System for providing location information from a remote terminal and displaying on a map display as a URL

• US 6,917,968 B2
• Filed: 09/28/1998
• Issued: 07/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARTON, KEVIN S
• Application Number:
  US09/161,404
• Publication Number:
  US 20030140136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,479 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/224, 709/225, 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/457, 340/989, 340/990, 340/992, 345/850, 345/851, 701/207, 701/208, 701/213
• US Class Current: 709/217
• 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. A communication apparatus to output information of an information generating terminal to an output terminal via a network, comprising:

a communication device adapted to receive position status information of the information generating terminal, to update position information of the information generating terminal in a database in accordance with the received position status information, and to transmit geographic map information in accordance with the position information to an output terminal;

a search device adapted to search position information in the database in accordance with a request by said output terminal; and

a display information generating device adapted to generate display information as the geographic map information, said display information including a geographic map corresponding to the position information searched from the database and an icon to be displayed on the geographic map, said icon representing the information generating terminal and a URL for accessing the information generating terminal being linked at the position of the icon, the position of the icon and the position of the URL linked thereto displayed on the geographic map being changed in accordance with the updated position information of the information generating terminal,

wherein, said communication device transmits the geographic map information to the output terminal in response to the request from the output terminal, and

wherein the output terminal displays the geographic map with the icon representing the information generating terminal, and the output terminal accesses the information generating terminal in response to a designation of the icon on the geographic map.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display information is transmitted to the output terminal with GET method of HTTP by said communication device.

3. A communication method for outputting information of an information generating terminal to an output terminal via a network, comprising the steps of:

receiving position status information of the information generating terminal;

updating position information of the information generating terminal in a database in accordance with the received position status information;

transmitting a geographic map information in accordance with the position information to an output terminal;

searching position information in the database in accordance with a request by the output terminal; and

generating display information as the geographic map information, the display information including a geographic map corresponding to the position information searched from the database in the searching step and an icon to be displayed on the geographic map, the icon representing the information generating terminal and a URL for accessing the information generating terminal being linked at the position of the icon, the position of the icon and the position of the URL linked thereto displayed on the geographic map being changed in accordance with the updated position information of the information generating terminal,

wherein the geographic map is transmitted to the output terminal in response to the request from the output terminal, and

wherein the output terminal displays the geographic map with the icon representing the information generating terminal, and the output terminal accesses the information generating terminal in response to a designation the icon displayed on the geographic map.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the generated display information is transmitted to the output terminal with GET method of HTTP.