Method and apparatus for creating, supporting, and using travelling programs
First Claim
1. In a communications system having a plurality of digital computers coupled to a channel over which computers exchange digital messages, a method for processing information among said computers comprising the steps of:
- executing on a first computer a sequence of digital program instructions including instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of instructionstransmitting to said next destination, digital information comprising at least said sequence of digital instructions and accompanying digital data associated with said sequence of digital instructions;
determining, based on the sequence of instructions, at at least one of said plurality of digital computers, a first digital value;
computing, based on the sequence of digital instructions, at at least one of said plurality of digital computers a digital signature on said first digital value, thereby creating a digital signature value to be part of said accompanying digital data; and
determining, at said next destination, based on the sequence of digital instructions, whether the sequence of digital instructions must be further transmitted.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for creating, supporting and using a "travelling program" is disclosed. A "travelling program" is a digital data structure which includes a sequence of instructions and associated data and which has the capability of determining at least one next destination or recipient for receiving the travelling program and for transmitting itself together with all relevant data determined by the program to the next recipient or destination. The travelling program can compute, according to any algorithm, the digital material which is to be signed, and also, as needed, the digital material which is to be verified. The program can conditionally decide, based on any known criteria, which users should participate in the signature process. Digital signatures allow the travelling program to provide other types of valuable authentication. The travelling program operates to automate data collection among a group of users. It can be sent to one user, attach (or detach) relevant data files and move on to the next user. Data or files, collected from one or more users can be deposited with another user, or accumulated for batched processing as desired. This methodology eliminates the need for individual users to be counted on to transmit all the required data in the required format. The present invention also efficiently performs electronic data interchange (EDI) in the context of a travelling program which sends itself from user to the next within an organization, collecting, editing and approving data.
245 Citations
26 Claims
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1. In a communications system having a plurality of digital computers coupled to a channel over which computers exchange digital messages, a method for processing information among said computers comprising the steps of:
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executing on a first computer a sequence of digital program instructions including instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of instructions transmitting to said next destination, digital information comprising at least said sequence of digital instructions and accompanying digital data associated with said sequence of digital instructions; determining, based on the sequence of instructions, at at least one of said plurality of digital computers, a first digital value; computing, based on the sequence of digital instructions, at at least one of said plurality of digital computers a digital signature on said first digital value, thereby creating a digital signature value to be part of said accompanying digital data; and determining, at said next destination, based on the sequence of digital instructions, whether the sequence of digital instructions must be further transmitted. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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3. In a digital communications system having a plurality of computers coupled to a channel over which computers exchange messages, a method for processing information among said computers comprising the step of:
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executing on a first computer a sequence of digital instructions, including instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of digital instructions together with accompanying data including at least one digital signature; transmitting said sequence of digital instructions together with said accompanying data to said next destination; performing, under the control of said sequence of digital instructions, a digital signature verification operation based upon information contained in said accompanying data; and determining, at said next destination whether the sequence of digital instructions must be further transmitted.
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15. In a communication system having a plurality of computers coupled to a channel over which computers exchange messages, a method for processing information among said computers comprising the steps of:
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executing on a first computer a sequence of digital instructions, including digital instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of digital instructions; acquiring data from a user of at lest one of said computers under the control of said sequence of digital instructions; translating said data under the control of said sequence of digital instructions into a predefined data structure; digitally signing at least part of said data structure via the execution of said sequence of digital instructions to create a digital signature value; transmitting digital information including said digital signature value to a next destination under the control of said sequence of digital instructions and determining, at said next destination, based of the sequence of digital instructions, whether the sequence of digital instructions must be further transmitted. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. In a communication system having a plurality of computers coupled to a channel over which computers exchange messages, a method for processing information among said computers comprising the steps of:
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executing on a first computer a sequence of digital program instructions, including instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of digital instructions; performing a digital signature operation under the control of said sequence of program instructions using a private key stored in a user token device to obtain a digital signature value; transmitting digital information including said digital signature value to a next destination; and determining, at said next destination, based on the sequence of digital program instructions, whether the sequence of digital instructions must be further transmitted. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. In a digital communications system having a plurality of computer terminals which are located at a plurality of destinations and are coupled to a channel over which computer terminals exchange messages, a method for processing digital information comprising the steps of:
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executing on a first computer a sequence of digital program instructions, including instructions which determine at least one next destination that receives the sequence of digital program instructions; computing a digital value, the content of which is based on logical decisions and manipulations controlled by said sequence of digital program instructions; performing a digital signature operation on said digital value to create a digital signature value; transmitting digital information including said digital signature value to a next destination; and determining, at said next destination, based on said sequence of instructions whether the sequence of digital program instructions must be further transmitted.
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22. A digital data processing system for processing digital information by a plurality of computers coupled to a channel over which computers located at a plurality of destinations exchange digital messages comprising:
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a first computer including; at lest one memory for storing a sequence of digital program instructions including
1) instructions which determine at least one next destination for receiving said sequence of instructions together with accompanying data and
2) instructions for logically constructing digital data to be signed and for selectively performing a digital signature operation on said digital data, andprocessing means for executing said sequence of digital program instructions and for transmitting said sequence of digital program instructions to said next destination; and a second computer including; a memory for receiving and for storing the received sequence of digital program instructions and accompanying data transmitted from said first computer including
1) instructions which determine any next destination for transmitting said sequence of instructions together with its accompanying data, and
2) instructions for logically constructing digital data to be signed, and for selectively performing a digital signature operation on said digital data, andprocessing means for executing said received sequence of digital program instructions to thereby determine any next destination for said sequence of digital instructions. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. In a communications system having at least one digital computer and a plurality of destinations within said communications system at which users perform digital signatures, a method for handling digital signatures comprising the steps of:
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providing a sequence of digital instructions to control the management of digital signatures, including instructions which; determine digital values, control creation of a digital signature value based on determined digital values, and determine a next destination; executing in at least one digital computer at least one of said instructions to determine a first digital value to be digitally signed; executing in at least one digital computer at lest one of said instructions to control the creation of a digital signature value computed on said first digital value; executing in at least one digital computer at least one of said instructions to determine a next destination; transmitting to said next destination digital information including said sequence of digital instructions; executing in at least one of said computers at least one of said instructions to determine a further next destination; and transmitting to said further next destination, digital information including said digital signature value. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification