System for electronic file collaboration among multiple users using peer-to-peer network topology

• US 7,353,252 B1
• Filed: 07/03/2002
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sigma Designs Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Sigma Designs Incorporated
• Inventors: White, Charles, Yang, Albert Chih-Chieh
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUOC H
• Application Number:
  US10/188,364
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-205, 715/753, 715/848
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission

Abstract

A system for electronic file collaboration among multiple users is implemented using command messages transmitted on dedicated network channels established between conference participants in a peer-to-peer architecture with total autonomy from a central server. The system employs owner-in-control methodology to allow direct transmission of copies of documents among participants by permission, and to prevent storage of copies of documents used in a conference by participants. Mark-ups, additions, and other actions occurring on a conference document can only be saved by the document owner. An advanced viewer engine is provided for reading, displaying and manipulating electronic data in texts, tables, vectors and 3D model formats, as well as common raster images. A proxy module allows data transmitted through IPFW routers or firewall devices with sufficient authentications and security measures.

Claims

1. A collaboration application for a computer for direct transmission of electronic files, interactive collaboration and simultaneous multi-file support with other conference participant computers comprising:

a conference engine configured to maintain connections in a decentralized manner using peer-to-peer network channels without requiring a server and to coordinate connections between said computer and other said conference participant computers for concurrent communication with said conference participant computers via transmission of command messages that identify said network channels based on sockets and concurrent collaboration on documents hosted by said conference participant computers, said conference engine comprising a conference module and socket module, said conference module being a thread manager operable to queue events and requests transmitted between said conference participant computers when operating as participants of different conferences on first-come-first served basis, and to manage commands, routing controls, user controls and conference-joining controls generated by said conference participant computers to support simultaneous multi-hosting and multi-conferencing that allows said computer to operate as both a conference participant and a host simultaneously when desired by a user, to host plural conferences simultaneously, and to participate in multiple conferences simultaneously as a non-host participant, said socket module being a multi-threaded TCP/IP socket manager that uses sockets to allow bi-directional communication between two of said conference participant computers that are identifiable via respective IP addresses and that supports socket messages selected from the group consisting of create, destroy, read, write, connect, close, receive, send, accept, binding, password authentication; and

a universal viewer engine for supporting different file types and corresponding file operations during conferences between said computer and other said conference participant computers, said different file types comprising both raster-type files and vector-type files and including common file types and proprietary file types, said viewer engine comprising a platform that is configured to interface with an operating system, a display device and a disk input/output device of said computer, said universal viewer engine comprising a read-write-display or RWD module operable to provide codes for said different file types to allow the opening and display of said documents using another resident application to obviate the need to preconfigure said computer prior to said conference to open said different file types hosted and shared during said conference;

wherein, when said computer operates as a nonowner conference participant computer, said conference engine temporarily stores a file owned by another computer, prevents printing or saving the file, and deletes the file when corresponding conference connections are terminated.

2. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 1, wherein said universal viewer engine comprises a CAD engine to read, write, display, and manipulate three-dimensional objects in one of said documents.

3. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 1, wherein said universal viewer engine comprises a rendering module that supports a file compare function and mark-up tools for marking up at least one of said documents during a conference.

4. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rendering module is operable to overlay markups over said document at said conference participant computers in real-time and dynamically.

5. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rendering module is operable to add markups and notes to said document that are generated via said conference participant computers during a conference and store said markups and said notes in a compound conference file.

6. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 1, wherein said universal viewer engine comprises a vector reader to open and display vector-type files during a conference and provides additional functions related to vector data from said vector-type files selected from the group consisting of turning layers on and off, setting background and foreground colors, comparing, intersecting, and advanced navigation, additional functions related to three-dimensional models selected from the group consisting of sectioning through the model, opacity, transparency, wireframe, ghosting, rotation, saving views, and advanced navigation), and additional functions related to PDF documents selected from the group consisting of navigation and mark up of multi-page PDF documents.

7. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said conference engine is configured to assemble different types of information into a compound file, said information being selected from the group consisting of a PDF file, a word processing document, a spreadsheet file, a graphical image, a digital photograph, a vector-two-dimensional drawing, a geometric-three-dimensional model, a raster image, and a vector image, and transmit said compound file from a first one of said conference participant computers operating as its host to at least one of the other said conference participant computers, said compound file being a source file copy from said host, said host being an owner-in-control of said compound file and the other said conference participant computers being nonowners;

and

when said computer operates as a nonowner conference participant computer, said conference engine temporarily stores a compound file assembled by another computer, prevents printing or saving the compound file, and deletes the compound file when corresponding conference connections are terminated.

8. A collaboration application as claimed in claim 7, wherein said universal viewer engine comprises a raster reader to open and display raster format files during a conference, maintains said different types of information in said compound file as individual elements, said different types of information comprising at least two of raster bitmap, vector drawing, computer aided design (CAD) data, a three-dimensional (3D) model, and a PDF document, and allows said conference participant computers to mark up at least one of the elements and save it in a single file.