Shared virtual area communication environment based apparatus and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11023092-B2
Application number	US-201615228807-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2016
Priority date	Oct 24, 2007
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

Improved systems and methods for navigating and interacting in virtual communication environments are disclosed. Some of these systems and methods provide a framework that includes one or more virtual areas and supports realtime communications between the communicants. Some of these systems and methods provide an interface that includes navigation controls to navigate virtual areas and interaction controls to interact with other communicants in the one or more virtual areas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method in a network communications environment comprising a network service implemented by at least one server network node and supporting realtime communications between respective client network nodes of present ones of a user and one or more other communicants in a virtual location that defines a respective communications contexts in the network communications environment, the method comprising by the network service:
establishing, by the network service, a respective presence of each of the user and the one or more other communicants in the virtual location, and administering realtime communications between the client network nodes of ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual location;
responsive to receipt of an input from the client network node of the user in connection with a persistent viewscreen object in the virtual location, by the network service, associating the document with the persistent viewscreen object in the virtual location;
transmitting, by the network service, a visualization of the document to the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants who are present in the virtual location to display on the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants via distinct viewscreens located in and distributed in multiple locations in the virtual location, wherein the viewscreens render data for viewing by the communicants;
managing, by the network service, realtime collaboration on the document by the user and the one or more other communicants who are present in the virtual location, wherein the managing comprises multiplexing respective user input data streams received from respective ones of the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants who are present in the virtual location into a composite user input data stream, inputting the composite user input data stream to an executing instance of a document processing application to generate an output data stream and, by the network service, sending respective instances of the output data stream corresponding to respective concurrent views of the document on the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants who are present in the virtual location, wherein the network service runs a browser client on the at least one server network node and routes the output data stream of the browser client to at least one of the view screens in the virtual location to provide an interface through which communicants who are present in the particular virtual area interact with the document processing application;
maintaining records of communicant actions in the virtual area; and
upon request for a respective listing of respective ones of the communicant actions, transmitting the respective listing of the respective ones of the communicant actions to each of one or more of client network nodes of the communicants who are present in the virtual area.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the managing comprises, by the network service, executing a shared instance of the document processing application program on the document.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the document processing application program is one of a text document processing application program, a spreadsheet document processing application program, and a presentation document processing application program.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the managing comprises, by the network service, multiplexing the input data streams to the executing document processing application program to produce output data, and generating the client data streams from the output data produced by the document processing application program.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the multiplexing comprises multiplexing the received realtime input data streams into a composite input data stream, and inputting the composite input data stream to the shared instance of the document processing application.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the managing comprises, by the network service, transmitting the respective client data streams to the client network nodes of respective ones of the communicants who are copresent in the virtual area.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the managing comprises configuring the client network nodes of the present ones of the communicants to generate respective concurrent views of the document while configuring real time communications between respective ones of those copresent communicants.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the administering comprises administering real time text chat communications between the network nodes of the present ones of the communicants.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the administering comprises administering real time audio communications between the network nodes of the present ones of the communicants.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the administering comprises administering real time video communications between the network nodes of the present ones of the communicants.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing comprises transmitting to each of respective ones of client network nodes of the communicants who are present in the virtual area a respective document interface for interacting with the document and a respective communications interface for communicating with other communicants who are present in the virtual area.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein each document interface is associated with a respective one of the input data streams.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein each communications interface supports realtime text chat communications with other communicants who are present in the virtual area.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input data streams comprise data generated based on input device events occurring on respective ones of the client network nodes.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least some of the input device events correspond to realtime computer keyboard events.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least some of the input device events correspond to realtime computer mouse events.

17. An apparatus, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions, and
a data processing system coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations comprising:
establishing, by the data processing system, a respective presence of each of the user and the one or more other communicants in the virtual location, and administering realtime communications between the client network nodes of ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual location;
responsive to receipt of an input from the client network node of the user in connection with a persistent viewscreen object in the virtual location, by the data processing system, associating the document with the persistent viewscreen object in the virtual location;
transmitting, by the data processing system, a visualization of the document to the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants who are present in the virtual location to display on the client network nodes of the user and the one or more other communicants via distinct viewscreens located in and distributed in multiple locations in the virtual location, wherein the viewscreens render data for viewing by the communicants;
managing, by the data processing system, realtime collaboration on the document by the user and the one or more other communicants who are pr

Assignees

• Sococo Inc

Inventors

• Van Wie David
• Brody Paul J

Classifications

• H04L12/1822 Primary

  Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission · CPC title

• H04L67/131

  Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality · CPC title

• G06Q10/10

  Office automation; Time management · CPC title

• G06F3/04815 Primary

  Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional [3D], e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title