Chat tool for concurrently chatting over more than one interrelated chat channels

• US 7,945,620 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2006
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: BOU-GHANNAM, AKRAM A., Davis, Brent L., Jaiswal, Peeyush, Wang, Fang
• Primary Examiner(s): Ismail, Shawki S
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUQ, FARZANA B
• Application Number:
  US11/423,772
• Publication Number:
  US 20070288560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,799 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/207, 709/206, 715/751, 715/838
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services

Abstract

The present invention discloses a chat tool including a chat window configured to permit a user to simultaneously receive chat messages for two or more different chat sessions, thereby permitting side discussions within a secondary chat session. Each of the different chat sessions can correspond to a session specific chat channel. Different chat sessions can include private and public sessions. The participants of a private chat session can be participants of the public chat session and/or can be able to view discussions occurring in the public chat session. Further, members of the public chat session can be unaware of the existence of the private chat session. Any number of private chat sessions can be spawned from a public chat session using an invitation option, which automatically establishes new private sessions for invited individuals.

Claims

1. A chat interface implemented within software that is stored within a computer readable medium comprising:

a chat window containing a plurality of different chat sections, each of the plurality of different chat sections displaying a different chat session and being simultaneously viewable within the chat window, each of the different chat sessions corresponding to a session specific chat channel, wherein at least one of the plurality of chat sections displays a public chat session and at least one of the plurality of chat sections displays a private chat session corresponding to the public chat session;

a single message transmission section disposed independently within the chat window in which to enter a message; and

a chat channel selection section disposed independently within the chat window which selects one of the different chat sessions;

wherein a message entered in the message transmission section is automatically sent to the chat session selected in the chat channel selection section and displayed in the chat section corresponding to the chat session selected in the chat channel selection section.

2. The interface of claim 1, further comprising:

an invitation option configured to invite a participant of the public chat session that is not participating in the private chat session to join the private chat session.

3. The interface of claim 1, wherein each participant of the private chat session is also a participant of the public chat session, and wherein at least one participant of the public chat session is not a participant of the private chat session.

4. The interface of claim 1, wherein at least one of the participants of the private chat session is not a participant of the public chat session even though that participant is able to dynamically view chat messages of the public chat session.

5. The interface of claim 1, wherein the chat sessions are visually distinguished by at least one of different font colors, different background colors, different fonts, or different font sizes used for the chat sessions.

6. The interface of claim 1, wherein a different session visual indicator is associated with user messages for the different chat sessions, wherein messages entered into the chat window shown in accordance with the session visual indicator associated with a chat session to which the entered messages are directed, whereby a user of the interface is able to tell which chat session user messages to be transmitted are directed towards by the visual indicator.

7. The interface of claim 1, wherein the chat interface handles both peer-to-peer chat sessions and server managed chat sessions.

8. A method of engaging in electronic chat communications comprising:

within a software interface presenting a chat window having a plurality of distinct chat sections, each chat section corresponding to a different chat session, each chat session corresponding to a chat channel, wherein at least two of the distinct sections are simultaneously viewable, at least one chat section displaying a public chat session and at least one other chat section showing a private chat session corresponding to the public chat session, the chat window further presenting a single message transmission section disposed independently within the chat window in which to enter a message, and a chat channel selection section disposed independently within the chat window which selects one of the different chat sessions;

receiving a selection at the chat channel selection section selecting one of the different chat sessions; and

automatically conveying messages from the message transmission section to the selected one of the different chat sessions and displayed the conveyed messages in the chat section corresponding to the chat session selected in the chat channel selection section.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying an invitation request input into the interface, wherein the invitation request is associated with a user designated participant of the public chat session who is not currently participating within the private chat session;

responsively inviting the designated participant to join the private chat session;

determining a response to the inventing step; and

when the response is positive, including the designated participant in the private chat session.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

inviting a private participant not currently participating in the public chat session to join the private chat session;

responsive to the inviting step, including the private participant in the private chat session;

permitting the private chat participant to send and receive messages related to the private chat session; and

permitting the private chat participant to dynamically and automatically view messages of the public chat session without joining the public chat session.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a hot key input to select one of the different chat sessions.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

within the interface, depicting the message to be transmitted with a visual indicator unique to the determined chat session.

13. A system for electronic chat communications comprising:

a chat window;

a first chat section disposed independently in the chat window for displaying a public chat channel for a public chat session having at least three chat participants; and

a second chat section disposed independently in the chat window for displaying a private chat channel for a private chat session having at least two chat participants, wherein at least one of the chat participants of the private chat session is also a participant of the public chat session, and wherein the first and second chat sections are simultaneously viewable and each chat participant of the private chat channel is able to simultaneously view messages of the private chat session and the public chat session in their respective chat sections;

a single message transmission section disposed independently within the chat window in which to enter a message; and

a chat channel selection section disposed independently within the chat window which selects one of either the public chat session or the private chat session;

wherein a message entered in the message transmission section is automatically sent to the chat session selected in the chat channel selection section and displayed in the chat section corresponding to the chat session selected in the chat channel selection section.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the private chat session is initiated by one of the participants of the public chat channel using an option of a chat interface.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least two participants of the private chat session are simultaneously participating in the public chat session, and wherein at least one of the participants of the public chat session is not a participant of the private chat session.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the public and private chat sessions are visually distinguished by at least one of different font colors, different background colors, different fonts, or different font sizes used for the public and private chat session.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a chat server which maintains the public chat channel and the private chat channel, wherein the chat server establishes the private chat channel responsive to a request from one of the participants of the public chat channel.