System and methods for remotely accessing a selected group of items of interest from a database

• US 6,385,622 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2001
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Steven W. Oxman, William T. Semple, W. Lincoln Bouve
• Original Assignee: Steven W. Oxman, William T. Semple, W. Lincoln Bouve
• Inventors: Semple, William T., Oxman, Steven W., Bouve, W. Lincoln
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US09/816,626
• Publication Number:
  US 20010021930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 701/200, 701/208-213, 707/104, 707/1-6, 707/10, 707/200
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/201 Accessories of ATMs
• 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 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• 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: Y10S 707/918 Location
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/919 Geographic
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A user can access a common database from a remote communications port, at any qualified location, to generate a map or other positional information which locates selected items of interest, e.g., businesses, stores, architectural sites, and the like. The database contains information representing the items of interest, including, for each of the items of interest, positional coordinates, a geographic vicinity, and a selected category. The positional coordinates discretely locate the vicinity, while the vicinity specifies the exact locations of the items of interest in the selected category. For example, a user in New York can select the display of sporting shops in the area surrounding Chicago O'"'"'Hara International Airport selectively. A user can also access a port and display locations of items of interest within the same vicinity as the user and relative to the user'"'"'s position. The database can be modified from qualified remote locations to change, or add to, the information therein. An advertisement can be tagged to the display or print out as an association with the selected items of interest.

Claims

1. System for remotely determining the position of a selected category of items of interest in a selected geographic vicinity from a database, the system comprising

(A) a database for storing information about a plurality of items of interest, the information including, for each of the items of interest, a geographical position and at least one associated category,

(B) a communications link for communicating between a user of the system and the database,

(C) an information controller for transmitting a portion of the information in the database to the user via the link upon receipt of a request signal representative of a selected category and geographic vicinity, the transmitted portion of the information including identification of geographic position for at least one of the items of interest within the selected category and geographic vicinity, and

(D) a port for remotely accessing the portion of information via the link, the port generating the request signal in response to inputs by the user which are representative of the selected category and geographic vicinity, the port having a user interface for accepting the inputs and for indicating to the user the position at least one of the items of interest in the selected category and geographic vicinity.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the link comprises a telephone link.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein the link comprises a satellite link.

4. System according to claim 1, wherein the link comprises a radio-frequency link.

5. System according to claim 1, wherein the link comprises an infra-red link.

6. System according to claim 1, wherein the link comprises an Internet link.

7. System according to claim 1, wherein the database is selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, mainframe, work-station, mini-computer, and a digital data processor.

8. System according to claim 1, wherein the port comprises a phone.

9. System of claim 8, wherein the communications link comprises a cellular communications link.

10. System of claim 1, wherein the port comprises an audible speaker.

11. System of claim 1, wherein the port comprises a personal computer.

12. System of claim 11, wherein the communications link comprises the Internet.

13. System according to claim 1, wherein the geographic vicinity comprises spatial detail of the items of interest.

14. System according to claim 1, wherein the geographic vicinity comprises a map of the items of interest in the selected category and geographic vicinity.

15. System according to claim 1, wherein the port interprets the inputs by the user and formulates the inputs into the request signal.

16. System according to claim 1, wherein the database interprets certain of the inputs at the port as items or interest and for transposing such inputs into a selected category automatically.

17. System of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports having a user interface for accessing at least part of the information from the database in response to user inputs at the user interface.

18. System according to claim 1, wherein the portion of information comprises additional detail for at least one of the items of interest.

19. System according to claim 18, wherein the additional detail comprises video.

20. System of claim 19, wherein the communications link comprises the Internet.

21. System of claim 19, wherein the communications link comprises cellular communications.

22. System according to claim 18, wherein the additional detail comprises prerecorded music.

23. System of claim 22, wherein the communications link comprises the Internet.

24. System of claim 22, wherein the communications link comprises cellular communications.

25. System according to claim 18, wherein the additional detail comprises digital pictures.

26. System of claim 25, wherein the communications link comprises the Internet.

27. System of claim 25, wherein the communications link comprises cellular communications.

28. System according to claim 18, wherein the additional detail comprises an advertisement.

29. System of claim 28, wherein the communications link comprises the Internet.

30. System of claim 28, wherein the communications link comprises cellular communications.

31. System according to claim 1, wherein the information comprises an advertisement associated with at least one of the items of interest.

32. System according to claim 1, wherein the information comprises a plurality of geographic vicinities, the port hierarchically selecting any of the vicinities via the user interface.

33. Database for storing information about a plurality of items of interest, the information including, for each of the items of interest, a geographic position and at least one associated category, comprising

(A) a communications link for communicating between the database and a plurality of remote ports, and

(B) an information controller for transmitting a portion of the information to at least one of the ports via the link upon receipt of a request signal representative of a selected category and geographic vicinity, the transmitted portion of the information including identification of a position for at least one of the items of interest within the selected category and geographic vicinity.

34. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises a telephone link.

35. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises a satellite link.

36. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises a radio-frequency link.

37. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises an infra-red link.

38. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises an Internet link.

39. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises a coaxial cable link.

40. Database according to claim 33, wherein the link comprises a television link.

41. Database according to claim 33, further comprising at least one port for generating the request signal in response to user inputs, the port being selected from the group of phones and computers.

42. Database according to claim 33, wherein the identification at least one of the items of interest comprises spatial detail of the one item of interest.

43. Database according to claim 33, wherein the portion of information comprises a map of the items of interest in the selected category and geographic vicinity.

44. Database according to claim 33, wherein the information comprises additional detail for at least one of the items of interest.

45. Database according to claim 33, wherein the information comprises an advertisement associated with at least one of the items of interest.

46. Database according to claim 33, wherein the information comprises a plurality of geographic vicinities, a user at any of the remote ports hierarchically accessing the vicinities through user inputs at the remote port.

47. Remote access port for remotely accessing a selected category of items of interest in a selected geographic vicinity from a remote database, the database being of the type which stores information about a plurality of items of interest, the information including, for each of the items of interest, a geographical location and at least one associated category, the remote access port generating a request signal representative of a selected category and a selected geographic vicinity of the items of interest in response to inputs by the user, the remote access port having a user interface for accepting the inputs and for indicating to the user the position of at least one of the items of interest within the selected category and geographic vicinity.

48. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises a television.

49. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises a telephone.

50. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises a facsimile.

51. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises an audible speaker.

52. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises a personal computer.

53. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the user interface comprises a phone connected to the database via a communications link, the link comprising a cellular communications link.

54. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the port interprets certain of the inputs as items or interest and transposes such inputs into a selected category automatically.

55. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the information comprises additional detail for at least one of the items of interest.

56. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the information comprises an advertisement associated with at least one of the items of interest.

57. Remote access port according to claim 47, wherein the information comprises a plurality of geographic vicinities, a user at the port hierarchically selecting any of the vicinities via user inputs.

58. A method for remotely determining the position of each of a selected category of items of interest in a selected geographic vicinity from a database, comprising the steps of:

(i) storing information about a plurality of items of interest in the database, the information including, for each of the items of interest, a geographic location and at least one associated category;

(ii) accessing the database from a remote port and over a communication link;

(iii) communicating, from the remote port, information representative of a selected category and a selected geographic vicinity to the database; and

(iv) transmitting a portion of the information from the database and to the user over the link, the information including, at least, identification of the position for one or more of the items of interest within the selected geographic vicinity.

59. A method according to claim 58, wherein the steps of communicating further comprises communicating over a cellular communications link.

60. A method according to claim 59, wherein the step of accessing comprises accessing the database through a phone.

61. A method according to claim 58, wherein the step of communicating further comprises communicating over the Internet.

62. A method according to claim 58, wherein the step of transmitting a portion of the information further comprises the step of communicating over a cellular communications link.

63. A method according to claim 58, wherein the step of transmitting a portion of the information further comprises the step of communicating over the Internet.