Colour barcodes and cellphone

• US 20130157760A1
• Filed: 12/16/2011
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wesley Boudville
• Original Assignee: Wesley Boudville
• Inventors: Boudville, Wesley John
• Granted Patent: US 8,821,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06009 with optically detectable marking G06K19/063, G06K19/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks

Abstract

A two dimensional barcode with default background and foreground colours uses other foreground colours, to make separate means of encoding data, used by decoding hardware and software, or by an observer'"'"'s perception. The new colours show text or graphics. A barcode on a dynamic display shows a progress indicator for an operation started by a user who imaged the barcode with her phone. Or it shows the number of votes for users who picked it with their phones. The barcode could show scrolling text. A barcode on a computer screen simulates a pushbutton; pressed when the user takes a photo of it with a cellphone. Suppose a barcode has a symbol drawn on its foreground rectangles, and the barcode encodes a URL. The URL is crafted to maximise the number of foreground rectangles that the symbol intersects, helping a human interpolate the symbol from fragments.

Claims

1. A system of a black and white barcode using non-default foreground colours in zero or more of the foreground rectangles and using non-default background colours in zero or more of the background rectangles;

where the barcode is imaged by a cellphone;

where the cellphone queries an Internet Web Service (WS);

where the WS defines a mapping from non-default colours and their locations on a barcode to a list of values or meanings;

where the cellphone uses the WS reply to decode the colour data in the barcode.

2. A system of a cellphone with a camera and software that decodes a barcode from a screen that shows changing images;

where the barcode encodes an URL;

the cellphone querying the URL;

the URL website using the query to change the surroundings of the barcode or the appearance of the barcode on the screen, to emulate the pressing of a button.

3. The method of claim 2, where without requiring another query using the same URL by the cellphone, the website restores the original appearance of the barcode and its surroundings, to simulate a unary state button.

4. The method of claim 2, where the website changes the barcode or its surroundings to a different appearance upon a first query to the website by the cellphone;

where a subsequent query with the same URL to the website by the cellphone causes the website to change the barcode or its surroundings to the original appearance in claim 2, to simulate a binary state button.

5. The method of claim 2, where the website replies to the cellphone;

the reply includes an instruction to the cellphone to vibrate;

where the cellphone vibrates.

6. The method of claim 2, where the website replies to the cellphone;

the reply includes an instruction to the cellphone to emit a sound;

where the cellphone emits the sound.

7. A method of the display of text or graphics on the foreground or background rectangles of a barcode, with non-default foreground or background colours;

where the barcode appears on a screen that can show time varying images.

8. The method of claim 7, where the barcode encodes an URL;

where the URL is scrolled across the barcode.

9. The method of claim 7, where text is shown;

where the text is scrolled from right to left if it is in a European language;

where the text is scrolled from left to right if it is in Arabic;

where the text is scrolled from bottom to top if it is in traditional Chinese.

10. The method of claim 7, where there is a row of barcodes on the screen;

where text or graphics associated with the barcodes scrolls across the row.

11. The method of claim 7, where the barcode encodes an URL;

where a cellphone and camera images and decodes the barcode and makes a query to the URL website;

where the website increments a counter of the number of times the barcode was picked;

where the website controls the display showing the barcode;

where the website writes the number or a graphic indicative of this number into the barcode with non-default foreground or background colours.

12. The method of claim 11, where the picking of the barcode by the cellphone triggers a sequence of tasks on the URL website;

where progress through the tasks is displayed on the barcode as a progress bar using non-default foreground or background colours.

13. A method of using a barcode on an electronic screen as a game;

where players move on the foreground rectangles;

where there are 1 or more human players;

where there are 0 or more computer players;

where a player symbol uses non-default foreground colours;

where there are 0 or more foreground rectangles with desirable items like treasure or food, that players try to reach.

14. The method of claim 13, where the barcode is used to autogenerate a floor plan of a 3 dimensional area;

where movement of a player in this area is mapped onto movement in the barcode.

15. The method of claim 13, where the barcode can be altered by the player;

where there are 1 or more objective barcodes;

where a quantification (“

metric”

) of the differences between the current barcode and the objectives is used to furnish hints to the player about future changes to the barcode.

16. The method of claim 13, where the current barcode encodes an URL of a webpage having another barcode (“

level”

);

where the game replaces the current barcode with the latter barcode.

17. A method of a change to one of a barcode'"'"'s geometric components that are invariant under different data being encoded;

where the change breaks the invariance, under reflection of the barcode in a mirror;

where the change is drawn in a non-default foreground or background colour.

18. The method of claim 17, where the barcode encoding is the QR code and the change is done on one of the locator posts.

19. The method of claim 17, where the barcode encoding is the Data Matrix code, and the change is done to one of the horizontal or vertical invariant borders.

20. A system of a cellphone networked to an electronic book Reader;

both interacting with an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and its camera;

where the cellphone has a camera;

where the Reader'"'"'s screen shows barcodes to be imaged by the ATM camera;

where the cellphone camera images barcodes on the ATM screen;

where the cellphone and Reader exchange data;

where data is transmitted between the cellphone and ATM in full duplex mode via the barcodes.

21. The method of claim 20, where the cellphone and Reader are replaced with a laptop and embedded camera;

where the laptop screen shows barcodes to be imaged by the ATM camera;

where the laptop camera images barcodes on the ATM screen.

22. The method of claim 20, where the ATM and its camera are replaced by a second cellphone linked to a second Reader;

where the second cellphone has a camera;

where the camera of the first cellphone images the second Reader;

where the camera of the second cellphone images the first Reader.

23. A method of a barcode encoding an URL and showing a graphic on the barcode'"'"'s foreground rectangles, with non-default foreground colours;

where the graphic is a fixed image;

where the domain of the URL is fixed;

where other parts of the URL are varied prior to display of the barcode and graphic, to maximise the number of foreground rectangles intersecting the graphic;

where dummy subdomains and subdirectories are added;

where the port number is added or removed;

where dummy (parameter=value) pairs are added;

where the order of (parameter=value) pairs is varied;

where the case is varied for some or all of the letters in the URL.

24. A method of a barcode encoding an HTML form with an action that has an URL of a web server that parses the submitted form;

where the barcode appears on a screen that shows changing images;

where a cellphone with a camera decodes the barcode and shows the form in a browser;

where the user fills in the form;

where the cellphone submits the form;

where the web server uses the form to change the display where the barcode appears.