Multiple integrated machine system

Details Multiple integrated machine system Multiple integrated machine system

1999-12-24

2004-10-19

Grant, II, Jerome (Department: 2626)

Facsimile and static presentation processing

Static presentation processing

Communication

C358S402000, C379S102030, C348S552000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06806977

ABSTRACT:

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND
In the last five years there has been an explosion of useful digital information machines (Phones, Fax, Printers, Scanners, CDROMS, Digital cameras, Pagers, Pocket computers, digital sound systems, etc) many of which were originally analog digital machines. In most cases these digital machines have been connected to PC digital machine systems using industry hardware and software connection standards. During this same period, the explosion of the Internet has made the Internet Service Provider (ISP) with E-mail service a common (and in many cases preferred) form of message communication. Technology developed to handle the Internet/WWW/E-mail servers (i.e. Software such as HTML and JAVA) are being combined with the object oriented application developer software (e.g. C++, Visual Basic, Pearl) to solve both the company Intranet PC digital machine Network connection problems, and digital information digital machine integration problems.
Two basic approaches to integrating these digital information digital machines with the PC digital machine and integrating the PC digital machine into the worldwide communication networks have evolved. One will be referred to as the “Client/Server” approach, and the other, the “All in One” digital machine approach. A notable client/server approach is the one developed by Microsoft, who maintains the operating system for most PC digital machine's in use today. The Microsoft approach is one that requires every new digital machine recently being referred to as “digital appliances” to “Plug” into a PC digital machine (or network) and “play” for those persons who are allowed to operate that PC digital machine or network (referred to as “Plug and Play”). The client/server approach works good for sharing company database resources such as an Airline Ticketing worldwide network with many Travel Agents needing to access a common database. The approach also has some merit if very expensive resources such as specialty printers in a printing company need to be shared or maybe in the wireless network home environment when used to share resources not requiring operator interaction. But the client/server approach has not worked well when trying to integrate the many new digital information digital machines into user friendly Information systems practical for most individuals at home or office. The Client/Server approach requires a software element compatible and approved by Microsoft, for every new digital machine, which is to be connected to a PC digital machine or PC digital machine network system running under one of Microsoft's operating systems for example. This software element is of course in addition to the hardware and software elements which the digital machine manufacture already designed to make the digital machine operate without being connected to a PC digital machine.
As noted earlier Client/Server systems certainly have their role in connecting large company resources together and sharing expensive information digital machine subsystems such as printers, faxes, scanners, modems, backup units, and large company databases with many employees. The complexity for this type system along with the computer specialist required to operate them are in many cases worth the increased software, cabling, and employee training cost, when data integrity and information value to a large company is considered.
However the need for a much simpler user friendly digital machine integration approach in general has led to the popular “All in One” multiple function digital machines such as the HP 3100, 1170C, and 1175C whereby faxing, printing, scanning, and copying are done with a single housing digital machine. The more advanced “All in One” or Multifunction digital machines as they are technically known when connected to a separate PC digital machine or PC digital machine network will even let scanned documents be sent to E-mail addresses. It is this “All in One” integration which is considered a better approach for the individual, and the Small Office Home Office (SOHO) market. Another, even newer, digital information communication digital machine is the Web TV unit designed to make Web site access and E-mail retrieval (ISP access) much easier for the Home. Both of these digital machine design approaches have moved away from PC digital machine dependence, except where it is most convenient for the digital machine designer. For example in the current “All in One” digital machines a parallel printer connection to the digital machine is made so that the PC digital machine word processor can (must) be used for typing the information. The PC data is sent to be printed by the “All in One” digital machine. The same connector is also used to send scanned document data back to the PC digital machine storage unit, etc. Another very important example is that, currently, the individuals PC digital machine (or network server) must be used to send and receive documents between other PC digital machine's, Internet E-mail, or web sites. This is because even the so called “All in One” digital machines which are really single multiple function digital machines cannot in most cases even perform there multiple functions in a standalone configuration (note the HP Digital 9100C Sender or the Ricoh Fax 4800L shown at the 1998 Comdex show). Thus the current situation requires that several digital information digital machines be connected together using interface requirements produced by at least three separate industries in order to produce a larger information system. These three industries are the Communication Industry, the PC digital machine Industry (the youngest of the three), and the Peripheral Digital machine Industry. Also the youngest of the three currently has the integration responsibility of making larger and more useful information systems by connecting the smaller digital machines together. The current complexity explosion is very akin to the electronic era complexity explosion that finally abated with the advent of the integrated circuit. Then, the electronics industry manpower requirements started growing exponentially when Radio's, TV's, computers, and all Military electronic digital machines were being built by individually connecting Transistors, Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, together according to Industry and individual company interface specifications. Today we find a similar situation in the manpower explosion for, Certified PC and Network technicians along with application programmers. Ironically it is growing for a reason similar to the growth in the electronic era mentioned plus one additional reason. The similar reason is that the PC digital machine technology explosion spread to the Peripheral Digital machine Manufacturers and the method to connect all of these digital machines together was never the responsibility of any one manufacture. Thus, connection standards between digital machines were adopted (e.g. RS232, RJ11, LPT1, BCN, WIN98, and many more) and expanded to include software and communication interface requirements such as HTML 3.2 until now a company information system may have 50 to 100 digital machines connected together by no less than 500 to 10,000 interface elements (counting software elements).
The additional reason for the complexity explosion is that the PC digital machine industry (the youngest of the three industries mentioned earlier) developed so rapidly that three additional separate industries where spawned. Also, none of the three new industries were responsible for integrating the smaller digital machines into user friendly information systems. One of the three new industries built the computers, another built the computer operating system and the third wrote application programs to make the computer fulfill more tasks. At present all three of these industries are concerned about the multiple digital machine explosion and offer various integration solutions of which the most notable, (Client/Server) was dis

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