Personal digital assistant with streaming information display

• US 20020171691A1
• Filed: 05/18/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Currans, Kevin G., Bertani, John A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,727,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/864
• 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 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A personal digital assistant can display large amounts of information as well as advertising by scrolling information and advertising in a ticker-tape format scrolled or rotated across a limited portion of the screen. Soft keys or other input mechanisms can be used to toggle the solicitation and display of additional advertising information if necessary. Large amounts of information, or local information of interest to a PDA user can be sent in real time or hot linked into the PDA for consumption by the PDA user at a later time.

Claims

1. A personal digital assistant (PDA) comprised of:

a PDA communication device, for receiving signals that carry information sent to said personal digital assistant by an information service provider, and, for coupling said information to a PDA display device, said information sent to said PDA being selected for delivery to said PDA according to PDA-user criteria;

a PDA display and input device operatively coupled to said communications device capable of;

displaying information in at least one predetermined region of said display and input device in response to informational data coupled into said display and input device; and

receiving an input entered into said display and input device in response to displayed information, received input responses causing information displayed on said display and input device to display different information on said display and input device.

2. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said communication device is a communication device that is capable of receiving Instant Delivery messages.

3. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said communication device is a communication device that is capable of receiving information that is comprised of content information and advertising information.

4. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said display and input device is comprised of a display device, capable of displaying scrolling information in at least one predetermined region of said display and input device in response to information signals coupled into said display and input device.

5. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said display and input device is comprised of a display device capable of displaying horizontally scrolling information in at least one predetermined region of said display and input device in response to information signals coupled into said display and input device.

6. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said display and input device is comprised of a display device capable of displaying vertically scrolling information in at least one predetermined region of said display and input device in response to information signals coupled into said display and input device.

7. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said communications means comprises a radio.

8. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said communications means comprises an infrared receiver.

9. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said communications means comprises a direct network connection.

10. The personal digital assistant of claim 1 wherein said display and input device is comprised of a touch-sensitive screen, responsive to tactile inputs.

11. A method of displaying information on a portable communications device having an included display device comprised of the steps of:

receiving, at said portable communications device, a signal carrying at least a first stream of information to be displayed on said included display device, said first data stream of information comprised of information that substantially conforms with user-specific criteria;

recovering from said signal, said stream of information to be displayed on said included display device;

processing at least a portion of said stream of information to be displayed, so as to be able to display at least a first portion of said stream of information on said included display device in a pre-determined region of said included display device;

displaying at least a first portion of said stream of information on said included display device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said method is further comprised of the step of:

displaying a second stream of information on said included display device in response to an input signal from a user of said portable communications device, said input signal from a user being responsive to said first stream of information that is displayed on said included display device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said second stream of information is obtained via an Internet hyper link.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said first stream of information is the Hewlett-Packard Instant Delivery service.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said first stream of information is comprised of information content and advertising content.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of displaying said first stream of information on said included display device includes the step of:

scrolling said first stream of information as a ticker tape display in a confined region of said included display device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said step of scrolling said first stream of information in a confined region of said included display device includes the step of scrolling said stream of information horizontally.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said step of scrolling said first stream of information in a confined region of said included display device includes the step of scrolling said first stream of information vertically.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of receiving a signal includes receiving at least one of:

a radio signal, infrared or network data signals.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein said first stream of information is particularized for the user of said portable communications device and selected from:

transportation schedules, fares and discount information;

publicly traded securities and equities;

Internet domain names and related streams of information obtained from Internet resources;

weather forecasts and related climate data;

published telephone numbers and e-mail addresses;

PDA data that includes local time, date, schedules and appointments, e-mail statistics and geographic location.

21. The method of claim 11 further comprised of the step of:

printing on a printer, at least a portion of said first stream of information.

22. The method of claim 12 further comprised of the step of:

printing at least said second stream of information.

23. The method of claim 11 further including the step of transmitting a second radio signal from said personal communications device in response to an input signal from a user of said portable communications device, said input signal from a user being responsive to said first stream of information that is displayed on said included display device.

24. The method of claim 11 further including the step of receiving at said portable communications device, an input signal from a user of said portable communications device, said input signal causing a second stream of information to be displayed on said on said included display device.

25. The method of claim 11 wherein said first information is advertising information from at least one advertiser.

26. The method of claim 11 wherein said second information augments a first information.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said first information stream is comprised of advertising information.

29. The method of claim 27 further including the step of:

receiving a signal from said portable communications device that is responsive to said first information stream; and

transmitting a second information stream to said portable communications device in response to said signal from said portable communications device.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said second information stream is comprised of advertising information.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of accumulating first information stream to be displayed on an included display device of at least one portable communication device, includes the step of:

selecting information for display according to user profile information for the user of said portable communications device.

27. A method of displaying information on a portable communications device having an included display device comprised of the steps of:

accumulating a first information stream to be displayed on an included display device of at least one portable communication device;

formatting said first information stream to be displayed on said included display device, in a predetermined format;

transmitting, to at least one portable communications device, the formatted information.