MXPA00004912A - Document control and transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for generating and disseminating information includes establishing service centers at geographically separated locations, providing at each service center a control computer, a functionally divisible computer client memory, electronic transmission apparatus, fax receiving and transmission apparatus and a printer for printing data from the memory. A portion of the client memory is assigned to each of a plurality of clients and in each client memory portion is stored data representing parts of documents to be generated. In response to a request received from a client, a document is formed and is transmitted by one or more of the available transmission techniques to one or more designated recipients.

Description

SYSTEM OF CONTROL AND TRANSMISSION OF DOCUMENTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system for creating rapidly and in a highly automatic manner and transmitting any of a large number of electronic mail, facsimiles, data collections or documents to widely distributed receiving locations, to increase the speed of transmission by a learning system, to provide a document control system and eliminate the need to use OCR for the transmitted documents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the operation of any business, it is necessary to send many kinds of documents that are essentially macho letters, which vary only slightly in content, but are directed to many individuals of different or other businesses. Currently, it is usual to generate these documents, usually in a central location or a few locations and transmit them by mail, that is, using the postal service or a courier service. In this process, the mercy of the postal service is becoming increasingly inefficient and costly and environmentally disadvantageous, using enormous amounts of energy and other resources to transport the millions of pieces of mail received each year, for example , with airplanes and trucks, often over very long distances. In addition to this cost, significant time is often included. This is particularly true when a letter must be sent across the United States of America in full, or internationally, and this delay is likely to become May as time passes, despite the efforts of postal services to maintain the volume of the mail. Some substitute techniques are available, such as facsimile transmission (fax) and email (e-mail). However, none of these is universally useful; almost everyone has a postal address, but there are many people who do not have access to computers to receive email and do not have a facsimile reception team. In addition, there are other disadvantages with respect to these techniques. The fax comprises a significant cost if it is being transmitted outside of a local calling area. Email is cheap and fast, if used at a time during the day with little traffic, but does not automatically produce a "printed" copy (printing) unless the recipient chooses to make one and, under some circumstances, can be altered by the receiver, either purposely or accidentally, and the format can not be completely controlled by the sender. Despite the mode of transmission, whether by postal service, email, fax or other means, a particularly uneconomical and almost universal occurrence is the re-transmission of the same information. For example, if an ordinary business letter is sent by fax, it is usual for the sender to use the heading of some kind, be it a professional letterhead, a business letterhead, or some kind of special header that contains a sender's ID. Inasmuch as it is important that the receiver has this information, a very large amount of data transmission traffic over long distances is consumed, when sending, over long distances, this same information over and over again. It is also very important in any business, and in many personal situations, to have a document control system by which you can have a record of the correspondence sent and received and by which this correspondence can be recovered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for repeatedly, rapidly and inexpensively preparing and sending to selected receivers by various possible transmission means any of a plurality of documents of variable or unique content., largely predetermined. A further object is to provide a system for drastically reducing the repeated transmission of logos or normal text, and / or normal graphics. Still another object is to increase the transmission speed by a learning system. Still another object is to provide a control and document system that can be used as a standalone system or can be used in combination with a data transmission system. A further object is to provide access and control for remote graphics and graphics storage creations. Still another object is to eliminate the need to use OCR to convert the results of this system. Briefly described, the invention comprises a method for generating and disseminating information comprising the steps of establishing a plurality of service centers in geographically separate locations and providing in each service center a control computer, a computer client memory, functionally divisible, and a means for producing a document output of the desired data from the memory. A portion of the client memory is allocated to each of the plurality of clients and in each client memory portion data is stored that comprises parts of documents to be generated. In response to a request received from a client, a selected document is transmitted to a designated receiver. The output of the document may be in the form of a hard copy, an electronic transmission such as mail or fax, or a collection of data in some other form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to impart a complete understanding of the manner in which these and other objects are achieved according to the invention, a particularly advantageous embodiment thereof will be described with reference to the following drawings, which form a part of the description, and wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram, schematic of a system according to the invention in a simple form; Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the components of a document that can be handled with a system according to the invention; Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the composition of a storage access and collection code according to the invention; Figure 4 is a diagram of an additional document that can be operated with a system according to the invention; Figure 5 is a partial block diagram of a portion of a service center showing alternative transmission techniques; and Figures 6 and 7 are simplified illustrations of geographical distributions of service center according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES With reference first to Figure 1, the implementation of the present invention comprises the establishment of a plurality of facilities that will be called service centers 10. The number, size and geographical locations of these may vary, but as will recognize from the following description, it is believed advantageous to place these centers near or in major concentrations of population. The service centers are interconnected by a network of communication lines 12 that can be ordinary telephone lines, whether they are organized in a formal network or used as a base "according to the need". While it will be entirely possible for an individual corporation or other organization to establish its own service centers for its own use, or have a direct communication link between the two parties, it is contemplated that the most efficient way of implementing the invention is to A service company, which could easily be a telecommunications company, to establish service centers and make them available to customers on a fee-for-service basis or other fee or payment basis. In this way, very small businesses as well as very large will be able to make efficient use of the system. Users of the system will be referred to hereinafter as customers, whether they are individuals, firms or companies. However, the corporation that has geographically separate subsidiaries or divisions may find it economically useful to establish its own service center for communication within the company as well as for communication outside of the company, and the term "service centers" shall be understood to mean which includes these int-company facilities or any client-to-client use. In each service center 10 several key pieces of equipment are located, illustrated in block form in one of the service centers in figure 1. It is contemplated that the service centers may be equipped, but this is a non-necessary means and there is a strong possibility that centers that have higher volumes of activity will require multiple computers, as well as larger memory facilities as well as additional transmission and reception devices to suit special needs, this equipment includes one or more control computers 14 that they constitute a communication interface with other service centers and with customers, illustrated as symbols 16 of telephone instruments. Connected to the computer is a large computer memory 18 that is functionally and perhaps physically divisible into separate sections for one of which can be dedicated to an individual client. A part of the storage can be made accessible to all customers, transporting the data required by all. Each center also includes one or more printers 20 that operate under computer control to print the information received from the memory 18. The printed material, put into symbol by a sheet of paper 22, it is transported to the shipping equipment 24 which can take many forms but which includes the apparatus to handle the output of the printer and prepare it for the physical distribution to the receivers. The exact nature of the sending equipment is determined, of course, by the mode of distribution to be used. The automatic equipment for printing a multi-part document with a wrapper is conventionally available. Alternatively, human assistance may be employed to fold and put the printed material in the wrappers. The process of using the system according to the invention can begin with a determination of the types of correspondence that will be handled in the system for a client. It is possible to handle a large variety of correspondence in this way, but for purposes of illustration, a simple maze letter will be used. The machote letter is created by or for a customer and stored in a portion of the service center memory dedicated to that customer. The dedication of a portion of memory is considered desirable for reasons of security and privacy. For that client, a list of receivers is also stored, each client that is associated in the memory, with some form of categorical identification. The machote chart will have an area in which an address can be inserted and may have other areas to be filled according to the instructions given at the time of preparation, for example, a quantity of money. In order to use the system, the customer gives a sequence of instructions, which will be referred to herein as a storage collection and access code, to a service center by telephone or by a computer link to the service center. For security and billing purposes, storage access and collection code includes a customer identification. This directs the computer 14 to look for a structure letter from the collection of documents in the appropriate portion of the system memory. The storage access and the collection code also identify the type of the maxi-letter that will be used, chosen from those that have been stored for this specific client, such as, for example, an invoice; the receiver of the stored list of the receiver's client; and the amount of money to be charged along with the selections of the stored phrases that may be applicable to the specific letter, and finally a "final" code that says the control computer that the instruction is terminated. As will be recognized, the instruction may include a large number of receivers and amounts of money for each one, but in the case of the individual receiver it will be adapted for illustration. At the reception of the final code, the control computer compiles the letter of the code and associates it with the address information and other information or selections made in the sequence, and then prints the letter and provides the printed letter to the sending team or personnel. . As mentioned previously, the output of the system document may be in the electronic form instead of, or in addition to, a printed document. In this way, the document produced by the above process can be transmitted electronically by fax, for example, those recipients who have the ability to receive a fax and for whom a fax telephone number is known or, for example, by ASCII . Of particular importance is the fact that the service center or service centers used by a particular client in a specific situation are those closest to the recipient (s). In this way, a customer in an individual mail can use several service centers, each center that is used for the receivers in the geographical region closest to that center, thus ensuring that each letter, fax, email or collection of sent data was sent in the shortest distance and in the shortest time .. For this purpose, when a mailing list for a customer is created first or when it is updated, the address can be distributed to the centers in the closest proximity to the addresses and each center stores the appropriate machote letters for those addresses. For communication purposes, the customer can always communicate with the service center closest to the client, either for purposes of ordering one or more compiled, sent forms, or to update the data, and the control computer at that service center nearest you can then communicate the information to the other appropriate centers through the network between the centers. The geographic distribution of service centers can be across the nation or can be by international boundaries. The worldwide distribution of information with the system therefore makes full use of the system, since transit times in international mail, for example, are measured in days or even weeks. With the system of the present invention, the transit time can be measured on the day alone or less. For international distribution, it is important to send material in the appropriate language which means that it must first be created and stored in appropriate languages to the proposed geographical distribution. It will be apparent that considerable planning and preparation must precede the full use of the system in accordance with the invention. However, this does not present an obstacle since the use of a system client can be started with simple forms that require only minimal association and insertion of the data and then can grow in more complex uses with documents that have, for example, multiple selections of material to be inserted. From this simple example, some significant advantages will be evident. First, the customer needs to make only a short, low-cost phone call. Second, the chain of information that forms the storage access and the collection code can be prepared in a simple format in advance of the call, and can be easily prepared on a personal computer or the like. Then, when the chain is complete, you can transmit everything at once, in a very short time. Third, when the material for each letter, email, fax or data collection is compiled and printed by the service centers, the letters, etc., are sent to the recipients who are local in relation to the service centers. In this way, when service centers are distributed internationally, letters, faxes, or electronic transmissions can be received in Hambourg, Germany and Cleveland, Ohio at essentially the same time without the cost of international mail otherwise required or phone calls, and without considering the customer's location. Since the client needs only to provide access in storage and collection code and the changes or insertions of the documents to be compiled, if any, less time is consumed in the preparation of the documents. Because the system has a much shorter distribution time at the output end of the system, the transmission is much faster at the receiving end. In this way, time savings are made at both ends of the system and this increase in the transmission speed can be complemented by any increase in speed that is realized by improved technology. While most of us are familiar with the general layout of a letter, for example, it will be useful to look at one in detail for the present purposes. Figure 2 illustrates the usual components of a letter co or can be examined for use in this system, each component occupying a default field of the final document and represented by a checked box. Most of the letters have a logo on the Top that can vary in size, but that will be normal for a specific customer, or that can be selected from a few familiar logos if the customer has multiple divisions or departments that use their own logos. As used herein, the term "logo" includes such things as the trademark of the company, trade name and / or symbol, a professional letterhead, or simply the name and address of the customer. In European countries, the information that usually appears on a letterhead and that can be included in the "logo" for the present purposes includes bank connections and a registration number under which the company is officially registered. For purposes of the present invention, a customer memory section will store the logo (s) for use with all designated documents that are to be generated. The next point is the date that can be inserted into the service center automatically, as with conventional word processing programs. If desired, the difference in time and date between countries can also be taken into account so that the document has an appropriate date, or even both the date of the issuer and the recipient. This can be especially important if the document transmitted has the legal meaning. For example, it is assumed that a customer in Maryland sends a petition document to their local service center at 10 PM on March 14 in order to meet the deadline of March 14 in Germany. The document will be received shortly after March 15 at 4 AM in Germany, but if the document has an automatic date stamp from the issuer of March 14, it can meet the time requirements. Below is the name and address of the recipient or recipient. It is contemplated that letters will be sent by this system to a group of recipients, and that the group will be determined by the client and can be identified as such. This field is therefore completed by an association function as the letters are generated. A line of "subject" is often next, followed by a greeting that can use part of the information of the recipient's name and address field. The content or message of the letter is then generated, possibly with inserts to customize the letter for the individual receiver. A letter of a specific type will need to have a specific number of insertions that can be money amounts, dates or time intervals. After the message is being finalized and a signature block that may include a reproduction of a signature of the issuer. Finally, if any annex goes with the letter, they are identified. at the bottom of the letter, also the possible distribution. While other components may exist, the foregoing will suffice for the present. Preferably, in order to create this document, be it a letter or another template, the client constructs and transmits the storage access and the collection code. Each client constructs the storage access and the collection code in a normal format, which can be dictated by the operator of the service centers. Alternatively, the code format can be selected or customized for use by an individual customer. There is an advantage to having different code formats for different clients for security reasons, making it more difficult for anyone to try to have unauthorized access to the system electronically. While not all storage access components and the collection code will necessarily be used by each client, places for several components can be included in a specific sequence in the code, so that they can be used if desired. If they are not going to be used, a "jump" symbol can be requested. Figure 3 shows the possible sequence of a storage access and the collection code that performs the necessary functions, although the order can be re-arranged and functions can be added or subtracted, or covered by an individual code, depending on the needs of the clients, as dictated by the experience. An increase in speed can be achieved by creating a cross-reference collection code, complete, individual, for each letter that is to be transmitted (text and / or numbers and / or graphics) as well as for any individual change of the elements of data compiled from any of the data elements, stored, individual and graphic (for example a logo). A letter that starts with, for example, "Dear Sir," will have an individual, complete, different collection and access code for a 100% identical letter, which initial, "Dear Madam," which is the only exception. It should be mentioned that the layout can be modified or mounted on the screen if desired. While this is slower, capacity must be provided for new clients, or to develop new provisions based on old ones. In the manual process, data for letters, etc., can be defined by manually selecting the locations using menu instructions, ie, locations for the logos, date, address, etc., as generally written above. In Figure 3, each portion of the storage access and collection code is illustrated by marked block. One of the first components must be a customer identification with enough information to facilitate recognition of the region of memory to be used and to adjust the security needs and billing processes of the service center. The next component is an identification of the category of the machote chart that is going to be used, called the macho type. The current machote chart has already been created and resides in the memory at the service center with codes at appropriate locations to indicate the need for variable data insertion, or the components for the letter or other document are stored and compiled by the program .

Another portion of the storage access and collection code can identify the language that will be used for the document other than the document. Alternatively, a language code can be associated with each address, so that a specific receiver will always receive the documents in an appropriate language. Then, the group or category of the receiver can be defined. This can be managed by pre-grouping the receivers and by identifying the group or groups; or the addresses can be associated with identifications of certain characteristics of the individuals (income level, interest, etc.) and the set of recipients can be identified by specifying the characteristics, leaving the control computer to classify the lists of recipients for receivers that have the named characteristics. The signature block (if there is more than one for this client) can then be named along with the annexes that comprise, for example, advertising material or special offers, also any possible distribution. If there are unique data within the message to be inserted, this information can be supplied with one or more tables correlated with the names of the recipients. Preferably, for any given group of the letters to be generated and sent in an individual mail, only one string of codes is generated as the collection code and storage access with auxiliary information, such as message inserts, to provide as an annex to the chain. However, if the letter is further complicated by numerous insertions or variations, a separate string may be necessary for each letter. While this makes the chain of storage collection and access code longer, the benefits of distribution are still achieved. A string of storage collection and access code as described above may consist, for example, of a series of alpha numeric symbols accompanied by special symbols with predetermined meanings. The string can start with an Ac8% * client identification, followed by a # separator symbol, followed by a G32 gorma type, another separator, a DE language code, another separator and a group of receivers. The chain can therefore start, as an example: Ac8% * # G32 # DE # XV4 .... Variations and different approaches for those familiar with the generation of orders for other purposes will be evident. One goal of this system is for each client to create a document library that can be customized for individual recipients with appropriate inserts, and then reused many times. However, as suggested above, this "library" can actually be a virtual library consisting of a number of sentences or statements. In this way, a letter of a certain type may consist of a selection of fifteen stored sequences that are mounted when the letter is needed. In this case, the client, in the storage access and collection code, identifies the control computer with the final document that is desired and the control computer assembles this document from the component library under the control of a simple program. As with any computer system, it is prudent to provide a backup memory system with a redundant memory that can be used if the main memory becomes unavailable. The fact that the system has, in storage, all the past writing for each client allows an additional feature that is a form of learning by the system to be introduced. The system can include a separate program that searches through the stored material and tells how the various phrases and statements are frequently used. Those that are frequently used, or that have been used more than a selected number of times, are stored in the service center and are available to the writer's computer system. Then, when the identical phrase or statement is written by the user, the machine recognizes this as one of the frequently used phrases and only transmits a short code identifying the phrase to the service center. This further reduces the material to be transmitted and as more is written and stored, less material will need to be transmitted. This recognizes the fact that most writers in a business context tend to write the same phrases over and over again. Finally, many complete letters will fall into this category.

A notable advantage of the system is the ability to store in each service center included in a specific communication link, the text (the code) a document, in this way, if a contract is being negotiated by two parties that are in different points. and they are using the service center system, each paragraph or clause of the document being negotiated can be identified in a usual way by letters and numbers and then only the changed part will be transmitted. This can be provided by an automatic means. However, the complete document can be provided to each party with the changes incorporated. This provides a very large saving over the conventional process of sending the entire document, typically by email or fax each time a portion of it is changed. Although the "paperless" office has been predicted for years still to come, and although the demise of the fax machine has been predicted due to the advent of electronic mail and related electronic techniques, it is likely that the facsimiles will still be in use for years, in recent years also increasingly for advertising purposes. Also, it is possible to store and process normal graphics in the same way as the logo or stored text and additionally create graphics. For record keeping purposes, it is also possible to store each associated document that has been sent and relate each document to the individual file of the recipient. In general, this does not have to be done on a real-time basis, as long as the document reaches the recipient's file in a reasonable amount of time. The document can be created and sent to the file either electronically, by facsimile or on paper, depending on how the records are kept for that client. However, in addition to the above, it is desirable that the client be able to request confirmation and distribution time. Depending on the distribution technique that is being used, the service center can easily provide an automatically generated confirmation of the time when a document, email, facsimile or data collection, or set of data, was sent from the service center and / or the distribution notification. The customer can also print a record of what is being sent and the service center system can provide a monthly summary to reduce transmissions. Using the capabilities of the system described above, it is possible to introduce a new system that maintains control of all documents sent or received through the system. As a first step, all electronic transmissions must be maintained in an individual -code format, such as ASCII. Without the information received or the information transmitted electronically to a receiver is in some other format, such as HTML, for example, it must be converted to ASCII. In an approach, each document sent or received by the system is then given a unique "brand" by which it can be identified. This mark can be actually printed or printed copies of the document, but the mark is stored at least in conjunction with a stored copy of the document. The trademark may include, for example, any or all of the following: date of mailing or reception (easily inserted by the system program), the issuer and / or receiver (individual as well as by companies), the subject of the document, and a category of the document (letter, invoice, etc.) or any other characteristic chosen by the client . The amount of information that will be included in the identification mark for your position can be selected and changed by the client. The additional possibilities on the use of all the data elements outside the unique "start" data such as logo, addresses, date-hour-minute-second, subject, in the name of the sender, attachments, if they are named, distribution, etc. The group of linked letters such as for example, order-sale - invoice and / or name of issuers (signature). During the menu operation, the date and / or time can be added to a specific date / time file (meetings, target dates) by the sender, while another specific file can be established for the names only, by the same method. This is not going to be considered a prerequisite, but rather an added possibility. Also, this is not restricted to these possibilities. The client is simply offered possibilities for easy access to, and retrieval of, documents. This can be achieved completely by adding specific words to search files selected during menu operation. The control of the unique data (variable), once all the above control means have been provided, can be provided by altering a mixture of unwanted words (such as me, you, when, why, and the like) that do not have a value as search words. The mixture is used to eliminate these words as search words. Another mix of words that has to be made with the individual operation / organization of the sender (or recipient) can be set to aer accessible by the operation / organization search words. The above offers numerous possibilities for an individual or combined means of control, access retrieval and documents, saving extensive administrative time and cost. While this document control can be combined with the expected speed increase in data transmission, it can also be used as a stand-alone document processing system. The use of the unique "brand" can be done, of course, only by the issuer, or with a provision added to the recipient, allowing individual, additional control, out of all the other possibilities offered. Also, the sources or origins of the sender can be linked to the sender's logo for other means of quick selection. In the case of a document sent to a client's request, the sender is provided with an ASCII version of the document with the identifying mark included. A hard copy can also be provided, if desired, but the important part is provided, the document is the code because this eliminates the need to scan the document through any optical character recognition (OCR) system. If a transmission system according to the invention is routinely used for all correspondence of a business, the need for OCR, and each document sent or received through the system will be automatically marked and stored in a form that allows recovery and easy search in a normal way. On the other hand, this can also be achieved with an autonomous system. When the document is provided in ASCII to the recipient it can be, for example, - by hard copy with the ASCII transmitted by the service center, or - by hard copy with the ASCII provided in the form of a diskette. Both possibilities in a combined way. - provide the document, - provide access control and document collection, and - provide the non-requirement for OCR use. This can be improved by searching each document for keywords that may be relevant to the client's business. A keyword selection process similar to that described in U.S. Patent No. 5,109,439 can be used for this purpose. As an alterative or parallel technique, a menu system can be used. In this system, the document to be sent is displayed on the screen and a move-down menu is displayed that allows the user to select those points that will be used for storage. Additionally, the user can select keywords for use in storage by highlighting, for example, the words. As an autonomous system for OCR replacement, for example, a disk can be created or the encoded data is transmitted by the service center to the recipient. Once a system of this type is in place, it can also be used for the client's notes or memorandum. The notes do not need to be transmitted through the system but can be entered simply in the same way, stored in encoded form and then retrieved or searched in the same way as correspondence. Again, both document control as well as the elimination of the need for OCR can be used as stand-alone systems. An increase in speed in the transmission of data for the unique data in the learning mode can be achieved in the following way. The sender, who has stored all transmitted letters, notes, etc., could have, while creating a document by menu, the system immediately or at times or at established intervals run comparison checks on any of the unique statements (variables), transmitted in the past. The sender for example could have several statements that are identical, or almost identical, transferred to the service center with an automatic access code, usable within the subsequent collection processes. This code that is identical to the one correlated with the selected statement of this file, of course, the system, when looking for identical statements could also accept similar statements (with one or several words that are to be deleted, changed or added) for inclusion in the storage of the service center for that sender. The system could be instructed to run this part completely automatically and / or include human intervention for verification, also preventing the storage of unwanted statements, for any reason. Using this approach, the system, in a learning mode, will allow less and less data to be transmitted, eventually reducing to an absolute minimum. Of course, this approach is also usable directly from user to user, as an autonomous system. The previous sequence of events is based on the assumption that the output of the computer that is sent will be directed to a rather large number of receivers, that is, more than two or three, but it is also completely possible to use the system to take advantage with the transmissions that go to a person, perhaps with copies of information to two or three different. An example is a legal document of a type that is routinely sent in a particular type of litigation. For documents of this type, normal paragraphs and statements are stored in the client's storage area along with a framework or structure document, such as the basic form for a complaint, in which appropriate paragraphs can be inserted. For preparation purposes, it is desirable that the client be able to access the stored components of the document, so that paragraphs and statements stored can be reviewed and selected. Alternatively, the stored material can also be stored in the client's computer system for review and identification of the components to be used, allowing the client to subsequently build the code sequence for transmission to the service center. In any document, a signature lock is desirable and may be included using digital signatures such as those developed for use in other forms of electronic document transmission. A facsimile signature can also be printed on the document. In the previous examples, the order by the client for the generation and transmission of a document has been sent by some electronic technique to the service center. While this is believed to be the most expeditious technique, an order can also be sent to the service center by a technique such as the facsimile. For this purpose, the service center will need to have a facsimile reception and composition device, as well as a facsimile bridge and an electronic reader or scanner so that the storage access and collection code discussed above can be converted into the electronic form that You will need the computer. Otherwise, the system may remain the same. If the received fax is in the form that can be recognized directly by the computer, some of the previous device may be unnecessary. In particular, to eliminate the repeated transmission of information mentioned above, the system can efficiently receive, complement and transmit facsimile messages. As an example, consider a fax from Frankfur, Germany to Los Angeles, California. The client, using the system of the present invention, sends a service center a storage access and collection code that identifies the recipient and the nature of the document to be produced (i.e., a facsimile) together with the content of the message In a service center near the proposed receiver, the content of the message is combined with the layout of the identified machote, appropriately addressed and retransmitted. The recipient receives the complete message, including either the information any header information that is pre-written, but the only part that is sent over a long distance, for example, by email, is the content of the message and the collection code and Storage access, relatively short. The cost in this way is drastically reduced and time is also reduced. It should also be noted that most of the letters transmitted are one-page letters, facsimiles are generally transmitted with a cover letter, or the cover letter carries the message. This is illustrated in Figure 4, where a typical fax 35 is shown. Those portions 36 of the fax that are unique to this message are delineated in dashed lines. All the rest is repeated, normal material that can be stored in the service center, including the recipient's address and fax number, combined with the unique portions received from the customer and then transmitted to the recipient. The time taken to combine the unique portions of the message with the stored portions is very small, so that the total time required for transmission of the message is substantially the same as it would be without the present system, even just the message portion and a phrase Short code needs to be transmitted over long distances. Therefore, the cost is drastically reduced and the transmission line is free for use by other communication clients. It will be recognized that, with this process multiplied by the thousands of times this savings is made over the course of a year, the net savings are very significant. Of greater advantage is the possibility of transmitting, for example, e-mail and changing, for example, facsimile or other means in the service center, changing the means to the recipient, that is, looking for the cheapest means of transmission from the sender to the sender. service center with a possible change to another medium from the service center to the recipient. Having characters, special signs and numbers stored in the image, as well as other required graphics stored in the service center, allows the transmission by email of the contents of a fax to be compiled in the service center. From the examples and descriptions above, it will be recognized that the largest savings may result from use in countries such as Europe or Canada, where postal systems are relatively expensive or subject to occasional interruptions. For example, suppose that a client wishes to transmit similar letters to correspondents in several European countries. A physically located service center, for example, in Copenhagen, Denmark, you can choose to distribute these letters. When the sequence of codes is generated and transmitted to the service center, the letters are generated and sent in the appropriate languages to several countries that, with the development of the European Community (EC) can have in a short time a postal system uniform something similar of what it is in the United States of America. This allows the sending of letters from within the EC, taking advantage of the advantageous speeds for local distribution. Of course, it is also possible to use multiple service centers located in several places in the EC if the transmission times are still more critical. Service centers can also be used for the dissemination of information. For example, assume that a manufacturer wants to make available to interested members extensive, public, detailed information about their products. It will be completely costly and wasteful of resources to publish large numbers of a document that describes the products, knowing that many and perhaps most of them will be discarded by those who are not seriously interested. However, it is a simple matter to store the information electronically in a service center, or in all service centers, and then publish in a relatively short magazine advertisement that information is available "at your nearest service center" , after which the interested customer contacts the service center, pays the information using the identification codes provided in the magazine, and the service center either prints the information or writes it to a D-ROM and the Distribute in the same way as any other document to the client. This service can be paid by the company or the client, depending on the nature of the information. In a similar way, the system can be used for public services. For example, consider a government agency such as the internal revenue service or the Patent and Trademark Office that have forms and information publications for distribution to interested members of the public. The storage of these forms in a service center will not be available to the public with little or no human intervention and will allow a person to search and obtain forms in a large number of convenient locations than is currently feasible economically. Figure 5 more fully illustrates a service center that is equipped with the data transmission apparatus such as one or more modem 25a-n to receive or send electronic mail and data files by direct transmission as well as facsimile machines 26 for send and receive facsimile transmissions, electronically as well as using hard copy. The modems are connected to the decontrol computers 14a-14n, all of which are preferably in bidirectional communication with each other and also with the memory 18. A writable CD-ROM 28 is also provided for creating and disseminating documents of a relatively large volume. large as well as for the storage of some materials. In this regard, service centers can also be used as a substitute publication installation form. Since it is an easy matter to store large amounts of data in this installation, complete books can be stored in it, and books made available to buyers, either on a printed basis or on CD-ROM discs. limited. In the payment of a designated fee, a customer can request a specified book that the service center then prints on request. This eliminates the need to maintain a hold of printed texts that can be sold or not. The parts of the stored books can also be made available for viewing in advance so that the potential customer can "quickly examine" a book to see if he is interested. Storage for this purpose can be a CD-ROM or other storage, preferably high density. The substitute publication approach can also be used in conjunction with local book stores, greatly reducing costs such as transportation and storage. A few examples of the types of documents that can be processed advantageously with such a system are the following: invoicing billing reminders announcements invitations notification of the completion date, time limit, extension of the term cost estimate, collapse of cost praise, recommendation reminders press releases However, the huge number of types of documents can be handled in this way advantageously by a system according to the invention and barely scratches the surface. Another approach allows access and remote control of graphics creations and changes to graphics in growing oases, and so there would be. recovery codes and access to stored programs or compressed codes for remote manipulation of graphics. The bases for this approach will be stored patterns of pixels of various sizes and nuances that can be manipulated and controlled by the compressed code that is to be multiplied and moved in any desired direction or structure, such as, for example, vectors, squares, etc, also creating engineering drawings, or change, deletions or insertions to these drawings. In this last example, for example, a representation on the valve can be extracted from the storage and insert a drawing, while the valve can also be traced remotely. The control may also include the increase or decrease of the drawing (s) or parts thereof. The storage of these graphics can be a microform. For example, additional control could be assisted at locations within a given area, also by moving graphic elements in desired directions, overlaying and / or creating structural designs. The immense importance would be a stored service-center-program that allows, for example, the drawing of lines or tables, as is usual in many ways, this program that is accessible by a collection code and storage access. On the other hand, a remote addition or change to the graphic material stored in the service center could be achieved via the compressed codes, 3 bits, for example, covering 16 777 216 possibilities of individual instructions, a fraction of them that should be used for several individual manipulations. In an overview of the system of the invention, use is made of the main thing that a customer can store in a memory of the service center, a variety of phrases, statements, and designs, including logos, transmission by any convenient means to the center. service, a short code that identifies the format of the final document, desired along with unique portions such as a message, and the service center then compiles the desired document / letter and phrases, statements and the like and sends the resulting document, by either the available and appropriate transmission techniques, to the proposed recipient. In addition to the cost savings and speed increases, the system allows an organization to use it to delegate 'a certain amount of work normally done by the employed members to the service centers, further reducing the time and cost. It should also be mentioned that the system must allow the selective suppression of information by a client. Figures 6 and 7 give an overview of the kind of distribution and service center that are contemplated. Of course, the numbers of the service centers can be much larger than what is represented for a general-purpose system, but they can also be smaller for a system dedicated mainly to communication within a large corporation, although the reason why a corporate system can not connect to a larger system.

As seen in Figure 6, service centers can be distributed throughout the United States of America. The omission of these locations is a central portion of the country in the figure only for simplicity of illustration and should not be construed to suggest that these centers will not be located here. Close to each service center are the clients and recipients who will be preferably given service by the nearest center. Bidirectional communication is provided in the centers and with the clients. Figure 7 shows, in a much more simplified form, the distribution of the centers throughout the world, for explanations that have been chosen by illustration. As will be recognized, satellite communication will be provided in a short time with high-level communication to one in those countries without the communication infrastructure, and the provision of service centers will further facilitate that these countries are in full communication with the countries most developed in the world. For those clients to whom security is of particular interest, certain steps can be taken or the client can be assured that the contents of the documents sent through the systems are secure. One step is to use cryptographic techniques for all electronic transmissions between service centers and customers, including electronic transmissions to receivers. The possibility remains for the service center employee to be able to see a document if it is being sent "by hard copy to a receiver, since it must leave the printer and be placed in a wrapper or similar to be distributed. Printing and wrapping can be done completely automatically using known techniques.To ensure the customer this security, it can be provided to the video camera on site between the print and wrap, pointing in the path to the secure document. video image of the location of the document can then be registered during this process with the date and time (hour, minute and second) that for example can be printed on the document at the same time along with the date and time of the sender in case of areas of different time, and the identification mark of the document, which shows that there was not a person in a position to see the document. Ido that the document can not be IOOV-i the same. While certain advantageous embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (23)

1. CLAIMS 1. A method for generating and disseminating information, comprising the steps of: establishing a plurality of service centers in geographically separate locations, providing in each service center a control computer, a computer memory, functionally divisible, and a medium to produce a document output from the memory, provide in each service center a communication means for communication between the service center and a plurality of clients, store in the customer memory data comprising parts of documents that are generated, in response to a request received from a client, generate and store a series of document of the selected format and content and designate the unique data and transmit the document output to one or more designated receivers, and review the text repeatedly and automatically of the output documents stored for a customer, to identify repeated used phrases by that client that are not part of the stored data, and add the phrases identified to the parties that comprise the data of the documents that are going to be generated, thus reducing the unique data that will be added to the output documents .
2. 2. A method according to claim 1, which includes assigning a portion of the customer's memory to each of the plurality of clients.
3. 3. A method according to claim 1, which includes electronically interconnecting the service centers with each other for bidirectional communication between each service center and another service center. A method according to claim 1, which includes establishing a storage access and collection code that has a recognizable format for transmission by a customer to a service center to request a document, the code that can be recognized by the computer of control to identify the client, a document format and selectable points of document content that includes unique data points, whereby the control computer selects one or more components of the document d the allocated memory portion of the client and assembles the components to form the requested document. 5. A method according to claim 1, which includes electronically transmitting the document output to the receiver. 6. A method according to claim 1, including electronically transmitting a printed copy of the output of the document to the recipient. 7. A method according to claim 1, including transmitting the output of the document to the receiver by facsimile transmission. 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service center comprises facsimile reception and transmission equipment. 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the service center comprises printing and mailing equipment. A method according to claim 1, wherein the generation step includes adding a date to the generated document that identifies the original date of transmission of the client. 11. A method according to claim 1, including electronically making the generated document with. the preselected identification information. 12. A method according to claim 11 and including providing an electronically stored copy and each transmitted document and identifying information to the customer. 13. A method according to claim 1, and including translating the selected document into a selected language different from the language of the original request, and transmitting the document in the selected language. A method according to claim 1, and including storing in the service center a copy in a computer-free form, electronic of each output document for a customer, and providing the provided recipients with the output documents for the receivers in electronic form, free by computer without considering the form in which the output document is initially transmitted to the receiver. 15. A method according to the rei indication 1, wherein the request received from a client can be received in any of a plurality of communication forms including facsimile and electronic transmission, and wherein the step of transmitting the output of the document to a desired recipient includes transmitting by a form of communication selected for efficiency without considering the form of transmission of the client's request to the service center. A method according to claim 1, which includes assigning a common portion of the client memory to all the clients, the common portion that is available to any client, and storing in the common portion phrases and usable phrases commonly used by "multiple" 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the client memory includes stored graphic elements and the step of generating an output of the document that includes compiling the document of the graphic elements stored in the service center. according to claim 1, wherein the client memory includes stored graphic elements and the generation step includes transmitting selected codes from the client to the service center to generate and manipulate the stored elements to create and modify graphic creations in the service center 19 A method to control and monitor the dissemination of documents, which includes : provide a service center that has means of communication for communication between service center and a plurality of customers and between the service center and a plurality of receivers of the output documents generated by the customers, store in the service center a copy in the free form by computer, electronic of each document of exit for a client, to review of repeated way and automatic the text of the documents of exit stored for a client, to identify the phrases used repeatedly by that client that are not part of the stored data, and add the phrases identified to the parties that comprise the data of the documents to be generated, thereby reducing the unique data that will be added to the output documents, and provide the selected recipients with documents of output for this receivers in a free form by computer without considering the form in which the document The output is transmitted initially to the receiver. 20. An apparatus for generating and disseminating information comprising a plurality of service centers in geographically separate locations, each service center that includes, a control computer, a client computer memory, functionally visible, the customer's memory that is stored in the same data representing part of documents to be used repeatedly in the generated documents, a means for compiling a document output in the memory using the stored data, and communication means for communicating between the service center and a plurality of customers and between the service center and a plurality of recipients; the control computer, in response to a request received from a client, generate and store an output document of selected content format using the data stored in any single data terminated by the client transmitting the output documents to one or more designated receivers, and to review in a repeated and automatic way the text of the exit documents stored for a client, to identify the phrases used repeatedly by that client that are not part of the stored data, and to add the phrases identified to the parties that comprise the data of the documents that are going to be generated, thus reducing the unique data that will be added to the output documents. 21. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the service center is significantly closer geographically to the receiver than to the customer. 22. An apparatus according to claim 20 and including a means in the service centers for storing documents available for sale, and means for printing and distributing the documents in response to receipt of the payment. 23. An apparatus according to claim 20, including means responsive to speech input to generate text.