Collaboration software with real-time synchronization

• US 8,230,348 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roger Peters
• Original Assignee: Roger Peters
• Inventors: Peters, Roger, Himango, Judah, Backer, Jerry, Clennon, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): TAN, ALVIN H
• Application Number:
  US12/111,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• Field of Search: 715/738
• US Class Current: 715/738
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• 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 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A collaboration program operates on a computer system for storing, sharing and synchronizing data between different users. Centrally stored content data items are organized by associations into one or more folders, with the folders arranged by associations in a multi-level hierarchical structure. Users have access to all folders and content data items falling within at least one top level folder or “file cabinet” viewable by that user. When a user makes a change/addition to the hierarchical structure, that change/addition is transmitted to a server, which makes the change/addition to the necessary associations and sends messages through a TCP/IP format advising other signed-on users of the change/addition. With each content data item having the capability of being associated into multiple folders and each folder having the capability of being associated into multiple other folders or file cabinets, the computer system operating the collaboration program gives different users simultaneous, synchronized access to the folders and content data items in the hierarchical structure.

Claims

1. A computer system for storage, sharing and synchronization of data between a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of content data items electronically stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium in a central memory;

a plurality of electronic folders stored in the central memory, each folder being configured to contain content data items and/or contain child folders in a multi-level hierarchical structure;

associations stored in the central memory, the associations placing each of the plurality of content data items into at least one folder, wherein each content data item of the content data items may be associated directly into each of the plurality of folders;

a server logically programmed for accessing the central memory and providing selected access to the plurality of folders and the content data items associated in the plurality of folders; and

a viewer on each of a plurality of peripheral computers, each viewer providing user identification information identifying a user to the server;

wherein the server, using the user identification information, provides viewer access to folders and to content data items in the multi-level hierarchical structure falling within at least one top level folder with access granted to that user, wherein multiple users can have simultaneous, synchronized access to a same folder, and such that new associations for existing folders or existing content data items can newly grant access to existing content data items for additional users;

wherein any user with access to a content data item can change a content of that content data item;

wherein any user can change parts of the multi-level hierarchical structure to which that user has access;

wherein changes made by an initiating user to a content data item or to a part of the multi-level hierarchical structure are transmitted as a primary change message from a viewer of the initiating user to the server;

wherein the server acts automatically on the primary change message by changing the content data item the initiating user made changes to, the associations, and/or the multi-level hierarchical structure in accordance with the primary change message;

wherein the server sends a change advice message to all users logged on to the system and with access to the changed content data item or the changed part of the multi-level hierarchical structure, the change advice message notifying the users logged on to the system that the change has been made; and

wherein each primary change message and each change advice message identifies which content data item or part of the multi-level hierarchical structure has been changed and what the specific change was without containing the entire data for the changed content data item or the entire multi-level hierarchical structure.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein primary change messages are transmitted from each viewer to the server through TCP/IP formatted messages.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein change advice messages are transmitted from the server to viewers of other users through TCP/IP formatted messages.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein an association identifying at least one folder to which a content data item belongs exists in an items/folder association table, and wherein a value of content data associated with items in the items/folder association table exists in a separate datastructure.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a user on each viewer can author new items of content data thereby creating new content data items, wherein the new content data items are transmitted from each viewer to the server.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the server transmits new content data items to non-authoring users via TCP/IP formatted messages.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with a content data item is a text item.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with a content data item is an e-mail message.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with a content data item is a URL.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with a content data item is a file or file address.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with a content data item is a contact item.

12. The computer system of claim 1, wherein content data associated with different content data items comprises:

an e-mail message for at least one content data item;

a URL for at least one content data item; and

a file or file address for at least one content data item;

and further comprising a field identifying a type of content data information associated with each content data item.

13. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic folders comprise default folders based on content data item type, wherein a first association is automatically made for each of the plurality of content data items into a default folder, and wherein a viewer can create an additional association for a content data item through a mouse command.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the mouse command is by default a single left click-drag-drop.

15. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each folder may be associated into a plurality of other folders but cannot be associated into itself.

16. A computer system for storage, sharing and synchronization of data between a plurality of users, comprising:

a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable storage medium storing, in a database, an association table of records, each record including a field identifying at least one folder of a plurality of folders to which a content data item associated with that record belongs, wherein each record may belong to the plurality of folders, with all the folders arranged in a multi-level hierarchical structure;

a server providing access to selected records of the database; and

a viewer on each of a plurality of computers, each viewer containing user identification information identifying a user to the server;

wherein the server, using the user identification information, provides viewer access to the folders and to content data items in the multi-level hierarchical structure falling within at least one to level folder with access granted to the user identified by the identification information, wherein multiple users can have simultaneous synchronized access to a same folder, and such that new associations for existing folders or existing content data items can newly grant access to existing content data items for additional users;

wherein the server, using the user identification information, permits any user with access to a content data item to change a content of that content data item and permits any user with access to a part of the multi-level hierarchical structure to make changes to that part of the multi-level hierarchical structure in the stored database;

wherein changes made by an initiating user to a content data item or to a part of the multi-level hierarchical structure are transmitted as a primary change message from a viewer of the initiating user to the server;

wherein the server acts automatically on the primary change message by changing the content data item the initiating user made changes to and/or the association table in accordance with the primary change message;

wherein the server transmits the changes made as a change advice message to other viewers logged on to the system and with access to the changed content data item or the changed part of the multi-level hierarchical structure through a TCP/IP message notifying the other viewers the change having been made; and

wherein each primary change message and each change advice message identifies which content data item or part of the multi-level hierarchical structure has been changed and what the specific change was without containing the entire data for the changed content data item or the entire multi-level hierarchical structure.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein primary change messages are transmitted from each viewer to the server through TCP/IP formatted messages.

18. A client-side application having computer instructions recorded on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium providing a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface comprising at least one window wherein folders and content data items are listed in a hierarchical format;

wherein each content date item of the content data items may be associated directly into each of the folders;

wherein multiple users may have simultaneous, synchronized access to a same folder;

wherein a new association for any listed folder or content data item can be made by selecting the listed folder or content data item with a mouse command, the new association additionally placing the selected folder or content data item within the client-side application at a different location in the hierarchical format, such that new associations for existing folders or existing content data items can newly grant access to existing content data items for additional users;

wherein any user with access to a content data item can change a content of that content data item and wherein any user can change parts of the hierarchical format to which that user has access;

wherein the client-side application records any new associations and any changes as a primary change message transmitted from the client-side application to a server through a TCP/IP format;

wherein the client-side application can receive change advice messages from the server identifying which content data item or part of the hierarchical format has been changed by a different user and what the specific change was only when the user is logged on to the server and only when the user has access to the changed content data item or the changed part of the hierarchical format;

wherein, upon receipt of the change advice message regarding any content data item or part of the hierarchical format to which that client-side application has access, the client-side application immediately and automatically displays the change to the content data item or part of the hierarchical format being displayed by the graphical user interface; and

wherein each primary change message and each change advice message identifies which content data item or part of the hierarchical format has been changed and what the specific change was without containing the entire data for the changed content data item or the entire hierarchical format.

19. The client-side application of claim 18, wherein the client-side application can receive change advice messages transmitted by the server through a TCP/IP format, wherein the client-side application immediately shows the change on the graphical user interface upon receipt of a change advice message.

20. A computer system for storing, sharing and synchronizing data between a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of computer-readable content data items electronically stored in a non-transitory, tangible central memory;

a users list electronically stored in the central memory comprising a list of users;

a content data item list electronically stored in the central memory comprising a list of data items;

a folder list electronically stored in the central memory comprising a list of folders;

a user/folder association table associating each folder in the folder list to a user in the users list, wherein the user/folder association table may associate each folder in the folders list to a plurality of users;

an items/folder association table placing each item in the content data item list into at least one folder in the folder list, the items/folder association table may associate each item in the content data item list directly into each of the plurality of folders in the folder list;

a folder/children association table placing folders from the folder list as selected child folders within selected parent folders in a multi-level hierarchical folder structure; and

a server logically programmed for;

accessing the central memory;

providing a user with selected user access to the folders in the folder list and the content data items contained in the folders in the multi-level hierarchical folder structure falling within at least one top level folder with access granted to that user via the user/folder association table;

transmitting content data items, folders, and changes to content data items and folders to a plurality of users and, by an automatic synchronized updating process, automatically updating changes to a content data item and to each of the user/folder association table, the items/folder association table and the folder/children association table;

wherein any user with access to a content data item can change a content of that content data item;

wherein any user can change parts of the hierarchical folder structure to which that user has access;

wherein changes made by an initiating user to a content data item or to a part of the hierarchical folder structure are transmitted as a primary change message from a computer of the initiating user to the server;

wherein the server acts automatically on the primary change message by changing the content data item the initiating user made changes to, the items/folder association table, and/or the folder/children association table in accordance with the primary change message;

wherein the server sends a change advice message to all users logged on to the system and with access to the changed content data item or the changed part of the hierarchical folder structure, the change advice message notifying the users logged onto the system that the change has been made; and

wherein each primary change message and each change advice message identifies which content data item or part of the hierarchical folder structure has been changed and what the specific change was without containing the entire data for the changed content data item or the entire hierarchical folder structure.

21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the content data items in the content data item list are selected from the group consisting of text items, e-mail messages, URLs, files, file addresses, and contact items, and wherein different users can maintain different hierarchical folder structures of folders and/or items to which they have access, the computer system further comprising:

an email address list electronically stored in the central memory, wherein the users in the user list are linked to one or more email addresses in the email address list;

a workgroup list electronically stored in the central memory;

a user/group association table electronically stored in the central memory, the user/group association table linking one or more users in the users list into groups in the workgroup list;

an email managing system for processing emails between users, email addresses and groups;

a readby list electronically stored in the central memory, wherein content data items are linked by the readby list to users in the user list who have opened those content data items;

a sharing system comprising;

a plurality of user sharing entries selectively displayable on viewers of each of a plurality of user computers, each user sharing entry assigned to a different user;

wherein any user with access to a content data item or to a part of the hierarchical folder structure can share selected content data items and/or folders to selected share recipient users via the user sharing entries, resulting in the initiating user'"'"'s computer transmitting a share notification in TCP/IP format to the server;

wherein the server, upon receipt of the share notification, transmits a share notification message in TCP/IP format to the selected share recipient users;

wherein the selected share recipient users can each access and view the shared content data items and/or folders; and

wherein any selected share recipient user may associate the shared content data items and/or folders into any folder or folders to which the selected share recipient user has access, thereby making a new association in the item/folder association table; and

a locked folder list electronically stored in the central memory, wherein selected folders may be locked to prevent changes to content data items contained therein, thereby giving different users separate write security to different content data items.

22. The computer system of claim 20, further comprising:

a plurality of user sharing entries selectively displayable on viewers of each of a plurality of user computers, each user sharing entry assigned to a different user;

wherein any user with access to a content data item or to a part of the hierarchical folder structure can share selected content data items and/or folders to selected share recipient users via the user sharing entries, resulting in the initiating user'"'"'s computer transmitting a share notification to the server;

wherein the server, upon receipt of the share notification, transmits a share notification message to the selected share recipient users;

wherein the selected share recipient users can each access and view the shared content data items and/or folders;

wherein any selected share recipient user may associate the shared content data items and/or folders into any folder or folders to which the selected share recipient user has access, thereby making a new association in the item/folder association table; and

wherein different users can maintain different hierarchical folder structures of folders and/or items to which they have access.

23. The computer system of claim 22, wherein the user sharing entries are icons.