System and method for efficiently retrieving and translating source documents in different languages, and other displaying the translated documents at a client device

Claim 1

A document retrieval and display system for retrieving source documents in different languages from a plurality of servers located at different sites in a communication network, translating at least one of the received documents, and displaying the source documents and the translated documents at a client device connected to the communication network, said system comprising: a translation module for translating documents between at least two of the languages by machine; a storage facility coupled to said translation module for storing the translated documents produced by said translation module; and a control module coupled to said translation module for causing the source documents to be retrieved from the servers, transferred to the client device, and displayed at the client device, and for automatically causing said translation module to begin translating at least one of the source documents retrieved from the servers as soon as the source documents have been retrieved, for causing the translation of the source documents to proceed while the source documents are being displayed at the client device, for causing the resulting translated documents to be placed in said storage facility, for receiving requests for translation from the client device, and for causing the client device to display the translated documents in response to the requests for translation.

Claim 18

A method of retrieving, translating, and displaying source documents stored in different languages in computing systems at different server sites interconnected by a communication network, said method comprising: receiving, at a translation control site in the communication network, input from a client device at a user site in the communication network requesting a source document in a first language; retrieving the source document from one of the server sites via the communication network and transferring the source document to the translation control site; displaying the source document at the client device; determining whether an old translated document, translated previously from the source document into a second language different from the first language, is stored at a translation site in the communication network; automatically activating a translation module at the translation site if no such translated document is stored at the translation site, and having the translation module translate the source document from the first language into the second language, wherein the translation of the source document proceeds while the source document is displayed at the client device, thereby producing a new translated document; storing the new translated document at the translation site; receiving a request for translation of the document from the first language to the second language from the client device; displaying the old translated document at the client device if the old translated document is stored at the translation site; and displaying the new translated document at the client device if the old translated document is not stored at the translation site.

Claim 19

A method of retrieving, translating, and displaying source documents stored in different languages in computing systems at different server sites interconnected by a communication network, said method comprising: receiving, at a translation control site in the communication network, input from a client device at a user site in the communication network requesting a source document in a first language; retrieving the source document from one of the server sites via the communication network and transferring the source document to the translation control site; displaying the source document at the client device; determining whether an old translated document, translated previously from the source document into a second language different from the first language, is stored at a translation site in the communication network; automatically activating a translation module at the translation site if no such translated document is stored at the translation site, and having the translation module translate the source document from the first language into the second language, wherein the translation of the source document proceeds while the source document is displayed at the client device, thereby producing a new translated document; storing the new translated document at the translation site; receiving a request for translation of the document from the first language to the second language from the client device; displaying the old translated document at the client device if the old translated document is stored at the translation site; and displaying the new translated document at the client device if the old translated document is not stored at the translation site.