Displayable-Information Management System and Program

• US 20110119616A1
• Filed: 01/20/2011
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hiroaki
• Application Number:
  US13/010,210
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119616A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/772
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels

Abstract

An information management system may include an information management apparatus and a display apparatus. The displayable-information management apparatus may include a storage unit that stores displayable information and read/unread status information and may be configured to determine read/unread status of the displayable information. The display apparatus may include a storage unit that stores the displayable information and read/unread status information acquired from the management apparatus and a display unit. In some arrangements, the display apparatus may determine whether displayable information has been read, and update the read/unread status information corresponding to the displayable information when the displayable information has been read. In some arrangements the read/unread status information might only be updated when the displayable-information management apparatus acquires the updated read/unread status information from the display apparatus and/or under certain predefined conditions.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to;

receive a displayable information item and a read/unread status of the displayable information item from a displayable information management device;

store the displayable information item and the read/unread status;

determine whether the displayable information item has been read on the apparatus;

in response to determining that the displayable information item has been read on the apparatus, updating the read/unread status of the displayable information item; and

transmit the updated read/unread status of the displayable information item to the displayable information management device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:

select a determination mode from between a first mode in which the read/unread status of the displayable information item is to be determined by the apparatus and a second mode in which the read/unread status of the displayable information item is not to be determined by the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining whether the displayable information item has been read includes determining whether the displayable information item corresponds to a predefined displayable information item.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

an ID storage unit storing a unique ID of the apparatus,

wherein the displayable information item is determined to have been read only upon determining that displayable information is associated with an apparatus ID corresponding to the unique ID of the apparatus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:

authenticate a user of the apparatus, and

determine whether the authenticated user corresponds to a predefined user, wherein the displayable information item is only determined to have been read upon determining that the authenticated user corresponds to the predefined user.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining that the displayable information item has been read includes determining that a first page of the displayable information item has been displayed by the apparatus, wherein the displayable information item includes a plurality of pages.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining that the displayable information item has been read includes determining that the displayable information item includes a plurality of pages and a last page of the displayable information item has been displayed by the second display unit.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining that the displayable information item has been read includes determining that the displayable information includes a plurality of pages and all pages of the displayable information item have been displayed by the second display unit.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the read/unread status is associated with the displayable information item by allocating character information indicating whether the displayable information item has been read or is unread as a file name of the displayable information.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the read/unread status includes date information indicating when the displayable information item was read first, last, or first and last on the apparatus.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a mobile terminal having an electrophoretic display panel.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to display a warning that the displayable information is unread on a display of the apparatus upon determining that the displayable information item stored in the storage unit of the apparatus is about to be deleted without the read/unread status corresponding to the displayable information having been updated to a read status.

13. A displayable-information management system comprising:

a plurality of display apparatuses, each including;

a storage unit that stores displayable information items associated with read/unread status information indicating a read/unread status of the displayable information items,

a display unit that displays a displayable information item,

an information exchange unit that transmits and receives the displayable information item and the read/unread status of the displayable information item to and from other apparatuses,

wherein each of the plurality of display apparatuses are configured to;

determine whether the displayable information item has been read, and

update the read/unread status corresponding to the displayable information item only upon determining that the displayable information item has been read on a specific display apparatus

wherein the system manages the read/unread status of the displayable information items when the displayable information items are read on one or more of the plurality of display apparatuses.

14. The displayable-information management system of claim 13, wherein the system further comprises a displayable information management device separate from the plurality of display apparatuses, wherein the system manages the read/unread status of the displayable information items using the displayable information management device.

15. The displayable-information management system of claim 14, wherein the displayable information management device is configured to convert the displayable information item from a first format to a second format prior to transmitting the displayable information item to one or more of the display apparatuses.

16. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to;

store a displayable information item and read/unread status information indicating a read/unread status of the displayable information item at the apparatus,

provide the displayable information item and the read/unread status information to a storage device different from the apparatus;

receive read/unread status information from a display apparatus;

determine whether the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated; and

update the read/unread status of the displayable information item upon determining that the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:

convert the displayable information item from a first format to a second format prior to providing the displayable information item to the storage device, wherein the display apparatus is incompatible with the first format and compatible with the second format.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to display displayable information items in a first appearance when the displayable information items have an unread status and in a second appearance when the displayable information items have a read status.

19. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:

receive a displayable information item and a read/unread status of the displayable information item from a displayable information management device;

store the displayable information item and the read/unread status;

determine whether the displayable information item has been read on the apparatus;

in response to determining that the displayable information item has been read on the apparatus, updating the read/unread status of the displayable information item; and

transmit the updated read/unread status of the displayable information item to the displayable information management device.

20. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:

store a displayable information item and read/unread status information indicating a read/unread status of the displayable information item at the apparatus,

provide the displayable information item and the read/unread status information to a storage device different from the apparatus;

receive read/unread status information from a display apparatus;

determine whether the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated; and

update the read/unread status of the displayable information item upon determining that the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated.

21. A method comprising:

receiving, by a display apparatus, a displayable information item and a read/unread status of the displayable information item from a displayable information management device different from the display apparatus;

storing, by the display apparatus, the displayable information item and the read/unread status;

determining, by the display apparatus, whether the displayable information item has been read on the apparatus;

in response to determining that the displayable information item has been read on the display apparatus, updating, by the display apparatus, the read/unread status of the displayable information item; and

transmitting, by the display apparatus, the updated read/unread status of the displayable information item to the displayable information management device.

22. A method comprising:

storing, by a displayable information management device, a displayable information item and read/unread status information indicating a read/unread status of the displayable information item,

providing, by the displayable information management device, the displayable information item and the read/unread status information to a storage device different from the displayable information management device;

receiving, by the displayable information management device, read/unread status information from a display apparatus different from the displayable information management device;

determining, by the displayable information management device, whether the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated; and

updating, by the displayable information management device, the read/unread status of the displayable information item upon determining that the read/unread status information indicates that the read/unread status of the displayable information item has been updated.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the display apparatus includes the storage device.