Importance

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Abstract

A system including any number workstations, file servers, printers and other fixed devices coupled in a network, and a number of portable devices carried by users and coupled to the network by infrared (IR) link. Each portable device emulates its user's personal satchel for documents: the device is programmed to receive transmit and store document or service tokens (tokens). Preferably, the token comprises a plurality of components defining a document related entity and a property of the entity, the token components including an operation component designating a document related operation, an address component designating the electronic address of a document or system providing a document related service, one or more parameter components, each parameter component defining a property of a document or a property of a service to be applied to a document, and a security parameter dependent upon the identity of a user associated with a document or with a document related service. The tokens are distributed from one person to another by transmission of IR data packets, and once a network-connected computer, printer or multifunction device has received a token via IR transceiver associated with it, a search request can be derived from the token and document references (e.g. WWW URLs) satisfying the token can be obtained via a search engine. For each URL obtained, the corresponding electronic document can be retrieved from a repository and displayed or printed. The portable device is preferably a handheld or wristwatch computer with a graphical display for enabling the user to transfer tokens, and the fixed devices preferably include a scanner/copier/printer having its own IR transceiver.

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First Claim