US5732261A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method of using an object-oriented communication system with support for multiple remote machine types
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 1995-07-19
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Granted: 1998-03-24
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Expires: 2015-07-19
Abstract
Abstract A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, includes the steps of constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines, establishing communications with the one remote machine, and invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects.
Inventors
- 👤 Stephen R. Savitzky
- 👤 Rithy K. Roth
- 👤 Tina L. Jeng
- 👤 Peter E. Hart
- 👤 Richard Golding
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 14:10
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/465
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing application items for the one remote machine, wherein the application items for the one remote machine include pointers to the first plurality of software objects and current values corresponding to values of data items within the one remote machine.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
144 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing application items for the one remote machine, wherein the application items for the one remote machine include pointers to the first plurality of software objects and current values corresponding to values of data items within the one remote machine.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the remote machines include machines of different machine types.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the current values include a number of copies made by an office machine.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of invoking operations comprises invoking an operation requesting information from the one remote machine.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the services for the one remote machine include items of data to be transferred to the one remote machine, including data types, data sizes, and data locations.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
186 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing application items for the one remote machine; and e. using the second plurality of software objects to record requests for data to be transferred to the one remote machine; wherein the application items for the one remote machine include pointers to the first plurality of software objects and current values corresponding to values of data items within the one remote machine and read request flags and new values for describing pending requests for values to be transferred to the one remote machine.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
186 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing application items for the one remote machine; and e. using the second plurality of software objects to record requests for data to be transferred to the one remote machine; wherein the application items for the one remote machine include pointers to the first plurality of software objects and current values corresponding to values of data items within the one remote machine and read request flags and new values for describing pending requests for values to be transferred to the one remote machine.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 6, wherein the remote machines include an office machine.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; and d. constructing a second plurality of software objects within the memory, each of the second plurality of software objects identifying and describing an item in a database.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; and d. constructing a second plurality of software objects within the memory, each of the second plurality of software objects identifying and describing an item in a database.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the one remote machine is an office machine.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising a step of querying the database to select a group of machines with which to establish communications.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising a step of querying the database to select a group of machines with which to establish communications.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
136 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing a second plurality of software objects within the memory, each of the second plurality of software objects identifying and describing an item in a database; and e. requesting an update to the database in response to an item of data being transferred to the one remote machine.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
136 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. constructing a second plurality of software objects within the memory, each of the second plurality of software objects identifying and describing an item in a database; and e. requesting an update to the database in response to an item of data being transferred to the one remote machine.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
157 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. making requests for services on the plurality of remote machines, in response to user input with a graphical user interface; and e. updating the graphical user interface when the services requested on the plurality of remote machines have been completed; wherein the services for the plurality of remote machines includes items of data to be transferred to the plurality of remote machines, including data types, data sizes, and data locations.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
157 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; d. making requests for services on the plurality of remote machines, in response to user input with a graphical user interface; and e. updating the graphical user interface when the services requested on the plurality of remote machines have been completed; wherein the services for the plurality of remote machines includes items of data to be transferred to the plurality of remote machines, including data types, data sizes, and data locations.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the remote machines include machines having different communication protocols.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the step of invoking operations comprises invoking an operation requesting retrieval of information from the one remote machine.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; and d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing services for another of the plurality of remote machines, the step of constructing the second plurality of software objects including reading a data file including a representation of the second plurality of software objects to be constructed.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for communicating with a plurality of remote machines, of a plurality of machine types, using a computer system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a. constructing within the memory a first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of software objects describing services for one of the plurality of remote machines; b. establishing communications with the one remote machine; and c. invoking operations on the one remote machine in response to requests described by services of the first plurality of software objects; and d. constructing within the memory a second plurality of software objects, the second plurality of software objects describing services for another of the plurality of remote machines, the step of constructing the second plurality of software objects including reading a data file including a representation of the second plurality of software objects to be constructed.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 16, wherein the remote machines the services of which are described by the first and second pluralities of software objects have different communication protocols.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 16, wherein the remote machines include an office machine.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 16, wherein the data file includes textual representations of the second plurality of software objects to be constructed.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of: making requests for services on the plurality of remote machines, in response; to user input with a graphical user interface.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-03-23 | 2001-09-22 | 2002-03-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-03-23 | 2005-09-22 | 2006-03-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-03-23 | 2009-09-22 | 2010-03-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |