Method of managing resources within a network of consumer electronic devices
US6363434B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignees
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 26, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N21/4131
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of managing resources within a network for consumer electronic media devices. In one embodiment, the method is implemented as a software resource manager which provides a centralized resource allocation, reservation and access control functionalities for a home entertainment server. Particularly, user applications of the home server receive instructions from a user or other entities for a media service, and converts the instructions into a request that identifies the necessary resources for providing the media service. The software resource manager then determines whether such resources are available upon receiving the request. Importantly, the software resource manager also determines whether a routing path between the necessary resources has sufficient bandwidth for performing the requested media service. If necessary resources and bandwidth are available, the software resource manager then sends control signals to the source and destination devices causing them to perform the requested media services. Additionally, the software resource manager of the present invention provides event scheduling and request arbitration functionalities to the home entertainment server. In…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.