Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1996-08-02
2002-11-05
Cabeca, John (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S950000, C705S026640
Reexamination Certificate
active
06476830
ABSTRACT:
APPENDIX A
Appendix A, which is a part of the present disclosure and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, is a listing of computer programs and related data for the client and server processes of this invention.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to communications between persons using computers and more particularly to communications and interactions among persons within a virtual community implemented on a computer network.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the more interesting things that people do is form communities, e.g., form collections of people with common interests and activities. The creation of computer mediated communication has created the potential for people to come together in new ways. Where before, humans met face to face in a common physical space, they now can congregate in cyberspace—the conceptual place created by on-line communication. Until recently, on-line communities were limited to relatively sparse, text only communications. Common activities were limited to discussion, or simple games that could handled by what in effect was an extension of the postal service.
Previous on-line services have been creation points for communities. In some cases, communities have developed despite the inherent difficulties of the medium. Other, more interesting activities that contribute to community building, were severely limited or difficult to conduct.
To enhance the community building process, more diverse activities must be enabled. One thing that has brought humans together in communities from the earliest times has been the market, a place to exchange goods and services, and also an excuse to get together for other activities. It may be argued that without an economic component, any community will be severely limited in its potential growth and complexity. Commerce is also enjoyable and contributes to perceived quality of life.
How can an on-line service provide a medium of exchange for a virtual community that is acceptable to all users of the service? How can an on-line service provide a medium of exchange that is easy to use so as to promote transactions between individuals in a spontaneous manner, but secure from counterfeiting or fraud? Further, how can a virtual community support transactions between individuals that are not subject to scrutiny or review by third parties?.
While credit cards have been used to conduct business on-line, credit cards are not appropriate for simple commerce between individuals. Few private individuals have bank accounts set up to accept credit card deposits. Further, when you do not know exactly who you are dealing with, you would hesitate to give your credit card number for a purchase.
Also, actual cash transactions may not be appropriate when the goods being purchased have no reality outside of the common virtual world. With the growth of on-line communities across national boundaries, how do individuals even agree on the medium of exchange? To the best knowledge of the inventors there is not an medium of exchange available in an on-line virtual world to promote the interesting activities that surround trade, and add to the potential complexity and interest of community activities. A solution to the many complexities associated with a medium of exchange has yet to found for on-line virtual worlds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the principles of this invention, a graphic user interface is utilized to represent instances of various classes, that are virtual objects, which in turn provide users of the graphic user interface with a new dimension in communication. In the virtual world of this invention, an avatar object is a virtual container that includes a plurality of other containers, e.g., avatar hands and a pocket. Herein, a virtual container object, as its name suggests, can hold one or more other virtual objects.
The avatar object is not only a container, but also includes other characteristics that allow the avatar object to express moods and perform gestures. The avatar object is represented in the graphic user interface as a computer based animation that has a body and a removable head. The avatar object can move,
e.g., walk, through the various locales in the virtual world with or without a head.
One avatar can talk to the other avatars in the same locale. In this case, the on-line user represented by the avatar enters a message, and the message in displayed in a balloon that is visible to each of the other avatars in the locale. Thus, any other avatar in the locale can read the message. Alternatively, for a private communication, the on-line user, represented by the avatar, can use ESP to communicate privately with another avatar in the same locale, or in any other locale in the virtual world.
Portable virtual objects that can be stored in either the hands or the pocket of the avatar include spare heads for avatar, a token object that represents one or more tokens, and other portable virtual objects that are available within the virtual world. These portable virtual objects include portable virtual container objects that in turn can store other portable virtual objects.
Herein, all of the objects and avatars are virtual which means that they exist only in terms of the computer processes used to generate the virtual world. Thus, even though the word virtual is not always used in describing an object or avatar, it is understood that the object or avatar is always virtual.
An avatar is controlled through use of data input devices, e.g., a keyboard and mouse, for an on-line user's computer in combination with information and actions presented on the computer display screen. The on-line user's computer executes client processes associated with the on-line user that in turn send and receive messages from other client processes on that on-line user's computer as well as from server processes executing on a server computer of a service provider over a network such as the Internet.
In this embodiment, the various actions that an on-line user can take through her avatar, are presented in the graphic user interface via pop-up menus. When the on-line user selects an object displayed in the graphic user interface using one or more of the computer's data input devices, a pop-menu for the selected object is displayed.
Each virtual object is aware of its surroundings and changes its behavior to suit the situation. For example, selecting a floor object of a locale presents a pop-up menu with choices such as Walk to here; Go this way; and Go that way, if the avatar is not holding a portable virtual object in his hand. However, if the avatar is holding a portable virtual object in his hand, there is an additional menu choice of Put here. This is because the floor object checks to see if the avatar is holding a portable virtual object that can placed, e.g., put or dropped, at the selected point on the floor object.
Token objects in the graphic user interface are a medium of exchange within the virtual world of this invention. The value of a token object is determined by the denomination of the token object. While each token object is shown as a single object, each token object can represent one or more tokens based on the denomination.
Token objects can be exchanged freely while in the virtual world, but token objects are not tied to any real world currency. To prevent counterfeiting, all token object creation is controlled by a one of the server processes executing on the server computer maintained by the service provider. On-line users cannot freely create new tokens.
A token object can be carried, deposited in a virtual ATM object, deposited in vi
Farmer Randy
Morningstar Chris
Morse Norman
Onusko John E.
Bautista X. L.
Cabeca John
Fujitsu Software Corporation
Klivans Norman R.
Skjerven Morrill LLP
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