Method and system for establishing and maintaining concurrent, coordinated communications on separately managed networks
First Claim
1. A method for establishing a plurality of data sharing connections in a data communication service among a plurality of users who are concurrently communicating on a first communication service, each user respectively associated with one member of a plurality of user accounts, said data communication service distinct from the first communication service, and the method comprising the steps of:
- a) associating a session record with at least two user accounts, each user account identifying one member of the plurality of users communicating with one another on said first communication service, the user account selected from the group consisting of permanent and temporary user accounts, b) identifying said session record for at least one data sharing connection between a software process acting on behalf of a terminal device on said data communication service and a session manager, the association based upon an account identifier provided through said software process and corresponding to at least one user of the terminal, thereby establishing the data sharing connection for the at least one software process, c) associating the session record with information to be conveyed across said data communication service to the at least one terminal device, d) sending the information over the at least one data sharing connection, each connection associated with said session record. whereby a plurality of users will receive the information sent by at least one user over the data communication service while they remain connected to each other on the first communication service.
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Abstract
An improved method for sharing multimedia information across a data communication network based on a concurrent connection among users communicating with one another on a first communication network such as a telephone network, the data communication network distinct from the first communication network. Attributes of the first communication network (e.g., phone call or conference call) are used to establish a means of transmitting information over the data communication network (e.g., a cable network) to the same users who are communicating with one another over the first communication link. When the first communication link is established, a session identifier is created and associated with the user accounts of two or more participants. The user account data are used to specify which users of a second communication link are granted permission to join the specified data communication session. When a user of the first communication network accesses the data communication network, the user is notified and can join the specified session.
87 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for establishing a plurality of data sharing connections in a data communication service among a plurality of users who are concurrently communicating on a first communication service, each user respectively associated with one member of a plurality of user accounts, said data communication service distinct from the first communication service, and the method comprising the steps of:
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a) associating a session record with at least two user accounts, each user account identifying one member of the plurality of users communicating with one another on said first communication service, the user account selected from the group consisting of permanent and temporary user accounts, b) identifying said session record for at least one data sharing connection between a software process acting on behalf of a terminal device on said data communication service and a session manager, the association based upon an account identifier provided through said software process and corresponding to at least one user of the terminal, thereby establishing the data sharing connection for the at least one software process, c) associating the session record with information to be conveyed across said data communication service to the at least one terminal device, d) sending the information over the at least one data sharing connection, each connection associated with said session record. whereby a plurality of users will receive the information sent by at least one user over the data communication service while they remain connected to each other on the first communication service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An system for sharing information on a data communication network based on a concurrent connection among a plurality of users communicating with one another on a first communication network, the data communication network distinct from the first communication network, comprising:
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a) a plurality of terminal devices for retrieving multimedia information from a plurality of information sources on said data communication network, b) account management means for determining a user account for each of at least two members of said plurality of users who are communicating with one another on the first communication network, the user account selected from a group consisting of permanent and temporary user accounts, c) first means for associating a session identifier with the at least two user accounts, each user account identified by a user account identifier, d) terminal software means for establishing a connection on a data communication network between at least one terminal device and a session manager, said connection providing an account identifier, thereby establishing session access for the at least one terminal device, e) second means for selecting information to be transmitted on the data communication network, and f) session manager means for routing the selected information over the data sharing connections to the terminal devices associated with the same session identifier, whereby information can be shared among said plurality users of a data communication network, while the users communicate on the first communication network. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for sharing information on a data network, the method comprising the steps of:
providing information across a data connection to a plurality of recipients, in response to said recipient also participating in a voice connection, wherein each of the recipient is identified by a user account activated when establishing said voice connection and independently identified when establishing said data connection, the data connection distinct from the voice connection.
Specification