Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-20
2001-10-02
Barot, Bharat (Department: 2154)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
C709S205000, C709S223000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298374
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication management apparatus such as a personal computer which makes a movement of a symbol in a virtual world follow a movement of a user in the real world through a communication system in which the virtual world having a plurality of virtual spaces is constructed on a network, and the symbol of the user is operated to move from one virtual space to another virtual space. The system enables exchange of messages between users who make their symbols join the same virtual space, and the present invention also relates to a recording medium which can be read by this apparatus.
It is proposed for a communication management apparatus to manage users joining a virtual world through “substitutes” in a communication system which provides a service in that users operate from a user terminal apparatus connected to a network a symbol as a substitute of the user expressed by CG (computer graphics) or a picture to move between a plurality of virtual spaces such as structures or rooms which compose the virtual world (city, building, etc.) constructed on the network, and to enable conversations by means of speech or text through their substitutes between a plurality of user terminal apparatuses in which the respective substitutes join the same virtual space (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 8-191084, 8-191089).
In a conventional communication system, as long as a substitute of a user is present in the virtual world, that is, during a period between log-in and log-out such service as described above, another user may require communication to imagine the user corresponding to the substitute is present in front of the user terminal apparatus.
However, despite the presence of the substitute in the virtual world, the user may be away from the user terminal apparatus so that another user can not obtain any response from the user corresponding to this substitute when requiring communication of the substitute, and no messages can be exchanged.
Therefore, in circumstances where the user needs to move between several places during a period of log-in to the service described above such cases may often occur that messages can not be exchanged with a user corresponding to a substitute although it is present in the virtual world. Moreover, even if the user moved to a proximity of another terminal apparatus and is able to exchange messages, there are no means provided to know the destination to which the user moved.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication management apparatus and recording medium readable by the apparatus in which a user who wishes to communicate with a partner who physically moved can know the destination of the substitute of the partner in the virtual world following a physical movement of the partner or the destination of the partner who physically moved through simply monitoring a joining state of the substitutes in the virtual world with his or her own communication terminal apparatus or through moving to a communication terminal apparatus of the partner to monitor its screen, and further the user can communicate with the partner with a communication terminal apparatus at the movement destination of the partner when designating the substitute of the partner who physically moved as a communication partner, by managing a position in the real world and a virtual space in a virtual world that corresponds to this position to link each other, by moving a substitute in the virtual world in linkage with a physical movement of the user to another position while the user is making the substitute join either of the virtual spaces of the virtual world, and by displaying a destination of the substitute of the user in the virtual world or a destination of the user in the real world.
In the present invention, data specifying a virtual space such as a virtual space name and identification data such as a symbol name of a user who makes the symbol join the virtual space are managed, and further positions in the real world and data specifying virtual spaces corresponding to these positions are managed to link each other, a position of a communicating person in the real world is detected, and when the communicating person moves to another position in the real world, the symbol of the communicating person is moved to a virtual space corresponding to the position.
With this arrangement, the symbol for the substitute of the user moves to the virtual space corresponding to the destination of the user following the physical movement of the user.
Further, in the present invention, in case a position of a symbol in the virtual world is moved following a movement of a communicating person in the real world, information on the destination of the communicating person is displayed on a communicating terminal apparatus at the default position of the symbol of this communicating person.
With this arrangement, a user who wishes to communicate with a partner who physically moved needs only to move to a communicating terminal apparatus at the default position at which the partner is usually present and to monitor its screen to know the destination of the partner to which he or she physically moved or a virtual destination of the partner, that is, the destination of the symbol of the partner.
Further, in the present invention, controlled positions in the real world at which a plurality of communication terminal apparatuses are positioned respectively and data for respectively identifying the communication terminal apparatuses are managed to link each other, and in case a symbol which is moved in the virtual world following a movement of a communicating person in the real world is required to exchange messages by another symbol, a communication is required of a communication terminal apparatus disposed at a position in the real world which corresponds to the virtual space of the destination of the symbol.
With this arrangement, communication with a partner is enabled by using a communication terminal apparatus at the destination of the partner by designating the substitute of the partner who physically moved.
Further, in the present invention, when a position of a symbol in the virtual world is moved following a movement of a communicating person in the real world, this symbol is displayed on a terminal apparatus disposed in the real world at the position which corresponds to the virtual space to which the symbol moved.
With this arrangement, a user who physically moved can use a communicating terminal apparatus disposed at the destination of the user to operate a symbol of a substitute of the user to join the virtual world and exchange messages with other users.
Further, in the present invention, a symbol which is moved through an operation and a symbol which is moved following a movement of a communicating person in the real world are displayed on the communicating terminal apparatus in different display styles, for example, by changing their colors or the like.
With this arrangement, a user who wishes to communicate with a partner who physically moved is able to know whether the partner physically moved or not by simply monitoring a joining state of the symbol of the substitute of the partner in the virtual world on the user's communication terminal apparatus.
Further, in the present invention, when a second symbol is made to join the default virtual space where a symbol which moved to another virtual space joined, information on a destination of the first symbol (e.g. virtual space name) is made to be displayed in characters or the like on the image of this virtual space.
With this arrangement, a user who wishes to communicate with a partner who physically moved is able to know the destination of the image of the substitute of the partner in the virtual world by simply monitoring a joining state of the symbol of the substitute of the partner in the default virtual space of the partner on the user's commu
Obata Akihiko
Sasaki Kazuo
Barot Bharat
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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