Xerox Corporation

Contentguard Holdings, Inc.

Michael G Lamming

Michael J Flynn

David L Pendlebury

Margery A Eldridge

Christopher M Jones

Michiel F E Kleyn

Mark Stringer

Ralph C Merkle

Allan MacLean

Anthony Francis Frayling

Mark Jeffrey Stefik

Roy Want

Jock Douglas Mackinlay

Daniel Gureasko Bobrow

Stuart Kent Card

Mark D Weiser

George G Robertson

Richard J Goldstein

William M Newman

Daniel Martin Russell

Michalene M Casey

Marge Eldridge

Anish Shah

Michael Kleyn

Chris Jones

Allan Maclean

Stuart K Card

Daniel M Russel

Jock D Mackinlay

A document service request at a mobile computing device is carried out using at least two communications channels. The document service request includes a first parameter identifying a document accessible to a document server. Device information identifying a type of output device available over one of two communications channels is obtained at the mobile computing device and added as a second parameter to the document service request. The parameters of the document service request are transmitted from the mobile computing device to the document server over one of the two communications channels. The mobile computing device controls a connection between the document server and the output device by communicating with the document server over one of its communications channels and with the output device over the other of its communications channels to transmit there between the document in a format suitable for the output device.

Method and apparatus for controlling document service requests using a mobile computing device

A document service request is processed that originates from a mobile computing device and that is directed at an output device in communication with the mobile computing device over a first communications channel of the mobile computing device. A document server communicates with a transceiver to receive over a second communications channel a document service request originating from the mobile computing device. The document service request includes a first parameter identifying a document available to the document server and a second parameter identifying a type of output device available over the first communications channel. The document server transmits to the output device, via the second communications channel established by the mobile computing device, the document rendered in a format suitable for the output device.

Method and apparatus for processing document service requests originating from a mobile computing device

A system is presented for transmitting document references or tokens between users of integrated wireless and wire-based communication services. The system includes workstations, files servers, printers and other devices coupled to a wire-based network. Mobile computing devices are coupled to the wire-based network through either IR (infrared) or RF (radio) transceiver gateways. Each mobile computing device appears to hold a user's collection of documents: the device is programmed to receive, transmit, and store document tokens. The system includes a token-enabled document server that uses digital signatures to provide secure transfer of document tokens between users of the mobile computing devices and email clients. The token-enabled document server operates independent of the identity of the holder of the document token. Only the issuer of the document token needs be registered with the signature based document server to properly authenticate document tokens.

Secure token-based document server

A system including any number workstations, file servers, printers and other fixed devices coupled in a network, and a number of portable devices carried by users and coupled to the network by infrared (IR) link. Each portable device emulates its user's personal satchel for documents: the device is programmed to receive transmit and store document or service tokens (tokens). Preferably, the token comprises a plurality of components defining a document related entity and a property of the entity, the token components including an operation component designating a document related operation, an address component designating the electronic address of a document or system providing a document related service, one or more parameter components, each parameter component defining a property of a document or a property of a service to be applied to a document, and a security parameter dependent upon the identity of a user associated with a document or with a document related service. The tokens are distributed from one person to another by transmission of IR data packets, and once a network-connected computer, printer or multifunction device has received a token via IR transceiver associated with it, a search request can be derived from the token and document references (e.g. WWW URLs) satisfying the token can be obtained via a search engine. For each URL obtained, the corresponding electronic document can be retrieved from a repository and displayed or printed. The portable device is preferably a handheld or wristwatch computer with a graphical display for enabling the user to transfer tokens, and the fixed devices preferably include a scanner/copier/printer having its own IR transceiver.

Token-based document transactions

Non token-enabled devices are token-enabled using a token-enabler unit for operation in a distributed environment with mobile computing devices that reference documents using tokens. The mobile computing device is used to configure the token-enabler unit with identifying information of the non token-enabled device. The token-enabler unit, which is not operatively coupled to the non token-enabled device, is either fixedly attached or proximately located near the non token-enabled devices. In operation, mobile computing devices query the token-enabler unit for identifying information of the non token-enabled device, thereby seamlessly integrating the operation of non token-enabled devices with token-enabled devices.

Standalone device for identifying available document services in a token-enabled operating environment

A system is presented for transmitting document references or tokens to users of integrated wireless and wire-based communication services. The system includes workstations, files servers, printers and other devices coupled to a wire-based network. Mobile computing devices are coupled to the wire-based network through either IR (infrared) or RF (radio) transceiver gateways. Each mobile computing device appears to hold a uses personal collection of documents: the device is programmed to receive, transmit, and store document tokens. A document services request available to users of the mobile computing devices is an email-to-token service. Using this service, document tokens are emailed to recipients with an email account. The transmission protocol for performing the email-to-token service includes the step of transmitting a token-to-email service request from the mobile computing device over the wireless communication service to a token-enabled server located on the wire-based network. The token-enabled server accepts a document token and retrieves from a file server on the wire-based network a document identified by the document token. Subsequently, the token-enabled server sends the identified document in an email message to an email address specified by the user.

Mobile e-mail document transaction service

A method and a system are presented for transmitting document references or tokens to users of integrated wireless and wire-based communication services. The system includes workstations, files servers, printers and other devices coupled to a wire-based network. Mobile computing devices are coupled to the wire-based network through either IR (infrared) or RF (radio) transceiver gateways. Each mobile computing device appears to hold a user's personal collection of documents: the device is programmed to receive, transmit, and store document tokens. A document services request available to users of the portable devices is a document paging service. Using this service, a process operating on a repository of shared documents monitors for changes to specified files or file locations. Identification of changes made to documents on the repository of shared documents results in the transmission of a document token to selected users of the mobile computing devices identifying the changes. Once the document token identifying the changed document on the repository of shared documents is received, the document referenced by the document token is readily printed, displayed, or forwarded using available document services.

Mobile document paging service

A system for performing document services using mobile computing devices provides users of the system with document references that can be transmitted over integrated wireless and wire-based communication services. The system includes workstations, files servers, printers and other devices coupled to a wire-based network. Mobile computing devices are coupled to the wire-based network through either IR (infrared) or RF (radio) transceiver gateways. Each mobile computing device appears to hold a user's personal collection of documents by being programmed to receive, transmit, and store document tokens. A user interface at the mobile computing devices provide users with means for fast and easy access to document services that are proximate to where they are physically located. Through the user interface, a user queries a document device proximate to their physical location. Responsive to the query, a hierarchical list of available services is displayed at the user interface. The hierarchical list provides the user with immediate access to the queried document device, as well as links to other document devices that are ordered in a location and class specific hierarchy.

System for generating context-sensitive hierarchically ordered document service menus

A system including any number workstations, file servers, printers and other fixed devices coupled in a network, and a number of portable devices carried by users and coupled to the network by infrared (IR) link. Each portable device emulates its user's personal satchel for documents: the device is programmed to receive transmit and store document references or tokens, each of which is associated with an electronic document stored in the database. Documents are distributed from one person to another by transmission of document references or tokens, and a document is sent to a printer by beaming that document's reference or token to an IR transceiver associated with that printer. The portable device is preferably a handheld or wristwatch computer with a graphical display for enabling the user to transfer documents, and the fixed devices preferably include a scanner/copier/printer having its own IR transceiver.

System and method for accessing and distributing electronic documents

A method for the recording and retrieval of information relevant to the activities of a user. The invention may be employed to provide a memory prosthesis in the form of a highly portable device which records all kinds of information about the user's life, and provides a simple and rapid means of access to that information. The device receives and stores information from external sources, or objects, or from signal generators identifying specific machines, places, or people carrying other ones of the same type of device. Events comprising encounters between objects are recorded automatically, being time-stamped and stored chronologically, and a rapid search method for such a database is disclosed. The data can either be stored in the memory of the device itself, or, for better protection against failure, in a central data repository of the system, with a fail-safe backup.

Recording and retrieval of information relevant to the activities of a

A note-taking system based on a notepad computer with an integrated audio/video-recorder is described. A document is created or retrieved. As the user types on the keyboard or writes with the stylus or similar input instrument, each character or stroke that is input by the user is invisibly time-stamped by the computer. The audio/video stream is also continuously time-stamped during recording. To play a section of recording back, the user selects part of the note (perhaps by circling it with a stylus) and invokes a 'playback selection' command. The computer then examines the time-stamp and 'winds' the record to the corresponding place in the audio/video recording, where it starts playing--so that the user hears and/or sees what was being recorded at the instant the selected text or strokes were input. With a graphical user interface, the user may input key 'topic' words and subsequently place check marks by the appropriate word as the conversation topic veers into that neighborhood.

Real time user indexing of random access time stamp correlated databases

A Document Card (DocuCard) for storing documents and which is content revealing. The DocuCard is a transportable unit having a nonvolatile storage means for storing information in a digital form, a control processor for processing user initiated functions; an I/O port for interfacing to external devices for reading and writing digital information, and a user interface for allowing a user to directly interact with the DocuCard. The user interface on the DocuCard includes a display for displaying lists of functions and documents and information responsive to user invoked functions and a user input portion for allowing a user to traverse the lists of functions and documents, as well as information generated responsive to an invoked function. The control processor of the present invention include features for controlling access to documents stored therein.

Interactive contents revealing storage device

This invention relates to a system for monitoring the movements of people in an office or other environment. Each room to be monitored has within it a sensor responsive to signals transmitted by identifiers worn by the people whose movements are being tracked. The identifier signals give the identity of the person allocated that identifier. The sensors are themselves polled periodically by a computer to generate time-stamped records of who was within range of which sensor. When an event is to be recalled, other time-stamped audio or video records of what was said or done in each monitored room are scanned for that record which was being generated at the time of the event in question.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Michael G Lamming