Communication apparatus, information sharing system and information sharing method

• US 20050021695A1
• Filed: 05/11/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takamine, Kouichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,600,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• 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 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

The terminal device 100 of the information sharing system 500 exchanges information mutually with other terminal device 200 to 400 that are connected via a network 600. The receiving unit 103 receives the adoptability information showing the update data for updating the common data that are shared among a group and the adoptability information showing the adoptability of the update data. The inputting unit 101 receives the input of the update data and adoptability information from a user. The sending unit 104 sends the inputted update data and adoptability information to other terminal device. The synthesizing unit 105 generates the updated common data by synthesizing the update data with the common data. The judging unit 109 judges adoptability of the update data based on the adoptability information and has the synthesizing unit 105 synthesize only the update data that is judged as adoptable.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus for not only sharing information by exchanging the information mutually among a plurality of communication apparatuses that are connected to each other via a network but also updating the information, comprising:

a first outputting unit operable to output common information that has already been shared or that is sharable;

a second outputting unit operable to output update information that is inputted by at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses; and

a synthesizing unit operable to update the common information by synthesizing the common information with the update information in the case where the update information is received from at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication apparatus further comprises:

a judging unit operable to obtain adoptability information on whether the update information should be adopted or not and judge whether the update information should be adopted or not based on the obtained adoptability information; and

a synthesizing unit operable to synthesize the common information with the update information in the case where the judging unit judges that the update information should be adopted.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory unit operable to memorize the common information;

an inputting unit operable to receive the update information that is inputted by a user of the communication apparatus; and

a receiving unit operable to receive the update information sent from other communication apparatus;

wherein the first outputting unit outputs the common information that is stored in the memory unit,

the second outputting unit outputs the update information in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the inputting unit and the receiving unit, and

the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information that is stored in the memory unit in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the inputting unit and the receiving unit.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein, in the case where the update information is received from at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses, the first outputting unit outputs the common information that is updated by the synthesizing unit after the second outputting unit outputs the update information.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information to make a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) that is described in an XML format.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information as a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) that is described in an XML format to which history management information including update data and time and sending source information is added.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the synthesizing unit further generates a list of update information for every sending source based on history management information that is added to a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) of the update information.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a sending unit operable to send the update information that is received by the inputting unit to other communication apparatuses,

wherein, after user input of the update information that is received by the inputting unit is established, the sending unit sends the update information to other communication apparatuses, the second outputting unit outputs the update information and the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file generating unit operable to generate update information that is received by the inputting unit as an SVG file that is described in an XML format,

wherein the sending unit sends the SVG file that is generated by the SVG file generating unit to other communication apparatuses.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a judging unit operable to obtain adoptability information on whether the update information that is received by the inputting unit or the receiving unit should be adopted or not and judge whether the update information should be adopted or not based on the obtained adoptability information,

wherein the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information that is stored in the memory unit in the case where the judging unit judges that the update data should be adopted.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the judging unit obtains the adoptability information from at least one of the communication apparatus itself and other communication apparatuses.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the judging unit makes the judgment based on either a majority decision on the adoptability information or a decision by a predetermined number or larger of communication apparatuses including the communication apparatus itself and other communication apparatuses.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a setting unit operable to set a right for sending the adoptability information,

wherein the judging unit makes the judgment based on the adoptability information that is obtained by the communication apparatus for which the right is set.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the setting unit sets the right level indicating any of levels that is two or more as the right,

the judging unit makes the judgment based on the adoptability information from a specific communication apparatus for which a right to be determined is finally set as the right level.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

an inquiring unit operable to inquire of a user about whether or not the update information that is received by the receiving unit should be adopted as a synthesis target by the synthesizing unit; and

an adoptability information sending unit operable to send information that is obtained from the user to other communication apparatuses as adoptability information in response to the inquiry.

16. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printer engine for generating print data concerning the common information that is outputted by the first outputting unit and printing the print data.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication apparatus is a cellular phone, a personal Digital Assistance (PDA), a digital camera or a receiver capable of receiving contents that is described in Broadcast Markup Language (BML) contents from a broadcasting station.

18. An information sharing system comprising a plurality of communication apparatuses that are connected to each other via a network, wherein not only information is shared by exchanging information mutually among the plurality of communication apparatuses but also the information is repeatedly updated,

wherein the communication apparatus includes:

a first outputting unit operable to output common information that has already been shared or that is sharable;

a second outputting unit operable to output update information that is inputted by at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses; and

a synthesizing unit operable to update the common information by synthesizing the common information and the update information in the case where the update information is received from at least the communication apparatus itself and one or more communication apparatuses.

19. The information sharing system according to claim 18,

wherein the communication apparatus further comprises a judging unit operable to obtain the adoptability information on whether the update information should be adopted or not and judge whether the update information should be adopted or not based on the obtained adoptability information,

the synthesizing unit synthesizes the common information with the update information in the case where the judging unit judges that the update information should be adopted.

20. The information sharing system according to claim 18,

wherein the communication apparatus further comprises:

a memory unit operable to memorize the common information;

an inputting unit operable to receive the update information that a user of the communication apparatus itself inputted; and

a receiving unit operable to receive the update information that is sent from the other communication apparatuses;

the first outputting unit outputs the common information that is memorized in the memory unit,

the second outputting unit outputs the update information in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the inputting unit and the received unit, and

the synthesizing unit synthesizes the update information with the common information that is memorized in the memory unit in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the inputting unit and the receiving unit.

21. An information sharing method for not only sharing information by exchanging the information mutually between a plurality of communication apparatuses that are connected to each other via a network and updating the information, the method comprising the following steps executed in the communication apparatus:

a first outputting step of outputting common information that has already been shared or is sharable;

a second outputting step of outputting the update information that is inputted from at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses; and

a synthesizing step of updating the common information by synthesizing the update information with the common information in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses.

22. The information sharing method according to claim 21, the method comprising the following step executed in the communication apparatus:

a judging step of obtaining the adoptability information on whether the update information should be adopted or not and judging whether the update information should be adopted or not based on the obtained adoptability information,

wherein, in the synthesizing step, the common information is synthesized with the update information in the case where it is judged that the update information should be adopted in the judging step.

23. The information sharing method according to claim 21, the method further comprising the following steps executed in the communication apparatus:

a memory step of memorizing the common information;

an inputting step of receiving the update information that is inputted by a user of the communication apparatus itself; and

a receiving step of receiving the update information sent from other communication apparatuses;

wherein, in the first outputting step, the common information that is stored in the memory unit is outputted,

in the second outputting step, the update information is outputted in the case where the update information is received by at least one of the inputting unit and the receiving unit, and

in the synthesizing step, the update information is synthesized with the common information that is stored in the memory unit in the case where the update information is received in at least one of the inputting step and the receiving step.

24. A program for a communication apparatus for not only sharing information by exchanging information mutually among a plurality of communication apparatuses that are connected to each other via a network but also repeatedly updating the information, the program causing a computer to function as units that are included in the communication apparatus:

a first outputting unit operable to output common information that has already been shared or that is sharable;

a second outputting unit operable to output update information that is inputted from at least the communication apparatus itself and one or more communication apparatuses; and

a synthesizing unit operable to update the common information by synthesizing the common information with the update information in the case where the update information is received at least one of the communication apparatus itself and one or more other communication apparatuses.