Document management system

• US 6,289,460 B1
• Filed: 12/06/1999
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DocuSign Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Astus Corporation
• Inventors: Hajmiragha, Mir
• Primary Examiner(s): HUA, LY
• Application Number:
  US09/455,266
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 713/200, 705/103, 707/83, 707/53, 707/54, 707/9, 700/83
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A system for allowing predesignated users at remotely located computer-based systems to perform document management. Components of the system include public data network, a publication facility, a remote storage facility and a document manager computer-based system. The document manager computer-based system, the publication facility, the remote storage facility are all coupled to the computer-based systems used by the predesignated users over the public data network. The system allows authorized users from remote locations to perform secure document collaboration, share and archive documents, context index documents, digitally notarize documents, electronically file documents and publish documents.

Claims

1. A system for allowing predesignated users at remotely located computer-based systems to perform document management, comprising:

a public data network;

a publication facility;

a remote storage facility; and

a document manager computer-based system coupled to said publication facility, said remote storage facility and said computer-based systems used by the predesignated users over the public data network, said document manager system comprising;

local storage; and

a processor coupled to the local storage, said processor comprising;

an authentication component for authorizing access to users using said remotely located computer-based systems based on predefined security information;

an electronic filing document registration component for registering a document and assigning a document process flow to said registered document, wherein said processor allows specific authorized users to perform one or more predefined actions against said registered document based on said assigned document process flow;

a document archiving component for archiving a registered document at one of said local storage or said remote storage facility;

a document content indexing component for indexing the content of the designated registered document;

a searching component for searching the indexed content of registered and archived documents;

a digital signature component for applying a digital signature to the registered document based on previously supplied digital certificate information and said assigned document process flow;

an audit trail component for generating audit trail information relative to the registered document, said audit trail information comprises a record of users'"'"' accesses of the registered document and user actions performed against the registered document;

a billing component for generating a bill based on said generated audit trail information of the registered document and predefined fee calculation information; and

a document publication component for publishing the registered document at said publication facility.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said registered document is a document type from the group consisting of archive, collaborate, external and template documents.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein archive and template documents are read-only documents.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the document process flow is defined according to a predefined general process flow.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the document process flow defines a progression of users with allowed access to the document, the action required by each of the allowed users, the completion date for the action required by each allowed user, and the permissible number of required actions by each user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the document process flow is defined according to a predefined company process flow.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the document process flow defines a progression of users with allowed access to the document, the action required by each of the allowed users, the completion date for the action required by each allowed user, and the permissible number of required actions by each user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the document process flow is defined by an authorized user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the document process flow defines a progression of users with allowed access to the document, the action required by each of the allowed users, the completion date for the action required by each allowed user, and the permissible number of required actions by each user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined actions consist of reviewing, approving, rejecting, digitally signing the document and publishing the document.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said publication is at least one of a computer disc or a paper publication.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor further comprises a user interface component for generating a user interface with interactive displayed windows viewable by the user at the user'"'"'s computer-based system, said interactive displayed windows presenting information from the other processor components and comprising interactive features that allow users to perform actions allowed by said processor based on the assigned document process flow.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said presented information comprises documents with the assigned one or more predefined actions automatically assigned to the user based on the document process flow.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said interactive features comprises a check-out icon for checking out a document and a check-in icon for checking in a previously checked-out document, wherein said one or more predefined actions are performed on a document when the document is checked-out.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said interactive features comprises one of one or more subject cabinets and one or more action drawers, each of said subject cabinets comprise registered documents based on a common subject of the documents therein and each of said action drawers comprise registered documents based on a common action to be performed against the documents therein.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said common subject and common action are assigned by the user.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein said interactive displayed windows comprise a document information window for presenting document information of a user selected document, wherein said document information comprises the selected document'"'"'s access history, correspondence information, actions performed on the document, document name, owner, creation date, type, attributes and billing account information.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said presented document information further comprises billing charges relating to said selected document.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein said generated user interface comprises a component for converting a collaborated document to an archive document.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein said digital signature component applies the rights of a notary public to a digital certificate and digital signature by assigning a publicly notarized personal signature to a specific digital certificate.