COORDINATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM, METHOD AND MEDIUM THEREFOR

• US 20010051984A1
• Filed: 01/27/1997
• Published: 12/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: FUKASAWA, TOSHIHIKO
• Granted Patent: US 6,567,844 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

In a work environment composed of plural computers, there are provided a method and an apparatus for realizing the coordinative work environment adaptable to various forms of the coordinative work. For this purpose there is disclosed a mechanism for realizing the coordinative work environment for supporting the coordinative work composed of plural computers, the mechanism comprising description means for the coordinative work form and means for effecting the coordinative work management process adapted to arbitrary coordinative work form, based on the description of the coordinative work form described by the description means.

Claims

1. A coordinative work environment construction system for supporting a coordinative work by plural computers, the system comprising:

description means for the coordinative work form; and

means for effecting a coordinative work management process adapted to arbitrary coordinative work form, based on the coordinative work form description described by said description means.

2. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 1

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to describe the work form, utilizing an information transmission path between attendees of the coordinative work.

3. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 2

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to describe the work form, further utilizing a coordinative work environment composed of the attendees of said coordinative work and said information transmission paths.

4. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 3

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to describe the coordinative work, utilizing the combination of said information transmission paths capable of information transmission.

5. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 4

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to provide description by class and object.

6. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 4

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to provide description by script.

7. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 1

, wherein said description means for the coordinative work form is adapted to describe, as said coordinative work form description, components of the coordinative work form of the object and operations for said components.

8. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 7

, wherein said description means is adapted to describe the components of the coordinative work form and the operations for said components by a class and an object.

9. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 7

, wherein said description means is adapted to describe the components of the coordinative work form and the operations for said components by a script.

10. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 7

, wherein said means for effecting the coordinative work management process is adapted to effect operation management, utilizing class and object describing the components of said coordinative work form and the operation for said components.

11. A coordinative work environment construction system according to

claim 7

, wherein said means for effecting the coordinative work management process is adapted to effect operation management, utilizing an interpreter for interpreting the script describing the components of said coordinative work form and the operation for said components.

12. A coordinative work environment construction method for supporting a coordinative work by plural computers, comprising steps of:

describing the coordinative work form; and

effecting a coordinative work management process adapted to arbitrary coordinative work form, based on the described coordinative work form.

13. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 12

, comprising, in describing said coordinative work form, the use of a concept representing the information transmission path between attendees of the coordinative work.

14. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 13

, comprising, in describing said coordinative work form, further use of a concept representing the coordinative work environment composed of the attendees and the information transmission path of the coordinative work.

15. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 14

, wherein the coordinative work is represented by a group of said information transmission paths capable of information transmission.

16. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 15

, wherein the description of said coordinative work form is provided by a class and an object.

17. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 15

, wherein the description of said coordinative work form is provided by a script.

18. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 12

, wherein the description of said coordinative work form describes components of the coordinative work form of the object and operations for said components, by the description method of said coordinative work form.

19. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 18

, wherein said components and said operations for the operations are described by a class and an object.

20. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 18

, wherein said components and said operations for the operations are described by a script.

21. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 18

, comprising the use, as said means for effecting the coordinative work management process, of a class and an object describing the components of said coordinative work form and the operation for said components.

22. A coordinative work environment construction method according to

claim 18

, providing, as said means for effecting the coordinative work management process, an interpreter for interpreting the script describing the components of said coordinative work form and the operation for said components.

23. A coordinative work method with plural computers, comprising steps of:

storing the correlation between the components of coordinative works at a shift therebetween in at least a part of said plural computers; and

effecting said shift.

24. A coordinative work system according to

claim 23

, wherein said coordinative works include a remote awareness application.

25. A coordinative work system according to

claim 23

, wherein said coordinative works include a conference application.

26. A coordinative work system according to

claim 23

, wherein said components are modules of a software.

27. A coordinative work system according to

claim 26

, wherein said components are hardware resources of which operations are controlled by said software.

28. A coordinative work system according to

claim 27

, wherein said hardware is a television camera.

29. A computer-readable medium storing a control sequence constituting the method according to

claim 23

.