Collaboration method, system, program and record medium

• US 20030055893A1
• Filed: 03/04/2002
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Sato, Yuichi, Sazawa, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,167,898 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/107 with limitation or expansion of the discovery scope
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An electronic mail having thereon an URL of a conference host peer machine for automatically taking part in a conference by clicking once is sent to a plurality of conferee peer machines. A conferee peer machine at a shortest time location is searched through communication tests from the conference host peer machine to distribute data. After the distribution of data, remaining conferee peer machines are informed that the data distributed conferee peer machine is a mirror of the remaining conferee peer machines, and a conferee peer machine at a shortest time location is searched through communication tests from the conference host peer machine and from the mirror to distribute data. The above processes are repeated until data distribution completes.

Claims

1. A collaboration method effected through a peer-to-peer network, the method comprising:

a mail sending step which includes sending an electronic mail to a plurality of conferee peers, said electronic mail having a URL of a conference host peer described thereon for automatically taking part in a conference by clicking once; and

a data distribution step which includes searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer to distribute data, and, after distribution of data, informing remaining conferee peers that said data distributed conferee peer is a mirror of said remaining conferee peers, and searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer and from said mirror to distribute data, the above processes being repeated until data distribution completes.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said mail sending step, said URL includes an HTML file and said HTML file has an URL of said host peer for use in peer connection.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein in said mail sending step, said URL described on said electronic mail includes a URL of an Internet service provider that dynamically allocates IP addresses, and said URL described on said HTML file is a temporary URL, for use in peer connection, allocated from said Internet service provider to said conference host peer.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said mail sending step, a specified time to start a conference and said URL are described on said electronic mail so that said conferee peers are kept on standby and activated at said specified time so as to allow said conferee pears to automatically take part in the conference.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein if there is a time lag with the mail sender side upon reception of an electronic mail, said conferee peer is activated at a specified time after correction of said time lag so as to allow said conferee peer to automatically take part in a conference.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein if there is a time lag with the mail sender side upon reception of an electric mail, said conferee peer automatically corrects the system time of the mail receiver side into the system time of the mail sender side and activates at a specified time so as to allow said conferee peer to automatically take part in a conference.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said data distribution step, when a conferee peer to be a data requester receives a plurality of addresses of data distributors, said conferee peer searches a data distributor at a shortest time location through a communication test to each data distributor and requests data distribution of said data distributor at a shortest time location.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein said data distribution step includes allowing conference data as said data to be automatically distributed from said conference host peer to all conferee peers or to a conferee peer that made a request.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said data distribution step includes allowing conference data to be automatically distributed before the conference starts through connection of said conference host peer and said conferee peers.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein said data distribution step includes allowing a conference log of the previous conference to be automatically distributed as said data from said conference host peer to all conferee peers or a conferee peer that made a request.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said data distribution step includes allowing said conference log of the previous conference to be distributed from a certain peer to only conferee peers that took part halfway in the conference.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

an application sharing step which includes sharing any application currently running on a plurality of conferee peers inclusive of said conference host peer while a conference is being held, and free-hand drawing or entering notes onto images generated by said application.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said application sharing step includes uploading images containing free-hand drawing to a Web server so as to allow a browse by the browser.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said application sharing step includes arranging, on a Web screen to be browsed, URLs of conferee peers for automatically taking part in a conference only by clicking once.

15. A collaboration system by a peer-to-peer network, said system comprising:

a mail sending unit which sends an electronic mail to a plurality of conferee peers, said electronic mail having a URL of a conference host peer described thereon for automatically taking part in a conference by clicking once; and

a data distribution unit which searches a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer to distribution data, and, after distribution of data, informs remaining conferee peers that said data distributed conferee peer is a mirror of said remaining conferee peers, and searches a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer and from said mirror to distribute data, said data distribution unit repeating the above processes until data distribution completes.

16. A collaboration program allowing a computer to execute:

a mail sending step which includes sending an electronic mail to a plurality of conferee peers, said electronic mail having a URL of a conference host peer described thereon for automatically taking part in a conference by clicking once; and

a data distribution step which includes searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer to distribute data, and, after distribution of data, informing remaining conferee peers that said data distributed conferee peer is a mirror of said remaining conferee peers, and searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer and from said mirror to distribute data, the above processes being repeated until data distribution completes.

17. A computer readable record medium having thereon stored a program allowing a computer to execute:

a mail sending step which includes sending an electronic mail to a plurality of conferee peers, said electronic mail having a URL of a conference host peer described thereon for automatically taking part in a conference by clicking once; and

a data distribution step which includes searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer to distribute data, and, after distribution of data, informing remaining conferee peers that said data distributed conferee peer is a mirror of said remaining conferee peers, and searching a conferee peer at a shortest time location through communication tests from said conference host peer and from said mirror to distribute data, the above processes being repeated until data distribution completes.