Patent ID: 6085227
Filing Date: 2000-07-04
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A system for operating a remote device over a network, comprising:(a) one or more client computers capable of simultaneously controlling the remote device, the one or more client computers configured to:interact with one or more users to:obtain one or more parameters that define a state of the remote device; andissue commands for the operation of the remote device; andreceive results from the remote device;(b) a proxy server computer capable of permitting simultaneous control of the remote device by the one or more client computers, and wherein the proxy server computer is coupled to the client computers and the proxy server computer is configured to:receive the issued commands from the client computers;translate the issued commands;determine whether the translated commands can be executed;queue the translated commands for the remote device until they can be executed;transform results and status information received from the remote device into a form suitable for the client computer; andtransmit the transformed results and status information to all of the client computers configured to receive results without obtaining further user input requesting the results; and(c) a device server computer, coupled to the proxy server computer and the remote device, the device server computer configured to:retrieve the queued commands from the proxy server computer;operate the remote device in accordance with retrieved commands; andprovide results and status information received from the remote device to the proxy server computer.