Information providing system, apparatus method and storage medium

• US 20050133585A1
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Published: 06/23/2005
• 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 8,615,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• 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

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. A communication apparatus to output an image picked up by a camera to a display terminal via a network, comprising:

a communication device adapted to update geographic position information of the camera by obtaining geographic position status information of the camera from a detecting device; and

a display information generating device adapted to generate display information to display the updated geographic position information corresponding to access information for obtaining an image from the camera,

wherein said display information generating device generatcs display information to display, on the display terminal, an image from the camera with the updated geographic position information on the display terminal.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the communication device further updates a sensing direction of the camera by obtaining camera direction status information from the detecting device.

29. The apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising a receiving device adapted to receive a request for a list of access information of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein said display information generating device generates display information including the list of the access information of cameras around a geographic position in reference to the geographic position information of each camera.

30. A method of controlling a communication apparatus to output an image picked up by a camera to a display terminal via a network, comprising:

a communication step of updating geographic position information of the camera by obtaining geographic position status information of the camera from a detecting device; and

a display information generating step of generating display information to display the updated geographic position information corresponding to access information for obtaining an image from the camera;

wherein, in said display information Generating step, display information to display, on the display terminal, an image from the camera with the updated geographic position information on the display terminal is generated.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

32. The method according to claim 30, wherein, in the communication step, a sensing direction for the camera is further updated by obtaining camera direction status information from the detecting device.

33. The method according to claim 30, further comprising a receiving step of receiving a request for a list of access information of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein, in said display information generating step, display information including the list of the access information of cameras around a geographic position in reference to the geographic position information of each camera is generated.

34. A storage medium storing program codes, which can be read and executed by a computer, for serving as a program to control a communication apparatus to output an image picked up by a camera to a display terminal via a network, said program codes comprising:

a communication step of updating geographic position information of the camera by obtaining geographic position status information of the camera from a detecting device; and

a display information generating step of generating display information to display the updated geographic position information corresponding to access information for obtaining an image from the camera;

wherein, in said display information generating step, display information to display, on the display terminal, an image from the camera with the updated geographic position information on the display terminal is generated.

35. The storage medium according to claim 34, wherein the geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

36. The storage medium according to claim 34, wherein, in the communication step, a sensing direction of the camera is further updated by obtaining camera direction status information from the detecting device.

37. The storage medium according to claim 34, further comprising a receiving step of receiving a request for a list of access information of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein, in said display information generating step, display information including the list of the access information of cameras around a geographic position in reference to the geographic position information of each camera is generated.