Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Microcomputer Engineering, Ltd.

Kenjiro Mori

Yoshiyuki Nakayama

Takeshi Ishizaki

Tadashi Yamamitsu

Masami Kameda

Chiho Kitahara

Toshimitsu Hayashi

Tomomi Suzuki

Fumio Nakamura

Akio Hayashi

Shinji Kimura

Shigeaki Kinoshita

Shigeru Watanabe

Kazuo Takaragi

Hiroshi Kinukawa

Kunihiro Yanagi

Singi Domen

Junichi Seki

Toshiro Nose

Kazuaki Sako

Kenji Koichi

Makoto Yamanouchi

Yasuo Yajima

In a conferencing system comprising telephones and workstations to assist a cooperative work, a conference display control method for a visual user interface is provided. A conference window is displayed on a workstation display during execution of a teleconference. The conference window includes a meeting table area as a shared space and a local area which cannot be seen by the other participants. Document objects corresponding to a document application program which is used in the conference are arranged on those areas. The distribution of the documents, reference of information, and execution of the application program can be executed by direct manipulation of objects using a mouse. In the conference window, the document object can be operated at both the cooperative work place and the local work place. The operations during the conference can be simplified. Further, the conference window is displayed on the workstation display during the teleconference execution, the conference documents are sharingly executed by an OHP object on the conference window, and the documents during the shared execution are displayed in an OHP area, so that the kind of document which is being executed can be grasped.

Conference display control method and apparatus for an electronic

An object of the present invention is to offer a communication network system in which it is possible to connect a logical channel for performing information exchange or information communication between terminals connected to the communication network without inputting an address of a terminal to communicate with. In the communication network according to the present invention in which a logical channel is connected between desired terminals connected to the communication network to perform information exchange or information communication between the desired terminals, a connection controller for a network and communication is provided which specifies a terminal which can be used by a person to communicate with through the communication network by inputting information excluding the address of the terminal to which a connection request is issued to connect the logical channel to the specified terminal.

Communication network system in which an unregistered terminal being

A cooperative information processing system in which a cooperative execution application program can utilize an auxiliary application program that is being executed locally. The communication control program has the request conversion unit, the input conversion unit and the server-dependent information table. The communication control program utilizes the server-dependent information table to interpret the format of an inter-application message between the sites and carries out a proper conversion. Thus, communication between the cooperative execution application program and the auxiliary application program locally executed at a specific site, such as for example, the Japanese inputting front end program, is made possible.

Cooperative information processing method and apparatus utilizing local

In a conferencing system comprising telephones and workstations, a conference display control method for a visual user interface is provided. A conference window is displayed on a workstation display during a teleconference and includes a meeting table area as a shared space and a local area which cannot be seen by the other participants. Document objects corresponding to a document application program which is used in the conference are arranged on those areas. The distribution of the documents, reference of information, and execution of the application program can be executed by direct manipulation of objects using a mouse. In the conference window, the document object can be operated at both the cooperative work place and the local work place. Further, the conference window is displayed on the workstation display during the teleconference execution, the conference documents are sharingly executed by an OHP (overhead projector) object on the conference window, and the documents during the shared execution are displayed in an OHP area, so that the kind of document which is being executed can be grasped. Moreover, when a participant participates in a plurality of teleconferences on a communication network by one teleconference terminal, one teleconference can be recognized as a specific conference space, so that the user can selectively use a plurality of teleconferences without confusing them.

Display control method and apparatus for an electronic conference

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 collaborative information processing system is formed of a plurality of terminal units interconnected through a network. Each terminal unit includes a microprocessor provided with a control program for controlling the execution of various application programs and the communication with other terminal units, input/output devices such as a display unit with a display screen and keyboard, and a telephone set. A plurality of users join in a conference or such a group work to create materials by making reference to a material which is displayed equally on the screen of each terminal unit and making conversation through the telephone set under control of the control program. Records of group work information including the outline of the group work, names of participants, and names of materials and data created or referenced during the group work or conference are stored automatically in a database so that the records can readily be retrieved in the future.

Method and system for storing and retrieving collaboratively processed

A group working system includes a plurality of work stations interconnected through a network and each having a multi-window function. Each work station is provided with a group working user interface program executed under the control of a control program for transferring control information for a group work with the other work stations. When input operation is performed for a window of a group working mode in any one of the work stations, indication information for identifying an operator or work station performing the input operation is output to an additional window which is paired with the above-mentioned window. By making reference to the indication information, each user can avoid conflict in the input operation to the same window of the group working mode with other users.

Group working system having operator discriminating function

A plurality of work stations each imparted with a multi-window control function are interconnected through an integrated service digital network (ISDN), wherein control communication route is established among a plurality of stations between which interlocutory communication are to be performed. The work stations transfer control commands by way of the control communication route in accordance with operation by users under the control of an interlocution control program to thereby establish or disconnect a logical communication route between designated application programs of the work stations. So long as the logical communication route is established, the application programs can execute data processing in cooperation with each other. In that case, identical change of display in the windows corresponding to the application programs, respectively, takes place in the work stations. User can perform conference or document edition processing by designating the position of data of concern by a pointing object while conducting conversation by using a telephone set installed at the work station.

System and method for performing interlocution at a plurality of

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.

Control method and system for establishing a connection among terminals

In a conferencing system including a plurality of workstations each having a multiwindow function connected to each other via a network, programs loaded in the respective workstations to control a conference are linked with each other through a logical circular control program's path. A data item inputted from a workstation not having a data effectuation floor qualification is transmitted as a data item in an ineffective state to a next workstation. When received by a workstation possessing the effectuation floor qualification, the data in the ineffective state is converted into an effective data. In each station, application programs and utility programs are responsive only to the data in the effective state, which guarantees the identity of results of data processing achieved in the respective workstations.

Joint information processing system comprising a plurality of terminal

In a communication system which is arranged to circulate an addressed electronic document among a plurality of terminals which are connected to one another through a transfer path and to sequentially add attest patterns indicative of the approvals of individual reviewing persons to the electronic document, a method for identifying the source of each person's approval symbol and amendments to the document. The data structure of each electronic document communicated between individual terminals is assembled in a data structure which separates the document content data from the attest patterns added to the document by the creating or reviewing person. If any reviewing person requests to amend the contents of the electronic document to which the attest patterns have been added, a display of only the content data of the above electronic document is presented to the reviewing person. The reviewing person then amends the content data of the document, the prior approval of the document is removed and the thus amended electronic document is recirculated.

Method of editing and circulating an electronic draft document amongst

A multi-window display method and system for displaying a plurality of overlapping windows so that only portions of windows that are not covered by other windows are displayed. In displaying the first window and then the second window over the first window, the first partial area which belongs to the first window and is covered by the second window, and the second partial area which belongs to the first window but is not covered by the second window are detected; the first partial area is registered as a non-display area; the second partial area is registered as a display area; if reversal of the positional relationship between the first and second windows is instructed, the first partial area, which has been registered as a non-display area, is registered as a display area; and the newly registered display area is displayed on the display unit. The method and system enable speed-up of displaying overlapping windows.

Multi-window display system with modification or manipulation capability

A method of drawing figures for a multi-window system in which a plurality of window regions are set on a display screen, and in which a window which is partly overlapped on other windows and is partly concealed is controlled by being divided into a plurality of display or non-display subregions, and the displayed content is changed by designating the window. If a dot constituting the figure is generated from a dot generator, coordinate values of the dot are compared with position data of the designated window to select a dot located in the window. The selected dot is compared with position data of a subregion that constitutes the designated window to find a particular subregion in which the dot exists. If the particular subregion is a display region, the dot located therein is produced on the display screen. A dot generated next is compared with the particular subregion and is determined to be displayed or not. When the dot lies outside the particular subregion, the region to be compared to the dot position data is changed, and the dot position is compared with another subregion or with the designated window.

Graphics in display unit

The tangent .alpha. of the tangential line of an image to be drawn at each point in an orthogonal X-Y coordinate system is classified into two angle regions, a first angle region, where a condition -1.ltoreq..alpha.&lt;1 is fulfilled, and a second angle region, where a condition .alpha.&lt;-1 or 1.ltoreq..alpha. is fulfilled. The first and the second angle region is represented by the direction parallel to the X-axis and the direction parallel to the Y-axis, respectively. When the image to be drawn is displayed on a display screen, in the image to be drawn, the parts belonging to the first angle region are drawn with a plurality of segments, each of which is parallel to the X-axis, and the parts blonging to the second angle region are drawn with a plurality of segments, each of which is parallel to the Y-axis. That is, the image to be drawn is displayed on the display screen by using only segments parallel to the X-axis and those parallel to the Y-axis.

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Machida, Japan

Kenjiro Mori