WO2010064092A1

WO2010064092A1 - System and method for delivering information to a user over a network

Info

Publication number: WO2010064092A1
Application number: PCT/IB2008/055668
Authority: WO
Inventors: Benoît GUENNEC; Baptiste Vial
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-12-04
Filing date: 2008-12-04
Publication date: 2010-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2011-06-04

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for transmitting and displaying information to a user through a network, said system comprising: - a server connected to the network and comprising : - receiving means for receiving information from a plurality of sources that can be connected to the network, - formatting means for formatting said information for a device associated to the user and connected to the server through the network, - at least one user's device having presenting means for presenting said information to the user in a graphical format, said presenting means comprising a printer able to print information received from the server.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING INFORMATION TO A USER

OVER A NETWORK

Technical Field

The invention relates to a system for transmitting and displaying information to a user through a network, said system comprising:

- a server connected to the network and comprising : o receiving means for receiving information from a plurality of sources that can be connected to the network, o formatting means for formatting said information for a device associated to the user and connected to the server through the network,

- at least one user's device having presenting means for presenting said information to the user in a graphical format, said presenting means comprising a printer able to print information received from the server.

The invention also relate to a method for delivering information to a user over a network.

The network is an information-carrying network such as e.g. Internet. It can be associated to different types of connections for access and indoor protocols.

Background

Networks such as Internet are now well-known as a technical means for providing to a user a quasi-unlimited quantity of information, almost instantaneously.

In particular, many systems for transmitting and presenting information to a user through a network such as Internet can comprise at least a server connected to the network and at least one user device. In the present text "presenting" means presenting information in any form, on any support.

The server generally comprises:

- means for receiving information from a plurality of sources that can be connected to the network. Each primary source of information can be e.g. a network server supplying RSS (Really Simple Syndication), a mobile device such as a phone or a PDA (Personal Data Assistant) to type a message, etc.

- means for formatting said information for the user device connected to the server through the network

- means for sending efficiently said information, e.g using a http server which crosses easily most of firewalls

The user device can take many forms. It can be a mobile device such as mentioned above, or a device to be kept in a fixed location (e.g. a room or a building).

The user device has interface means for communicating the information received from the server to the user. In particular such interface means can be display means for displaying the information received to the user in a graphical format. Such display means can be e.g. a screen. The device can be connected to a printer for printing the information on a support such as paper.

In a very common configuration the user device can be a personal computer of the user equipped with a web browser. Of course using such user device requires a minimum of software and computer skills and some interaction with the device (for starting it, opening a web browser, requesting information, switching on the printer, sending the information to a printer etc.). Some users may want to access and keep information on paper without wasting time in interacting with such device. To this end some simplified devices have been developed.

The "Presto"™ device (www.presto.com) by Hewlett-Packard™ is still another example of a device. It comprises a printer connected to the network (a phone network and not a broadband internet network). It receives and prints the information (which is content of emails) received from a server. This device uses a modern A4 scale colour printer, which delivers the messages with a high graphical quality. Such device implies the use of sophisticated components. This device furthermore delivers the information only a few times a day (at times which are programmed for a check of the network). This device cannot be used for automatically retrieving information from a source such as a web server which would provide information such as e.g. weather predictions, sports results ... This printer also requires ink cartridges or toners, which of course has a price. It also requires regular maintenance for feeding the paper stock.

The internet rabbit "Nabaztag"™ (www.nabaztag.com) is an example of simplified device which enables the user to easily have access to messages and some information. This device is permanently connected to the internet, and delivers the information vocally to the user. A limitation associated to such device is that the user cannot store the information. Neither can he transport it, or have access to it without being near the device. It also makes impossible the transmission of graphical information such as a drawing. It is however able to receive information from designated RSS sources, and deliver it vocally to the user.

The "Chumby"™ (www.chumby.com) is another example of a device. This device graphically displays information through a screen. It is however also limited since the information in only displayed on a screen. Therefore here again the information can not be stored or transported in an easy and simple manner. Furthermore such device requires expensive and complex components such as a screen. The above mentioned devices are all subject to patents, respectively

• US 2006/0098650 for Presto™ • FR 2,862,461 for Nabaztag™

• US20080068519 and US20080052348 for Chumby™ With those patents exposing the different features previously listed.

It thus appears that there is a need for a system and method which allows: - easy and simple operation,

- cost-effectiveness,

- close to real-time update of the information,

- selected access to desired information, as soon as it is available,

- easy and simple storage of the information - in particular for allowing very easy re-reading of it.

Summary

To respond to this need, the present invention provides a. system for transmitting and displaying information to a user through a network, said system comprising : - a server connected to the network and comprising : o retrieving means for retrieving information from a plurality of sources that can be connected to the network, o formatting means for formatting said information for a device associated to the user and connected to the server through the network,

- at least one user's device having presenting means for presenting said information to the user in a graphical format, said presenting means comprising a printer able to print information received from the server, and said user's device being linked to the network through a communication link, said system being characterised in that

- said formatting means of the server are able to format information in a ready-to-print format for the user device,

- said user's device is able to request information with the server on its own and to print automatically without any operation from the user, and

- said user's device comprises an integrated printer which is a thermal printer.

Other aspects, embodiments and advantages of the invention are associated with features recited hereafter:

In an embodiment, the server comprises means which, for each user: - memorize a selection of information source(s) connected to the network - automatically retrieve such selected information, - feed the receiving means with such information in order to send it to the user.

In another embodiment, the communication link of the device is wireless.

In another embodiment, the wireless communication link is Wi-Fi.

The invention also comprises a method for delivering information to a user over a network, said method comprising the following steps: - select information at a network server, the selection being based on a set of user settings stored at the network server;

- format said information at the network server in a ready-to- print format;

- transmit said configured and formatted information to a user's device over a network communication link,

- print said information on a paper to be read by the user, once said information has been received in a ready-to-print format.

In another embodiment, printing is time delayed.

In another embodiment, the user's device regularly interrogates the network server, with a period comprised between 1 second and 10 seconds, to update the information to be printed.

In another embodiment, said interrogations are carried as soon as the user's device is configured.

Brief description of the Drawings

Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from reading the detailed description that follows, and in light of the appended drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples, and in which:

- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a system according to the invention; - Figure 2 is another diagrammatic view of a system according to the invention.

Description

Figure 1 shows a system for delivering information to a user over the Internet network, according to the invention.

The system 1 comprises a Web server 10 capable of storing a set of user settings, but also capable of configuring information and formatting said information in a ready-to-print format. The system 1 also comprises a user's device 20 which includes an electronic card 21 , a printer 22 and an Internet communication link 30 between the Web server 10 and the user's device 20.

Said "ready-to-print format" is understood in this text as a format that can be directly used to perform the task. It is not a usual printing format. Indeed, no specific languages, such as PCL or Postscript, no font are required on the device side. The format is not vectorial, so there are no "interpretation algorithms" or decisions to make on the device side.

The ready-to-print format is a flat image format, that is a straight bitmap format, even if some compression can be used (lossless compression).

The device gives the server its printing wide in dots (directly or indirectly, through a version number), and the server realizes the transformation and all the required optimizations. The user settings - which are stored for each user in the server 10 in individual association with an identifier of the user - can be e.g. a predetermined selection of information such as a weather forecast for a particular area, a particular horoscope, financial information on a particular stock, etc... Such user settings comprise the network address (e.g. URL) of the source providing such information as well as identification of the information to be updated.

These user settings can be changed by the user. They can also be referred to as "preferences" in this text.

The printer 22 is a thermal printer. This kind of printer provides very inexpensive printings, mainly because it does not use toner cartridges, which are to be changed regularly. The printer 22 is embodied in a rigid box (not shown) to be protected against potential shocks, said rigid box having a hole, preferably an oblong hole, to let the printed paper get out of the box. The rigid box can be easily removed to replace the printing paper, and to enable customization of the box.

The Internet communication link 30 can be wired or wireless on the user end. In this last case, a well-known Wi-Fi™ connection can be established.

Accordingly, the user's device 20 includes means for establishing an Internet communication link with the Web server 10. These means include an electronic card 21 for integrating the hypertext transfer protocol (http, which easily goes through firewalls and proxies) or other protocols used by Internet, the electronic card 21 also comprising a Wi-Fi™ connection if necessary.

The Web server 10 directly communicates with the user's device 20 so that there is no need to use a personal computer to receive information. The only need of a computer is for configuring once the preferences and selecting the information sources. The Web server 10 manages the configuration of information, such as a wide printing adapted to the width of the paper in the user's device 20.

As the Web server 10 is also responsible of formatting information, the user's device 20 does not comprise any driver to understand information provided by the Web server 10. This enables to keep a user's device as simple as possible. Indeed, any information provided by the Web server 10 to the user's device 20 is in a very simple format, directly printable, without requiring any complex treatment, protocol or formatting means by the user's device.

Consequently, the user's device 20 does not require implementing in the device any processing such as Postscript, PCL, with their numerous versions, etc... and relies only on the protocol http and an flat bitmap image format. Furthermore, there is no need to install on the personal computer of the user a specific driver for the printer (with the operating system requirements that are hard to comply with if having a Mac™, a Linux™ OS or newer Windows™ versions).

With this architecture, it is possible to change features of the server 10 (eg operating system) without changing the user's device 20, as any change of user settings is taken into account at the Web server 10, which further stores these settings.

Thus, the user's device 20 is reduced to its minimum technical features in order to communicate with the Web server 10 and to print information on a paper sheet. And no personal computer is necessary to perform regularly the task of printing - which is automatic in the case of the invention.

By "automatic" printing, it should be understood that the user's device (20) retrieves information from the web server 10, and once said information is retrieved, the user's device prints it on a paper sheet, without requiring the user to perform any operation.

The device needs to be configured only once. On some networks, this can even be done without any human operation (open access wifi, DHCP,...). Otherwise, this requires a human task.

Then, whenever the device is plugged into a power source, it works by its own. As the device has very low power consumption, it is always turned on.

No personal computer needs to be turned on/off. The device does not even need a single button to work. The device requests the server in order to know what to do.

When something needs to be printed on the server, the device performs the task automatically. The time delaying is done on the server side.

Furthermore, a thermal printer does not need the fastidious operation of changing the ink cartridge. And depending on the usage, the paper roll can last months.

On the basis of the system 1 , it is possible to implement the following steps for delivering information to a user over the Internet network:

- configuring once user settings at the Web server 10 (this configuration can also be changed later by the user, if he wishes to amend his settings);

- selecting and retrieving information regularly at the Web server 10, the selection being based on a set of user settings stored at the Web server 10;

- formatting said information in a ready-to-print format at the Web server 10;

- transmitting said configured and formatted information to a user's device 20 over the Internet communication link 30;

- printing automatically said information on paper. Selecting information at the Web server 10 may consist of selecting information coming from an instant messaging system, an email, a RSS, a short message service (SMS), a multimedia message service (MMS), one or several pictures, a webpage, a database associated to the server, or any information support that can be conveyed or adapted to be conveyed over the Internet network. RSS support enables the user to select a number of sources through the server, in order for the server to send any update in the selected RSS to the user's device.

In order to test the Internet communication link 30 and also in order to update the information to be printed, the user's device 20 regularly interrogates the Web server 10, preferably periodically with a period comprised between 1 second and some tens of seconds. This results in a non instantaneous transmission of the information, but the user will still have the impression of an instant transmission of the information without any action of its own. He can take away the printed paper for future reading.

Claims

1. System (1 ) for transmitting and displaying information to a user through a network, said system comprising : - a server (10) connected to the network and comprising : o retrieving means for retrieving information from a plurality of sources that can be connected to the network, o formatting means for formatting said information for a device associated to the user and connected to the server through the network,

- at least one user's device (20) having presenting means for presenting said information to the user in a graphical format, said presenting means comprising a printer able to print information received from the server, and said user's device being linked to the network through a communication link, said system being characterised in that

- said formatting means of the server (10) are able to format information in a ready-to-print format for the user device (20),

- said user's device (20) is able to request information with the server on its own and to print automatically without any operation from the user, and

- said user's device (20) comprises an integrated printer which is a thermal printer.

2. System according to claim 1 , characterised in that the server comprises means which, for each user:

- memorize a selection of information source(s) connected to the network

- automatically retrieve such selected information, - feed the receiving means with such information in order to send it to the user.

3. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the communication link of the device is wireless.

4. System according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the wireless communication link is Wi-Fi.

5. Method for delivering information to a user over a network, said method comprising the following steps:

- select information at a network server (10), the selection being based on a set of user settings stored at the network server;

- format said information at the network server (10) in a ready- to-print format;

- transmit said configured and formatted information to a user's device (20) over a network communication link (30), - print said information on a paper to be read by the user, once said information has been received in a ready-to-print format.

6. Method according to the preceding claim, characterised in that printing is time delayed.

7. Method according to one of the two preceding claims characterised in that the user's device (20) regularly interrogates the network server (10), with a period comprised between 1 second and 10 seconds, to update the information to be printed.

8. Method according to claim 7 characterised in that said interrogations are carried as soon as the user's device (20) is configured.