# US 7,420,956 B2 · Distributed storage and aggregation of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,420,956 B2 - Document ID: US7420956B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/095,638 - Filed: 2005-03-30 - Published: 2005-10-20 - Granted: 2008-09-02 - Earliest claimed: 2004-04-16 - Assignees: Broadcom Corporation - Inventors: Jeyhan Karaoguz; Marc Abrams; Nambirajan Seshadri - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7420956B2 ## CPC - G06F 16/48: Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually - H04L 65/103: {in the network} - H04L 65/104: {in the network} - H04N 7/17318: {Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests} - H04N 21/2181: {comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers (distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097)} - H04N 21/21825: {involving removable storage units, e.g. tertiary storage such as magnetic tapes or optical disks} - H04N 21/23103: {using load balancing strategies, e.g. by placing or distributing content on different disks, different memories or different servers (storage management G06F3/0604; allocation of resources considering the load in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/505; techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system G06F9/5083; access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. load balancing, in data networks H04L67/1001)} - H04N 21/4332: {by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository (interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739)} - H04N 21/4334: {Recording operations (recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27)} - H04N 21/4755: {for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre (retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306)} - H04W 84/04: Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract A system and method for the aggregation of multimedia information storage via a broadband access gateway is disclosed. Information about storage resources accessible to a broadband access gateway may be collected and used in selecting storage capacity used for storing multimedia information such as, for example, streaming video, broadcast video, digitized video, digitized audio, text, and digitized images. The gateway may manage storage and retrieval of the multimedia information based upon user defined criteria and characteristics of the available storage resources. Multimedia information may be parsed for storage across multiple storage resources, and the location and nature of the storage resources used for storage of multimedia information items may be unknown to the user. Storage services accessible via a broadband connection may also be used as storage resources. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway, the system comprising: a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network, wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and/or 802.11n standards, and/or the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with a plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface; the gateway capable of collecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; the gateway capable of receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; the gateway capable of selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; the gateway capable of causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; the gateway capable of receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and the gateway capable of authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein multimedia information comprises one or more of streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and/or digitized music. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1, further comprising: the gateway capable of saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and the gateway capable of managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an access device, a hard disk drive, a compact disk (CD) drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, a digital video camera, and/or a storage service. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises one or more of a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a personal video recorder (PVR), a video cassette recorder (VCR), and/or a digital camera. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the request is received via the at least one wireless interface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1 wherein the request is received via the broadband network. ### Claim 13 A method for supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway, the method comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of a plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network, wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g. and/or 802.11n standards and/or the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network; and receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein multimedia information comprises one or more of streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and/or digitized music. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 20 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, further comprising: saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information. ### Claim 21 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an access device, a hard disk drive, a compact disk (CD) drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, a digital video camera, and/or a storage service. ### Claim 22 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises one or more of a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a personal video recorder (PVR), a video cassette recorder (VCR), and/or a digital camera. ### Claim 23 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the request is received via the at least one wireless interface. ### Claim 24 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 wherein the request is received via the broadband network. ### Claim 25 A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for operating a gateway supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of a plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; and causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network, wherein the at least one wireless interface is compliant with one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11 g. and/or 802.11n standards and/or the Bluetooth V1.2 or compatible personal area network (PAN) specification, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network; and receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein multimedia information comprises one or more of streaming video, broadcast video, voice, digital data, text, digitized audio, digitized still images, digitized video, and/or digitized music. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 30 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 31 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 32 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25, wherein the code sections executable by a machine further causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information. ### Claim 33 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an access device, a hard disk drive, a compact disk (CD) drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, a digital video camera, and/or a storage service. ### Claim 34 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the plurality of access devices comprises one or more of a mobile multimedia handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a personal video recorder (PVR), a video cassette recorder (VCR), and/or a digital camera. ### Claim 35 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the request is received via the at least one wireless interface. ### Claim 36 (depends on 25) The machine-readable storage according to claim 25 wherein the request is received via the broadband network. ### Claim 37 A system supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway, the system comprising: a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network, wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band and/or at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with a plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface; the gateway capable of collecting, from at least a portion of the plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; the gateway capable of receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; the gateway capable of selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; the gateway capable of causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; the gateway capable of receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and the gateway capable of authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 38 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 39 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 40 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 41 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37, further comprising: the gateway capable of saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and the gateway capable of managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information. ### Claim 42 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37 wherein the request is received via the at least one wireless interface. ### Claim 43 (depends on 37) The system according to claim 37 wherein the request is received via the broadband network. ### Claim 44 A method for supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information via a broadband access gateway, the method comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of a plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network, wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band and/or at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network; and receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) The method according to claim 44 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 46 (depends on 44) The method according to claim 44 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 47 (depends on 44) The method according to claim 44 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 48 (depends on 44) The method according to claim 44, further comprising: saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information. ### Claim 49 A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for operating a gateway supporting distribution and aggregation of multimedia information, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: collecting, from at least a portion of a plurality of access devices, information identifying at least one storage resource available for the storage of multimedia information; receiving, from one of the plurality of access devices, a user request for storage of multimedia information; selecting from the at least one storage resource, aggregate storage capacity for storing the multimedia information using the collected information; and causing storage of the multimedia information using the selected aggregate storage capacity; exchanging multimedia information among at least one wireless interface and a broadband network, wherein the at least one wireless interface communicates using an unlicensed frequency band and/or at a frequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz, wherein the broadband network comprises one or more of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a cable network, a satellite network, the Internet and/or a cellular network comprising one or more of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and/or a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network; and receiving one or both of information identifying an access device and/or information identifying a user; and authenticating the user request based upon the received identifying information. ### Claim 50 (depends on 49) The machine-readable storage according to claim 49 wherein the information identifying the at least one storage resource comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) address, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 51 (depends on 49) The machine-readable storage according to claim 49 wherein the information identifying a user comprises one or more of a member identifier, a user name, an administrative identifier, a digital certificate, and/or a credit card number. ### Claim 52 (depends on 49) The machine-readable storage according to claim 49 wherein the information identifying an access device comprises one or more of an electronic serial number, an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, a manufacturer identifier, a model identifier, and/or a type identifier. ### Claim 53 (depends on 49) The machine-readable storage according to claim 49, wherein the code sections executable by a machine further causing the machine to perform the operations comprising: saving information enabling retrieval of the stored multimedia information from the selected aggregate storage capacity; and managing retrieval of the stored multimedia information using the saved information.