MXPA00003273A - Information distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

A subscription facsimile system (10) of the type in which providers supply new documents (20) for storing the images in a centralized database (42). Subscribers (14) register with a system (30, 70) as to one or more areas of interest. A processor (40) cyclically scans the document database (42) for new documents that have been added (50). The processor correlates the subject matter of the newly added documents to the identity of the subscribers having an interest in the same. The new documents are then transmitted (60) by way of facsimile (66) to the subscribers (14) who have registered an interest (70) in such subject matter.

Description

INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to information distribution systems, and more particularly to systems for storing data, texts and other types of information, and for distributing information to subscribers in an efficient and timely manner without incurring either in duplicate distributions or distribution to subscribers who are not interested in the particular information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many aspects of a person's personal and financial life depend on the availability of information from various sources. In effect, the decisions made in a person's daily life depend for the most part on information that is not only available, but is normally received and considered by the individual. However, it can be appreciated that the available information may not be received or considered if the availability of it is not convenient enough. For example, libraries include thousands of sources of information, but the accessibility of it is a bit inconvenient, in the sense that people should normally go to libraries, search through the various indexes of authors, topics, etc. . and then find the publication and study it. The current use of the Internet and the associated volume of information has been widely accepted and used, mainly due to its ease of access. As indicated above, the effectiveness of the information depends on the speed, efficiency and reliability of the information. Timely accessibility and timely delivery increase the value of the information. An important technology that is widely used to facilitate the speed and delivery of information, especially documents, is the mode of transmission by facsimile (fax). Fax delivery systems of the type that provide documentary information are available in two general categories. First, "fax transmission" systems are used to deliver the same document at the request of the information provider to a number of recipients in approximately the same time interval. On the other hand, "fax on demand" systems are available where an information provider places documents in a system and recipients can make phone calls to request the desired documents. Both of these systems are generally successful, but they have serious shortcomings and limitations. The system of transmission by fax is inefficient because all the documents are transmitted to all the receivers identified in a list, without considering if the receivers are really interested in the contents of the documents. In addition, serious concerns remain with respect to the fax transmission system in the sense that the transmission of unsolicited facsimile documents may violate various governmental rules and regulations. An important limitation in the fax-on-demand system is its inefficiency, in the sense that it needs a request for information each time the recipient wants such information. In addition, the receiver has no way of knowing at what point the source of information has been changed, modified or even deleted. The deficiencies of both systems, the system of transmission by fax and fax on request, can be seen from the following example. A hypothetical document distribution system is provided by the Center for Disease Control. The system satisfies the need to distribute a wide variety of warnings, news and memoranda about diseases, viruses, diagnoses, treatments, medications, etc., by fax to a large target group of doctors and technicians. The documents can be distributed either through the traditional technique of transmission by fax, or the fax technique on request. In view of the fact that there may be tens of thousands of medical facilities included in the target group, there are many documents that are not important for each of the facilities. As such, the fax transmission technique is inefficient and very expensive. On the other hand, the fax on demand technique is not practical because the receivers have no way of knowing when the new information is available, given that the number of documents available is extremely large. From the above, it can be seen that there is a need for a new document distribution technique that is more efficient for the distribution system, as well as for the container. There is another need for an information distribution technique that allows recipients to receive only the information to which they have an interest, and they automatically receive such information in a timely manner. There is even another need for an information distribution technique that allows recipients to easily change or modify document requests in a way that new topics can be easily added, and that the distribution of current topics can be easily discontinued.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a system for distributing information and method of operation thereof to reduce or overcome the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art. In a preferred form of the invention, an information database is provided to store large amounts of information and to provide high-speed access to it. The information database is adapted to allow new and updated information to be easily added to it at any time. In an application of the invention, the information database stores images of documents in photography and in character, as supplied to the system by means of a facsimile or in some other way. A subscription database is provided to store the identity of each subscriber or recipient. In addition to storing the identity of each subscriber, the thematic areas of interest to the subscribers are stored, as well as other necessary information. A processor is programmed to periodically scan the information database to determine if any new documents have been added to it. Regarding any new documents that have been added to the information distribution system, the processor then scrutinizes the subscription database to identify each subscriber who has an interest in the subject of the new document. When the subject of the new documents has been correlated with the subscribers who have an interest in them, the system automatically transmits the new documents to each subscriber who has an interest in them. With this arrangement, subscribers do not receive information in which they have no interest, nor do subscribers need to formally request the new information as a prerequisite for delivery to the recipient. In accordance with another characteristic of the invention, the information distribution system is adapted to receive communications from subscribers by means of facsimile, telephone calls, the Internet, etc., with which the new subscribers can initially be registered in the system, and to which current subscribers can add new areas of interest, delete others and in some other way modify various parameters by which the information is delivered to the recipient. In the preferred form of the invention, the information stored in the database is of the documentary page type, and the distribution to the various subscribers is done by means of a facsimile machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The additional features and advantages will become apparent from the following and more particular description of the preferred embodiments and other embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers generally refer to the same elements or parts through the views, and in which: Figure 1 is a generalized block diagram of the information distribution system, as it is electronically coupled to the providers and recipients of information who are registered as subscribers for the information delivery system.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the information distribution system which is constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 is a list of the data and parameters required in the preferred modality for each information provider as well as for the data to add information to the information database. Figure 4 illustrates an example of a document index and the various topics provided by an information provider. Figure 5 is a list of the types of parameters and data that are used to register a subscriber in the system. Figure 6 is a list of the functions performed by a subscription update software module that periodically scrutinizes the database regarding the appearance of new documents; and Figure 7 is a list of the functions performed in accordance with a document delivery software module for transmitting the information to a subscriber who has an interest in them.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, the connection of an information distribution system 10 between multiple information providers 12a-12z and multiple subscribers 14n is illustrated in block diagram form. The term "subscribers" is used synonymously with the term "receivers". When the communications between the information distribution system 10 and the subscribers 14 are made by facsimile, as is the case with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the public telephone system 16 provides the connection of switched communications between them. . As will be described in more detail below, the subscribers 14 automatically receive new information of interest that has been fed into the information distribution system 10. In addition, provisions are made to allow any new subscriber to communicate with the information distribution system 10. to register as a subscriber to receive information in different selected subject areas. The information providers 12 can supply information to the distribution system 10 by means of the facsimile and through many other means. Of course, the interface between the information providers 12 and the distribution system 10 could include suitable circuits for converting the power information into appropriate digital signals for storing them in high-speed mass storage devices, such as multiple disk units. The information providers 12a-12z can each be engaged in completely different subject areas, all of which are stored in the information distribution system 10 and distributed in a timely manner to the various subscribers 16. For example, a provider 12a may be involved in disease control and may wish to have such information available only to those subscribers who are interested in the particular subject area. Another provider 12z may be dedicated to automotive maintenance, the information of which will again be stored in the information distribution system 10 and will be available to even other subscribers, such as mechanics. A multitude of other diverse subject areas may be provided by other information providers, and stored in the system 10 so that it is available to subscribers who have an interest in them. In a practical application, the information providers 12 can additionally provide goods and / or services to the subscribers outside the system 10, while using the information as an incentive to do business with the respective information providers 12. For that purpose, it is anticipated that the subscribers 14 will not have to pay a service fee to obtain the information from the system 10. On the other hand, each time a new document or information is transmitted in the system 10 to a subscriber 14, may charge for this reason to the respective information provider 12. Those skilled in the art can use many other billing and payment schemes. By using the invention to distribute information, the sales of goods and services by the information providers can be facilitated. 12. Indeed, the new information on products, product brochures, press releases relating to products, etc., is easily made. available to the subscribers, through the information distribution system 10. Referring now to Figure 2, a more detailed block diagram of the information distribution system 10 is shown, as it is coupled to a provider input device. of information 20 by means of communication line 18. It should be understood that many other information providers 12 will typically be coupled to system 10. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the information provider input device 20 comprises a facsimile machine for transmitting signals in standard on-line facsimile format 18, such as the T30 protocol, to the information distribution system 10. A subscriber 14, or receiver, receives a facsimile transmission by means of the communication line shown by the dotted line 22. In addition, the subscriber 14 can communicate with the information distribution system 10 by means of a communication means 24 which can include the Internet, a computer line , a telephone line, etc. In the preferred form of the invention, the new subscribers can communicate with the information distribution system 10 through various communication means 24 when they are initially registered in the system to receive facsimile transmissions that relate to specific thematic areas. The main functional subsystems of the information distribution system 10 include a subscription entry system 30 in which the registration information from new subscribers is fed into the subscription database 70.; a document storage system 40 for storing text and images fed by the information providers 12 into an information database 42; a subscription update system 50 to periodically scan the information database 42 in the presence of new information; and a transaction management system 60 which comprises the facsimile machine for transmitting new documents to subscribers interested in the topics thereof. The transaction management system 60 is of the same type and construction as that used in the conventional facsimile transmission system. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, up to 110 personal computers, one shown with the reference number 62? they are connected together via an Ethernet 64 local area network. Each personal computer 62 is, in turn, associated with up to 24 facsimile ports, one of which is shown with the reference number 66. With 110 personal computers, each one directing 24 Facsimile ports, a total of 2640 facsimile ports can be addressed simultaneously to transmit information to the respective subscribers 14. The local area network 64 also couples the personal computers 62 of the facsimile machine to the subscription database 70. The subscription database 70 stores all the data that is exclusively related to each subscriber 14. As will be indicated later in greater detail, the personal computer 30 in this subscription entry system receives all the data coming from the subscribers, in response to request messages and the like, and store such data in the subscription database n 70. As indicated in Figure 2, the subscription update system 50 has access to the subscription database 70. In addition, the subscription update system 50 also has access to the information database 42. Periodically, the subscription update system reads the information database 42 to determine all new or revised documents that have been added to it. Taking as a basis the thematic area of each new or revised document stored in the information database 42, the subscription update system accesses the subscription database 70 to determine if any of the subscribers has registered an interest in one or more of the documents. After comparing between the subject of a new or revised document and a corresponding subscriber interested therein, the subscription update system 50 transmits transmission orders 52 to the transaction management system 60 to make a facsimile transmission of each new document or revised towards the respective subscribers who have an interest in the subject thereof. Any document that has been revised in any way is considered a "new" document. The operation of the system is as indicated below. An information provider 12 uses an input device 20, such as a facsimile machine, to access the information distribution system 10 and particularly the document storage system 40. When using facsimile transmissions, a line may be used. telephone 18 dialing one or more facsimile numbers associated with the document storage system 40. Alternatively, information providers 12 can access the information distribution system 10 via the Internet to further transfer document data, files of wave, voice information, etc. Numerous different communication means can be used to transmit the different types of information to the information distribution system 10. The information provider 12 can classify and prioritize the topics of the documents, as well as the information data in numerous documents. different forms. You can also transmit various parameters in accordance with a predefined format, together with the information data. Such parameters may include the title of the document, the identification of the document, the number of pages, the identification number of the information provider, a password, the expiration date and / or effective date of the document, the approximate time of the facsimile of the document , priority, and other possibly useful information. Such data is stored in the information database 42 in the form in which it is transmitted by the information provider input device 20. Importantly, the information and all the associated parameters are stored in the information database 42, in substantially identical form in which they were transmitted by the information provider 12.The complexity or format in which the data is stored in the database 42 is primarily a function of the versatility or efficiency by which the data can be investigated, classified and found. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each document is stored together with the following parameters, shown in more detail in Figure 3. The record stored in the database for each document a number of fields, each storing the various parameters. A unique identification code for each information provider 12 is transmitted by the input device 20. With a code as such, the information distribution system can maintain separate records of each of the information providers 12. The billing address of the information provider so that at the end of each billing period, the information provider is charged, based on the number of times the subscribers requested each document. A password associated with the information provider may also be required. Finally, the database can store a list of subscribers which identifies each of the subscribers authorized by the information provider to subscribe and obtain facsimile transmissions of the provider's documents. Next, the transmission of each document by means of an information provider 12 to the system 10 is preferably accompanied by a password that verifies a valid transmission for the information provider to be stored in the associated file. This password is verified through the information distribution system 10. This prevents hackers and other unauthorized persons from intentionally or inadvertently transmitting files that are stored in the wrong database files. Each document registered in the information distribution system 10 includes a document identification number or code that uniquely identifies the document. This ID number is assigned to each document by system 10. The document title, the number of pages, the approximate delivery time of fax transmission, the activation date, the expiration date and a priority (if any). there is some) are also transmitted with the document to the system 10. If the information provider 12 has more than one group of thematic areas, then each group is identified by a unique identification number. This allows the documents of each group to be kept in a separate file so that the thematic areas can also be maintained and accessed separately. This group identification code also allows a subscriber to simply request the reception of a group of documents in the same subject area without requesting the documents individually. In addition to the document information stored in the database 42, the information provider 12 may also provide an index of documents 80, an example of which is shown in Figure 4. Here, the document index 80 preferably is a document by itself that is prepared by the information provider 12 and transmitted after being requested to a subscriber 14. The index of document 80 lists the various groups of all the documents provided by the information provider 12. In the document index 80 shown 4, it is indicated that the index itself is identified as document identification 1000, having 7 pages, comprising an individual document, and requiring approximately 2 minutes of transmission time by facsimile thereof. Index 80 also shows that a first thematic group 2.0 belongs to the topic of tuberculosis, while a second thematic group 3.0 refers to the topic of polio. The specific documents within the thematic group on tuberculosis 2.0 include the identification of 2001 document for diagnosis of tuberculosis, the identification of the 2002 document for vaccines against tuberculosis and the 2003 identification of the global document on tuberculosis. Each of the three individual documents 2.1-2.3 is associated in index 80 with the number of pages, the number of documents and the approximate facsimile time. If all documents in the subject area on tuberculosis are desired, then group 2.0 can be requested only, in which case all 51 pages of the three documents will be transmitted, with a facsimile transmission time of approximately 21 minutes. The second thematic group shown in index 80 of figure 4 illustrates a group of polio 3.0, which has a total of 383 pages comprising 12 documents, with an approximate facsimile time of 160 minutes. Listed under the thematic cluster on polio 3.0 are the numerous individual documents, of which only a portion is shown. Although the index 80 of Figure 4 is illustrative of the various variations that are possible, those skilled in the art may wish to provide a much more extensive index, a simplified index, or no index. As further indicated below, when a subscriber or receiver 14 is initially registered in the information distribution system 10, the receiver may request that the document index 80 be transmitted with the transmission of each new document. Alternatively, the receiver 14 may request that an index 80 of the particular information provider 12 be transmitted only once a week, once a month, etc., without considering the number of documents transmitted between them. Each information provider 20a-20z can add documents or new information to the information database 42 at any time. The subscription entry system 30 is provided so that current subscribers can access the system and request a facsimile transmission of any document, including the document index 80, provided by the respective information providers 12. As indicated above, it is contemplated that each information provider will supply to the distribution system 10 a list of all subscribers who may request documents provided by the respective information provider 20. This prevents unauthorized subscribers from requesting the transmission of documents not necessary for the sole purpose to increase the invoice charged by the information distribution system 10 to the providers 12. For a subscriber / receiver 14 to request a document, the identification code of the document can be transmitted in a medium 24 in accordance with a specified format, together with the identification code of s ubscriptor and other relevant information, as needed. Alternatively, the subscriber 14 may request documents through the Internet and the use of a checklist, by telephone or some other appropriate means. Returning to Figure 3, in a field of the database record of each of the documents is written the date and time at which the document was registered in the system 10. When stamping the date and time of each document, it can easily be assured if other documents with the same title are newer versions. In addition to the document request, the subscription entry system 30 is also programmed to allow new subscribers to register therein, so that they automatically receive any or all of the new documents that have been stored in the database of the subscribers. information 42 through the respective information provider 20. The registration in the information distribution system 10 made by a new subscriber 14 can also be carried out by means of facsimile transmission, Internet, computer data, telephone, etc. When a telephone is used to request documents or to register as a new subscriber, any operator or interactive communications can be used by voice request messages. The relevant information to be transmitted from the new subscriber to the subscription entry system 30 is shown in Figure 5, and comprises the subscriber's facsimile number, a password assigned to the subscriber by the information provider 20, the code of group identification pertaining to the subject of interest to the subscriber, and the times at which the new documents can be transmitted to the subscriber 14. Of course, in the event that the new subscriber 14 is associated with a group of receivers that use the same facsimile machine, then the name of the receiver could be additionally required. When registering through the Internet, the subscriber can access the web site of the information distribution system 10, in which a checklist is provided to feed the information indicated above. In addition, one can also access the index of documents 80 provided by the information provider 12, whereby the new subscriber 14 only marks the relevant table next to each group, or each document, to indicate an interest in it. In accordance with an important feature of the invention, current subscribers may additionally have access to the subscription entry system 30 to modify the associated registration information, such as when a new facsimile number is to be used, added or deleted new areas of interest in each of the document groups. If, for example, the receiver 14 pretends to be absent for a period and wishes that the documents are not transmitted, then the check marks of all the tables referring to the groups or documents are deleted, whereby the receiver remains registered. in the system, but documents are not delivered until the recipient again provides the relevant information regarding the thematic areas. The subscriber registration data fed into the subscription entry system 30 is stored in the subscription database 70, as shown in Figure 2. As indicated in such figure, the subscriber data stored in the base of Subscription data 70 are available for the subscription update system 50. In accordance with an important feature of the invention, the main functions performed by the subscription update system 50 are shown in Figure 6. The update system 50 is program to work cyclically, and preferably about once every hour, to access the information database 42 and identify each new document that has been entered into the information distribution system 10 during the immediate preceding time. For each new document entered into the system 10 during said period, a transaction record is generated. The transaction record includes the ID of the document and the data related to the subject of the document. The subscription update system 50 investigates through the complete information database 42 regarding each new document. As indicated above, a transaction record is generated for each of such found documents. Then, the subscription update system 50 accesses the subscription database 70 to find a correlation between the subject of each new or revised document, and the subscribers who register an interest in such subjects. If there is no correlation between the subject of the new documents and at least one subscriber, then the corresponding transaction record is not transmitted. On the other hand, in relation to all the thematic areas of the new documents in which there is a correlated subscriber, the registration of each new document is completed with the name and facsimile number of the subscriber. A transaction record is transmitted for each new document for which there is a subscriber who has an interest in the subject thereof in a serial form as a transmission order 52 shown in Figure 2. The transmission orders 52 are transmitted to the local area network 64 for distribution to the respective personal computers 62 -? - 60? -? or of the transaction management system 60. The image data of each new document is not part of the respective transaction record. Rather, when the transaction record is assigned to a particular personal computer 62 in the transaction management system 60, such a personal computer decodes the various fields of the transaction record. The subscriber's facsimile port then dials the facsimile number using the ID of the document as an index. Before dialing the subscriber's facsimile number, the personal computer 62 retrieves the image data of the respective document from the information database 42. With such information, when the subscriber's facsimile machine responds by hanging down, the document image is delivery. The delivery format can be of different variations, including a cover page or a header sheet that has the recipient's name, and any other desirable information. In the event that the subscriber's facsimile machine is not available to receive the transmission, such as when in use or without paper, etc., the personal computer 62 will attempt a new transmission after a predefined delay period. After a predetermined number of attempts to deliver the image of the document, the personal computer 62 of the transaction management system 60 will mark the record as not delivered. The records marked as such are queued so that transmission is re-attempted during the next cyclic period. The personal computer 62 of the transaction management system 60 is also programmed to maintain historical records and other administrative records for billing purposes. To this end, a billing record is generated to indicate for each information provider 12 the cumulative number of each document delivered, the recipients to whom the document was delivered and the time required for facsimile delivery. This information is used and collected on a monthly basis so that each information provider 12 can be billed accordingly. In addition, such historical data is made available to each information provider 12 for "file maintenance purposes", so that documents that are never requested or rarely requested can be erased from the system. From the above, it can be seen that the information delivery system facilitates the dispersion of information in an efficient manner. Unlike the traditional facsimile transmission technique, the documents are delivered only to those recipients who have an interest in the subject of the same. Unlike the fax on demand technique, the new documents introduced to the system are automatically delivered to the recipients interested in them, without such recipients having to make a specific request for each delivery. The fundamental novel features of the invention have been shown and described above, as they apply to the preferred embodiment. It will be understood that those skilled in the art may make various omissions, substitutions and changes in form and detail of the invention as described herein, without departing from the true scope and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. annexes. Therefore, it is intended that the invention be limited only by the field of the following claims. Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in connection with multiple programmed processors or personal computers, the entire system can be controlled centrally using a programmed central processing computer, or the like. As such, the various software modules will be incorporated together, or will be executed individually by the central processing computer.

Claims (20)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - An information distribution system, comprising: a database of information to store information, and to which new information can be added; a subscription database for storing an identity of each of a plurality of subscribers, and for storing an area of thematic interest of each of the subscribers; a processor programmed to periodically access said information database to identify the new information that has been added thereto subsequent to a previous periodic access of said information database; and said programmed processor being able to access said subscription database to identify each subscriber that has an interest in the new information identified, and said processor making an automatic transmission of the new information identified to the respective subscribers who have an interest in it. , whereby the respective subscribers receive said new identified information without having to specifically request it.

2. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized in that said information database is adapted to store images of documentary information, and each document is associated with an identification code.

3. - The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized in that said new information is associated with a code that refers to a subject of the information, whereby different subject codes with different information that are related are used to the different thematic areas.

4. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized in that said subscription database includes, together with each subscriber identity, a facsimile number, and wherein said transmission of said information is by means of facsimile.

5. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized in that it includes an index stored in a database, said index identifying different groups of said information.

6. The information distribution system according to claim 5, further characterized in that a plurality of documents having a similar theme is stored as a group in such a way that the recovery of the group retrieves all the documents belonging to the group.

7 '.- The information distribution system according to claim 6, further characterized in that in response to a request made by a subscriber of a group, each document belonging to the group is transmitted to the subscriber.

8. - The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized in that it includes a subscription entry apparatus, said apparatus including means for allowing subscribers to communicate with said information distribution system to introduce one or more interests on topics, and means to associate the interest in the subject with the subscriber.

9. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further characterized because the new information entered for storage in the system is assigned a theme of the same and assigned an identification code of information, and at periodic intervals said processor identifies the new information introduced in the system from a previous interval, in relation to the subject of the same with the subscribers that have an interest in such subject, and makes the transmission of the new information only to those subscribers who have an interest in the same.

10. A method for distributing information, comprising the steps of: providing information to a database of information from a plurality of information providers, each information provider being identified with a unique code; providing for each information provider an identity of each subscriber who may request the information provided to said information database by the respective information provider; store the information provided by the information provider in the information database together with a thematic area of information; storing the identity of each of a plurality of subscribers in a subscriber database, and storing a subject of interest for each of said subscribers; access the information database to determine the thematic areas and access the database to identify subscribers who have an interest in the subject area; and transmit the information to the respective subscribers that have an interest in the thematic area of the same.

11. The method according to claim 10, further characterized by including the periodical access to the information database to determine the new information added to the information database, and then identifying the thematic area of the new information .

12. The method according to claim 11, further characterized in that it includes transmitting the requested information specifically to a subscriber, wherein the information is not new information.

13. The method according to claim 10, further characterized in that it includes storing an index in said information database, said index defining the thematic areas and an identity of the information corresponding to the thematic areas.

14. - The method according to claim 13, further characterized by including allowing subscribers to subscribe to the index.

15. The method according to claim 10, further characterized in that it includes storing a different index for each of said plurality of information providers that provide the information to store it in the information database.

16. The method according to claim 10, further characterized in that said information comprises documents, and also includes storing in a common group different documents that have a similar subject area.

17. The method according to claim 16, further characterized by including allowing a subscriber to request a thematic area group, after which each document assigned to the group is transmitted to the subscriber.

18. The method according to claim 10, further characterized in that it includes transmitting the information to the subscriber by facsimile.

19. A document distribution system, comprising: an apparatus for data entry that includes a processor and a document database to receive and store data corresponding to document images, said processor being programmed to store together with each document image a document identification code, a document title, a number of pages and a subject of the document; a subscription input apparatus that includes a processor and a subscription database to receive data from a plurality of subscribers, said processor being programmed to store together with each subscriber a transmission destination number, a unique password, an area subject of interest, and a window of time in which the information can be transmitted to the user; and an apparatus for updating the subscription that includes a processor programmed to periodically scan said database of documents and scrutinize as to the existence of any new document entered as data in said system, and that is programmed to correlate a subject of each new document with a corresponding thematic area of content to one or more of said subscribers, and programmed to make a transmission of each new document to each subscriber in which the subject of the document is equal to the thematic area of interest of the subscriber.

20. The method according to claim 10, further characterized by including allowing said subscriber access to the information stored in said information database without charge, and charging a cost of subscribers access to said information providers for that each subscriber can access the respective information. [FIELD 21] This priority is claimed based on Rule 80 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, as well as the provisions of Art. 1180 (in Re. Art. 1956) of the Civil Code for the Federal District, as it is being presented on the first day skill following the expiration established to claim said priority. P00 / 439F