Method and system for providing information to remote clients

• US 20060010199A1
• Filed: 01/31/2005
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tiger Ventures, LLC
• Original Assignee: Perseus Wireless, Inc.
• Inventors: Underwood, Joel D., Brailean, James C., Hoffman, Douglas C., Merrifield, Marshall
• Granted Patent: US 7,373,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A system and method of notifying a remote client of a sensor triggering event and providing to the remote client data related to the sensor triggering event. In one embodiment, the method includes: receiving a first notification signal indicating that a sensor has been triggered; identifying a data recording device associated with the triggered sensor, wherein the data recording device records video data; identifying a client device designated to receive the video data when the sensor has been triggered; transmitting to the client device a second notification signal indicating that the sensor has been triggered; receiving an acknowledgement signal from the client device; and transmitting the video data to the client device.

Claims

1. A method of notifying a remote client of a sensor triggering event and providing to the remote client data related to the sensor triggering event, comprising:

receiving a first notification signal indicating that a sensor has been triggered;

identifying a data recording device associated with the triggered sensor, wherein the data recording device records video data;

identifying a client device designated to receive the video data when the sensor has been triggered;

transmitting to the client device a second notification signal indicating that the sensor has been triggered;

receiving an acknowledgement signal from the client device; and

transmitting the video data to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the video data is transmitted to the client device in a streaming video data format.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the video data further comprises audio data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a motion detection sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises an audio sensor.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a temperature sensor.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a chemical sensor.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a bacteria or virus sensor.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting a user selectable link to the remote client device, wherein, upon selection of the user selectable link by a user, said step of transmitting the video data is initiated.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting a web page file to the client device, wherein a program executed by the client device opens the file to display a web page on a display screen of the client device, the web page including at least one active link selectable by a user of the client device, which when selected initiates the step of transmitting the data to the client device.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the data recording device comprises a video camera and the web page comprises at least one window for displaying a video image received from the video camera.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the data comprises streaming video data.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a communication link between the data recording device and the client device, thereby allowing the client device to receive live or recorded data from the data recording device.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting to the client device a pre-specified action item list corresponding to the triggered sensor.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising tracking if and when action items on the action item list have been completed.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting at least one hyperlink to the client device wherein selection of the hyperlink facilitates performance of at least one action item on the action item list.

17. A method of notifying a client of an event occurrence, comprising:

receiving notification of an occurrence of a pre-specified event;

receiving video data associated with the pre-specified event;

identifying at least one client device to be contacted as a result of the occurrence of the pre-specified event;

sending a notification signal to the at least one client device;

authenticating the at least one client device; and

transmitting the video data to the at least one client device to be displayed on a display screen of the at least one client device.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the video data is transmitted in a compressed, encrypted and streaming video format.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of sending a notification signal comprises sending to the at least one client device to be displayed on a display screen of the at least one client device a multimedia message (MMS) still image representative of one frame image of the recorded video data.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of sending a notification signal comprises sending a multimedia message (MMS) video file to the at least one client device, wherein the at least one client device executes a player program to open the video file thereby displaying on a display screen of the at least one client device a MMS video representative of at least a portion of the video data.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the act of sending a notification signal further comprises sending an active link to the at least one client device, which when selected by the at least one client device enables it to receive the video data.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of sending a notification signal comprises sending a web page file to the at least one client device, wherein the at least one client device executes a player program to open the web page file thereby displaying on a display screen of the at least one client device an interactive web page comprising at least one active link that is selectable to receive the video data.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the interactive web page further comprises at least one window for displaying at least a portion of the video data.

24. The method of claim 17 further comprising establishing a communication link between the data recording device and the client device, thereby allowing the client device to receive live or recorded data from the data recording device.

25. The method of claim 17 further comprising transmitting to the client device a pre-specified action item list corresponding to the triggered sensor.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising tracking if and when action items on the action item list have been completed.

27. The method of claim 25 further comprising transmitting at least one hyperlink to the client device wherein selection of the hyperlink facilitates performance of at least one action item on the action item list.

28. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of authenticating the at least one client device comprises receiving a username and password transmitted from the at least one client device.

29. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of authenticating the at least one client device comprises receiving an identification code from the at least one client device and comparing the received identification code with a code stored in a memory and associated with the at least one client device.

30. The method of claim 17 wherein the act of authenticating the at least one client device comprises:

receiving an authentication ticket from the at least one client device, the authentication ticket containing a first answer and at least one parameter value, the first answer being calculated by inputting the at least one parameter value and a first secret code stored in a memory of the at least one client device into a pre-specified mathematical formula, wherein the first secret code is not contained in the authentication ticket;

calculating a second answer by inputting the at least one parameter value and a second secret code stored in a memory of a device that receives the authentication ticket into the pre-specified mathematical formula, wherein the second secret code is correlated with the at least one client device in the memory; and

comparing the first answer with the second answer to determine if they match.

31. A system for transmitting data between two or more network devices, comprising:

at least one central server coupled to a digital communications network and configured to communicate with a first network device and a second network device via the digital communications network;

an authentication module, coupled to the at least one central server, for authenticating at least the first network device prior to allowing transmission of data from the second network device to the first network device; and

a mapping table accessible by the at least one central server and containing information indicating whether the first network device is authorized to receive data from the second network device.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the data comprises video data and the second network device comprises a video camera, the system further comprising a video streaming module that receives video data from the video camera and thereafter transmits the video data in a streaming video data format to the first network device.

33. The system of claim 32 further comprising a camera list module that transmits to the first network device information that enables the first network device to receive streaming video data from the video camera.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the first network device is a wireless telephone enabled to receive and display streaming video data.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the information comprises a web page file and the wireless telephone executes a player program to open the web page file thereby displaying on a display screen of the wireless telephone an interactive web page comprising at least one active link that is selectable to receive the streaming video data.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the interactive web page further comprises at least one window for displaying at least a portion of the video data received from the video camera.

37. The system of claim 31 wherein the act of authentication performed by the authentication module comprises receiving a username and password transmitted from the first network device.

38. The system of claim 31 wherein the act of authentication performed by the authentication module comprises receiving an identification code from the first network device and comparing the received identification code with a corresponding code stored in the mapping table and associated with the first network device.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the first network device is a wireless telephone and the identification code is its IMEI number.

40. The system of claim 31 wherein the act of authentication performed by the authentication module comprises:

receiving an first authentication ticket from the first network device, the first authentication ticket containing a first answer and at least one first parameter value, the first answer being calculated by inputting the at least one first parameter value and a first secret code stored in a memory of the first network device into a first pre-specified mathematical formula, wherein the first secret code is not contained in the first authentication ticket;

calculating a second answer by inputting the at least one first parameter value and a second secret code stored in the mapping table and correlated with the first network device into the pre-specified mathematical formula; and

comparing the first answer with the second answer to determine if they match.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the authentication module further authenticates the second network device, the act of authenticating the second network device comprising:

receiving a second authentication ticket from the second network device, the second authentication ticket containing a third answer and at least one second parameter value, the third answer being calculated by inputting the at least one second parameter value and a third secret code contained within a memory of the second network device into a second pre-specified mathematical formula, wherein the third secret code is not contained in the second authentication ticket;

calculating a fourth answer by inputting the at least one second parameter value and a fourth secret code contained in the mapping table and correlated with the second network device into the second pre-specified mathematical formula; and

comparing the third answer with the fourth answer to determine if they match.

42. The system of claim 31 further comprising a configuration module for maintaining and updating an inventory of a plurality of network devices registered with the at least one central server, storing status information for the plurality of network devices indicating whether they are operational, lost, stolen or damaged, and storing and updating rules that indicate which network devices can communicate with other network devices.

43. The system of claim 42 further comprising a report module that periodically communicates with the plurality of network devices to determine whether each of the network devices are operational, generates a report containing information as to which network devices are not functioning properly and the location of such network devices, and forwards the report to the configuration module.

44. The system of claim 31 further comprising a billing module for maintaining and updating financial account information for at least the first network device.

45. The system of claim 31 wherein the second network device comprises:

at least one video camera authorized for access by the first network device;

at least one sensor, coupled to the at least one video camera;

a digital video recorder, coupled to the at least one video camera, for receiving video data from the at least one video camera; and

a video server, coupled to the digital video recorder and the digital communications network, for receiving video data from the digital video recorder, wherein when the at least one sensor is triggered, the at least one central server notifies the first network device of the triggering event and thereafter enables the first network device to receive video data from the video server.

46. The system of claim 45 wherein the first network device comprises a wireless telephone enabled to receive and display streaming video data on a display screen on the wireless telephone.

47. The system of claim 45 wherein the act of authenticating at least the first network device comprises:

accessing a first secret code stored in a memory coupled to the at least one central server and associated with the video server;

generating a first authentication ticket by inputting the first secret code into a first pre-specified mathematical formula and calculating a first answer, wherein the first authentication ticket contains the first answer but not the first secret code; and

transmitting the first authentication ticket to the first network device, wherein the first network device subsequently transmits the first authentication ticket to the video server so as to establish an authenticated and direct communication link with the video server.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the act of authenticating at least the first network device further comprises authenticating the video server, wherein the act of authenticating the video server comprises:

accessing a second secret code stored in the memory coupled to the at least one central server and associated with the first network device;

generating a second authentication ticket by inputting the second secret code into a second pre-specified mathematical formula and calculating a second answer, wherein the second authentication ticket contains the second answer but not the second secret code; and

transmitting the second authentication ticket to the video server, wherein the video server subsequently transmits the second authentication ticket to the first network device so as to establish the authenticated and direct communication link.

49. The system of claim 31 wherein the act of authenticating at least the first network device comprises:

accessing a first secret code stored in a memory coupled to the at least one central server and associated with the second network device;

generating a first authentication ticket by inputting the first secret code into a first pre-specified mathematical formula and calculating a first answer, wherein the first authentication ticket contains the first answer but not the first secret code; and

transmitting the first authentication ticket to the first network device, wherein the first network device subsequently transmits the first authentication ticket to the second network device so as to establish an authenticated and direct communication link with the second network device.

50. The system of claim 49 wherein the act of authenticating at least the first network device further comprises authenticating the second network device, wherein the act of authenticating the second network device comprises:

accessing a second secret code stored in the memory coupled to the at least one central server and associated with the first network device;

generating a second authentication ticket by inputting the second secret code into a second pre-specified mathematical formula and calculating a second answer, wherein the second authentication ticket contains the second answer but not the second secret code; and

transmitting the second authentication ticket to the second network device, wherein the second network device subsequently transmits the second authentication ticket to the first network device so as to establish the authenticated and direct communication link.

51. A security monitoring and alert system, comprising:

a video camera for capturing video data;

a sensor coupled to the video camera for detecting the occurrence of an event;

a digital video recorder, coupled to the video camera and sensor; and

a video server, coupled to the digital video recorder and a digital communication network, wherein when the sensor is triggered, the video camera transmits video data to the digital video recorder, which in turn transmits the video data to the video server, the video server notifies a remote device via the digital communications network that the sensor has been triggered.

52. The system of claim 51 wherein the video server further compresses the video data, converts it into a streaming video data format and thereafter transmits the streaming video data to the remote device via the digital communications network.

53. The system of claim 51 wherein the remote device can access the video data from the video server via the digital communication network.

54. A remote client device enabled to receive streaming video data, the remote client device comprising a program that when executed performs a method of receiving streaming video data, the method comprising:

receiving a notification that a sensor has been triggered;

transmitting a request to receive video data from a camera coupled to the sensor;

transmitting authentication information to a central server via a digital communications network;

receiving the video data; and

displaying the video data on a display screen of the remote client device.

55. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the video data is received in a streaming video data format.

56. The remote client device of claim 55 wherein the streaming video data is further transmitted in a compressed and encrypted format and the method further comprises decompressing and decrypting the streaming video data prior to displaying it on the display screen.

57. The remote client device of claim 56 wherein the remote client device comprises a wireless telephone.

58. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the sensor comprises a motion detection sensor.

59. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the sensor comprises an audio sensor.

60. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the sensor comprises a temperature sensor.

61. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the sensor comprises a chemical sensor.

62. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the sensor comprises a bacteria or virus sensor.

63. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of receiving a notification comprises receiving a multimedia message (MMS) still image representative of one frame image of the video data to be displayed on the display of the remote client device.

64. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of receiving a notification comprises receiving a multimedia message (MMS) video file, wherein the program executed by the client device opens the video file to display on the display screen of the remote client device a MMS video representative of at least a portion of the video data.

65. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of notifying comprises transmitting a web page file to the client device, wherein the program executed by the client device opens the file to display a web page on the display screen of the client device, the web page including at least one active link selectable by a user of the client device, which when selected initiates transmission of the video data to the client device in a streaming video data format.

66. The remote client device of claim 65 wherein the web page comprises at least one window for displaying the streaming video data.

67. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of transmitting authentication information comprises transmitting a username and password entered by a user of the client device.

68. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of transmitting authentication information comprises transmitting an identification code stored in a memory of the remote client device.

69. The remote client device of claim 54 wherein the act of transmitting authentication information comprises:

generating an authentication ticket containing a first answer and at least one parameter value, the first answer being calculated by inputting the at least one parameter value and a secret code stored in a memory of the remote client device into a pre-specified mathematical formula, wherein the secret code is not contained in the authentication ticket; and

transmitting the authentication ticket to the central server via the digital communications network, thereby enabling the central server to authenticate the remote client device.