METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENABLING TRANSMISSION OF A PROTECTED DOCUMENT FROM AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE TO A HOST DEVICE
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of communication, and
more particularly it relates to the field of a method and system for enabling transmission
of a protected document from an electronic device to a host device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many a times it is required to view a document on a large display screen.
Viewing the document on the large display screen requires attaching a device housing
the document to a host device including the large display screen and transferring the
document to the large display screen to view the document. However, a digital rights
management (DRM) protected document with a device specific protection scheme
cannot be transferred from the device to any other host device for viewing as a license
is purchased for the device only. A user cannot view the DRM protected document on
the large display screen devoid of the license. Known techniques for exporting a display
of the DRM protected document from the device to the large display screen compromise
on picture quality as resolution of the display is as per the large display screen.
Moreover complete control over viewing of the DRM protected document, for example,
viewing metadata info, zooming out, and zooming in, may not be possible owing to one
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or more restrictions imposed by the device specific protection scheme of the DRM
protected document.
[0003] In the light of the foregoing discussion there is a need for a method and a
system for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic device to a
host device.
SUMMARY
[0004] Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a method
and a system for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic
device to a host device.
[0005] An example of a method for enabling transmission of a protected document
from an electronic device to a host device includes establishing a connection with the
electronic device by the host device to communicate with the electronic device using a
document viewer protocol. The method also includes receiving a request by the
electronic device from the host device for performing one or more operations on the
protected document. The protection is specific to the electronic device. The method
further includes decoding the protected document using a decoder by the electronic
device on receiving the request from the host device. Furthermore the method includes
arranging the decoded protected document in accordance with the received request and
the document viewer protocol. Furthermore, the method includes transmitting the
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arranged protected document to the host device via a transport medium using the
document viewer protocol.
[0006] An example of a system for enabling transmission of a protected document
from an electronic device to a host device includes an electronic device enabled with a
document viewer protocol to communicate with the host device via a transport medium.
The document viewer protocol enables performing one or more operations on the
protected document by the host device and the protection is specific to the electronic
device. The system also includes a host device capable of communicating with the
electronic device using the document viewer protocol.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0007] The accompanying figures, similar reference numerals may refer to identical or
functionally similar elements. These reference numerals are used in the detailed
description to illustrate various embodiments and to explain various aspects and
advantages of the present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for enabling transmission of a protected
document from an electronic device to a host device;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating operation sequence for browsing a
protected document in an electronic device from a host device;
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[0010] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating operation sequence for selecting a
protected document in an electronic device to view and control the protected document
from a host device; and
[0011] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for enabling transmission of a
protected document from an electronic device to a host device.
[0012] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are
illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example,
the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to
other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] It should be observed that method steps and system components have been
represented by conventional symbols in the figures, showing only specific details that
are relevant for an understanding of the present disclosure. Further, details that may be
readily apparent to person ordinarily skilled in the art may not have been disclosed. In
the present disclosure, relational terms such as primary and secondary, first and
second, and the like, may be used to distinguish one entity from another entity, without
necessarily implying any actual relationship or order between such entities.
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[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein provide a method
and a system for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic
device to a host device.
[0015] FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates a system 100 for enabling transmission of a
protected document from an electronic device 105 to a host device 110 and remotely
controlling the protected document by the host device 110. The protection includes, but
is not limited to one or more access control techniques. The access control techniques
include, but are not limited to attribute based access control, discretionary access
control, mandatory access control, and role based access control. The access control
techniques include, for example, a digital rights management (DRM) protection scheme.
The protection is specific to the electronic device. The host device may not be equipped
with a license or a key to view or control the protected document. The protected
document can be one of a text document, an audio document, a video document, and a
combination thereof. The system 100 includes the electronic device 105 enabled with a
document viewer protocol to communicate with the host device 110 also enabled with
the document viewer protocol. The host device 110 communicates with the electronic
device 105 via a transport medium 115 using the document viewer protocol. Examples
of the transport medium 115 include, but are not limited to, a local area network, a wide
area network, a wired network, a metropolitan area network, a universal serial bus
(USB), Bluetooth, Zigbee, a mobile communication network, and a wireless network.
Examples of the electronic device 105 include, but are not limited to a portable media
player, an electronic book, a mobile communication device, a personal digital assistant,
a digital photo frame, a camcorder, and a computing device. The protection of the
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protected electronic document is specific to the electronic device 105. The system 100
also includes the host device 110 capable of communicating with the electronic device
105 using the document viewer protocol. Examples of the host device 110 include, but
are not limited to a digital television, a home theatre system, a digital video disk player,
a desktop, and a laptop.
[0016] In order to view or control the protected document on the electronic device 105
from the host device 110, the host device 110 establishes a connection with the
electronic device 105. During establishing connection, the host device 110 sends a host
capability information to the electronic device 105 using the document viewer protocol.
The electronic device 105, on receiving the host capability information, sends device
capability using the document viewer protocol. Examples of the host capability
information and the device capability information include but are not limited to, a version
of the document viewer protocol, a device resolution, a version of a firmware, a model
name, owner information, a menu language, a display information for document format
and any information related to a configuration of the host device or the electronic
device.
[0017] The document viewer protocol enables a user using the host device 110 to
perform one or more operations. The operations include but are not limited to, viewing
the protected document, controlling one or more attributes of the protected document,
changing the one or more attributes of the protected document via the established
connection, navigating within the protected document, and navigating within multiple
sub sections within the protected document. The one or more attributes includes at least
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one of a visual attribute and an audible attribute. Examples of the visual attributes
include, but are not limited to, size of a display of the protected document, resolution of
the display, format of the display, and picture clarity. Examples of the audible attributes
include, but are not limited to, volume, tempo of a multimedia object within the portable
document, attenuation, sound distortion, and audio equalization. The host device 110
identifies capabilities of the electronic device 105 and authenticates the electronic
device 105 based on the identification. In some embodiments, one or more
authentication commands are hard wired along with the connection of the host device
110 with the electronic device.105. For example, the moment the user connects the
electronic device 105 to the host device 110, a series of authentication commands are
sent to the electronic device 105 from the host device 110. After the successful
completion of the authentication commands a first page of the protected document is
decoded at the electronic device 105 and transmitted to the host device 110.
[0018] After successful authentication, the host device 110 transmits one or more
commands to the electronic device 105 via the document viewer protocol. Examples of
the commands include, but are not limited to, page up, page down, next, previous, page
number, and search keyword. The electronic device 105 responds to the commands by
performing the operations associated with the commands. After the authentication, the
document viewer protocol operates in a document operation phase.
[0019] The document operation phase includes a document navigation mode and a
document view mode. During the document navigation mode, a user of the host device
110 requests for a protected document information within the host device 110. The
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electronic device 105 obtains the requested protected document information from a file
system within the electronic device 105. The electronic device 105 prepares a list of
child items requested via the request for the protected document information. The
electronic device 105 transmits the list to the host device 110 and the host device 110
displays the list to the user of the host device 110. The document viewer protocol
enables the user of the host device 110 to navigate the list and one or more subsections
within the list. Whenever the user of the host device 110 selects a protected document
to view from the list from the document navigation mode, the host device 110 causes
the electronic device 105 to transit to the document view mode. The electronic device
105 opens the protected document with a corresponding application.
[0020] The electronic device 105 decodes the protected document into a raw format
and transmits the protected document in the raw format to the host device 110. During
the document view mode, the host device 110 is allowed to query information
associated with the attributes of the protected document and also control the protected
document. In some embodiments, the host device 110 queries metadata information
associated with the protected document. The metadata information includes, for
example, author, title, subject, one or more keywords, category, and comments
associated with the protected document. The electronic device 105 prepares the
queried metadata information and transmits the queried metadata information to the
host device 110.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating operation sequence for browsing a
protected document of an electronic device 105 from a host device 110. In order to
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browse the protected document, the host device 110 establishes a connection with the
electronic device 105 as explained in the detailed description of FIG. 1. The host device
110 transmits a command to the electronic device 105 using a document viewer
protocol to get a device content including a list of one or more protected documents
within the electronic device 105. Examples of the commands include, but are not limited
to, page up, page down, next, previous, page number, and search keyword. On
receiving the command, the electronic device 105 generates the device content. The
electronic device 105 transfers the device content to the host device 110 using the
document viewer protocol. The host device 110 displays the content to a user using the
host device 110. If the user wishes to browse the displayed content up or down, the
host device 110 transmits a command to browse a device list up or down. The
electronic device 105 responds to the command by browsing the device list up or down.
The electronic device 105 updates the device list and transfers updated list content to
the host device 110. The host device 110 displays the updated list content to the user.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating operation sequence for selecting a
protected document on an electronic device 105 to view and control the protected
document from a host device 110. A user of the host device 110 establishes a
connection between the host device 110 and the electronic device 105 on intending to
select the protected document on the electronic device 105. The user selects the
protected document and the host device 110 transmits a command using a document
viewer protocol to the electronic device 105 to open the protected document. Examples
of the commands include, but are not limited to, page up, page down, next, previous,
page number, and search keyword. The electronic device 105 responds to the
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command by decoding the protected document into a raw format. The electronic device
105 transfers the decoded document to the host device 110. The host device 110
displays the decoded document to the user. If the user browses the protected document
up or down, the host device 110 transmits a command to browse the protected
document up or down to the electronic device 105 using the document viewer protocol.
The electronic device 105 responds to the command by browsing the protected
document up or down and updates a content of the protected document based on a
state of the browsing. The electronic device 105 transfers the updated content to the
host device 110. On receiving the updated content, the host device 110 displays the
updated content to the user.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for enabling transmission of a
protected document from an electronic device to a host device. The protection includes,
but is not limited to one or more access control techniques. The access control
techniques include, but are not limited to attribute based access control, discretionary
access control, mandatory access control, and role based access control. The access
control techniques include, for example, a digital rights management (DRM) protection
scheme. The protection is specific to the electronic device. The protected document can
be one of a text document, an audio document, a video document, and a combination
thereof.
[0024] The method starts at step 405.
[0025] At step 410, a connection is established by the host device with the electronic
device. The connection is established by the host device to communicate with the
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electronic device using a document viewer protocol. During establishing the connection
the electronic device receives host capability information from the host device. The
electronic device responds to the received host capability information by providing
device capability information of the electronic device. Examples of the host capability
information and the device capability information include but are not limited to, a version
of the document viewer protocol, a device resolution, a version of a firmware, a model
name, owner information, a display information for document format, a menu language
and any information related to a configuration of the host device or the electronic
device. In some embodiments, the electronic device identifies capability of the host
device based on the received host capability information. The electronic device
authenticates the host device based on the identification. In some embodiments, the
electronic device is automatically authenticated to the host device on establishing the
connection.
[0026] At step 415, a request is received by the electronic device from the host device
to perform one or more operations on the protected document. The operations include
but are not limited to, viewing the protected document, controlling one or more attributes
of the protected document, and changing the one or more attributes of the protected
document via the established connection, navigating within the protected document,
and navigating within multiple sub sections within the protected document. Examples of
changing the attributes include but are not limited to, scrolling, zooming in, zooming out,
rotating a display of the protected document, increasing volume, and adding additional
sound effects. The request is transmitted to the electronic device in the form of a
command using the document viewer protocol. Examples of the commands include, but
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are not limited to, page up, page down, next, previous, page number, and search
keyword. In some embodiments, the document viewer protocol enables the host device
to query information associated with the attributes of the protected document. The
information includes, but is not limited to, author, title, subject, keyword, category,
comments associated with the protected document. The document viewer protocol
enables the host device to query the information without the knowledge of a device file
system of the electronic device and a document format of the electronic document.
[0027] At step 420, the protected document is decoded into a raw format by the
electronic device on receiving the request from the host device.
[0028] At step 425, the decoded protected document is arranged in accordance with
the received request and the document viewer protocol.
[0029] At step 430, the arranged protected document is transmitted to the host device
via a transport medium using the document viewer protocol. The arranged document is
transmitted in the raw format. Examples of the transport medium include but are not
limited to, a local area network, a wide area network, a wired network, a metropolitan
area network, a universal serial bus (USB), Bluetooth, Zigbee, a mobile communication
network, and a wireless network. In some embodiments, the arranged document is
streamed to the host device via the transport medium.
[0030] The method stops at 435.
[0031] In the preceding specification, the present disclosure and its advantages have
been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be apparent to
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a person of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and changes can be made,
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as set forth in the claims
below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded as illustrative
examples of the present disclosure, rather than in restrictive sense. All such possible
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present disclosure.
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I/We Claim:
1. A method for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic
device to a host device, the method comprising:
establishing a connection with the electronic device by the host device to
communicate with the electronic device using a document viewer protocol;
receiving a request by the electronic device from the host device for performing
one or more operations on the protected document, wherein the protection is
specific to the electronic device;
decoding the protected document by the electronic device on receiving the
request;
arranging the decoded protected document in accordance with the received
request and the document viewer protocol; and
transmitting the arranged protected document to the host device via a transport
medium using the document viewer protocol.
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2. The method of claim 1, wherein the document viewer protocol enables performing
the one or more operations on the protected document.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more operations comprise one or more
of: viewing the protected document, controlling one or more attributes of the
protected document, changing the one or more attributes of the protected document
via the established connection, navigating within the protected document, and
navigating within a plurality of sub sections within the protected document.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected document is one of a text document,
an audio document, a video document, and a combination thereof.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected document is streamed to the host
device from the electronic device.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing connection comprises:
receiving a host capability information from the host device by the electronic
device;
providing a device capability information of the electronic device to the host
device;
identifying capability of the host device by the electronic device based on the
received host capability information; and
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authenticating the host device based on the identification by the electronic
device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the document viewer protocol enables the host
device to query information associated with the one or more attributes of the
protected document.
8. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more attributes of the protected
document comprises at least one of a visual attribute and an audible attribute.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the arranged protected document to the
host device comprises:
transmitting the arranged protected document in a raw format from the electronic
device to the host device.
10.A system for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic
device to a host device, the system comprising:
an electronic device enabled with a document viewer protocol to communicate
with the host device via a transport medium, wherein the document viewer
protocol enables performing one or more operations on the protected document
by the host device; and
a host device capable of communicating with the electronic device using the
document viewer protocol.
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11.The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more operations comprises one or more
of: viewing the protected document, controlling one or more attributes of the
protected document, changing the one or more attributes of the protected document
via the established connection, navigating within the protected document, and
navigating within a plurality of sub sections within the protected document.
12.A system for performing a method, the method as described herein and in
accompanying figures.
13.A method for enabling transmission of a protected document from an electronic
device to a host device, the electronic device as described herein and in
accompanying figures.