Method and apparatus for accessing electronic data via a familiar printed medium
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for displaying programming material to a user, comprising the steps of:
- providing at least one machine recognizable feature within a printed matter;
providing a database comprising programming material associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature;
creating a user profile comprising at least one user preference;
storing the user profile on a user device;
recognizing the at least one machine recognizable feature of the printed matter using a feature recognizing device coupled to a user device;
identifying encoded data associated with at least one machine recognizable feature of the printed matter;
matching the at least one user preference with the encoded data associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature;
transmitting, using the user device, the data associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature that was matched with the user profile to the database;
retrieving the programming material from the database upon receipt of the data;
displaying the programming material on a display.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosed methods and apparatus relate generally to the electronics media industry, such as cable television (CATV), home shopping services, on-line computer services and computer memory applications. These methods and apparatus allow a user to access and make use of electronic media input and output devices by reference to and/or utilization of standard printed matter, such as magazines, textbooks, or any other printed matter that can be correlated to electronic media.
42 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for displaying programming material to a user, comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one machine recognizable feature within a printed matter; providing a database comprising programming material associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature; creating a user profile comprising at least one user preference; storing the user profile on a user device; recognizing the at least one machine recognizable feature of the printed matter using a feature recognizing device coupled to a user device; identifying encoded data associated with at least one machine recognizable feature of the printed matter; matching the at least one user preference with the encoded data associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature; transmitting, using the user device, the data associated with the at least one machine recognizable feature that was matched with the user profile to the database; retrieving the programming material from the database upon receipt of the data; displaying the programming material on a display. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for displaying programming material to a user, the system comprising:
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a printed matter having at least one machine recognizable feature; a user device including; a feature recognition device configured to recognize said feature; a display; an input device configured to allow a user to create a user profile; a storage device configured to store said user profile; and a transmitter configured to transmit a coded signal containing the data from said machine recognizable feature and said user profile; and an intelligent controller configured to access said programming material chosen in light of said user profile in response to receiving said coded signal and cause said programming material to be displayed on said display. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification