Co-presence data retrieval system

• US 6,243,714 B1
• Filed: 05/01/1998
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ubique Ltd. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Shapiro, Ehud, Rimer, Jacob, Shafrir, Avner
• Primary Examiner(s): Amsbury, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/071,873
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/4, 707/8, 707/10, 707/201, 709/101, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/955 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A data retrieval system is described. The system includes a data server, at least one data retrieval client, a co-presence server and at elast one downloadable co-presence client. The data server retrieves at least one data object from among a plurality of data objects stored in a data repository. The data retrieval client requests at least one data object from the data server. The co-presence server includes a virtual place generator which generates one virtual place per data object retrieved from the data server and an associator which associates each virtual place with its data object once its data object is accessed. The downloadable co-presence client is operative with the data retrieval client and communicates with the co-presence server. Each co-presence client includes an object associator which associates a data object received from the co-presence server with one of the at least one virtual places in the co-presence server.

Claims

1. A data retrieval system comprising:

a data server for retrieving at least one data object from among a plurality of data objects stored in a data repository;

at least one data retrieval client for requesting at least one data object from said data server;

a co-presence server including;

means for generating one virtual place per data object retrieved from said data server; and

means for associating each virtual place with its data object once its data object is accessed; and

means for downloading at least one co-presence client, said downloading means operable in response to said at least one data object being retrieved, said at least one co-presence client operative with said data retrieval client, for communicating with said data server, said at least one co-presence client including object association means for associating a data object received from said co-presence server with one of said at least one virtual place in said co-presence server.

2. A system according to claim 1 and wherein said co-presence client is implemented in one of the following languages:

Java and ActiveX.

3. A data retrieval system according to claim 1 and wherein said object association means comprises means for moving to a new virtual place.