Method and apparatus for a client-server system with heterogeneous clients

• US 6,216,157 B1
• Filed: 06/17/1998
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mendhekar, Anurag, Vishwanath, Mohan
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit, Bunjob
• Application Number:
  US09/098,670
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: 709/208, 709/203, 709/217, 709/204, 709/210, 709/209, 709/228, 709/231, 709/219, 709/206, 370/352, 370/400, 379/88.06, 705/37, 345/333, 345/340
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/211 Syntactic parsing, e.g. based on context-free grammar [CFG] or unification grammars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/221 Parsing markup language streams streaming G06F40/149
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Method and apparatus to deliver an application to a client through a transmission medium. The application can be an interactive application, and the apparatus includes an appliance-specific transducer and an adaptive-transmission transducer. The appliance-specific transducer, in view of the client'"'"'s request for the interactive application in the server, is configured to modify the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output. Based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission, the adaptive-transmission transducer is configured to modify the appliance-specific output to generate an adapted output. The output is delivered through the medium to the client, which includes a decoder and a user-interface. The decoder decodes the adapted output to produce a modified version of the interactive application to be used by a party through the user-interface. In another embodiment, the application can be a push application.

Claims

1. A server apparatus in a server for delivering an interactive application to a client through a transmission medium, the apparatus comprising:

an appliance-specific transducer, in view of the client'"'"'s request for the interactive application, configured to modify the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

an adaptive-transmission transducer coupled to the appliance-specific transducer, configured to modify the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission to generate an adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client, which decodes the adapted output to produce a modified version of the interactive application;

wherein at least one transducer is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

2. A server apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the adaptive-transmission transducer includes a compressor to compress the appliance-specific output, and a packetizer to set the network protocol for the appliance-specific output.

3. A server apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein the compression applied by the compressor depends on the capability of the client.

4. A server apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein the compression applied by the compressor depends on the bandwidth of the transmission medium.

5. A server apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein the compression applied by the compressor depends on the error rate of the transmission medium.

6. A server apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein the protocol set depends on the desired error rates and latency in view of the application.

7. A server apparatus in a server for delivering a push application to a client through a transmission medium, the apparatus comprising:

an appliance-specific transducer configured to modify the push application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

an adaptive-transmission transducer coupled to the appliance-specific transducer, configured to modify the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission, to generate an adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client, which decodes the adapted output to produce a modified version of the push application;

wherein at least one transducer module is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

8. A client apparatus in a client for generating a modified version of a push application received from a server through a transmission medium, the apparatus comprising:

a decoder for generating the modified version of the push application from an adapted output, which is generated by a server apparatus in the server,

such that the server

modifies the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output;

modifies the appliance-specific output based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission to generate the adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client; and

includes a transducer module that is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

9. A client apparatus in a client for generating a modified version of an interactive application received from a server through a transmission medium, the apparatus comprising:

a decoder for generating the modified version of the interactive application from an adapted output, which is generated by a server apparatus in the server;

such that the server apparatus;

in view of the client'"'"'s request for the interactive application, modifies the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output;

modifies the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission, to generate the adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client; and

includes a transducer module that is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

10. A method of modifying an interactive application by a server, to be delivered to a client through a transmission medium, the method comprising the steps of:

modifying, in view of the client'"'"'s request for the interactive application, the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

modifying the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission to generate an adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client, which decodes the adapted output to produce a modified version of the interactive application;

wherein the method further includes the step of separating a transducer in the server into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

11. A method of modifying a push application by a server, to be delivered to a client through a transmission medium, the method comprising the steps of:

modifying the push application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

modifying the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission, to generate an adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client, which decodes the adapted output to produce a modified version of the push application;

wherein the method further includes the step of separating a transducer in the server into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

12. A method of generating by a client a modified version of a push application received from a server through a transmission medium, the method comprising the step of:

decoding an adapted output to generate the modified version of the push application, wherein the adapted output is generated by;

modifying the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

modifying the appliance-specific output based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission to generate the adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client;

such that a transducer in the server is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.

13. A method of generating by a client a modified version of an interactive application received from a server through a transmission medium, the method comprising the step of:

decoding an adapted output to generate the modified version of the interactive application, wherein the adapted output is generated by;

modifying, in view of the client'"'"'s request for the interactive application, the application based on at least one characteristic of the client and at least one characteristic of the application to generate an appliance-specific output; and

modifying the appliance-specific output, based on at least one characteristic of the application and at least one characteristic of the medium of transmission to generate the adapted output to be delivered through the medium to the client;

such that a transducer in the server is separated into two parts, with one part being translated into a programming language, and with the two parts later merged after the translation.