Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2003-05-13
El-Hady, Nabil (Department: 2154)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
C709S203000, C709S223000, C709S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06564244
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a computer network system wherein a plurality of users share the same virtual space and converse simultaneously, and to technology for promoting communication between users in, for example, a chat system.
2. Description of Related Art
Various communication means via computer networks have appeared in recent years due to the diffusion of the Internet. Among them, multi-user and real-time communication means known as chat systems have become a remarkable replacement for conventional electronic mail and telephones. “Chat,” then, can be thought of as “live e-mail,” in other words, on-line messaging—exchange of remarks—in a system that uses the Internet.
A computer linked to a network via a server computer and running a software application enabling a user to chat with another computer user on that network may be referred to as a “chat client.” Users chatting through chat clients and corresponding servers create a chat network that is commonly referred to as “a virtual space.” The chat client users thus establish a conversation forum, or so-called channel, in the server and converse in real time. A “chat system” is, then, a communication system defined by chat client users sharing a number of virtual spaces.
To increase user convenience in chat systems, chat clients are offered that can, for example, display a list of channels in which the user is participating. In addition, chat clients are offered that display not only the names but also the conversational content of channels in which the user is participating, independently of displaying the conversational content of the channel on which a user is currently chatting. Furthermore, as means by which a user can search efficiently for a channel desired from among the enormous number of existing channels for convenience in chat systems, chat clients can include channel guide applications. The applications store a log of all channels in advance, and based on a subsequent user request, notify the user of channels that match specified keywords and preferences. Such an application may employ a means external to the application such as a “bot” (or “robot”) program that runs continually on the user's computer and links to the Internet to perform a user-like task).
Normally, users often want to know the contents of conversations on channels in which they are not participating, and want to decide whether to join depending on the contents. In conventional chat systems, however, users cannot obtain the content of conversations on channels in which they are not participating, that is, channels which they have not yet joined.
Conventional channel guiding methods succeed to a certain extent in searching for channels that match users' preferences. These methods are essentially so-called “active push” methods of information gathering from a network—in particular the Internet—that is, methods that reply with information in response to individual requests from users. Accordingly, users must send out onto the network their preferences every time they desire a response. Consequently, the contents of conversations on relevant channels may already have changed when a notification is made of channels matching search request preferences, which makes the immediateness (real-time quality) is inadequate. Furthermore, if a log of all the channels is to be obtained, excessive resources are required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to enable information tailored to users in a chat system to be obtained in real time, and to prevent wasting server resources.
To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention in a first aspect provides a network search method used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of users and simultaneous bi-directional communication is possible. In the method, one or more search preferences to search for a network are stored, associated with each user; the state of the network is acquired from the communication system every time the state of the network changes, and is stored; based on the stored state, a judgment is made as to whether the network wherein the state ha s changed satisfies any stored search preference; and based on that judgment, the user is notified of the network that satisfies any search preference of the corresponding user.
Every time the status of a network changes that network is judged as to whether it satisfies any preference set by the user. Based on the judgment result, the users are notified of the network that satisfies any search preference of that user. The network desired by the user can be reported in real time.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a network search system used in a communication system wherein the same network is mutually shared by a plurality of user terminals and simultaneous bi-directional communicate is possible. The network search system includes a storage means, a registration means, a configuration means, a recording means, a preferences-based search means, a notification means, and an output means.
The storage means stores, associated with the user, one or more search preferences to search for a network. The registration means registers the search preference in the storage means. The configuration means receives the input of the search preference and sends it to the registration means, associated with the user. The recording means acquires each network state from the communication system, and stores it. Herein, a reduction in resources is achieved by configuring the network search system so that the state of the network is recorded only for a fixed amount or for a fixed period of time. The preferences-based search means judges, based on each network state stored in the recording means, whether each network satisfies any search preference. The notification means, based on that judgment, notifies the user terminal of the network that conforms to any search preference of the respective user. The output means outputs the notification contents.
Taking a chat system as an example, the above-mentioned network corresponds to a channel. Each user sets a channel search preference by a configuration means, and transmits the preference to a recording means. Search preference setting can be accomplished through an originally provided configuration means, or by using, for example, a Web browser or a technique such as data mining, which searches for patterns and correlations in data by statistical algorithms. The registration means stores the transmitted search preference in the storage means by user. Presently, the keyword “AAA” is taken to be registered as the search preference of user A in the storage means. Further, given that a keyword is a search preference, the search is taken to be executed by a preference that the specified keyword appears three or more times in three minutes.
The recording means records, for each channel, the remarking of the keyword “AAA” and the remark time. Only records within three minutes from the present time are held. Furthermore, the recording means rewrites the records every time a change related to the network occurs. A change in the network state is some change related to the channel; for example, a remark from any chat client in any channel, or a change in the mode or number of users in any channel. If a change in a channel arises, the preferences-based search means judges whether that channel now meets each of the search preferences registered in the storage means. If any preference is satisfied, the preferences-based search means transmits the user and channel name to the notification means. The notification means notifies all user terminals for which that search preference is set of the channel that satisfies any search preference. At the user terminal, the output means outputs the channel report name on the screen, for example.
In accordance with the invention in another aspect, the notification means of the network search system acquires from the recording means additiona
Ito Hidenobu
Iwayama Noboru
Matsui Kazuki
Matsumoto Tatsuro
Sasaki Ken-ichi
El-Hady Nabil
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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