System and method for accessing internet-based information resources by scanning Java-Applet encoded bar code symbols

• US 6,338,434 B1
• Filed: 11/29/1999
• Issued: 01/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilz, David M. Sr., Knowles, Carl H.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US09/450,059
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 235/381, 235/375, 235/462.01, 235/472.01, 235/494
• US Class Current: 235/462.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10851 Circuits for pulse shaping, amplifying, eliminating noise signals, checking the function of the sensing device basic electronic circuitry H03

Abstract

A novel hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal is disclosed, wherein a transaction-enabling Java-Applet is embedded within 2-D bar code symbol. An HTML-encoded document and code associated with the transaction-enabling Java-Applet is created and stored in an HTTP server for use in enabling a predetermined information-related transaction. When a bar code symbol encoded with a transaction-enabling Java-Applet is read using the hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal, the corresponding code on the HTTP Server is automatically accessed and one or more HTML-encoded documents are displayed at the hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal, and the transaction-enabling Java-Applet initiated for execution so that the customer, consumer or client desiring the transaction can simply and conveniently conduct the information-related transaction over the Internet.

Claims

1. A hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal for accessing information resources from a HTTP information server operably connected to the Internet and storing one or more HTML-encoded documents and code associated with a predetermined transaction-enabling Applet for use in enabling an information-related transaction over the Internet in response to reading an Applet encoded bar code symbol encoded with said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet;

said hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal comprising;

a hand-supportable housing for support in the hand or on the body of a user;

a computing platform disposed within said hand-supportable housing, for executing a transaction-enabling Applet embedded within an Applet-encoded bar code symbol;

an Internet-enabled browser program executable on said computing platform, for executing Applets, including said transaction-enabling Applet embedded within said Applet encoded bar code symbol;

a wireless network interface device operably connected to said computing platform, for providing said hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal wireless access to the infrastructure of the Internet;

a display screen integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for visually displaying one or more HTML-encoded documents during the execution of said transaction-enabling Applet;

a data entry device, integrated with said hand-supportable housing and operably connected to said Internet-enabled browser program, for entering data into said Internet-enabled browser program;

a bar code symbol reader, integrated with said hand-supportable housing and operably connected to said Internet-enabled browser program, for (i) reading said Applet-encoded bar code symbol encoded with said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet, (ii) producing data representative of said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet, and (iii) providing said produced data to said Internet-enabled browser program for use in executing said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet and enabling said information-related transaction,

wherein, when the user uses said bar code symbol reader to read said Applet-encoded bar code symbol, data representative of the read bar code symbol is automatically produced and provided to said Internet-enabled browser program, and said Internet enabled browser program automatically executes said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet encoded in said, so as to enable the user to conduct said information-related transaction over the Internet at said hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal.

2. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 1, wherein said Applet-encoded bar code symbol is a 2-D bar code symbol encoded with code associated with said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet.

3. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 2, wherein said 2-D bar code symbol is of the PDF-417 format.

4. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 2, wherein said bar code symbol reader is a bar code symbol reader for reading said 2-D bar code symbol.

5. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 4, wherein said bar code symbol reader is selected from the group consisting of:

a laser scanning bar code symbol reader, a CCD-type bar code symbol reader, and a wand-type bar code symbol reader.

6. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 1, wherein said predetermined transaction-enabling Applet is a Java-Applet for enabling said information-related transaction.

7. The hand-supportable wireless Internet-enabled terminal of claim 1, wherein said data entry device is a touch-screen data input device integrated with said display screen.