Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-18
2002-04-23
Luu, Le Hien (Department: 2152)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
C709S248000, C709S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06377976
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a store-and-forward type of electronic conference system, and particularly to a technique for automatically judging or correcting, when occurred, an inconsistency in destination-information which specifies information-exchange-destinations.
RELATED ART OF THE INVENTION
Generally, an “electronic conference system” designates or specifies those systems constituted for information-exchange between unspecified number of users. In a large-scale electronic conference system, the users of the electronic conference system are registered at each of geographically separated areas (hereinafter called “site”). The registered user can use only the site at which he has been registered.
In such an electronic conference system, there is generally adopted a store-and-forward type of communication system, such as in view of transmission speed of communication lines connecting between the sites. That is, the information generated at each of the sites is once stored into a transmission queue which stores informations to be transmitted, and then collectively or batch transmitted at each of a predetermined time of period. The information received at each sites other than the transmitting sites is once stored into a reception queue for storing received informations, and then processed by that background which has processing ability to spare.
Typically, electronic conference systems utilize those unit containers named “forum”. Further, each of forums is registered with a destination-information of the site destined to conduct information-exchange. For example, when information-exchange is to be conducted between forums A of sites A, B and C, the forum A of the site A is registered with the sites B and C as destination-information, and so are the sites A and C for the forum A of site B as well as the sites A and B for the forum A of site C, respectively. As such, when information is generated in site A, the information is transmitted to appropriate ones of sites B and C, based on the destination-information registered in the forum A of site A.
Meanwhile, those destination-informations registered in forums of each sites may be modified by addition or deletion of information-exchange-destination. For example, when the forum A of site A is demanded to conduct information-exchange with the forum A of site B under such a situation that the sites A and B have not been mutually exchanging information, there is given a due notice from the site A to the site B. At the site B which receives the notice, the address of site A is added into the destination-information of the forum A of site B. Conversely, when the forum A of site A is demanded to cease information-exchange with the forum A of site B under such a situation that the sites A and B have been mutually exchanging information, there is given a due notice from the site A to the site B. At the site B which receives the notice, the address of site A is deleted from the destination-information of the forum A of site B.
However, in such an electronic conference system that adopts the store-and-forward type of communication system, the modification of destination-information at the forum of each sites may not be reflected to the other sites in a real time manner, resulting in an inconsistency of destination-information. For example, while the information-exchanges are being conducted between forums A of sites A, B and C, the destination-information about forums A may be lost due to a certain cause (for example, cut-off of power such as due to power failure) in the site A. Then may occur such a situation that the destination-information in the forum A of site A is recovered based on the contents of a recovery disk, but the destination-information at the forum A of site A includes only the site B, due to the oldness of the contents of the recovery disk. Namely, the destination-information of forum A at site A includes the site B only, whereas the destination-information of forum A at site C is registered with the site A. Then arises such an inconsistency that the site C transmits information to the site A whereas the site A does not transmit information to the site C.
In the conventional technique, it has been difficult to find out such a destination inconsistency even when it happened, resulting in such a situation that the administrator of the electronic conference system could not get aware of it for a long time. This situation is not so problematical, insofar as the exchangee-information to be exchanged between each of the sites is not so important. However, the situation that the information is not transmitted due to occurrence of destination inconsistency, is problematic if the information is extremely important or a prompt treatment is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the aforementioned problems in the conventional technique, it is therefore a purpose of the present invention to dissolve such a defect that the information to be transmitted is not transmitted, by automatically judging or correcting an inconsistency in the destination-information, when occurred.
It is another purpose of the present invention to distribute those mediums which are recorded with the destination inconsistency judgment program and those mediums which are recorded with the destination inconsistency correction program, both according to the present invention, to thereby promote those persons, who have obtained such mediums, to easily constitute, a destination inconsistency judgment apparatus and a destination inconsistency correction apparatus.
A first solution for achieving the above purposes is constituted by a destination inconsistency judgment apparatus in a store-and-forward type of electronic conference system in which exchangee-informations are exchanged, making use of a store-and-forward type of communication system, between information administrating devices which administrate various informations, respectively, the information exchange being conducted based on those destination-informations designating information-exchange-destinations which destination-informations are preserved in the information administrating devices, wherein the exchangee-information to be exchanged between the information administrating devices includes a transmitter-information designating the information administrating device which transmitted the exchangee-information, and the apparatus comprises a destination inconsistency judgment device for judging, based on the destination-information and the transmitter-information, as to whether an inconsistency has occurred in the destination-information or not.
Concretely, the destination inconsistency judgment device may be constituted to judge that an inconsistency has occurred in the destination-information, when the destination-information is inconsistent with the transmitter-information. Further, the information administrating device may be constituted to include an information storing device for storing various informations and an input-output control device for controlling input-and-output of information to and from the information storing device.
According to such a constitution, assuming that an information-exchange is conducted between information administrating devices A and B, the information administrating device A preserves the information administrating device B, as a destination-information which designates an information-exchange-destination. Contrary, the information administrating device B preserves the information administrating device A, as a destination-information which designates an information-exchange-destination. Under this situation, if the destination-information designating the information-exchange-destination (i.e., information administrating device B) is lost at the information administrating device A due to a certain cause, any information is not thereafter transmitted to the information administrating device B from the information administrating device A. Even under such a state, there is transmitted an exchangee-information including the transmitter-i
Katsuchi Toshimoto
Murai Hiroyuki
Nitta Minoru
Oba Takayo
Tomita Katsuhiko
Fujitsu Limited
Luu Le Hien
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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