Patent ID: 6072463
Filing Date: 2000-06-06
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
A communication conference support system for use with a first workstation of a computer system having a plurality of user workstations connected over a network and participating in a conference, including at least the first user workstation and a second user workstation, each workstation having a display device with a display screen on which is displayed a pointer icon and a mouse pointer device that controls movement of the pointer icon on the display device as the mouse pointer device is moved and that includes a mouse button, the support system of the first workstation comprising:position means for generating a signal that indicates the position of the pointer icon on the display device of the first user workstation and indicates the status of the workstation mouse button;picture means for generating a representation of the system users in a conference window of the display device of the first user workstation;designator means for generating a signal that identifies the first user workstation and indicates the location of the pointer icon and system user representation on the display device of the first user workstation;a system interface that receives the position means signal, picture means representation, and designator means signal of the first workstation and arranges them in an information packet for transmission over the network; andassociation means for receiving an information packet containing a position means signal, picture means representation, and designator means signal from the second workstation and any other workstations connected to the network and participating in the conference, and for drawing a line on the display device of the first user workstation connecting the display device location of a pointer icon identified by the designator means signal to the representation of the corresponding system user generated by the picture means signal for the second workstation and for all other conference participating user workstations of the system, thereby displaying a connecting line between the representations of all conference participants and their respective pointer icons except for the representation of a viewing participant and that participant's pointer icon.