Data conferencing system with distributed electronic sheet

• US 6,610,102 B1
• Filed: 07/11/1996
• Issued: 08/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mitchell, Howard David, Aldred, Barry Keith, Lambert, Howard Shelton
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Application Number:
  US08/678,781
• Time in Patent Office: 2,602 Days
• Field of Search: 707/500, 707/503, 707/504, 707/509, 707/538, 707/539, 707/531, 345/329, 345/330, 345/331, 345/751-759, 715/500, 715/323, 715/504, 715/509, 715/538, 715/539, 715/531
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A data conferencing system includes at least two computer workstations linked by a data network. Each computer workstation is able to store and display an electronic sheet, the electronic sheet being logically divided into a set of cells, each cell being able to contain a single character. A user can select a portion of the electronic sheet, a portion comprising at least one cell, and then perform different editing operations on the selected portion of the electronic sheet. Updates resulting from editing the electronic sheet are then distributed to the other computer workstations in the data conferencing system, so that all the workstations in the data conferencing system share the same electronic sheet.

Claims

1. A data conferencing system, including at least two computer workstations linked by a data network, each computer workstation including:

means for storing and displaying an electronic sheet, said electronic sheet being logically divided into a grid of cells, each cell being able to contain no more than a single character;

means to enable a user to select a portion of said electronic sheet, said portion comprising at least one cell;

means, responsive to a user input, for editing said selected portion of said electronic sheet; and

means for distributing updates resulting from editing said electronic sheet to the other computer workstations in the data conferencing system, such that all the workstations in the data conferencing system share the same said electronic sheet.

2. The data conferencing system of claim 1, further comprising means responsive to a user'"'"'s request to display said grid of cells on said electronic sheet.

3. The data conferencing system of claim 1, further comprising means for visually highlighting said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

4. The data conferencing system of claim 2, further comprising means for visually highlighting said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

5. The data conferencing system as in any of preceding claims 1-4 wherein said means for editing includes means for operations performed en bloc upon said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

6. The data conferencing system as in any of claims 1-4, wherein said editing means includes means for operations performed upon the characters contained within said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

7. The data conferencing system of claim 5, further comprising means for performing mathematical operations on said characters within said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

8. The data conferencing system of claim 6, further comprising means for performing mathematical operations on said characters within said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

9. The data conferencing system of any of claims 1-4, further comprising means responsive to a user selection of a portion of said electronic sheet for preventing users at other workstations from selecting said same portion of said electronic sheet.

10. The data conferencing system of claim 5, further comprising means responsive to a user selection of a portion of said electronic sheet for preventing users at other workstations from selecting said same portion of said electronic sheet.

11. The data conferencing system of claim 6, further comprising means responsive to a user selection of a portion of said electronic sheet for preventing users at other workstations from selecting said same portion of said electronic sheet.

12. The data conferencing system of claim 10, further comprising means for performing mathematical operations on said characters within said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

13. The data conferencing system of claim 11, further comprising means for performing mathematical operations on the characters within said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

14. The data conferencing system of any of claims 1-4, wherein the characters within said electronic sheet are stored in ASCII format.

15. A computer workstation including:

means for storing and displaying an electronic sheet, said electronic sheet being logically divided into a set of cells, each said cell being able to contain no more than a single character;

means to enable a user to select a portion of said electronic sheet, said portion comprising at least one said cell; and

means, responsive to a user input, for editing said selected portion of said electronic sheet.

16. A method of operating a data conferencing system, including at least two computer workstations linked by a data network, said method comprising the steps at each workstation of:

storing and displaying an electronic sheet, the electronic sheet being logically divided into a set of cells, each cell being able to contain no more than a single character;

selecting, responsive to user input, a portion of the electronic sheet, a portion comprising at least one cell;

editing, responsive to a user input, the selected portion of the electronic sheet; and

distributing updates resulting from editing the electronic sheet to the other computer workstations in the data conferencing system, such that all the workstations in the data conferencing system share the same electronic sheet.