Instant selective multiple soft document sharing between multiple heterogeneous computing devices

• US 7,072,939 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: X Corp. (f/k/a Twitter, Inc.) (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Silvia, Elizabeth, Amro, Hatim Yousef
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUOC H
• Application Number:
  US09/492,437
• Time in Patent Office: 2,350 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/223, 709/205, 709/252, 709/222, 709/201, 709/204, 709/227, 379/88.13, 455/461, 455/410
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

A system and method for providing dynamically shared documents to multiple computing devices. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a hub and a plurality of computing devices in physical proximity with the hub. Each of the plurality of computing devices communicates with the hub via a wireless connection. The hub acts as a pass-through device receiving and transmitting requests from a requesting computing device to other computing devices and receiving and transmitting answers from the other computing devices to the requesting computing device. Each computing device translates requests and shared documents into a system independent language before transmitting the request of the document to the hub and each computing device translates received documents from the system independent language into a data format preferred by that particular computing device. Thus, documents may be securely shared between computing devices having different operating systems and data formats without having a physical network connection. Furthermore, the hub is portable, thus allowing the sharing of documents at any location in which several users have gathered for a meeting.

Claims

1. A system for providing dynamically shared documents, comprising:

a hub, wherein the hub is not connected to any external network; and

a plurality of computing devices in physical proximity with the hub;

wherein

each of the plurality of computing devices communicates with the hub via only a wireless connection;

the hub receives and retransmits requested documents between selected computing devices of the plurality of computing devices, wherein transmissions between each of the plurality of computing devices and the hub are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions;

each of the plurality of computing devices translates each requested document into a system independent language prior to transmitting the requested document to the hub, wherein the system independent language is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language; and

each of the plurality of computing devices translates each received document from the hub.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the hub is portable.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of computing devices is a personal digital assistant.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of computing devices is a laptop computer.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of computing devices is portable.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmissions between each of the plurality of computing devices and the hub are encrypted.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the hub is a wireless hub which communicates with computing devices via only wireless communication links.

8. A method in a data processing system for retrieving documents from other data processing systems, comprising the steps of:

sending, from a first data processing system, a request, in a system independent language, for a shared document from a second data processing system to a hub in close proximity to the first and second data processing systems via only a wireless communication signal, wherein the hub is not connected to any external network, wherein the system independent language is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

receiving, from the hub, via only the wireless communication link, the shared document, formatted in the system independent language, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions; and

translating the shared document from the system independent language into a first data processing system preferred data format for presentation to a user.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the strength of the wireless communication signal is such that only devices in close proximity with each other may receive the signal, thus ensuring that only authorized recipients receive information conveyed via the wireless communication signal.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the hub is portable.

11. The method recited in claim 8, wherein at least one of the data processing systems is portable.

12. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are encrypted.

13. A computer program product in computer readable media for use in a data processing system for retrieving documents from other data processing systems, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions for sending, from a first data processing system, a request, in a system independent language, for a shared document from a second data processing system to a hub in close proximity to the first and second data processing systems via only a wireless communication signal, wherein the hub is not connected to any external network, wherein the system independent language is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

second instructions for receiving, from the hub, via only the wireless communication link, the shared document, formatted in the system independent language, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions; and

third instructions for translating the shared document from the system independent language into a first data processing system preferred data format for presentation to a user.

14. The computer program product as recited in claim 13, wherein the strength of the wireless communication signal is such that only devices in close proximity with each other may receive the signal, thus ensuring that only authorized recipients receive information conveyed via the wireless communication signal.

15. The computer program product as recited in claim 13, wherein the hub is portable.

16. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein at least one of the data processing systems is portable.

17. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are encrypted.

18. A system for retrieving documents from other data processing systems, comprising:

means for sending, from a first data processing system, a request, in a system independent language, for a shared document from a second data processing system to a hub in close proximity to the first and second data processing systems via only a wireless communication signal, wherein the hub is not connected to any external network, wherein the system independent language is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

means for receiving, from the hub, via only the wireless communication link, the shared document, formatted in the system independent language, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions; and

means for translating the shared document from the system independent language into a first data processing system preferred data format for presentation to a user.

19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the strength of the wireless communication signal is such that only devices in close proximity with each other may receive the signal, thus ensuring that only authorized recipients receive information conveyed via the wireless communication signal.

20. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the hub is portable.

21. The system recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the data processing systems is portable.

22. The system recited in claim 18, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems and the hub are encrypted.

23. A method in a data processing system for facilitating communications between a plurality of other data processing systems, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request in a system independent format from a first data processing system via only a wireless communication link, wherein the system independent format is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

broadcasting the request to a second data processing system via only the wireless communication link;

receiving an answer in a system independent format from the second data processing system via only the wireless communication link; and

broadcasting the answer to the first data processing system via only the wireless communication link, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions.

24. The method recited in claim 23, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems are encrypted.

25. A computer program product in a computer readable media for use in a data processing system for facilitating communications between a plurality of other data processing systems, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions for receiving a request in a system independent format from a first data processing system via only a wireless communication link, wherein the system independent format is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

second instructions for broadcasting the request to a second data processing system via only the wireless communication link;

third instructions for receiving an answer in a system independent format from the second data processing system via only the wireless communication link; and

fourth instructions for broadcasting the answer to the first data processing system via only the wireless communication link, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions.

26. The computer program product recited in claim 25, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems are encrypted.

27. A system in a data processing system for facilitating communications between a plurality of other data processing systems, comprising:

means for receiving a request in a system independent format from a first data processing system via only a wireless communication link, wherein the system independent format is at least one of a Java based language or an extensible markup language;

means for broadcasting the request to a second data processing system via only the wireless communication link;

means for receiving an answer in a system independent format from the second data processing system via only the wireless communication link; and

means for broadcasting the answer to the first data processing system via only the wireless communication link, wherein transmissions between each of the data processing systems are at least one of infrared transmissions or radio frequency transmissions.

28. The system recited in claim 27, wherein the transmissions between each of the data processing systems are encrypted.