Bar code data driven communications by mobile computer terminals operable in wireless networks

• US 20020145045A1
• Filed: 04/04/2001
• Published: 10/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Waxelbaum, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 6,869,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/462.46
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L

Abstract

A bar code reader initiated communications method in which a bar code reader having an internally stored user identification, reads a bar code symbol, processes the data from the bar code symbol and the user identification into a message, and automatically transmits the message over a wireless communication link connected to a network according to a predetermined message delivery profile. The message is received at a distribution node on a network, where the symbol data and the user identification information is processed to determine the message destination station, and delivery options, and an alert is transmitted to the destination station over a specified network, such as a radio frequency paging network.

Claims

1. A bar code reader initiated paging method, comprising:

reading a bar code symbol with a bar code reader having an internally stored user identification;

processing the data from the bar code symbol and the user identification into a message, and transmitting the message over a wireless communication link connected to a network;

receiving the message at a distribution node on a network;

processing the symbol data and the user identification information at the distribution node to determine the message destination station; and

transmitting an alert to the destination station over a radio frequency paging network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution node on the network is an Internet website.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert is in the form of a radio paging signal including the data from the bar code symbol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert includes information on the location of the bar code reader.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution node includes a database containing paging address information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the node on the network is an access point in a wireless local area network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert is in the form of a HTML script.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing access to the alert network page through a URL containing the appropriate query strings necessary to present the appropriate page to the destination station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert signal identifies the user to the destination station.

10. A method of messaging in a virtual network of at least two spatially separate individual wireless local area network (WLANs) using a bar code in a mobile unit operative in one of the WLANs, reader comprising:

establishing a web server at an Internet node;

connecting an access point in each of said WLANs to said Internet node;

reading a bar code symbol on a first mobile unit in a first WLAN;

decoding the bar code symbol and, encoding a message with the decoded data into a packet with a destination address corresponding to the Internet node;

transferring the packetized message to the web server at the Internet node;

at the web server, determining if the second mobile unit is active on the network at the time the packetized textual message is received at the web server, and the WLAN in which the second mobile unit is active; and

if the second mobile unit is active, transmitting an alert from the web server to the second mobile unit that a message destined for such unit is available from the web server.

11. An article comprising a computer-readable medium that stores computer-executable instructions for configuring a mobile computer, comprising;

responding to the reading of a bar code symbol by a reader associated with the mobile computer by generating asynchronous notification action from the mobile computer to a server;

in response to an asynchronous notification action, transmitting an alert from the server to a client containing a message to indicate availability of HTML pages containing data read from the symbol; and

provide access to the HTML page via a URL containing the appropriate query strings necessary to present the appropriate HTML page to the client.

12. A client based bar code reading initiated message delivery method, comprising:

reading a bar code symbol at the client to generate data;

establishing a connection between the client and a server on a network;

generating a request from the client to the server based upon the generated data transmitting a notification message from the server to a second client on the network based on the request; and

receiving the message at the second client over the network.