Innovative Automation LLC v. Apple, Inc.

Filing 1

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT against Apple, Inc. ( Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 0540-3877327.), filed by Innovative Automation LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit A, # 3 Exhibit B)(Ainsworth, Charles)

Exhibit B

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(54)

(76)

( *)

United States Patent

(10)

Lee

(1 2)

(45)

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING
PRODUCTS FROM PRE-STORED DIGITAL
DATA IN RESPONSE TO DEMANDS
TRANSMITTED VIA COMPUTER NETWORK
Inventor

Notice

Subject s
toeaxt1y 8dlaoir lj theten110fthis
endd1巳 c mae司
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S. c. 154(b) by 0 days

(57)

App l. No.: 11/653,150

(22)

Filed

Jan. 11, 2007
Prior Publication Data

US 2007/0180054 Al

(52)
(58)

Aug. 2 , 2007

Int. C l.
G06F 15/16
(2006.01)
U.S. C l. ......................... 7091203; 709/217; 709/219
Field of Classification Search ............. 369/84-85;
709/200-203 , 217-227
See application 自le for complete search history

(56)

* cited by ex缸nmer
Primary Examine严 Moustafa M Meky
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jeffrey
SonnabendLaw

(21)

(51)

7,174 ,362 B1 * 2/2007 Lee ............................ 709/203
7,277 ,903 B2 * 10/2007 Petrocelli. ... ... ..... ... ..... 707/204

Sungil Lee , 606 N. First St., San Jose ,
CA (US) 95112

Tclla11i8 teIH is subject to a terminal dismpera.

(65)

Patent No.:
US 7,392 ,283 B2
Date of Patent:
*Jun.24, 2008

References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
6,2 08 ,612 B1 * 3/2001 Miller

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a digital data duplication
system that utilizes one or more computer networks to automate the process from order-taking to delivery, eliminating
the need for human supervision. Customers enter requests for
a given number of machine-readable articles containing digital data , typically compact disks. The requests are transferred
to a website, which sends to a server electronic mails containing the details ofthe requests. Upon receiving an electronic
mail , the server directs a printing device to produce mailing
labels for shipment. The server has an internal archive of all
data it uses to convert blank CD-Rs into the requested CDs ,
and is connωted to a series of CD-R writing machines. The
server schedules 四ch request, downloads necessary data onto
the CD-R writing machine that is assigned a particular
request , and sends a write command. The CD-R writing
machine subsequently transfers the data in its cache onto the
pre-Ioaded CD-Rs. After the data transfer is complete , the
CDs embodying the requested information are automatically
placed in a bin for shipment
14 Claims , 4 Drawing Sheets

369/30.19

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#olprinter
#blank CDRs
CDimages
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5碍。

u.s. Patent

Juo.24 , 2008

Sheet 1 of 4

US 7,392 ,283 B2

/ω
CD-Writer Server

log Manager

-2..-0 0

300
，
Resourω Manager

400
CD Writer Control

FIG.1

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!xamine job 109

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#1 of drives
#1 ofprinter

#1 blank CDRs

#1 blankCDRs

CDimages

CD images
rem. caDaci'

rem. 回 pacity

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# of drives

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archive of
CDsounds
and images

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u.s. Patent

Juo.24 , 2008

Sheet 3 of 4

US 7,392 ,283 B2

200

Log Manager
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interp陪!t

e-mail

times幅mp

e-mail

line up the jobs in order 用ce阳ed
send ∞mmand to address label printer

FIG.3

u.s. Patent

Juo.24 , 2008

Sheet 4 of 4

US 7,392 ,283 B2

~~
~\'l- ""1飞

4'"' -ç:

aecide type of re∞rding medìum' (e息·
CD-ROM , mini-CD , DVD, CD-R)

de饱rmine pro饵部 time

determine order of process and any
groupings

check availability of machines for the
particular r部到ording medium

荆吃
create 民hedule for each CD Wr忧伤斗，今l:。

~loO

find and retrieve a subset from the
archive

no

, 441

display a mess啕e:
"please load mo陪 C D-Rs"

制者

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FIG.4

US 7,392 ,283 B2
1

2

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING
PRODUCTS FROM PRE-STORED DIGITAL
DATA IN RESPONSE TO DEMANDS
TRANSMITTED VIA COMPUTER NETWORK

requests based 'O n estimated pr'O cess time , availability 'O f the
appropriate 'O utput device , suitability 'O f particular devices for
handling a particular request , am 'Ong 'O ther characteristics
Informati 'O n 'On process tim巳 is 'O btained from an intemal
5 archive 'O f the digital data used t 'O pr'O duce the ordered CDs
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Likewise , the informati 'O n c 'Oncerning the availability 'O f each
'O utput device in the system is f'O und in intemal res 'O urce files
1. Technical Field
When scheduling is c'O mplete , the CD Writer Server c 'O nverts
The present inventi 'O n relates t 'O a digital data duplicati 'O n
the e-mail requests int'O machine language and sends write
system that utilize咀'One or m 'O re c 'O mputer networks t'O aut'O- 10 c 'Ommands t'O designated 'O utput devices.
mate the process 企'Om order-taking t 'O pr'O duct delivery. More
One imp 'O rtant 'Objωt 'O f the present inventi 'O n is t 'O c 'O stspecifically, the inventi 'O n permits users 'O f CD duplicati 'O n
effectively duplicate CDs using CD writers in resp 'Onse t 'O
services t 'O directly place requests int 'O a server, which then
requests received from rem 'Ote cust'O mers. The present invenschedules pr'O ducti 'O n , all 'O cates res 'O urces , executes duplicati 'On rem 'Oves the inefficiency ass 'O ciated with human superti 'O n , and s'O rts the pr'O ducts for shipment.
15 visi 'O n , and eliminates the need for invent'O ry
2. Descripti 'O n 'O f Related Art
As will be readily underst 'O'O d by 'One 'O f ordinary skill in the
Before the advent 'O f r巳'cordable digital c'O mpact disks
art , any available r.巳cording media can be used in place 'O f CD
(hereina武er "CD-Rs") , the transfer 'O f data 'Ont'O c 'Ompact digidisks , DVD disks and like media. Other such media types
include but are n 'O t limited t 'O HDVD disks , Bl u-Ray disks ,
tal disks was a c 'O stly procedure , ec 'O n 'O mically feasible 'O nly
when manufacturing a large number 'O f c 'Opies. Users wh'O se 20 n 'On-v'O latile c 'O mputer mem'O ry, flash mem'O ry, NAND gate
applicati 'O ns required relatively few c 'O pies or required fremem'Ory, hard disk drives and fl 'O ppy disk drives. Likewise ,
quent data updates c'O uld n 'O t r四p the benefits 'O f this c 'O mpact
micr'Oprocessor based devices such as "palm-t'Op" c 'Omputers ,
disk duplicati 'O n techn'Ol 'O町， even th'O ugh l'Ow-c 'O st disk-read"lapt'Op" c 'Omputers and the like may functi 'O n as media in the
ers were readily available.
instant inventi 'O n.
The advent 'O f CD-R was intended t 'O all 'Ow users t 'O record 25
In additi 'On t 'O the requested c'O ntent , the system 'O f the
their 'Own disks and thereby achieve significant savi

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic depicti 'O n 'O fthe three m 'O dules c 'O mprising a CD Writer Server.
FIG. 2 is a bl 'O ck diagram depicting the pr'O cess fl 'Ow from
order receipt t 'O producti 'On
FIG.3 is a schematic depicti 'O n 'O fthe functi 'O ns 'O fthe L 'O g
肌1anager.

FIG. 4 is a schematic depicti 'O n 'O f the functi 'Ons 'O f CD
Writer C 'O ntrol

SUM鸟也气RY

The present inventi 'O n relates t 'O a meth'O d and system 'O f
taking cust'O mer requests and writing the requested digital
data 'O nt'O vari 'O usdigitalrecordingmedia , suchasCD-ROMs ,
CDs , mini-CDs , or DVDs. U sing this meth'O d , a cust 'O mer can
request any quantity 'O f a spωific CD , mini-CD , or DVD
thr'Ough an electronic c 'Ommerce transacti 'O n system or a website andhave a server aut 'O matically pr'O cess the request s'O that
it is ready for delivery. Up 'On order entry, the cust'O mer interface website first sends an electr'Onic mail (e-mail) t 'O a CD
Writer Server. The e-mail triggers the CD Writer Server t 'O
update a l'O g 'O f requests and send signals t 'O 'One or more
printing devices that prepare address labels for delivery. Once
the l'O g is updated , the CD Writer Server schedules the

55

60

65

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present meth'O d and system relate t 'O c 'Onducting a
business that supplies any type 'O f written or printed material ,
such as invitati 'O ns , b 'O'O ks , cards , and similar materials that
can be mechanically produced from an archive 'O f digital
informati 'O n. In 'O ne emb 'O diment , the present inventi 'On is
adapted t 'O produce vari 'O us digital recording media , such as
CD-ROMs , CDs , mini-CDs , and DVDs (hereina武er c 'O llectively referred t 'O as CDs). The inventi 'O n is implemented
thr'Ough a c 'Omputer system herein referred t 'O as CD Writer
Server. CD Writer Server 100 processes cust'O mer requests by
using three m 'O dules that work t 'O gether: L'O g Manager 200 ,

US 7,392 ,283 B2

3

4

Resource Manager 300 , and CD Writer Control400 (see FIG.
important when some data needs to be purged in order to
1). A "module ," as used herein, refers to the functionality and
downloadnew data. As FIG. 2 shows , Resource Manager 300
and CD Writer Control 400 maintain close communication
not the configuration of components.
The CD Writer Server 100 typically resides on an e-mail
330 so that every time CD Writer Control 400 sends a write
server b巳，cause the CD Writer Server commonly communi- 5 command 440 to one ofthe CD Writers 500 , Resource Mancates with the customer interface 10 via e-mails. The order
ager 300 can update the resource file 310 for that CD Writer.
fulfillment process is triggered when a customer enters a
As mentioned above, Resource Manager 300 also stores an
request through a customer interface 10. A customer interface
archive 320 of all the sounds , images , and characters used to
includes but is not limited to a website , a web server, an
produce the requested CDs. The archive can be intemally
electronic commerce transaction system , a customized start 10 indexed by part numbers , each part number being associated
page , or an e-mail subsystem. At the interface , the customer is
with a path name. In one , the hard drive ofResource Manager
prompted to provide 1) the content(s) hewants duplicated,for
300 was designed to hold at least 1,000 CD contents along
ex缸呻le identifiers of songs , movies , or sofì阳are ， 2) the
with corresponding graphics , which are to be physically
desired quantity, 3) personal information such as the nam已
printed on the CDs (the number of contents the archive can
address , and phone number of the custom町， 4) the desired 15 hold depends on the amount of data that each content corresponds to). In order to change or update the contents of the
shipping method, 5) the due date , and 6) a payment or a
method of payment, such as a cr巳dit card number, among
archives an operatorwouldhave to delete some ofthe existing
other information. After the request has been entered and the
data and download new data from a network or a digital
storage medium
CD Writer Server 100 has scheduled the request , the customer
may be able to see an estimat巳，d delivery date at the interface 20
CD Writer Control 400 retrieves information from both
10.
Log Manager 200 and Resource Manager 300 to schedule
The present system manages payment at the customer
production for each CD Writer 500 connected to the system
interface 10 , either through an

US 7,392 ,283 B2
5

6

there are enough blank CD-Rs , CD Writer Control will send
an expandable indexed archive of digital data , said data
the write command for the proper number of CDs 440. Note
representing contents available for request by customers; and
that the maximum number of CDs that can be written and
at least one resource file for each of said output devices in
printed with one "write" command is equal to the number of
drives in the CD Writerthat is processing the order (shown as 5
communication with said computer.
n in FIG. 4). Thus , CD Writer Control repeat巳dly sends 446 a
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said data in each said
"write" command to the designated machine until the
resource file comprise
name and type of said output devices;
requested number of CDs have been produced. When a
request is fulfilled , CD Writer Control 400 proceeds to the
network address of said output device;
next request scheduled for the particular CD Writer.
10
number of drives in said output device;
In the event that no CD Writer of the appropriate type
availability of said output device;
contains the requested data in its cache , CD Writer Control
number of recording mediums pre-loaded in said output
must check whether there is enough cache space left in the
device;
machine and download 432 the necessary data onto that
index of digital data that has been downloaded onto said
machine from the Resource Manager internal archive. Only 15
output device; and
after downloading is complete can the CD Writer Control
hard drive capacity remaining in said output device
send its "write" command, which directs the CD Writers to
6. A system for duplication of data onto digital recording
media, the system comprising
transfer a specific subset of data from their cache to the blank
a customer interface; and
CD-Rs In one embodiment, each CD Writer is designed to
hold up to about 200 CD images and printer graphics (de- 20
a communication network connecting said customer interpending on the size of the images).
face to a server that schedules and process duplication;
Writing a CD entails not only transferring digital data from
wherein said server comprises
the cache 520 to the blank CD-Rs 540 , but also printing
first module for creating a log of customer requests;
certain graphics on the surface of the mediums. Thus ，因ch
second module for storing the data to be duplicated;
CD W riter must be equipped with at least one printing device 25
third module for scheduling the duplication of each req