Systems And Methodologies Supporting Collaboration Of Users As Members Of A Team, Among A Plurality Of Computing Appliances

• US 20120284633A1
• Filed: 05/06/2011
• Published: 11/08/2012
• 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.
• Granted Patent: US 8,924,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

A system and method providing for collaborating among a plurality of users each user at a respective associated one of a plurality of computing appliances. At least one user controls team designation definition for each of a plurality of computing appliances. Thereafter, each of the plurality of computing appliances that has a same said team designation, act (and communicate and provide a display) as a group. Each of the plurality of computing appliances in the group is a member of and a part of a defined team having a defined set of roles. Each respective one of the plurality of computing appliances is provided with a role designation. Operations of each respective one of the plurality of computing appliances is thereafter controlled in accordance with functionality as defined responsive to the respective role designation for said each respective one of the plurality of computing appliances. Associatively mapped storage is provided in a respective one of a plurality of data layers, memory of respective user data provided responsive to input by a respective user in a respective associatively mapped data layer from within a plurality of data layers in the memory. A display presentation is generated at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances responsive to at least two of the data layers. The respective user data is representative of a display presentation of annotations originated (input by the user) at a respective associated computing appliance for each respective one of at least two of the plurality of computing appliances.

Claims

1. A method for supporting collaborating among a plurality of users each user at a respective associated one of a plurality of computing appliances, the method further comprising:

providing associatively mapped storage in a respective one of a plurality of data layers within a memory of respective user data provided responsive to input by a respective user for storage in a respective one of the data layers that is associatively mapped to the respective user, and is stored within a respective one of the plurality of data layers in the memory;

wherein for each respective one of at least two of the plurality of computing appliances the respective user data is representative of a display presentation of annotations originated at a respective associated computing appliance;

generating a local display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances responsive to the user data stored in at least two of the data layers;

providing communication of the user data between the at least two of the plurality of computing appliances for storage of the user data in corresponding respective ones of the data layers; and

providing local display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances.

2. The method as in claim 1,

wherein each of the respective computing appliances has an input apparatus which is responsive to the respective user of said each respective one of the respective computing appliances, to provide annotation data for said respective user for storage in a respective associated one of the data layers representative of annotations made by the respective user relative to viewing a display presentation locally generated on said respective one of the plurality of computing appliances;

and

wherein at least one of the computing appliances provides a display presentation which is generated responsive to the respective associated one of the data layers that is associated with the at least one of the computing appliances, and which is further generated responsive to selected ones of the data layers that are associated with other ones of the plurality of computing appliances.

3. The method as in claim 1,

selecting at least two of the computing appliances as members of a same defined team;

and

providing a display presentation comprising a same set of selected ones of the data layers for all the computing appliances that are the members of the same defined team.

4. The method as in claim 2, further comprising:

selecting at one of the computing appliances, which part of the data layers are selected layers to be used in the display generation;

communicating the user data for the selected layers from the one of the computing appliances, to other ones of the computing appliances in the defined team; and

generating the display presentation at all of said computing appliances in the same defined team, each using the communicated selected layer.

5. The method as in claim 1,

wherein each of the plurality of computing appliances is responsive to its respective said role control logic to determine which of the plurality of data layers are utilized in the generation of the display presentation at each of the plurality of computing appliances.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing duplicate storage of the user data in the data layers in the memory, within each of a respective plurality of local data layers in a local data storage in a respective local memory within each of the plurality of computing appliances;

assigning and associating which of the data layers are to be used for storage of respective annotation data, as to each of the computing appliances;

storing the user data, responsive to user input at a respective one of the plurality of computing appliances, in a respective associated one of the plurality of data layers;

utilizing selected ones of said data layers of data storage for the generation of the display presentation at each of the computing appliances;

controlling which of the data layers are selected data layers that are to be used locally at each of the computing appliances to locally generate a local display presentation; and

generating the local display presentation at the respective computing appliance responsive to the selected data layers.

7. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

selecting at one of the computing appliances, which of the data layers are selected layers to be used in the display generation.

8. The method as in claim 6,

determining locally at each of the computing appliances which of the data layers are selected data layers that are to be used;

and

generating the local display presentation at each of the respective plurality of computing appliances responsive to the respective selected data layers therefor.

9. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing local selection of which of said data layers are utilized in the generation of the display presentation at each one of said plurality of computing appliances.

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

selectively mapping an associated at least one of the data layers from the memory as a leader data layer for storage of display related data provided for a respective leader of the plurality of users and representative of a display presentation associated with input by the respective leader; and

generating the display presentation at each one of said plurality of computing appliances, responsive to the leader data layer.

11. The method as in claim 10, further comprising:

selectively enabling at least one other of the data layers from the memory to be used as a user data layer for storing display related data for a selected user;

wherein said display related data is representative of a display presentation associated with input by the selected user; and

generating the display presentation on at least one of said plurality of computing appliances responsive to the user data layer for the selected user of the respective said one computing appliance, and responsive to the leader data layer.

12. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

selecting at least two of the computing appliances as members of a same defined team;

selecting certain ones of the plurality of data layers as selected data layers of data storage in the memory; and

utilizing the selected data layers for storage of respective annotations as input from at least two of the plurality of computing appliances in the same defined team.

13. The method as in claim 1,

wherein each of the computing appliances has a role designation, the method further comprising:

selecting a grouping of the data layers as selected data layers responsive to the role designation; and

generating the respective display presentation at each of the plurality of computing appliances responsive to the selected data layers responsive to the role designation of each respective one of said plurality of computing appliances.

14. A method for supporting collaborating among a plurality of users, each user at a respective associated one of a plurality of computing appliances, the method comprising:

providing associatively mapped storage in memory of respective user data provided responsive to input by a respective user that is stored in a respective associatively mapped data layer from within a plurality of data layers in the memory;

wherein the respective user data is representative of a display presentation of annotations originated at a respective associated computing appliance, for each respective one of at least two of the plurality of computing appliances;

selecting at least two of the plurality of computing appliances as members of a same team; and

generating a local display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances on the same team, responsive to the respective said data layers associated with the members of the same team.

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

storing the respective user data in the memory in respective selected ones of a plurality of data layers;

wherein each said data layer is associatively mapped to each respective one of the plurality of computing appliances; and

locally generating a display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances responsive to the respective selected ones of the plurality of data layers as associatively mapped for the respective at least two of the plurality of computing appliances.

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

utilizing at least one same selected one of the plurality of the data layers at at least two of the plurality of computing appliances to locally generate the display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances.

17. The method as in claim 14,

wherein each of the respective computing appliances has an input apparatus which is responsive to input by the respective user of said respective one of the respective plurality of computing appliances;

providing annotation data for said respective user, responsive to the input by the respective user, for storage in a respective associated one of the data layers;

wherein the annotation data is representative of annotations made by the respective user relative to viewing of a display presentation locally generated on said respective one of the respective plurality of computing appliances; and

providing a local display presentation at at least one specific one of the plurality of computing appliances, responsive to the respective associated one of the data layers that are associated with the at least one specific one of the computing appliances, and also responsive to selected ones of the data layers that are associated with other ones of the plurality of computing appliances.

18. The method as in claim 14,

designating selected ones of the plurality of computing appliances as members of a same defined team;

and

providing a same display presentation for all the computing appliances in the same defined team responsive to a same set of selected ones of the data layers.

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

designating selected ones of the plurality of computing appliances as members of a same defined team;

selecting which of the data layers are selected data layers to be used in the display generation, responsive to user interaction with at least one specific one of the computing appliances;

wherein the at least one specific one of the computing appliances communicates with all other ones of the computing appliances in the same defined team; and

wherein thereafter, at all of said computing appliances in the same defined team, the display generation is responsive to the selected data layers said part of the data storage for display generation.

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

determining which of the data layers are selected data layers that are to be used locally at each of the computing appliances; and

generating the local display presentation at each of the respective plurality of computing appliances responsive to the respective selected data layers.

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

selectively mapping at least one of the data layers from the memory as a leader data layer for storage of display related data provided by a user selected as a respective leader of the plurality of users and representative of a display presentation associated with input by the respective leader; and

generating the display presentation at each one of said plurality of computing appliances, responsive to the leader data layer.

22. The method as in claim 21, further comprising:

selectively enabling at least one other of the data layers from the memory to be used as a user data layer for storing display related data for a respective associated one user of an associated one of the computing appliances;

wherein said display related data is representative of a display presentation associated with input by the respective user; and

generating the display presentation on each one of said plurality of computing appliances responsive to the respective user data layer for the respective associated one of the computing appliances, and the leader data layer.

23. A system for supporting collaborating among a plurality of users each user at a respective associated one of a plurality of computing appliances, the system comprising:

memory for associatively mapped storage of respective user data provided responsive to input by a respective user in a respective associatively mapped data layer from within a plurality of data layers in the memory;

wherein the respective user data is representative of a display presentation of annotations originated at a respective associated computing appliance for each respective one of at least two of the plurality of computing appliances;

wherein each of the plurality of computing appliances having a designation of the same team are mapped together as a part of a single group; and

display apparatus generating a display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances responsive to at least two of the data layers.

24. The system as in claim 23,

wherein the generating of the display presentation at each of said at least two of the plurality of computing appliances is provided utilizing at least one selected one of the plurality of the data layers at at least two of the plurality of computing appliances to locally generate the display presentation.

25. The system as in claim 23, further comprising:

an input apparatus at each of the respective computing appliances, responsive to the respective user of said each respective one of the respective computing appliances, to provide annotation data for said respective user for storage in a respective associated one of the data layers representative of annotations made by the respective user relative to viewing a display presentation locally generated on said respective one of the plurality of computing appliances; and

wherein the display apparatus of at least one of the computing appliances provides a display presentation responsive to the respective associated one of the data layers that is associated with the at least one of the computing appliances, and further responsive to selected ones of the data layers that are associated with other ones of the plurality of computing appliances.

26. The system as in claim 23,

wherein each of a plurality of the computing appliances are designated as members of a same team;

and

wherein the display presentation provided at each of the computing appliances that is a member of the same team, is generated responsive to a same set of selected ones of the data layers utilized for display generation by all the computing appliances in the same team.

27. The system as in claim 26,

wherein user interaction with at least one of the computing appliances provides selection of which of the data layers are selected data layers to be used in display generation;

wherein the at least one of the computing appliances communicates the selection of the selected data layers, with all other ones of the computing appliances in the same team; and

wherein thereafter, all of said computing appliances in the same team, each use the selected data layers for display generation.

28. The system as in claim 23,

wherein at each of the computing appliances, it is locally determined which of the data layers are locally selected data layers that are to be used to provide the respective local display presentation at each of the respective computing appliances;

and

wherein a local display presentation is generated at each of the respective computing appliances responsive to the respective locally selected data layers.

29. The system as in claim 23,

wherein at least one of the data layers is selectively mapped as an associated leader data layer, for storage of display related data representative of a display presentation associated with input by one of said users that is a respective leader;

and

wherein the display presentation is provided at each one of said plurality of computing appliance responsive, at least in part, to the leader data layer.

30. The system as in claim 29,

wherein at least one other of the data layers is associated as a user data layer for storing display related data for a respective user;

wherein said display related data is representative of a display presentation associated with input by the respective user; and

wherein the display presentation is provided on each one of said plurality of computing appliances responsive to the user data layer and the leader data layer.

31. The system as in claim 23, further comprising:

an interface coupling voice communications among at least two of the plurality of computing appliances.