US 10484442

Here is a concise summary of US Patent 10,484,442:

Title: Just-in-time distributed video cache

Assignee: Tir Technologies Ltd

Inventors: Erik R. Swenson, Jaime Heilpern, Sandeep Pombra, Ron Earley, Vadim Arshanskiy

Filing Date: September 15, 2017

Issue Date: November 19, 2019

Abstract: A video optimizer receives a request to optimize a source file and stream the optimized file. The request may be accompanied by a key uniquely identifying the original source file to be optimized and an optimized version of the source file to stream to the client. The key uniquely identifies the source video file as it exists on an origin server to prevent transmission of modified source video and the optimized version of the source file by optimization parameters to ensure compatibility with the user device. The video optimizer queries a cache database in response to the received request, which contains references keys and locations of optimized source files among local caches in a cluster of video optimizers. The cache database responds indicates whether a matching optimized version of the source file exists in a local cache of a given video optimizer in the cluster.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for a "first video optimizer" to efficiently deliver an optimized video. When a user device requests a video, instead of just fetching and preparing it, the optimizer first generates a unique "key." This key identifies both the original video and the specific way it needs to be optimized for that user's device (e.g., for a smartphone screen). The optimizer then checks a central "cache database" to see if another optimizer has already created and stored this exact optimized version. If a match is found on a "second video optimizer," the first optimizer can either get the video from the second one and send it to the user, or simply redirect the user's device to get it directly from the second optimizer. This avoids re-doing the work of optimizing the video.

Independent Claim 10: This claim outlines a computer system, specifically a "first video optimizer," designed to carry out the method described in Claim 1. It details the components of this system, including a processor and memory, which are configured to perform the steps of receiving a request, generating the unique key, querying the cache database, and then, based on the database's response, either transcoding the video itself, retrieving a pre-optimized version from another optimizer, or redirecting the user's device.

Independent Claim 18: This claim focuses on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, like a hard drive or other storage, that contains instructions for a processor. When these instructions are executed, they cause a "first video optimizer" to perform the same core process: receive a request with optimization parameters, generate a unique key based on the video and those parameters, query a cache database with that key, and handle the video delivery based on whether a matching optimized version already exists on another optimizer in the network.

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