GB2376317A - Methods of iterative cycles of categorisation with persistent connectivity for information exchange and transactions within multi-device environments - Google Patents

Abstract

Computing becomes pervasive as intelligence is added to devices. Exploiting such intelligence remains a challenge. An abundance of irrelevant material and lack of navigation could hinder user satisfaction. Other concerns include speed, security and administration to control access. Prior methods assume intermittent connectivity between senders and receivers of information, but technology advances mean a paradigm change is possible with persistent connectivity. This is important in multi-device environments where users have a variety of ways of interacting with content. This novel method introduces structured methods and processes based on cyclical categorisation and persistent connectivity between information senders and receivers to overcome limitations. The method supports users in navigation, interaction and transaction, and facilitates administration, management and security. The method and process have components that separately and together support usability and functionality of interactions. Methods for current unstructured interactions are compared with structured information interaction, and uses of the methods are described.

Description

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Methods of Iterative Cycles of Categorisation with Persistent Connectivity for Information Exchange and Transactions within Multi-Device Environments.

Scope of Invention The present invention relates to methods and processes for information and transaction activity in multi-device environments with the possibility of persistent connectivity, to interact with shared structured information frameworks. The methods address the resulting interchanges made possible between individuals, groups, documents and devices. It addresses the communications, community and commerce made possible by such persistent connectivity and multi-device structuring and sharing, together with the infrastructure, features, facilities, devices, and knowledge to support same including but not limited to hardware, software, communications, networks and content.

Copyright Notice Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark office patent file or records but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

Background To date the matter of interactivity between a user and information within an Internet or other Digital space has largely been viewed as an intermittent exchange between two parties-the sender of information and the recipient of that information. Such models need replacing as users move towards paradigms with some persistent connectivity. DSL developments within telephone networks, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Mesh Radio Networks, G3 within mobile telephony and other developments all bring the possibility of persistent connectivity. Further the historic model has been for a two-device model, the personal computer as browser and a Web Server as information provider. This model while adequate at the early stages of Internet development, are less relevant as information can be delivered to a variety of electronic devices, not all of which will have the same information processing characteristics. Presentation differences between computers, digital televisions, mobile phones, information kiosks, flat screen displays and other devices mean account needs to be taken of the content, format and adaptability of information senders and receivers. And with persistent connectivity across some or all of the devices used by a user further challenges emerge in terms of co-ordinating the various information streams.

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As digital communications becomes pervasive and ubiquitous, the limitations of any two party model become obvious. Unstructured information flows will be difficult to manage in a world of pervasive computing. Information delivery within a multidevice environment raises new issues. The novel method presented ensures a degree of structuring to information content to exploit the potential of multiple intermittent and persistent connectivity links and multiple devices and interfaces. The benefits of information being delivered m a co-ordinated fashion to a variety of information devices with different characteristics are obvious. Duplicating information to different devices represents no technical difficulties, but is frustrating, even unacceptable, to users.

What is required is a managed and co-ordinated delivery to different devices depending on the needs of the user and the capabilities of the receiving device. This can be achieved, in our model, by the introduction of a method and process for structured information exchange. This is supplemented with a Meta-Agent or Agents, comprising hardware, software, networks and connectivity. Such an Agent monitors, co-ordinates and control information delivery to different and disparate devices used by any particular individual. In this way the benefits of multiple devices can be enjoyed, without the associated disadvantages of information overload and uncoordinated and duplicated information delivery.

A core process for information structuring using common frames of reference for content, for computing and for human interaction and navigation has been outlined elsewhere (Ross 1999a, b, c, d). Additional components are needed to deal with multidevice environments. These can be characterised as"Meta-Agents". Such a MetaAgent or Agents can work if there is two way connectivity throughout transactions. This requires an element of persistent connectivity over and above that required between the provider and recipient of information for simple information exchange.

This is not a feature of prior art. The two-role model of communication is replaced by a three or more role model of interaction between users, information providers and Meta Agent Managers. And unstructured information flows are replaced by flows of structured information and information structures. This novel persistent connectivity model of information and communication opens up a number of new opportunities for content delivery and management and transaction management.

Until recently the computing power required for effective Meta-Agent activity on any scale was not possible at a practical price, but advances in technology makes multiple information devices for an individual a reality, as well as making the hardware and software for Meta-Agent transactions and monitoring practical.

Content conversion An important part of many information cycles concerns electronic publishing in different forms. This may relate to content conversion for documents or for full electronic publishing systems. Such conversion is an unnecessary complexity when structured information streams are provided. In the latter scenario, delivery to different devices is a matter of selection and not conversion, and with the novel method proposed any device can access any part of a structured information

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document, albeit possibly with limitations. Prior art has neglected such information structuring.

There have been attempts at establishing automated routings for translating documents for one format to another, normally for automated dispatch to different devices. For example attention has been paid to the customisation of web content for different devices, as two Patents Applications from IBM indicates (1999, GB 2 331 600 and 2000, GB 2 346 238) The former addresses the customisation of web pages based on requester type, to differentiate the capabilities of different display devices such as personal computers, Personal Digital Assistants, mobile phones and so on. And the second explores how XML tools can be applied to tailoring Web pages in other style formats such as SGML and HTML. In both instances only one part of a process cycle is addressed, divorced from the psychological processes of senders and receivers and so whilst relevant to the transformation of static Web pages they have little relevance to the current novel invention which deals with all phases of the human-content-computer cycle.

Another example of document conversion comes from Spyglass (1999), where conversion and compression takes place on the fly between devices and users on networks, once the conversion preferences of users, documents, and devices is a known factor. The alternative proposed in the current novel method of having more inclusive documents with a variety of embedded formats for different devices, authored in at the source and creation of the document is not given consideration, despite this being a more straightforward process. With an effective document content structure the requirement for conversion disappears, and new and novel components can be introduced into pre-existing document content architectures by reference to existing elements and relationships. Another feature of structured document content architecture is users can always request full details of the content even if the device they are using is not totally appropriate. Control is therefore retained by the user rather than being delegated to servers and computing algorithms and software in the infrastructure.

There are commercial examples of content re-formatters, for example Online Anywhere (www. onany. com) have developed server software to allow content publishers to extract and compress content for devices less sophisticated that a full personal computer. Likewise Avantgo (www. avantgo. com) provides tailored services for portable and light devices, but in neither case is the ability to tailor the content built into the document structure. One novel feature of the current method is the same iterative structure is used for content creation and navigation, as well as being involved in the sharing of information structures between providers and receivers of information.

There are many discussions of the re-purposing of content for different devices (for example Novatel, 1999, CyberAtlas, 1999 and ZDNet Interactive 1999) but these focus on the delivery of selected streams to selected devices. In a multi-device world this misses the point that what is required in integrated delivery across a variety of devices, with interactivity to retrieve more detailed information if required. This is not possible with solutions that have processes of document conversion. As Ross (1996) first proposed, it is the switching of information from a central repository to different

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devices and streams that is a practical and effective solution to user-computer-content interactions across different devices.

Electronic publishing Methods and systems for electronic publishing have largely restricted themselves to the two-dimensional nature of documents, for example, Time Base Pty (Patent WO 98/34179), where documents are decomposed into discrete elements, and version control is applied as elements change over time. Earlier elements co-exist with later elements so users can track changes. But human and cognitive processes of categorisation are absent, so although there is a proposal for intra-document tagging with SGML, HTML and XML tags, and inter-document tagging with Document Type Definitions (DTD) and Style Sheet Mechanisms (SSM), there is no process for the continual production of content streams delivered to shared cognitive and content categories. This is a significant limitation in end-to-end cycles of information, whether or not there is persistent connectivity.

The databases in this and much other prior art are hierarchical and so cannot deal with overlapping categories. The focus is on post creation content analysis of documents, not pre-classification, categorisation and structuring. There is no relationship between document creation and the end-user activities associated subsequently with the document and these two phases share no common elements. Again this novel method and process goes further.

With the developments and growth of the Web there are numerous inventions relating to the automated production of content for different audiences and devices. Again the elements are treated as two-dimensional flat structures, albeit with hypertext linking, and solutions focus inwards on computer processing, rather than on the psychological relationships between user, computer and content. Dimarco and Foster (1999 Patent WO 99/08205) address the opportunity for creating versions of multimedia documents for different audiences, with variations of both content and presentation through a process of adaptive generation from a"master"document. The master document contains information on the relevance of particular blocks and structures of text, and by combining this with a set of parameters generated for any particular audience a novel document can in theory be produced.

Again there is a disregard for the psychological and social processes of sharing information structures. Nor is there any consideration of the process of generating streams of information for distribution to pre-classified structures. Instead the computer system is solely able to generate customised versions of documents from a totally closed system. This limitation is overcome in the novel method and process described here.

Further in the Dimarco and Foster method crucially there is no consideration and no scope for sending multiple versions of the same generic document to the same individual via discrete information channels, and co-ordinating the receipt of such to avoid unnecessary information duplication and redundancy whilst ensuring he recipient gets the information required in a timely manner. This neglect of the psychological processes in the end-to-end delivery cycle, with human input at both sender and receiver points, using an iterative structure for content structuring and

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navigation are limitations in the Dimarco and Foster model. In addition whilst the phase of authoring of documents is addressed, their subsequent processing, packaging, dispatch, receipt, navigation and storage are neglected elements in an the end-to-end cycle. These are all features of the current novel invention. Finally the components in the Dimarco and Foster model are arranged in a hierarchy of predetermined relationships thereby excluding its relevance to the non-hierarchical categorisations described in the current method and process and structure Network-centric application services Important as individual characteristics such as browsing, navigation and information retrieval are in their own right, it is equally important how various factors are combined in the delivery of services. Certain inventions have sought to provide innovations for more than one element of an information cycle. For instance, Davies et al (1996 WO 96/23265) examine a method for accessing information using an agent based access system using keywords combined with a profile of potential user interests. This is designed to overcome the richness of information provision over the Internet where the lack of central monitoring and control hinders users getting the information they seek when and where they require it. Their so-called"JASPER" agents (Joint Access to Stored Pages with Easy Retrieval) stores meta-information to provide a pointer on or index to information when a retrieval request is made.

Their emphasis is on information retrieval rather than, as in the current novel method, the notion that relevant information is already there, available and accessible. With structure to information there is no call to resort to search as a first activity. With the current novel method there are differentiations between categorisations (the structure), populations of items within the category (the items), and movement around the structure (navigation and personalisation). There is no requirement for retrieval until and unless the user wants to go outside the paradigm and method and actually engage user-instigated retrieval. If and when they do there are a variety of established methods for doing this, which are outside of the scope of the focus of this novel method, which has as a characteristic the relationships between the senders and receivers of information, involving cognitive and social processes, and not just the controlled and co-ordinated supply of information as a one-way process.

Another more holistic approach to human-content interaction can be found in Olsson (Ericsson Telecom, 1999), where again the focus is on how to automatically or semiautomatically find and retrieve information for a user according to user preferences. In this case information is identified through the exchange of so-called"relevance" agents. Rather than undertake filtering and retrieval using content analysis of material, or on the basis of others recommendations of items of potential relevance, the method proposed by Olsson is to use a combination of methods. By relying on two agents a"collection"agent, and a"selection"agent, with the former placing documents in a central repository, from which the latter retrieves potential matches of documents and user interests for presentation to the user."Interface"Agents are required to capture the different interests of a user, and since each user can have multiple"Interest"agents, each with a list of other interest agents the logistics of realisation can be seen to be excessively complex. Such complexity is generated by attempts to do with computer calculations what users in the current method do

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naturally, which is to categorise and select information according to those prestructured and shared categorisations. There is no need to postulate the existence of multiple agents, as they are not required if, as in the present method, human cognitive and social abilities are combined with computing capabilities in a more sympathetic and holistic manner. Agents are redundant in a situation where information is not retrieved from an amorphous mass, but is packaged and selected with human cognitive abilities playing a part at both sender and receiver points. The novel method proposed here requires only one process, the same process, at sender and receiver ends, and according to Occam's Razor is a more plausible explanation.

Agents also figure large in a system and method for co-ordination and control of information supply proposed by British Telecommunications (1998, European Patent EP 0 967 545 Al). Again the method uses a variety of agents in a distributed environment, with information being passed back and forth between agents to ensure users gets the information they are searching for. Since each agent is seen to perform a particular task there is again a requirement for a multitude of agents, and again with such a multitude there is a requirement for a multitude of co-ordinating agents and processes.

The very complexity of the process hides the requirement for a simple iterative method and process that handles all the different aspects of the information cycle. Logically, as in the present method, one single process handles a multitude of different activities at both sender and receiver ends there is no need to postulate the existence of multiple interacting agents. By taking a broader view of the information cycle, including both information sender and information receiver, and by creating processes shared by both and iteratively applied to different components of an information cycle the whole situation becomes easier to explain, predict, control and exploit.

Communications with persistent connectivity It is somewhat surprising since the Internet is all about content and communications there are not more innovations about communications methods and processes. Content and Search algorithms are relatively well catered for in comparison.

One Patent on Service Provision Systems for Communications Networks (British Telecom 1995 WO 95/30317) examines the potential for service provisioning across both fixed and mobile networks. By exploiting software agents in the different network domains they show how service provisioning and maintenance is enhanced with a series of distributed and relatively independent agents. Unfortunately the methods do not cover content, navigation and services (as distinct from service) provisioning. Nor do the methods cover persistent connectivity with one or more networks and so important aspects are ignored. Like much of the rest of the literature, the basic Internet model of"connect to a URL, extract the needed information and then drop the connection"is adopted.

Developments with persistent connectivity raise issues with order of magnitude differences. If individuals are always on with one or more devices then there needs to be some co-ordination between the different information streams if users are not to be

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frustrated with information duplication and overload. Yet unless persistent networks are themselves connectivity, for example the DSL telephone-based home network, the mobile phone G3 network, Digital Television based interactive services, Digital audio Broadcasting, Mesh Radio, two-way satellite solutions and so on, it is difficult to see how users will operate effectively in the persistent-connectivity world. What is required is an i'information clearing house", analogous to the Financial Clearing Houses, for the co-ordination and control of information feeds to different devices.

Behind this is the requirement for structured information flows and these requirements are the focus of the current novel method.

Classification The are a huge number of methods for information classification within the Internet and World Wide Web, but few of the methods enjoy much consensus. Instead each site adopts classificatory schema relevant for its particular purposes. The consequence is that navigation across sites is made complex because of the lack of consistency. It is as if every local village or area selected its own schema for Road Signs and drivers have to interpret them for themselves as they move from area to area.

There has been a willingness to consider all sorts of computer intensive complex processing once documents have been produced to determine their similarity and relevance to each other and to user needs, yet there is a total absence of any consideration of pre-distribution classification. A consequence is the lack of information structures to navigate, and the predominance of search as a way of potentially finding a sought-after document. This novel method addresses these shortcomings.

Iteration Large and complex structures can be built from simple components, for example bricks and supports in the building world can be used in a variety of ways to produce a variety of very different end products. An iterative process takes the individual bricks and combines them, under rules, into complex structures. There is relatively little consideration of iterative methods and processes within the Internet, Web and Standards communities Each and every invention seems to tackle a small step and everyone uses different approaches for much the same ends. The idea of building blocks that can be re-used is almost absent in the prior art. Yet the current method and approach is a process with a minimum number of components, applied repeatedly and iteratively at different stages of an overall information cycle, to produce complex information structures which at the same time are easy to process, navigate and interact with.

Problem Some see an approaching age of persistent computing where computers are everywhere. But connectivity and availability by themselves are insufficient. Users

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also require accessibility in ways that are not frustrating. This means eliminating unnecessary and duplicated information. The present novel method lays a foundation for entering an age of ubiquitous information devices, with ubiquity being distinguished by a degree of co-ordination between different computing and other intelligent devices. The personal computer, digital TV and cable services, mobile phones, information kiosks, computer tablets and palm-tops and electronic books, as well as in-car, in-home and in-office entertainment, security and information devices, all offer ways of accessing electronic content and information. We have indicated elsewhere (Ross 1999 a, b, c and d) how structured information environments can aid user navigation and understanding. Here we extend the model to include multi-device electronic environments, where such devices may have different information processing and presentation characteristics, and where there is the potential for persistent connectivity to some or all of the devices via diverse network and communications infrastructures.

In the world of multiple devices, many or all of the devices will access information streams with similar if not identical components. After all there are information warehouses supplying may different web sites and services. There is the obvious danger of being overwhelmed by duplicated and uncoordinated content. There are also obvious dangers of being overwhelmed by large quantities of the digital equivalent of junk mail, and unsolicited information and advertising. At the same time there is a clear requirement for getting the information when it is needed and to where it is needed, irrespective of location and device, and taking account of device limitations.

One way around these difficulties is to increase the intelligence at the sender and/or receiver ends, allowing information to be filtered and automatically prioritised according to user requirements. This is the route a number of developments have tried. Whilst it represents an adequate interim solution, it cannot by itself deal completely with an increasingly important feature of digital communications, that of dissimilar information devices all being used to receive and send information to and from a variety of individuals, who have a variety of different devices at their disposal, some or all of them with persistent connectivity infrastructures. What is required are information"intermediaries"and the current method and process shows how these can be inserted into an end-to-end chain of structured and shared information categorisations and categories.

Essential Features To overcome the limitations discussed above the method provides for the insertion of additional information assistants and information managers into a two-party digital exchange, to transform it into a multi-party exchange and transaction. The information Meta-Agent or Information Assistants take some of the load of maintaining coordination and control over information delivery to different devices. This is done by the insertion of additional structure and elements between the two active parties in the transaction, the sender and the recipient. These additional elements facilitate both communications and transactions within the increasingly digital information world.

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By placing a group of virtual or real co-ordinating information managers and assistants between providers of information and recipients of information it is possible to manage better the information flows and transactions for any particular user across groups of dissimilar interactive devices with different information handling characteristics and capabilities.

The individual user requirements are met by having centralised or distributed controlled and co-ordinated information distribution that takes account of the information seen by a particular user on the different devices they have access to. Essentially the Meta-Agent maintains profiles and logs of the different devices used by any particular individual. It logs the information requested and received by the device, and takes account of this when sending information to other devices to avoid unnecessary duplication.

The insertion of these additional electronic components establishes a persistent electronic relationship of a dispositional nature, over and above episodic interactions that are a feature of current web and other electronic exchanges. Until recently the processing overhead of such co-ordination would have been unthinkable, but advances in hardware and software make it possible to contemplate such persistent monitoring for even large numbers of users.

The presence of dispositional or persistent links present and active during the course of interactions and transactions, opens up new and important opportunities for improving the quality of interactive experiences.

The introduction of Information Agents in the form of electronic and physical information managers and information assistants to improve the interactive experiences of human-computer interactions and transactions in terms of quality, speed, reliability and effectiveness of those information and transaction experiences, by introducing at least a third element into two party transactions between sender and recipient of information, to monitor co-ordinate and control transactions between the multiple devices used by an individual and the senders of the information, and the information and transaction intermediaries between them.

By establishing multi-party links within electronic exchanges in controlled and managed ways allows for additional security of transactions and facilitates the speedy, timely, effective and controlled distribution of content and electronic interactions to devices of different types with different information processing characteristics.

Methods for persistent connectivity for enhanced information wherein the presence of Information Agents and/or Software Assistants on both sender and recipient sides facilitates and improves the interactive user experience in a number of ways including 'Ease and degree of personalisation of information w Speed of retrieval of required pages 'Navigation within and between the groups of pages that are accessed within and between sessions * Security ofE-Commerce, E-Business and other electronic transactions 'Reduction in the volume of unnecessary network traffic

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* Potential for episodic and dispositional promotions, advertising, special offers and other marketing devices, irrespective or related to current site position.

Potential for building individual and group profiles relating to information needs and access patterns, information requirements and transaction activities.

A number of preferred embodiments of the present novel invention have been described in some detail herein and for those skilled in the art many modifications and variations will be apparent. It is my intent therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, and not by the specific details presented by way of example and illustration.

Introduction to Drawings The present invention will become more fully understood, and the foregoing and other features and advantages of any preferred embodiment will become more readily apparent by describing by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings and descriptions, which are not limitative of the present invention, by which :- Figure 1 shows the steps in a novel method and process for the establishment of shared categorisations for information creation and distribution, comprising the following steps or modifications and variations therein to achieve the same or similar ends :- 1. Create an information structure of categories and classes, rules and procedures and processes 2. Share that structure with those who want to receive information and transaction services of a variety of types 3. Implement processes for the creation of content according to the structures that have been created, with content able to appear in a variety of categories and classes 4. Source, switch and stream the contents over whatever networks or infrastructures are required, with users able to access all or their selected information category and class streams.

5. Allow navigation from a variety of devices with a family of interfaces that are broadly similar sharing characteristics that are device and network independent, and relevant to the information structures and contents that have been created.

6. Personalisation of the structures, if need be shared by senders and receivers of information, is then possible, by reference to the pre-existing structures to maintain consistency and co-ordination 7. If need be whole information structures can be evolved and shared with others, creating the potential for"bio-feedback-type"mechanisms for structural evolution.

Figure 2 extends the method to other areas of relevance including multi-category, multi-group information handling, and the application to information transactions and tracking in multi-device environments, with or without persistent connectivity.

Figure 3 provides a matrix of some of the differences between single and multi-person access to single and multiple devices. Complexity increasing in the multiple cells of

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the matrix, highlighting the potential difficulties with multi-device environments, especially where there is persistent connectivity.

Figure 4 represents a flow-chart of the steps and sequence in the delivery of coordinated information sources and streams to an individual using multiple devices for information access.

Figure 5 shows the extensions of the base method and process to deal with multidevice environments. Two important elements are an"Information Switch"for content distribution to multiple devices, and an"Information Integrator or Infogrator" for tracking the variety of transactions to a particular individual. The Integrator is the logical mirror of the Infoswitch, first proposed by Ross, 1996. For persistent end-toend connectivity these two elements of Switch and Source are co-ordinated by information and tracking devices. In this example this is shown as being handled by an information cube.

Figure 6 provides a schematic view of communications and communities taking place and being located within the same iterative structures as content and categorisation. With persistent connectivity the opportunities for individual and community related communications is enhanced.

Figure 7 shows the elements for a Meta Agent to manage the information and transaction needs of an individual using a number of devices to remain informed and in contact. The elements include the following :-

. Event Manager Tracking events of interest . Activity Manager Monitoring actions of the individual in relation to information * Co-ordination Mgr To co-co-ordinate information to different devices

* Profile Manager Tracking categories selected and the depth of interest . Security Manager Ensuring secure access across different devices . Admin Manager Tracking Billing and other information and acting as a Systems Administrator to other users in the same group

. Commerce Manager Doing secure e-commerce transactions when required 'Presentation ManagerTailoring information streams to the device being accessed at any one time . Acceleration ManagerTaking steps to improve user response times in a variety of ways Figure 8 shows how Information Meta-Agents and Meta Agent Mangers act as information Intermediaries between the providers of information and the recipients,

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keeping track of the devices being used by the end user, and information logs to ensure duplication of information across different devices is kept to an acceptable minimum. In this way individuals can use a variety of electronic devices, at home, at work, and on the move, to keep in touch and remain informed without information overload.

Examples An example of the difficulties of communication when faced with different electronic devices concerns electronic mail with a large attachment like a high-resolution photograph. With a personal computer and fast Internet link receiving such a message presents few difficulties. On the other hand a mobile phone Internet interface may be better not receiving the attached picture unless absolutely necessary, and to delay receipt until a later time to a device and infrastructure better equipped to deal with the application. Another example is for digital newspaper to send only the top headlines to a mobile device, but the full stories with pictures to more bandwidth capable devices.

Likewise delivery of information to a car, portable device or office or kiosk display station where there is only one-way communication will have different requirements than other situations where there is effective two-way interaction. Yet both types of device may have a valid role to play in the digital world, as one-way communication is likely to be significantly less cost than two-way communication.

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References and Related Matenal Ansell & Cherenson 2000 Conditional Delivery of Digitized Products Patent WO 00/22495 Agrawal et al 1997 Method for high Dimensionality Indexing in a Multi- Media Database US Patent 5,647, 058 Agrawal et al 1998 Method and System for Performing Range-Sum Queries on a Data Cube US Patent 5,799, 300 Agrawal et al 1998 Database System and Method Employing Data Cube Operator for Group-By Operations US Patent 5,832, 475 AvantGo, Novatel Press Release 10 May 1999 www. novatelwireless. com/pressreleases/story8. html Bayer R 1998 Database and Management Process for n-dimensional data structure DE 19635429A Benayoun 1999 Navigation Method in 3D Computer-Generated Pictures by Hyper 3D Navigator 3D Image Manipulation WO 00/42495 British Telecom 1995 Service Provision Systems for Communications Networks (British Telecom 1995 WO 95/30317 British Telecom 1998 A System and Method for the co-ordination and control of information supply using a distributed multi-agent platform, European Patent Application EP 0 967 545

Al) Cline & Lorensen 1999 3D Surfaces generated from a List of Cubic Elements US Patent 5,900, 880 Chirieleison et al 1998 Virtual Reality Warehouse System Complement WO 99/61967 Chomet M 1987 Transactional Telecommunications System US Patent 4,645, 873 CyberAtlas 1999 Internet Appliances: the next big thing, 5 July 1999 http ://cyberatlas. int... less/print/O.. 10094t 51311. OO html Davies et al (1996) Methods and/or Systems for Accessing Information, British Telecommunications Patent Application WO 96/23265)

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Digital Island 2000 Method and System for Optimizing Routing of Data Packets Patent WO/00/38381 Earle 1995 Method and Apparatus for Storing and Retrieving Multi- Dimensional Data in Computer Memory US Patent 5,359, 724 Egger et al 1996 Method and Apparatus for Indexing, Searching and Displaying Data US Patent 5,832, 494 Galumbeck et al Communications System having an Addressable Receiver US Patent 4,725, 886 Hitachi 1997 Method for Table Graphic Display and Processing JP 09-081114A Liaw et al 1996 System and Method for Multi-Dimensional Information Processing US Patent 5,572, 644 Monson 1995 Animated Map Display Method for Computer- Controlled Agricultural Product Application Equipment US Patent 5,751, 576 Olsson 1999 Information Routing, Ericsson Telecommunications Patent Application WO 99/36864 Philips 1997 Spatial Browsing Approach to Multimedia Information Retrieval WO 98/53391 Pooser & Pooser 1996 User Interface Navigational System and Method for Interactive Representation of Information Contained within a Database US Patent 5,812, 134 Ross 1979 Multiple Group Membership, Social Mobility and Intergroup Relations. An Investigation of Group Boundaries and Boundary Crossings. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Bristol, England.

Ross 1992"Information Technology-the Catalyst for Change" PA Consulting Group, Mercury Books, ISBN 1 85251 042 0 Ross 1996 Digital Newsrooms-Keynote Address-IBM Technical Interchange, Paris, 1996 Ross & Ioannou 1996-21"Century Content Engines- In"Digital Newsrooms of the Future"-Seybold Report on Publishing Systems Vol. 25 Number 18, ISSN: 0736- 7260 June, 1996

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Ross 1999 (a) A Multi-Dimensional Human Computer Interface Using Information Categorisation and Visualisation.

GB 9915892.5 Ross 1999 (b) A Method for Multi-dimensional Information Representation Processing and Interaction Using Categorisation Structures and Processes GB 991589.3 Ross 1999 (c) A Method for Integrated Multi-Media Compound Document Structure, Creation, Representation, Processing and Interaction.

GB 9915894.1 Ross 1999 (d) Multi-dimensional Computer Supported Communications Using Database Linking and a Visual Language Interface GB 9915895.8 Saxe A. N. G. 1997 Method and System for Selectively targeting Advertisements and Programming US Patent 5,636, 346 Shaw et a1 2000 Method and Apparatus for Delivering Electronic Advocacy Messages Patent WO 00/20975 Sony Corporation 1991 European Patent 0 489 576 A2 Spyglass 1999 Content Conversion of Electronic Documents GB Patent Application 2 344 197 Wolf et al 1998 Method of Performing a Parallel Relational Database Query in a Multiprocessor Environment US Patent 5,765, 146 ZDnet 1999 Web pages put through digital wringer", ZDNet interactive Wk 16 1999 www. zdnet. com/intweek/stories/news/0. 4164. 406074.00. html

Claims (1)

1. Claims Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by patent is :-

   1. I claim a method and process for the creation by iterative categorisation of structured documents that can be combined 10 form classes of content, event, activities and experience with senders and receivers of information sharing the structures for the exchange of content, communications, transactions and interactions, the following :- * Creation of a structure, be this for documents, categories, classes or other domain or area of content, communication, interaction, transaction, perception, cognition or social behaviour Sharing of this structure with others through written or spoken communication or electronic means or some other method * Creation of content containing tags to locate content within a structure or structures, not necessarily exclusively but allowing for multiple realisations, versions, variations, positions and overlaps 'Source, stream, multicast or in some other way deliver content to individual or group recipients, to single or multiple devices from servers, databases, across fixed and wireless networks or in some other manner * Users accessing the categories, containing content that has been delivered whether or not this replaces or supplements or extends earlier content, for all categories and classes or for those categories and classes selected by one or more end-users * Users navigating the structure in a variety of ways under their control or automatically, with the navigation sharing attributes of the base method and process and its iterative application * With personalisation, tailoring and temporal characteristics of the receiving structure under user control or shared between receivers and senders of information or communication With evolution of the structure by senders and receivers by reference to the existing structure and categories and classes to allow for modification, evolution and developments With evolved structures being shared with some or all other users for activity, communications, interaction or transactions or any combination thereof 2 The method and process of Claim 1 further comprising the step of the iterative application of the base method to form more sophisticated information and other structures and applied to a wider range of content, applications, interfaces and devices, including none, some or all but not limited to the following, each of which has the capability for multiple realisations within any and all structures as required :- Content within a document, structured according to the method and process Documents, structured according to the method and process

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   * Categories of documents created by grouping of items along one or more dimensions of similarity Classes of category formed by grouping such items along one or more dimensions of similarity * Meta-structures formed by further iterations or variations of the method and process

   Events, historic, current or future . Activities, historic, current or future Experience, historic, current or planned Delivered to a computer, television, digital assistant, wireless device or other more or less intelligent device, including hardware software, networking and similar devices Transmitted across fixed or wireless or digital audio or satellite or other network including telecommunications, cable, wireless and other infrastructures, public or private or combinations thereof To an individual, or a group or a community or some wider audience or some combination of these groups including multiple memberships of any of the above 3 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of populating of the categories and classes of information with information from sources, or streams, or multicast to fill or supplement, complement or replace some or all of the information already contained within the categories and classes with none, some or all of the following characteristics :- * Retention of or potential to re-establish, links to the original document, category or class event, experience or activity, if need be to reconstitute a facsimile or duplicate from remaining consistent parts Ability to appear in one or more than one category or class at one and the same time A retained knowledge of the relevance, links and associations between an items and other items derived from its location within and between one or more structures An ability to track variations of the document or other objects across variations, modifications, versions and across networks to different locations, people and devices An ability to display information appropriate or not to any particular receiving device or combination of receiving devices An ability to track and communicate the position within the information structure to any other device also used by the same user to access the same information at the same or a different time * An ability to navigate within, between, and across structures using a variety of devices including but not limited to controls, buttons, pointers, joysticks, mice, touch-sensitive screens, voice commands and other ways

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   4 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of personalising the information structures of documents, categories and classes through none, some or all of the following ways Selecting certain document types as having higher relevance to one or more devices such that information appropriate to a device is displayed according to the device limitations unless overruled by specific user activity.

   * Selecting certain categories as being of higher relevance and attaching some mathematical or other tagging mechanism to indicate such interest, with this affecting the number and type of items filling a particular category.

   * Selecting and prioritising certain classes as having higher relevance with regard to the information available from sources, streams or multicasts.

   * Impacting the order that documents, categories and classes are received so user prioritisation is always possible in situations of resource or processing or other constraints or requirements.

   5 The method and process of Claim I comprising the further step of maintaining administrative and financial logs or records associated with user activities for information, security and billing purposes, with some or all of the following characteristics, where billing can include both billing and credit transactions :- * Billing by any form or combination of usage of hardware, software, networking, human or other resource Billing by volumes of information received or accessed Billing by volume of information excluded * Billing by extent of filtering, or personalisation or similar modifications of the base method and process Billing by source of information Billing by timeliness of information Billing by the breadth or depth of the information accessed or any combination thereof * Billing by any factors associated with information delivery and navigation including by not limited to click through rates, banner advertising, promotion and counter promotion, or any element or sequence on a value chain from information of a less deep or more deep variety, analysis, comparisons, evaluations, transactions and value of goods transacted or any combination or extension therein.

   6 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of transmission of information to individuals, groups or multiple groups using the features, facilities, cues and other attributes of the information structure, singularly, or in combination with each other or in combination with other devices.

   7 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of modifications and evolutions of the base method and process and its

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   iterative application within the same domains of information and activity or different domains 8 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of providing a family of similar interfaces to a variety of different devices with the interfaces sharing common features of the base method and process such that the content-device interface has none, some or all of the following characteristics :- * Devices use a common method for structuring, ordering and sequencing across devices 'Devices use a common method for navigation and access of different documents, categories classes and other features Any device is capable under user control of accessing any or all of the full feature set of the core document structures, albeit with limitations of speed, display or other limitations Interactions and transactions from any and all devices can be tracked by a meta-structure, using further iterations of the base method and process which contains a full profile of all user activity and behaviours for administration, security and billing purposes, subject to user privacy and national and international security and other requirements.

   9 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of Information Providers using or providing interfaces and standards and reciprocal billing information and arrangements where these are required with none, some or all of the following characteristics :- * Users and providers agree the basis of the billing mechanisms and the costs associated with information access and transactions Information providers assume the financial and other risks associated with transactions of any sort Information Providers remain legally responsible for the information they provide for onward transmission to users and for any other aspects of the interactions or transactions arising from their content.

   10 The method and process of Claim 1 comprising the further step of users agreeing the billing and other administrative and financial arrangements associated with delivery of information to a variety of devices, with no consequential or other liabilities for the method and process and structure that is used to facilitate the information provision and transactions 11 The method and process of Claim I comprising the further step of various user profiles and activities and transactions forming, via the further iterative application of the base method and process, information superstructures with other individuals or groups for

   whatever purpose, including none, some or all but not limited to the following :- . Content or transaction delivery or fulfilment

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   o Administrative, financial, legal, geographic or other requirement whether currently foreseen or not a Creation or maintenance of physical, social or virtual groups or communities or any combination thereof 12 A method and system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein information content or communications or transactions are structured, with the structures shared between information providers and information recipients and based on classification and categorisation on the basis of similarity with items able to appear in multiple classifications or categories at one and the same time.