Method for facilitating collaborative development efforts between widely dispersed users

• US 7,024,456 B1
• Filed: 04/23/1999
• Issued: 04/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Inventors: Simonoff, Adam J.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/296,757
• Time in Patent Office: 2,538 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/328, 709/329, 719/328, 719/329
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A method permitting collaboration between a plurality of users of incompatible hardware and/or operating system, includes steps for selectively generating predetermined objects, text objects, active hyperlink objects, active track objects, and freehand drawing objects, which are displayable at user-selected locations on the White Board screen of one of the users, transmitting all generated ones of the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects for selective distributions to each of the other users, accumulating the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects, and filtering the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects to thereby permit selective transmission of the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects to respective ones the other users.

Claims

1. A method to facilitate a White Board collaboration between a first client, a second client, and a third client, comprising:

selectively generating a first object and a second object for display at locations on a White Board screen of the first client;

transmitting the generated first and second objects for selective distributions to the other clients of the collaboration;

accumulating the first and second objects; and

filtering the first and second objects to provide within the collaboration selective retransmission of the first object for display on a White Board screen of the second and third clients, and of the second object for display on the White Board screen of the third client.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the filtering further comprises providing selective retransmission of the first and second objects to the second and third clients based on a predetermined privilege level of the second and third clients.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the Generating of the first and second object includes generating an associated privilege level and the filtering further comprises selectively transmitting the the first and second objects to respective ones of the other clients having at least a privilege level corresponding to the associated privilege level.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein selectively generating the first and second objects further comprises selectively generating at least one of a predetermined object, a text object, an active hyperlink object, and a freehand drawing object that is displayable on a White Board screen of the clients of the collaboration.

5. A method to facilitate a White Board collaboration between a first client, a second client, and a third client administered by a White Board server, comprising:

selectively generating a first object and a second object on a screen associated with the first client;

transmitting the generated first and second objects to said White Board server;

accumulating the first and second objects at said White Board server; and

filtering the first and second objects by the White Board server to selectively relay within the collaboration the first object to the second and third clients, and the second object to the third client.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the filtering further comprises providing selective relaying of the first object to the second and third clients based on the second and third clients having at least a predetermined privilege level.

7. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the generating of the first and second object includes generating an associated privilege level and the filtering further comprises selectively relaying the the first and second objects to selected ones of the other clients of the collaboration having at least a privilege level corresponding to the associated privilege level.

8. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein selectively generating the first and second objects further comprises selectively generating at least one of a predetermined object, a text object, an active hyperlink object, and a freehand drawing object that is displayable on a White Board screen of the clients of the collaboration.

9. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising shutting down at least one of the clients of the collaboration in response to a received command signal.

10. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein selectively generating the first object includes generating an active hyperlink and the method further comprises operating the active hyperlink on the first client to cause selected other ones of the clients of the collaboration to display a file specified by a universal resource locator (URL) associated with the active hyperlink.

11. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising storing data representative of said White Board collaboration as a web page.

12. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising reconstructing said White Board collaboration from the accumulated first and second objects.

13. A white board server to facilitate a collaboration between a first White Board client, a second White Board client, and a third White Board, comprising:

an input to receive selectively generated objects, including a first object and a second object for a screen associated with the first whiteboard client;

a storage to accumulate the objects at said White Board server;

a processor to filter the first and second objects to selectively relay the first object to the second and third White Board clients and the second object to the third white board client.

14. The sever of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to selectively relay the the first and second objects to the second and third White Board clients based on the second and third White Board clients having at least a predetermined privilege level.

15. The sever of claim 13, wherein each of the first and second objects has an associated privilege level and the processor selectively relays the first and second objects to selected ones of the other said White Board clients of the collaboration having at least a privilege level corresponding to the associated privilege level.

16. The sever of claim 13, wherein the first and second objects include at least one of a predetermined object, a text object, an active hyperlink object, an active track object, and a freehand drawing object.

17. The sever of claim 13, wherein the processor is configure to shut down at least one of the White Board clients of the collaboration in response to a received command signal.

18. The sever of claim 13, wherein the first object includes an active hyperlink and the processor is configured in response to operating of the active hyperlink on the first White Board client to cause selected other ones of said White Board clients of the collaboration to display a file specified by a universal resource locator (URL) associated with the active hyperlink.

19. The sever of claim 13, wherein the storage stores data representative of said White Board collaboration as a web page.

20. The sever of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to reconstruct said White Board collaboration from the first and second accumulated objects.

21. The sever of claim 13, wherein the first object comprises an object sequence, and wherein each member of said object sequence is different than all other members of said object sequence.