Link cost minimization for portable wireless terminal connectable to the internet

• US 7,131,591 B1
• Filed: 06/08/2000
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Patel, Mehul, Herrod, Allan, Swartz, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JAMARA ALZAIDA
• Application Number:
  US09/589,514
• Time in Patent Office: 2,343 Days
• Field of Search: 23546201-46249, 235/454, 235375-386, 23547201-47203, 345/700, 345/751, 358/400, 358/407, 358/700, 358/751, 455/405, 455/553.1, 455450-4566
• US Class Current: 235/472.02
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H

Abstract

A method of reducing the cost of transmitting data from a portable or mobile hand-held data terminal to a remote data receiving station over a wireless communications network by determining the associated data transmission cost for each communication link between the terminal and the station; and selecting a data transmission link from the terminal to the station such that data transmission cost is minimized.

Claims

1. A method of reducing a cost of transmitting data from a mobile data collection terminal to a remote host over a communications network having a plurality of channels including a wireless channel, comprising the steps of:

a) supporting a digital camera on the terminal;

b) operating the camera to capture an image;

c) determining a geographic location of the terminal relative to the host by operation of a global positioning system;

d) determining the cost of transmitting the data, including the image, from the geographic location of the terminal over each channel to the host;

e) selecting the channel for data and image transmission based on the geographic location of the terminal and the cost determined to be least; and

f) transmitting the data and image from the terminal to the host over the channel selected with the least cost.

2. The method of claim 1, and the step of determining a priority for the data and the image, and wherein the selecting step is also based on the priority of the data and the image.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the image is a bar code symbol.