Call management in a collaborative working network

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Details

395800, 395155, 395153, 395650, 3642813, 379202, G06F 15177

Patent

active

055398863

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

1. Description
This invention relates to call management in a collaborative working network and more specifically to a programmable workstation and a method for use in such a collaborative working environment.
2. Background of the Invention
Personal computers are now widespread throughout the business community and many are able to intercommunicate, either through fixed connections e.g. local area networks, or through dynamically established links e.g. ISDN or async lines over the public switched telephone network. Increasingly, these connected personal computers can be used to enhance collaborative working between remote individuals; a typical example being the use of desk top conferencing software. Successful collaborative work generally requires more than a simple data link between the participants; voice capabilities are normally essential and video links are frequently required. Thus remote collaborative working can often be regarded as an extension to the traditional telephone call--it being enhanced with the data and programs available at the desktop via the personal computer--and, on occasions, enriched with video services.
A broad spectrum of collaborative applications can be envisaged, ranging from utilities taking advantage of the data and applications on a workstation, e.g. sharing of screen windows and files, through to new collaborative applications designed to meet the needs of specific classes of remote user e.g. just-in-time education, remote presentations, executive broadcasts or help desk. The common requirements behind these examples are: and software.
The behaviour of a desk top conferencing system, particularly the way in which the system reacts to incoming calls, is usually determined by the suppliers of the system software. The conventional view of real-time desk top conferencing makes a distinction between the system functions, such as setting up and tearing down calls, and application functions, such as sending and receiving data. Thus while applications (such as a shared electronic chalkboard) may be aware of events such as the start and end of calls, they are unable to affect the way these events are handled in detail. For example, the barring of incoming calls is normally regarded as a system function which can be toggled on and off by time user and perhaps, via an API call, by an application program.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the invention provides a programmable workstation for collaborative working in a network of workstations forming tile nodes of the network, the network being connected by physical links for the transmission of data between nodes; controlling physical routing of data between nodes; and programs running on time workstation and responsive to a predetermined application program call from a collaboration call manager program to establish the collaboration call manager program at the node to handle incoming events which are not specific to any application program instance at time node.
The invention further provides a method of collaborative working in a network of programmable workstations forming the nodes of a network connected by physical links for the transmission of data between nodes, the method comprising in response to a predetermined application program call from a collaboration call manager program running on the workstation, establishing time collaboration call manager program at tile node to handle incoming events which are not specific to any application program instance at the node.


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to FIGS. 1-17 of the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows two programmable workstations connected by a network;
FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the support program shown in FIG. 1 and other software components on a workstation;
FIG. 3 illustrates applications being shared between nodes;
FIG. 4 shows the sharing sets resulting from the application sharing illustrated in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows applicatio

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Watabe et al., "Distributed Desktop Conferencing System with Multiuser Multimedia Interface", IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, May 1991, pp. 531-539.
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Cvijan et al., "ISDN Computer-Aided Telephony", IEEE Network Magazine, Jan. 1991, pp. 46-53.

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