Glance Networks, Inc.

Debby Mendez

Richard L Baker

Ed Hardebeck

Claudio Topolcic

Display information may be captured, selectively encoded, and transmitted to a server during a remote viewing session. The server implements a decoder and a virtual display which is updated as information is received from the display. Browser based Javascript viewers connect to the server and request updated information associated with the remote viewing session. When the server receives an update request, the server creates images based on the content of the virtual display and transmits the location and dimensions of changed images to the viewer, which uses this information to request and display the images. By transmitting the content of the remote viewing session as a series of images, a viewer may participate in a remote viewing session using any device capable of running a browser. Since images are transmitted to viewers on demand, bandwidth limitations associated with transmission of images are automatically accommodated.

Method and apparatus for facilitating participation in a remote viewing session

Control of the display computer that is the source of display information on a remote viewing session may be passed between the display participant and one or more of the viewer participants using simplified and intuitive controls rather than a more complicated menu-driven system. In one embodiment, the display participant may elect to provide control to a particular viewer participant or to any viewer participant on the session. When a viewer participant has the ability to control the display computer, the pointer shown to the display participant will be changed to notify the display participant. Likewise, color of the mouse pointer shown to the viewer participant will be changed to allow the viewer participant to know that he has the ability to assume control. Tooltips may be used as well to instruct the participants how to assume control. The color of the mouse pointer is thus determined for each participant individually according to the state of that participant relative to the remote control option of the remote viewing software.

Method and apparatus for enabling participants to assume control over a presentation in a remote viewing session

A Display generating data for transmission on a remote viewing session throttles the generation of updates so that updates are provided at a relatively constant rate during the remote viewing session. Remote viewing software executing on the Display estimates when a transport layer of the display will complete sending a current update. If there is data to be sent, the remote viewing software will start to process a next subsequent update prior to the time that the remote viewing software estimates that the transport layer will finish sending the current update, so that the remote viewing software is able to provide a pipeline of data just in time to the transport layer to keep the transport layer active in transmitting data on the remote viewing session.

Method and apparatus for providing information on a remote viewing session

Commands associated with an update allow a presenter display to be recreated by a viewer. The commands are delineated by end of update markers. Commands are transmitted to viewers in viewer updates to allow viewers to see information that was shown on the presenter display as it existed at a particular point in time. A target end of update marker will be selected for a viewer update and all commands necessary to recreate the presenter display at that point in time will be transmitted to the viewer. Since the target end of update marker may cause several presenter updates to be included in a given viewer update, some of the commands in the update queue may not need to be transmitted to the viewer. Prunability indicators are therefore added to commands to allow commands to be selected for transmission to a viewer based on the target end of update marker.

Method and apparatus for selecting commands for transmission from an updated queue

Remote viewing software at a display may contain control logic to enable it to manage the connection associated with a session. The connection management process may preferentially elect to establish a socket connection and, if that is unavailable or unreliable, may use HTTP tunneling. The connection management process may also automatically reconnect the display to the session so that the display is not required to manually re-join an ongoing session. The connection management process also manages the termination of the session to ensure that both the server and the client process at the display end the session correctly.

Growing community of inventors

Arlington, MA, United States of America

Debby Mendez