Server-Mediated Content Delivery for Videophone Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multimedia communication systems fail to effectively display and reproduce desired advertising content during call setup or after a call has ended, lacking mechanisms for timely and appropriate content delivery in videophone terminals.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced where a server connected to multiple terminals processes call signals and stores content data, allowing for the reading and transmission of content data at specific timings, such as during call origination or termination, and inserting character strings into image data for display on terminals, ensuring content is reproduced appropriately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If advertisement data is transmitted to terminals when communication path is connected, then advertising content can be delivered to terminals, but there is no mechanism for reproducing the data in the originator terminal and no combination for advertisement data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary component that stores advertisement data and controls its transmission to terminals. The server receives advertisement data from external sources, stores it in a database, and transmits it to appropriate terminals based on call information. This intermediary structure resolves the contradiction by providing a centralized management system that simplifies the reproduction mechanism while ensuring proper content delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by storing advertisement data in the server's database before it is needed for transmission. The server pre-processes and organizes advertisement data during idle periods, so that when a call is established and advertisement transmission is required, the data is already prepared and readily available. This eliminates the need for complex real-time processing at the terminal side.
2Loss of time
If content data is transmitted at call setup or after call completion, then timely content reproduction is achieved, but system complexity increases due to timing control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where the server monitors call state information (call setup, ongoing call, call completion) and uses this feedback to determine the appropriate timing for transmitting advertisement data. The server receives call status updates from the communication network and automatically triggers content transmission at optimal moments without requiring complex local timing control at each terminal.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by enabling terminals to automatically reproduce content data upon receipt without requiring additional control signals or complex timing synchronization. When the server transmits advertisement data to a terminal, the terminal's built-in reproduction mechanism automatically activates, eliminating the need for elaborate timing control mechanisms at the terminal side.
3Adaptability or versatility
If character strings are inserted into image data for display, then advertising information can be overlaid on communication images, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges character string data with image data at the server side before transmission to the terminal. The server combines the advertisement text and the communication image into a single composite data stream, which simplifies the terminal's processing requirements. This merging operation provides display flexibility while avoiding complex processing at the terminal by performing the combination centrally at the server.
Data Source
AI summary
At one of the timings: during a period between the moment when one of terminals which performs transmission calls out a communication partner and the moment of response and at the timing after the communication between the terminals is complete; a server reads out content data from a database and transmits the read out content data to the terminal. At this timing, the terminal reproduces the content data transmitted from the server.