Patent Application
20050289178
The invention relates generally to communications networks. More specifically, the invention is related to providing a user connected to a local server with information presented in a web page from a remote server without sending data to construct the presentation of the web page from the remote server.
Many know communications network utilize satellite communication links to communicate between two remote locations. Generally, such networks include at least one local server to which a user connects a user interface device, such as a laptop computer, and at least one remote server that communicates with the local server via the satellite link. Typically, these satellite links are very expensive. In at least some known networks, in response to a user request for information or data, the local server communicates the request, along with other data such as security and identification data, to the remote server. The remote server then compiles the requested information and returns a response to the local server. Often this response includes web page data structure that presents the requested information to the user in a dynamic graphical web page format. Web page data structure typically consumes large amount of bandwidth of the satellite link, which further increases the cost of the link.
For example, in the case of a mobile platform, such as an aircraft, bus or ship, the network could include a local onboard server with limited functional capabilities that is connected, via a satellite link, to a remote server having much more powerful functional capabilities. A passenger of the mobile platform could connect a computing interface device to the onboard server and request information, such as information regarding the passenger's destination, that is stored on, or compiled by, the remote server. The remote server may then return the requested information combined with dynamic content, such as web page structure, that is used to display the requested information on the computing interface device. Transmitting such dynamic data consumes a large amount of the satellite link bandwidth that increases the cost of utilizing the satellite link.
Alternatively, the dynamic data content could be stored on the local server so that very little data needs to be transmitted from the remote server. Thus, very little bandwidth would be consumed. However, this would require that the local server comprise much more complex and powerful equipment, which could be cost prohibitive if a network includes a plurality of local servers communicatively connected to the remote server.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide such a network that utilizes minimal bandwidth and does not require that dynamic data be stored on the local server. It would be further desirable to provide such a system wherein the remote server could manage requests from multiple local servers without having to identify which local server a request came from.
In one preferred implementation of the present invention a method is provided for providing requested information to a network user. The method includes storing a packaged data programming library on a local server. The packaged library includes a web page data structure. A remote server receives a request for information that is initiated by a user via a user interface device communicatively connected to the local server. The remote server then sends a response to the user interface device that includes the requested information combined with a library reference or label. The library reference identifies the packaged library stored on the local server. A web browser of the user interface is utilized to resolve the library reference and present a web page to the user that displays the requested information.
The features, functions, and advantages of the present invention can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present inventions or may be combined in yet other embodiments.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein;
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of drawings.
The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application or uses. Additionally, the advantages provided by the preferred embodiments, as described below, are exemplary in nature and not all preferred embodiments provide the same advantages or the same degree of advantages.
Each connection port 22 is adapted to communicatively connect to with a user interface 24, e.g. a hard wired or wireless connection. By connecting to a port 22 a user can establish an access link to the local server 16. For example, the user interface 24 can be a laptop computer of a passenger on board an aircraft. The passenger connects the laptop to one of the connection ports 22 to establish a link with the local server 16. The passenger can then utilize the link to access and use one or more services controlled by the local server 16. For example, a passenger can access the Internet via the local server 16.
Generally, each user interface 24 includes a display 26, an audio listening device 28 and a data input device 30. The display 26 is used for viewing such things as information, data and other graphical representations. The audio listening device 28 can be any suitable device for producing sound, such as a headset and jack or a speaker. The data input device 30 allows a user to input information, data and/or queries to the local server 16. For example, the data input device 30 can be a keyboard, a mouse or a touch screen included in the display 26.
The remote network 14 includes a remote server 34 and a remote processor 38 suitable to execute all functions of remote server 34. The remote server 34 also includes at least one remote electronic storage device 42. The electronic storage device 42 preferably comprises a computer readable medium, such as a hard drive or any other electronic data storage device for storing such things as software packages or programs, algorithms, information and data. In an alternate embodiment, the electronic storage device 42 is independent of and electrically connected to the remote server 34.
The local server 16 provides and controls many services that users of the system 10 may desire to utilize. For example, a user may desire to access the Internet via the local server 16. Or, a user may desire to access games and/or other forms of entertainment, such as movies, stored on the storage module 20 and controlled by the local server 16. Or the user may desire to access other information stored on, or compiled by, the remote server 34. For example, a passenger of a mobile platform, e.g. an aircraft, connected to an onboard server may desire information pertinent to the passenger's destination, such as gate arrival and connecting flight information. To access such services controlled by the local server 16 the user connects a user interface 24, such as a laptop computer, to the local network 12 via one of the connection ports 22.
The local server 16 and the remote server 34 communicate with each other using any suitable means of communication, for example land lines, a terrestrial wireless link or a satellite communication link. In a preferred form, communication between the local server 16 and the remote server 34 is achieved using a satellite communication system and method such as that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/989,742, titled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Bi-Directional Data Services and Live Television Programming to Mobile Platforms”, filed Nov. 20, 2001, and assigned to The Boeing Co. In one preferred form, the means of communication provides direct communication between the local server 16 and the remote server 34. In an alternative preferred form, the means of communication provides indirect communication between servers 16 and 24, e.g. local server 16 can be behind a firewall so that it is effectively invisible to the remote server 34. The communications system 10 is adapted to provide the user with requested information from the remote server. More particularly, the communications system 10 presents the requested information in a web page format without transmitting dynamic content used to construct the web page from the remote server.
In a preferred embodiment, the local storage device 20 has stored thereon at least one or more packaged data programming libraries, preferably a plurality of package libraries are stored on the local storage device 20. Each packaged library includes a programming library, as known in the art, packaged with data structure for an associated web page. The programming libraries included in the packaged libraries can be any suitable programming library, such as a Java Script library. Thus, each packaged library stored on the local storage device 20 not only includes typical programming library data, but further includes web page data structure packaged with the library data. In a preferred form, each packaged library includes substantially all the data structure for essentially the entire web page included in the respective packaged library.
The remote server 34 then combines the requested information with a library reference, also referred to as a library label, that identifies a specific packaged library stored on the local storage device 20. More specifically, the remote server 34 combines the requested information with one or more library reference that identifies one or more packaged libraries stored on the local storage device 20 that relate to the requested data. The remote server 14 then sends a message comprising the requested information combined with the library reference to the user interface device 24, via the local server 16, as indicated at 116. In a preferred embodiment, the remote server 34 encodes the message prior to sending the message to the passenger interface device 24, thereby reducing the size of the data being sent.
The system 10 utilizes a web browser of the passenger interface 24 to resolve the library reference and requested data then retrieve the packaged library identified by the library reference from the onboard server 16, as indicated at 120. Any supporting data, such as images, can also be retrieved from the local server 16 at this point. In the case where the data in the message is encoded, the user interface web browser uses instruction in the packaged library to decode the data in the message. Finally, the user interface is further utilized to combine the retrieved packaged library with the requested information and present a web page to the passenger displaying the requested information, as indicated at 124.
Referring to
Furthermore, each local server 16 communicates with the remote server 34 as described above in reference to
For example, if a passenger onboard an aircraft A and a passenger onboard a aircraft B are flying into airport X and each passenger has the same connecting flight to city M, each passenger can request information regarding a departure gate and time for the connecting flight and the remote network 14 will send substantially identical combined messages to each local network 12. Thus, the remote network 14 does not need to know which local network 12 it is responding to because the combined message only includes the library reference and the requested data.
Typically, in known web page construction, the web page data structure includes the code and data for constructing generally the entire web page and may import a few libraries for miscellaneous data and/or code. The packaged libraries of the present invention include substantially the entire web page data structure, i.e. data and code. Thus, instead of libraries being used to support certain function of a web page, as is known in the art, the packaged libraries of the present invention provide the data structure needed to construct the web page presented to the user to display the requested information. In a preferred implementation the combined message returned from the remote server 34 is a hyper-text markup language (html) page that includes only the library reference and the requested data and no data for constructing the web page ultimately presented on the user interface device 24. All the data and code to construct the web page containing the requested information is contained in the packaged libraries stored on the local storage device 20. Thus, the web page is dynamically computed essentially completely using the user interface web browser.
Thus, the present invention provides requested information, presented in a web page format, without transmitting the web page data structure from the remote server, thereby minimizing the amount of bandwidth used for communication between the local and remote servers.
While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.
