Communication method and apparatus using hypertext transfer protocol

• US 9,270,723 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yoon-soo, Cho, Joon-ho, Choi, Sang-hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Sison, June
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, STEVEN C
• Application Number:
  US13/292,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20120102157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,567 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP

Abstract

A communication method for implementing a real-time streaming using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) in a network is provided. Chunked encoding of HTTP is applied so that information can be exchanged between a server and a client while an HTTP request is being progressed. Therefore, bidirectional communication between the client and the server using HTTP is possible without modifying an existing HTTP protocol, and real-time transmission can be implemented.

Claims

1. A communication method using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) between a client device and a server device, the client device including an HTTP client and an HTTP dispatcher and the server device including a session manager, a control handler, a streaming server, an HTTP scheduler and an HTTP server, the method comprising:

at the control handler of the server device, receiving session information from the session manager of the server device, converting the session information into a chunk-extension message, and transmitting, from the control handler of the server device, the chunk-extension message to the HTTP scheduler of the server device;

at the HTTP scheduler of the server device, checking whether chunk transmission to the HTTP client of the client device is being performed, and if the chunk transmission is being performed, buffering the chunk-extension message until the next chunk is transmitted;

at the HTTP scheduler of the server device, receiving multimedia content from the streaming server of the server device, generating chunk data by multiplexing the multimedia content received from the streaming server of the server device and the chunk-extension message, and transmitting the chunk data to the HTTP server of the server device; and

at the HTTP server of the server device, transmitting the chunk data to the HTTP client of the client device through a streaming connection;

at the HTTP scheduler of the server device, constructing a dummy HTTP response to an HTTP request and transmitting the dummy HTTP response to the HTTP server of the server device;

at the HTTP server of the server device, transmitting the dummy HTTP response to the HTTP client of the client device;

at the HTTP client of the client device, receiving a dummy HTTP response from the HTTP server and transmitting the dummy HTTP response to the HTTP dispatcher of the client device; and

at the HTTP dispatcher of the client device, analyzing the dummy HTTP response, and if the dummy HTTP response is detected, dropping the dummy HTTP response,

wherein the session information comprises one of a session change notification message, a session control request message from the HTTP server of the server device to the HTTP client of the client device, and a control response message for a session control request from the HTTP client of the client device to the HTTP server of the server device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the chunk-extension message comprises a session identification.

3. A communication method using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) between a client device and a server device, the client device including a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) client, an HTTP dispatcher, a control handler, a streaming client and a session synthesizer, and the server device including an HTTP server, the method comprising:

at the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) client of the client device, receiving chunk data from the HTTP server of the server device through a streaming connection and transmitting the chunk data to the HTTP dispatcher of the client device, wherein the chunk data is obtained by multiplexing multimedia content and a chunk-extension message;

at the HTTP dispatcher of the client device, demultiplexing the chunk data into the multimedia content and the chunk-extension message, transmitting the chunk-extension message to the control handler of the client device, and transmitting the multimedia content to the streaming client of the client device; and

at the control handler of the client device, converting the chunk-extension message into session information and transmitting the session information to the session synthesizer of the client device;

at the HTTP client of the client device, receiving a dummy HTTP response from the HTTP server and transmitting the dummy HTTP response to the HTTP dispatcher of the client device; and

at the HTTP dispatcher of the client device, analyzing the dummy HTTP response, and if the dummy HTTP response is detected, dropping the dummy HTTP response,

wherein the session information comprises one of a session change notification message from the HTTP server of the server device to the HTTP client of the client device, and a session control request message from the HTTP server of the server device to the HTTP client of the client device, and a control response message for a session control request from the HTTP client of the client device to the HTTP server of the server device.