Business method for secure document folder distribution

• US 6,970,847 B1
• Filed: 10/24/2000
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Williams, Neil, Krtolica, Boris, Melen, Roger D.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEUNG, MARY DA ZHI WANG
• Application Number:
  US09/695,747
• Time in Patent Office: 1,862 Days
• Field of Search: 705 50- 53, 705 55- 56, 705 74- 77, 713151-154, 380210-211, 380 28- 30, 725 1- 14, 725 62- 63, 725/74, 725 86-105
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for a business to securely distribute potentially large collections of document folders (180) to recipients (140). The system comprises a sending device (160) for sending the document folders (180) and temporarily storing the document folders (180) on a network (120) of interconnected computers (170), a destination computer (170) for accumulating the sent document folders (180) destined for a particular recipient (140), and a receiving device (130) for receiving the accumulated document folders (180) from the destination device (170). The method comprises the steps of sending the document folders (180) to a network (120) of interconnected computers (170); notifying each recipient (140) of an electronic document folder (180) by means of an indirect reference to the electronic document folder (180); selecting a destination location (170) for the electronic document folder (180) using data supplied by the recipient (140); and accumulating the electronic document folders (180) at the destination location (170).

Claims

1. A method for controlling a server in order to distribute document folders to receiving devices of recipients, wherein the server is a member of a system that includes at least one sending device, a plurality of servers, and at least one receiving device, said method comprising the steps of:

temporarily storing an electronic document folder sent from the sending device, the electronic document folder comprising at least one document;

notifying a recipient of the electronic document folder with an indirect reference, the indirect reference including a code to identify the electronic document folder intended for said recipient;

selecting a destination server from the plurality of servers based on data provided by said recipient when said recipient wishes to retrieve the electronic document folder, the data including address information of the destination server designated by the recipient, wherein the destination server can be accessed from the receiving device of the recipient; and

accumulating the temporarily stored electronic document folder at the destination server selected in said selecting step, wherein the receiving device of the recipient can retrieve the accumulated electronic document folder from the destination server via a network based on the code included in the indirect reference, the code being used to identify the electronic document folder intended for said recipient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data provided by the recipient is selected from the group consisting of document reception address data and additional document reception data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the document reception address data comprises at least one of path information and a method for network document folder delivery.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional document reception data comprises at least one of receiving device capabilities and document reception location data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the indirect reference to the electronic document folder comprises a folder code containing information needed to retrieve the electronic document folder.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the folder code is a privacy code.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the folder code is mediacard data, said mediacard data delivered to each recipient prior to said recipient'"'"'s accessing an electronic document folder.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of modifying the data for best recipient use with regard to capabilities of a receiving device at said destination server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of a server recording an acknowledgment of a delivery of an electronic document folder and making said acknowledgment available to a sender.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of the recipient retrieving the electronic document folder based upon providing information contained in said indirect reference.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of authenticating at least some documents within the electronic document folders.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the authenticating step comprises a seal engine attaching a seal to at least one document within the electronic document folder.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the attached seal comprises information contained in the at least one document and information not contained in the at least one document.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information not contained in the at least one document comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a date of transmission, a time of transmission, a protocol identification, information known only by an intended recipient, and a file size.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one document within a sent document folder has a printable representation.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one document folder comprises exactly one document.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic document folders are sent using virtual private network security.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of charging a recipient upon the recipient'"'"'s taking delivery of an electronic document folder when the electronic document folder has been sent C.O.D.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of charging the recipient upon the recipient taking delivery of an electronic document folder when the electronic document folder has been stored on a network beyond an agreed-upon period of time.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of the recipient specifying a date of expiration of an electronic document folder temporarily stored on a network.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying each recipient comprises sending a notification via email.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying each recipient comprises sending a notification over a cellular phone.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of converting a sent electronic document folder into a page description language before sending a link to the electronic document folder to a recipient.

24. A system for distributing document folders to recipients, said system comprising:

at least one sending device;

a plurality of servers; and

at least one receiving device;

wherein the sending device sends an electronic document folder to one of the plurality of servers, the electronic document folder comprising at least one document; and

wherein the at least one server temporarily stores the electronic document folder sent from the sending device, and notifies a recipient of the electronic document folder with an indirect reference including a code that it is used in order to identify the electronic document folder intended for the recipient, and selects a destination server from the plurality of servers based on data provided by the recipient when the recipient wishes to retrieve the electronic document folder, the data including address information of the destination server designated by the recipient and accumulates the electronic document folder in the selected destination server; and

wherein the receiving device of the recipient retrieves the accumulated electronic document folder from the selected destination server based on the code included in the indirect reference, the code being used to identify the electronic document folder intended for said recipient.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a notification device for notifying the recipient of the sent electronic document folder, by providing an indirect reference to the electronic document folder.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein a network connects said server and destination computer and said network is selected from the group consisting of the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network, and a local area network.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising an administrative subsystem coupled to the network for managing system resources based on requests of senders and recipients of electronic document folders.

28. The system of claim 27, further comprising a billing subsystem coupled to the administrative subsystem for detecting monetizing events and charging at least one of a sender and a recipient upon the occurrence of a monetizing event.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising a billing database coupled to the billing subsystem for maintaining and adjusting accounts of senders and recipients based on information received from the billing subsystem.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein a monetizing event is sending an electronic document folder.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein a monetizing event is sending an electronic document folder C.O.D.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein a monetizing event is temporarily storing an electronic document folder on the network beyond an agreed-upon period of time.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein a monetizing event is a recipient requesting that a sent electronic document folder be authenticated.

34. The system of claim 26, further comprising a seal engine coupled to the network of interconnected computers for attaching a seal to at least one document within an electronic document folder.

35. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one sending device is selected from the group consisting of a scanner, a facsimile machine, and a computer.

36. The system of claim 24, wherein the receiving device is selected from the group consisting of a Web-enabled personal computer, a Web-enabled printer, a Web-connected digital copier, and a Web-enabled Internet appliance.

37. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one destination computer is located at a partnership facility having a pre-established business relationship with the system.

38. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for controlling a server in order to distribute document folders to receiving devices of recipients, wherein the server is a member of a system that includes at least one sending device, a plurality of servers, and at least one receiving device, said computer program product comprising:

program code for temporarily storing an electronic document folder sent from the sending device, the electronic document folder comprising at least one document;

program code for notifying a recipient of the electronic document folder with an indirect reference, the indirect reference including a code to identify the electronic document folder intended for said recipient;

program code for selecting a destination server from the plurality of servers based on data provided by the recipient when the recipient wishes to retrieve the electornic document folder, the data including address information of the destination server designated by the recipient, wherein the destination server can be accessed from the receiving device of the recipient; and

program code for accumulating the temporarily stored electronic document folder at the selected destination computer server, wherein the receiving device of the recipient can retrieve the accumulated electronic document folder from the destination server via a network based on the code included in the indirect reference, the code being used to identify the electronic document folder intended for said recipient.