UNIVERSAL DOCUMENT TRANSPORT

• US 20100182651A1
• Filed: 12/09/2009
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Original Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Inventors: Isabelle, Jonathan, Webster, Jason K., Rebert, Treber
• Granted Patent: US 9,232,007 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/434
• 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 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A universal document transport facility is described where, in various embodiments, the facility recognizes document requests based on a received document, interacts with document routing rules and workflow requirements with respect to the received document, and manages content flows between network nodes or devices. In various embodiments, the facility includes a document transport module for transporting documents between network devices, such as printers, fax boards, and content servers and across local and wide-area networks; functionality for routing optimization with other communications networks, such as messaging services, telephony, and IP networks; and flexible document transport capabilities to workflow applications and multifunction devices (such as all-in-one print/scan/copy/fax/telephone/answering machine devices) and multifunction devices enhanced with video & video capture, messaging, email, network router & gateway capabilities.

Claims

1-27. -27. (canceled)

28. A method of sending a document over a network, comprising:

at a computer having at least one network connection, receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;

applying dialing or routing rules to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document;

selecting a target based on the determination; and

transporting or routing the document to the selected target.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising:

at the target, performing analyses on the document; and

routing the document in accordance with the analyses.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein the document is a fax document.

32. The method according to claim 28, wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.

33. The method according to claim 28, wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.

34. The method according to claim 28, prior to the transporting step, further comprising converting the document from a first format into a second format.

35. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to perform:

at a computer having at least one network connection, receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;

applying dialing or routing rules to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document;

selecting a target based on the determination; and

transporting or routing the document to the selected target.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the instructions are further translatable by the at least one processor to convert the document from a first format into a second format.

37. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.

38. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the document is a fax document.

39. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.

40. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.

41. A system for sending a document over a network, comprising:

a computer having at least one processor and at least one network connection; and

at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by the at least one processor to cause the computer perform;

receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;

applying dialing or routing rules to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document;

selecting a target based on the determination; and

transporting or routing the document to the selected target.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the target is operable to:

perform analyses on the document; and

route the document in accordance with the analyses.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.

44. The system of claim 41, wherein the document is a fax document.

45. The system of claim 41, wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.

46. The system of claim 41, wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.

47. The system of claim 41, wherein the instructions are further translatable by the at least one processor to convert the document from a first format into a second format.