieve and display customized content from distributed data sources based on their location context, while centralized control maintains overall network reliability through initial provisioning and data source validation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS9374558B2Digital signage display

Publication Date: 2016.06.21 OMNIVEX CORP

AI summary

A digital signage network employs a common data model and a subscription system to disseminate data gathered from a plurality of data sources to a number of displays. The network nodes interact with each other as content sources, content consumers, or both, with some systems acting as consumers to upstream sources and acting as sources to downstream consumers. The presentation of the data on a digital signage display allows for real-time binding of live data to provide a rich display effect.