Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-12
2001-08-21
Breene, John (Department: 2177)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C705S030000, C705S032000, C705S034000, C714S015000, C714S016000, C714S020000, C714S001000, C714S002000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278988
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a document generation system, and more particularly to a method for creating a status report in a central database for a document generation task appearing at one of a plurality of sub-systems coupled to the central database.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are many businesses today which utilize envelope inserting apparatus to mail their customers bills or periodic statements. Envelope inserting apparatus is well known and essentially employs bursting apparatus and/or cutting devices, folding apparatus, feeders and conveying devices to assemble a collation of documents and feed the document collation to an inserting station where the collation is inserted into a waiting envelope. The envelope is then closed and sealed and printed with an appropriate amount of postage.
With the emergence of the “information superhighway”, many customers today prefer to receive their bills and statements in electronic form on their computers, such as through e-mail. The production mailers sending out the bills and statements can benefit from electronic transmission of bills and statements because delivery can be more timely and the cost of delivery can be significantly reduced relative to delivery of hard copy of bills and statements.
With the advent of this electronic technology, it is now commonplace for a document generation system to incorporate both a physical system for generating physical mailpieces with an electronic system for generating electronic mailpieces to be electronically sent to a recipient. In the prior art, when coupling both systems to a central database, the database could only create a status report for a job running on both systems only when that job first appeared on a predefined sub-system (e.g., a document inserter). If for some reason that job did not first appear on the designated sub-system, the central database was unable to create a status report for the job when it appeared first on any other sub-system (e.g., an electronic web server).
Thus, it is a object of the present invention to overcome this noted shortcoming of the prior art for creating status reports on document generation systems having a plurality of sub-systems coupled to a central database.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a document control and reporting system in which a central database is operable to created a status report for a document job upon the appearance of that job from any one of a plurality of sub-systems coupled to the central database.
In brief, the present invention relates to a method for creating a status report data file for a document job in a document system having a central database configured to create a status report data file for each document job received at the central database. Coupled to the central database is a plurality of sub-systems each configured to perform a specific document task pertaining to a document job. In operation a document job is received in the central database from one of the sub-systems initiating a specific task associated with a document job and a determination is made as to whether the received document job has been previously received in the central database from another sub-system.
A status report is created in the central database for the document job received from any sub-system if the received job has been determined not to be previously received in the central database wherein the status report contains parameters associated with the sub-system transmitting the document job to the central database. And a status report is updated in the central database for the received job if the received job has been determined to be previously received in the central database and a status report was created wherein the status report is updated with the parameters associated with the sub-system transmitting the document job to the central database.
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Lau Mariano
Salvati Laurie
Woodman Clare E.
Breene John
Capelli Christopher J.
Cummings Michael J.
Le Debbie M
Melton Michael E.
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