Change request form annotation

• US 20040181711A1
• Filed: 03/12/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Roberts, Eric Scott, Johnson, Carolynn Rae, Brentlinger, Jeffrey Loren, Lampe, Mark Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 7,216,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

There is provided an error notification method for a hand-held device that is capable of syncing with a network. A change request form is generated that specifies a user-identified potential error in a document that is being displayed on the hand-held device. The change request form is transmitted to an Administrator of the document.

Claims

1. An error notification method for a hand-held device that is capable of syncing with a network, comprising the steps of:

generating a change request form that specifies a user-identified potential error in a document that is being displayed on the hand-held device; and

transmitting the change request form to an Administrator of the document.

2. The error notification method of claim 1, wherein the change request form further specifies at least one of a severity level of the user-identified potential error, a title of the user-identified potential error, and a description of the user-identified potential error.

3. The error notification method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving information from the Administrator regarding the user-identified potential error; and

displaying the information to the user.

4. The error notification method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

adding the information to the change request form, by the Administrator; and

forwarding the change request form with the added information to the hand-held device, and wherein said receiving step comprises the step of receiving the information in the change request form.

5. The error notification method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting step comprises the step of automatically uploading the change request form to the network when the hand-held device is synced with the network.

6. The error notification method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying an annotations menu for allowing the user to annotate the document to identify the user-identified potential error.

7. The error notification method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a change request text selection dialog box for allowing the user to enter text corresponding to the user-identified potential error for inclusion in the change request form.

8. The error notification method of claim 1, wherein said generating step comprises the step of displaying the change request form to the user to allow the user to specify the user-identified potential error thereon.

9. The error notification method of claim 10, wherein said generating step further comprises the steps of:

receiving a handwritten user input on the change request form that specifies the user-identified potential error in the document;

decoding the user input using handwriting recognition; and

including the decoded user input in the change request form prior to said transmitting step.

10. The error notification method of claim 1, wherein said change request form specifies the user-identified potential error using a pointer to an entity other than the change request form, the entity at least one of annotating and identifying the error, and said method further comprises the step of associating the pointer with the change request form.

11. An error notification apparatus for a hand-held device that is capable of syncing with a network, comprising the steps of:

a change request manager for generating a change request form that specifies a user-identified potential error in a document that is being displayed on the hand-held device; and

a modem for transmitting the change request form to an Administrator of the document.

12. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, wherein the change request form further specifies at least one of a severity level of the user-identified potential error, a title of the user-identified potential error, and a description of the user-identified potential error.

13. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, wherein the modem receives information from the Administrator regarding the user-identified potential error, and the apparatus further comprises a display for displaying the information to the user.

14. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, wherein said modem automatically uploads the change request form to the network when the hand-held device is synced with the network.

15. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a display for displaying an annotations menu for allowing the user to annotate the document to identify the user-identified potential error.

16. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a display for displaying a change request text selection dialog box for allowing the user to enter text corresponding to the user-identified potential error for inclusion in the change request form.

17. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a display adapted to display the change request form to the user to allow the user to specify the user-identified potential error thereon.

18. The error notification apparatus of claim 17, wherein said display is further adapted to receive a handwritten user input on the change request form that specifies the user-identified potential error in the document, said method further comprises a handwriting recognition module for decoding the user input, and wherein said change request manager includes the decoded user input in the change request form prior to the change request form being transmitted by said modem.

19. The error notification apparatus of claim 11, wherein said change request form specifies the user-identified potential error using a pointer to an entity other than the change request form, the entity at least one of annotating and identifying the error, and said method further comprises the step of associating the pointer with the change request form.