Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-03
2001-05-29
Sheikh, Ayaz (Department: 2155)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
C709S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240443
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a communication system transmitting information for communication between user terminals connected to each other by way of communication networks such as the Internet, and, more particularly, to a communication system transmitting communication information between user terminals which access network resources by way of communication networks.
Further, the present invention is concerned with a network system including the communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A chat system, for example, NetMeeting™ of Microsoft Corp., is known as a communication system which uses communication networks such as the Internet. In this case, if a user accesses a server used only for the chat system, a list of names of the users is shown to the user, and the user can chat with the other users.
In the case of Onlive™ provided by OnliveTechnology Inc., it is known that a virtual image of a user accessing a virtual space is shown in the virtual space and the user can chat with virtual images of the other users which the user meets in the virtual space.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,916 of ichat Inc. discloses a chat system using a server only for chat. In the system, a client sends a chat message which contains HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) including a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to another client. Then, the client who receives the message can chat while they are watching the same HP (Home Page) of the URL.
Proxy servers are known as devices which manage both IP addresses of user terminals necessary for chat and URLs which the user terminals access.
However, in the system such as Netmeeting™ used only for chat and separated from an HP, a user cannot know which HP the other users are accessing while the user is chatting with the other users. Therefore, it is not easy for a plurality of users to chat while they are accessing the same HP.
In a chat system such as the Onlive™ system which is contained in the WEB, users can chat while they are accessing an Onlive™ HP. However, on other home pages which do not include any chat system, users cannot chat while sharing the same home pages.
Further, the method which is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,916 of ichat Inc. has the following disadvantages. A user must write URLs in chat messages and send the messages, and it is not obvious to the user that the receiving user is really accessing the home page of the URL. Also if a user moves to another home page, the other users cannot know about the move unless the user lets them know about the move in some way. Therefore, users cannot chat while sharing home pages dynamically by the method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a network-resource-linked-type communication system, a communication method and a computer usable medium in which the above disadvantages are eliminated. In the communication system of the present invention, user terminals accessing the same network resource can communicate, for example, chat, with one another.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a network system using such a communication system.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by a communication system applicable to a network system having a plurality of user terminals connected to a communication network and a plurality of network resources accessed by the user terminals, the communication system including a part for making the user terminals accessing the same network resource exchange and share communication information.
The above part for communication may include a communication server and a part, provided in each user terminal, for controlling communication,
wherein the part for controlling communication includes a part for obtaining a resource locator which indicates a stored location of a network resource which is accessed by the above each user terminal and for notifying the communication server of the resource locator, a part for obtaining from the communication server information of the other user terminals accessing the network resource, and a part for exchanging the communication information with the other user terminals through the communication server; and
wherein the communication server includes a part for grouping the above user terminals accessing the same network resource as one group on the basis of the resource locator notified of by the user terminals, a part for distributing information of the user terminals of the one group to the user terminals of the one group, and a part for distributing communication information sent from one of the user terminals to the other user terminals.
Each of the user terminals further includes a part for selecting at least one user terminal among the other user terminals accessing the same network resource with which each user terminal exchanges communication information.
The above communication system further may include a network resource following part for, if a specific user terminal among the user terminals of the one group switches a network resource accessed by the specific user terminal to another network resource, making the other user terminals of the one group access the another network resource.
The above network resource following part further includes:
a part, provided in each user terminal, for obtaining a switched resource locator indicating a stored location of another network resource and notifying the communication server of the switched resource locator;
a part, provided in the communication server, for receiving the switched resource locator from the specific user terminal and for distributing the switched resource locator to the other user terminals of the one group; and
a part, provided in each user terminal, for making the user terminal access another network resource corresponding to the switched resource locator.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved also by a communication method applicable to a network system having a plurality of user terminals connected to a communication network, a plurality of network resources accessed by the user terminals and at least one communication server which makes the user terminals exchange communication information with one another, the communication method including the steps of:
notifying the communication server of resource locators indicating stored locations of the network resources accessed by the user terminals;
grouping information on the user terminals accessing the same network resource according to resource locators which indicate a stored location of the same network resource, and storing, in the memory of the communication server, the grouped information of the user terminals;
distributing the information on the user terminals accessing the same network resource to each of the user terminals accessing the same network resource with reference to the grouped information on the user terminals stored in the memory of the communication server;
selecting at least one user terminal with which each user terminal exchanges the communication information with reference to the distributed information of the user terminals;
sending the communication information addressed to at least one user terminal to the communication server; and
distributing the communication information to the at least one user terminal from the communication server, and receiving the communication information from the at least one user terminal.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved also by an article of manufacture including a computer usable medium having computer-readable code means embodied therein for causing a computer, in a network system having a plurality of user terminals accessing network resources through a communication network and at least one communication server connected to the user terminals, to control each user terminal in a network system which has a part, provided in at least one communication server, for grouping the user terminals accessing the same network resource as one group and fo
Nakase Atsuhito
Ohkuvo Yoshinori
Suzuki Gen
Tanigawa Hiroya
Yamagata Takashi
Kenyon & Kenyon
NTT Software Corporation
Sheikh Ayaz
Winder Patrice
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