System and method for vending retail software and other sets of information to end users
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of providing a first group of at least one set of information, the method comprising:
- storing at a first location a first plurality of sets of information, at least zero sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, less than all of the sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, each of the sets of information in the first plurality of sets of information having a size;
storing at a second location separate from the first location a second plurality of sets of information, all of the at least one set of information in the first group in at least one selected from the first plurality of sets of information and the second plurality of sets of information;
receiving at the first location a request to provide the first group of at least one set of information;
identifying a second group of at least one set of information in the first group and in the second plurality and not in the first plurality, each said at least one set of information in the second group of at least one set of information having a size;
deleting at least one of the sets of information in the first plurality responsive to the sizes of the sets of information in the second group, the sizes of the sets of information in the first plurality and a storage capacity of the first location;
providing from the second location to the first location the second group of sets of information responsive to the receiving and deleting steps; and
providing at the first location for distribution the sets of information in the first group comprising at least one set of information in the first plurality and at least one set of information in the second group.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method, apparati and computer program products duplicate sets of information such as application software as requested by a user. A number of sets of information are stored locally for duplication or transmission, and additional sets of information are available for remote retrieval for duplication or transmission.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of providing a first group of at least one set of information, the method comprising:
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storing at a first location a first plurality of sets of information, at least zero sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, less than all of the sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, each of the sets of information in the first plurality of sets of information having a size; storing at a second location separate from the first location a second plurality of sets of information, all of the at least one set of information in the first group in at least one selected from the first plurality of sets of information and the second plurality of sets of information; receiving at the first location a request to provide the first group of at least one set of information; identifying a second group of at least one set of information in the first group and in the second plurality and not in the first plurality, each said at least one set of information in the second group of at least one set of information having a size; deleting at least one of the sets of information in the first plurality responsive to the sizes of the sets of information in the second group, the sizes of the sets of information in the first plurality and a storage capacity of the first location; providing from the second location to the first location the second group of sets of information responsive to the receiving and deleting steps; and providing at the first location for distribution the sets of information in the first group comprising at least one set of information in the first plurality and at least one set of information in the second group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of distributing sets of information from a central location to a plurality of remote locations, comprising:
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a. storing at the central location a first plurality of the sets of information; b. storing at a first one of the plurality of remote locations a second plurality of the sets of information; c. storing at a second one of the plurality of remote locations a third plurality of the sets of information, at least one of the sets of information in the third plurality distinct from the sets of information in the second plurality of the sets of information; d. receiving from the first one of the plurality of remote locations a request to provide a first group of at least one of the first plurality of sets of information, said request corresponding to a first order for the group of sets of information received at the first remote location; e. receiving from the second one of the plurality of remote locations a request to provide a second group of at least one of the first plurality of sets of information, said request corresponding to a second order for the group of sets of information received at the second remote location, said second group different from the first group; f. responsive to step d, providing from the central location to the first one of the plurality of remote locations a first deletion information useful by the first one of the plurality of remote locations to delete at least one of the sets of information in the second plurality stored at said first one of the plurality of remote locations; g. responsive to step e, providing from the central location to the second one of the plurality of remote locations a second deletion information different from the first deletion information and useful by the second one of the plurality of remote locations to delete at least one of the sets of information in the third plurality stored at said second one of the plurality of remote locations; h. responsive to step d, providing the first group of sets of information from the central location to the first remote location; and i. responsive to step e, providing the second group of sets of information from the central location to the second remote location. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for providing sets of information at a plurality of retail locations, comprising:
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a plurality of software shelves, at least one of the plurality of software shelves at each of the plurality of locations, each of the plurality of software shelves comprising; an input for receiving a request for a first group of the sets of information; a first storage for storing a first plurality of the sets of information; a space manager coupled to the input of the software shelf and the storage of the software shelf for deleting from the first storage at least one of the first plurality of the sets of information responsive to the request, for providing at an input/output a command comprising at least one identifier of at least one of the sets of information in the first group and not in the first plurality and for storing in the first storage of the software shelf at least one set of information received at the input/output of the space manager; and an output coupled to the first storage of the software shelf for providing for distribution the sets of information in the first group; and a software manager in communication with each of the software shelves, comprising; a second storage for storing a second plurality of the sets of information; and a message control coupled to the input/outputs of the plurality of software shelves and the second storage of the software manager, for receiving the commands from each of the software shelves and providing to each respective one of said software shelves at least one of the sets of information in the second plurality of the sets of information responsive to each said request received from said respective one of the software shelves. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for providing a first group of at least one set of information, the computer program product comprising:
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a first set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a first computer to store at a first location a first plurality of sets of information, at least zero sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, less than all of the sets of information in the first group in the first plurality, each of the sets of information in the first plurality of sets of information having a size; a second set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a second computer to store at a second location separate from the first location a second plurality of sets of information, all of the at least one set of information in the first group in at least one selected from the first plurality of sets of information and the second plurality of sets of information; a third set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a third computer to receive at the first location a request to provide the first group of at least one set of information; a fourth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a fourth computer to identify a second group of at least one set of information in the first group and in the second plurality and not in the first plurality, each said at least one set of information in the second group of at least one set of information having a size; a fifth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a fifth computer to delete at least one of the sets of information in the first plurality responsive to the sizes of the sets of information in the second group, the sizes of the sets of information in the first plurality and a storage capacity of the first location; a sixth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a sixth computer to provide from the second location to the first location the second group of sets of information responsive to the third set of computer readable code devices and the fifth set of computer readable code devices; and a seventh set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a seventh computer to provide at the first location for distribution the sets of information in the first group comprising at least one set of information in the first plurality and at least one set of information in the second group. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for distributing sets of information from a central location to a plurality of remote locations, the computer program product comprising:
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a. a first set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a first computer to store at the central location a first plurality of the sets of information; b. a second set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a second computer to store at a first one of the plurality of remote locations a second plurality of the sets of information; c. a third set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a third computer to store at a second one of the plurality of remote locations a third plurality of the sets of information, at least one of the sets of information in the third plurality distinct from the sets of information in the second plurality of the sets of information; d. a fourth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a fourth computer to receive from the first one of the plurality of remote locations a request to provide a first group of at least one of the first plurality of sets of information, said request corresponding to a first order for the group of sets of information received at the first remote location; e. a fifth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a fifth computer to receive from the second one of the plurality of remote locations a request to provide a second group of at least one of the first plurality of sets of information, said request corresponding to a second order for the group of sets of information received at the second remote location, said second group different from the first group; f. a sixth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a sixth computer to, responsive to computer readable program code devices d, provide from the central location to the first one of the plurality of remote locations a first deletion information useful by the first one of the plurality of remote locations to delete at least one of the sets of information in the second plurality stored at said first one of the plurality of remote locations; g. a seventh set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a seventh computer to, responsive to computer readable program code devices e, provide from the central location to the second one of the plurality of remote locations a second deletion information different from the first deletion information and useful by the second one of the plurality of remote locations to delete at least one of the sets of information in the third plurality stored at said second one of the plurality of remote locations; h. an eighth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a eighth computer to, responsive to computer readable program code devices d, provide the first group of sets of information from the central location to the first remote location; and i. a ninth set of computer readable program code devices configured to cause a ninth computer to, responsive to computer readable program code devices e, providing the second group of sets of information from the central location to the second remote location. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification