Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Ricoh Americas Corporation

Ricoh Corporation

Akio Kizawa

Hiroshi Kitada

Shogo Hyakutake

Hiroaki Ishizuka

Minoru Aoshima

A system, method and computer program product for managing documents. The system includes an image forming apparatus configured to display interactive menus so as to allow an operator of the image forming apparatus to interact with a document manager. The display interactive menus are downloaded from the document manager to the image forming apparatus based on a request by the operator. The document manager is configured to search for application services providers (ASPs) over a network and based on operator inputs. The document manager can search documents within the ASPs, retrieve documents and URLs, store documents and data. The system can provide basic and/or customized interactive menus displayed on the screen of the image forming apparatus.

System, computer program product and method for managing documents

A system, method and computer program product for managing documents. The system includes a document manager that is configured to search for application services providers (ASPs) over a network and based on a user input. The document manager can search documents within the ASPs, retrieve documents and URLs, store documents and data, format documents, generate and issue unified bills from a plurality of bills from a plurality of ASPs. The document manager can also manage, e.g. create, receive, transmit, store, merge, watermark information for documents managed by the document manager. The document manager can request that a document be merged with a corresponding watermark information so that the document be printed with an embedded watermark. Alternatively, the document manager can merge the watermark information with the document and can transmit the merged document data to a printing entity.

A system, method and computer program product for managing documents. The system includes a document manager that is configured to search for application services providers (ASPS) over a network and based on a user input. The document manager can search documents within the ASPs, retrieve documents and URLs, store documents, and data, format documents, generate and issue unified bills from a plurality of bills from a plurality ASPs. The document manager can also manage, e.g. create, receive, transmit, store, merge, watermark information for documents managed by the document manager. The document manager can request that a document be merged with a corresponding watermark information so that the document be printed with an embedded watermark. Alternatively, the document manager can merge the watermark information with the document and can transmit the merged document data to a printing entity.

A method, system and computer program product for managing bills issued from applications service providers (ASPs). The method on which the system and computer readable medium are based includes receiving an ASP service request from a remote user, forwarding the ASP service request to an ASP, receiving a service bill from the ASP, and incorporating the service bill into a unified bill and issuing the unified bill to the remote user. Calculating the ASP fee may include determining a discount offered by the ASP. The discount offered by the ASP may be determined on a customer by customer basis or based on a volume usage of a document management system providing access to the ASP for a plurality of users. The accuracy of the service bill from the ASP may be verified, and a discrepancy between a calculated fee and the billing amount may be determined, and negotiations undertaken with the ASP to resolve the discrepancy. Whether the user pays the bill issued may also be monitored.

System, computer program product and method for managing bills issued from application service providers

A method, system and computer program product for managing applications service provider (ASP) transactions between an ASP and an ASP user. The method on which the system and computer program product are based includes receiving an ASP transaction request from the user via a communications network such as the Internet, selecting an ASP for processing the transaction request, and transmitting instructions for performing the transaction request, via the communications network, to the selected ASP. The ASP transaction request may be received by receiving a user identifier from the user or by receiving a document consultation request from the user. Selecting an ASP may include selecting a special service ASP.

System, computer program product and method for selecting an application service provider

A method and system for managing documents, where the system includes a document manager server connected to image processing devices and to applications via a network. The document manager server receives an identification from the image processing devices; looks up a profile and transmits the profile to the image processing devices. The profile includes information about the applications connected to the document manager server. The document manager server can receive a job information, e.g., a document, from the image processing devices; process the job information and transmit the processed information to the applications connected to the document manager server. The applications can include for example an e-mail server, a fax server, a file format conversion system, an optical character recognition system, a document management system and a file storage system.

System and method for managing documents with multiple applications

A system, computer program product, and method for managing ASP documents includes requesting a transfer of an ASP document at an ASP user device connected to a remote document manager and a remote ASP via a network such as the Internet, establishing a predetermined time for effecting a transfer of the ASP document, and transferring the ASP document at a predetermined time via the network. According to one embodiment of the first aspect, the step of requesting a transfer may include sending a deferred transfer request to the remote document manager via the network when the ASP user device logs on to the remote document manager. In this regard, the user requests a transfer by inputting a deferred transfer option from a menu received from the remote document manager via the network. The step of establishing a predetermined time for effecting a transfer of the ASP document may include inputting the predetermined time, and sending the predetermined time to the remote document manager via the network or requesting the remote document manager to establish the predetermined time without sending a predetermined time to the remote document manager.

Growing community of inventors

Ridgewood, NJ, United States of America

Akio Kizawa