Abstract:
A method for logging onto a plurality of servers through an instant messenger is disclosed. The method includes logging onto a first server through an instant messenger to create a link; and logging onto a second server through the instant messenger while the link is still active.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/822,081, filed Aug. 11, 2006, which is included herein by reference. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to an instant messenger, and more particularly, to a method for logging onto a plurality of servers through an instant messenger. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a prior art instant messenger  100 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , a user U 1  uses the instant messenger  100  to log onto a server as a client C 1 . 
         [0006]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a prior art instant messaging system  200 . Users U 1  to Un respectively use the instant messengers  100  to log onto a server S 1  as clients C 1  to Cn. In the server S 1 , if the user U 1  has the user U 2  in the contact list of the user U 1 , the users U 1  and U 2  can exchange instant messages through their respective instant messengers  100 , and so do other users logged onto the same server S 1 . If the user U 1  does not have the user U 2  in the contact list of the user U 1 , the user U 1  cannot send instant messages to the user U 2 , nor can the user U 1  send instant messages to users not in the contact list of the user U 1 . 
         [0007]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a user logged onto different servers. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a user U 1  is logged onto different servers S 1  and S 2  respectively through the prior art instant messengers  100  and  310 . The instant messengers  100  and  310  are custom designed for the servers S 1  and S 2  respectively so that the instant messenger  100  cannot be used to log onto the server S 2  and the instant messenger  310  cannot be used to log onto the server S 1 . In order to log onto both servers S 1  and S 2 , the user U 1  has to install 2 different instant messengers  100  and  310  in the user U 1 &#39;s computer. After the user U 1  uses the instant messenger  100  to log onto the server S 1  as a client C 1 , he can only exchange instant messages with on-line clients registered in the server S 1 . After the user U 1  uses the instant messenger  310  to log onto the server S 2  as a client C 2 , he can only exchange instant messages with on-line clients registered in the server S 2 . Therefore, if a user wants to log onto more servers, he has to install more custom designed instant messengers to log onto the corresponding servers, which occupies a lot of computer resource and is not convenient for the user. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention provides an instant message system. The instant message system comprises a server system comprising a plurality of servers, each server being for providing instant message services for first hosts and first clients logged onto the server; and an instant messenger for linking at least two of the plurality of servers concurrently. 
         [0009]    The present invention further provides a method for logging onto a plurality of servers through an instant messenger. The method comprises following steps: (a) logging onto a first server through an instant messenger to create a link; and (b) logging onto a second server through the instant messenger while the link is still active. 
         [0010]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a prior art instant messenger. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a prior art instant messaging system. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a user logged onto different servers according to the prior art. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an instant messenger of a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an instant messenger of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a user using the instant messenger of the present invention to log in a server as a host. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating a user using the instant messenger of the present invention to log in a server as a client. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating an instant messaging system of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a user using the instant messenger in  FIG. 8  to log in a server. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating the interface of the instant messenger in  FIG. 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an instant messenger  400  of a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , when a user U 1  logs onto the servers S 1  to Sn respectively as clients C 1  to Cn through only one instant messenger  400  of the present invention, the user U 1  can communicate with on-line clients registered in the server S 1  through the instant messenger  400 . And the user U 1  can communicate with on-line clients registered in the server S 2  through the instant messenger  400 , and so on. Consequently, the user U 1  only has to install one instant messenger  400  and all the servers S 1  to Sn can be logged on through the instant messenger  400 . 
         [0022]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an instant messenger  400  of a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , a user U 1  uses the instant messenger  400  to log onto a server as a host H 1  or a client C 1 . A host can manage a server, manage the registrations and authorities of the clients registered in the server, and exchange instant messages with other on-line clients registered in the server. A client can only exchange instant messages with other on-line clients registered in the same server. 
         [0023]    Please refer to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating the user U 1  using the instant messenger  400  of the present invention to log in a server S 1  as a host H 1 . In this case, the user U 1  can manage the server S 1 , manage the registrations and authorities of the clients registered in the server S 1 , and exchange instant messages with on-line clients registered in the server S 1 . One example of the user U 1  managing the authority of a client is that the host H 1  can establish a contact list for the client. When a client Cx logs onto the server S 1 , instead of allowing the client Cx to establish connections with all of the on-line clients registered in the server S 1  on the server, just allow the client Cx to exchange instant messages to some of the on-line clients registered in the server S 1 . 
         [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating the user U 1  using the instant messenger  400  of the present invention to log in the server S 1  as a client C 1 . In this case, the user U 1  can only exchange instant messages with on-line clients allowed by the host of the server S 1 . 
         [0025]    Please refer to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating the instant messaging system  800  of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the instant messaging system  800  includes a server system  810  and an instant messenger  400 . The server system  810  includes a plurality of servers S 1  to Sn. The servers S 1  to Sn of the server system  810  can be independent from each other, or can be sub-servers of the server system  810  if the server system  810  is an internet data center (IDC). When the server system  810  is an IDC, the user can log onto a plurality of sub-servers by performing only one log in process to establish a connection with the IDC. Therefore it is very convenient for the user. Either the servers S 1  to Sn are independent from each other or are sub-servers of the IDC, the clients on a server can only communicate with other on-line clients registered in the same server. If the user wants to communicate with clients registered in another server, he has to log into another server for communicating with the clients on that server. 
         [0026]    Please refer to  FIG. 8  again. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the user U 1  can use the instant messenger  400  to log in several servers S 1 , S 2 , S 3 , and Sn. Using the instant messenger  400 , the user can log in a plurality of servers with a plurality of accounts. For example, the user U 1  can use the instant messenger  400  to log in the server S 1  as a host H 1 , in the server S 2  as a client C 1 , in the server S 3  as a client C 2 , and in the server Sn as a host H 2  at the same time. In this case, the user U 1  can communicate with the on-line clients registered in the servers S 1 , S 2 , S 3  and Sn, and can manage the servers S 1  and Sn. 
         [0027]    Please refer to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a user U 1  using the instant messenger  400  to log in a server and related details. The steps are described as follows: 
         [0028]    Step  900 : Start; 
         [0029]    Step  901 : The user U 1  enters the server name, the user name, and the password for logging in the server; 
         [0030]    Step  902 : The server examines the data the user U 1  enters, and determines the user&#39;s status accordingly; if the server determines the user U 1  to be a host, go to step  903 ; if the server determines the user U 1  to a client, go to step  904 ; 
         [0031]    Step  903 : The user U 1  logs in the server as a host; 
         [0032]    Step  904 : The user U 1  logs in the server as a client; 
         [0033]    Step  905 : The user U 1  manages the server and communicates with the clients on the server with the host account, then go to step  907 ; 
         [0034]    Step  906 : The user U 1  communicates with the clients on the server with the client account; 
         [0035]    Step  907 : The user U 1  logs out from the server. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating an interface  1000  of the instant messenger  400  of the present invention. The interface  1000  comprises a user&#39;s picture block  1001 , a personal information block  1002 , an adding-in icon  1003 , a contact list  1004 , a plurality of server tabs  1005 , and a favorite contact block  1006 . The user&#39;s picture block  1001  displays the user&#39;s personal picture. The personal information block  1002  provides the user&#39;s personal information such as his phone number, email address, etc. The adding-in icon  1003  is clicked when the user wants to log into an server which is not logged on yet. The contact list block  1004  provides a list of clients registered in a server. As shown in  FIG. 10 , the contact list block  1004  lists clients registered in the server S 1  with on-line clients displayed in a first style and off-line clients displayed in a second style. Each logged on server is associated with a server tab  1005 . Thus the user can switch to another contact list block  1004  corresponding to another logged-on server by clicking its corresponding server tab  1005 . For example, when the user clicks the server tab labeled S 3 , the contact list block  1004  corresponding to the server S 3  will be displayed to replace the contact list block  1004  corresponding to the server S 1 . The favorite contact block  1006  provides the user a space to display his favorite contacts. Therefore the favorite contact block  1006  can list clients registered in different servers. And the user can establish a connection with a client who is registered in a server whose contact list block  1004  is not currently displayed by clicking on the client in the favorite contact block  1006  without clicking on the corresponding server&#39;s tab to replace the currently displayed contact list block  1004 . Additionally, when the user logs in another server by clicking on the adding-in icon  1003 , a new server tab is generated for the newly logged-on server. Thus, if the user only logs in one server, only one server tab is displayed. If the user logs in 10 servers, 10 server tabs are displayed. 
         [0037]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.