Client server system and connection method

• US 8,185,641 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2010
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kubota, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Algibhah, Hamza
• Application Number:
  US12/968,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20110083080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

In at least one embodiment of the disclosure, a computing device comprises a network interface that receives terminal information corresponding to a terminal connected to a network. A storage device stores profile information defining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device. A central processing unit refers to the received terminal information and the stored profile information and determines that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device. A display displays a participant display area. The display area shows a client name that corresponds to the terminal. An input mechanism accepts a user operation selecting the client name displayed in the participant display area to designate the terminal. The terminal provides image data to the computing device. The computing device supplies the image data provided by the terminal to an image display apparatus connected to the network.

Claims

1. A computing device, comprising:

a network interface that receives terminal information corresponding to a terminal connected to a network, the terminal information being received from the terminal;

a storage device that stores profile information defining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

a central processing unit that;

refers to the received terminal information and the stored profile information, and

determines that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

a display that displays a participant display area, the participant display area displaying a client name that corresponds to the terminal; and

an input mechanism that accepts a user operation selecting the client name displayed in the participant display area to designate the terminal,

wherein;

the terminal provides image data to the computing and device,

the computing device supplies the image data provided by the terminal to an image display apparatus connected to the network,

the stored profile information comprises an hourly profile and a class makeup profile stored on the storage device, and

determining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device comprises the central processing unit determining that a student who has sent a connection request to the computing device is a student belonging to a class corresponding to a present time defined in the hourly profile, by referring to the hourly profile and the class makeup profile.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the display displays a display operation sub-window, and

the display operation sub-window comprises a plurality of split sub-windows respectively including user display parts, at least one of the user display parts displaying the selected client name.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein a layout of the split sub-windows in the display operation sub-window corresponds to a layout of a split display screen dividing a screen on which an image from the image display apparatus is shown.

4. The computing device of claim 2, wherein each of the split sub-windows includes a display button, a stop button, and a full-screen display button.

5. The computing device of claim 2, wherein:

the input mechanism includes a mouse, and

the participant display area and the display operation sub-window accept drag and drop operations of the client name to designate the terminal as the supplier of the image data.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein:

the number of central processing units in the computing device is one.

6. A method for controlling a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving terminal information corresponding to a terminal connected to a network, the terminal information being received from the terminal;

storing profile information on a storage device, the profile information defining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

referring to the received terminal information and the stored profile information;

determining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

displaying, on a display of the computing device, a participant display area that displays a client name that corresponds to the terminal;

accepting a user operation selecting the client name displayed in the participant display area to designate the terminal;

receiving image data from the terminal; and

supplying, to an image display apparatus connected to the network, the image data provided by the terminal, wherein

the stored profile information comprises an hourly profile and a class makeup profile stored on the storage device,

determining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device comprises determining that a student who has sent a connection request to the computing device is a student belonging to a class corresponding to a present time defined in the hourly profile, by referring to the hourly profile and the class makeup profile, and

the method is performed by the single computing device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the computing device comprises a central processing unit;

the central processing unit both;

determines that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device by comparing the received terminal information and the stored profile information;

reads a GUI program stored on the storage device that causes the display to display the participant display area by using a graphic controller.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the central processing unit functions as an image combining unit.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the GUI program causes the display to display a display operation sub-window, and

the display operation sub-window comprises a plurality of split sub-windows respectively including user display parts, at least one of the user display parts displaying the selected client name.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the computing device is configured to accept user input designating a terminal for each respective split sub-window, each designation indicating that the respective terminal is a supplier of image data for the respective split sub-window.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

each split sub-window in the plurality of split sub-windows includes a project button that instructs image data from a respective terminal designated for the split sub-window to be displayed by the image display apparatus.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the relative orientation of the split sub-windows on the display is the same as the relative orientation of the image data from the respective terminals as displayed by the image display apparatus.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein:

each split sub-window in the plurality of split sub-windows includes a full-screen display button that instructs image data from a terminal designated for the split sub-window to be displayed by the image display apparatus in full-screen mode.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the display includes a status area indicating which client names in the participant display area correspond to image data currently being displayed by the image display apparatus.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the display includes a preview sub-window where, when participants in the participant display area are selected, preview of image data corresponding to the selected participants is shown regardless of contents displayed by the image display apparatus.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the participant display area and the display operation sub-window accept drag and drop operations of the client name to designate the terminal as the supplier of the image data.

7. A computer program product stored on a storage device and executable by a computing device, the computer program product allowing the computing device to execute a process comprising:

receiving terminal information corresponding to a terminal connected to a network, the terminal information being received from the terminal;

storing profile information on a storage device, the profile information defining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

referring to the received terminal information and the stored profile information;

determining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device;

displaying, on a display of the computing device, a participant display area that displays a client name that corresponds to the terminal;

accepting a user operation selecting the client name displayed in the participant display area to designate the terminal;

receiving image data from the terminal; and

supplying, to an image display apparatus connected to the network, the image data provided by the terminal, wherein

the stored profile information comprises an hourly profile and a class makeup profile stored on the storage device,

determining that the terminal is permitted to connect to the computing device comprises determining that a student who has sent a connection request to the computing device is a student belonging to a class corresponding to a present time defined in the hourly profile, by referring to the hourly profile and the class makeup profile, and

the process is executed by the single computing device.