Patent ID: 7594039

Claim:
An input-output control device, comprised by a gateway device, for performing input-output of audio-visual data between any of a plurality of devices, within a Local Area Network environment, which perform input-output of said audio-visual data for reproducing image or sound, said input-output control device comprising: a processor; a computer readable medium under the control of said processor; individual functional units that are provided to control the plurality of devices, respectively, each of the individual functional units generating HTML data; an input-output unit for sending and receiving said audio-visual data and a command to and from the individual functional units that operate the plurality of devices, respectively; an instruction input unit for receiving from a client device a selection instruction for selecting individual functional unit respectively, which is to be used for one of a plurality of steps from input to output of said audio-visual data, and receiving from the client device an operation instruction specifying operation of the individual functional unit; and an operation control unit for operating each of said selected individual functional units according to said plurality of steps and transferring said audio-visual data that is output from one individual functional unit to another individual functional unit to be used for a next step; wherein the instruction input unit generates, by combining the HTML data generated by the individual functional units, a Web page including an interface window for allowing a user to input the operation instruction for the individual functional units, provides the Web page to the client device, and receives the operation instruction from the client device through the interface window, the HTML data generated by each individual functional unit contains a return link that represents a link to the individual functional until itself, and the return link has parameters that specify the operation of the individual functional unit, and upon receiving from the client device a HTTP request based on the return link, the individual functional unit establishes the operation of the individual functional unit itself according to the parameters included in the return link, and returns to the client device a response of the HTTP request to redirect a destination of the return link to the instruction input unit.