Conference system and its participation method

• US 7,191,214 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2003
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Mitsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hu; Jinsong
• Application Number:
  US10/353,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20030145052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,505 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/203, 345/751
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]

Abstract

A conference apparatus has a memory to store information relating to devices and their owners, and determines a device owned by each participant based on the information stored in the memory. The conference apparatus notifies an interface apparatus the devices owned by each participant and the devices upon which the conference apparatus determines whether to allow participants to participate in a conference; the interface apparatus sends a permission to participate in the conference to a device owned by each participant and transfers to the conference apparatus a conference participation request received from each device upon which the conference apparatus determines whether to allow the corresponding participant to participate in the conference.

Claims

1. A conference apparatus comprising:

a memory unit that stores information relating to at least one device and an owner of the at least one device;

a designating unit that designates at least one participant in a conference;

a receiving unit that receives a participation request for participating in the conference from a requesting device;

a judging unit that judges whether the requesting device is owned by the at least one participant designated by said designating unit based on the information stored in said memory unit; and

wherein said memory unit further stores information relating to at least one device that is not correlated to an owner, and said judging unit determines whether or not the requesting device is the at least one device that is not correlated to the owner but permitted to participate in the conference.

2. A conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory unit further stores a file corresponding to the conference, and said judging unit allows access to the file when the requesting device is owned by the at least one participant in the conference.

3. A conference apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory unit and said judging unit are implemented in a host computer, and said designating unit is implemented in a communication device owned by the at least one participant, wherein the host computer and the communication device are connected via a communication network.

4. A method for participating in a conference via a communication network, the method comprising the steps of:

storing information relating to at least one device and an owner of the at least one device in a memory unit;

designating at least one participant in a conference;

receiving a participation request for participating in the conference from a requesting device;

judging whether the requesting device is owned by the at least one participant designated in said designating step based on the information stored in the said storing step; and

storing information relating to at least one device that is not correlated to an owner, and determining whether or not the requesting device is the at least one device that is not correlated to the owner is but permitted to participate in the conference.

5. A method for participating in a conference via a communication network according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of storing a file corresponding to the conference, and permitting an access to the file when the requesting device is owned by the at least one participant in the conference.