Patents by Inventor Catherine A. Stillwagon

Catherine A. Stillwagon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and system for switching between users in a conference enabled application
    Patent number: 5557725
    Abstract: A method of selecting which user has the input focus, and conditions by which a different user will get the input focus in the future. A user is said to have the `floor` if that user is enabled to become the input focus, or in other words, to provide input to the shared application. Zero or more users may have the floor at a particular time. (This is in contrast to a human conference or meeting where generally one person has the floor at a time). A method of selecting the set of users who have the floor is called a floor control policy. The floor control policy determines the set of participants who have the floor now, who will get the floor next, and how and when the floor assignments are made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 17, 1996
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Catherine M. Ansberry, Jay D. Freer, Todd W. Fuqua, Erik P. Mesterton, Catherine A. Stillwagon, Ching-Yun Yang