Human interface system for communicating networked users

• US 5,664,126 A
• Filed: 09/12/1996
• Issued: 09/02/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Etsuo, Hirakawa, Hideki, Sumita, Kazuo, Okamoto, Toshio, Tsujimoto, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US08/713,959
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 395/331, 395/330, 395/329, 395/332, 395/357, 395/356, 395/349, 395/351, 395/335, 395/968, 395/200.04, 395/200.03, 395/200.06, 395/200.09, 395/610, 395/609 , 395/614, 395/615
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A human interface system constructed by connecting systems containing a plurality of computers via a network includes site building means for building a plurality of sites that either retain or manage a plurality pieces of data and a plurality of programs, and access managing means for managing users'"'"' access to each site. The access managing means has a communication channel between the users established by accessing the sites via the data and programs.

Claims

1. In a human interface system constructed by connecting a plurality of computers via a network, at least one of said plurality of computers comprising:

a plurality of virtual sites, each virtual site including at least one object including people and instruments, each virtual site performing at least one of retaining and managing a plurality of pieces of data and a plurality of programs corresponding to characteristics of each object of said at least one object of said plurality of virtual sites;

access managing means for managing access rights of plural users to control access to each of the plurality of virtual sites, said access managing means including first and second communication channels, wherein said first communication channel is a communication channel between two of said plural users, and wherein said second communication channel is a communication channel between one of said plural users and said at least one object of one of said plurality of virtual sites, each of said first and second communication channels established by accessing said plurality of virtual sites via said plurality of pieces of data and said plurality of programs; and

connecting means for connecting said at least two communication channels to each other,

wherein said at least one of said plurality of computers includes a link information of sites existing on at least another one of said plurality of computers and is capable of establishing communication channels between each of said plurality of virtual sites of said at least one of said plurality of computers and said at least another one of said plurality of computers.

2. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of virtual sites comprises:

processing means comprising;

a model section for defining an internal state and operation of said each of said plurality of virtual sites;

a view section in which display information is stored; and

a control section in which processing of an input from one of said plurality of users is written.

3. A human interface system according to claim 2, further comprising display means for displaying a state of an agent.

4. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein each virtual site of said plurality of virtual sites contains an identifier that distinguishes said each virtual site from each other virtual site of said plurality of virtual sites.

5. A human interface system according to claim 4, further comprising retrieving means for retrieving said identifier for each of said plurality of virtual sites.

6. A human interface system according to claim 5, wherein said retrieving means comprises means for retrieving said identifier for a current site accessed by one of said plurality of users from said plurality of virtual sites.

7. A human interface system according to claim 5, wherein said retrieving means comprises means for retrieving said identifier of one of said plurality of sites under an instruction of one of said plurality of users.

8. A human interface system according to claim 5, wherein said retrieving means contains means for retrieving said identifier from said one of said plurality of virtual sites by using at least one of a telephone number and an address.

9. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein said access managing means contains:

request analyzing means for recognizing the data entered by the user and analyzing its request; and

response output means for creating a response to the analysis result of said request analyzing means and outputting the response; and

is constructed as a site processing means for enabling a dialogue with said user.

10. A human interface system according to claim 9, wherein said access managing means further contains a knowledge retrieving means for storing knowledge information that said user has and retrieving said knowledge information on the basis of the analysis result at said request analyzing means.

11. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein said access managing means comprises:

message creating means for creating a message by an addresser;

degree of urgency judging means for judging a degree of urgency concerning a message;

transmitting means for attaching said degree of urgency to said message and transmitting said message to a desired addressee;

state judging means for judging the state of said addressee;

degree of urgency arbitrating means for obtaining a degree of importance of said message based on the degree of urgency transmitted by said transmitting means and the state obtained by said state judging means;

media converting means for determining a method of processing said message based on the degree of importance obtained by said degree of urgency arbitrating means; and

presenting means for presenting said message according to the method of processing said message determined by said media converting means.

12. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein said access managing means includes:

information broadcasting means for collecting various types of information from said user at each of said sites, processing them, and distributing the results to said user at each of said sites;

information selecting means for selecting information distributed by said information broadcasting means;

presentation mode determining means for determining a presentation mode of the information selected at said information selecting means; and

information presenting means for presenting said information according to the presentation mode determined by said presentation mode determining means.

13. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein said access managing means includes:

input means for inputting a retrieving instruction to retrieve a desired program;

program retrieving means for retrieving a program directly usable from said computer in response to the retrieving instruction inputted from said input means;

message synthesizing means for converting said retrieving instruction into a transmission message expression to said network when program retrieving at said program retrieving means has failed;

network transmission/reception means for transmitting a transmission message created at said message synthesizing means to the network and receiving a reception message corresponding to said transmission message; and

message analyzing means for relating said reception message from said network transmission/reception means, said transmission message, and said retrieving instruction with each other.

14. A human interface system according to claim 1, wherein said access managing means comprises:

means for determining a theoretical distance between individual users of said plurality of users when said plurality of users attend an electronic conference;

selecting means for selecting either global communication aiming at communication between all of said users attending the electronic conference or local communication aiming at communication between only part of said users attending the electronic conference; and

means for determining the feasibility of local communication on the basis of the theoretical distance between the users available for local communication when local communication is selected at said selecting means.