Collaboration system including a spatial event map

• US 10,304,037 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Haworth Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Haworth Incorporated
• Inventors: Foley, David M., Pearson, Adam, Entrekin, Demian
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Doon Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tsai, James T
• Application Number:
  US14/090,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,009 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A spatial event map system including server-side data processor that maintains a spatial event map which locates events in a workspace. The spatial event map includes a log of events, entries in the log having a location of a graphical target of the event in the workspace and a time. The system includes logic to send messages including an event, a location of a graphical target of the event in the workspace and a time, to client-side network nodes; and to receive messages identifying events that create or modify a graphical target, and to add corresponding entries to the log of events. The events can include history events that are sent to the other client-side network nodes, and added to the log for the corresponding history events, and ephemeral events that are sent to other client-side network nodes without adding corresponding entries in the log.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a client-side network node including a display having a physical display space, a user input device, a processor and a communication port, the client-side network node being configured with logic;

to establish a link to a server-side network node;

to retrieve, from the server-side network node, at least part of a log of entries to identify events in a workspace, the workspace comprising locations having virtual coordinates, the events identified by the entries in the log being related to graphical targets having virtual coordinates within the workspace, wherein an entry in the log, which identifies an event, comprises data specifying virtual coordinates of a location within the workspace of the graphical target related to the event, a target identifier of the graphical target related to the event to be displayed when rendered on the display of the client-side network node, data identifying an action selected from a group of actions including creation, movement and deletion of the graphical target within the workspace, and a time of the event;

to map a displayable area in the physical display space to a mapped area within the workspace;

to identify events in the retrieved log having locations within the mapped area;

to render graphical targets identified by the identified events onto the displayable area, wherein the retrieved log includes at least one entry for an event that identifies creation action, and at least one entry for an event that identifies a movement action;

to accept input data from the user input device creating events relating to movement and creation of graphical targets displayed within the displayable area; and

to send messages based upon the created events to the server-side network node.

2. The system of claim 1, the logic including an application interface including a process to communicate with the server-side network node.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the messages based on the created events include a first class of event designated as history events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes and to be added to the log in the server-side network node, and a second class of event designated as ephemeral events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes but not added to the log in the server-side network node.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical targets include text and strokes.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying graphical constructs used to render the graphical target on a display.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying a user associated with an event.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic includes procedures to pan and zoom the displayable area relative to the workspace.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the workspace encompasses an unbounded virtual area.

9. A method comprising:

establishing a link from a client-side network node to a server-side network node;

retrieving, at the client-side network node and from the server-side network node, at least part of a log of entries to identify events in a workspace, the workspace comprising locations having virtual coordinates, the events identified by the entries in the log being related to graphical targets having virtual coordinates within the workspace, wherein an entry in the log, which identifies an event, comprises data specifying virtual coordinates of a location within the workspace of the graphical target related to the event, a target identifier of the graphical target related to the event to be displayed when rendered on a display of the client-side network node, data identifying an action selected from a group of actions including creation, movement and deletion of the graphical target within the workspace, and a time of the event;

mapping a displayable area in physical display space at the client-side network node to a mapped area within the workspace, to identify events in the retrieved log having locations within the mapped area, and to render graphical targets identified by the identified events onto the displayable area, wherein the retrieved log includes at least one entry for an event that identifies creation action, and at least one entry for an event that identifies a movement action;

accepting input data from a user input device at the client-side network node creating events relating to movement and creation of graphical targets displayed within the displayable area; and

sending messages based upon the created events on the established link to the server-side network node.

10. The method of claim 9, including sending messages compliant with an application program interface executed at the server-side network node.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the messages based on the created events include a first class of event designated as history events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes and to be added as entries to the log in the server-side network node, and a second class of event designated as ephemeral events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes but not added to the log in the server-side network node.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the graphical targets include text and strokes.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying graphical constructs used to render the graphical target on a display.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying a user associated with an event.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further includes executing procedures to pan and zoom the displayable area relative to the workspace at the client-side network node.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the workspace encompasses an unbounded virtual area.

17. A product comprising:

non-transitory computer readable memory;

executable instructions stored in the memory, for establishing a link from a client-side network node to a server-side network node;

executable instructions for retrieving, at the client-side network node and from the server-side network node, at least part of a log of entries to identify events in a workspace, the workspace comprising locations having virtual coordinates, the events identified by the entries in the log being related to graphical targets having virtual coordinates within the workspace, wherein an entry in the log, which identifies an event, comprises data specifying virtual coordinates of a location within the workspace of the graphical target related to the event, a target identifier of the graphical target related to the event to be displayed when rendered on a display of the client-side network node, data identifying an action selected from a group of actions including creation, movement and deletion of the graphical target within the workspace, and a time of the event;

executable instructions for mapping a displayable area in a physical display space at the client-side network node to a mapped area within the workspace, to identify events in the retrieved log having locations within the mapped area, and to render graphical targets identified by the identified events onto the displayable area, wherein the retrieved log includes at least one entry for an event that identifies creation action, and at least one entry for an event that identifies a movement action;

executable instructions for accepting input data from a user input device at the client-side network node creating events relating to movement and creation of graphical targets displayed within the displayable area; and

executable instructions for sending messages based upon the created events on the established link to the server-side network node.

18. The product of claim 17, including executable instructions for sending messages compliant with an application program interface executed at the server-side network node.

19. The product of claim 17, wherein the events include a first class of event designated as history events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes and to be added to the log in the server-side network node, and a second class of event designated as ephemeral events to be distributed among other client-side network nodes but not added to the log in the server-side network node.

20. The product of claim 17, wherein the graphical targets include text and strokes.

21. The product of claim 17, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying graphical constructs used to render the graphical target on a display.

22. The product of claim 17, wherein the entries in the log include a parameter identifying a user associated with an event.

23. The product of claim 17, including executable instructions for executing procedures to pan and zoom the displayable area relative to the workspace at the client-side network node.

24. The product of claim 17, wherein the workspace encompasses an unbounded virtual area.