Patent ID: 7664854

Claim:
A relay apparatus for delivering live video stream data from a server having an image sensing device to clients via a network, comprising: a connection management device configured to make a connection with the server having the image sensing device via the network in case that the connection has not been established with the server when a request is received from a client, and to get the live video stream data from the server having the image sensing device; a memory control device configured to store the live video stream data including sequence information based on a time when the live video stream data is acquired by the image sensing device, from the server having the image sensing device, in a buffer memory; a first determining device configured to determine whether a second request from a second client is received within a predetermined period after a first request from a first client which is receiving the live video stream data has been received; a second determining device configured to determine whether the buffer memory stores new live video stream data acquired after the live video stream data has been sent to the second client, based on the sequence information in the second request and the sequence information in the buffer memory, in case that the first determining device determines that the second request is not received within the predetermined period after the first request has been received; and a delivery device configured to deliver to the first and second clients the live video stream data which is received from the server having the image sensing device in accordance with the first request in case that the first determining device determines that the second request is received within the predetermined period after the first request has been received, to deliver to the second client the new live video stream data stored in the buffer memory and the live video stream data which is received from the server having the image sensing device after receiving the second request in case that the second determining device determines that the new live video stream data acquired after the live video stream data has been sent to the second client is stored in the buffer memory, and to deliver to the second client the live video stream data which is received from the server having the image sensing device after the second request is received and not to deliver the live video stream data which has been stored in the buffer memory before the second request is received in case that the second determining device determines that the new live video stream data acquired after the live video stream data has been sent to the second client is not stored in the buffer memory, wherein the connection management device does not make a second connection with the server other than a first connection in case that the first connection has been established with the server when the request is received from the client.