Hitachi, Ltd.

Fumio Nakamura

Yoshiyuki Nakayama

Kenjiro Mori

Tadashi Yamamitsu

Takeshi Ishizaki

A conference system is formed by multiple workstations which have individual conference control programs and are connected to a network, with each workstation having a destination workstation determined in advance so that a ring-shaped logical communication path is formed on the network. A conference control program which detects a fault on its receiving path during a conference sends a fault recovery request message including an identifier of the conference control program itself and the address of the workstation to the neighboring workstation, and the conference control program of the neighboring workstation relays the received fault recovery request message to the next workstation on the ring-shaped logical communication path so that the fault recovery request message is propagated on the ring-shaped logical communication path. The conference control program of a workstation which is located immediately upstream of the fault and is therefore unable to send the received fault recovery request message to the neighboring workstation carries out a procedure of establishing a new communication path to the conference control program of the workstation which issued the fault recovery request message.

System for establishing new path in ring network and dividing ring

In a collaborative information processing system including a plurality of terminals each having a multiwindow function and each being connected to the other terminal via a network, each terminal includes a plurality of application programs for issuing a request for an input event and a request for a window, a window server for converting input data received from the input device into a logical input event and for updating an image on a display screen depending on the content of an output request received from the application program, a plurality of window library modules connected to the window server via a logical communication path and linked with the application programs, and a control program for communicating an input event with other terminals via the network. Each window library module linked with an application program in a collaborative operation mode transfers an input event received from the window server to the control program and delivers an input event received from the control program to the application program to which it is linked therewith.

Collaborative information processing system and workstation

A system including a plurality of terminal apparatuses connected to each other via a communication network for achieving joint information processing, such as involved in an electronic joint project and an electronic meeting. The terminal apparatuses are interconnected to each other via a logical ring path formed on the communication network. Each terminal apparatus is loaded with a control program for supervising the joint information processing. Each control program functions in cooperation with control programs of other terminal apparatuses to conduct communication procedures for establishing, for changing, or for terminating the logical ring path and to control a display operation to supply the user with information identifying those members currently participating in the joint information processing.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Fumio Nakamura