INFORMATION PROVIDING SYSTEM, APPARATUS, METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20030140136A1
• Filed: 09/28/1998
• Published: 07/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, SHUICHI
• Granted Patent: US 6,917,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Status information concerning a particular terminal can be provided through a simple arrangement while utilizing a general-purpose network. A terminal which generates status information has a status sensing unit for sensing the status of the terminal or of an input/output unit. Information representing the status sensed is converted to text-format data and is transferred to a server on a network such as the Internet at predetermined time intervals by a unit for generating transmitted data. The data is stored as a file. An information display terminal uses a browser to read the data out of the server and display the data.

Claims

1. A status information providing system for sensing the status of an object terminal via a network of a general-purpose protocol and outputting information indicative of the sensed status to a prescribed output terminal, wherein said object terminal includes:

status sensing means for sensing status of the terminal itself or status of a prescribed device located within the terminal; and

transmitting means for transferring information, which relates to the status sensed, to a prescribed server on the network, and storing this information in storage means provided in said server; and

said output terminal includes;

readout means for reading information out of said storage means of said server; and

output means for producing an output in accordance with the information read out of said storage means.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said status sensing means includes means for sensing position information representing position of said object terminal.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said status sensing means includes means for sensing direction of said object terminal.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the general-purpose network is The Internet.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said transmitting means transmits an URL, which specifies an object senses by said status sensing means, together with the information relating to the status sensed.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein prescribed time intervals at which information is transmitted by said transmitting means are decided by an external setting.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting means transmits information in accordance with the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

8. A status information providing apparatus for outputting status information to a server for the sake of another client connected to a general-purpose network, comprising:

status sensing means for sensing status of the apparatus itself or status of a prescribed device located within the apparatus; and

transmitting means for transferring information, which relates to the status sensed, to a prescribed server on the network, and storing this information in storage means provided in said server.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said transmitting means transmits information in accordance with the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

10. A method of controlling a status information providing apparatus for outputting status information to a server for the sake of another client connected to a general-purpose network, said method comprising:

a status sensing step of sensing status of the apparatus itself or status of a prescribed device located within the apparatus; and

a transmitting step of transferring information, which relates to the status sensed, to a prescribed server on the network, and storing this information in storage means provided in said server.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said transmitting step transmits information in accordance with the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

12. A computer readable storage medium storing program code functioning as an information providing apparatus for outputting status information to a server for the sake of another client connected to a general-purpose network, said program code functioning as:

status sensing means for sensing status of the apparatus itself or status of a prescribed device located within the apparatus; and

transmitting means for transferring information, which relates to the status sensed, to a prescribed server on the network, and storing this information in storage means provided in said server.

13. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein program code functioning as said transmitting means transmits information in accordance with the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

14. An information providing apparatus using a general-purpose protocol for allotting input information, which has been entered at a plurality of information generating terminals connected to a network, to a client connected to the network, comprising:

terminal status storage means for receiving data sent from the plurality of information generating terminals at predetermined time intervals, and storing the data in a storage unit provided for each information generating terminal;

first transmitting means for transmitting viewing information concerning information generating terminals to a client in order to make it possible for the client to select any object terminal for which data has been stored; and

second transmitting means for transmitting, to the client, information for receiving input information of the information generating terminal, which has been selected by the client, in such a manner that the client can receive information that has been entered from an input device possessing the information generating terminal that has been selected.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the network is the Internet and said information providing apparatus is a World-Wide Web server.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a protocol between the information generating terminals and the information providing apparatus, as well as a protocol between said information providing apparatus and the client, is the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein each of said information generating terminals has a Global Positioning System and image sensing means.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said terminal status storage means stores and updates position information, which is sent from each of the information generating terminals, in accordance with an URL of said information providing apparatus and a directory name and file name specific to each individual terminal.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said first transmitting means transfers data, by HyperText Markup Language, composed of combined image information and URL information, said combined image information consisting of a map image in the vicinity of a position requested by a client and an icon image indicating a position at which an information generating terminal contained in the map image is present, and the URL information is linked to the icon image and allows transmission by said second transmitting means.

20. A method of controlling an information providing apparatus using a general-purpose protocol for allotting input information, which has been entered at a plurality of information generating terminals connected to a network, to a client connected to the network, comprising:

a terminal status storage step of receiving data sent from the plurality of information generating terminals at predetermined time intervals, and storing the data in a storage unit provided for each information generating terminal;

a first transmitting step of transmitting viewing information concerning information generating terminals to a client in order to make it possible for the client to select any object terminal for which data has been stored; and

a second transmitting step of transmitting, to the client, information for receiving input information of the information generating terminal, which has been selected by the client, in such a manner that the client can receive information that has been entered from an input device possessing the information generating terminal that has been selected.

21. A computer readable storage medium storing program code functioning as an information providing apparatus using a general-purpose protocol for allotting input information, which has been entered at a plurality of information generating terminals connected to a network, to a client connected to the network, comprising:

program code of a terminal status storage step of receiving data sent from the plurality of information generating terminals at predetermined time intervals, and storing the data in a storage unit provided for each information generating terminal;

program code of a first transmitting step of transmitting viewing information concerning information generating terminals to a client in order to make it possible for the client to select any object terminal for which data has been stored; and

program code of a second transmitting step of transmitting, to the client, information for receiving input information of the information generating terminal, which has been selected by the client, in such a manner that the client can receive information that has been entered from an input device possessing the information generating terminal that has been selected.

22. An information providing system in which a plurality of information generating terminals, an information display terminal and a server are connected via a general-purpose network, wherein each information generating terminal includes:

first input means for inputting video data representing video sensed by prescribed image sensing means;

second input means for inputting position information from a Global Positioning System; and

first transmitting means for transmitting information, which has been input by said first and second input means, in order to store the information in said server in accordance with an URL allocated to said information generating terminal;

said information display terminal includes;

first requesting means for requesting said server for transmission of viewing information relating to said information generating terminals;

selecting means for selecting a desired information generating terminal from the viewing information that has been sent from said server; and

display means for displaying at least the video data, which has been input by said first input means, contained in information that has been generated by the information generating terminal selected by said selecting means; and

said server includes;

storage means for storing information, which is transmitted from said information generating terminal, at a location corresponding to the URL;

second transmitting means which, in a case where said first requesting means of said information display terminal has issued a request, is for transmitting viewing information relating to the information generating terminal stored by said storage means to the information display terminal that issued the request; and

third transmitting means for transmitting, to said information display terminal, information for accessing the information display terminal that has been selected by said selecting means of said information display terminal.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein said network is the Internet.

24. The system according to claim 22, wherein a protocol between said information generating terminals and said server, as well as a protocol between said server and said information display terminal, is the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

25. The system according to claim 22, wherein said second transmitting means of said server transfers data, by HyperText Markup Language, composed of combined image information and URL information, said combined image information consisting of a map image in the vicinity of a position requested by the information display terminal and an icon image indicating a position at which an information generating terminal contained in the map image is present, and the URL information is linked to the icon image and allows transmission by said third transmitting means.