Server apparatuses, server control programs, and client apparatuses for a computer system in which created drawing data is transmitted to the client apparatuses

• US 8,918,450 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2007
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Ohtsuka, Toshihiko, Hirotani, Takayuki, Ohdate, Shouzo
• Primary Examiner(s): WASEL, MOHAMED A
• Application Number:
  US11/674,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,870 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709/208, 709/212, 709/217, 709/219, 707100-101, 715/200, 715/255, 715/272, 348/207.1, 348/222.1, 348/239
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32117 in a separate transmission or protocol signal prior to or subsequent to the image data transmission, e.g. in digital identification signal [DIS], in non standard setup [NSS] or in non standard field [NSF] for mode signalling H04N1/333
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/42 Systems for two-way working , e.g. conference systems H04N1/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3245 of image modifying data, e.g. handwritten addenda, highlights or augmented reality information

Abstract

The present drawing data stored in the present drawing data storage unit is compared with the preceding drawing data stored in the preceding drawing data storage unit for each of the drawing areas divided by the area dividing unit, thereby determining whether there is a change in the preceding drawing data for each of the drawing areas in the present drawing data. Then, control is performed to transmit to the client apparatus the drawing data in a drawing area determined to have a change by the comparison decision unit, except for a drawing area of the present drawing data determined to have no change by the comparison decision unit. Consequently, it is possible to remarkably reduce the amount of data transferred to the client apparatus as a result of a change in the drawing and therefore transfer the drawing data at high speed.

Claims

1. An image transfer system, comprising a server apparatus, which causes drawing data created at the server apparatus to be transmitted to a client apparatus and displayed on a display screen of the client apparatus, the server apparatus comprising:

a drawing data storage unit which stores preceding drawing data on a preceding screen transferred to the client apparatus and present drawing data on a created present screen;

an area dividing unit which divides drawing data into a plurality of drawing areas;

a specific data converting unit which compares the present drawing data with the preceding drawing data for each of the drawing areas, and converts pixels of drawing data of a portion having no change into specific data in each of the plurality of drawing areas in the present drawing data, wherein the specific data comprises data that identifies the converted pixels as being associated with no change with reference to the preceding drawing data;

a specific drawing area detecting unit which detects a specific drawing area having both the specific data converted by the specific data converting unit and the drawing data of a portion which has a change in the present drawing data from the preceding drawing data;

a compressing unit which compresses drawing data corresponding to the specific drawing area; and

a transmission control unit which transmits, to the client apparatus, the compressed drawing data;

wherein the specific data requires no rewriting when the client apparatus displays the compressed drawing data.

2. The image transfer system according to claim 1, the server apparatus further comprising a drawing area detecting unit which detects a drawing area in which the present drawing data is converted by the specific data converting unit,

wherein the compressing unit determines and compresses drawing areas undetected by the specific drawing area detecting unit as the specific drawing area.

3. The image transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the compressing unit includes a number-of-colors counting unit which counts a number of colors in the drawing data of the drawing area to be compressed, and a compression method detection unit which determines a compression method according to the number of colors counted by the number-of-colors counting unit.

4. The image transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the compressing unit includes a communication load sensing unit which detects a load on the client apparatus in a communicating state, and a compression method decision unit which determines a compression method according to the load on the client apparatus in the communicating state detected by the communication load sensing unit, and

compresses the drawing data in the drawing area to be compressed according to the compression method determined by the compression method decision unit;

and

the transmission control unit adds information indicating the method of compressing the drawing data to the drawing data of the drawing area having a change from the preceding drawing data compressed by the compressing unit, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

5. The image transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the compressing unit includes a number-of-colors counting unit which counts a number of colors in the drawing data of the drawing area to be compressed, and a communication load sensing unit which detects a load on the client apparatus in a communicating state, and a compression method decision unit which determines a compression method according to the number of colors counted by the number-of-colors counting unit and the load on the client apparatus in the communicating state detected by the communication sensing unit, and

compresses the drawing data in the drawing area to be compressed according to the compression method determined by the compression method decision unit, and

the transmission control unit adds information indicating the method of compressing the drawing data to the drawing data in the drawing area having a change from the preceding drawing data compressed by the compressing unit, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

6. The image transfer system according to claim 1, the server apparatus further comprising a transmittable color setting unit which detects color data of each pixel constituting the drawing area for each drawing area in the present drawing data divided by the area dividing unit and sets color data other than the detected color data as a transmittable color for the drawing area,

wherein the specific data replaces the pixel data in the drawing area in the present drawing data determined to have no change by the specific data converting unit and is transmittable color data for the drawing area set by the transmittable color setting unit.

7. The image transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit adds information indicating a method of compressing the drawing data and coordinate information on the present drawing data in the drawing area to the drawing data of the present drawing data compressed by the compressing unit, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

8. A non-transitory recording medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution, cause an image transfer system, comprising a server apparatus, to perform processes to facilitate drawing data created at the server apparatus to be transmitted to a client apparatus and displayed on a display screen of the client apparatus, the instructions causing the server apparatus to carry out the following processes:

a drawing data storage control which stores preceding drawing data on the preceding screen transferred to the client apparatus into a memory and present drawing data on a created present screen;

an area dividing control which divides the drawing data stored in the memory into a plurality of drawing areas;

a specific data converting unit which compares the present drawing data with the preceding drawing data for each of the drawing areas, and replaces drawing data of a portion having no change with specific data in each of the plurality of drawing areas in the present drawing data, wherein the specific data comprises data that identifies the drawing data of the portion having no change with reference to the preceding drawing data;

a specific drawing area detecting control which detects a specific drawing area having both the specific data and the drawing data of a portion which has a change in the present drawing data from the preceding drawing data and the specific data as a specific drawing area;

a compressing control which compresses the drawing data corresponding to the specific drawing area; and

a transmission control which transmits, to the client apparatus, compressed drawing data;

wherein the specific data requires no rewriting when the client apparatus displays the compressed drawing data.

9. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 8, the instructions causing the server apparatus to carry out the following processes:

counting a number of colors in the drawing data on a drawing area to be compressed; and

determining a compression method according to the number of colors counted;

wherein

the compressing control compresses the drawing data in the drawing area to be compressed by a compression circuit of the determined compression method, and

the transmission control adds information indicating the determined compression of compressing the drawing data to the drawing area in the drawing area having a change from the preceding drawing data compressed by the compressing control, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

10. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 8, the instructions causing the server apparatus to carry out the following processes:

communication load detection which detects a load on the client apparatus in a communicating state, compression method decision which determines a compression method according to the load on the client apparatus in the communicating state detected by the communication load detection, and drawing data compression which compresses the drawing data in the drawing area to be compressed by the compression circuit of the determined compression method, in the compression control; and

the transmission control adds information indicating a method of compressing the drawing data to the drawing data of the drawing area having a change from the preceding drawing data compressed by the compressing control in the computer of the server apparatus, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

11. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 8, the instructions causing the server apparatus to carry out the following processes:

counting a number of colors in the drawing data on a drawing area to be compressed;

detecting a load on the client apparatus in a communicating state; and

determining a compression method according to the number of colors counted and the detected load on the client apparatus in the communicating state;

wherein

the compressing control compresses the drawing data in the drawing area to be compressed by a compression circuit of the determined compression method, and

the transmission control adds information indicating the method of compressing the drawing data to the drawing data in the drawing area having a change from the preceding drawing data compressed by the compressing control, and transmits resulting data to the client apparatus.

12. A client apparatus for a computer system which causes drawing data created at a server apparatus to be received and displayed on its display screen, the client apparatus comprising:

a compression/decompression unit which decompresses the compressed drawing data in a drawing data of the present drawing data received from the server apparatus;

a pixel data decision unit which reads, pixel data item by pixel data item, the drawing data in the drawing area decompressed by the compressing/decompressing unit and determines whether the pixel data is specific data, the specific data comprising data indicating that there is no change in the drawing data; and

a display update control unit which updates the display on the display screen according to pixel data other than the pixel data determined to be specific data by the pixel data decision unit;

wherein the pixel data determined to be the specific data requires no updating when the display update control unit updates the displays on the display screen.