Method and system for facilitating collaboration sessions

• US 10,664,772 B1
• Filed: 03/06/2015
• Issued: 05/26/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Inventors: Poel, Robert, Sculley, Darrin
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, Folashade
• Application Number:
  US14/640,288
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 705 719
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group

Abstract

A method and system of simplifying the processes of locating a facility space available for use, the method for use with an interface device including a display screen, the method comprising the steps of providing a processor programmed to perform the steps of storing a space scheduling application, storing a space schedule for facility spaces, upon accessing the space scheduling application via the interface device, presenting a space type list including at least first and second different space types wherein one of the space types is a selected space type and wherein the selected space type in the space type list is visually distinguished in some fashion, and presenting a space list including facility spaces that are of the selected space type, using the space schedule to identify availability status of each of the spaces that are of the selected space type and visually distinguishing facility spaces on the space list of the selected space type that are occupied on the schedule from spaces that are available on the schedule.

Claims

1. A collaboration system for sharing digital content among a plurality of system users during a conference session wherein each user uses a personal computing device that includes a device display screen, the collaboration system comprising:

a wireless receiver;

at least one large common display screen;

a processor linked to the receiver and the display, the processor programmed to perform the steps of;

providing a user interface via each of the device display screens wherein each interface includes a sharing window, a file queue and a conferee queue, the conferee queue presenting a separate conferee icon for each user associated with one of the personal computing devices that is linked to the system to participate in the session, the file queue listing separate instances of content added to the session by linked conferees;

for each file in the file queue, visually indicating on each user interface which conferee added the file to the file queue for use during the session;

receiving input via any one of the user interfaces to move a file from the file queue to the sharing window and in response, representing the file in the sharing window on each of the interfaces; and

replicating the content presented in the sharing window on the large common display screen.

2. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of receiving input via any one of the user interfaces to remove content from the sharing window to the file queue and in response, removing the content from each of the sharing windows and from the large common display screen.

3. The collaboration system of claim 2 wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of visually distinguishing the conferee icon in the conferee queue that is associated with the conferee that most recently changed the content in the sharing window.

4. The collaboration system of claim 3 wherein a different conferee color is associated with each of the conferee icons in the conferee queue.

5. The collaboration system of claim 4 wherein each of the conferee icons has the same graphical appearance.

6. The collaboration system of claim 4 wherein the processor performs the step of visually indicating on each interface which conferee added the file to the file queue for use during the session by color coding each file in the queue with the color of the conferee icon that is associated with the conferee that added the file to the system.

7. The collaboration system of claim 2 wherein at least a subset of the files in the file queue are associated with running software applications, each file including dynamic application output.

8. The collaboration system of claim 7 wherein at least a subset of the files in the file queue are associated with desktop images shown on personal computing devices, each file including a dynamic desktop image.

9. The collaboration system of claim 3 wherein the processor visually distinguishes the conferee icon associated with the conferee that most recently changed the content in the sharing window until another conferee changes the content in the sharing window.

10. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein the conferee queue is replicated on the large common display screen.

11. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of visually distinguishing the conferee icon in each conferee queue that is associated with the conferee that most recently changed the content in the sharing window.

12. The collaboration system of claim 11 wherein the conferee queue is presented as a horizontal line of conferee icons below the sharing window on each interface and on the large common display screen.

13. The collaboration system of claim 12 wherein each file queue is presented as a vertical line of files along one side of the sharing window.

14. The collaboration system of claim 13 wherein file content can be moved into the sharing window by dragging one of the file representations in the file queue into the sharing window.

15. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of receiving additional content from any one of the personal computing devices to be added to the session content queue.

16. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein a different conferee color is associated with each of the conferee icons in the conferee queue, each interface including at least one drawing tool for annotating content presented in the sharing window, annotations applied by each conferee colored to match the color associated with the conferee icon that is associated with the conferee.

17. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein any conferee using any of the interfaces can take control of content presentation in the sharing windows at any time in an egalitarian fashion.

18. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein a different conferee color is associated with each of the conferee icons in the conferee queue and wherein a colored border that matches one of the colors associated with one of the conferee icons is provided around the content presented in the sharing window.

19. The collaboration system of claim 18 wherein the colored border matches the conferee icon color associated with the conferee that moved the content into the sharing window.

20. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein each interface includes a tool for expanding the size of the sharing windows on all of the interfaces to include substantially the entire surface of the display screen on an associated personal computing device so that the file queue and conferee queue are at least temporarily removed from the interface.

21. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein at least a subset of the personal computing devices are located within the same space as the large common display screen so that personal computing device users have a view of the interface presented via the personal computing device used by the user as well as a view of the representation on the large common display screen.

22. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the personal computing devices is remotely located from the large common display.

23. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein at least a subset of the files include desktop images replicating the desktops of personal computing devices, a subset of the files include application output replicating visual output of applications run on personal computing devices and a subset of the files include images.

24. The collaboration system of claim 1 wherein at least a subset of the files in the file queue are transmitted to the processor from at least a subset of the portable computing devices.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein the interface simultaneously presents each of the file queue, the conferee queue and the sharing window.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein one of the file queue and the conferee queue is presented along one of a horizontal and a vertical edge of the sharing window and the other of the file queue and the conferee queue is presented along the other of the horizontal and vertical edges.

27. The system of claim 1 wherein the file queue persists on the interface as different content is shared from the file queue within the sharing window.

28. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the personal computing devices includes a portable wireless computing device.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein each of at least a subset of the portable wireless computing devices includes a tablet computing device.

30. The system of claim 28 wherein each of at least a subset of the portable wireless computing devices includes a laptop.

31. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor includes a plurality of processors that cooperate to perform the steps.

32. The system of claim 1 wherein the large common display screen includes a single emissive surface and wherein a plurality of files can be shares simultaneously via the single emissive surface.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein a plurality of fields are provided on the single emissive surface for simultaneously sharing files, a separate field provided for each file that is simultaneously shared.

34. The system of claim 1 wherein the large common display screen includes a single emissive surface and wherein at least first and second files can be shares simultaneously via the single emissive surface, the first file in the first field and the second file in the second field.

35. A collaboration system for sharing digital content among a plurality of system users during a conference session wherein each user uses a personal computing device that includes a device display screen, the collaboration system comprising:

a wireless receiver;

at least one large common display screen supported in a conference space for viewing by conferees located within the conference space;

a processor linked to the receiver and the display, the processor programmed to perform the steps of;

providing a user interface via each of the device display screens wherein each interface includes a sharing window, a file queue and a conferee queue, the conferee queue presenting a separate conferee icon for each user associated with one of the personal computing devices that is linked to the system to participate in the session, the file queue listing separate instances of content added to the session by linked conferees, each conferee icon highlighted by a conferee icon specific color;

for each file in the file queue, highlighting the file with the color of the conferee icon that is associated with the conferee that added the file to the file queue;

receiving input via any one of the user interfaces to move a file from the file queue to the sharing window and in response, representing the file in the sharing window on each of the interfaces; and

replicating the content presented in the sharing window on the large common display screen.

36. The collaboration system of claim 35 wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of visually distinguishing the conferee icon in the conferee queue that is associated with the conferee that most recently changed the content in the sharing window.

37. The collaboration system of claim 36 wherein each of the conferee icons has the same graphical appearance.

38. The collaboration system of claim 37 wherein the conferee queue is presented as a horizontal line of conferee icons below the sharing window on each interface and on the large common display screen.

39. The collaboration system of claim 38 wherein each file queue is presented as a vertical line of files along one side of the sharing window.

40. The collaboration system of claim 39 wherein a different conferee color is associated with each of the conferee icons in the conferee queue, each interface including at least one drawing tool for annotating content presented in the sharing window, annotations applied by each conferee colored to match the color associated with the conferee icon that is associated with the conferee.

41. The collaboration system of claim 35 wherein the user interface is replicated on the large common display screen in its entirety.

42. The collaboration system of claim 35 wherein the conferee queue is replicated on the large common display screen and wherein the processor is further programmed to perform the steps of visually distinguishing the conferee icon in each conferee queue that is associated with the conferee that most recently changed the content in the sharing window.

43. The collaboration system of claim 35 wherein any conferee using any of the interfaces can take control of content presentation in the sharing window at any time in an egalitarian fashion.

44. The system of claim 35 wherein the processor includes a plurality of processors that cooperate to perform the steps.