The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 07, 1998
Filed:
Aug. 01, 1995
Gen Suzuki, Fujisawa, JP;
Shohei Sugawara, Yokosuka, JP;
Hiroya Tanigawa, Miura, JP;
Machio Moriuchi, Yokohama, JP;
Yoshio Nagashima, Yokosuka, JP;
Yasuhiro Nakajima, Yokosuka, JP;
Hiroyuki Arita, Tokyo, JP;
Yumi Murakami, Yokosuka, JP;
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A plurality of terminals are connected to a server via a communication network and share a predetermined common virtual space. The terminals each send to the server the position coordinates of the viewing point and direction of eyes of its user in the virtual space, and the visual field image viewed from that viewing point is displayed on a display. Based on the position coordinates and direction of eyes of the avatar each of the other terminals received from each of the other terminals via the server, each terminal generates an avatar image in the specified direction and at the specified position and displays it in the visual field. The server is always supplied with the latest position information of the avatar from every terminal and, when the distance between two arbitrary avatars becomes smaller than a threshold value, connects speech channels of the two terminals corresponding to these avatars.