Apparatus and method for providing remote user interface

• US 8,260,843 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2006
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jun, Goo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US11/516,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,189 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/219, 709/230, 709/231, 345/738, 345/762, 345/619, 715/273, 715/719, 715/738, 715/835, 128/899, 719/328, 705/14, 700/83
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

An apparatus and method for providing an image-based remote user interface (UI) using a web browser are provided. A server includes an user interface (UI) application which provides a dynamic image; a server communication module which, if the dynamic image is updated, transmits an image update event for the updated dynamic image; and a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server which receives a request corresponding to the image update event and transmits the updated dynamic image in response to the received request. The method includes if an image in a remote user interface (UI) is updated, transmitting an image update event for the updated image; receiving a request corresponding to the image update event; and transmitting the updated image in response to the received request.

Claims

1. A remote user interface (UI) server comprising:

a UI application which is executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and provides a dynamic image;

a server communication module which transmits, over a first communication channel, an image update event for an updated dynamic image, if the dynamic image is updated; and

a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server which is executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and receives a request in response to the transmitted image update event and transmits the updated dynamic image, over a second communication channel that is different from the first communication channel, in response to the received request.

2. The remote UI server of claim 1, wherein the server communication module transmits the image update event to a client, and the HTTP server receives the request from the client and transmits the updated dynamic image to the client.

3. The remote UI server of claim 2, wherein the server communication module transmits position information of the updated dynamic image to the client along with the image update event.

4. The remote UI server of claim 3, wherein the position information includes X-Y coordinates.

5. The remote UI server of claim 2, wherein the UI application generates a remote UI that includes the dynamic image, and the HTTP server transmits the remote UI to the client.

6. The remote UI server of claim 5, wherein the remote UI complies with a hypertext markup language format.

26. The remote user interface (UI) server of claim 1, wherein the image update event is a flag indicating that the dynamic image has been updated.

7. A remote user interface (UI) client comprising:

a browser module which is executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and displays a remote UI; and

a client communication module which receives, over a first communication channel, image update event information of an occurrence of an image update event in which an image in the remote UI is updated, and which informs the browser module of the occurrence of the image update event,

wherein the browser module transmits a request for the updated image in response to the received image update event information, and receives the updated image, over a second communication channel that is different from the first communication channel, and displays the updated image on the remote UI.

8. The remote user interface (UI) client of claim 7, wherein the client communication module receives the image update event information from a server providing the remote UI, and the browser module transmits the request for the updated image to the server.

9. The remote UI client of claim 8, wherein the client communication module receives position information of the updated image from the server along with the image update event information and displays the updated image according to the position information.

10. The remote UI client of claim 9, wherein the position information includes X-Y coordinates.

11. The remote UI client of claim 8, wherein the remote UI complies with a hypertext markup language format.

12. A remote user interface (UI) proxy server comprising:

a control module which is executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and receives an updated image of a remote UI;

a relay communication module which transmits, over a first communication channel, to a client that displays the remote UI, image update event information of an occurrence of an image update event for the updated image; and

a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server which is executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and receives a request in response to the remote communication module transmitting the image update event information and transmits, over a second communication channel that is different from the first communication channel, the updated image to the client in response to the received request.

13. The remote user interface (UI) proxy server of claim 12, wherein the HTTP server receives the request from the client, and transmits the update image to the client in response to the received request.

14. The remote UI proxy server of claim 13, wherein the relay communication module transmits position information of the updated image to the client along with the image update event information.

15. The remote UI proxy server of claim 14, wherein the position information includes X-Y coordinates.

16. The remote UI proxy server of claim 13, wherein an UI application creates a remote UI that includes a dynamic image, and the HTTP server transmits the created remote UI to the client.

17. The remote UI proxy server of claim 16, wherein the remote UI complies with a hypertext markup language format.

18. A method for providing a remote user interface (UI), the method being executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and comprising:

if an image in a remote UI is updated, transmitting, by the at least one processor, an image update event for the updated image over a first communication channel;

receiving a request in response to the transmitted image update event; and

transmitting the updated image, over a second communication channel that is different from the first communication channel, in response to the received request.

19. The method for providing a remote user interface (UI) of claim 18, wherein the image update event for the update image is transmitted to a client if the image in the remote UI is updated, and the updated image is transmitted to the client in response to a received request to display the updated image in the remote UI.

20. The method for providing a remote UI of claim 19, further comprising transmitting position information of the updated image to the client along with the image update event.

21. The method for providing a remote UI of claim 20, wherein the position information includes X-Y coordinates.

22. The method for providing a remote UI of claim 19, wherein the remote UI complies with a hypertext markup language format.

23. A method for providing a remote user interface (UI), the method being executed by at least one central processing unit (CPU) and comprising:

displaying a remote UI;

receiving, over a first communication channel, image update event information of an occurrence of an image update event in which an image in the remote UI is updated;

transmitting, using at least one central processing unit (CPU), a request for the updated image in response to the received image update event information; and

receiving, over a second communication channel that is different from the first communication channel, the updated image and displaying the updated image.

24. The method for providing a remote UI of claim 23, wherein a server providing the remote UI transmits the image update event information of the occurrence of the image update event, the request for the updated image is transmitted to the server in response to the received request, and the updated image is displayed in the remote UI.

25. The method for providing a remote UI of claim 24, wherein the remote UI complies with a hypertext markup language format.