Universal document transport
View Patent ↗A universal document transport facility is described where, in various embodiments, the facility recognizes document requests based on a received document, interacts with document routing rules and workflow requirements with respect to the received document, and manages content flows between network nodes or devices. In various embodiments, the facility includes a document transport module for transporting documents between network devices, such as printers, fax boards, and content servers and across local and wide-area networks; functionality for routing optimization with other communications networks, such as messaging services, telephony, and IP networks; and flexible document transport capabilities to workflow applications and multifunction devices (such as all-in-one print/scan/copy/fax/telephone/answering machine devices) and multifunction devices enhanced with video & video capture, messaging, email, network router & gateway capabilities.
1. A method of sending a document over a network, comprising:
at a document transport module embodied on non-transitory computer memory including instructions translatable by a processor, the document transport module communicatively connected to at least one document server or another document transport module operating in the network, the network having a plurality of document transport modules:
the document transport module receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;
the document transport module applying dialing or routing rules to the document based on metadata pertaining to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document, wherein the dialing or routing rules applied to the document are applied independently of any rules applied to the document by other document transport modules in the network encountered by the document during processing of the document;
the document transport module selecting a target based on the applied dialing or routing rules; and
the document transport module transporting or routing the document to the selected target.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
at the target, performing analyses on the document; and
routing the document in accordance with the analyses.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the document is a fax document.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.
7. The method according to claim 1 , prior to the transporting step, further comprising converting the document from a first format into a second format.
8. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to perform, at a document transport module embodied on non-transitory computer memory, the document transport module communicatively connected to at least one document server or another document transport module operating in a network, the network having a plurality of document transport modules:
receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;
applying dialing or routing rules to the document based on metadata pertaining to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document, wherein the dialing or routing rules applied to the document are applied independently of any rules applied to the document by other document transport modules in the network encountered by the document during processing of the document;
selecting a target based on the applied dialing or routing rules; and
transporting or routing the document to the selected target.
9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further translatable by the at least one processor to convert the document from a first format into a second format.
10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.
11. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the document is a fax document.
12. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.
13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.
14. A system for sending a document over a network, comprising:
a document transport module embodied on non-transitory computer memory, the document transport module communicatively connected to at least one document server or another document transport module operating in the network, the network having a plurality of document transport modules; and
at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to cause the document transport module to perform:
receiving an indication of a document to be transmitted;
applying dialing or routing rules to the document based on metadata pertaining to the document to determine whether to transport or route the document, wherein the dialing or routing rules applied to the document are applied independently of any rules applied to the document by other document transport modules in the network encountered by the document during processing of the document;
selecting a target based on the applied dialing or routing rules; and
transporting or routing the document to the selected target.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the target is operable to:
perform analyses on the document; and
route the document in accordance with the analyses.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the target is on a public service telephone network.
17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the document is a fax document.
18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the document is received at the computer via a scanner connected to the computer.
19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the document is received over the at least one network connection.
20. The system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions are further translatable by the at least one processor to convert the document from a first format into a second format.