Virtual workspace including shared viewport markers in a collaboration system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11126325-B2
Application number	US-201715791351-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2017
Priority date	Oct 23, 2017
Publication date	Sep 21, 2021
Grant date	Sep 21, 2021

Abstract

A node of a collaboration system is provided to establish communication with other nodes, store data identifying graphical targets having locations in a virtual workspace and including locations in the virtual workspace of the identified graphical targets, and compute a mapping of a local client viewport to a local client screen space. The node is configured to render on the local client screen space graphical targets having locations within the local client viewport, provide a user interface to display a list of viewport markers representing viewports, where each viewport defines an area in the workspace, and respond to an input indicating a selected viewport marker from the list of viewport markers, update the local client viewport to match the location and dimensions of the viewport represented by the selected viewport marker, and render on the local client screen space graphical targets having locations within the updated local client viewport.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. For use in a collaboration system, a network node comprising:
a display having a physical display space, a user input device, a processor and a communication port, the processor being configured with logic to:
establish communication with one or more other network nodes;
store collaboration data identifying graphical targets having locations in a virtual workspace, the collaboration data including locations in the virtual workspace of the identified graphical targets;
compute a mapping of a local client viewport having a location and dimensions in the virtual workspace to a local client screen space having dimensions in the physical display space;
render on the local client screen space one or more graphical targets having locations within the local client viewport as a function of the mapping; and
provide a user interface to:
display a list of viewport markers representing predefined viewports in the virtual workspace, each predefined viewport represented by the viewport markers defining an area in the virtual workspace having a location and dimensions; and
respond to an input indicating a selected viewport marker from the list of displayed viewport markers to:
update the location and dimensions of the local client viewport to match the location and dimensions, in the virtual workspace, of the predefined viewport represented by the selected viewport marker, regardless of whether a creator of the predefined viewport is actively viewing the predefined viewport; and
render on the local client screen space one or more graphical targets having locations within the updated local client viewport.

2. The network node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to:
receive data from a remote network node of the collaboration system, the received data identifying a viewport created by the remote network node, the received data including metadata associated with the created viewport, and the metadata including a location and dimensions, within the virtual workspace, of the created viewport; and
add a viewport marker representing the created viewport to the list of viewport markers.

3. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata includes an access list identifying users of the collaboration system that are permitted to render the one or more graphical targets having locations within the created viewport; and
the processor further includes logic to prohibit the rendering of the one or more graphical targets having locations within the created viewport when a user of the network node is not identified by the access list included in the metadata.

4. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata includes a user-defined title of the created viewport; and
the processor further includes logic to include the user-defined title of the created viewport in the list of displayed viewport markers.

5. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata identifies a color corresponding to the created viewport; and
the processor further includes logic to display the viewport marker representing the created viewport in the color identified by the metadata.

6. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata identifies one or more contextual menu list items associated with the created viewport; and
the processor further includes logic to render, on the local client screen space, the one or more contextual menu list items associated with the created viewport.

7. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata includes a specified zoom-in indicator indicating that the network node is to render the one or more graphical targets included in the created viewport using a specified zoom- in level while still allowing the rendered one or more graphical targets to remain on the local screen space in their entirety; and
the processor further includes logic to render the one or more graphical targets included in the created viewport using the specified zoom-in level while still allowing the rendered one or more graphical targets to remain on the local screen space in their entirety, when the metadata includes the specified zoom-in indicator.

8. The network node of claim 2 , wherein:
the metadata includes information that links the created viewport to a different viewport that is associated with the created viewport; and
the processor further includes logic to, upon receiving a user instruction to walk to a next viewport:
update the location and dimensions, in the virtual workspace, of the local client viewport to match a location and dimensions, in the virtual workspace, of the different viewport; and
render on the local client screen space one or more graphical targets located within the updated local client viewport.

9. The network node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to:
create a user-defined viewport by:
obtaining information identifying a user-defined area in the virtual workspace that includes one or more rendered graphical targets and defines the user-defined viewport; and
storing data representing the user-defined viewport, the stored data including metadata identifying a location and dimensions of the area within the virtual workspace that defines the user-defined viewport;

create a user-defined viewport marker associated with the user-defined viewport; and
transmit a message to all other nodes in the collaboration system, the transmitted message including the stored data representing the user-defined viewport and the user-defined viewport marker displayed as part of the list of viewport markers.

10. The network node of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to identify the area in the virtual workspace by receiving a user selection of the one or more rendered graphical targets using the user input device.

11. The network node of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to identify the area in the virtual workspace by receiving a user selection of the area including the one or more rendered graphical targets using the user input device.

12. The network node of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to:
receive a selection of one or more users of the collaboration system that are permitted to render the one or more graphical targets included in the user-defined viewport; and
include, in the transmitted metadata, an access list that identifies the selected one or more users of the collaboration system that are permitted to render the one or more graphical targets included in the user-defined viewport, wherein the transmitted access list allows for the rendering of the one or more graphical targets only by the selected one or more users that are identified by the access list.

13. The network node of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to:
receive a user-defined title of the user-defined viewport, as input by a user of the network node; and
include, in the transmitted metadata, the user-defined title of the user-defined viewport, wherein the transmitted title of the user-defined viewport allows for rendering of the user-defined title of the user-defined viewport as part of the user-defined viewport marker displayed as part of the list of viewport markers.

14. The network node of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured with logic to:
receive a user selection of a color corresponding to the user-defined viewport; and
include, in the transmitted metadata, data that represents the color corresponding to the user-defined viewport, wherein the transmitted color allows for rendering of the displayed vi

Assignees

• Haworth Inc

Inventors

• Jakobovits Ariel
• Santhakumar Satish
• Entrekin Demian

Classifications

• G06F3/0482 Primary

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

• H04L67/131 Primary

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

• H04L67/01

  Protocols · CPC title

• G06F3/1454

  involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay · CPC title

• G06F3/1431

  using a single graphics controller · CPC title