System and methodology for multiple users concurrently working and viewing on a common project

• US 9,224,129 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2011
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Collaboration Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: David H Sitrick
• Inventors: Sitrick, David H., Fling, Russell T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Weng, Peiyong
• Application Number:
  US13/102,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20120284634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• Field of Search: 715/751, 715/856, 715/741
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

A system and methodology, for use by a plurality of users working on a common project that has an associated display. The system is comprised of a plurality of display computing appliances, each associated with a respective one of at least two users of a plurality of users. Layer storage and control logic is comprised of memory structured as at least two separate respective data layers of data storage for associative storage of user (image) data mapped to the respective user providing the respective input. Each said separate respective data layer of data storage is comprised of respective user data associated with a respective user of the plurality of users. Each of the display apparatus is responsive to the layer storage and control logic, for providing a respective said display presentation for viewing by the respective one of the at least two users. The respective said display presentation provides at least a common portion of the display presentation for concurrently viewing by the at least two users, at the respective said display computing appliances. Input logic provides for input of respective user data representative of respective edit (annotations) input, by each respective one of the at least two users, provided responsive to a respective user input by the respective one of the at least two users while the respective one of the at least two users is concurrently viewing the respective said display presentation.

Claims

1. A system for use by a plurality of users, the system comprising:

at least two computing appliances each comprising;

associated input apparatus, display logic and a display apparatus, each of the computing appliances providing a display presentation that can be viewed by an associated said user;

memory structured as storage comprised of a plurality of areas of memory,

wherein the storage is distributed among at least two of the display computing appliances comprised of at least two sets, each said set comprised of at least two duplicated areas of memory providing duplicate local storage in each set of at least one of the duplicate areas of memory, and

wherein a change to one of the duplicated areas of memory, at one of said display computing appliances, results in storage of the change in the duplicate local storage in at least one other one of said display computing appliances,

wherein, for at least two of the users, each said area of memory is associated with one said user, to provide associative storage of data associated with the associated said one said user;

wherein the display logic at each of at least two of the computing appliances provides said display presentation comprising a video display viewable on the display apparatus at said each of at least two of the computing appliances;

input logic responsive to input via the input apparatus of user annotations generating corresponding annotation data having an associated image representative of the annotations at each of at least two of the display computing appliances;

wherein the annotation data is stored in the area of memory associated with the user providing the input of said annotation data; and

,

wherein the display logic provides an updated said display presentation responsive to at least a part of the annotation data from at least two of the areas of memory, wherein the updated said display presentation is provided for viewing at each of at least one of the display computing appliances.

2. The system as in claim 1,

wherein a separate said updated said display presentation is provided separately at each of at least two of said display computing appliance;

and

wherein each said updated said display presentation is further comprised of at least a part of as base document image, generated responsive to at least one said area of memory providing storage of data for said base document image.

3. The system as in claim 1,

wherein the updated said display presentation is comprised of at least a portion of the video display combined with a display of the associated images for the user annotations.

4. The system as in claim 1, further comprising:

an interface coupling voice communications between each of at least two of the display computing appliances.

5. The system as in claim 1,

wherein the display presentation is generated responsive to a software program providing a video display that varies over time to provide, at each of a plurality of sampled times, a different update to said video display at each of the plurality of sampled times,

wherein the display presentation occurring subsequent to each of the plurality of sampled times is utilized as the display presentation until a next said sampled time.

6. The system as in claim 1,

wherein at least a portion of the display presentation is a video display generated by a software program;

and

wherein said annotations are comprised of input made by the respective said users of at least two of the display computing appliances while the video display generated by the software program is concurrently viewable on the display apparatus on each of said at least two of the display computing appliances.

7. The system as in claim 6,

wherein the software program is comprised of at least one of:

a document processing program, a word processing program, a text editor program, a presentation generation program, a page layout program, a spreadsheet program, a drawing program, a photo editor program, a video editor program, a movie display program, an animation program, an audiovisual display generation program, an email program, and interactive game software.

8. The system as in claim 6,

wherein the video display generated by the software program is updated responsive to changes made using the software program, to provide an update to said video display;

wherein thereafter, the input of at least some of the annotations are provided while the update to the video display is concurrently viewable on the local display apparatus at each of at least two of the display computing appliances.

9. The system as in claim 1,

wherein the storage is distributed among the plurality of the display computing appliances to provide duplicated local storage of each of the areas of memory;

and

wherein a change to any of the areas of memory, at any one of said plurality of said display computing appliances, provides for storage of the change in the duplicated local storage in other ones of the plurality of the display computing appliances.

10. The system as in claim 1, further comprising:

selection logic selecting which of the users are selected users;

wherein at least a part of the annotation data from said areas of memory associated with the selected users are utilized to generate a display image to provide at least a portion of the updated said display presentation.

24. The system as in claim 1,

wherein a change to one said area of memory in the duplicated areas of memory occurring at one of said plurality of said display computing appliances, is communicated to at least one other one of the plurality of the display computing appliances, to provide storage of the change in a corresponding said duplicated area of memory in at least one other one of the plurality of the display computing appliances.

25. The system as in claim 1,

wherein at least one of the display computing appliances is further comprised of an interactive game utilizing gaming data and providing for a video presentation of the interactive game responsive to the gaming data;

and

wherein one of the duplicated areas of memory is comprised of the gaming data from the interactive game; and

wherein a change to the gaming data from the interactive game occurring in the one of the duplicated areas of memory is utilized to provide storage of the change to the gaming data from the interactive game in an associated said duplicated area of memory in at least one other one of the plurality of the display computing appliances.

26. The system as in claim 5,

wherein between the sampled times, a then current said display presentation is concurrently viewable

on the display apparatus on each of at least two of the display computing appliances.

27. The system as in claim 1,

wherein at least a portion of the display presentation is a video display generated by a software program;

and,

wherein the software program is comprised of an interactive game program for an interactive game having gaming data and providing for a video presentation of the interactive game responsive to the gaming data.

11. A method for use by a plurality of users, each said user utilizing an associated computing appliance, the method comprising:

providing a first display presentation for viewing by each of at least two of said users;

providing annotation data having an associated image, provided responsive to input by a respective said user while the first display presentation is provided for viewing;

structuring memory as a plurality of areas of memory,

wherein at least one of the plurality of areas of memory is replicated among at least two of the display computing appliances to provide duplicated local storage, and

wherein each said user is associated with one of the areas of memory for each of at least two of the users;

the method further comprising;

storing the annotation data in the area of memory associated with the user providing the input of said annotation data, for each of at least two of the users,

wherein for at least one of the areas of memory there is provided duplicated storage of said annotation data in the local storage of at least two of the plurality of the display computing appliances,

wherein a change to local storage at at least one of said at least two of the display computing appliances, provides storage of the change to the local storage in at least one other one of said at least two of the display computing appliances; and

,

providing a combined display presentation representative of at least one of the associated images for the annotation data as input by at least one of the users responsive to the areas of memory associated with said at least one of the users.

12. The method as in claim 11, further comprising:

wherein the first display presentation is comprised of a display of an underlying image generated responsive to a software program;

wherein the software program generates a modified display of the underlying image which thereafter is utilized as the first display presentation; and

,

wherein thereafter, the input of annotations provided by a respective said user is made relative to the modified display of the underlying image.

13. The method as in claim 12,

wherein the underlying image is comprised of a video display of an interactive game;

and,

wherein the annotations are provided responsive to input made by at least two said users, while the video display is provided for viewing.

14. The method as in claim 11, further comprising:

selecting which of the users are selected users;

providing the combined display presentation utilizing the areas of memory for the selected users.

15. The method as in claim 11,

wherein the modified display of the underlying image is comprised of at least a portion of the underlying image combined with the associated images for at least some of the annotations for at least one said user.

16. The method as in claim 11,

wherein the combined display presentation is comprised of the associated image for at least a part of the annotation data as input by each of at least two said users;

and,

wherein the modified display the underlying image is comprised of at least a portion of the underlying image combined with the associated image for at least some of the annotations for at least two of said users.

28. The method as in claim 11,

wherein the display presentation is initially provided of an underlying image for concurrent viewing by each of at least two of said users;

wherein the combined display presentation is representative of at least part of the underlying image combined with the associated image for at least part of the annotation data input by the at least one of the users responsive to the areas of memory associated with the respective users.

17. A method for collaboration by a plurality of users, each said user at a respective associated one of a plurality of display computing appliances, each said display computing appliance comprising a display apparatus, the method comprising:

associating each of the display computing appliances with a respective one user of the plurality of users;

providing an underlying image that is viewable on the display apparatus of each of at least two of the display computing appliances;

providing annotation data having an associated image responsive to an input provided by an associated said user,

wherein the underlying image is viewable by said associated said user providing said input;

providing storage in a memory, said memory comprised of at least two sets of areas of memory, each said set comprised of a plurality of separate areas of memory, wherein each said set is located to provide local storage in respective one of at least two of the display computing appliances;

for each of at least two said users, associating a respective said area of memory with said user, to provide storage in said area of memory of said annotation data that is associatively mapped to the user associated with the input by said user of said annotation data; and

,

providing a combined display presentation for viewing at the display apparatus of said display computing appliance that is associated with at least one of the users;

wherein the combined display presentation is comprised of the associated images provided responsive to at least some of said annotation data from said areas of memory associated with said at least one of the users.

18. The method as in claim 17, further comprising:

wherein the underlying image is generated responsive to a software program;

wherein the software program is comprised of at least one of;

a document processing program, a word processing program, a text editor program, a presentation generation program, a page layout program, a spreadsheet program, a drawing program, a photo editor program, a video editor program, a movie display program, an animation program, an audiovisual display generation program, an email program, an instant messaging program, a social media program, and an interactive game program.

19. The method as in claim 17,

wherein the combined display presentation is comprised of a display of the associated images provided responsive to at least part of the annotation data input by each of at least two of the users, combined with the display of the underlying image.

20. The method as in claim 17,

wherein the underlying image is generated responsive to a software program;

wherein the input providing the annotation input is made relative to the display of the underlying image.

21. The method as in claim 20,

wherein the software program is a video game program;

wherein the underlying image is comprised of a display image generated responsive to the video game program, and

wherein at least a portion of the underlying image is provided for concurrent viewing by the users at each of at least two of said display computing appliances.

22. The method as in claim 17, further comprising:

providing the underlying image responsive to a software program;

wherein the input of the annotations provided by each said user is made relative to the display of the underlying image;

generating a modified display responsive to the software program;

wherein thereafter, the input of the annotations provided by each said user is made relative to the display of the modified underlying image; and

,

the method further comprising;

generating a new said combined display presentation responsive to at least a part of said annotation data as input by at least one of the users combined with the display of the modified underlying image.

23. The method as in claim 20,

wherein the display presentation is initially provided of an underlying image for concurrent viewing of at least two of said users;

wherein the underlying image generated by the software program is updated responsive to the software program, to provide an updated underlying image;

wherein thereafter, the input by the users of the annotations are provided while the updated underlying image is concurrently viewable on the local display apparatus on each of at least two of the display computing appliances.

29. The method as in claim 17,

wherein each of a plurality of the areas of memory is distributed among at least two of the display computing appliances to provide duplicated local storage, and

wherein responsive to a change to the local storage of one of the plurality of the areas of memory, at any one of said at least two of display computing appliances, there is provided storage of the change in the local storage located in at least one other one of said at least two of the display computing appliances.

30. The method as in claim 17, further comprising:

selecting at least two of the users to be selected users;

utilizing at least some of the annotation data associated with said selected users to provide the combined display presentation utilizing the areas of memory for the selected users.