Communication system and communication method

• US 6,240,443 B1
• Filed: 12/03/1998
• Issued: 05/29/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Software Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Software Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Gen, Yamagata, Takashi, Tanigawa, Hiroya, Ohkuvo, Yoshinori, Nakase, Atsuhito
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/204,798
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/206, 709/225, 709/228, 709/232, 709/224, 709/227, 704/2
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention discloses a communication system in a network system having a plurality of user terminals connected to a communication network and a plurality of network resources accessed by the user terminals, the communication system having a communication part which makes the user terminals accessing the same network resource exchange and share communication information. The communication part has a communication server and a communication controlling part, provided in each user terminal, for obtaining information of the user terminals accessing the same network resource and for exchanging the communication information with the user terminals through the communication server. The communication server groups the user terminals accessing the same network resource as one group on the basis of resource locators notified of by the user terminals, and distributes information of the user terminals of the one group to the user terminals of the one group.

Claims

1. A communication server in a communication network including a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of network resources accessed by said user terminals, said user terminals each comprising:

means for obtaining a resource locator which indicates a location of a network resource and for notifying said communication server of said resource locator; and

means for notifying said communication server of a switched resource locator when said user terminal switches its access destination;

said communication server comprising;

a resource locator correspondence table which includes resource locators and user lists, each resource locator being associated with a user list which includes user terminals which access said each resource locator;

means for distributing user terminal information in said user list to user terminals included in said user list;

information exchanging means for receiving communication information from a first user terminal and sending said communication information to user terminals in said user list which includes said first user terminal, said communication information being used for communication among users of said user terminals;

means for receiving said switched resource locator and updating said resource locator correspondence table on the basis of said switched resource locator;

means for distributing user terminal information in the updated user list to user terminals in said updated user list; and

wherein user terminals in a specific user list displays the same network resource image of a resource locator which corresponds to said specific user list while said user terminals in said specific user list exchange said communication information.

2. The communication server as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

means for receiving a new resource locator and an old resource locator from a user terminal when said user terminal switches its access destination from said old resource locator to said new resource locator;

means for deleting said information of said user terminal from a second user list in said resource locator correspondence table, said second user list corresponding to said old resource locator;

means for distributing said first user list and said second user list to user terminals.

3. The communication server as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

means for generating a part including said new resource locator and said first user list when said first user list does not exist in said resource locator correspondence table.

4. The communication server as claimed in claim 1, further comprising network resource following means for, if a specific user terminal among said user terminals in said user list switches its access destination from a resource locator to another resource locator, distributing said another resource locator to said user terminals in said user list.

5. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer-readable code means embodied therein for causing a communication server, in a communication network including a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of network resources accessed by said user terminals, to perform processing, said user terminal comprising:

means for obtaining a resource locator which indicates a location of a network resource and for notifying said communication server of said resource locator; and

means for notifying said communication server of a switched resource locator when said user terminal switches its access destination, said computer readable code means comprising;

computer-readable program code means for storing a resource locator correspondence table which includes resource being associated with a user list which includes user terminals which access said each resource locator;

computer-readable program code means for distributing user terminal information in said user list to user terminals included in said user list;

information exchanging computer-readable program code means for receiving communication information from a first user terminal and sending said communication information to user terminals in said user list which includes said first user terminal, said communication information being used for communication among users of said user terminals;

computer-readable program code means for receiving said switched resource locator and updating said resource locator correspondence table on the basis of said switched resource locator;

computer-readable program code means for distributing user terminal information in an updated user list to user terminals in said updated user list; and

wherein user terminals in a specific user list displays the same network resource image of a resource locator which corresponds to said specific user list while said user terminals in said specific user list exchange said communication information.

6. The article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for receiving a new resource locator and an old resource locator from a user terminal when said user terminal switches its access destination from said old resource locator to said new resource locator;

computer-readable program code means for adding information of said user terminal to a first user list in said resource locator correspondence table, said first user list corresponding to said new resource locator;

computer-readable program code means for deleting said information of said user terminal from a second user list of said resource locator correspondence table, said second user list corresponding to said old resource locator;

computer-readable program code means for distributing and first user list and said second user list to user terminals.

7. The article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for generating a part including said new resource locator and said first user list when said first user list does not exist in said resource locator correspondence table.

8. The article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium as claimed in claim 5, further comprising network resource following computer-readable program code means for, if a specific user terminal among said user terminals in said user list switches its access destination from a resource locator to another resource locator, distributing said another resource locator to said user terminals in said user list.