The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 19, 2013
Filed:
Aug. 29, 2008
Vaidyanathan Ramaswami, Branchburg, NJ (US);
Rittwik Jana, Parsippany, NJ (US);
Vaidyanathan Ramaswami, Branchburg, NJ (US);
Rittwik Jana, Parsippany, NJ (US);
AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., Atlanta, GA (US);
Abstract
A disclosed method of distributing multimedia content to end users in a multimedia content distribution network includes segmenting time in a series of intervals referred to herein as limited-chain relay (LCR) intervals. The LCR intervals may have a duration of time T although an LCR interval may be terminated before the duration expires. During any interval, the LCR distribution method includes responding to a first request for a program of multimedia content (PMC) from a first requestor by delivering the PMC from a video server to the customer premises equipment (CPE) of the requestor and storing the PMC on the CPE of the first requestor. The method further includes responding to subsequent requests for the PMC that occur before the time T and before the interval terminates otherwise from subsequent requestors by delivering at least some portion of the PMC to the subsequent requestors from the CPE of at least one previous requestor.