Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-06
2002-05-21
Von Buhr, Maria N. (Department: 2171)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06393421
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the field of communication techniques and relates to a communication method and system utilizing a specific communication code.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When people meet for business purposes, it is commonly practiced to exchange business cards containing relevant information for future contacts. A business card usually contains data pertaining to the following: name, occupation, company, position and addresses relative to communication systems such as mail, phone, fax, e-mail and the like.
Business cards gathered from other parties are usually kept for the purpose of exchanging information or in the expectation of performing various transactions. The assumption is that the parties involved will use the addresses for establishing future relations that may result in business dealings. Since the information held in the business cards is of importance, they are carefully filed and ordered. Usually, the data of the cards is painstakingly typed, or scanned, to create computer files that are easier to maintain. It is needless to say that the handling and filing of business cards is cumbersome and time-consuming.
As time passes, it is usual for changes to occur in at least some of the data contained in a business card. Although names tend to remain the same, positions, occupations and many kinds of addresses are modified quite often. For example, a person may be promoted to a higher position in another division, may leave for another company or, as frequently occurs, a phone, facsimile or e-mail address is modified. These are all “dynamic” changes that take place in everyday life.
Thus, data printed on the business card remains valid only until changes take place in any one of the many data it displays. Therefore, as a result of these changes, it often becomes difficult to communicate with other parties.
Such changes compel the owner of the business card to print a new version of the card, and then to distribute it to his contacts. It would therefore be advantageous to all sides to provide the receiver of a business card with the latest edited version of the card, whenever such editing occurs. However, such an endeavour would require the card owner to send a new card to all his previous contacts each time modifications are made, assuming that it were possible to recall to whom they were distributed originally, and further assuming that the addresses of these receivers have not undergone any change themselves. In practice, both assumptions make such a task only partly achievable, at best. Even if so, the data receiver would still be left with the burden of filing the edited versions of the cards as they arrive.
Quite frequently, names and addresses are published in listings or in public, such as in telephone books and in various advertisements, without any knowledge regarding those who had initially been receivers of the data. In such instances, it is completely impossible to even try to approach the receivers, and there are no easy ways to notify these receivers of the fact that changes have occurred.
Various personal communication techniques have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,863 discloses a communication technique aimed at timesaving in retrieving personal information for real-time processes such as a conference call. The technique utilizes a business card in the form of a data structure comprising information commonly found in business cards, and the particular user's PC conference connection address. To contact a certain person, a user must search for the addressed person's name in the list and, upon finding him, the user will receive a “card image” on his display. It is evident that this technique suffers from the following drawbacks. On the one hand, it obliges the user to establish an on-line connection with a server containing the data structure for searching. On the other hand, it provides no privacy for a card owner, since once he has designed and stored his “business card image” in the data structure, his name appears in the list, and anyone can have access to unload his personal data.
Another communication technique is proposed by the Internet site “PlanetAll”, and is based on managing a personal address book. PlanetAll acts as an Internet Service Provider owning a central database for maintaining a personal address book. Each subscriber to PlanetAll is allowed to create his personal address book in the central database. Upon mutual consent of a first subscriber and a second subscriber to PlanetAll, the contact particulars of the first subscriber are transmitted from his address book to the address book of the second subscriber. Additionally, the address book of the second subscriber is automatically updated with the relevant changes whenever they occur in the address book of the first subscriber. All these address books reside within the central database belonging to PlanetAll. Thus, each PlanetAll subscriber has his personal address book maintained at the Service Provider's side. Consequently, to gain access to his personal address book, the subscriber needs to establish an on-line connection with the Service Provider. Moreover, to obtain permission of one of the subscribers for the automatic transmission of his contact particulars to another subscriber, the Service Provider has to invoke a specific procedure. With the Internet, the User Resource Locator (URL) is typically utilized to present up to date information to receivers. This technique suffers from numerous drawbacks, as it always requires the active intervention of the user, the time consuming process of getting on-line, accessing addresses and waiting for the results.
The Internet site “ICQ” proposes a communication technique developed by Mirabilis Ltd. This technique utilizes a Client Program and a central database, and is aimed at facilitating on-line communication (e.g., Internet Chats, messaging, etc.) between subscribers to ICQ. Once a “first subscriber” to the Internet downloads the ICQ Client Program to his personal computer and thereby becomes a subscriber to ICQ, each time he goes on-line, he will be provided with an indication that a “second subscriber” is also on-line at that time. This “second subscriber” (or more than on subscriber) is previously selected (chosen) by the “first subscriber” and recorded as associated with the “first subscriber” for further indications to the “first subscriber”. Additionally, ICQ allows any subscriber thereto to create and operate his own personal address book. This address book includes personal data of other subscribers to ICQ, per the choice of the owner of the address book. The address book is created at the subscriber side (i.e., in his personal computer), and can be updated with any changes in the personal data of those subscribers who are recorded in the address book.
However, to perform this updating, the address book owner needs to go on-line for accessing the ICQ central database. In other words, the updating procedure is carried out in response to a specific request from the address book owner. This technique does not allow for managing the personal address books of ICQ subscribers by the central database. As a result, any subscriber, before using personal data recorded in his address book for contacting a corresponding subscriber, has to check the actuality of data stored in the address book by establishing an on-line connection with the central database through the Internet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is accordingly a need in the art to improve communication techniques, in particular, so-called “keeping in touch” techniques, by providing a novel communication and updating method and system utilizing a communication code.
It is a major object of the present invention to provide such a method that allows any receiver of a communication code to obtain corresponding information belonging to the owner of this communication, and successfully contact the code owner in a very simple and convenient way, whenever the code receiver desires, even if a significant amount of time has pass
Browdy and Neimark , P.L.L.C.
Von Buhr Maria N.
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