System and method using a web proxy-server to access a device having an assigned network address
First Claim
1. A method of accessing a device having an assigned address, comprising:
- receiving from the device, the assigned address;
storing the assigned address in a memory location;
subsequent to the storing, receiving at a web proxy-server a request from a web client to access the device;
said request comprising a device identifier that uniquely identifies the device; and
in response to said request to access the device, identifying the device'"'"'s stored address based on said device identifier, and said web proxy-server acting as an intermediary to forward said request from said web client to said device via a communications path established by said web proxy-server based on said assigned address.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communications system includes a mobile computing device having a dynamic address and mobile web server software. A network web proxy-server has a portal web page at which a web client can reliably and consistently establish an internet connection. In response to receiving a request from the web client to access the mobile computing device, the network web proxy-server forwards the request to the mobile computing device by opening an indirect or virtual communications link between the web client, the network web proxy-server and the assigned address of the mobile computing device. The mobile computing device repeatedly registers the current version of its address with the proxy-server. The mobile computing device, network web proxy-server and web client are commercially available, off-the-shelf components that require only targeted configuration changes to perform the disclosed intermediary forwarding operations.
70 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of accessing a device having an assigned address, comprising:
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receiving from the device, the assigned address; storing the assigned address in a memory location; subsequent to the storing, receiving at a web proxy-server a request from a web client to access the device; said request comprising a device identifier that uniquely identifies the device; and in response to said request to access the device, identifying the device'"'"'s stored address based on said device identifier, and said web proxy-server acting as an intermediary to forward said request from said web client to said device via a communications path established by said web proxy-server based on said assigned address. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method comprising:
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receiving at a device an assigned address that identifies a virtual location of said device on a network; said device configured to transmit said received assigned address to a web proxy-server that receives a request to access said device from a web client; said request comprising a device identifier that uniquely identifies said device; and delivering data from said device to said web client over a communications path established by said web proxy-server acting as an intermediary between said web client and said device based on said assigned address. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for opening a communications path to a device, the apparatus comprising:
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a web proxy-server that receives, from the device, an address assigned to the device and stores said assigned address in a memory location; said web proxy-server receives, subsequent to storing the assigned address, a request to access the device; said request comprising a device identifier that uniquely identifies the device; and said web proxy-server in response to said request to access the device, identifying the device'"'"'s stored address based on said device identifier, and acting as an intermediary to open a communications path between a sender of said request, said web proxy-server and said device based on said stored assigned address. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system comprising:
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a device that receives an assigned address identifying a virtual location of said device on a network; said device comprising off-the-shelf, commercially available and substantially non-proprietary mobile web server software configured to transmit said assigned address to a web proxy-server that receives requests to access said device from a web client; said requests comprising a device identifier that uniquely identifies said device; and said off-the-shelf mobile web server software further configured to deliver data from said device to said web client over a communications path established by said web proxy-server acting as an intermediary between said web client and said device based on said assigned address. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification