Mobile terminal with integrated host application software

• US 6,714,969 B1
• Filed: 05/15/2000
• Issued: 03/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Klein, John, Herrod, Allan
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/570,961
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/219, 710/73, 710/5, 710/10, 345/168, 348/76
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1696 the I/O peripheral being a printing or scanning device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/181 Enclosures for portable computers G06F1/1613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/434 using image data, e.g. images, photos, pictures taken by a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious 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 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A method of integrating host application software with data collection devices (e.g., bar code scanners) located on remote, wireless terminals. A data collection object executes on the host computer, using a predetermined interface between the host application software and the data collection object. That interface, and the communications between the host application software and the data collection object, are configured so that to the host application software the data collection device appears to be local hardware on the host computer. The data collection object creates and executes threads of execution for controlling operation of the data collection device, with the threads communicating with the remote terminals via a host computer transport layer, the wireless link, and a remote computer transport layer at the remote terminals. A data collection device driver on the remote terminal receives communications from the data collection object, and returns information to the data collection object, over the remote computer transport layer, wireless link, and host computer transport layer.

Claims

1. A wireless user-held network terminal for accessing, displaying, and entering data on a computer network, the terminal comprising:

a processor and associated memory;

a visual display;

a keypad;

a radio transmitter and receiver configured to establish wireless communication between the terminal and the computer network;

communications engine software for controlling communication between the wireless terminal and the computer network; and

parsing software for providing a user interface on the display by parsing script received from the network, whereby a multiplicity of different user interfaces may be provided without installing new software on the wireless terminal.

2. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal is configured to be hand-held.

3. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the terminal comprises a personal digital assistant.

4. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the computer network is the Internet.

5. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the script comprises markup language.

6. The terminal of claim 5 wherein the script comprises HTML.

7. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising a bar code scanner and bar code acquisition engine software for scanning and decoding bar code labels.

8. The terminal of claim 7 wherein the terminal is configured to obtain a script from a bar code label, wherein the user interface on the display of the terminal is prescribed by a bar code label scanned using the terminal.

9. The terminal of claim 8 wherein the bar code label provides the network address of the script.

10. The terminal of claim 8 wherein the bar code label provides the script.

11. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising a browser which comprises the parsing engine software.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication is across cellular telephone channels.

15. The terminal of claim 7 wherein the bar code scanner is configured to read high density bar code labels.

13. A wireless user-held network terminal for accessing markup language files on the Internet, the terminal comprising:

a processor and associated memory;

a visual display;

a keypad;

a radio transmitter and receiver configured to establish wireless communication between the terminal and the computer network;

communications engine software for controlling communication between the wireless terminal and the Internet; and

browsing software for accessing and parsing the markup language files.

14. The terminal of claim 13 wherein the markup language is HTML.

16. A wireless user-held bar code scanning terminal for scanning bar code labels and accessing files on a computer network, the terminal comprising:

a processor and associated memory;

a visual display;

a keypad;

a radio transmitter and receiver configured to establish wireless communication between the terminal and the computer network;

communications engine software for controlling communication between the wireless terminal and the computer network;

parsing software for providing a user interface on the display by parsing script received from the network, whereby a multiplicity of different user interfaces may be provided without installing new software on the wireless terminal;

a bar code scanner; and

a bar code acquisition engine software for scanning and decoding bar code labels scanned by the bar code scanner.

17. The terminal of claim 16 wherein the terminal is configured to obtain a script from a bar code label, wherein the user interface on the display of the terminal is prescribed by a bar code label scanned using the terminal.

18. The terminal of claim 17 wherein the bar code label provides the network address of the script.

19. The terminal of claim 17 wherein the bar code label provides the script.

20. The terminal of claim 16 wherein the terminal is configured to be hand-held.

21. The terminal of claim 16 wherein the terminal comprises a personal digital assistant.

22. The terminal of claim 16 wherein the computer network is the Internet.

23. The terminal of claim 16 wherein the script comprises markup language.

24. The terminal of claim 23 wherein the script comprises HTML.

25. The terminal of claim 16 further comprising a browser which comprises the parsing engine software.

26. A method of remotely browsing, on a user-held wireless computer device, and electronic document stored as a file having a file address on a computer network, the method comprising the steps of:

using a bar code scanner incorporated into the device to scan a bar code label containing information identifying the file address;

decoding the file address from the result of the scan;

accessing the network file by sending the file address over a wireless communication path connecting the device to the computer network; and

displaying the accessed file on a visual display incorporated into the device.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising entering information at the wireless computer device using a keypad incorporated into the device.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein the filed accessed from the computer network contains script, and the method further comprises running parsing software at the computer device to parse the script received from the computer network.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the computer device is configured to be hand held.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein the computer device comprises a personal digital assistant.

31. The method of claim 26 wherein the computer network is the Internet.

32. The method of claim 26 wherein the wireless communication is across cellular telephone channels.

33. The method of claim 28 wherein the script comprises a markup language.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the script comprises HTML.

35. The method of claim 28 further comprising running browser software on the computer device, wherein the browser software comprises the parsing software.