Information sharing processing method, information sharing processing program storage medium, information sharing processing apparatus, and information sharing processing system

• US 20030179222A1
• Filed: 03/30/2000
• Published: 09/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakata, Haruhiko, Noma, Tsunetake
• Granted Patent: US 6,954,902 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing

Abstract

There is provided an information sharing processing method comprising the steps of a page display processing step for acquiring a file from a predetermined server on a network and displaying the file as a page, wherein the file is described in a predetermined page description language and includes a description of link information to another file on the network; a common-screen display processing step for displaying an icon representing a user at a position on a common screen shared with the user and displaying a message issued by the user making an access to the same page as the page displayed at the page display processing step, wherein information on the position and the message are specified by the user in shared data transmitted by the user by way of a shared server on the network; and a screen superposition processing step for superposing the common screen displayed at the common-screen display processing step on the page displayed at the page display processing step. Accordingly, it is possible to make an access to the web page with ease while participating a chat. In addition, any one of the users is capable of immediately knowing whether the other user is making an access to the same web page.

Claims

1. An information sharing processing method comprising the steps of:

a page display processing step for acquiring a file from a predetermined server on a network and displaying said file as a page, wherein said file is described in a predetermined page description language and includes a description of link information to another file on said network;

a common-screen display processing step for displaying an icon representing a user at a position on a common screen shared with said user and displaying a message issued by said user making an access to the same page as said page displayed at said page display processing step in which information on said position is specified by said user in shared data transmitted by said user by way of a shared server on said network; and

a screen superposition processing step for superposing said common screen displayed at said common-screen display processing step on said page displayed at said page display processing step.

2. An information sharing processing method according to claim 1, wherein said file displayed at said page display processing step as a page is an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) file which includes a description of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for definitely specifying a file on the Internet acquired from a WWW (World Wide Web) server in accordance with an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

3. An information sharing processing method according to claim 2, wherein information on said position to display said icon representing said user and said user'"'"'s message displayed on said common screen shared with said user in said common-screen display processing step are specified by said user in shared data transmitted by said user by way of a chat server on the Internet in accordance with a predetermined chat protocol, and said user is making an access to the same URL as said URL displayed at said page display processing step.

4. An information sharing processing method according to claim 1, wherein said user whose icon and message are displayed at the position specified by said user on said common screen shared with other user whose attribute is matched with the setting in advance.

5. An information sharing processing method according to claim 1, wherein at said common-screen display processing step, at a point of time when said user starts making an access to another page different from said page currently displayed at said page display processing step, an icon representing said user and appearing on said current page displaying a description of link information to said other different page, being superposed at a position on said current page vanishes to explicitly indicate a transition from said current page to said other different page having been performed.

6. An information sharing processing method according to claim 5, wherein at a point of time when said user starts making an access to another page different from said page currently displayed at said page display processing step, said icon representing said user gradually changes and eventually vanishes to explicitly indicate a transition to said other different page having been performed.

7. A medium for storing an information sharing processing program comprising:

a page display processing step for acquiring a file from a server on a network and displaying said file as a page, wherein said file is described in a predetermined page description language and includes a description of link information to another file on said network;

a common-screen display processing step for displaying an icon representing a user at a position on a common screen shared with said user and displaying a message issued by said user making an access to the same page as said page displayed at said page display processing step, in which information on said position is specified by said user in shared data transmitted by said user by way of a shared server on said network; and

a screen superposition processing step for superposing said common screen displayed at said common-screen display processing step on said page displayed at said page display processing step.

8. An information sharing processing apparatus comprising:

page display processing means for acquiring a file from a server on a network and displaying said file as a page, wherein said file is described in a predetermined page description language and includes a description of link information to another file on said network;

common-screen display processing means for displaying an icon representing a user at a position on a common screen shared with said user and displaying a message issued by said user making an access to the same page as said page displayed by said page display processing means, in which information on said position is specified by said user in shared data transmitted by said user by way of a shared server on said network; and

screen superposition processing means for superposing said common screen displayed by said common-screen display processing means on said page displayed by said page display processing means.

9. An information sharing processing system comprising:

a server for providing a file which is described in a predetermined page description language and includes a description of link information to any other desired file on a network;

a shared server for exchanging shared data with users on said network through said network, wherein said shared data comprises information on a position on a common screen to be shared with said users, types of icons each representing one of said users and messages each issued by one of said users;

page display processing means for acquiring a file from said server and displaying said file as a page;

common-screen display processing means for displaying said icons representing said users at positions on said common screen shared with said users and displaying said messages issued by said users each making an access to the same page as said page displayed by said page display processing means, in which information on said position is specified by said user in said shared data transmitted by said users by way of said shared server; and

screen superposition processing means for superposing said common screen displayed by said common-screen display processing means on said page displayed by said page display processing means.