Pervasive realtime framework

• US 10,027,528 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2014
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Inventors: Van Wie, David, Altmaier, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): MANIWANG, JOSEPH R
• Application Number:
  US14/519,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20150039743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 709232
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/02 Standardisation; Integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A pervasive realtime framework supports the execution of realtime software applications with high-level functions that significantly reduce the effort and time needed to develop realtime software applications in a new operating environment paradigm in which realtime connections between network nodes are pervasive. The pervasive realtime framework handles the complex tasks of connecting to communicants, virtual areas, and other network resources, as well as switching those connections in response to user inputs and thereby enables software application developers to focus on developing high-level realtime software application functionality.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computer system in a network communication environment, the method comprising:

transmitting a web page to a web browser application being executed on a client network node of a user, wherein the web page is associated with a designation of a customer service virtual area, and a view of the web page is rendered by the web browser application;

conditioned on a determination that a customer service representative is present in an instance of a customer service virtual area corresponding to the designation, triggering a rendering of the instance of the customer service virtual area on the user'"'"'s client network node; and

establishing a presence for the user in the rendered instance of the customer service virtual area, wherein the rendered instance of the customer service virtual area supports realtime communications between the client network node of the user and a client network node of the customer service representative in a context defined by the instance of the customer service virtual area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the customer service virtual area supports realtime chat communications between the client network node of the user and the client network node of the customer service representative in the customer service virtual area.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page is associated with a connection target designation for identifying one or more connection targets, and further comprising identifying one or more connection targets based on the connection target designation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, in response to a determination that the user'"'"'s current focus corresponds to the web page, transmitting to the one or more identified connection targets presence data indicating that the current focus of the user is on the web page.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting to the identified connection target an invitation to participate in a realtime communication session with the user in the instance of the customer service virtual area.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising establishing realtime communications between the client network node of the user and the client network node of the customer service representative in the instance of the customer service virtual area.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the connection target designation comprises a role attribute value corresponding to a customer service representative, and further comprising determining that a customer service representative is present in the virtual area by identifying a communicant who is present in the instance of the customer service virtual area and is associated with the customer service representative role attribute value.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising establishing realtime communications between the client network node of the user and a client network node of the identified communicant present in the customer service virtual area instance.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

identifying a network data source based on the connection target designation;

connecting to the network data source; and

retrieving data from the network data source.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the connection target designation comprises a data specification, and the retrieving comprises transmitting to the network data source a request for data corresponding to the data specification.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the retrieved data comprises a web page.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing realtime communications between the client network node of the user and the client network node of the customer service representative in the instance of the customer service virtual area.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering and the establishing are performed responsive to an indication the user'"'"'s current focus is on the rendered view of the web page.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering is conditioned on a determination that a human customer service representative is present in the instance of a customer service virtual area corresponding to the designation.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting is performed by a server network node associated with a service that administers the instance of the customer service virtual area.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the service administers the realtime communications between the client network nodes of the user and the customer support representative when they are copresent in the instance of the customer support virtual area, wherein the customer service representative is a human.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page is a customer service web page.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering comprises triggering the rendering of the instance of the customer service virtual area by the web browser application.

19. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a web page to a web browser application being executed on a client network node of a user, wherein the web page is associated with a designation of a customer service virtual area, and a view of the web page is rendered by the web browser application;

conditioned on a determination that a customer service representative is present in an instance of a customer service virtual area corresponding to the designation, triggering a rendering of the instance of the customer service virtual area on the user'"'"'s client network node, establishing a presence for the user in the rendered instance of the customer service virtual area, and establishing realtime communications between the client network node of the user and the client network node of the customer service representative in a context defined by the instance of the customer service virtual area.

20. A computer system, comprising:

a non-transitory data processor-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions; and

a data processor 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

transmitting a web page to a web browser application being executed on a client network node of a user, wherein the web page is associated with a designation of a customer service virtual area, and a view of the web page is rendered by the web browser application;

conditioned on a determination that a customer service representative is present in an instance of a customer service virtual area corresponding to the designation, triggering a rendering of the instance of the customer service virtual area on the user'"'"'s client network node; and

establishing a presence for the user in the rendered instance of the customer service virtual area, wherein the rendered instance of the customer service virtual area supports realtime communications between the client network node of the user and the client network node of the customer service representative in a context defined by the instance of the customer service virtual area.