Multimedia communications/collaboration hub
First Claim
1. A public access multifunction device comprising:
- a marking engine;
a scanning engine;
a controller controlling the marking and scanning, engines;
a printing service module in communication with the marking engine and a controller, the printing service module, in response to instructions from the controller, receiving print data from the controller and employing the marking engine to produce hard copy of print data;
a scanning service module in communication with the scanning engine and the controller, the scanning service module, in response to instructions from the controller, receiving scanned data from the scanning engine and transmitting it to the controller;
a copying service module in communication with the scanning engine and the marking engine, the copying service module accepting input from the scanning engine and reproducing the scanning engine input with the marking engine to produce a hard copy of the scanning engine input;
at least one data port responsive to the controller through which the device can accept and transmit data;
a storage medium responsive to the controller on which the device can store print and scanning data, as well as other files required for its operation;
a payment acceptance; and
an authorization system which senses an approaching user and sends inquiries via wireless communications protocols to determine whether the user is carrying an electronic device that can provide identification and a password to the user'"'"'s account.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hub allowing collaboration and communication, including delayed and secure printing, faxing, telephone service, internet and e-mail access, and data transfer between personal electronic devices and the hub and/or other personal electronic devices and/or remote devices. Embodiments operate on a fee-for-service basis and can include a payment acceptance module. Embodiments include a large main display on which advertisements and information can be displayed during periods of non-use. Additional displays can be included with associated input devices to allow multiple users to use the hub simultaneously. Embodiments can include networking ports, wired and/or wireless, with which users can connect devices to the hub for data transfer, sharing, and collaboration.
-
Citations
90 Claims
-
1. A public access multifunction device comprising:
-
a marking engine; a scanning engine; a controller controlling the marking and scanning, engines; a printing service module in communication with the marking engine and a controller, the printing service module, in response to instructions from the controller, receiving print data from the controller and employing the marking engine to produce hard copy of print data; a scanning service module in communication with the scanning engine and the controller, the scanning service module, in response to instructions from the controller, receiving scanned data from the scanning engine and transmitting it to the controller; a copying service module in communication with the scanning engine and the marking engine, the copying service module accepting input from the scanning engine and reproducing the scanning engine input with the marking engine to produce a hard copy of the scanning engine input; at least one data port responsive to the controller through which the device can accept and transmit data; a storage medium responsive to the controller on which the device can store print and scanning data, as well as other files required for its operation; a payment acceptance; and an authorization system which senses an approaching user and sends inquiries via wireless communications protocols to determine whether the user is carrying an electronic device that can provide identification and a password to the user'"'"'s account. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A public access multifunction device comprising:
-
a controller; a marking engine and a scanning engine responsive to the controller; printing, scanning, and copying service modules in communication with the marking and scanning engines and responsive to the controller; the printing service module receiving print data from the controller and employing the marking engine to produce hard copy of print data; the scanning service module receiving scanned data from the scanning engine and transmitting it to the controller; the copying service module accepting scanned data from the scanning engine and reproducing the scanned data with the marking engine to produce a hard copy of the scanning engine input; at least one data port responsive to the controller through which the device can accept and transmit data, the at least one data port comprising; at least one user detector; at least one audio input port; at least one audio output port; at least one video input port; and at least one networking port; a storage medium responsive to the controller on which the device can store print and scanning data, as well as other files required for its operation; and an authorization system which senses an approaching user and sends inquiries via wireless communications protocols to determine whether the user is carrying an electronic device that can provide identification and a password to the user'"'"'s account. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
-
-
66. A public access multifunction device comprising:
-
a controller; a user interface (UI) running on the controller and comprising a plurality of UI elements with which a user can interact with the device; at least one display device on which UI elements and data can be displayed; at least one pointing device; at least one text entry device;
marking, scanning, and fax transmission engines responsive to the controller;
printing, scanning, copying, and faxing service modules in communication with the marking, scanning, and faxing engines and responsive to the controller;
the printing service module receiving print data from the controller and employing the marking engine to produce hard copy of print data;the scanning service module receiving scanned data from the scanning engine and transmitting it to the controller the copying service module accepting scanned data from the scanning engine and reproducing the scanned data with the marking engine to produce a hard copy of the scanning engine input; the fax module accepting input from the scanning engine and transmitting the scanning engine input as a fax via the fax transmission engine; at least one data port responsive to the controller through which the device can accept and transmit data, the at least one data port comprising; at least one user detector; at least one audio input port; at least one audio output port; at least one video input port; at least one telephone service connection; and at least one networking port; an audio data handler module controlled by the controller and responsive to a UI with a plurality of elements representing different audio functions; a storage medium responsive to the controller on which the device can store print and scanning data, as well as other files required for its operation; and an authorization system which senses an approaching user and sends inquiries via wireless communications protocols to determine whether the user is carrying an electronic device that can provide identification and a password to the user'"'"'s account. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
-
Specification