Abstract:
A electronic device for collecting and disseminating information is disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention is a system for collecting and disseminating a variety of information, comprising an information capture device, a storage element associated with the information capture device, a variety of information associated with the information capture device, and logic associated with the information capture device, the logic configured to organize the information into a common format and dedicated structure and allow access to the dedicated structure to obtain the information.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    Meetings are held in conference rooms around the world. During meetings, information is disseminated typically in the form of information brought to the meeting and in the form of information generated during the meeting. Information that is brought to the meeting is typically provided in the form of, for example, a printed handout, a slide presentation, or a combination of both presentation material and handout material. Unfortunately, this information must be prepared in advance and the presenter must have specific knowledge of the number of attendees to ensure that a sufficient quantity of material is prepared. Information, such as action items for individuals, reports, status, etc., that is generated during the meeting is typically captured using, for example, an electronic whiteboard, or another type information capture device. Such information is typically printed on thermal paper. Subsequently, in order to share the information, a copy of the image on the thermal paper must be made. Further, because the thermal paper is non-permanent and tends to curl, it does not provide a stable, long-term storage medium. Unfortunately, this form of information capture and dissemination is inconvenient and does not promote information sharing among the meeting attendees.  
           [0002]    Regardless of the medium used to provide, disseminate, and capture information during a meeting, conventional systems lack the ability to allow the information to be easily and effectively captured, saved, stored and shared among the meeting attendees.  
           [0003]    Therefore, an improved way of capturing, saving, storing and sharing information brought to and generated during a meeting is desirable.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0004]    In one embodiment, the invention is a system for collecting and disseminating a variety of information, comprising an information capture device, a storage element associated with the information capture device, a variety of information associated with the information capture device, and logic associated with the information capture device, the logic configured to organize the information into a common format and dedicated structure and allow access to the dedicated structure to obtain the information. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    The present invention, as defined in the claims, can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components within the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an exemplar environment in which the system and method for collecting and disseminating information resides.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system including the exemplary electronic device of FIG. 1.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 2.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the operation of the information management software of FIG. 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0010]    The system and method for collecting and dissemination information is described below in the context of an “all-in-one” device. However, the system and method for collecting and disseminating information can be implemented using other electronic devices. The system and method for collecting and dissemination information is also described below as being particularly useful during a meeting attended by a number of individuals during which a variety of information is presented. However, the system and method for collecting and disseminating information is not limited to use during meetings and can be used to collect and disseminate information in other situations and applications.  
         [0011]    The system and method for collecting and disseminating information can be implemented in software (e.g., firmware), hardware, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system and method for collecting and disseminating information is implemented using a combination of hardware and software.  
         [0012]    Regardless of the manner of implementation, the software portion of the system and method for collecting and disseminating information can be executed by a special or general-purpose computer, such as a personal computer, workstation, minicomputer, or mainframe computer.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an exemplary environment  100  in which the system and method for collecting and disseminating information resides. As mentioned above, in one embodiment, the system and method for collecting and disseminating information is implemented in hardware and software using an electronic device  202 . In this example, the electronic device  202  can be what is referred to as an “all-in-one” device. Such a device is capable of performing a variety of documents processing functions. For example, the electronic device  202  can be an electronic device that can, for example, print, copy, fax, and scan documents.  
         [0014]    The electronic device  202  can be coupled to a network  110  via connection  114 . The network  110  can be a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). For example, the network  110  can be a company network, such as an Intranet, or can be the world wide web (WWW) accessed via the Internet. To illustrate two possible networked examples, the environment  100  includes a server  126  coupled to the network  110  via connection  128 , and includes a WWW location  132  coupled to the network  110  via connection  134 . The server  126  and the WWW location  132  are shown for illustration only. If coupled to the network  110 , the electronic device  202  will include a network interface. Further, if the electronic device  202  is a so-called “web enabled” device, then the electronic device  202  will also include an integrated web server.  
         [0015]    In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the electronic device  202  can be located in or near a conference room in which a number of individuals are attending a meeting. Typically, when a meeting is to occur, material may be provided to the attendees, either in advance, or provided at the meeting. Such information may be, for example, a paper copy of a presentation, a handout, or other multi-media material. Further, during the meeting, information will likely be produced. For example, in a technical meeting, there is frequently a “white board” present, on which drawings, sketches, or meeting notes may be written. Further, such a white board may be an electronic device that can print the contents of the board before the board is erased. Further, scanned text, electronic text, a digital photograph, voice, or any other type of information can be generated. In such a meeting environment, it would be desirable to have a repository for all the information that is brought to, or generated at the meeting. Further, it would be desirable to make that information available to the attendees in a number of different ways. As will be described in detail below, the electronic device  202  can be used to collect, store, and make available, both locally and via a network, all of the information associated with a meeting.  
         [0016]    In accordance with this aspect of the system and method for collecting and disseminating information, the environment  100  may comprise a variety of different devices that can be used to generate information and deliver the information to the electronic device  202 . In this example, the environment  100  includes a computer  108  coupled to the electronic device  202  via connection  106 , a white board  102  coupled to the electronic device  202  via connection  104 , a digital camera  116  coupled to the electronic device  202  via connection  118 , and an auxiliary input device  112  coupled to the electronic device  202  via connection  122 . The auxiliary input device  112  may include, for example, a microphone to record verbal exchanges during the meeting, or a memory card receptacle configured to receive a memory card from a digital camera. For example, the memory card receptacle may be configured to receive a memory card such as a Smart Media® card, a CompactFlash® memory card, or any other memory card or removable memory media.  
         [0017]    The electronic device  202  can accept a variety of information from a variety of input sources and convert the information to a common format. The information is then made available to the attendees of the meeting. The information can be made available to the attendees of the meeting via, for example, a hard printout of the information directly from the electronic device  202 .  
         [0018]    Alternatively, the information can be stored on the electronic device  202  in a dedicated structure and in an electronic file structure so that an individual via the network  110  can access the information. In another alternative implementation, the information can be stored on the server  126  and accessed by a user of the system. In yet another alternative implementation, the information can be stored on a storage device (not shown) that is accessible via the WWW using, for example, a uniform resource locator (URL). In such an implementation, the attendees of the meeting at which the information is collected need not be in the same physical location.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system  200  including the exemplary electronic device  202  of FIG. 1. The electronic device  202  can include a software element referred to as the information management software  210 . The information management software  210  and other software and hardware elements (to be discussed with respect to FIG. 2) work in unison to implement the functionality of the invention.  
         [0020]    Generally, in terms of hardware architecture, as shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device  202  includes a controller  216 , which further includes a processor  204 , a memory  206 , a storage element  212 , a control panel  252 , an input interface  244  and an output interface  254  that are connected together and can communicate with each other via a local interface  214 . The local interface  214  can be, for example but not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known to those having ordinary skill in the art. The local interface  214  may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as buffers (caches), drivers, and controllers, to enable communications. Further, the local interface  214  includes address, control, and data connections to enable appropriate communications among the above-mentioned components.  
         [0021]    When implemented as an all-in-one device, the electronic device  202  also comprises a printer  262 , a scanner  264  and a copier  266 . The printer  262 , scanner  264  and copier  266  provide their respective functionality in accordance with corresponding software elements  232 ,  234  and  236 , which are application level software components and which reside in the memory  206 . The functionality of the electronic device  202  is controlled via the control panel  252 . The control panel generally includes an input element  262  and a display  256 . The input element  262  may include buttons, a touch pad, or any other element for communicating control inputs to the electronic device  202 . The display  256  may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) element for displaying status of the electronic device  202 .  
         [0022]    The controller  216  controls the operation of the electronic device  202  via the processor  204 . The processor  204  is a hardware device for executing software that can be stored in memory  206 . The processor  204  can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the electronic device  202 , and a microchip-based microprocessor or a macroprocessor.  
         [0023]    The memory  206  can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements and nonvolatile memory elements. Moreover, the memory  206  may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory  206  can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor  204 .  
         [0024]    The input interface  244  can receive information from, for example, the computer  108 , the white board  112 , the digital camera  116  or via the auxiliary input element  112  of FIG. 1.  
         [0025]    The output interface  254  sends commands via connection  108  to devices external to the electronic device  202 . The network interface  242 , which can be, for example, a network interface card (NIC) located in the electronic device  202  or a modulator/demodulator (modem), can be any communication device capable of connecting the electronic device  202  to an external network  110 .  
         [0026]    The software in memory  206  may include one or more separate programs, each of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of FIG. 2, the software in the memory  206  includes the information management software  210 , a user interface (UI)  208 , which works in cooperation with the control panel  252 , a web server  218 , application software  240  and a suitable operating system (O/S)  220 . The information management software  210  can be implemented as application level software. The print software  232 , scan software  234  and the copy software  236  are also application level software components that work in cooperation with the printer  262 , scanner  264  and the copier  266 , respectively, to perform those respective functions.  
         [0027]    The operating system  220  can be any available operating system that can control the operation of the electronic device  202 . The operating system  220  essentially controls the execution of other computer programs, such as the information management software  210  and the application software  240 , and provides scheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memory management, and communication control and related services. The processor  204  and operating system  220  define a processing platform, for which application programs, such as the information management software  210  and the application software  240  are executed. The information management software  210  includes the software that allows the electronic device  202  to collect, store and disseminate a variety of information acquired from a variety of sources.  
         [0028]    When the electronic device  202  is in operation, the processor  204  is configured to execute software stored within the memory  206 , to communicate data to and from the memory  204  and to generally control operations of the electronic device  202  pursuant to the software. The information management software  210  and the O/S  220 , in whole or in part, but typically the latter, are read by the processor  204 , perhaps buffered within the processor  204 , and then executed.  
         [0029]    The portions of the system and method for collecting and disseminating information that are implemented in software can be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer related system or method. In the context of this document, a computer-readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with a computer related system or method. The information management software  210  can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.  
         [0030]    The hardware components of the system and method for collecting and disseminating information can be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, which are each well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 3 is a block diagram  300  illustrating an embodiment of the electronic device  202  of FIG. 2. The electronic device  202  is coupled to the network  110  via connection  114 . Further, a computer, such as a personal computer (PC)  330 , is coupled to the network  110  via connection  332 . Similarly, the server  126  is coupled to the network  110  via connection  128  and the server  340  is coupled to the network  110  via connection  134 . The server  340  maintains the world wide web location  132 , and is generally referred to as a “web server.” Alternatively, if web enabled, the electronic device  202  may maintain a WWW location (a domain name server (DNS).  
         [0032]    The electronic device  202  includes storage element  212 . In this example, the storage element  212  is the location in which the variety of information gathered during the meeting, as described above, is stored. For example, during, or at the end of a meeting in which a variety of information is generated (FIG. 1), a menu, such as a save screen menu  302 , can be displayed to a user of the electronic device  202  via the display  256  (FIG. 2). The save screen menu  302  includes one or more reference tags that can be illustrated as, for example, meeting folders. The meeting folders are structures dedicated to organizing and storing the variety of information that is brought to and generated during a meeting.  
         [0033]    Exemplary meeting folders are illustrated as meeting folder 1  304  and meeting folder n  306 . It should be mentioned that any number of meeting subfolders can also be created during the meeting to save the various types information generated during a meeting. Generally, each meeting will have a unique top level folder, such as meeting folder 1  304  with which it is associated, and one more sub folders.  
         [0034]    In the example shown in FIG. 3, the meeting folder 1  304  includes subfolders for a first scan, a first text element, and a first photograph. Other types of information can also be saved in the meeting folder 1  304 . In accordance with this aspect of the invention, all of the information brought to and generated during the meeting is input into the electronic device  202 , converted to a common format, such as, for example, a portable document format (.pdf), and stored in the storage element  212 . Using this example, at the end of the meeting, all of the information stored in the storage element  212  can be, for example, printed and provided to the meeting attendees.  
         [0035]    However, in alternative embodiments, the information saved in a meeting folder can be stored elsewhere than on the electronic device  202 . For example, the folder can be saved on the server  126 , or can be saved on the server  340  associated with the world wide web location  132 .  
         [0036]    In such an example, a remotely located user, such as an individual using the computer  330  via the network  110 , can access the meeting folders ( 304 ,  306 ), and associated subfolders, via the network  110 . In this manner, the information that is generated during a meeting can be saved, stored and made available remotely via the network  110 .  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 4 is a flow chart  400  illustrating an example of the operation of the information management software  210  of FIG. 2. Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternative implementations are included within the scope of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention. Further, different types of data, such as scan data, text data, photo data, and email data, etc., can be interleaved in any order.  
         [0038]    In block  402  a meeting is initiated by, for example, using the control panel  252  to activate and initialize the electronic device  202  (FIG. 2). In block  404 , a reference tag is created and applied to a meeting folder, such as the meeting folder 1  304  of FIG. 3. The meeting folder is associated with the electronic device  202 . As described above, the reference tag can be created in the storage element  212  of the electronic device  202 , or can be created elsewhere and accessed via the network  110 , as described above.  
         [0039]    In block  406  the controller  216  opens the communication channels via the input interface  244  (FIG. 2) to receive information from, for example, the computer  108 , the white board  102 , the digital camera  116 , the auxiliary input element  112 , or any other device coupled to the electronic device  202 .  
         [0040]    In block  408 , information is collected from the devices coupled to the electronic device  202 . For example, if a hard copy of text is brought to the meeting, the scanner  264  in the electronic device  202  could scan the hard copy. In this example, the scanner  264  is an alternative input source and is coupled to the input interface  244  via the local interface  214 . In block  412 , the data received from the scanner  264  is formatted by the information management software  210  into a standard format, such as .pdf, and saved in the storage element  212 .  
         [0041]    In block  418 , the information from the scanner  264  obtained in block  412  is saved into, for example, a text subfolder associated with the meeting folder 1  304  (FIG. 3). In block  422  it is determined whether the information saved in the meeting folder 1  304  is to be made available external to the electronic device  202 . If it is determined in block  422  that the saved information is to be made available externally. In block  424  it is determined whether the information will be made externally available directly from the electronic device  202 . If the information is to be made available from the electronic device  202 , then an individual desiring access to the information can access the information via the web server  218  associated with the electronic device  202 . Alternatively, the information can be transferred from the electronic device  202  to a remote location. In this example, in block  426 , the information is forwarded from the electronic device  202 , via the network interface  242 , onto the network  110  to a remote destination. The remote destination may be, for example, the server  126  or the server  340  of FIG. 3. The process then proceeds to block  428 .  
         [0042]    If, in block  422 , it is determined that the information saved in the storage element  212  is not to be made available external to the electronic device  202 , then, in block  428  it is determined whether the meeting is complete. If the meeting is not yet complete, then the process returns to block  408 .  
         [0043]    If, in block  428  it is determined that the meeting is complete, then, in block  432 , the meeting folder 1  304  is closed by entering appropriate commands into the control panel  252  of FIG. 2. In block  434 , the information saved in the meeting folder 1  304  can be printed via the printer  262  and distributed to the meeting attendees, or, as described above, can be published and made available via the network  110 . In the case of captured audio information, a transcript can be created and printed. Alternatively, the information management software  210  can create a uniform resource locator that identifies a world wide web location ( 132  of FIG. 3) at which the meeting folder 1  304 , or a copy of the meeting folder, is located. The world wide web location  132  can then be accessed remotely using, for example, the computer  330  via the network  110 . In this manner, all information obtained and saved by the electronic device  202  can be made available to meeting attendees, regardless of whether they are in the same physical location as the electronic device  202 .  
         [0044]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, as set forth above, without departing substantially from the principles of the present invention. For example, the system and method for collecting and disseminating information can be used to store information locally on an electronic device that may be accessed locally or via a network, or can be used to store information at a remote location that can be accessed via a network. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention, as defined in the claims that follow.