Printable interfaces and digital linkmarks

• US 6,587,859 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Interval Research Corporation
• Original Assignee: Interval Research Corporation
• Inventors: Dougherty, Thomas J., Mountford, S. Joy, Cummings, Daniel, De Fren, Allison
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US09/841,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20010014901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 707/104.1, 235/375, 358/504
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06225 using wavelength selection, e.g. colour code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06253 for a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10861 sensing of data fields affixed to objects or articles, e.g. coded labels postal sorting B07C3/14, conveying articles B65G47/48
• 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

The present invention improves the human/computer interface by providing printable interfaces that enable a user to invoke and control computer processes. The present invention teaches an encoded physical medium suitable for use in interfacing a computer user and a computer system such that the user can control and/or access a plurality of computer implemented processes such computer applications and web pages. The encoded physical medium has a Linkmark and an instruction mark. Encoded within the Linkmark is machine readable linking information directing to a computer implemented process. Encoded within the instruction mark is a machine readable operating instruction that, when decoded, may be executed by the computer implemented process. The present invention also teaches that the marks can present human readable information related to the nature of the machine readable information stored therein. For example, the Linkmark may have graphical illustrations indicating content found at the web page, media format of the content, user designation, payment and membership requirements, communication speed, duration of content, etc. The present invention further teaches a two-dimensional bar code with a plurality of colored glyphs formed such that the average color of the two-dimensional bar code represents encoded information. The colored glyphs are also arranged such that digital information is encoded within the two-dimensional bar code.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a physical medium including a first region having a hotspot encoded with a uniform resource locator (URL) and a second region having a data link encoded separately from the hotspot encoded in the first region with data associated with an item of interest associated with the URL;

a sensor including a memory that can operate in an off-line mode and an on-line mode, the sensor, when operating in the off-line mode, operable to detect the hotspot and the data link, decode the URL encoded in the hotspot, separately decode, the associated data encoded in the data link, and store the URL and associated data in the memory, the sensor, when operating in the on-line mode, operable to transmit the URL and the associated data to a computer system; and

a computer system coupled to the sensor, the computer system being operable to receive the URL and the associated data from the sensor, retrieve a file from a remote server at the URL, and use the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote server is coupled to the computer system over the Internet.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor, when operating in the off-line mode, to detect a plurality of hotspots, decode a corresponding plurality of URLs encoded in the plurality of hotspots, and store the URLs in the memory, the sensor, when operating in the on-line mode, to transmit the URLs to a computer system.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the computer system to receive the URLs, and retrieve files at the URLs.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer system displays the URL on a display screen.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the hotspot comprises a bar code.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises:

a sensing element to sense the hotspot;

a decoder to decode the URL encoded in the hotspot;

a memory coupled to store the URL; and

a transmitter coupled to transmit the URL stored in the memory to the computer system.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the file comprises one of a document and a web page.

9. A method for linking a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded on a physical medium with a source over a global computer network, comprising:

sensing, by a sensor, a first region on a physical medium including a hotspot encoding a uniform resource locator (URL) and a second region on the physical medium including a data link encoding separately from the hotspot encoded in the first region data associated with the URL;

decoding the URL and separately decoding the associated data;

storing the URL and the associated data in a memory for subsequent transmission;

coupling the sensor with a computer system;

transmitting the URL and the associated data from the sensor to the computer system;

retrieving, by the computer system, a file from a remote server at the URL, over a global computer system;

displaying the web page on a display; and

using the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein sensing comprises scanning a barcode.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein retrieving comprises retrieving, by the computer system, one of a document and a web page from the remote server at the URL, over the Internet.

12. A method for linking a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded on a physical medium with a source over a global computer network, comprising:

coupling to a sensor;

receiving a uniform resource locator (URL) and associated data from the sensor that previously decoded the URL from a first region of a physical medium and separately decoded the associated data from a second region of the physical medium, and stored the URL and the associated data in a memory of the sensor;

transmitting the URL over a global computer network to a remote computer system;

receiving, over the global computer network, a file at the URL from the remote computer system;

displaying the file on a display; and

using the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein transmitting comprises transmitting the URL over the Internet to the remote computer system, and receiving comprises receiving, over the Internet, the file at the URL from the remote computer system.

14. A portable apparatus for sensing a region of a physical medium having a hotspot and associating the hotspot with a file, comprising:

a sensing element to sense a hotspot and a data link on a physical medium;

a decoder coupled to decode a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded within the hotspot and data encoded separately within the data link, the data being associated with the URL;

a memory coupled to store the URL and the associated data for subsequent transmission; and

a transmitter, when coupled to a computer system, to transmit the URL and associated data stored in the memory to the computer system for causing the computer system to retrieve a file at the URL from a remote computer system, display the file, and use the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

15. The portable apparatus of claim 14 wherein the memory to store a plurality of URLs sensed and decoded from hotspots for subsequent transmission, and wherein the transmitter to transmit the plurality of URLs stored in the memory to the computer system for causing the computer system to retrieve files at the URLs from remote computer systems, and displaying the files.

16. The portable apparatus of claim 14 wherein the sensing element comprises a bar code scanner.

17. A physical medium including:

a first encoded region comprising a hotspot including a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded therein; and

a second encoded region encoded separately from the first encoded region, the second encoded region comprising a data link including data encoded thereon, the data being associated with the URL;

wherein the hotspot and data link are for being sensed by a sensor, when coupled to a computer system, to transmit the URL and associated data to the computer system to cause a software program running on the computer system to retrieve a file at the URL from a remote computer system and use the associated data to perform an operation associated with the URL.

18. The physical medium of claim 17 wherein the hotspot is encoded according a bar code scheme.