Realtime communication of hand drawn images in a multiprogramming window environment

• US 5,309,555 A
• Filed: 05/14/1992
• Issued: 05/03/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Seaburg, Gunnar P., Arbeitman, Gordon W., Akins, Anthony S., Lee, Peter A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JANKUS, ALMIS R
• Application Number:
  US07/882,997
• Time in Patent Office: 719 Days
• Field of Search: 340/706-721, 395/153, 395/155-158, 395/162-163, 345/119
• US Class Current: 715/756
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An advanced user interface operates in an integrated operating environment which supports realtime handwriting, graphical and image data. The integrated operating environment is capable of running several application programs on a standard stand-alone processor, such as a personal computer, each in its own display window. A communication window is established in a first window. Image data is imported into it from a second window. And freehand drawing data is added to the first window. The contents of the first window can then be sent to a second processor. In this manner, hand drawn images can be combined with other image data and communicated over a network.

Claims

1. A first data processing system for transmission and reception of realtime freehand drawing to and from a second data processing system, each system having a processor coupled to a memory, a display and an input device, each of said system having an operating system which runs a plurality of application programs each displayed in a respective one of a plurality of windows on the display, the first data processing system comprising:

means for presenting a first set of points in a first window on the display in said first data processing system, the first set of points representing freehand drawing generated by the input device at the first data processing system;

means for sending the first set of points to the second data processing system;

means for receiving and presenting a second set of points in the first window, the second set of points representing freehand drawing generated at the second data processing system;

means for presenting a first set of image data from a first image handling application in a second window in said first data processing window;

means for importing said first image data from said second window to said first window;

said sending means, sending said first image data to said second data processing system from said first window;

wherein the input device is a touch sensitive overlay disposed over the viewing surface of a display which generates the first set of points as the overlay is contacted on a surface facing opposite to the viewing surface of the display.

2. A first data processing system for transmission and reception of realtime freehand drawings to and from a second data processing system, each system having a processor coupled to a memory, a display and an input device, each of said system having an operating system which runs a plurality of application programs each displayed in a respective one of a plurality of windows on the display, the first data processing system comprising:

means for presenting a first set of points in a first window on the display in said first data processing system, the first set of points representing freehand drawing generated by the input device at the first data processing system;

means for sending the first set of points to the second data processing system;

means for receiving and presenting a second set of points in the first window, the second set of points representing freehand drawing generated at the second data processing system;

means for presenting a first set of image data from a first image handling application in a second window in said first data processing system;

means for importing said first image data from said second window to said first window;

said sending means, sending said first image data to said second data processing system from said first window;

wherein the means for importing and presenting image data is a screen capture module which can capture image data from the first image handling application even if the first image handling application cannot interact with a utility of the operating system which transfers data between applications.

3. A first data processing system for transmission and reception of realtime freehand drawing to and from a second data processing system, each system having a processor coupled to a memory, a display and an input device, each of said system having an operating system which runs a plurality of application programs each displayed in a respective one of a plurality of windows on the display, the first data processing system comprising:

means for presenting a first set of points in a first window on the display in said first data processing system, the first set of points representing freehand drawing generated by the input device at the first data processing system;

means for sending the first set of points to the second data processing system;

means for receiving and presenting a second set of points in the first window, the second set of points representing freehand drawing generated at the second data processing system;

means for presenting a first set of image data from a first image handling application in a second window in said first data processing system;

means for importing said first image data from said second window to said first window;

said sending means, sending said first image data to said second data processing system from said first window;

means for presenting a second window on the display the second window presenting an overall image which is larger than and includes the image presented in the first window and a rectangle indicating which portion of the overall image is presented in the first window.

4. A first data processing system for transmission and reception of realtime freehand drawing to and from a second data processing system, each system having a processor coupled to a memory, a display and an input device, each of said system having an operating system which runs a plurality of application programs each displayed in a respective one of a plurality of windows on the display, the first data processing system comprising:

means for presenting a first set of points in a first window on the display in said first data processing system, the first set of points representing freehand drawing generated by the input device at the first data processing system;

means for sending the first set of points to the second data processing system;

means for receiving and presenting a second set of points in the first window, the second set of points representing freehand drawing generated at the second data processing system;

means for presenting a first set of image data from a first image handling application in a second window in said first data processing system;

means for importing said first image data from said second window to said first window;

said sending means, sending said first image data to said second data processing system from said first window;

wherein, the first data processing system is in communication with a plurality of data processing systems each equipped similarly to the first data processing system, the second window presenting the overall image and a plurality of rectangles indicating which portions of the overall image are presented in a respective first window of each of the plurality of data processing systems.

5. A method for transmission and reception of realtime freehand drawing between a first data processing system and a second data processing system, each of the data processing systems having a processor, a memory, an input device and a display and an operating system which runs a plurality of application programs each displayed in a respective one of a plurality of windows on the display, the method comprising the steps of:

presenting a first set of image data from a first image handling application in a first window on the display of the first data processing system;

importing said first image data from said first window to a second window on the display of said first data processing system;

presenting a first set of points representing freehand drawing in the second window, the first set of points generated by the input device at the first data processing system;

sending the first image data and the first set of points from said second window to the second data processing system;

receiving and presenting a second set of points representing freehand drawing in the second window, the second set of points generated at the second data processing system; and

presenting a third window on the display, the third window presenting an overall image which is larger than and includes the image presented in the second window and a rectangle to indicate which portion of the overall image is presented in the second window.

6. The method as recited in claim 5 wherein the system is in communication with a plurality of data processing systems each equipped similarly to the first data processing system, the third window presenting the overall image and a plurality of rectangles to indicate which portions of the overall image are presented in a respective second window of each of the plurality of data processing systems.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 which further comprises the step of sending the image presented in the second window of the first data processing system to the plurality of data processing systems to assure that the same image is shared by the plurality of data processing system for the portion of the overall image presented by the second window of the first data processing system.