Data capture and relay device including camera and physical data sensor

• US 20020163579A1
• Filed: 03/25/2002
• Published: 11/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jerome Swartz, Mehul R. Patel
• Original Assignee: Jerome Swartz, Mehul R. Patel
• Inventors: Patel, Mehul R., Swartz, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US10/105,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20020163579A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/181 Enclosures for portable computers G06F1/1613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00151 with selective access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A data terminal includes a digital camera for capturing an image and data processing/storage/encoding means for processing the image information, together with an internal server for creating a web site at the terminal displaying the image. As a result high resolution image information is immediately accessible to authorized users and instantly recorded.

Claims

1. A data terminal connectable to, and remote from, the Internet comprising a data input and an internal server for creating an Internet site representing the input data and having an Internet Protocol address, the terminal further comprising a network link cooperating with the server to provide access to the site to users elsewhere on the Internet.

2. A terminal as claimed in claim 1 in which the Internet site is a web site.

3. A terminal as claimed in claim 1 in which the data input comprises one or more of the group of image recordal means, sound recording means, or text recordal means.

4. A terminal as claimed in claim 1 in which the network link is a wireless network link.

5. A terminal as claimed in claim 4 in which the wireless link comprises one of the group of a radio frequency link, an infrared IRDA standard link or a microwave link.

6. A data terminal connectable to, and remote from, a data network comprising a data input, means for creating a user accessible data file representing the input data and having a network address and a network link arranged to receive access requests from users elsewhere on the network and provide access to the file.

7. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the network comprises one of the group of the Internet, an Intranet or a Local Area Network (LAN).

8. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the network comprises the Internet and the network address comprises an Internet Protocol address.

9. A terminal as claimed in claim 8 in which the file comprises a web site.

10. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the data input comprises one of the group of image recordal means, sound recordal means or text recordal means.

11. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the data file creation and access means comprises a server internal to the terminal.

12. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the network link is a wireless link comprising one of the group of a radio frequency link, an infrared IRDA standard link or a microwave link.

13. A terminal as claimed in claim 6 in which the data network is governed by a network architecture designed to optimise cost.

14. A terminal as claimed in claim 13 in which the network architecture is designed to minimise data traffic over high cost communication links.

16. A unit as claimed in claim 15 in which the server creates respective sub-pages for respective recorded images and includes a menu setting out the sub-pages on a home page at the file address.

20. A system as claimed in claim 18 in which the image capture device comprises a digital camera.

21. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device further includes a bar code reader.

22. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device further includes a microphone.

23. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device further includes a user data input device.

24. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device further includes a printer.

25. A system as claimed in claim 24 in which the printer is arranged to print bar code symbols.

26. A system as claimed in claim 22 in which the printer is arranged to print a hard copy version of the captured image.

27. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device includes a visual display screen.

28. A system as claimed in claim 27 further comprising means for altering an image displayed on the visual display screen.

29. A system as claimed in claim 19 further comprising global positioning system capability.

30. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device includes a body portion and a user grip portion projecting from the body portion.

31. A system as claimed in claim 30 in which a trigger is provided associated with the grip portion and arranged to actuate image capture.

32. A system as claimed in claim 30 in which a variable control is provided associated with the grip portion for controlling image zoom.

33. A system as claimed in claim 32 in which the variable control comprises a thumb wheel.

34. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image capture device further includes hazard detector means for location in a hazard zone.

35. A system as claimed in claim 34 in which the hazard detector means comprises one of the group of a smoke detector, heat detector, fume detector, motion detector.

36. A system as claimed in claim 34 in which on detection of a hazard an image of the hazard zone is captured and transmitted to the relevant hazard control authority for review.

37. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the image data signal is transmitted along a cost-optimised transmission route.

38. A system as claimed in claim 37 in which the communication route is determined selecting the lowest cost communication links.

15. A mobile image recording unit connectable to the Internet via a wireless link comprising image recording means, an Internet server for creating an addressable file representing a recorded image and a wireless link arranged to provide access to the file.

17. An Internet file creation and access system comprising a mobile unit including a server arranged to record images at a given geographical location and create, internal to the terminal a file representing the image wherein the mobile unit communicates with the Internet via a wireless link and users access the file via the Internet.

18. A method of creating a web site in which a mobile unit records data relating to its immediate environment, a server within the mobile unit creates a web site page representing the data and having an Internet Protocol address, and Internet users access the web site at the Internet Protocol address via a wireless link between the mobile unit and the Internet.

19. An image capture and relay system comprising a remote still image capture device including an encoder for encoding the captured image as an image data signal and a transmitter for transmitting the image data signal, the system further comprising a base station for receiving the image data signal and providing access to the image data.

39. A data network including a first transmission point, a second reception point, a plurality of intermediate transfer points, communications link having an associated cost factor linking respective pairs of points, in which the transmission is routed from the first point to the second point via one or more transfer points selected to minimise the cost of the associated communication links.

40. A still image capture device comprising a digital camera, an encoder for encoding the still image as an image data signal, and a transmitter for transmitting the image data signal by wireless transmission to a remote base station.

41. A method of capturing and relaying an image comprising the steps of capturing the image using a remote image capture device, encoding the captured image as an image data signal and transmitting the image data signal, the encoder and transmitter being provided in the remote image capture device, and receiving the transmitted image data signal in a base station for distributing the image.

42. A method as claimed in claim 41 in which the image captured relates to a given incident and the base station transfers the received image to an insurance database relating to the incident.

43. A method as claimed in claim 41 in which the image captured relates to the condition of goods prior to delivery and the received image is transferred from the base station to a delivery point for comparison with the received goods.

44. A method as claimed in claim 41 in which the image captured relates to the condition of goods to be delivered, the image data signal is encoded as a bar code symbol applied to the goods to be delivered, and the bar code symbol is decoded at the point of delivery for comparison of the captured image with the condition of the goods as received.

46. A terminal as claimed in claim 45 connective to a computer network via a network interface.

47. A terminal as claimed in claim 45 in which the machine readable indicia comprises a bar code symbol.

48. A terminal as claimed in claim 45 in which the machine readable instructions are expressed in an agent implementation language.

49. A terminal as claimed in claim 45 in which the terminal includes a terminal housing and an Internet interface, data processor and reader are provided within the terminal housing.

50. A data terminal as claimed in claim 45 in which the reader is connected to the terminal via a physical link.

51. A terminal as claimed in claim 50 in which the reader comprises one of the group of a “

flying spot”

optical scanner or a “

field of view”

optical reader.

52. A terminal as claimed in claim 45 in which the terminal comprises a remote terminal arranged to connect with a computer network via a wireless link.

45. A data terminal comprising a reader for reading machine readable indicia, wherein the reader is arranged to read indicia encoding machine-executable instructions and a data processor arranged to decode and execute the instructions.

53. An Internet connective data system comprising a data terminal including an Internet interface, a data processor and a reader for reading machine readable indicia, and a printed indicia display, wherein the printed indicia comprises machine readable encoded Internet related applications, the reader is arranged to read the indicia and the data processor is arranged to decode and execute the applications.

54. A method of accessing an Internet related application wherein a data terminal is provided including a reader for reading machine readable indicia, a data processor and an Internet interface, wherein a plurality of machine readable printed indicia encoding Internet related applications are provided from printed matter, one or more indicia are read by the reader, the Internet related application is decoded and executed by the data processor for interface as appropriate with the Internet.