Geographical web browser, methods, apparatus and systems

• US 20050181806A1
• Filed: 04/06/2005
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Push Data LLC (Equitable IP Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Geobrowser Innovations LP
• Inventors: Dowling, Eric Morgan, Anastasi, Mark Nicholas, MacFarlane, Duncan Leo
• Granted Patent: US 7,142,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A geographical web browser allows a user to navigate a network application such as the Word Wide Web by physically navigating in geographical coordinates. For example, a geographical web browser is implemented in a mobile unit such as a dashboard computer. The mobile unit includes one or more transducers such as antennas and is operative to receive locally broadcast signals or to operate a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. As the mobile unit navigates into different physical localities, different web pages are displayed by the geographical web browser. For example, a user desiring to buy a house can set the web browser to a real estate web page. Instead of clicking on a hyperlink to access web pages of properties in an area, the user drives into a first area and automatically receives web pages relating to homes in that area. When the mobile unit crosses town and enters a second area, a new set of web pages is downloaded relating to properties in the second area. The geographical web browser, methods, apparatus and systems disclosed herein enable improved road-navigation and traffic management, advertisement, and related services.

Claims

1. A geographical information system comprising:

a public access wireless local area network station with a low-power local coverage area substantially smaller than a coverage area of a base station node of a cellular network, the public access wireless local area network station operative to wirelessly communicate with one or more user mobile devices, and to provide connectivity to a remote network server via a gateway connection to an Internet, the public access wireless local area network station further operative to wirelessly transmit at least one unsolicited data packet into its low-power local coverage area, wherein the unsolicited data packet contains an identifier;

a wireless user device coupled to receive the unsolicited data packet, to compare the identifier to one or more stored user-configured preference parameters and thereby to selectively generate a user-selectable notification for display to the user when the comparison generates a positive result;

wherein a user associated with wireless user device has the ability to select the user-selectable notification using a user input device, and in response to the selection, a request packet is wirelessly sent from the wireless user device to the public access wireless local area network station and forwarded via the Internet to the remote network server, and in response, a set of content related to the notification is downloaded to the wireless user device from the remote network server.

2. The geographical information system of claim 1, further comprising:

the cellular network, the cellular network comprising the cellular base station, the cellular base station being coupled to provide to the wireless user device a first connection to the Internet.

3. The geographical information system of claim 2 wherein the public access wireless local area network station provides a second connection to the Internet, and depending on the geographical position of the wireless user device, the wireless user device can select between using the first and second connections while maintaining communications with the remote network server.

4. The geographical information system of claim 3, wherein the mobile unit can switch between the first and second connections while also maintaining communications with one or more additional application servers that are coupled to the Internet.

5. The geographical information system of claim 1 wherein the unsolicited data packet contains a URL indicative of the application layer address of the remote network server, and this URL is used to direct the request packet to the remote network server.

6. The geographical information system of claim 1 wherein the unsolicited data packet contains a network address of the remote network server, and this network address is used to direct the request packet to the remote network server.

7. Mobile unit apparatus comprising:

a cellular radio transceiver communicatively coupleable to a cellular base station via a cellular communications air interface protocol that supports wireless packet data connectivity, the cellular base station being further coupled to communicate with a remote network server that is coupled to the cellular base station via an Internet;

a wireless local area packet network transceiver communicatively coupleable to a public access wireless local area network station via a low-power wireless local area network protocol, wherein the wireless local area packet network transceiver has a transmission radius substantially lower than the transmission radius of the cellular radio transceiver and is adapted for wireless local area communications;

a network interface module coupled to wireless local area packet network transceiver, the network interface module operative to receive one or more unsolicited packets from the public access wireless local area network station, the network interface module further comprising a packet filter and one or more user-configured filter parameters, wherein the packet filter is operative to compare at least the one or more user-configured filter parameters to at least information other than network address header information in at least one of the received unsolicited packets, and the network interface module is configured to generate a notification for display on a user interface when the comparing indicates an affirmative correspondence.

8. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 7, wherein the public access wireless local area network station includes a gateway connection to an Internet, the mobile unit apparatus further comprising:

a content download software, responsive to a user selection of the notification, and operative to send a request packet to be routed to the network server via the Internet when the user makes the selection, and to receive downloadable content from the remote server via the Internet, the downloadable content being related to the notification.

9. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 8, wherein the unsolicited data packet contains an address of the remote network server, and this address is used to direct the request packet to the remote network server.

10. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 9, wherein the address comprises a URL indicative of an application layer address of the remote network server.

11. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a content download software, responsive to a user selection of the notification, and operative to send a request packet to be routed to the network server when the user makes the selection, and to receive downloadable content that is stored on the remote server, the downloadable content being related to the notification.

12. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 7, wherein the cellular base station provides a first connection to an Internet, the public access wireless local area network station provides a second connection to the Internet, and the wireless user device can select between using the first and second connections while maintaining communications with the remote network server.

13. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 7, wherein the notification comprises a user selectable image, which upon selection, provides to the user content related to the notification that was received in the unsolicited packet.

14. Mobile unit apparatus, comprising:

a first receiver wirelessly coupled to a wireless local area network station via a low power wireless communication medium, the receiver receiving an unsolicited packet from a wireless local area network station, the unsolicited packet comprising an indication of information content related to the unsolicited packet;

an information content selective packet filter coupled to receive at least the indication and operative to compare one or more stored information-content parameters to at least the indication and to selectively produce an output when the comparison provides a positive result; and

a display device coupled to receive information related to the output and operative to display an image related to the information content on the display device.

15. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a software that, in response to a user selection of the image, causes a request packet to be coupled via the wireless local area network station to a network server that has additional content related to the information content.

16. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 15, wherein the unsolicited data packet contains an address of the remote network server, and this address is used to direct the request packet to the remote network server.

17. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 16, wherein the address comprises a URL indicative of a application layer address of the remote network server.

18. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 15, wherein the network server is remotely coupled to the wireless local area network via an Internet.

19. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 18, wherein the software is further operative to receive from the remote network server, via the Internet and the wireless local area network station, a set of downloadable content related to the indication.

20. The mobile unit apparatus claim 14, further comprising a second receiver wirelessly coupled to a cellular network.

21. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a software, that in response to a user selection of the image, causes a request packet to be coupled via the cellular network to a remote network server that has additional content related to the indication.

22. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a software that, in response to a user selection of the image, causes, using an address extracted from the unsolicited packet, a request packet to be coupled via the cellular network and an Internet to a remote network server that has downloadable content related to the indication, and to receive from the remote network server, via the Internet and the cellular network, the downloadable content related to the indication.

23. The mobile unit apparatus of claim 14, wherein the content unsolicitously is streamed via the low-power wireless communication medium and selectively passed through the packet filter without the need for the user to request the content to be downloaded.