Relay apparatus, system and method, and storage medium

• US 20040210667A1
• Filed: 03/12/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hiroshi Okazaki, Kenichiro Tanaka, Toshihiko Fukasawa
• Original Assignee: Hiroshi Okazaki, Kenichiro Tanaka, Toshihiko Fukasawa
• Inventors: Okazaki, Hiroshi, Tanaka, Kenichiro, Fukasawa, Toshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,664,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00299 with a television transmission apparatus, e.g. a videophone, a teletext system or a digital television system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A system enables information transmission between a server which serves information by its own communication format and a client which receives service on a general network, with an efficient and simple structure. A conversion server 101 receives a video transmission request message from a client 103 in the HTTP protocol, the conversion server 101 converts the message into a message of a format of a server 102, and transmits the converted message to the server 102. Then, the conversion server 101 returns video data transferred from the server 102 to the client 103 in the HTTP protocol.

Claims

1-21. -21 (Canceled)

22. (Canceled)

23. A relay apparatus for delivering video stream data from a server having an image sensing device to clients via Internet, comprising:

a connection management device adapted to make a connection with the server having the image sensing device via Internet, to get the video stream data from the server having the image sensing device, and to deliver video stream data to a first client in response to a request from the first client via Internet,

a memory control device adapted to store the video stream data from the server having the image sensing device, in a buffer memory,

wherein said connection management device delivers the video stream data stored in the buffer memory to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that a connection between the relay apparatus and the server having the image sensing device to deliver the video stream data to a second client different from the first client has been established.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein a protocol between the relay apparatus and the clients is HTTP.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the connection management device converts a first format of the video stream data to a second format for the clients.

26. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said connection management device delivers the video stream data stored in the buffer memory to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that said connection management device receives requests each from the first client and second client within a predetermined period.

27. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said connection management device delivers the video stream data stored in the buffer memory to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that said connection management device receives the request from the first client within a predetermined period from receiving a request from the second client.

28. The relaying method to deliver video stream data from a server having an image sensing device to clients via Internet, comprising the steps of:

making a connection between a relay apparatus and the server having the image sensing device via Internet,

getting the video stream data from the server having the image sensing device and storing the video stream data in a buffer memory,

delivering the video stream data in the buffer memory to a first client in response to a request from the first client via Internet,

wherein the video stream data is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that a connection between the relay apparatus and the server having the image sensing device to deliver the video stream data to a second client different from the first client has been established.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein a protocol between the relay apparatus and the clients is HTTP.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein a first format of the video stream data is converted to a second format for the clients.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein the video stream data stored in the buffer memory is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that requests each from the first client and second client are received within a predetermined period.

32. The method according to claim 28, wherein the video stream data stored in the buffer memory is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that the request from the first client is received within a predetermined period from receiving a request from the second client.

33. A storage medium to store computer program to execute a relaying method to deliver video stream data from a server having an image sensing device to clients via internet, said computer program comprising the codes of:

making a connection between a relay apparatus and having the image sensing device via Internet,

getting the video stream data from the server having the image sensing device and storing the video stream data in a buffer memory,

delivering the video stream data in the buffer memory to a first client in response to a request from the first client via Internet,

wherein the video stream data is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that a connection between the relay apparatus and the server having the image sensing device to deliver the video stream data to a second client different from the first client has been established.

34. The storage medium according to claim 33, wherein a protocol between the relay apparatus and the clients is HTTP.

35. The storage medium according to claim 33, wherein a first format of the video stream data is converted to a second format for the clients.

36. The storage medium according to claim 33, wherein the video stream data stored in the buffer memory is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that requests each from the first client and second client are received within a predetermined period.

37. The storage medium according to claim 33, wherein the video stream data stored in the buffer memory is delivered to the first client without starting a new connection between the relay apparatus and the server, in case that the request from the first client is received within a predetermined period from receiving a request from the second client.