Method and apparatus for accessing product information using bar code data
First Claim
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1. A method for parsing data from a symbol to form a URL, comprising the steps of:
- decoding data received by scanning a machine-readable symbol;
assigning a network prefix to a front portion of said data;
appending a domain name at said data end, wherein the parsing further comprises additional steps of;
determining synonyms for the front portion of said data before assigning the network prefix; and
assigning the network prefix and appending the domain name to at least one synonym for the front portion.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing a user product information via scanning of a machine readable symbology on a product. A symbology, for example a bar code, is scanned and the data therein passed into a URL which is used to present related product information to a user via the internet. The URL may directly link to the information or be a look up database for further redirection.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for parsing data from a symbol to form a URL, comprising the steps of:
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decoding data received by scanning a machine-readable symbol;
assigning a network prefix to a front portion of said data;
appending a domain name at said data end, wherein the parsing further comprises additional steps of;
determining synonyms for the front portion of said data before assigning the network prefix; and
assigning the network prefix and appending the domain name to at least one synonym for the front portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for retrieving information related to a machine-readable symbol comprising the steps of:
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scanning the machine-readable symbol;
parsing data received from the machine-readable symbol into a URL, said parsing comprising the steps of;
decoding the data received by scanning the machine-readable symbol;
assigning a network prefix at a front of a portion of said data;
appending a domain name at an end of the portion of said data;
connecting a user to the URL, wherein the parsing further comprises additional steps of;
determining synonyms for the portion of said data before assigning the network prefix; and
assigning the network prefix and appending the domain name to at least one synonym for the portion. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
when the first URL is connected to, said code is decoded into a second URL to which the user is then connected to.
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8. The method of claim 7 wherein the code is decoded by the host website and product data related to the code is then transmitted to the user.
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9. The method of claim 5 wherein rather than appending a domain name, a series of domain names are alternately assigned until one containing data is found.
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10. The method of claim 5 wherein said URL is a host web-site for a manufacturer.
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11. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of locating manufacturer data, product data, or both on the host web-site, and transmitting the data to the user.
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12. The method of claim 5 comprising the additional step of locating product data, manufacturer data or both from a web-site associated with the URL, and transmitting the data to the user.
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13. The method of claim 12 wherein the web-site is a manufacturer'"'"'s web-site, a product web-site, a merchant web-site, a third-party web-site or a combination thereof.
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14. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of assembling the URL to form a data string that contains at least a second portion of said data.
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15. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of determining synonyms for at least a second portion of said data and assembling the URL to form a data string that contains at least one synonym for the second portion.
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16. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of determining synonyms for at least a second portion of said data and assembling the URL to form a data string that contains at least one synonym for the second portion.
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17. A system for retrieving data related to a machine-readable symbol comprising:
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a machine-readable symbol scanner, connectable to a computer means having an Internet connection, at least one Internet server containing data related to the machine readable symbol;
a software means for parsing data received into the computer means from the scanner into a URL, connecting to the Internet, accessing data related to the machine-readable symbol and displaying the data to a user;
said software means for parsing data comprising means for decoding data received by scanning the machine-readable symbol, for assigning a network prefix to a front portion of said data, and for appending a domain name and an end portion of said data, wherein the parsing further comprises additional steps of;
determining synonyms for the front portion of said data before assigning the network prefix; and
assigning the network prefix and appending the domain name to at least one synonym for the front portion. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification