Zone-Based Information Linking, Systems and Methods

• US 20150031398A1
• Filed: 07/29/2013
• Published: 01/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Flybits Inc.
• Original Assignee: Flybits Inc.
• Inventors: Rahnama, Hossein
• Application Number:
  US13/952,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20150031398A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

Systems and methods of accessing and managing geo-fence zones are presented. Specific geo-fence zone addresses can be recognized by a document processing engine. Based on address identification rules, the processing engine identifies a zone address token, which is matched to the corresponding geo-fenced zone. A device configured with the processing engine can then link to the target zone or target zone service via the address.

Claims

1. A method of linking to a geo-fenced zone, the method comprising:

configuring a device to operate as a document processing engine according to zone address identification rules;

obtaining, by the document processing engine, a digital document;

identifying, by the document processing engine, at least one zone address token in the digital document according to the zone address identification rules;

resolving the at least one zone address token to a network address related to a target zone; and

enabling the device to link communicatively to the target zone according to the network address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining, by the device, the zone address identification rules from a server-based zone management service interface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring the device includes configuring at least one of the following devices to operate as the document processing engine:

a cell phone, a tablet, a kiosk, an appliance, a computer, a phablet, and a vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring the device includes integrating the zone address identification rules within an application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the document processing engine includes at least one of the following:

a word processor, a browser, an email application, a document viewer, a media player, and a messaging application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital document comprises at least one of the following types of data:

image data, text data, audio data, video data, and game data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the device to link to a zone service according to the network address and to the at least one zone address token.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the zone address token comprises a zone portion and a zone service potion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of resolving the at least one zone address token to the network address includes resolving the zone portion to a specific zone network address.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of resolving the at least one zone address token to the network address includes resolving the service portion to a specific zone service network address.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one zone address token comprises a prefix token in proximity to a zone name within the digital document.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one zone address token comprises a suffix token in proximity to a zone name within the digital document.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the network address comprises at least one of the following:

an IP address, a URL, a top level domain, a transport-layer port, a protocol address, and a phone number.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one zone address token comprises framing characters.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the framing characters are selected from the group consisting of:

“

{}”

, “

[]”

, “

<

>

”

, “

( )” and

“

||”

.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one zone address token comprises a zone name framed by the framing characters.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising highlighting the zone address token on a display of the device within the digital document.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the zone address identification rules comprises non-address identification criteria.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of identifying the at least one zone address token depends on the non-address identification criteria.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the non-address identification criteria depend on at least one of the following:

a context, a location, a time, a news event, an environmental condition, and sensor data.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprises restricting identification of the at least one zone address token as a function of the non-address identification criteria.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprises restricting the device from linking to the target zone as a function of the non-address identification criteria.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising highlighting the zone address token on a display of the device within the digital document according to highlighting rules within the zone address identification rules as a function of the non-address identification criteria.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the zone address identification rules comprise at least one of the following:

a user preference, a user identification, a zone definition, a user context definition, a regular expression, and a script.