Patent ID: 7814153
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for client-side management of communications channels, the method comprising: determining a maximum number of simultaneous connections N supportable by a client to other entities within a virtual world controlled by a server based on a connection speed of the client to a network and a processor speed of a central processing unit within the client; identifying between one and N entities that meet a predefined criterion from a plurality of entities, the plurality of entities and the client being represented by different avatars within the virtual world controlled by the server; granting permission to the identified entities to communicate with the client by sending a permission message from the client to each of the identified entities; and revoking permission to communicate with the client held by entities of the plurality of entities that are not among the identified entities by sending a revocation message from the client to each of the entities that are not among the identified entities, wherein the determining, identifying, granting, and revoking steps are performed by the client; wherein the predefined criterion is a distance to the client within the virtual world controlled by the server, wherein the plurality of entities and the client are represented by the different avatars within the virtual world such that the distances between each of the plurality of entities and the client are calculated using coordinate information of the avatars within the virtual world; repeating the identifying, granting, and revoking steps as the avatars move about the virtual world.