Method and apparatus for facilitating meetings, conferences and forums involving face-to-face discussion between participants

• US 7,111,244 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2001
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daniel Norris
• Original Assignee: Daniel Norris
• Inventors: Norris, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Sy D.
• Application Number:
  US09/924,468
• Publication Number:
  US 20020097688A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 715/751, 715/753, 715/755, 715/758, 709/204
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and apparatus for facilitating meetings, conferences and forums involving face-to-face discussion or conversation between participants. The invention may also be used as a form of entertainment or to enhance Internet cafes and leisure facilities. Other embodiments of the invention may be used to facilitate networking sessions, training sessions, educational programs and public consultations. In the method of the invention the communication system is used to structure and coordinate live face-to-face communication between users in person. The invention enables participants to immediately identify subjects that are of special interest and importance to each of them. Groups of participants are then able to concurrently discuss a very large number of subjects using the highly interactive protocols of natural face-to-face conversation. The invention also provides means to alter the trajectory of discussion between users, particularly in the light of previous discussions. Further refinements increase the invention'"'"'s functionality and improve its user interface.

Claims

1. A method of communication to facilitate forums for discussion, said method comprising:

providing an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another, providing each location with indicia associated with a subject for discussion, displaying discussion topics by said indicia at said spaced apart locations, enabling users to gather together at said spaced apart locations to form groups to pursue the discussion indicated by said indicia, displaying a new discussion topic by at least one of said indicia at said spaced apart locations to set up a new discussion group, providing a remote control to remotely alter said indicia at at least one of said spaced apart locations to display new discussion topics to set up a new discussion group at said location, and controlling said indica at at least one of said spaced apart locations remotely by said remote control whereby users may participate in person in structured and dynamic networked discussion.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said remote control can alter the indicia at a plurality of said spaced apart locations.

3. The method of claim 1 further providing a local control at at least one of said spaced apart locations to locally alter the indicia at the location associated with said local control to indicia associated with a further subject for discussion.

4. The method of claim 3 further providing means for reporting to said remote control data associated with the indicia displayed at the location associated with said local control.

5. The method of claim 1 further providing at least one location with seating.

6. The method of claim 1 further providing at least one location with a table at which users may sit or stand.

7. The method of claim 6 further providing means to illuminate the table top in a color associated in a look up table with the subject to be discussed.

8. The method of claim 6 further providing means to illuminate the table top in a color associated with the subject to be discussed and further providing indicia that may be altered to associate discussion subjects with the colors used to illuminate tables.

9. The method of claim 1 further providing a display for displaying a plurality of the subjects currently for discussion.

10. The method of claim 9 further providing means for said display to be altered by said remote control that alters the indicia at the spaced apart locations.

11. The method of claim 9 further providing means for altering the display from at least one of the spaced apart locations.

12. The method of claim 1 further providing indicia that are local to a plurality of locations and means for altering the indicia to enable users to identify a subject that is common to those locations.

13. The method of claim 12 further providing a display unit to display subjects that are common to a plurality of locations together with the subjects that are associated with each of those locations.

14. The method of claim 1 providing locations with indicia that comprise color whereby indicia associated with similar subjects may display these subjects in the same color.

15. The method of claim 1 to facilitate any one selected from the group consisting of:

meetings, conferences, forums, networking sessions, training sessions, educational programs, entertainment, public consultations, qualitative research by market researchers, the gauging of public opinion and news gathering.

16. A method of communication to facilitate forums for discussion, said method comprising:

providing an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another, providing each location with indicia associated with a subject for discussion, displaying discussion topics by said indicia at said spaced apart locations, enabling users to gather together at said spaced apart locations to form groups to pursue the discussion indicated by said indicia at said spaced apart locations, displaying a new discussion topic by at least one of said indicia at said spaced apart locations to set up a new discussion group, providing a local electronic control at each of said spaced apart locations to locally alter the indicia at the location associated with said local control to display a new discussion topic to set up a new discussion group at said location, and controlling said indicia at least one of said spaced apart locations locally by said local electronic control whereby users may participate in person in structured and dynamic networked discussion.

17. The method of claim 16 further providing a display for displaying a plurality of the subjects currently for discussion.

18. A communications system, said system comprising;

an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another, each location being provided with indicia associated with a subject for discussion, and a remote control for remotely altering said indicia at at least a location to indicia associated with a further subject, wherein said indicia are used to display discussion topics and said indicia may be amended to display new discussion topics, wherein said communications system includes the following communication protocols;

(1) said indicia are used to indicate the type of discussion or conversation that members of a discussion group wish to pursue (2) information displayed by said indicia can be altered, replaced or otherwise amended, and (3) a new discussion group is set up by displaying a new discussion topic.

19. A method to facilitate forums for discussion, said method comprising:

providing an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another in person,

providing each of a plurality of locations with a sign for displaying indicia associated with a subject for discussion,

enabling users to gather together at locations to form groups to pursue the discussion indicated by the sign at those locations,

displaying a discussion topic by the sign at at least one location to set up a discussion group at that location,

providing a remote control for operating at least one sign so as to enable that sign to display a subject for discussion wherein said remote control can alter the indicia displayed by that sign,

enabling said remote control to remotely control the sign at at least one of said spaced apart locations,

displaying subjects for discussion at a plurality of locations, whereby users may participate in person in structured and dynamic discussion.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said remote control can operate the signs at a plurality of said spaced apart locations.

21. The method of claim 19 further providing a local control at at least one of said spaced apart locations for locally controlling the sign at the location associated with said local control.

22. The method of claim 19 further providing at least one location with a table.

23. The method of claim 22 further providing means to illuminate the table top in a color associated with the subject to be discussed.

24. The method of claim 19 further providing a display for displaying a plurality of the subjects currently for discussion.

25. The method of claim 19 providing said sign at all of said spaced apart locations wherein said remote control can operate all of the signs.

26. The method of claim 19 further providing indicia that display a subject that is common to a plurality of locations.

27. The method of claim 19 providing locations with indicia that comprise color whereby indicia associated with similar subjects may display those subjects in the same color.

28. The method of claim 19 to facilitate any one selected from the group consisting of:

meetings, conferences, forums, networking sessions, training sessions, educational programs, entertainment, public consultations, qualitative research by market researchers, the gauging of public opinion and news gathering.

29. A method to facilitate forums for discussion, said method comprising:

providing an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another in person,

providing each of a plurality of locations with a sign for displaying indicia associated with a subject for discussion,

enabling users to gather together at locations to form groups to pursue the discussion indicated by the sign at those locations,

displaying a discussion topic by the sign at at least one location to set up a discussion group at that location,

providing a local control at a plurality of the locations that have a sign wherein said local control can operate the sign at the location associated with said local control so as to enable that sign to display a subject for discussion and said local control can alter the indicia displayed by the sign at the location associated with said local control,

enabling said local control to locally control the sign at the location associated with said local control,

displaying subjects for discussion at a plurality of locations, whereby users may participate in person in structured and dynamic discussion.

30. The method of claim 29 further providing a display for displaying a plurality of the subjects currently for discussion.

31. The method of claim 29 providing said sign and said local control at all of said spaced apart locations.

32. The method of claim 29 further providing indicia that display a subject that is common to a plurality of locations.

33. The method of claim 29 further providing at least one location with a table and further providing means to illuminate the table top in a color associated with the subject to be discussed.

34. A communications system, said communications system comprising:

an array of spaced apart locations at each of which a plurality of users may enter into discussion with one another in person,

signs for displaying subjects for discussion wherein each sign is associated with a location whereby said signs are able to display subjects for discussion at the location associated with each sign,

control means for operating said signs so as to enable said signs to display subjects for discussion wherein said control means can amend the information displayed by said signs so as to enable said signs to display new subjects for discussion, wherein said communications system includes the following communication protocols;

(1) said signs indicate the type of discussion that members of a discussion group wish to pursue,

(2) information displayed by said signs can be altered, replaced or amended, and

(3) a new discussion group is set up at a location by displaying a new discussion topic by the sign associated with that location.

35. The communications system of claim 34, said communications system further including a display for displaying a plurality of the subjects currently for discussion.

36. The communications system of claim 34 further including indicia that display a subject that is common to a plurality of locations.

37. The communications system of claim 34, said communications system further including a table at at least one location and means to illuminate the table top in a color associated with the subject to be discussed.