US20080287191A1

US20080287191A1 - Method and System for Computing Online/Offline Multimedia Data

Info

Publication number: US20080287191A1
Application number: US11/965,613
Authority: US
Inventors: Chun-Feng Hsiao; Yi-Jen Yu; Chun-Min Chen; Tzu-Jen Chiu; Tai-Xing Yu; Chin-Cheng Huang
Original assignee: Vicotel Inc
Current assignee: Vicotel Inc
Priority date: 2007-05-15
Filing date: 2007-12-27
Publication date: 2008-11-20
Also published as: TW200845674A

Abstract

A method and system for processing online/offline multimedia data are disclosed. The system comprises a remote mainframe, a local host and a portable apparatus. When the portable apparatus is electrically connected with the remote mainframe and the local host, the portable apparatus can immediately exchange multimedia data exchange with the remote mainframe and the local host. When the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the remote mainframe and the local host, the portable apparatus can independently process the multimedia data previously received from the remote mainframe and the local host; also the portable apparatus can update the multimedia data with the remote mainframe and the local host when the portable apparatus is electrically reconnected with the remote mainframe and the local host. With the system configuration, the present invention features online/offline multimedia-data processing capabilities.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to multimedia data processing methods and systems, and in particular, to a method and system for processing online/offline multimedia data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A server system is generally tasked to provide business mobile workers with access to information and group interaction. Mobile apparatus, such as PDAs, mobile VoIP phones, pocket PCs and laptop computers, can be utilized to access server resources via wired or wireless telecommunication networks in an Internet environment. While connected, mobile workers can gain online access to server resources, such as business documentation, instructions/guidance and customer data through mobile apparatus; however, for the most part, wired or wireless networks are not always available to meet mobile commerce requests. Therefore, most Internet services providers (ISPs) feature Web page caching services for browsers of mobile apparatus, and in turn, cached Web pages will be the very first information accessed by mobile apparatus in the beginning of online or offline operations.
In addition, up to the present the explosion in playing online games is still susceptible to the strict limitations of online environments. In the case of a PC-based online game run by poor network services or even worse, cut off from the network, excessively time-consuming inconvenience, to some extent, will raise issues of accountability among commercial stakeholders, such as game players, ISPs and the online game company.
Overall, the prior arts still have technical deficiencies and incur inconvenience frequently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the deliberation of the prior inventions, a need exists for a new method and system for processing online/offline multimedia data in attempts to close the technical gaps of said prior arts and to meet particular interests of the IT industry.
One objective of the present invention is to disclose a method and system for processing online/offline multimedia data. The system comprises a remote mainframe, a local host and a portable apparatus.
When the portable apparatus is electrically connected with the remote mainframe and the local host, the portable apparatus can immediately exchange multimedia data with the remote mainframe and the local host. When the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the remote mainframe and the local host, the portable apparatus can independently process the multimedia data received from the remote mainframe and the local host; also the portable apparatus can update the multimedia data when the portable apparatus is electrically reconnected with the remote mainframe and the local host. With the system configuration, the present invention features online/offline multimedia-data processing capabilities.
In accordance with the previous summary, objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, 1-E and 1-F are schematic diagrams of a system structure for processing game data while online/offline;

FIGS. 2-A, 2-B and 2-C are schematic diagrams of a system structure for processing commercial data while online/offline; and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a processing method for online/offline operations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure can be described by the embodiments given below. It is understood, however, that the embodiments below are not necessarily limitations to the present disclosure, but are used to a typical implementation of the invention.
Having summarized various aspects of the present invention, reference will now be made in detail to the description of the invention as illustrated in the drawings. While the invention will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed therein. On the contrary the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
It is noted that the drawings presents herein have been provided to illustrate certain features and aspects of embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated from the description provided herein that a variety of alternative embodiments and implementations may be realized, consistent with the scope and spirit of the present invention.
It is also noted that the drawings presents herein are not consistent with the same scale. Some scales of some components are not proportional to the scales of other components in order to provide comprehensive descriptions and emphasizes to this present invention.
The present invention discloses a method and system for processing online/offline multimedia data. Multimedia data encompass but not limited to audio/video streams (e.g., game software and Web-paged commercials) and text-based information in documents structured by markup languages. In the case of game software as multimedia data processed, a local host (110), such as a computer or game console, takes charge of processing the game software. A portable apparatus (120) is responsible for creating game display (122) and generating an operating interface (124).
As shown in FIG. 1-A, a local host (110) sends game data (112), including markup language documents, to a portable apparatus (120). An operating system installed on the portable apparatus (120) runs primary software data stored within and displays the game operating interface (124) in accordance with a markup language format. In addition, the operating system on the portable apparatus (120) can also run the secondary software installed on the portable apparatus (120) to create game display (122). The secondary software is capable of first creating game display (122) and then generating an operating interface (124) through game display (122) as shown in FIG. 1-B, or first generating an operating interface (124) and then creating game display (122) via the operating interface (124) as shown in FIG. 1-C.
FIG. 1-D illustrates that a portable apparatus (120) sends a trigger to a primary software via an operating interface (124) in an effort to have the primary software generate at lease one controlling order (126) to control gaming characters' movements, such as up, down, left and right gestures. A portable apparatus (120) may not always maintain stable electrical connection with a local host (110). When a portable apparatus (120) is not electrically connected with a local host (110), the portable apparatus (120) can process the game data (112) and then create game display (122). Game players have options to either run part of game data (114) or go by the default settings on the game software having part of game data (114) run by the portable apparatus (120) while offline. While offline, this paradigm also allows the portable apparatus (120) for only running cached part of the game data (114) aimed at easing processing load of the portable apparatus (120) by which the portable apparatus (120) can step up its operational performance for running part of game data (114). When the portable apparatus (120) is electrically reconnected with the local host (110), the portable apparatus (120) can send the processed part of the game data (114) to the local host (110) for collective data processing in conjunction with the rest of game data (112).
When a portable apparatus (120) is electrically connected with a local host (110) as shown in FIG. 1-E, the portable apparatus (120) sends at least one controlling order (126) to the local host (110). The controlling order(s) (126) can enable the local host (110) to process the game data (112), which will reach back to the portable apparatus (120) for update. Thus, whether the portable apparatus (120) is electrically connected with the local host or not, the portable apparatus (120) can continuously run the game software.
As it should be, online games are the major category of game software. As shown in FIG. 1-F, a remote mainframe (130) is introduced into this paradigm. A remote mainframe (130) sends online game data (132) to a portable apparatus (120) through a local host (110). The portable apparatus (120) then displays online game data (132). When receiving at least one controlling order (126), the portable apparatus (120) sends the controlling order(s) (126) to the local host (110), and the local host (110) will be tasked by the controlling order(s) (126) to process online game data (132), which will then be sent back to the remote mainframe (130). The remote mainframe (130) then can process both the sent online game data (132) and controlling order(s) from the local host (110) together with the online game data (134) stored in the built-in database of the remote mainframe (130) to process and update the online game data (132). The renewed online game data will be immediately sent to the portable apparatus (120) through the local host (110).
When the portable apparatus (120) is not electrically connected with the local host (110), the portable apparatus (120) still can run part of online game data. Game players have options to either run part of online game data or just go by the default settings on the online game software having the portable apparatus (120) run part of the online game data while offline. While offline, this paradigm also allows the portable apparatus (120) for solely running cached part of online game data aimed at easing processing load of the portable apparatus (120) by which the portable apparatus (120) can step up its operational performance for running part of online game data, such as having online game characters merely pursue simple “missions,” such as monster fighting, treasure hunting and resources trading, in efforts to “rank up” player's “gaming stakes.” When the portable apparatus (120) is electrically reconnected with the local host (110), the portable apparatus (120) can send player's “gaming stakes” to the remote mainframe (130) to update the data in the game database (134) in the remote mainframe (130); meanwhile, online game data (132) in the portable apparatus (120) will be renewed. On the whole, even if the portable apparatus (120) is cut off from electrical connection while running a game software, the portable apparatus (120) still can run part of online game data by means of the new paradigm described above. All game data update can be accomplished when electrical connection is reestablished.
In the case of running Web-paged commercials as shown in FIG. 2-A, first of all, a remote mainframe (230) sends commercial data (232), including markup language documents, to a portable apparatus (220) via a local host (210). An operating system installed on the portable apparatus (220) can run the primary software stored within and have the primary software display a Web-paged operating interface (224) in accordance with the structure format of the markup language documents. In addition, the operating system on the portable apparatus (220) also can run the secondary software on the portable apparatus (220) to generate Web-paged commercial display (222). The secondary software is capable of first creating commercial display (222) and then generating an operating interface (224) through the commercial display (222), or, in the other way, generating the operating interface (224) first and then creating the commercial display (222) through the operating interface (224).
The portable apparatus (220) sends a trigger to the primary software via the operating interface (224) in an effort to have the primary software generate at lease one controlling order (226) to page up/down and reload Web pages. Stable electrical connection is not always available between the portable apparatus (220) and the local host (210) or between the local host (210) and the remote mainframe (230). Thus, when the portable apparatus (220) and the local host (210) or the local host (210) and the remote mainframe (230) are not electrically connected, the portable apparatus (220) can independently process the downloaded commercial data (232) and display the processed commercial data (232). For example, when the portable apparatus (220) downloads 10 Web-paged commercials, even without electrical connection, the portable apparatus (220) still can browse through the 10 Web-paged commercial data (232) as shown in FIG. 2-B. When the electrical connection is reestablished, the portable apparatus (220) can run online commercial data (232) yet to be downloaded; that is to say when connection is available, the portable apparatus (220) can browse the Web-paged commercials following previously downloaded commercials as shown in FIG. 2-C. In this paradigm, even though the electrical connection is cut off between the portable apparatus (220) and the local host (210) or between the local host (210) and the remote mainframe (230), the portable apparatus (220) still can display, run and process the downloaded commercial data (232).
The other preferred embodiment relating to the present invention discloses a system for processing online/offline multimedia data to include the local host and the portable apparatus. The portable apparatus encompasses a central processing unit (CPU), a display unit and a storage medium. There are multiple software installed on the storage medium, including an operating system, a primary software and a secondary software.
The local host sends primary multimedia data (e.g., game data, online game data or commercial data) with a markup language document to the portable apparatus, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the local host is greater than that of the portable apparatus. The operating system installed on the portable apparatus runs the primary software stored within the portable apparatus. The primary software then can display a user interface in accordance with the markup language format. In addition, the operating system on the portable apparatus runs the secondary software stored within and then has the secondary software display primary multimedia data.
The portable apparatus sends a trigger to the primary software via the user interface in an effort to have the primary software generate at lease one controlling order; then the portable apparatus immediately checks whether electrical connection is available with the local host. When the portable apparatus and the local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), the portable apparatus sends at least one controlling order to the local host, and the local host processes the primary multimedia data in accordance with the instruction(s) of the controlling order(s) to generate new primary multimedia data which in turn will be sent back to the portable apparatus.
When the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the local host (i.e., offline), the portable apparatus can store and display the secondary multimedia data. Since the secondary multimedia data is part of the primary multimedia data, that is to say the data volume of the primary multimedia is greater than that of the secondary. When offline, the portable apparatus can immediately process the secondary multimedia data in accordance with the instruction(s) of the controlling order(s) to generate and display new secondary multimedia data. Namely, when the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the local host (i.e., offline), the built-in CPU of the portable apparatus can independently process part of the primary multimedia data stored within the portable apparatus.
The other preferred embodiment relating to the present invention discloses a system for processing online/offline multimedia data to include a remote mainframe, a local host and a portable apparatus. The portable apparatus encompasses a CPU, a display unit and a storage medium. There are multiple software installed on the storage medium, including an operating system, a primary software and a secondary software.
The remote mainframe sends primary multimedia data with a markup language document to the local host, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the remote mainframe is greater than that of the local host. The primary multimedia data then can be sent to the portable apparatus through the local host, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the local host is greater than that of the portable apparatus. The operating system of the portable apparatus runs the primary software stored within; the primary software then displays a user interface in accordance with the markup language document. In addition, the operating system on the portable apparatus runs the secondary software stored within and then has the secondary software display primary multimedia data.
The portable apparatus sends a trigger to the primary software via the user interface in an effort to have the primary software generate at lease one controlling order; then the portable apparatus immediately checks whether electrical connection is available with the local host. When the portable apparatus and the local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), the portable apparatus sends at least one controlling order to the local host, and the local host processes the primary multimedia data in accordance with the instruction(s) of the controlling order(s) to generate new primary multimedia data. The original primary multimedia data is sent to the remote mainframe in which the original primary multimedia data is processed in accordance with the contexts of the primary multimedia data, the controlling order(s) and data stored within the remote mainframe in an effort to generate new primary multimedia data. The remote mainframe immediately sends the primary multimedia data back to the portable apparatus through the local host.
When the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the local host (i.e., offline), the portable apparatus can store and display the secondary multimedia data. Since the secondary multimedia data is part of the primary multimedia data, that is to say the data volume of the primary multimedia is greater than that of the secondary. When offline, the portable apparatus can immediately process the secondary multimedia data in accordance with the instruction(s) of the controlling order(s) to generate and display new secondary multimedia data. Namely, when the portable apparatus is not electrically connected with the local host (i.e., offline), the portable apparatus can independently process part of the primary multimedia data stored within.
As shown in FIG. 3, to achieve the features of the disclosed multimedia system, the present invention discloses a method for processing online/offline multimedia, comprising steps flow-charted as follows:
Step 310: A remote mainframe sends primary multimedia data to a local host, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the remote mainframe is greater than that of the local host;
Step 312: the local host sends primary multimedia data with a markup language document to the portable apparatus, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the local host is greater than that of the portable apparatus;
Step 314: the operating system installed on the portable apparatus runs the primary software stored within the portable apparatus and has the primary software display a user interface in accordance with the markup language document;
Step 316: the operating system installed on the portable apparatus runs the secondary software stored within and has the secondary software display the primary multimedia data;
Step 318: the user interface generates a trigger to the primary software and has the primary software generate at lease one controlling order in accordance with the trigger;
Step 320: the secondary software receives the at least one controlling order.
Step 322: The portable apparatus checks whether electrical connection is available with the local host; when the portable apparatus and the local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), steps are included as follows:
Step 324: the portable apparatus sends at least one controlling order;
Step 326: the local host receives and processes the primary multimedia data in accordance with controlling order (s) in an effort to generate new primary multimedia data and update the original primary multimedia data;
Step 328: the local host sends the primary multimedia data and controlling order(s) to the remote mainframe, and the multimedia data-processing performance of the remote mainframe is greater than that of the local host;
Step 330: the remote mainframe processes the primary multimedia data in accordance with the contexts of the primary multimedia data, the controlling order(s) and the data stored within to generate new primary multimedia data and update the original primary multimedia data;
the remote mainframe sends the primary multimedia data to the local host as Step 310; and
the local host sends the primary multimedia data to the portable apparatus as Step 312.
When the portable apparatus and the local host are not electrically connected (i.e., offline), steps are disclosed as follows:
Step 332: The portable apparatus stores and displays the secondary multimedia data; the secondary multimedia data are part of the primary multimedia data;
Step 334: the portable apparatus processes the secondary multimedia data in accordance with the controlling order(s) to generate and display new secondary multimedia data in accordance with the controlling order(s) and to update the original secondary multimedia data.
The Step 322 checks whether the portable apparatus and the local host are electrically connected. If the electrical connection is available, go to Step 324; otherwise, go to Step 332.
The secondary software displays the user interface by displaying the primary multimedia data, or the secondary software displays the primary multimedia data through the user interface.
The primary multimedia data are sent between the remote mainframe and local host by means of tasking groups, including wireless networks, the Internet, http, FTP, VoIP, VoIM, Telnet and Gopher. In addition, the primary multimedia data are sent between the portable apparatus and local host by means of tasking groups, including USB, IEEE 1394, RJ-45, infrared, radio waves, Blue Tooth, ZigBee and RFID.
The primary multimedia data are structured by the grouping of documents, video streams/images, audio streams and game software. The documents comprise XML, XLink, Namespace, DTD, Schema, CSS, XHTML and HTML.
The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. In this regard, the embodiment or embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the inventions as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breath to which they are fairly and legally entitled.
It is understood that several modifications, changes, and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing online/offline multimedia data, comprising major elements and following steps:

sending, via a local host, a primary multimedia data comprising a markup language document;

receiving, via a portable apparatus, said primary multimedia data, the multimedia data-processing performance of said local host is greater than that of said portable apparatus, wherein

the operating system installed on said portable apparatus runs a primary software stored within said portable apparatus, such that said primary software displays a user interface in accordance with said markup language document;

generating, via said user interface, a trigger to said primary software, wherein

when triggered, said primary software accordingly generates at lease one controlling order; and

said secondary software receives said at least one controlling order;

checking whether said portable apparatus is electrically connected with said local host, when said portable apparatus and said local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), executing a procedure comprising the following steps:

sending said at least one controlling order via said portable apparatus;

receiving and processing, via said local host, said primary multimedia data in accordance with said at least one controlling order in efforts to generate new primary multimedia data and update the orfinal said primary multimedia data;

sending, via said local host, said updated primary multimedia data to said portable apparatus;

when said portable apparatus and said local host are not electrically connected (i.e., offline), executing a procedure comprising the following steps:

storing and displaying said secondary multimedia data via said portable apparatus, wherein said secondary multimedia data are part of said primary multimedia data; and

processing, via said portable apparatus, said secondary multimedia data to generate and display new secondary multimedia data in accordance with said at least one controlling order, and updating the original said secondary multimedia data.

2. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 1, wherein a remote mainframe sends said primary multimedia data to said local host, the multimedia data-processing performance of said remote mainframe is greater than that of said local host.

3. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 2, wherein when said portable apparatus and said local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), the method further comprising the following steps:

receiving and processing, via said local host, said primary multimedia data in accordance with said at least one controlling order in efforts to generate and send new primary multimedia data in conjunction with said controlling order to said remote mainframe, the multimedia data-processing performance of said remote mainframe is greater than that of said local host;

processing, via said remote mainframe, said updated primary multimedia data in accordance with the contexts of said updated multimedia data received from said local host, said at least one controlling order, and the data previously stored within said remote mainframe to generate new primary multimedia data; and

sending, via said remote mainframe, said new primary multimedia data to said local host.

4. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 2, wherein said primary multimedia data are sent between said remote mainframe and said local host by means of one selected from the group consisting of the following or any combination thereof: wireless networks, the Internet, http, FTP, VoIP, VoIM, Telnet and Gopher.

5. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 1, wherein said secondary software displays said user interface by showing said primary multimedia data.

6. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 1, wherein said secondary software displays said primary multimedia data through said user interface.

7. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 1, wherein said primary multimedia data are sent between said portable apparatus and local host by means of one selected from the group consisting of the following or any combination thereof: USB, IEEE 1394, RJ-45, infrared, radio waves, Blue Tooth, ZigBee and RFID.

8. The method for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 8, wherein said documents comprise one selected from the group consisting of the following, or any combination thereof: XML, XLink, Namespace, DTD, Schema, CSS, XHTML and HTML.

9. A system for processing online/offline multimedia data, comprising:

a local host, sending a primary multimedia data comprising a markup language document; and

a portable apparatus, receiving said primary multimedia data, wherein the multimedia data-processing performance of said local host is greater than that of said portable apparatus, said portable apparatus comprising:

a CPU;

a display unit; and

a storage medium for storing multiple software, said multiple software comprising:

an operating system;

a primary software, run by said operating system in an effort to have said primary software display a user interface in accordance with said markup language document, said user interface being utilized to generate a trigger for said primary software such that said primary software generates at least one controlling order according to said trigger; and

a secondary software, run by said operating system in an effort to have said secondary software display said primary multimedia data on said display unit and receive said at least one controlling order, wherein

said portable apparatus checks whether it is electrically connected with said local host, when said portable apparatus and said local host are electrically connected (i.e., on-line), said portable apparatus sends said at least one controlling order to said local host, said local host receives and then processes said primary multimedia data in accordance with said at least one controlling order to generate new primary multimedia data which in turn are sent back to said portable apparatus,

when said portable apparatus is not electrically connected with said local host (i.e., offline), said storage medium stores said secondary multimedia data, and said CPU processes said secondary multimedia data stored within said portable apparatus in accordance with said at least one controlling order to generate new secondary multimedia data which are subsequently displayed on said display unit, wherein secondary multimedia data are part of said primary multimedia data.

10. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 10, further comprising a remote mainframe, wherein said remote mainframe sends said primary multimedia data to said local host, and the multimedia data-processing performance of said remote mainframe is greater than that of said local host.

11. The system for processing online/ offline multimedia data according to claim 11, wherein said remote mainframe receives said primary multimedia data and said at least one controlling order from said local host, and said remote mainframe processes said primary multimedia data in accordance with said primary multimedia data, said at least one controlling order and the data stored within to generate new primary multimedia which is subsequently sent to said local host, wherein the data-processing performance of said remote mainframe is greater than that of said local host.

12. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 12, wherein said primary multimedia data are sent between said remote mainframe and said local host by means of one selected from the group consisting of the following: networks, the Internet, http, FTP, VoIP, VoIM, Telnet and Gopher.

13. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 10, wherein said secondary software displays the user interface by showing said primary multimedia data.

14. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 10, wherein said secondary software displays said primary multimedia data through said user interface.

15. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 10, wherein said primary multimedia data are sent between said portable apparatus and local host by means of one selected from the group consisting of the following, or any combination thereof: USB, IEEE 1394, RJ-45, infrared, radio waves, Blue Tooth, ZigBee and RFID.

16. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 10, wherein said primary multimedia data are structured by one selected from the group consisting of the following, or any combination thereof: documents, video streams/images, audio streams and game software.

17. The system for processing online/offline multimedia data according to claim 17, wherein said documents comprise one selected from the group consisting of the following, or any combination thereof: XML, XLink, Namespace, DTD, Schema, CSS, XHTML and HTML.