Location based networked device utilization

• US 7,853,693 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2006
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nemati, Adam A., Thomas, Mathews, Abraham, Subil M., Cao, Tam M.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US11/344,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20070180082A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,778 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 358/425, 345/639
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A method for utilizing networked devices can include a step of receiving a network job associated with a network user. A location of the network user can be automatically determined. One of many possible networked devices can be dynamically selected based upon the determined user location. The network job can be assigned to the selected device.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing networked devices in a network, comprising the steps of:

receiving a networked job associated with a network user at a device server coupled to the network, the network user being a human;

automatically determining a current physical location of the network user, performed by a location server coupled to the network and performed in response to the device server receiving the network job;

dynamically selecting one of a plurality of networked devices coupled to the network based upon the determined current physical location of the network user, wherein the selecting is performed by the device server in response to receiving the network job; and

assigning the network job to the selected device, performed by the device server wherein the selected device generates an output for the network job;

further comprising the steps of;

determining at least one job specific attribute associated with the network job;

determining at least one device specific attribute;

comparing the at least one specific attribute and the at least one device specific attribute, wherein the networked device chosen in the selecting step is based at least in part upon results of the comparing step, and wherein the device specific attributes comprises load, output quality, and output security.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises the steps of:

detecting a location beacon carried by the network user; and

determining the current physical location of the network user based upon detecting the location beacon.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the location beacon comprises a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag that is read by at least one Radio Frequency Identification tag scanner functioning, each Radio Frequency Identification tag scanner functioning as a location sensor.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

attaching a location beacon to each of the plurality of networked devices; and

automatically determining a location of the networked devices using the attached location beacons.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network job specifies an output time when output is to be generated for the network job, wherein the identifying step dynamically determines the location of the network user at approximately the output time.

6. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising the step of:

conveying an output notification to the network user that indicates the selected networked device where results from the network job are able to be retrieved.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network user is an intended recipient for the network job, said method further comprising the step of:

receiving a network request that results in the network job from a different user than the network user, wherein at least one of the different user and the network request explicitly identifies the network user as the intended recipient.

8. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising the steps of:

automatically analyzing content of the network job to determine an identity of an intended recipient the intended recipient being a human; and

automatically ascertaining one of a plurality of network users that corresponds to the determined identity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network job outputs a facsimile message, wherein the intended recipient is determined from a header page of the facsimile message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the network request is a request to output a received facsimile message conveyed to a facsimile receiving device associated with a phone number, wherein the plurality of networked devices comprise a plurality of printers to which messages sent to the facsimile receiving device are able to be automatically routed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selected networked device upon which the facsimile message is printed is a printer that is most proximate to the determined location of the network user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of claim 1 are performed by at least one machine in accordance with at least one computer program having a plurality of code sections that are executable by the at least one machine the networked job does not designate an output device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of claim 1 are performed by at least one of a service agent and a computing device manipulated by the service agent, the steps being performed in response to a service request.

14. A method for automatically selecting among network printers coupled to a network based upon user location comprising the steps of:

a print server coupled to the network receiving a print job;

the print server determining an intended recipient for the print job in response to receiving the print job, the intended recipient being a human;

a location server coupled to the network dynamically determining a current physical location of the intended recipient, performed in response to receiving the print job at the print server;

automatically determining at the print server a network printer coupled to the network that is physically closest to the determined current physical location of the intended recipient upon determining the current physical location of the intended recipient; and

automatically assigning the print job to the determined network printer which outputs the print job, further comprising the steps of;

determining at least one job specific attribute associated with the network job;

determining at least one device specific attribute;

comparing the at least one specific attribute and the at least one device specific attribute, wherein the networked device chosen in the selecting step is based at least in part upon results of the comparing step, and wherein the device specific attributes comprises load, output quality, and output security.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

automatically notifying the intended recipient that printed output for the intended recipient has been generated by the determined network printer.

16. A system that generates a network output based upon an automatically determined user location comprising:

a plurality of client machines configured to provide network access to a plurality of network users, the network users being humans;

a plurality of networked devices, each configured to handle assigned network jobs;

a location server configured to dynamically determine current physical locations of the network users; and

a device server configured to receive the network jobs, to identity at least one identify a network user for whom each of the network jobs network job is intended in response to receipt of each network job at the device server, to assign the network jobs each network job to at least one of the plurality of networked devices based upon at least one factor, wherein one of the at least one factor is proximity of a networked device the at least one of the plurality of the networked devices to a current physical location of the network user for whom output from network job is intended, wherein the current physical location of the network user for whom the network lob is intended is automatically determined by the location server in response to the device server receiving the network job, further comprising the steps of;

determining at least one job specific attribute associated with the network job;

determining at least one device specific attribute;

comparing the at least one specific attribute and the at least one device specific attribute, wherein the networked device chosen in the selecting step is based at least in part upon results of the comparing step, and wherein the device specific attributes comprises load, output quality, and output security.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a plurality of location beacons, each location beacon being a mobile beacon intended to be carried by the network users; and

a plurality of location sensors configured to automatically detect the location beacons, wherein the location server utilizes the location beacons and the location sensors to determine physical locations of network users.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one automatically determined factor includes a plurality of factors, wherein the plurality of factors are used to calculate a device suitability rating, wherein the device server assigns network jobs to networked devices based upon device suitability ratings, wherein the plurality of factors compares network job specific attributes with networked device specific attributes.