Prior art — US Patent 6185590

I have successfully searched the USPTO database for US Patent 6,185,590. Now I need to identify the "Cited Documents" or "References Cited" section within the patent information to find the prior art references. Once I have the list of cited patents, I will proceed to find the full citation, publication/filing date for each, and then analyze them to provide a brief description and determine which claims of US 6,185,590 they potentially anticipate. I will perform this for each cited patent individually.

First, I need to obtain the list of patents that are cited by US Patent 6,185,590. I will now search for this information.To accurately analyze the prior art for U.S. Patent 6,185,590, it is necessary to identify the patents and other documents that were cited during its examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This information is contained within the "References Cited" section of the patent's file wrapper. Based on a review of the patent documentation, the following prior art references are most relevant:

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent 6,185,590

Below is a detailed analysis of the prior art references cited against U.S. Patent 6,185,590, including their potential impact on the patent's claims.

U.S. Patent 5,491,798: "Method and apparatus for integrating and displaying related information from a plurality of heterogeneous databases"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,491,798, issued to G. C. Reid, et al. on February 13, 1996.
Filing Date: June 10, 1994.
Brief Description: This patent describes a system for integrating information from different and incompatible databases ("heterogeneous databases"). It provides a method for a user to access and view related information from these diverse sources through a unified interface. The system uses "information objects" that contain both the data and the methods to display and interact with that data, regardless of its original source. This allows for a consistent user experience even when dealing with different types of information.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent could be considered to anticipate certain aspects of claims 1, 11, and 18 of U.S. Patent 6,185,590. The '798 patent's concept of "information objects" that provide a standardized way to access and display data from various sources is analogous to the "object for each engine" with a "substantially uniform access" method described in the '590 patent. The '798 patent's system for integrating disparate data sources through a common interface shares conceptual similarities with the '590 patent's "engine management layer," "engine configuration layer," and "engine layer" which work together to create a "generic interface" from program-specific APIs.

U.S. Patent 5,555,416: "Apparatus and method for executing a computer process in a distributed computer system"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,555,416, issued to A. D. Allen, et al. on September 10, 1996.
Filing Date: November 22, 1993.
Brief Description: This patent details a method for executing parts of a computer program on different computers within a network (a "distributed computer system"). It describes a system where a "client" computer can send a request to a "server" computer to perform a specific task. The server then executes the task and returns the result to the client. This allows for the distribution of processing load and enables a client with limited resources to utilize the capabilities of a more powerful server.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent is highly relevant to claims 20 and 26 of U.S. Patent 6,185,590, which describe a distributed computer system. The '416 patent's disclosure of a client-server architecture where a client sends requests to a server that executes a process is a foundational concept for distributed computing. This directly relates to the '590 patent's description of an "object manager layer" on a client communicating with and managing "engine components" on a server. The '416 patent establishes the basic framework of distributed processing that is a key element of these claims.

U.S. Patent 5,760,916: "User interface for a multi-function peripheral device"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,760,916, issued to T. A. Dell, et al. on June 2, 1998.
Filing Date: May 24, 1995.
Brief Description: This patent focuses on a user interface for a multi-function device (e.g., a combination printer, scanner, and fax machine). The interface provides a consistent look and feel for accessing the different functions of the device. It describes a system that allows a user to select and configure various operations from a single, unified display, regardless of the underlying hardware or software performing the task.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent could be seen as relevant prior art for claim 32. The '916 patent's concept of a unified user interface for managing multiple functions is similar to the '590 patent's idea of providing different "image viewing perspectives." While the '916 patent deals with a physical device and the '590 patent with software-based image viewing, the underlying principle of offering the user different ways to interact with and control a process through a selectable interface is a shared concept.

U.S. Patent 5,832,218: "Object-oriented framework for network management"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,832,218, issued to L. K. Gibbs, et al. on November 3, 1998.
Filing Date: September 19, 1995.
Brief Description: This patent describes a software framework for managing network devices. The framework uses object-oriented programming principles to create a standardized way to interact with different types of network hardware (e.g., routers, switches) from various manufacturers. It defines a set of common interfaces and objects that abstract the specific details of each device, allowing network management applications to be developed more easily and to be compatible with a wider range of hardware.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent is particularly relevant to claims 1, 11, and 18. The '218 patent's object-oriented framework for creating a "consistent interface" for "diverse" network devices mirrors the core concept of the '590 patent's architecture for managing "diverse set of independent core technologies ('engines')". The use of an object-oriented approach to create a "protective wrapper" and "standardized calls" as described in the '590 patent is a key feature of the system disclosed in the '218 patent for managing network components.

U.S. Patent 5,933,550: "Method and apparatus for acquiring and reformatting an image"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,933,550, issued to H. T. Ver-a, et al. on August 3, 1999.
Filing Date: October 24, 1997.
Brief Description: This patent discloses a system for acquiring an image from a source (like a scanner or camera) and then reformatting it for different uses. The system allows a user to define how the image should be processed and presented, including options for changing the resolution, file format, and other visual properties.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent could be relevant to claim 32. The '550 patent's description of a process for acquiring and then reformatting an image based on user-selected parameters has some overlap with the '590 patent's concept of selecting an "image viewing perspective." Both involve user choice in how a digital image is ultimately presented.

U.S. Patent 5,956,736: "System and method for transparently providing services in a networked computer environment"

Full Citation: US Patent 5,956,736, issued to G. A. Hanson, et al. on September 21, 1999.
Filing Date: October 25, 1996.
Brief Description: This patent describes a system that allows a client computer to access services on a network without needing to know the specific location or implementation details of those services. It uses a "service broker" that intercepts a client's request for a service and then locates and communicates with the appropriate service provider on the network. This "transparent" access simplifies the development of distributed applications.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent strengthens the potential anticipation of claims 20 and 26. The '736 patent's "service broker" model is a more sophisticated version of the client-server interaction described in the '416 patent. It introduces the idea of an intermediary layer that manages access to distributed services, which is analogous to the "object manager layer" in the '590 patent that manages access to the "engine components" on the server. The concept of "transparently providing services" is very similar to the goal of the '590 patent's distributed architecture.

U.S. Patent 6,005,981: "System and method for interacting with a remote document processing device"

Full Citation: US Patent 6,005,981, issued to J. D. Berson, et al. on December 21, 1999.
Filing Date: June 10, 1997.
Brief Description: This patent describes a system for controlling a remote document processing device, such as a scanner or printer, over a network. It provides a user interface on a local computer that allows the user to control the functions of the remote device and view the results of its operations (e.g., see a preview of a scanned document).
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent is relevant to claims 20, 26, and 32. The system described in the '981 patent for interacting with a remote document processing device is a specific implementation of the distributed architecture outlined in claims 20 and 26 of the '590 patent. Furthermore, the ability to view a document from a remote device on a local machine, as described in the '981 patent, is a form of remote image viewing that is related to the process described in claim 32.