Remote command server

• US 20040019643A1
• Filed: 07/23/2002
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Zirnstein, Robert Charles Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,491 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

Providing control of a first computing device from a second computing device, including accessing an electronic message received by an electronic message application in the first computing device from the second computing device, extracting a command from the received electronic message, selecting from a plurality of function calls at least one function call corresponding to the extracted command, initiating execution of the at least one function call, obtaining output data from each executed function call, composing an output electronic message for each executed function call, the output electronic message being directed to a specific address and containing the output data from the executed function call, and sending each output electronic message via the electronic message application to the specific address.

Claims

1. A method for providing control of a first computing device from a second computing device, the method comprising the steps of:

accessing an electronic message received by an electronic message application in the first computing device from the second computing device;

extracting a command from the received electronic message;

selecting from a plurality of function calls at least one function call corresponding to the extracted command;

initiating execution of the at least one function call;

obtaining output data from each executed function call;

composing an output electronic message for each executed function call, said output electronic message being directed to a specific address and containing the output data from the executed function call; and

sending each output electronic message via the electronic message application to the specific address.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the specific address corresponds to the second computing device.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the specific address corresponds to a third computing device.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the specific address corresponds to a particular e-mail address.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first computing device is a personal computer.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device is a personal computer.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device is a wireless electronic message device.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device is a wireless telephone having an electronic message application.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device is a wireless personal digital assistant.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an electronic message application command supported by the electronic message application in the first computing device, and the at least one selected function call executes the extracted command in the electronic message application.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an internet browser application command supported by an internet browser application in the first computing device, and the at least one selected function call executes the extracted command in the internet browser application.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an operating system command supported by an operating system in the first computing device, and the at least one selected function call executes the extracted command in the operating system.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an application program command supported by an application program in the first computing device, and the at least one selected function call executes the extracted command in the application program.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the received electronic message is accessed from the electronic message application through an electronic message application function call.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the electronic message application function call is an electronic message application program interface.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selected function call is an application program interface for an application program which supports the extracted command.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an internet address and the output data includes text from a web page corresponding to the internet address.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an electronic message application command and the output data includes a text verification resulting from the execution of the function call corresponding to the electronic message application command.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is an operating system command and the output data includes a text result which is output from the operating system in response to execution of the operating system command.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is a help command and the output data includes a text description of each of a plurality of commands that are supported by the first computing device via an electronic message from the second computing device.

21. A method according to claim 1, wherein the received electronic message contains a command indicator at a predetermined location of the electronic message to indicate that a command is present within the electronic message.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined location is a subject line of the electronic message.

23. A method according to claim 21, wherein the command is present within a subject line of the electronic message.

24. A method according to claim 21, wherein the command is present within a body portion of the electronic message.

25. A method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic message is encrypted by the first computing device before being received by the second computing device, and wherein the received electronic message is decrypted to extract the command.

26. A method according to claim 1, wherein the command is contained in a body portion of the received electronic message.

27. A method according to claim 1, wherein an e-mail address of the received electronic message is compared to an e-mail address database in the first computing device to determine whether to extract a command from the received electronic message.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the e-mail address database contains a list of e-mail addresses for which access is allowed to send commands to the first computing device.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein each e-mail address in the e-mail address database has a corresponding access level indication to indicate which commands are allowed to be sent from the e-mail address to the first computing device.

30. A method according to claim 28, wherein, in the case that the e-mail address of the received electronic message is not included in the email address database, a command is not extracted and a corresponding function call is not executed, and the output electronic message contains text indicating that access to the first computing device is denied.

31. A method according to claim 29, wherein, in the case that the access level indication corresponding to the e-mail address of the received electronic message indicates that e-mail address is not allowed to execute the command contained in the received electronic message, a function call corresponding to the extracted command is not executed and the output electronic message contains text indicating that access to the first computing device is denied.

32. A method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein a warning output electronic message is composed and sent to a user of the first computing device to indicate that access has been denied to the first computing device.

33. A method according to claim 1, wherein a verification output electronic message is composed and sent to the e-mail address of the received electronic message to confirm whether the command contained in the received electronic message is to be executed.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein, in the case that the first computing device does not receive a response electronic message in response to the verification output electronic message, the first computing device does not execute the function call corresponding to the command in the received electronic message.

35. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a command server module hosted in the first computing device.

36. A method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted command is a request for an operating system in the first computing device to open a communication port to the second computing device.

38. Computer-executable process steps stored on a computer readable medium, said computer-executable process steps for providing control of a first computing device from a second computing device, said computer-executable process steps comprising process steps executable to perform a method according to any of claims 1 to 37.

39. A computer-readable medium which stores computer-executable process steps, the computer-executable process steps to provide control of a first computing device from a second computing device, said computer-executable process steps comprising process steps executable to perform a method according to any of claims 1 to 37.

40. A first computing device for providing control of the first computing device from a second computing device, said first computing device comprising:

a program memory for storing process steps executable to perform a method according to any of claims 1 to 37; and

a processor for executing the process steps stored in said program memory.

37. A method for providing control of a first computing device from a second computing device, the method comprising the steps of:

accessing, through an electronic message application function call, an encrypted electronic message received by an electronic message application in the first computing device from the second computing device, the encrypted electronic message having a decrypted subject line containing a command indicator;

decrypting a body portion of the received electronic message;

extracting a command from the body portion of the received electronic message;

selecting from a plurality of function calls at least one function call corresponding to the extracted command, the at least one function call being supported by a corresponding program which is hosted in the first computing device;

initiating execution of the at least one function call;

obtaining output data from the corresponding program for each executed function call;

composing an output electronic message for each executed function call, said output electronic message being directed to an e-mail address of the received electronic message and containing the output data for the executed function call; and

sending, through an electronic message application function call, each output electronic message via the electronic message application to the email address of the received electronic message.