WO2012074365A1

WO2012074365A1 - Method and system for document collaboration services

Info

Publication number: WO2012074365A1
Application number: PCT/MY2011/000143
Authority: WO
Inventors: Neng Choong Khong; Suan Lee Cheng; Hwee Wong Ting
Original assignee: Mimos Berhad
Priority date: 2010-11-30
Filing date: 2011-06-24
Publication date: 2012-06-07
Also published as: MY161653A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system for use in document viewing between a plurality of devices, including the capability to switch or transfer document viewing session to another device during an on-going viewing session.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DOCUMENT COLLABORATION SERVICES

FIELD OF INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention direct to document collaboration services, and more particularly to a method for providing document collaboration between a plurality of devices with device switching capability.

BACKGROUND

It is widely known that mobility with seamless connection within a network is one of the significant and desirable attributes at present. The proliferation of mobile connections between users, enhancements associated to the advantages of mobility capabilities has increased tremendously over the past few years. Such advancements include the collaborative software, whereby it is entirely practical and vital for users or individuals separated by geographical distances to communicate in real time, interactive manner.

In the prior art related to collaborative software-based applications, the most are built or configured for voice communication, provisioning a rich set of multimedia services such as video-conferencing, instant messaging, document collaboration, whiteboard drawing, applications sharing, and remote desktop. With these feature, users are allowed to conveniently conduct group activities including meetings, presentations, lectures and training at selected remote locations, eliminating the need to travel or even the necessity to depart from user's comfort zone. As briefly discussed in the earlier paragraph, the mobility feature within a network is rather gaining momentum nowadays, therefore having a collaboration software installed or configured within a mobile device or gadgets of the likes would be decidedly beneficial. For instance, a user may want to share document viewing and thus perform document collaboration viewing with another user on top of establishing a voice communication using their mobile devices. This feature is useful for users who are constantly travelling or even seasonal business travelers and required to disseminate information while traveling.

The challenges associated to accomplishing an effective mobile device document collaboration are centered on the ability to view the document natively in the respective handheld or mobile device or the absence of the document viewer altogether. In many cases, the resolution of the original document does not fit the screen sizes of the devices collaborating in the document viewing session. Another drawback is that the viewing ability is device-dependent, for instance, the viewing ability of a handheld device is different from that of a desktop device in term of screen size, resolution and etc, basically, the ability to view is not heterogeneous homogeneous in relation to devices.

US 2006 0041687 Al discloses an apparatus and method for enhanced synchronization using and IMS server. This document teaches a system for synchronizing participant copies of presentation data during a collaboration session. While the apparatus and method is expedient for synchronization data from a user's mobile device to said user's computer system, there is no sufficient information disclosed on the ability to allow heterogeneous communication devices or a plurality of different type of devices to participate in a document collaboration session. As discussed above, developing a system and method that is suitable to accommodate the drawbacks in providing document collaboration ability between devices of various types has been difficult. Recognizing the aforementioned shortcomings, the present invention has been accomplished to significantly solve the current drawbacks as previously discussed and improve the conventional methods and systems.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and system for use in enabling document collaboration service enhanced with device switching capability on heterogeneous communication devices.

It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for use in enabling document collaboration service, wherein the shared document or information is transcoded into image viewable on a plurality of communication devices, proxying communication devices to broadcast transcoded copies of document.

It is yet another object of the present invention to synchronize content viewed on every communication devices participating in the document collaboration service.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide a system and method to seamlessly execute session transfer thus smooth handing off from the current communication device to the other recipients, with respect to performing document collaboration service. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following description.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

There is disclosed a method for use in viewing a document between at least two devices within a network, said method comprising the steps of: sending a request to a document collaboration application server (15) to establish document viewing; requesting for permission from a corresponding node to that of one of the devices to participate in document viewing; obtaining information related to the capabilities of viewing documents for the plurality of devices; transcoding the document into a format viewable for all devices; broadcasting the transcoded document to all devices; establishing document collaboration viewing; sending a control signal to document collaboration application server (15) to ensure all devices view the same page of the document; and transferring the on-going document viewing from one device to another device.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a server module, wherein said server module comprises a plurality of sub-modules; said sub-modules are: a session router module (30), a session manager module (290), a client proxy module (40) and a transcoder module (35); a client module, wherein said client module comprises a plurality of sub- modules; said sub-modules are: a document viewer module (200), an action handler module (210), document collaboration management module (220) and session management module (230). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be more understood by reference to the description below taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings herein:

FIG 1 illustrates the client and server architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG 2 shows the components involved in order to achieve the intended functions in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG 3 shows the components for the Document Collaboration Application Server (15) in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG 4 shows the components and steps involved with respect to the overall view of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In addition to the drawings, further understanding of the object, construction, characteristics and functions of the invention, a detailed description with reference to the embodiments is given in the following. FIG 1 illustrates the client and server architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system involves a plurality of user devices, for instance, but not limiting to IMS devices, owned by two users, Alice and Bob. In this example, Alice has two devices (500, 501), whereby at least one of her devices (500) has established a document communication session (DCS) with Bob's device (600) by means of the centralized IMS core using any access networks such as WiFi, WiMAX, 3G and the likes. The method used for the system involves several steps, in which the first is to send a request by at least one of the users, in this example is Alice, for Document Collaboration Application (DCAS) (15) to function as a proxy in performing actions such as, but not limiting to, seeking the other user's device which is Bob, a permission to establish DCS. Then the next step involves brokering for the information related to the respective session and device capabilities from Session Transferring Application Server (STAS) (20), as suitably seen in FIG 1. Subsequently, the shared document is transcoded to an image file which is viewable on different devices, in addition to synchronizing the content viewed across devices participating in a DCS.

Alice then is allowed to transfer an on- going DCS from the current active device (500) to at least one of her alternative devices (500, 501) through the interaction with STAS (20) and DCAS (15). The DCS is preferably transferred from a first IMS enabled device (500) to the second or alternative IMS enabled device (501).

FIG 2 shows the components involved in order to achieve the intended functions in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The main components are a document viewer module (200), an action handler module (210), a document collaboration management module (DCM) (220) and a session management module (SM) (230). Peripheral components to aid the primary components as mentioned includes the VOIP application with session transfer module (280) and SIP module (250). These components are suitably configured to be interconnected with the operating system module (260) and hardware module (270).

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the document viewer module (200) is configured to handle prefaces of GUI applications, provisioning of a file manager to retrieve document intended for sharing and interactions with the underlying action handler module (210).

Still referring to FIG 2, the action handler module (210) plays a major role in providing interface with the document viewer (200) to the IMS services, these are the document DCM (220) and the SM (230). The action handler (210) is configured to translate the user's interaction captured through, but not limiting to, keystroke, mouse clicking or touch screen in document viewer (200) into suitable actions. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, upon triggered by the upper application module, DCM (220) communicates with DCAS for the setup stage, provisioning and terminating of a DCS. The Session Management Module (230) is configured to communicate with STAS to conduct the procedures necessary for a session transfer to take the place. Further in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the VOIP application (280) is configured to be part of the IMS-enabled device. Suitably with such arrangement, the user is granted with freedom to transfer either one of the session, i.e. DCS or voice call only. FIG 3 shows the components for the Document Collaboration Application Server (15) in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the server (15) interacts with IMS-enabled communication devices by means of MS core, and communicates with STAS (20) directly. In the first connection, with the IMS-enabled device, a series of SIP signaling is deployed while in the second connection, being the direct connection with STAS (20), normal TCP/UDP communication is involved.

The main steps involved in the DCAS (15) when a connection with a user device is established will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG 3. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the session router (30) intercepts a request from a user's device through the IMS core. From here, the session router (30) decides on the sequence of actions to be carried out, based on the request received from the user's device. Session router (30) then instructs the modules positioned at the upper layer for instance session manager (290), client proxy (40) and transcoder to perform their functionalities accordingly. In this process, the session router (30) plays an important role in broadcasting the transcoded document to devices participating in the DCS.

The session manager module (290) is responsible in retrieving information related to session and device capability from STAS (20), and storing them within a database. The client proxy (40) module serves to request the permission from the corresponding node's (CN) device to establish a DCS and thus broadcasting page control signals to devices. Transcoder (35) is a module that is configured to convert the document uploaded into at least one image file which is viewable on the communication devices, without requiring the installation of additional software or codec. In addition, the transcoder (35) is configured to resize the file to fit the smaller screen normally provided on user mobile or portable devices. Upon completion of the necessary tasks, the session router (30) communicates with the respective users devices to response on their intended request.

The components and steps involved with respect to the overall view of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment will be illustrated herein shortly, with reference to FIG 4.

In the preferred method, in the midst of conducting a VOIP call to the corresponding node, for instance Bob, Alice is able to initiate a concurrent DCS. This is achieved by pressing a predetermined key on the respective device, particularly on the keypad or keyboard or any task of the likes to send a request for establishing DCS from said device to the DCAS (15). Upon receipt of this request, on behalf of Alice, DCAS (15) proceeds to seek CN's permission to join the DCS. In the event that the CN (which in this case can be Bob's) accepts the request, DCAS (15) then proceeds to interact with STAS (20) in order to retrieve information from devices used by Alice and the said CN/Bob. Apart from this, DCAS (15) is configured to further obtain information on the device capabilities of the involved devices of Alice and CN/Bob from the STAS (20). Based on the information retrieved on the devices, DCAS (15) informs the active device currently used by Alice that DCS can be performed. The chosen document to the uploaded is delivered to DCAS (15) so as to perform transcoding. Based on the participating devices capabilities, the document is converted to image file of different sizes to fit each participating device. The transcoded document may be scaled to fit small screen devices, and to conserve bandwidth for sending images to devices. Subsequently, DCAS (15) then proceeds to broadcast the transcoded documents to all participating devices. Upon notified to initiate the slide presentation, Alice's active device informs STAS (20) that a DCS is established. For every control signal received from the active device, DCAS (15) broadcoasts it to the CN's device, hence effectively synchronize the content viewed across every device. In addition, a control feedback is provided as a mechanism to Alice's active device to ensure that everyone is viewing the same content. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a session transfer of the DCS from the active device to an alternative device, as shown in FIG 5. To complete such transfer, the active device is configured to query STAS (20) for a list of alternative devices of which the DCS can be transferred to. After choosing the alternative device, the active device notifies DCAS (15) on the selected alternative device, in order for DCAS (15) to proceed with sending the transcoded document to the selected alternative device. At the same time, the STAS (20) is notified on the newly added alternative device so as to ensure that whenever a transition signal is sent out from the active device, the content viewed on the CN's device and alternative device will change accordingly. Upon completion of the respective presentation, active device notifies the DCAS (15) about the DCS termination. In response to this, the DCAS broadcasts the termination or teardown signal to both CN's device and alternative device. When received the teardown or termination signal, both devices send an acknowledgement back to DCAS (15) and accordingly terminate the DCS session. The DCAS (15) then proceeds to report the event to active device before freeing up the resources occupied by the DCS session. During this process, the active device informs STAS (20) about the DCS termination so that STAS (20) can perform corresponding updates on session information. The present invention may be modified in light of the above teachings. It is therefore understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims

1. A method for use in viewing a document between at least two devices within a network, said method comprising the steps of:

sending a request to a document collaboration application server (15) to establish document viewing;

requesting for permission from a corresponding node to that of one of the devices to participate in document viewing;

obtaining information related to the capabilities of viewing documents for the plurality of devices;

transcoding the document into a format viewable for all devices;

broadcasting the transcoded document to all devices;

establishing document collaboration viewing;

sending a control signal to document collaboration application server (15) to ensure all devices view the same page of the document;

transferring the on-going document viewing from one device to another device.

2. The method as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the step of transferring the ongoing document viewing from one device to another further comprises the steps of: requesting for a list of alternative devices of which the document viewing can be transferred to; selecting the alternative device; notifying the document collaboration application server (DCAS) (15) on the selected alternative device; notifying the STAS (20) on the new alternative device; delivering the transcoded document to the alternative device; broadcasting the page control signal to the alternative device and a corresponding node's device.

3. The method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the method further comprises notifying the document collaboration application server (DCAS) (15) on the establishment of document viewing.

4. The method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the method further comprises the step of terminating the document viewing.

5. The method as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the step of terminating the document viewing further comprises notifying the document collaboration application server (DCAS)(15) on the termination, broadcasting the termination signal; sending an acknowledgement based on the broadcasted termination signal and terminating the document viewing session.

6. A system for managing document collaboration service comprising: a server module, wherein said server module comprises a plurality of sub- modules; said sub-modules are: a session router module (30), a session manager module (290), a client proxy module (40) and a transcoder module (35);

a client module, wherein said client module comprises a plurality of sub- modules; said sub-modules are: a document viewer module (200), an action handler module (210), document collaboration management module (220) and session management module (230).

7. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the session router module (30) serves as an interface between the server module and an underlying IMS core, and responsible for coordinating the tasks to be performed by other sub modules.

8. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the session manager module (290) serves to handle session transfer, including interacting with the STAS (20) module.

9. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the transcoder module (35) serves to convert the uploaded document into images or formats which are acceptable for participating devices.

10. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the document viewer (200) serves as an interface for users to view or issue commands to advance the pages in the DCS session.

1 1. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the action handler (210) serves to coordinate the interactions between sub modules, including invoking underlying sub modules for sending relevant signals across any access network to the server module based on the commands sent by the document viewer module (200).

12. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the document collaboration management module (220) serves to communicate with DCAS (15) on the set up, slide page control and tear down or termination of DCS session.

13. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the session management module (230) serves to communicate with STAS (20) for executing session transfer whenever the relevant request is triggered at the document viewer (200).