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1 (19) United States (12) Patent Appliation Publiation Ditzik US Al (1) Pub. o.: US 25/1178 A1 ( 43) Pub. Date: May 26, 25 (54) DESKTOP COMPUTER COFERECIG SYSTEM (76) Inventor: Rihard J. Ditzik, San Diego, CA (US) (21) (22) (6) Correspondene Address: MILES & STOCKBRIDGE PC 1751 PIACLE DRIVE SUITE 5 MCLEA, VA (US) Appl. o.: 11/23,361 Filed: De.29,24 Related U.S. Appliation Data Continuation of appliation o. 8/487,778, filed on Jun. 7, 1995, whih is a division of appliation o. 8/28,148, filed on Jul. 25, 1994, now Pat. o. 5,589,849, whih is a ontinuation of appliation o. 7/771,856, filed on Ot. 7, 1991, now abandoned, whih is a ontinuation-in-part of appliation o. 7/375,366, filed on Jul. 3, 1989, now abandoned. Publiation Classifiation (51) Int. Cl?... H4 7/14; H4M 11!; G9G 5! (52) U.S. Cl /179; 348/14.8; 379/93.1 (57) ABSTRACT A man-omputer-man ommuniations system, inluding a omputer workstation (1), whih is omprised of a display devie (22), graphi tablet (18), stylus (14), omputer unit (24), and display devie sreen (16) loated at onvenient loations. The ative area of the graphi tablet is a transparent surfae area (18), whih is oinident to the display sreen and is approximately the same size as the display sreen. The graphi tablet devie may inlude ative or passive stylus (14). A keyboard unit (12) and telephone unit (28) may be added to the workstation. An external ommuniations system may be added to transmit and reeive data to or from remote omputers or other workstations. The omputer unit (24) ontrols the operation of the workstation and external ommuniations _ COMMUICATIOS ETWORK

2 Patent Appliation Publiation May 26, 25 Sheet 1 of 5 US 25/1178 Al ;?P (f) z <D <( 'T""" I- a:..- OS Cl - zl- =>w LL 'T""" 'T""" ::/ - ' I z 'T""" 'T""" L{) 'T"""

3 ""C _... = > 't:l 't:l 2 (') EXPLODED 14 VIEW = ""C ' 16 = (') -/ A) B = - ( '\;;/4 24--tf 44C :.. _,., 448/ '-< / 'JJ. = , o/--)\lu/u/ FIG. 2 Cj 'JJ. --- '"""' '"""' -..J > '"""'

4 Patent Appliation Publiation May 26, 25 Sheet 3 of 5 US 25/1178 Al <D.. w Ill >< W> "-u. T""". LO T""" T"""

5 V' (START PWR POWER-UP If-}.. IITIALIZATIO SYSTEM RESET PROGRAM - SYSTEM RESET 62 ERROR FAIL SYSTEMS DIAGOSTICS I REPORT AD CHECKOUT PRW-OFF I 66 SELECT MODE OF /v.. OPERATIO f"' 7 TERMIAL OR WORKSTATIO ITIALIZE TERMIAL:. 1-J TERMIAL j MODE l WRK STA 7-l BOOT OPERATIG 68 SELECT VOICE SYSTEM MITIALIZE TERM. I COMM.?"..., VOICE PROGRAM I!S74 1/'-76 O 72 SELECT IITIALIZE - WORKSTATIO MODE ETWORK_. 8 ETWORK,, IITIALIZE COMM. rt' STAD-ALOE OR COMMUICATIOS PROGRAM & MODEM I ETWORK MODE r-84 6 SELECT VOICE. 1 IITIALIZE ) COMMUICATIOS? VOICE COMMUICATIOS 88 O 1 PROGRAM.l_ LOAD LA/REMOTE.. I COMMUICATIOS EXIT j ''-I' LOAD WIDOW PROGRAMS EVIROMET PROGRAM TERMIAL MODE PROGRAM SETUP IITIALIZE vv-.. STAD-ALOE (;r94 MODE,,LOAD TERMIAL APPLICATIO PROG. 9 - I DOWLOAD B COMMUICATIOS- DATA I PROGRAMS j "'C... = > 't:l 't:l (') = "'C g. (') = '-< '1 8 'Jl =..., Cj 'Jl '"""' '"""' -..J > '"""'

6 1 96 APPLJCA TIOt PROGRAM(S) 1 SET-UP SELECT & IITIALIZE DEVICES 1-J 1 -Z.----,_..1 2 }4,.16 1?8 BUSIESS/FIACE SCIETIFIC & ) REALTIME 1 CADICADD r WORD PROCESSIG APPLICATIOS EGIEERIG TELE-WRITIG APPLICATIO & DESKTOP PROGRAM(S) APPLICATIO COFERECIG PROGRAM(S) PUBLISHIG -r PROGRAM(S) PROGRAM PROGRAMS(S) I I ""C... = > 't:l 't:l (') = ""C g. (') = '-< '1 8 'JJ. =..., FIG EXIT O APPLICATIO? YES 114 '--"+- EXIT jo (1 MODE? Cj 'JJ. '"""' '"""' -..J > '"""'

7 US 25/1178 Al 1 May 26,25 DESKTOP COMPUTER COFERECIG SYSTEM RELATED APPLICATIOS [1] This present appliation is a ontinuation appliation of Ser. o. 8/487,778 filed Jun. 7, 1995; whih was divisional appliation of Ser. o. 8/28,148 filed Jul. 25, 1994, whih was a ontinuation appliation of Ser. o. 7/771,856 filed Ot. 7, 1991, whih was a Continuation in part appliation of Ser. o. 7/375,366 filed on Jul. 3, Eah of the related appliations is inorporated herein by referene in its entirety. BACKGROUD OF THE IVETIO [2] 1. Field of the Invention [3] This invention relates to ommuniation systems used by individuals for general tele-writing, skething and drawing of hand written information, to be transmitted to other individuals via omputer systems. In partiular it relates to omputer workstations omprised of eletrial and mehanial devies for the input, omputation, and output of data, resulting an integrated ergonomially designed humanomputer interfae system. [4] 2. Desription of the Prior Art [5] In the following, a omputer workstation is defined to be a ombination of devies and apparatus, whih may inlude omputer hardware and software, that a person uses or operates during the performane various omputing and ommuniation tasks. These tasks inludes, but is not limited to, tehnial alulations, business omputations and loal/remote ommuniations. Prior art in this field inludes many omputer workstations and personal omputers. Heneforth, a omputer workstation will inlude personal omputers, omputer terminals, omputer onsoles, and like devies. The person operating the workstation will be referred to as the user. Display devies used in omputer workstations an be lassified into two broad ategories. The first ategory is often referred to as diret-view display devies, in whih the user, looks diretly at the atual display sreen, not projeted light image from other omponents. Most of the display devies in the prior art belong to this ategory, examples inlude the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), liquid rystal, and plasma panel displays. The other ategory is referred to as non-diret view or projeted image displays, where examples inlude the optial CRT projetor and some laser addressed liquid rystal projetion devies. [6] There are presently many omputer workstations on the market, many having similar omponents and physial arrangements. The available workstations are very well known to those skilled in the workstation art. The majority of omputer workstations have a CRT display devie plaed on the table or desk, a mouse unit, a omputer unit, and an alphanumeri keyboard. The prior art CRT or other diretview displays usually have the display sreen at near vertial or near 45 degree sreen inlinations. A graphi tablet is defined to be an eletrial devie, whih repeatedly measures the position of a stylus, pen or a user's finger over a defined area, enodes the positions into a digital signal, and transmits the data to a omputer. A stylus is defined to be any elongated pen-like objet that an be used for writing or skething, inluding the user's finger. The writing stylus is typially used to point, write, sketh, or draw onto the graphi tablet's ative area, referred to as the enoding area. [7] Prior art in omputer workstations exist in various ombinations of omputers, display devies, and peripheral devies. However, the prior art fails to antiipate the importane of omputer workstation with omputer, graphi tablet, and display devie, with inlined sreen angle and its adjustability through large angles. U.S. Pat. o. 4,361,721 of Dagnelie disloses a teletext devie having a graphi tablet and a CRT display at a sreen inlination fixed near 45 degrees. However, the dislosure does not reognize display sreen angle adjustability and does not teah a omputing means of any type, whih severely limits the usefulness of the devie. U.S. Pat. o. 4,562,482 of Brown disloses a omputerized exeutive workstation having a CRT display with a sreen inlination angle of 5 degrees from the horizontal, during workstation operation. Although the CRT display an be retrated to a stored position below the work surfae area, the teahings of Brown do not dislose a graphi tablet and do not dislose sreen angle adjustability. These shortomings restrit the workstation an operation without graphi input. The U.S. Pat. o. 4,668,26 of Lapeyre and Gundlah disloses a omputer terminal abinet for glare redution, having a CRT display at an aute angle with the horizontal, a keyboard, and a printer. The referene teahes adjustable mounting only for glare redution, and does not dislose a graphi tablet or a omputer; thus also restriting the terminal to non-graphi input. U.S. Pat. o. 4,669,789 of Pemberton disloses a omputer user's desk having a CRT monitor at about 6 degrees from the horizontal, a keyboard, and dual disk drives. This referene does not dislose a graphi tablet or sreen angle adjustability to inlinations near the horizontal. Again, the prior art does not antiipate graphi input or sreen angle adjustability for optimal stylus ontrol. [8] All the prior art of omputer workstations, terminals or abinets, of whih the above is representative, dislose either display sreens near vertial orientation, dislose fixed aute inlinations, or limited sreen angle adjustability for glare redution. o prior art an be found that dislose sreen angle adjustability from horizontal to vertial, with a graphi tablet and omputer. The prior art workstations an be used in either the onventional manner or at a fixed aute sreen angle, but not both. The prior art fails to reognize the importane of an ergonomially design graphi input workstation apable of adjusting between onventional orientation and graphi input mode of operation with stylus data entry and sreen angle near the horizontal (about 3 degrees for horizontal). [9] Although several graphi tablet and stylus devies are available in the market, they usually have been ombined with a display devie by eletrial means only. The typial display and graphi tablet ombination has an opaque tablet laying horizontally on the desk or table next to the display devie, onneted by an eletrial able. Some graphi tablet prior art inludes a transparent tablet plaed over the display sreen, but typially the sreen orientation is near vertial. Although this arrangement works satisfatory for general purpose omputer proessing, it has some definite shortomings when high resolution graphi proessing is attempted. This is important beause today software is beoming more graphi intensive than ever before. [1] An important problem exists if the sreen angle is near vertial. The user's hand and wrist must bend to an unomfortable position to write or sketh on the tablet-

8 US 25/1178 Al 2 May 26,25 display surfae. In addition, if the sreen is at eye level, as with most prior art, the user's arm must be raised and held at position that will beome very tiresome to the user, if used for a signifiant amount of time. The above is not just a matter of onveniene. These shortomings have severely restrited the use of standard graphi tablet input devies in the marketplae. This is one reason that the mouse input devie has found wide spread use as a graphi input devie for omputer workstations and personal omputers. Speifially, the mouse unit slides over the work table or desk, providing a support for the user's hand and arm. However, the mouse graphi input devies also have several disadvantages. First, it is diffiult for the user to write, sketh, or draw with a mouse, beause the devie is too large and bulky to at as a pen or stylus. Seondly, the devie must have a lear area on the table or desk for the unit to slide. This is valuable work spae that some workstations annot afford to lose. [11] Prior art workstations are inherently limited in their graphi interation apabilities. The use of mie, joystiks, trakballs, and touh panels all have limitations for entering positional and funtional data. For example, Computer-Aid Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) appliations require preise and natural drawing and pointing means. An engineer or draftsman must be able to work at their workstation all day without great mental or physial fatigue. The prior art also does a poor job at providing a fatigue free workstation. In the area of teleonferening appliations, the omputer workstation must be apable of real-time graphi and voie ommuniations. The prior art workstations do not provide the means to aomplish that type of ommuniations. In addition, onventional prior art workstations do not provide the ergonomially designed hardware support neessary for real-time eletroni mail ommuniations, while onneted to either in Loal Area etwork ommuniation means or remote ommuniation means. SUMMARY OF THE IVETIO [12] The dislosed invention solves the shortomings of the prior art by arranging the standard workstation omponents so that it results in an integrated ergonomially designed universal workstation. The primary feature of the workstation is that its display devie is oriented so that its sreen angle is inlined at an angle. A transparent graphi tablet or stylus enoding means is plaed over the display sreen suh that tablet or enoding area is parallel to the sreen and above with a minimum spae between them. Thus the tablet and sreen appear to be one surfae to the user. The display and tablet ombination an be made to be adjustable through a multipliity of sreen angles. When the user writes with the stylus onto the tablet-surfae and the surfae is oriented at an angle of about 3 degrees, a natural writing and display surfae exits, whih provides a surprisingly synergisti and natural man-omputer interfae. In addition, the same workstation an be used for standard personal omputing. [13] Aordingly, the present invention has for its first objet a omputer workstation with a display devie oriented at an inlined angle near the horizontal suh that the user an write, sketh or draw on the display sreen-tablet surfae it a natural manner, where it results in a new and surprising tele-writing, tele-drawing, and voie-graphis onferening system. [14] Another important objet of this invention is to provide an ergonomially designed omputer workstation integrating text, graphis, and voie means for the purpose of general purpose omputing and ommuniations. [15] A still another important objet of this invention is to provide for a human-omputer interfae that results in a natural, easy to use, and useful omputer workstation, personal omputer, omputer terminal, personal workstation, and/or omputer onsole. [16] A further objet of this invention is to allow preise hand ontrolled stylus pointing, skething, writing, or drawing funtions by a user for data entry into a omputer means, omputer network, distributed network, or ommuniation system. [17] A still further objet of this invention is to provide a workstation with graphi input and output means integrated with two way telephone voie means, suh that real-time teleonferening is made possible from the same workstation herein. [18] Another important objet of this invention is to provide a omputer based workstation apable of real-time eletroni mail funtions. This would involve ommuniating alphanumeri text, graphis, and images to remote loations, and having a apability of transmitting the user's hand writing, inluding his or hers personal signature, via eletroni mail messages. [19] A further objet of this invention is to provide an improved omputer workstation for Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Design and Drafting appliations, as well as general purpose high resolution graphi image rendering systems. [2] Still further objets and advantages will beome apparent from a onsideration of the ensuing desription and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTIO OF THE DRAWIGS [21] FIG. 1 is a perspetive view of the omputer workstation in aordane with the present invention. [22] FIG. 2 is a right side view of a CRT monitor embodiment of the invention, showing a hidden view, an exploded view and a break away view. [23] FIG. 3 is a right side view of the fiat panel display embodiment of the invention, showing hidden view, an exploded view and a break away view. [24] FIGS. 4A and 4B are a flow hart of one appliation of the invention showing the sequene of the stored program events during the operation of the omputer workstation. DETAILED DESCRIPTIO [25] The dislosed invention an be desribed with referene to the perspetive view of FIG. 1, whih shows one possible embodiment. The omponents of the omputer workstation may be arranged in several different embodiments. In FIG. 1, a table support 26 physially supports a display devie 22, a transparent graphi tablet surfae area 18, a stylus 14, a omputer keyboard unit 12, a mouse unit 15 and a omputing means 24. The table support 26 may be a standard desk or pedestal, modified to physially support

9 US 25/1178 Al 3 May 26,25 the above omponents, or it may be a speially design struture. All display devies define a display sreen of a finite area. The display devie 22 has a display sreen 16, whih is loated under the graphi tablet surfae 18 and is of equivalent size, as indiated in the figure. The display sreen is inlined at an angle between the horizontal and 45 degrees. The angle of inlination is adjustable through a wide range of angles. The display devie 22 has ontrol iruitry whih may internal to the sreen housing or loated some distane away. The ontrol iruity may have one or more miroproessors assoiated with it. [26] The graphi tablet surfae 18 may onsist of a thin layer of a transparent material suh as indium tin oxide or other suitable material; thus it annot be distinguished for the display sreen 16 in FIG. 1, but an be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 in exploded view. The stylus 14 has an eletrial able 2 onneting it to the omputing means 24. The graphi tablet surfae 18, the stylus 14 the stylus-omputer able 2 and its ontrol eletronis make up a stylus position enoding means. The ontrol eletronis is typially loated on a printed iruit ard inside the omputing means. Stylus enoding means are well known to those skilled in the art. The mouse unit is omprised of a hand unit and eletrial able, whih is onneted to the omputing mean's serial port or bus interfae. [27] A telephone means 28 may be loated on table support means near the display devie and keyboard. The addition of the telephone means to the omputer workstation provides for both voie and data ommuniations, simultaneously. The telephone means may be onneted to the omputing means 24 via an eletrial telephone-omputer able 29. Speifi iruitry in the omputing means may integrate the voie signals with text/graphi data, well known to those skilled in the art. The omputing means may be onneted to an external ommuniation means for transmitting and reeiving data to and from a ommuniations network 52. The eletrial onnetion to the ommuniations network is via an external ommuniations able 49. The ommuniations network 52 is defined to be any appropriate ommuniation system or network, in whih data is transmitted and/or reeived to and from loal or remote devies. Examples of suh a ommuniation network inlude the onventional telephone system, private telephone exhanges, omputer loal area networks, wide area networks, RS-232 serial interfae, and many other types of ommuniation systems. The telephone means 28 may be a speaker-type telephone, where the hands of the user are free to type on the keyboard or to write with the hand-held stylus. In an alternative embodiment, the telephone means may be onneted diretly to the ommuniations network without going though the omputer means. In an alternative embodiment, the omputing means' funtions may be inorporated into the display ontrol iruitry. [28] The omputer keyboard unit 12 may be a standard alphanumeri type keyboard or a speial appliation speifi keyboard design. As shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard unit is mounted in front of the workstation for easy aess by the user. The keyboard is eletrially onneted to the omputer with a able in the standard manner, well know to those skilled in the art. The omputing means 24 may be loated in several different positions, but a onvenient position may be vertial mounted under the table support 26, as shown in the figure. [29] FIG. 2 shows a right side view of one embodiment of the omputer workstation, embodied with a CRT display monitor 4, whih is a speifi type of display devie. For larity, this figure does not show the telephone means 28, but it does show the telephone-omputer able 29. Some elements of the figure are shown with hidden lines and other elements are shown in a break-a-way view. [3] The omputer workstation 1 may be realized with several types of omputers or proessors, having a wide range of proessing powers, apabilities and sizes. Typially, the omputing means 24 will have a entral proessing unit, internal memory, arithmeti logi unit, internal data bus, memory bus, devie ontrollers, and other omponent well known to those skilled in the art. The omputing means 24 will also proess stored programs, algorithms and software, inluding but not limited to mahine language, operating system, assembly languages, high level omputational languages, and appliation software. The software may inlude text and graphi primitive programs to assist in the generation and manipulation of text and graphi workstation funtions. Suh software is known to those skilled in the field. [31] The means to enode a stylus position over the tablet area into eletrial signals an be aomplished by several tehniques. Among the prior art of enoding means are (1) measurement of x and y time delays via surfae aousti wave, (2) surfae resistive sheet, (3) membrane pressure, ( 4) magneti field means and ( 5) air aousti means. In some embodiments, the tablet surfae maybe a thin film applied to the display sreen. In other embodiments, the tablet or enoding area may represent an area on the display sreen, without a physial embodiment; i.e., air spae between sensors. There are many types of graphi tablets that are presently on the market, inluding the SummaSketh from Summagraphis Corporation, E-Z Image from Ovoni Systems In., or Sriptel from Sriptel Corporation. Typially, the stylus position is measured at a rate of about 1-5 points/seond in both the x and y diretions over the tablet's ative area. The tablet eletronis, loated near the tablet, in the stylus, or on the tablet-omputer interfae ard, onverts these measurements into a digital ode (enoded) and arranged into digital words or bytes (typially, 8 or 16 bits long). The resolutions of these devies are in the 2-3 dots/inh range. [32] As presented in FIG. 2, the graphi tablet means is omprised of the graphi tablet surfae 18 and the stylus 14 elements. They are presented in an exploded view, in order to show the reader the distintion between the tablet and the display sreen 16. The spae shown between elements 16 and 18 would not be apparent in the dislosed embodiment. The stylus 14 is shown with the able 2 onneting it the omputing means. The term graphi tablet and stylus enoding means are equivalent. Depending on the type of graphi tablet employed, the able may not be neessary. The able an be removed if the stylus ontains small batteries for eletrial power. Eletrial able 2 onnets the graphi tablet to the omputing means 24 for ontrol. The eletrial interfae between the tablet and omputing means an be a serial RS-232 interfae, a parallel bus interfae, or other standard omputer-devie interfaes. In FIG. 2, at least one eletrial able 42 onnets the CRT monitor 4 to the omputing means 24 for ontrol of the display funtions. The eletrial interfae is of the standard type well known to those skilled in the display terminal or workstation field.

10 US 25/1178 Al 4 May 26,25 Typially, either digital TTL signals (representing video) or analog RGB video signals are provided to the CRT monitor. [33] Many types of CRT display monitors ould be used in the workstation, but it is preferred that a relatively high resolution (7 dots/inh or higher) fiat sreen type be used. One possible andidate CRT that is presently available is the Zenith Data System's Model ZCM-149 Flat Sreen CRT Monitor. This monitor is a olor CRT display apable of displaying the IBM V GA Standard 62x48 pixels at a enter sreen pith of.28 millimeters. This resolution is suffiient for reasonable quality graphis. The main advantage of the monitor is its fiat sreen. For the invention dislosed here, the fiat sreen results in a natural writing surfae, when ombined with a graphi tablet. Other urved surfae CRTs ould be used, but a fiat sreen is a preferred embodiment. Although either monohrome or olor display ould be used, olor displays are preferred, beause they an produe a high brightness bakground olor, for example white. A bright display bakground is important in order to redue the pereived glare from the display-tablet sreen. Of ourse, olor displays are also preferred beause of improved human information reognition, well known in the human fators field. [34] Instead of a CRT display monitor, the workstation may be embodied with a fiat panel display devie. One possible embodiment is shown in shown in FIG. 3 with fiat panel display devie 27. Flat panel displays devies inlude eletroluminesent, liquid rystal, plasma, eletrohromi, and eletrophoreti display tehnologies. The primary harateristi of these type displays is the relatively thin struture with a lak of bulkiness. This lak of depth is an advantage sine it redues the mass and volume of the display devie. This makes it easier to manufature the omputer workstation, resulting in a lower ost and an improved ergonomially designed workstation. [35] Sine a relatively high resolution display devie is required in this system, the ative matrix liquid rystal display (LCD) panel is a preferred fiat panel tehnology of hoie. The advantages of LCD panels are their low power, light weight, VGA resolution, and the possibility of olor. Presently, the disadvantages of LCDs are their high ost, low brightness, low ontrast, and limited grey sale and olor. The other display tehnologies have even greater limitations, making it diffiult to realize a useful display devie. This however, may hange in the future when improvements in fiat panel display tehnology will undoubtedly be made. The eletrial signals between a fiat panel display and the omputing means, arried by able 42 of FIG. 3, differ from that of the CRT. Flat panel displays are typially driven by matrix addressing tehniques, requiring signifiant iruitry to be loated at or near the panel. Data to be transferred between the display and the omputing means will onsist of digital words ontaining a number of bits for x and y addresses, write and erase data, olor information, san data, et. Suh interfaes are well known to those skilled in the art of display tehnology. [36] The other elements of FIG. 3, with like element numbers, are equivalent to those of FIG. 2. The preferred workstation embodiment is the one using fiat panel display devie 27 and display orientation adjustment means 5 as shown in FIG. 3. One reason for this preferene is the ease of adjusting means and potentially better quality display. However, the low ost of CRT monitors may be an advantage if the ost ontinues to be less than equivalent fiat panel displays. [37] FIGS. 4A and 4B presents a flow hart of one possible implementation of the software that would be exeuted in the omputing means, inluding entral proessor unit or ontrol iruitry. If a omputer is embodied in the invention, the software would reside in stored programs residing in memory of the omputer. The memory may be semiondutor, magneti, optial or other memory types. The sequene starts with the power-on swith seletion, whih starts the power-up initialization program 6. The term program, as used here, is equivalent to an algorithm or routine, implemented in omputer software. The next program step is the systems diagnostis and hekout program 62 that has either of two outputs: PASS or FAIL. If any of the tested omponents FAIL the test, data is sent to the system error report 64 program. If the systems passes, the operator is asked to selet the mode of operation 66, via the keyboard, mouse or graphi tablet. If a terminal emulation mode is seleted, the mode is initialized 7. The terminal mode is defined to be an operational mode where the workstation ats as a onventional omputer terminal or ommuniations terminal. If it is to at as a ommuniations terminal, voie data from the telephone means may be ommuniated as well as text and graphi data. The user is asked whether the voie ommuniations 72 option is desired; if so, a program to ontrol the voie ommuniation is initiated. In either ase, a terminal ommuniation program and modem program 8 is initialized. ext, the terminal mode program is set up 92 and the terminal appliation program is loaded 94. Exit from the terminal mode is allowed, along with operation stop and power off. [38] If the workstation mode is seleted in element 66 of FIG. 4A, the operating system is booted 68. The user is then asked to selet either a stand-alone or a network mode 74. If a stand alone mode is hosen, that mode is initialized 82, a windowing environment program may be loaded 9, and setup for an appliation program is aomplished 96. If the network mode is seleted, the network ommuniation's programs are initialized 76, and the user is asked whether the voie ommuniation option is seleted 84. If so, the voie ommuniation program is initialized, whih notifies the program that simultaneous voie ommuniations via the telephone means will take plae, with both text and graphi data ommuniations. The voie signals may be integrated with the digital text and graphis data, or it may be transmitted and reeived via a separate able to the ommuniations network. A Loal Area etwork (LA) or a remote ommuniations programs are then loaded 88. If neessary, ertain data or programs may be downloaded 98 to the workstation from a remote host or workstation. Elements 88 and 98 both input into the load window environment program 9. [39] Following element 96 of FIG. 4B, the user is given the opportunity of seleting and initializing the memory and 1! devies 1, whih are available to the workstation. The required appliation program or programs are then loaded into the workstation memory. A wide variety of appliation programs ould be loaded, inluding, but not limited to, a realtime tele-writing onferening program 16, CAD/ CADD appliation programs 18, word proessing and/or desktop publishing programs 11, business/finane applia-

11 US 25/1178 Al 5 May 26,25 tion programs 12, and sientifi and engineering appliation programs 14. The user an exit from the appliation program or go to another appliation setup 112. The user an also either exit the operating mode 114 or go to the mode of operation seletion element 66. If the exit from the operating mode is seleted, the system stop and power-off swith an be seleted. [4] The sope of the invention dislosed here should be determined by the appended laims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given above. 1. A data onferening system having a first and a seond onferening terminal, the data onferening system omprising: the first onferening terminal inluding: a first integrated input and display devie adapted to reeive a first portion of information from a first stylus, the first portion of information inluding graphi data that is displayed on the first integrated input and display devie; a first ommuniation devie integral with the first integrated input and display devie and onfigured to onnet the first onferening terminal to the seond onferening terminal; a first interative display interfae portion onfigured to display both the graphi data entered by the first stylus and graphi data reeived from the seond onferening terminal simultaneously; a first stylus position determination devie adapted to determine the position of the first stylus; a first keyboard in ommuniation with the first integrated input and display devie, input from the first keyboard being displayed on the first integrated input and display devie; and a transmissive first tablet surfae adapted to be ontated by the first stylus and integrated with the first integrated input and display devie through whih the first portion of information is displayed and through whih stylus position is deteted; the seond onferening terminal inluding: a seond integrated input and display devie adapted to reeive a seond portion of information from a seond stylus, the seond portion of information inluding the graphi data that is displayed on the seond integrated input and display devie; a seond ommuniation devie integral with the seond integrated input and display devie and onfigured to onnet the seond onferening terminal to the first onferening terminal; a seond interative display interfae portion onfigured to display both the graphi data entered by the seond stylus and the graphi data reeived from the first onferening terminal simultaneously; a seond stylus position determination devie adapted to determine the position of the seond stylus; a seond keyboard in ommuniation with the seond integrated input and display devie, input from the seond keyboard being displayed on the seond integrated input and display devie; and a transmissive seond tablet surfae adapted to be ontated by the seond stylus and integrated with the seond integrated input and display devie through whih the seond portion of information is displayed and through whih stylus position is deteted; wherein, the first onferening terminal has the same struture and onfiguration as the seond onferening terminal, both onferening terminals of the data onferening system are apable of displaying the first and seond portions of information simultaneously, and at least one of the first and the seond portions of information inlude handwriting entered by one of the first and seond stylus. 2. A display-tablet devie omprising: a) a miroproessor omputer system running an personal omputer-type operating system program; b) a fiat panel display devie defining a display sreen ontrolled by the miroproessor omputer system; ) a transmissive graphi tablet input devie plaed over the fiat panel display sreen, wherein the graphi tablet input devie is ontrolled by the miroproessor omputer system, and wherein a user has an option to enter data to the graphi tablet using a stylus; d) a ontrol button on the front top surfae of the portable display-tablet devie for additional user ontrol or data input to the portable display-tablet devie; e) an enlosure in whih the miroproessor system and other neessary support omponents are loated. 3. A method for information sharing on a personal omputer omprising the following steps in any order: a) exeuting a ommuniation program in ooperation with a personal omputer operating system; b) ommuniating data under ontrol of the personal omputer operating system to and from a seond roughly equivalent personal omputer at a remote loation via an external ommuniations network; ) onferring information between another personal omputer system in a peer to peer manner in ooperation with the ommuniating data step using said omputer program and an external ommuniation funtion; and d) adapting said personal omputer system for multiple data input devies. 4. A omputer program residing on a omputer readable medium, omprising instrutions for ausing one or more personal omputer systems to: a) ommuniate information to and from another roughly same type personal omputer system remotely loated in ooperation with an operating system with a window graphial user interfae apable of single window operation while ommuniating information,

12 US 25/1178 Al 6 May 26,25 b) ommuniation information via an external remote ommuniations network in a roughly peer-to-peer proess, suh that a user has the option to exeute programs separately and exeute programs that do not orrespond to eah other; ) ontrol downloading of information from said roughly same type personal omputer system via the external remote ommuniation network, wherein said information is proessed; d) ontrol uploading of information to said roughly same type personal omputer via the external remote ommuniation network, wherein said information is proessed; and e) proess said information for ommuniation to and from the remote personal omputer, suh that said ommuniation of information is for a business purpose. 5. A omputer program as reited in laim 4, in whih the omputer program is ommuniating information for the purpose of data onferening and appliation sharing. 6. A omputer program as reited in laim 4, in whih the information ommuniated inludes audio or voie information. 7. A omputer program as reited in laim 4, in whih the information ommuniated inludes audio and video information. * * * * *