NETWORK CONNECTOR DEVICE

• US 20100064029A1
• Filed: 09/09/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Axis AB (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Axis AB (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tullberg, Joacim, Lundberg, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 8,706,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/102 Gateways arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways, H04L12/66
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A network connector device and a method for making image information sent through a first digital network accessible by a second digital network. A first and a second network connector are arranged to pass on digital network traffic, a network traffic buffer buffers the digital network traffic, an image session identifier identifies a network session from the buffered digital network traffic, containing image information. An image session tracker tracks the identified network session containing image information, an image extractor extracts image information from the identified network session containing image information, and an image information buffer buffers the extracted image information. An image information arranger arranges the image information from the image information buffer into at least one image sequence of related images, and a server makes accessible the at least one image sequence via a third network connector.

Claims

1. Network connector device for making image information sent through a first digital network accessible by a second digital network, the network connector device comprising:

a first and a second network connector arranged to pass on digital network traffic;

a network traffic buffer arranged to buffer said digital network traffic;

an image session identifier arranged to identify a network session, from the buffered digital network traffic, containing image information;

an image session tracker arranged to track said identified network session containing image information;

an image extractor arranged to extract image information from the identified network session containing image information;

an image information buffer arranged to buffer the extracted image information;

an image information arranger arranged to allocate image information in the image information buffer, said allocated image information is to be forwarded to the second digital network, and to arrange the allocated image information from the image information buffer into at least one image sequence of related images, wherein each image sequence of related images is a sequence of images belonging to a specific communication session between a network enabled digital camera and a camera viewing client;

a checking means arranged to delete obsolete image information buffered in the image information buffer (28), wherein obsolete image information does not include allocated image information; and

a server (34) arranged to send said at least one image sequence of related images via a third network connector (36) and over the second digital network (B).

2. Network connector device according to claim 1, further comprising a session buffer (24) arranged to buffer said identified network session containing image information outputted from the image session tracker (22).

3. Network connector device according to claim 1, further comprising a protocol selector arranged to select, from the buffered digital network traffic, specific digital network traffic sent via at least one predefined protocol.

4. Network connector device according to claim 3, wherein the predefined protocol is TCP.

5. Network connector device according to claim 3, wherein the predefined protocol is UDP.

6. Network connector device according to claim 1, further comprising a network traffic recreator arranged to reorder the network traffic into its original form.

7. Network connector device according to claim 1, further comprising a transcoder arranged to transcode the image sequence of related images from still images into a video sequence.

8. Network connector device according to any of the claim 1, further comprising a transcoder arranged to transcode the image sequence of related images from a video sequence into still images.

9. Method for making image information sent through a first digital network accessible by a second digital network, the method comprising:

receiving network traffic at a first network connector;

transmitting network traffic corresponding to the received network traffic from a second network connector;

buffering the received digital network traffic in a network traffic buffer;

identifying a network session, from the buffered digital network traffic, containing image information;

tracking said identified network session containing image information;

extracting image information from the tracked network session containing image information;

buffering said extracted image information in an image information buffer;

allocating image information buffered in the image information buffer, said allocated image information is to be forwarded to the second digital network;

arranging said allocated image information into at least one image sequence of related images, wherein each image sequence of related images is a sequence of images belonging to a communication session between a network enabled digital camera and a camera viewing client;

deleting obsolete images from the image information buffer, wherein obsolete image information does not include allocated image information; and

make said at least one image sequence accessible by the second digital network by sending said at least one image sequence over the second digital network via a third network connector by means of a server.

10. Method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of buffering said identified network session.

11. Method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of selecting, from the buffered digital network traffic, specific digital network traffic sent via at least one predefined protocol.

12. Method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of recreating buffered network traffic into its original form.

13. Method according to claim 9, further comprising transcoding the image sequence of related images from still images into a video sequence.

14. Method according to claim 9, further comprising transcoding the image sequence of related images from a video sequence into still images.

15. Method according to claim 9, further comprising packeting the at least one image sequence of related images into network packets.