Patent Document ID: 8949717
Application ID: 13297218

Base Claim:
1. An automated method for arranging the positions of a plurality of avatars during a virtual conversation that is visualized in a three or 2½ dimensional space computer graphical user interface by an outside observer, each said avatar having a front face, said method comprising: using at least one computer processor to automatically determine the location of said plurality of avatars relative to each other and relative to the location of one or marks in the vicinity of said plurality of avatars; said marks being designated regions or points in said avatar's virtual world; wherein said marks are embedded in objects in said virtual world, wherein said objects comprise one or more objects selected from the group consisting of furniture couches, chairs, corners of the room, edges of the room, selected regions near plants, selected regions near counters, tops of counters, tops of tables, and selected regions near doorways; each said marks imparting a preferred avatar orientation to avatars standing or sitting above said marks, thereby producing marked avatars; for said plurality of marked avatars that are positioned above said marks, then using said at least one computer processor to automatically position said marked avatars in said preferred avatar orientation; for those plurality of unmarked avatars that are not positioned above said marks, then using said at least one computer processor to generate a convex hull based on the location of all marked and unmarked avatars as well as the preferred avatar orientations of said marked avatars, such that the preferred avatar orientations of said marked avatars generally face the interior of said convex hull; and using said at least one computer processor to automatically position said unmarked avatars along the perimeter of said convex hull; wherein said at least one computer processor is further configured to understand the user generated signal that avatars may leave a conversation by clicking on a region of the virtual space that is outside of a predetermined maximum distance from the perimeter of said convex hull.

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Claim 7:
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said outside observer has a viewpoint that is projected, by said at least one computer processor, to a projected observer viewpoint location in the X,Y plane of said three or 2½ dimensional space; using said at least one computer processor to automatically determine the center location of said marked and unmarked avatars; using said at least one computer processor to automatically determine a line segment between said center location and said projected observer viewpoint location in the X,Y plane of said three or 2½ dimensional space; using said at least one computer processor to automatically determine a missing observer avatar point on said line segment; and using said missing observer avatar point on said line segment, and said at least one computer processor to automatically construct a convex hull based on the location of all marked and unmarked avatars and the missing observer avatar point on said line segment.