Electronic document delivery system in which notification of said electronic document is sent to a recipient thereof

• US 5,790,790 A
• Filed: 10/24/1996
• Issued: 08/04/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Axway Incorporated (Axway Software SA)
• Original Assignee: Tumbleweed Software Corporation
• Inventors: Bandini, Jean-Christophe, Smith, Jeffrey C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lall, Parshotam S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US08/738,966
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 395/670, 395/971, 395/672, 395/200.03, 395/200.48, 395/200.31, 395/200.38, 395/200.43, 395/200.49, 395/200.36, 395/200.34, 395/200.37 , 395/200.33, 395/200.47
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0435 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226

Abstract

An electronic document delivery system and methods of its use are provided. A document, preferably in a portable format, is forwarded to a remote server (e.g. using HTTP to "push" the document to the server). The server sends a generic notification of the document to an intended recipient, and the recipient can download the document from the server using local protocols. In preferred embodiments, the invention is used for the controlled delivery of portable documents from a sender to a large number of recipients, using a network of servers that route the documents and notifications in a store and forward manner, while providing routing and accounting information back to the sender.

Claims

1. An apparatus for delivering an electronic document, comprising:

a sending computer for sending an electronic document;

a receiving computer for receiving said electronic document; and

a server interposed between said sending computer and said receiving computer, wherein when said electronic document is forwarded to said server from said sending computer without regard to said receiving computer'"'"'s capabilities, said server sends a notification of said forwarded electronic document to said receiving computer, wherein said receiving computer downloads said forwarded electronic document from said server using said receiving computer'"'"'s local protocols; and

wherein said server automatically records an acknowledgment, and makes said acknowledgment available to said sending computer either when said server sends said notification of said forwarded electronic document to said receiving computer, or when said receiving computer downloads said forwarded electronic document from said server,

wherein said notification includes a direct reference to said forwarded electronic document at said server, and wherein said receiving computer uses said direct reference to locate and download said forwarded electronic document from said server.

2. An apparatus for delivering an electronic document, comprising:

a sending computer for sending an electronic document;

a receiving computer for receiving said electronic document; and

a server interposed between said sending computer and said receiving computer, wherein when said electronic document is forwarded to said server from said sending computer without regard to said receiving computer'"'"'s capabilities, said server sends a notification of said forwarded electronic document to said receiving computer, said notification including a direct reference to said forwarded, electronic document at said server, wherein said receiving computer uses said direct reference to locate and download said forwarded electronic document from said server using said receiving computer'"'"'s local protocols; and

wherein said server automatically records an acknowledgment, and makes said acknowledgment available to said sending computer either when said server sends said notification of said forwarded electronic document to said receiving computer, or when said receiving computer downloads said forwarded electronic document from said server.