Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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DOCUMENT CONTROL AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system for quickly and largely automatically
creating and
transmitting any of a large number of electronic mail, facsimiles, data
compilations or documents
to widely distributed recipient locations, for increasing the transmission
speed by a learning
system, for providing a document control system and eliminating the need for
using OCR for
documents transmitted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the operation of any business, it is necessary to send many kinds of
documents which
are essentially form letters, varying only slightly in content but directed to
many different
individuals or other businesses. Today, it is customary to generate these
documents, commonly at
one central location or a few such locations and transmit them by mail, i.e.,
using the postal
service or an equivalent organization such as, in rare cases, a courier
service. In this process, one
is at the mercy of the postal service which is becoming increasingly
inefficient and expensive and
environmentally disadvantageous, using enormous quantities of energy and other
resources to
convey the millions of pieces of mail which it receives each year, e.g., with
airplanes and trucks,
frequently over very long distances.
In addition to this cost, significant time is frequently involved. This is
particularly true
when a letter must be sent across the entire United States, or
internationally, and this delay is
likely to become gmater as time passes, despite the valiant efforts of the
postal services to keep up
with the volume of mail.
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Some substitute techniques are available, such as facsimile tiansmission (fax)
and
electronic mail (e-mail). However, neither of these is usable universally:
nearly everyone has a
postal address, but there are many people who do not have access to computers
for neoeiving e-
mail and do not have fax receiving equipment. In addition, there are other
disadvantages to these
techniques. Fax involves significant cost if one is transmitting outside of a
local calling area. E-
mail is cheap and quick, if one uses it at a low-traffic time of day, but it
does not automatically
produce a"hard" (printed) copy unless the recipient chooses to make one and,
under some
circumstances, it can be altered by the recipient, either purposeftilly or
accidentally, and the
format is not fully controllable by the sender.
Regardless of the mode of transmission, whether it be by postal service, e-
mail, fax or
other means, a particularly wasteful and almost universal occurrence is the
retransmission of the
same information. For example, if one sends an ordinary business letter by
fax, it is customary
for the sender to use a heading of some kind, either a professional
letterhead, a business
letterhead, or some Icind of special heading which contains an identification
of the sender. While
it is important for the recipient to have this information, a very large
amount of data transmission
traffic over long distances is eonsumed by sending, long-distance, this same
information over and
over again.
It is also very important in any business, and in many personal situations, to
have some
system of document control by which one can have a record of correspondence
sent and received
and by which any such correspondence can be retrieved.
SUNIIvIARY OF THE INVENTiON
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for
repetitively,
quickly and inexpensively preparing and sending to selected recipients by
various possible
transmission means any of a plurality of documents of largely predetermined
varying or unique
content.
A further object is to provide a system for drastically reducing the repeated
transmission of
standard logos or text, and/or standard graphics.
Yet another object is to increase transmission speed by a learning system.
Yet another object is to provide a document eontrol system which can be used
as a stand-
alone system or can be used in combination with a data transmission system.
A further object is to provide for access and control of remote graphic
creations and
storage of graphics.
Still another object is eliminating the need to use OCR to convert the results
of this system.
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Briefly described, the invention comprises a method for generating and
disseminating
information comprising the steps of establishing a plurality of service
centers at geographically
separated locations and providing at each service center a control computer, a
functionally
divisible computer client memory, and means for producing a document output of
the desired
data from the memory. A portion of the client memory is assigned to each of a
plurality of clients
and in each client memory portion is stored data comprising parts of documents
to be generated.
In nesponse to a request received from a client, a selected document is
transmitted to a designated
recipient. The document output can be in the form of a printed copy, an
electronic transmission
such as e-mail or fax, or a data compilation in some other form.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to impart fiill understanding of the manner in which these and other
objects are
attained in accordance with the invention, a particularly advantageous
embodiment thereof will
be described with reference to the following drawings, which form a part of
this disclosure, and
wherein:
Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system in accordance with the
invention in a
simple form;
Fig. 2 is diagram illustrating the components of a docamant which can be
handled by a
system in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the composition of a storage access and
compilation code in
accordance with the invention;
Fig. 4 is a diagram of a further docnment which can be handled by a system in
accordance
with the invention;
Fig. 5 is a partial block diagram of a portion of a service center showing
alternative
ttansmission techniques; and
Figs. 6 and 7 are simplified illustrations of geographical distributions of
service centers in
accordance with the invention.
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DESCRIP'I'ION OF PREFERRED EMBODI1vMNTS
Referring first to Fig. 1, implementation of the present invention involves
the establishment of
a plurality of facilities which will be called service centers 10. The number,
size and geographic
locations of these can vary, but as will be reeognized from the following
description, it is believed
advantageous to locate such centers near or in major cencentrations of
population. The service
centers are interconnected with each other by a network of communications
lines 12 which can be
ordinary telephone lines, whether they are organized into a formal network or
are used on an "as
needed" basis.
Whileitwould be quite possible for an individual corporation or other
organization to
establish its own service centers for its own use, or to have a direct
oommunication link between
two parties, it is contemplated that the most efficient manner of
implementation of the invention
is for a service company, which could easily be a telecommunications company,
to establish the
service centers and make them available to customers on a fee-for-service
basis or other fee basis.
In this fashion, very small businesses as well as large ones would be able to
make efficient use of
the system. System users will be referred to hereinafter as clients, whether
they are individual
persons, firms or companies. Nevertheless, a corporation having geographically
separated
subsidiaries or divisions may find it econonrically usefiW to establish its
own service centers for
communication within the company as well as for communication outside the
company, and the
term "service center" will be understood to include such intra-company
facilities or any client-to-
client use.
At each service center 10 are located several key pieces of equipment,
illustratefl in block
form in one of the service centers in Fig. 1. It is contemplated that the
service centers may
beequipped, but this is by no means necessary and there is a strong
possibility that centers
having larger volumes of activity will require multiple computers as well as
larger memory
facilities as well as additional transmission and nxeiving devices to suit
special needs. This
equipment includes one or more control computers 14 which eonstitutes a
eommunications
interface with other service centers and with clients, illnstrated as
telephone insttument symbols
16. Connected to the computer is a large computer memory 18 which is
functionally, and
perhaps physically, divistble into separate sections each of which can be
dedicated to an
individual client. One part of the storage can be made accessible to all
clients, canying data
required by all of them. Each center also includes one or more printers 20
which operate under
computer control to print information received from memory 18. Printed
material, symbolized by
a sheet of paper 22, is conveyed to mailing equipment 24 which can take
numerous forms but
which includes apparatus for handling the printer output and preparing it for
physical delivery to
the recipients. The exact nature of the mailing equipment is, of course,
determined by the mode
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of delivery to be used. Automatic equipment for printing a multi-part document
with an envelope
is eonventionatly available. Alternatively, human assistanee can be employed
to fold and put
printed material in envelopes.
The process of using the system in accordance with the invention may begin
with a
determination of the types of correspondence to be handled in the system for a
client. It is
possible to handle a large variety of correspondence in this way, but for
purposes of illustration, a
simple form letter will be used. The form letter is created by or for a client
and stored in a
portion of the service center memory dedicaW to that client. Dedication of a
memory portion is
considered desirable for security and privacy reasons. For that client, a list
of recipients is also
stored, each recipient being associated in memory with some form of
categorizing identification.
The form letter will have an area into which an address can be inserted and
may have
other areas to be completed in accordance with instiuctions given at the time
of preparation, e.g.,
an amount of money. To use the system, the client gives a sequence of
instructions, which will be
referred to herein as a storage access and compilation code, to a service
center by telephone or by
a computer link with the service center. For security and billing purposes,
the storage access and
compilation code includes an identification of the client. This directs
computer 14 to seek a
skeleton form letter of document compilation in the proper portion of the
system memory. The
storage access and eompilation code also identifies the type of form letter to
be used, chosen from
those which have been stored for this specific client such as, for example, a
bill; the recipient,
from the client's stored list of recipients; and the amount of money to be
charged, along with
selections of stored phrases which may be applicable to the specific form
letter, and finally, an
"end" code telling the control computer that the instuction is finished. As
will be recognized,
the instruction can include a large number of recipients and amounts of money
for each, but the
single recipient case will be adequate for illustcation.
Upon receipt of the end code, the control computer eompiles the form letter
and merges
it with the address information and other information or selections made in
the sequence, and
then prints the letter and provides the printed letter to the mailing
equipment or personnel. As
mentioned above, the doaunent output of the system can be in an electronic
form rather than, or
in addition to, a printed document. Thus, the docnment prodnced by the above
process may be
tcansmitted electronically by fax, for example, to those recipients who have
the capability to
reoeive a fax and for whom a fax telephone number is lmown or, for instance,
by ASCII.
Of particalar importance is the fact that the service center or centers used
by a particular
client in a specific situation are those closest to the recipient(s). Thus,
one client in a single
mailing may use several service centers, each center being used for recipients
in the geographic
region closest to that center, thereby assuring that each letter, fax, e-mail
or data compilation sent
is sent the shortest distance and in the shortest time. For this purpose, when
a mailing list for a
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client is first created, or when it is updated, the addresses can be
distributed to the centers in
closest proximity to the addresses and each center stores the form letters
appropriate to those
addnesses.
For communication purposes, the client can always communicate with the service
center
closest to the client, either for purposes of ordering one or more compiled
forms sent or for
updating data, and the control computer in that closest service center can
then communicate the
information to the appropriate other centers through the network between
centers.
The geographic distribution of service centers can be nationwide or it can
cross international
boundaries. Worldwide distribution of information with the system therefore
makes fullest use of
the sysum since transit times in international mailing, for example, are
measured 'u- days or even
weeks. With the system of the present invention, the transit time can be
measured in a single day
or less.
For international distribution, it is important to send material in the
appropriate language
which means that it must first be created and stored in languages appropriate
to the intended
geographic distribution.
It will be apparent that considerable planning and preparation must precede
fall use of the
system according to the invention. However, this presents no obstacle since a
client's use of the
system can be started with the simplest forms raquiring only minimal merging
and insertion of
data and can then grow into more complex usages with documents having, for
example, multiple
choices of material to be inserted.
From this simple example, some significant advantages will be apparent. First,
the client
need make only a short, low-cost telephone call. Secondly, the string of
information forming the
storage access and compilation code can be prepared in a simple format in
advance of the call,
and can easily be prepared on a personal oomputer or the lik.e. Then, when the
string is
complete, it can be transmitted all at once, in a very short time. Third, when
the material for
each letter, e mail, fax or data compilation is compiled and printed by the
service centers, the
letters, etc., are sent to recipients which are local relative to the service
centers. Thus, when the
service centers are distributed internationally, letters, faxes, or electronic
transmissions can be
received in Hamburg, Germany and Cleveland, Ohio at essentially the same time
without the
expense of otherwise requined international mail or telephone calls, and
without regard to the
location of the client.
Since the client need only provide a storage access and eompilation code and
the changes
or insertions for the documents to be compiled, if any, less time is consumed
in preparation of the
documents. Because the system has a much shorter delivery time at the output
end of the system,
transmission is also quicker at the receiving end. Thus, time savings are
realized at both ends of
the system and this transmission speed increase can be supplemented by any
speed increases
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WO 99/27467 7 PCT/EP99/07409
which are realized by improved technology.
While most of us are familiar with the general layout of a letter, for
instancx, it will be
useful to look at one in detail for present purposes. Fig. 2 illustrates the
customary components of
a letter as it niight be examined for use in this system, each component
occupying a
predetermined field of the final document and being represented by a labeled
box. Most letters
have a logo at the top which may vary in size but which will be standard for a
specific client, or
which may be selected from a few similar logos if the client has multiple
divisions or dcpartments
which use their own logos. As used herein, the term "logo" includes such
things as a company
trademark, trade name and/or symbol, a professional letterhead, or simply the
name and address
of the client. In European countries, the information which customarily
appears on a letterhead
and which may be included in "logo" for present purposes includes bank
connections and a
register number under which the company is officially registered. For purposes
of the present
invention, a client's memory section will store the logo(s) for use with all
designated documents
to be generated
The next item is the date which can be inserted at the service center
automatically, as with
eonventional word processing programs. If desired, the time and date
difference between
countries can also be taken into acoount so that the document bears an
appropriate date, or even
both the sender's and addressee's dates. This can be especialiy important if
the transmitted
document has legal significance. For example, assume that a client in Maryland
sends a
document request to its local service center at 10 PM on March 14 in order to
meet a March 14
deadline in Germany. The document would be received shortly after March 15 at
4 AM in
Germany, but if the document bears an automatic sender's date stamp of March
14 it may satisfy
the time requirements.
Next is the recipient's name and address. It is contemplated that letters will
be sent by this
system to a group of recipients, and that the group is predetermined by the
client and is
identifiable as such. This field is therefore completed by a merge function as
the letters are
generated.
A"subject" Iine is often next, followed by a greeting which may emplay part of
the
information from the recipient name and address field. The oontent or message
of the letter then
is generatod, possibly with insertions to cuskomize the letter for the
individual recipient. A form
letter of a specific type will have need for a specific number of insertions
which may be amonnts
of money, dates or intervals of time. After the message is a closing and a
signature block which may include a reproduction of a
signatnre of the sender. Finally, ff any attachments are to acxompany the
letter, they are
identified at the bottom of the letter, also possibly distribution. While
other components may
exist, the foregoing will suffice for the present.
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Preferably, in order to cteate such a document, whether a letter or other
form, the client
constructs and transmits the storage access and compilation code. Each client
constiucts the
storage acoess and eompilation code in a standard format, which may be
dictated by the operator
of the service eenters. Alternatively, the eode format may be selected or
customized for use by an
individual client. There is some advantage to having different code formats
for different clients
for security reasons, malang it more diffictilt for anyone attempting to gain
unauthorized aocess
to the system electronically. While not all components of the storage access
and compilation
code will neeessarily be used by each client, places for various components
may be included in a
specific sequence in the code so that they can be used if desired. If they are
not to be used, a
"skip" symbol can be inserted. Fig. 3 shows the possible sequence of a storage
access and
compilation code which performs the necessary functions, although the order
can be re-arranged
and functions can be added or subtracted, or covered by a single code,
depending on the needs of
the clients, as dictated by experience.
A speed increase can be achieved by creating a single overall cross-referencx
oompilation
code for any letter to be tiansmitted (text and/or numbers and/or graphics) as
well as for any
single change from data elements compiled from any of the single stored data
elements and
graphics (for instance, a logo). A letter starting with, for instance, "Dear
Sir" would have a
different overall single aeoess and compiiation code, from an otherwise 100%
identical letter
starting "Dear Madam", this being the only exception.
It should be mentioned that layout can be modified or assembled on screen if
desired.
While this is slower, the capability should be provided for new clients, or to
develop new layouts
based on old ones. In the manual proeess, the data for the letters, etc., may
be defined by
manually selecting the locations using menu instructions, i.e., locations for
logo, date, address,
etc., as generally described above.
In Fig. 3, each portion of the storage access and compilation code is
illustrated by a labeled
block. One of the first components must be an identification of the client
with enough
infonmation to facilitate recognftion of the memory region to be used and to
accommodate the
needs of security and the service center's billing processes. The next
component is an
identification of the category of form letter to be used, called the form
type. The actual form
letter has already been created and resides in memory at the service center
with codes at
appropriate locations to indicate the need for insertion of variable data, or
the eomponents for the
letter or other document are stored and oompiled by program.
Another portion of the storage access and compilation eode may identffy the
language to be
used for the document or part thereof. Alternatively, a language code can be
associated with each
address so that a specific recipient will always receive documents in an
appropriate language.
Then, the recipient group or category can be identified. This can be handled
by pre-grouping the
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recipients and identifying the group or groups; or the addresses can be
associated with
identifications of certain characteristics of the individuals (income level,
interests, etc.) and the
set of rocipients can be identified by specifying characteristics, leaving the
control computer to
sort the recipient lists for recipients having the nanud characteristics.
The signature block (if there is more than one for this client) can then be
named along
with any attachments comprising, for example, advertising material or special
offers, also any
possible distribution.
If there is unique data within the message to be inserted, this information
can be supplied
with one or more tables correlated with the recipient names. Preferably, for
any given group of
letters to be generated and sent in a single mailing, only one code string is
generated as the
storage access and eompilation code with ancillary information, such as
message insertions,
provided as an attachment to the string. However, if the letter is more
complicated with
numerous insertions or variations, a separate string may be needed for each
letter. While this
makes the storage access and compilation code string longer, the distribution
advantages are still
attained.
A storage access and compilation code string as descrn'bed above can, for
instance, consist
of a series of alphanumeric symbols accompanied by special symbols with
precieterndned
meanings. The string might begin with a client identification Ac8%*, followed
by a separator
symbol #, followed by a form type G32, another separator, a language code DE,
another separator
and a recipient group. The string might, for instance, therefore begin:
Ac8'/o*#G32#DE#XV4....
Variations and different approaches will be apparent to those familiar with
generating commands
for other purposes.
An objoctive of this system is for each client to create a library of
documents which can be
customized for individual recipients with appropriate insertions, and then
reused many times.
However, as suggested above, this "library" may actually be a virtual library
consisting of a
number of phrases or sentences. Thus, a letter of a certain type may consist
of a selection of
fifteen stored sentences which are assembled when the letter is needed In this
case, the client, in
the storage aooess and compilation code, identifies to the control computer
the final document
which is desired and the control computer assembles this document from the
component libruy
under the control of a simple program. As with any computer system, it is
prudent to provide a
backup memory system or a redundant memory which can be used if the main one
becomes
unavailable.
The fact that the system has, in storage, all past writing for each client
permits a further
feature to be introduced which is a form of leanning by the system. The system
can include a
separate program which searches through the stored material and counts how
frequently various
phrases and sentences are used. Those which are used frequently, or which have
been used more
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than a selected number of times, are stored at the service center and are
available to the writer's
computer system. Then, when the identical phrase or sentence is typed in by
the user, the .
machine recognizes this as one of the frequently used phrases and only
transmits to the service
center a short code identifying the phrase. This further reduces the material
which must be
transmitted and, as more is written and stored, less material need be
transmitted. This
recognizes the fact that most writers in a business context tend to write the
same phrases over and
over. Ultimately, many entire letters will fall into this category.
A notable advantage of the system is the ability to store at each service
center involved in a
specific communication link the text (in code) of a document. thus, if a
contract is being
negotiated by two parties who are at distant points and are using the service
center system, each
paragraph or clause of the document being negotiated can be identified in a
customary manner
by letters and numbers and then only the changed part need be transmitted.
This can be provided
by automatic means. However, the full document can be provided to each party
with the changes
incorporated. This provides a very great saving over the conventional process
of sending the
entire document, typically by e-mail or fax, each time a portion thereof is
changed. Although the
"paperless" office has been predicted for years, it has yet to be realizod,
and although the demise
of the fax machine has been predicted because of the advent of e-mail and
related electronic
techniqnes, it is likely that faxes will still be in use for years to come,
lately also increasingly for
advertising purposes. Also, it is possible to store and process standard
graphics in the same
manner as the stored logo or text and furthermore to create graphics.
For record keeping purposes, it is also possible to store each merged document
which has
been sent and to relate each such document with the individual recipient's
file. Generally, this
need not be done on a real-time basis, so long as the document reaches the
recipient's file in a
r+easonable time. The document can be created and sent to the file either
electronically, by fax or
on paper, depending on how the records for that client are kept. However, in
addition to the
above, it is desirable for the client to be able to request confirmation and
time of delivery.
Depending on the delivery technique which is being used, the service center
can easily provide an
automatically generated confirmation of the time when a document, e-mail, fax
or data
compilation, or sets of them, was sent from the service center and/or
notification of delivery. The
client can also print a record of what is sent and the service center system
can provide a monthly
summary to reduce transmissions.
Using the capabilities of the system described above, it is possible to
introduce a new
system for maintaining eontrol of all documents sent or received through the
system. As a first
step, all electronic transmissions should be maintained in a single code
format, such as ASCII. If
received information or information electronically transmitted to a recipient
is in some other
format, such as HTML, for example, it should be converted to ASCII.
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11
in one approach, each docmnent sent or received by the system is then given a
unique
"mark" by which it can be identified. This mark may actually be printed on
hard copies of.the
document, but the mark is at least stored in conjunction with a stored copy of
the document. The
mark can, for example, include any or all of the following: date sent or
received (easily inserted
by the system program), the sender and/or recipient (individual as well as
company), the subject
of the docament, and a document category (letter, bill, etc.), or any other
characteristics chosen
by the customer. The amount of information to be included in the identifying
mark is, of course,
selectable and changeable by the customer. Additional possibilities are the
use of all data
elements outside the "start-out" unique data such as logo, addressee, date-
hour-minute-second,
subject, sender name, attachments, if named, distribution, etc.
The group of linked letters such as, for instanee, order-sale-bill and/or
senders name
(signature). During menu operation, date and/or times can be added to a
specific date/time file
(meetings, target dates) by the sender, while another specific file can be
established for names
only, by the same method. This is not to be considered a prerequisite but much
more an added
possibility. Also, it is not restricted to these possibilities. The customer
is simply offered
possibilities of easy access to, and retrieval oly documents. This can all be
achieved by adding to
specific files selected search words during menu operation. The control of the
unique (variable)
data, once all of the above control means have been provided can be provided
by creating a pool
of unwanted words (like, for instance, I, you, when, why, and the like) having
no value as search
words. The pool is used to eliminate these words as search words. Another pool
of words having
to do with the individual operation/organization of the sender (or addressee)
can be established
for being aecessible by operation/organization search words.
The above offers numerous possibilities of single or eombined means of
control, access
and retrieval of documents, saving extensive administrative time and cost.
While this document
control can be combined with the foneseen speed increase in data t:ansmission,
it can also be used
as a stand,alone document processing system. Use of the unique "mark" can of
course be made
alone for the sender, or with an added provision for the addressee, permitting
added individual
control, outside of all other possibilities offered. Also, fonts of the sender
can be linked to the
logo of the sender for another quick seledion means.
In the case of a document sent at the request of a customer, an ASCII version
of the
document with the identifying mark included is provided to the sender. A
printed copy may also
be provided, if desired, but the important part is providing the document is
code because this
eliminates the need for scanning the docament through any optical character
recognition (OCR)
system. If a transmission system in accordance with the invention is routinely
used for all
correspondence of a business, there is no need for OCR, and every document
sent or received
through the system is automatically marked and stored in a form which permits
easy retrieval and
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WO 99n7467 12 PCT/EP98/07408
searching in a standard manner. On the other hand, this can also be achieved
with a stand-alone
system. When providing the ASCII docnment to the naciipient it can, for
instance, be
- by hard copy with the ASCII transmitted by the service center, or
- by hard copy with the ASCII provided in the form of a diskette.
Both possibilities in a combined way
- provide the document,
- provide control of access and retrieval of a document, and
- provide the non-requirement of OCR use.
This can be enhanced by searching each document for key words which may be
pertinent
to the customer's business. A key word selection process similar to that
described in U.S. patent
5,109,439 may be used for this purpose. As an alternative or parallel
technique, a menu system
can be used. In such a systeni, the document to be sent is displayed on the
screen and a pull-
down menu is displayed allowing the user to select those items to be used for
storage.
Additionally, the user can select key words for use in storage by, e.g.,
highlighting the words. As
a stand-alone system for OCR replacement, a diskette can for instance be
created or the eoded
data be transmitted by the service center to the addressee.
Once a system of this type is in place, it can also be used for a customer"s
notes or
memoranda. The notes need not be transmitted through the system but can simply
be entered in
the same fashion, stored in coded fonm and then retrieved or searched for in
the same manner as
eorrespondenee. Again, both document oDntrol as well as eIiminating the need
for OCR can be
used as stand-alone systems.
A data transmission speed increase for the unique data in a learning mode can
be achieved
in the following way.
The sender, havin.g stored all transmitted letters, notes, etc. eould while
creating a document
by menu bave the system immediately or at times or at set intervals run
comparison checks on
any of the transmitted unique (variable) sentences ttansmitted in the past.
The sender could, for
instancx, have several sentences which are identical, or nearly so, transfenxd
to the service center
with an automatic access eode, usable within subsequent eompilation processes.
This code being
identical to the one correlated with the selected sentence of his file. Of
couuse, the system, when
searching for identical sentences could also accept similar sentences (with
one or several words to
be deleted, changed or added) for inclusion in the service center storage for
that sender. The
system could be insavcted to run this part fully automaticaIly and/or include
human intervention
to check, also pneventing the storage of unwanted sentences, for whatever
reason.
Using this approach, the system, in a leanaing mode, will permit less and less
data to be
transmitted, eventually reducing it to an absolute rninimum. Of course, this
approach is also
usable directly from user to user, as a stand-alone system.
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WO 99/27467 13 PCT/EP98/07408
The foregoing sequence of events is based on the assumption that the computer
output
being sent will be directerl to a rather large number of recipients, i.e.,
more than just two or three,
but it is also quite possible to use the system to advantage with
t:ansmissions which are directed
to one person, perhaps with information copies to two or three others. An
example is a legal
document of a type which is routinely sent in a particular type of litigation.
For documents of this
type, standard paragraphs and sentences are stored in the client's storage
area along with a
framework document, such as the basic form for a complaint, into which
appropriate paragraphs
can be inserted. For preparation purposes, it is desirable for the client to
be able to access the
stored document components so that the stored paragraphs and sentences can be
reviewed and
selected. Altematively, the stored material can also be stored in the client's
computer system for
review and identification of the components to be used, permitting the client
to then construct the
code string for transmission to the service center.
In any such document, a signature block is desirable and can be included using
digital
signatures such as those developed for use in other forms of electronic
document transmission. A
facsimile signature can also be printed on the document.
In the examples above, the client's order for generation and transmission of a
document
has been sent by some electronic technique to the service center. While this
is believed to be the
most expeditious technique, an order can also be sent to the service center by
a technique such as
fax. For this purpose, the service center will need to have a fax receiving
and composing device
as well as a fax bridge and an electronic reader or scanner so that the
storage access and
compilation code discussed above can be converted into the electronic form
which the computer
wiII need. Othervvise, the system can remain the same. If the received fax is
in a form which can
be recognized directly by the computer, some of the above apparatus may be
unnecessary.
Particalarly to eliminate the repeated information transmission mentioned
above, the
system can efficiently recxive, supplement and retransmit fax messages. As an
example, consider
sending a fax from Franld'urt, Germany to Los Angeles, California. The client,
using the system
of the present invention, sends to a service center a storage access and
compilation code
identifying the recipient and the nature of the document to be produced (i.e.,
a fax) along with the
message content. At a service center close to the intended recipient, the
message content is
combined with the identified form layout, addressed appropriately and re-
transmitted. The
recipient receives the entire message, including whatever header information
is prescribed, but
the only part which is sent over a long distance, e.g., by e-mail, is the
message oontent and the
relatively brief storage access and compilation code. The cost is thus
drastically reduced and the
time is also reducod. It should also be noted that most letters transmitted
are one page letters,
and faxes are geturally transmitted with a cover letter, or the cover letter
carries the message.
This is illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein a typical fax 35 is shown. Those
portions 36 of the fax
CA 02310075 2000-05-16
WO 99/27467 14 rcr/Er98/07408
which are unique to this message are outlined in dot-dash lines. All of the
rest is standard,
repeated material which can be stored at the service center, including the
address and fax number
of the addressee, combined with the unique portions received from the client
and then forwarded
to the recipient. The elapsed time for combining the unique message portions
with the stored
portions is very small, so the total time required for transmission of the
message is substantially
the same as it would be without the present syst.em, yet only the message
portion and a short code
phrase need be transmitted long-distance. The cost is therefore drastically
reduced and the
transmission line is freed for use by other communication customers. It will
be recognized that,
when this process is multiplied by the thousands of times this saving is made
over the course of a
year, the net savings are very significant. Of great advantage is the
possibility to transmit by, for
instance, e-mail and to change, for instance, to fax or other media at the
service center, changing
media to the addressee, i.e., seeking the least expensive transmission medium
from sender to
service center with a possible change to another medium from servioe center to
addressee.
Having characters, special signs and numbers stored in image, as well as other
required graphics
stored at the service center, permits transmission by e-mail of the contents
of a fax to be compiled
at the service center.
From the examples and descriptions given above, it will be recognized that the
greatest
savings may result from use in countries such as Europe or Canada wherein the
postal systems
are relatively expensive or are subject to occasional interruptions. For
example, assume that a
client wishes to transmit similar letters to conrespondents in sever=a1
European countries. A
service center physically located, for example, in Copenhagen, Denmark, can be
chosen as to
distribute these letters. When the code string is generated and transmitted to
the service center,
the letters are generated and sent in the approprlate languages to various
countries which, with
development of the European Community (EC) may shortly have a uniform postal
system
somewhat like that in the U.S. This permits sending the letters from within
the EC, taking
advantage of the advantageous rates for local delivery. Of course, it is also
possible to use
multiple service centers located in various places in the EC if transmission
times are even more
critical.
The service centers can also be used for information dissemination. Assume,
for example,
that a manufacfi= wishes to make available to interested members of the public
lengthy,
detailed information about its products. It would be quite expensive and
wasteful of resources to
publish large numbers of a document describing the products, knowing that many
and perhaps
most of them will be discarded by those who are not seriously interested.
However, it is a simple
matter to store the information electronically at a service center, or at all
service centers, and to
then publish in a relatively short magazine advertisement that the information
is available "at
your nearest service center", whereupon the interested customer contacts the
service center,
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WO 99/27467 15 PCT/EP98/07408
requests the information using identification codes provided in the magazine,
and the service
center either prints the information or writes it to a CD-ROM and delivers it
in the same manner
as any other document to the customer. This service can be paid for by the
company or by the
customer, depending on the nature of the information.
In a similar fashion, the system can be used for public services. Consider,
for example, a
government agency such as the Internal Revenue Service or the Patent and
Trademark Office
which have forms and information publications for distribution to interested
members of the
public. Storing such forms at service centers would make them available to the
public with little
or no human involvement and would permit a person to seek and obtain the forms
at a larger
nun-ber of convenient locations than is presently economically feasible.
Fig. 5 illustrates more fully a service center which is equipped with data
transmission
apparatus such as one or more modems 25a-n for receiving and sending e-mail
and data files by
direct transmission as well as fax machines 26 for sending and receiving fax
transmissions,
electronically as well as using hard copy. The modems are connected to control
computers 14a-
14n, all of which are preferably in bidirectional conununication with each
other and also with
memory 18. A writeable CD-ROM 28 is also provided for creating and
disseminating relatively
large volume documents, as well for storage of some matcrials.
In this connection, the service centers can also be used as a form of
substitute publishing
facility. Since it is an easy matter to store large quantities of data in such
a facility, one can store
entire books therein and make the books available to purchasers, either on a
print basis or on
limited reproduction CD-ROM disks. Upon payment of a designated fee, a
customer can request
a specific book which the service center then prints on request. This
eliminates the need for
maintaining a stock of printed texts which may or may not sell. Parts of the
stored books may
also be made available for advance viewing so that the potential customer may
"thumb through" a
book to see if he or she is interested. The storage for this purpose can be on
CD ROM or other
storage, preferably high-d.ensity. The substitute publishing approach may also
be used in
connection with local book stores, extensively reducing such costs as, for
instance, as for
transportation and storage.
A few examples of the types of documents which can advantageously be processed
with a
system of this type are the following:
billing
billing reminders
announcements
invitations
notification of date of completion, time limit, extension of term
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WO 99n7467 16 PCT/EP98/07408
cost estimate, cost breakdown
praise, commendation
reminder
press releases
However, a huge number of types of documents can advantageously be handled in
this
way by a system in accordance with the invention and that the above barely
scratches the surface.
Another approach permits the remote access and control of graphic creations
and changes to
graphics in incremental steps, either via access and oampilation codes to
stored programs, or by
compressed codes for remote graphic manipulation. The basis for such an
approach would be
stored patterns of pixels of vanous sizes and shades which could be
manipulated and controlled
by compressed code to be multiplied and moved into any fonm, direction or
swctnre desired,
such as, for example, vectors, circles squares, etc., also creating
engineering drawings, or
changes, deletions or insertions to such drawings. In this last example, for
instance, a
representation of a valve could be extracted from storage and inserted into a
drawing, while the
valve could also be remotely drawn. The control could also include imploding
or exploding the
drawing(s) or parts thereof. Storage of such graphics can be in microform.
Further control
could, for instance, be assigning locations within a given area, also moving
graphic elements in
desired directions, overlaying and/or creating structural designs.
Of immense importance would be a service-center-stored program allowing, for
instance,
drawing lines or boxes, as is customary for many forms, such programs being
accessible by a
storage access and compilation code. On the other hand, a remote addition or
change to service
center stored graphic material could be achieved via comprrssed codes, 3
bytes, for instance,
covering 16 777 216 possibilities of single inswctions, a fraction thereof
having to be used for
various individual manipulations.
In an overall view of the system of the invention, use is made of the
principal that a client
can store in a service center memory a variety of phmses, sentences and
designs, including logos,
transmit by any com+enient means to the service center a brief code
identifying the format of the
desired final document along with unique portions sach as a message, and the
service center then
compiles the desired document/letter and phrases, sentences and the like and
sends the resulting
document, by any of the transmission techniqnes available and appropriate, to
the intended
recipient. In addition to the cost savings and speed increases, the system
permits an organization
using it to delegate a certain amount of work normally performed by members or
employees to
the service centers, further reducing time and cost. It should also be
mentioned that the system
should permit selective deletion of information by a client.
Figs. 6 and 7 give an overall view of the kind of service center distribution
which is
CA 02310075 2000-05-16
WO 99/27467 17 PCT/EP98/07408
contemplated. Of course, the numbers of service centers can be much larger
that that depicted
for a general purpose system, but can also be smaDer for a system dedicated
primarily to
communication within a large corporation, although there is no reason why a
corporate system
cannot be connected to a larger system.
As seen in Fig. 6, service centers can be distributed throughout the United
States.
Omission of such locations in the central portion of the country in the Figure
is only for
simplicity of illustration and should not be interpreted to suggest that such
centers would not be
located there. Near each service center are clients and recipients which would
preferentially be
serviced by the closest center. Bidirectional communication is provided
between centers and with
clients.
Fig. 7 shows, in much simplified form, distribution of such centers throughout
the world,
several locations having been chosen for illustration. As will be recognized,
satellite
communication will shortly be providing high-level conununication even to
those countries
without a communications infrastruchue, and provision of service centers will
fiuther facilitate
bringing those eountries into full communication with the more developed
oountries of the world.
For those customers to whom security is a particular concern, certain steps
can be taken to
assure the customer that the contents of documents sent through the system are
secure. One such
step is to use cryptographic techniques for all electronic uansmissions
between service centers
and customers, including electronic transmissions to recipients.
The possibility remains that an employee of the service center might be able
to view a
document if it is being sent by printed copy to a recipient since it must exit
a printer and be
placed in an envelope or the like to be delivered. The printing and enveloping
can be done
entireiy automatically using known techniques. To assure the customer of this
security, a video
camera can be provided at the site between printing and enveloping, aimed at
the path for the
secure document. The video image of the document location can then be recorded
during this
process with the date and time (hour, minute and second) which may, for
instance, also be
printed on the document at the same time together with the date and rime of
the sender in case of
different time zones, and the identification mark of the doanment, showing
that there was no
person in a position to view the document Of oourse, the camera should be
directed so that the
document cannot be read via the camera itself
While certain advantageous embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the
invention, it
will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can
be made therein
without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended
claims.
