The present invention relates generally to computer networks, more specifically to internet data communications, and particulary to the automatic redirection of a digital send to a web page when sending through electronic mail channels becomes restricted.
The following terms and acronyms are used throughout this document; these definitions are provided for the convenience of the reader; however, no limitation on the scope of the invention should be implied herefrom.
xe2x80x9cClient-Serverxe2x80x9d: A model of interaction in a distributed computer network system in which a program at one site sends a request to another site and then waits for a response. The requesting program is called the xe2x80x9cclient,xe2x80x9d and the program which responds to the request is called the xe2x80x9cserver.xe2x80x9d In the context of the World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cwwwxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cweb;xe2x80x9d defined hereinafter), the client is a xe2x80x9cbrowser;xe2x80x9d a program which runs on a computer of an end-user. A program and network computer which responds to a browser request by serving web pages and the like, are referred to as a xe2x80x9cserver.xe2x80x9d Specialized servers, such as dedicated electronic mail (defined hereinafter) servers are also known in the art.
xe2x80x9cElectronic Mailxe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9ce-mailxe2x80x9d): The process and software for sending and receiving of textual information and attachments thereto between end-users over a distributed computer network such as the internet; internet access providers often include e-mail service to its customers as part of the access software that allows the end user to dial into the internet.
xe2x80x9cHyperlinkxe2x80x9d: An internet navigational link from one document or web page to another, or from one portion or component of a document or web page to another. Typically, a hyperlink is displayed as a high-lighted word or phrase on a web page that can be selected by clicking a mouse screen pointer thereon, resulting in an automatic transfer to the associated document or portion.
xe2x80x9cHypertext Systemxe2x80x9d: A computer-based informational system in which documents or other types of data, are linked together via hyperlinks to form a user-navigable web of network or internet sites.
xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d: A generic term for a collection of distributed, interconnected networks (ARPANET, DARPANET, World Wide Web, or the like) that are linked together by a set of industry standard protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP (defined hereinafter), and the like) to form a global, distributed network.
xe2x80x9cHeaderxe2x80x9d: A data string defining the attributes such as size, data format, and the like, of an attached message.
xe2x80x9cHypertext Mark-up Languagexe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9cHTMLxe2x80x9d): A standard coding convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents; the primary standard used for generating web documents. During a document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as xe2x80x9ctagsxe2x80x9d) are embedded within the informational content of the document; when the document is subsequently transferred from a server to a client, the codes are interpreted by the browser and used to parse and display the document. In specifying how the browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create hyperlinks to other web documents.
xe2x80x9cHyperText Transport Protocolxe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9cHTTPxe2x80x9d): The standard www client-server protocol used for the exchange of information such as HTML documents and client requests for such documents between a browser and the server. HTTP includes a number of different types of messages which can be sent from the client to the server to request different types of server actions. For example, a xe2x80x9cgetxe2x80x9d message which has the format GET less than URL greater than  (defined hereinafter) causes the server to return the document or file located at the specified URL.
xe2x80x9cPULLxe2x80x9d: A technology, commonly used as the basis for web communications, in which the client browser must request a specific web page, such as by a hyperlink, before it is sent by a server.
xe2x80x9cPUSHxe2x80x9d: A technology for information dissemination used by a server to send data to users over a network. PUSH protocols send the informational content to the end user computer, or client, automatically, typically based on information pre-specified by the user.
xe2x80x9cUniform Resource Locatorxe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9cURLxe2x80x9d): A unique address which fully specifies the location of a file or other resource on the internet. The general format of a URL is xe2x80x9cprotocol://machine address:port/path/filename.xe2x80x9d The port specification is optional, and if none is entered by the user, the browser defaults to the standard port for whatever service is specified as the protocol. For example, if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the browser will use the HTTP default port;  less than HTTP://WWW.HP.COM greater than  is a URL, where postfix xe2x80x9c.COMxe2x80x9d is a commercial entity, xe2x80x9c.EDUxe2x80x9d is an educational entity, xe2x80x9c.GOVxe2x80x9d is a government entity, and xe2x80x9c.ORGxe2x80x9d is a non-profit organization. Hyperlinks are often URL designations.
xe2x80x9cSimple Mail Transfer Protocolxe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9cSMTPxe2x80x9d): A standard protocol which provides the mechanism for sending e-mail messages; an electronic mail Server can use SMTP to forward messages.
xe2x80x9cWeb Sitexe2x80x9d: A computer system that serves informational content over a network using the standard protocols of the web. Typically, a web site corresponds to a particular internet domain name, such as HP.COMxe2x80x9d, and includes the content associated with a particular organization such as Hewlett-Packard Company. The term is generally intended to encompass both (1) the hardware/software server components that serve the informational content over the network, and (2) the xe2x80x9cback-endxe2x80x9d hardware-software components, including any non-standard or specialized components that interact with the server component to perform service for web site users.
xe2x80x9cWorld Wide Web (xe2x80x9cwebxe2x80x9d)xe2x80x9d: Refers generally to both (1) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable hypertext documents (xe2x80x9cweb documentsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cweb pagesxe2x80x9d) that are accessible via the internet, and (2) the client and server software components which provide user access to such documents using standardized internet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire web documents is HTTP, and the web pages are encoded using HTML. However, the terms xe2x80x9cwebxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cworld wide webxe2x80x9d as used herein are intended to encompass future mark-up languages and transport protocols which may be used.
The inter-computer communications system known as the internet and world wide web have become a ubiquitous reality more quickly than most previous technology innovations.
E-mail products, e.g., Microsoft(trademark) Exchange Server 5.5 software, run on dedicated mail servers, e.g., the HP(trademark) E60 NetServer computer, are commercially available. In order to control e-mail traffic, many e-mail servers limit the size of e-mail text xe2x80x9cmessagesxe2x80x9d or messages and attachments in the form of digital files that can be sent intact, making it problematic to send via e-mail very xe2x80x9clarge documentsxe2x80x9d (i.e., an entire informational content data set including text messages, attachments, and the like). Generally in the state of the art a system administrator will set a specified limit for the data set file size about one megabyte as a threshold for allowing unrestricted e-mail transmission. A document is limited to the smallest unit encountered or the message is partitioned. (Hereinafter, the term xe2x80x9cLARGE DOCUMENTxe2x80x9d is used to mean any message or document which exceeds an e-mail server specified content limit; no limitation on the scope of the invention is intended nor should any be implied from other uses or conventions for this term.)
Image content files, such as photographs, are often much larger than such a specified limit, thus constituting a LARGE DOCUMENT. Similarly, color documents have embedded code for specifying each picture element (xe2x80x9cpixelxe2x80x9d), in other words, more data per pixel, and thus greatly increase a document data set complete file size. When a server encounters a message having a header indicating that the message or the message and its attachments exceeds the specified limit, the document is either broken into smaller messages or rejected, issuing an error report. Either action results in a substantial transmission delay for the sender and often frustration for the recipient trying to download the files. At the same time, e-mail, including the process of attaching and sending other files such as photographs with the e-mail text, is a popular, simple communication tool.
Similarly problematical, when e-mail messages are addressed by the client to many recipients on different systems simultaneously, e-mail servers create multiple copies of the document and then separately distribute the copies. This is a memory, disk space, intensive procedure, also delaying distribution. Morever, the latest office tool is the xe2x80x9cdigital sender,xe2x80x9d a module that can be used with a document scanning apparatus having an automatic document feeder (xe2x80x9cADFxe2x80x9d) associated therewith or a hard copy printing apparatus. The HP(trademark) model 8100C or 9100C digital sender apparatus can be employed with a multifunctional computer peripheral (xe2x80x9cMFPxe2x80x9d), such as the HP(trademark) model C7819A digital sender appliance for an LaserJet(trademark) MFP which includes a laser printer, scanner-copier, and the digital sender, thus having the capability to transmit copies of LARGE DOCUMENTS to a plurality of clients simultaneously, to another LAN (via a network server), to computers, to a fax machine, or the client receivers sitting on the LAN. The digital sender includes options to transfer the copies via facsimile transmission or via e-mail by providing a control panel employing an e-mail addressing user interface.
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a drawing of the HP Digital sender. From the end user""s point of view, operation is similar to a facsimile machine transmission; from an information technology (xe2x80x9cITxe2x80x9d) standpoint, administration may be more complex as the data content is sent over a digital network such as a local area network (xe2x80x9cLANxe2x80x9d), wide area network (xe2x80x9cWANxe2x80x9d), or the like.
FIGS. 1B-1F (Prior Art) show details of the LCD user control panel. An importable, programmable address book feature allows for simultaneous distribution to every addressee in the book.
Thus, either sending LARGE DOCUMENTs or sending documents to many recipients may overly tax the capability of an e-mail server.
One prior solution is to have the digital sending device always break image documents apart at physical or logical page boundaries. This is slow and inconvenient for the end-users. An even less acceptable solution is for the sender himself or herself to break the document into multiple send jobs before trying to transmit.
There is a need for an automatic, user-transparent solution to the problem of sending large data files when the end user is using an e-mail program.
In a basic aspect, the present invention provides process for transmitting a data set over a computer network, including the steps of: predetermining a data set size threshold; determining a data set size; and if said data set size is less than said threshold, transmitting via electronic mail, or if said data set size is greater than said threshold, transmitting to a data storage site.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a system for transmitting data sets over a network including: at least one digital sender coupled to the network, having a plurality of computing devices thereon, said computing devices each having electronic mail and computer network navigation tools; and mechanisms for routing data sets over the network, including mechanisms for determining size of a data set to be routed to a predetermined electronic mail destination, mechanisms for comparing a determined data set size to a threshold, mechanisms for rerouting the data set from electronic mail to a data storage site when said determined data set size is greater than said threshold, and mechanisms for substituting an electronic mail message, including a link to the data site, to the predetermined electronic mail destination when said determined data set size is greater than said threshold.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a multifunctional peripheral apparatus for a computer network, including: a document digitizing subsystem; connected to the document digitizing device, a sending module for transmitting a data set created with the document digitizing device; and associated with the sending module, a routing subsystem for determining if a data set is to be transmitted via electronic mail or via a data storage unit.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a computer memory including: a program for routing data sets over a computer networking, including computer readable coded instructions for predetermining a data set size threshold; computer readable coded instructions for determining a data set size; and if said data set size is less than said threshold, computer readable coded instructions for transmitting via electronic mail, or if said data set size is greater than said threshold, computer readable coded instructions transmitting via a data storage site.
Some of the advantages of the present invention are:
it provides an e-mail user with system behavior exactly as expected when sending typical e-mail messages;
it provides transparent, automatic, system alteration when a LARGE DOCUMENT exceeds server specified data file size limits for e-mail handling;
it provides a methodology by which a recipient always receives a LARGE DOCUMENT intact;
the average cost of sending a LARGE DOCUMENT could be significantly reduced by not sending the largest or most widely distributed document through a plurality of e-mail servers;
it provides the recipient with a choice for downloading a LARGE DOCUMENT;
remote end-user recipients can access web located LARGE DOCUMENTs with any browser and eliminate having to download from their e-mail provider; and
environments commonly using complex, LARGE DOCUMENTs are provided with simpler operations and greater confidence in digital sending.
The foregoing summary and list of advantages is not intended by the inventors to be an inclusive list of all the aspects, objects, advantages and features of the present invention nor should any limitation on the scope of the invention be implied therefrom. This Summary is provided in accordance with the mandate of 37 C.F.R. 1.73 and M.P.E.P. 608.01(d) merely to apprise the public, and more especially those interested in the particular art to which the invention relates, of the nature of the invention in order to be of assistance in aiding ready understanding of the patent in future searches. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following explanation and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designations represent like features throughout the drawings.