Patent Application
20050138117
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates to pushing notifications to networked devices, and in particular to pushing notifications to home network devices using world wide web technologies.
Many electronic devices, for example home network devices, include support for Web browsers supporting the HTTP and HTML standards to display and render content from one device to another. Notifications may be sent form service devices to client devices for a number of reasons, including: alert messages, device status updates for general communication, etc.
Conventionally, when using a web browser in a client device as a controller for a service device, the web browser sends a request to a web server in the service device for status update. The web server then responds to the request with a status update (notification) which is then displayed in a display frame in the browser for user viewing. However, for the display frame to show up-to-date status information from the web server, the browser must periodically request the web server for an update. In response to each such request, the web server sends display information back to the browser even if no status change has occurred in a state machine monitored by the web server.
For dynamic status updates, the web browser periodically requests the web server for a status update at a particular polling rate. Any status change is reflected in the web browser display frame only when a request for update is sent to the web server and a response received from the server. This is because the conventional method is a polling method whereby the browser does not automatically receive status update information from the web server when the web server detects a status change.
There is, therefore, a need for a method and system that provides virtually real-time status updates in a client-based browser controller with low overhead.
The present invention addresses the above needs. A method and system for pushing notifications to devices in a network including client devices and server devices. A connection is established between a client device and a server device. The client device sends a request for data to the server device. The server device sends a reply to the client device in response to the request, such that the reply contains a notification request for the client device to request further information from the server device. Further, the server device automatically notifies the client device that an event has occurred.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a system for pushing notifications to electronic devices, comprising: a client device and a server device, such that a connection can be established between the client device and a server device; the client device and the server device are configured such that: the client device sends a request for data to the server device; upon receiving the request, the server device sends a reply to the client device, wherein the reply includes a notification request for the client device to request further information from the server device.
Based on the notification request, the client device sends another request for data from the server device; and the server device sends another reply to the device in response to that request, wherein the reply includes another notification request for the client device to request further information from the server device. Further, the server device automatically notifies the client device that an event has occurred. The client device includes a web browser that sends the request and the server device includes a web server that sends the reply. The client device and the server device utilize the HTTP protocol. As such, in one version the present invention provides a push method and system for web browser command and control that provides virtually real-time status update to a browser-based controller from a service device web browser.
Other embodiments, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
For example, a client device 20 can include a Web browser 25 and a server device 30 can include a Web server 35. The client and server devices 20 and 30, respectively, communicate via the TCP/IP network protocol (HTTP over any protocol may be used, the HTTP RFC's do not mandate underlying protocols; typically, the underlying protocol is either TCP/IP or UDP/IP, but HTTP itself is not restricted to that). An example client device 20 can be a TV, DVD, computer, etc. Further, an example server device 30 can be a TV, DVD, computer, etc.
The network 10 implements a Push method and system for pushing updates for status and control mechanisms from the web sever 35 to the web browser 25. The Push method allows a service device to send status and notification messages directly to client device, independent of the version of HTTP supported, and for all MIME types.
When the web browser 25 first requests information from the web server 35, the web server 35 delivers the requested information to the web browser 25. In that process, if the web server 35 wishes to send a notification to web browser 25, the web server 35 also delivers to the web browser 25 an update request (step 102). That update request can set in motion a task that is timed at the web browser 25 for requesting additional information from the web server 35. This process can be repeated. As such, from an initial browser request for information from the web server 35, the web server 35 delivers an update request that sets in motions a set of chained update requests over time.
Further,
If the web server 35 does not have any notification or change of state status message to display to the user during the fixed time period, then at the end of the fixed time period (before expiration of the timeout period) the web server 35 returns the same update request to the subframe (step 105). If during the fixed time period a status change occurs, then the web server 35 sends an updated status to the status frame (i.e., parent frame of the subframe) and at the same time reloads the subframe with a new update request (step 106). Preferably, the web server 35 sends updated status to the status frame as soon as the web server 35 detects such change. This example utilizes the parent frame's properties and location method of Javascript 1.2. The web sever 35 stops sending the web browser 25 such update requests upon e.g. completion of a task that the web server is monitoring, or upon other desired conditions.
When that subframe update is requested from the web browser 25 as a secondary operation, the web server 35 recognizes the subframe and may decide not to update the subframe if no change has occurred in the state that the web server 35 is monitoring. The web server 35 waits till just before the HTTP update command (request) expires, and then responds to the request with another update request to the subframe to request that the web server 35 refresh the status frame. As a result, a request for update is perpetually sent to the web server 35 from the subframe in the web browser 25. Additionally, whenever the state that is monitored by the web server 35 changes, the web server 35 sends an update to the status frame so that the status frame shows the current status of the state machine monitored/maintained by the web server 35. Therefore, the web server 35 provides virtually realtime status update to the web browser 25. Such a realtime response can be achieved with very low rate polling mechanism without the need to utilize additional features of HTTP, and in particular MIME types. For example, Internet Explorer does not support the Push MIME type, and the present invention does not require the Push MIME type.
As such, the standard browser client can be used to monitor and present status of a service device in virtually real-time manner, while requiring minimal traffic overhead to accomplish the monitoring function. This example concentrates on the monitoring task, because that is the intended focus. Many other operations are possible, and the description herein focuses on the real-time monitoring aspect of network command and control for consumer electronics devices in a home network. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is useful with other types of networks and network protocols as well.
In one implementation described below, the web server 35 holds onto a poll for a change in state until either a change occurs, at which time it updates the web browser 25, or a timeout occurs. In one example, this allows for less than about 1 second response time but with an overhead that is between about 1 I/O per 12 seconds and about 1 I/O per 120 seconds. This timeout is within the tuning parameters of the TCP/IP roundtrip timeout (about 120 to 300 seconds) and within the user interfaces timeout for HTTP requests, which can be set to approximately the same range of magnitude.
An example program listing is provided below which runs as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program under Mod-Perl in an Apache web server. CGI provides a standardized application programming interface (API) that allows the Web Server to extend its function in a myriad of ways. In one example, the CGI is used for generating side effects in the client server interaction that can result in purchasing products from a website or controlling what video content is playing on the TV. The CGI's first application was to produce dynamic HTML displays on the Web Browser which are a result of user interaction. But it is the Web Servers standard interface to Sales and other Information DataBases and also to Device State Machines for control purposes.
The program listing below is in the Perl programming language, and resides in a fame update program (“frupd.pl”). A Mod-Perl is a Perl interpreter that is resident in the Apache web server for the purpose of running Perl programs to perform the CGI function. The CGI function is the “hook” for the Apache server, without which the Apache server would simply provide web pages to the web browser. For example, the CGI program can parse user data entered into the web browser, and store that data into a server side central database.
In addition, the CGI program is utilized according to an embodiment of the present invention in the client server process to allow a client device 20 including a web browser 25 (
The CGI task provides a dynamic web page (i.e., status frame) that varies with the state of the TV. In this example task, the web server 35 provides a status indicator back to the web browser 25, indicating whether the TV is ON or OFF. The frame update (frupd) program only generates three possible outputs:
Output #1 occurs when there is no change of state in the TV for an entire 10 second period. That is, the file “changedone” is never deleted (unlinked) for the entire waiting period of approx 10 seconds.
Output #2 occurs when the CGI task detects that the file “changedone” does not exist and the current_index value is odd.
Output #3 occurs when the CGI task detects that the file changedone does not exist and the current_index value is even.
The “frupd.pl” program file is as follows:
Below is the program file “change.pl”, which is coded in perl. The “change.pl” program indicates that the device state machine has changed state. As the device in this example is a TV and the change of state is the power toggle, then the state status indicators are named “tvon” and “tvoff”. The absolute state of the TV is encoded in the variable $a which in this program is incremented and stored in the file called “current_index.fil”. Running this program is equivalent to pressing the TV's front panels or remote controls power toggle button. The actual change of state is signaled by deleting the file “changedone”. The CGI task uses the absence of that file to read that a change of TV state has occurred.
The program file below, “twofr.html”, is the file that the browser 25 obtains using an HTTP GET command to begin monitoring the control of the TV device.
The program file below, “tvoff.html”, presents a 200 w×130 h graphic of a TV with a black screen, i.e., turned off.
The program file below, “tvon.html”, presents a 200 w×130 h graphic of a TV with a service logo and a playing program title (i.e., the status of TV that someone may watching).
The example program segments/files above can be executed as a simulation on a Linux PC platform running the Apache Web Server and the Perl task change, where the Linux PC simulates the monitored TV and the change task represents the Power Toggle button. The Linux PC was connected to a Windows platform running Internet Explorer as the client that presents the monitored results. The results of executing this example is that during a no-change interval, there is an exchange of update requests from the client browser to the server at a rate of 1 request every 12 seconds. Also, there is less than 1 second response time to display the updated status when someone does press the power toggle button.
Further the example programs above are provided for the purpose of explanation of the frame update technology, and several simplification were used for ease of understanding. Such simplification are seen where values are stored in rotating disk files instead of using inter-process shared memory. In addition, a disk delete and rename operation is used instead of using proper semaphore controlled access to insure certain operations are atomic and the control is seamless. Further, those skilled in the art can extend the programs to support multiple controller clients by not using the reading, writing, deleting, and testing the existence of disk files used in the example programs. Instead, the use of atomic operations, semaphores, and shared global memory allows support of multiple client controllers easily. These latter methods are commonly applied to embedded systems in consumer electronics and their use does not need to be further discussed here.
As such, the standard browser client can be used to monitor and present status of a service device in virtually real-time manner, while requiring minimal traffic overhead to accomplish the monitoring function.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. The aforementioned example architectures above according to the present invention, can be implemented in many ways, such as program instructions for execution by a processor, as logic circuits, as ASIC, as firmware, etc., as is known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the example embodiments described herein.
The present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof; however, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.
Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/530,771, filed on Dec. 18, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60530771 | Dec 2003 | US |
