Virtual beacon system
First Claim
1. A method of providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
- (a) obtaining characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities;
(i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile;
(ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and
(iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet;
(b) obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user;
(i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location;
(ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest;
(c) determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and
(d) transmitting, to said user over an electronic network, information relating to said subset of physical entities.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for providing information about physical entities to users includes an information server accessible to a plurality of user-held receivers. An exemplary server has access to characteristic accessibility data for candidate physical entities. The server receives a user'"'"'s request for information about physical entities of interest (which may be mobile), including the user'"'"'s search domain relative to the user'"'"'s location (the user may also be mobile). The search domain does not necessarily require the user to provide a network address of, or perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, the physical entities of interest. The server determines which (if any) of said candidate physical entities satisfy the request, and reports to the user at the receiver over an electronic network.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method of providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) obtaining characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting, to said user over an electronic network, information relating to said subset of physical entities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) obtaining characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data of at least one of said candidate physical entities includes a range outside of which said entity will not be reported to a requesting user; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting, to said user over an electronic network, information relating to said subset of physical entities. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) obtaining characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data of at least one of said candidate physical entities includes an operational time range outside of which said entity will not be reported to a requesting user; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting, to said user over an electronic network, information relating to said subset of physical entities.
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17. A method of providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) obtaining characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iii) said user request is arbitrarily specifiable by said user independently of the actual values of said characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (c) determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting, to said user over an electronic network, information relating to said subset of physical entities.
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18. A method of obtaining data at a receiver about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) formulating a contemporaneous search request for one or more physical entities of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a current location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (b) transmitting said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receiving from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of obtaining data at a receiver about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) formulating a contemporaneous search request for one or more physical entities of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a current location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iv) said request is arbitrarily specified by said receiver independently of the actual values of said characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (b) transmitting said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receiving from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request.
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27. A virtual beacon for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) an input interface configured to receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) a network interface configured to receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more candidate physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) an association module configured to determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting additional information about said candidate physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A virtual beacon for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) an input interface configured to receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data of at least one of said candidate physical entities includes a range outside of which said entity will not be reported to a requesting user; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) a network interface configured to receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more candidate physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) an association module configured to determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting additional information about said candidate physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network.
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31. A virtual beacon for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) an input interface configured to receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) a network interface configured to receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more candidate physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iii) said user request is arbitrarily specifiable by said user independently of the actual values of said characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (c) an association module configured to determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmitting additional information about said candidate physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network.
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32. A receiver for obtaining information, across a network, about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) an interface for obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (b) a network interface for transmitting said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receiving from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. A receiver for obtaining information, across a network, about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) an interface for obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iv) said request is arbitrarily specifiable by said receiver independently of the actual values of characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (b) a network interface for transmitting said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including said characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receiving from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request.
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36. A computer-readable storage medium for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising logic instructions that, if executed:
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(a) receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmit additional information about said physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. A computer-readable storage medium for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising logic instructions that, if executed:
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(a) receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data of at least one of said candidate physical entities includes a range outside of which said entity will not be reported to a requesting user; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmit additional information about said physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network.
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40. A computer-readable storage medium for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising logic instructions that, if executed:
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(a) receive characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) receive a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iii) said user request is arbitrarily specifiable by said user independently of the actual values of said characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (c) determine a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) transmit additional information about said physical entities in (c) to said user over an electronic network.
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41. A computer-readable storage medium for obtaining information, across a network, about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising logic instructions that, if executed:
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(a) obtain a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (b) transmit said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receive from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. A computer-readable storage medium for obtaining information, across a network, about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising logic instructions that, if executed:
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(a) obtain a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (iv) said request is arbitrarily specifiable by said receiver independently of the actual values of said characteristic accessibility data of said candidate physical entities; (b) transmit said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) receive from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request.
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45. A device for providing data to users about physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) means for receiving characteristic accessibility data regarding a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (i) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (ii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iii) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (b) means for receiving a contemporaneous search request, initiated by a networked user, for information about one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest to said user; (i) said request including a search domain relative to said user'"'"'s location; (ii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for said user to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (c) means for determining a subset of said candidate physical entities in (a) by determining which of said candidate physical entities satisfy requirements of (b); and (d) means for transmitting additional information about said physical entities in (c)to said user over an electronic network.
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46. A receiver for obtaining information, across a network, about one or more physical entities of interest, comprising:
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(a) means for obtaining a contemporaneous search request initiated by a user for one or more physical entities proximate to said user'"'"'s current location and of interest; (i) said request including characteristic ranging data of said receiver; (ii) said characteristic ranging data including a search domain of said receiver relative to a location of said receiver; (iii) said search domain being in a form that obviates the need for a user of said receiver to (A) provide a network address of, or (B) perform a keyword search for the networked data pages of, said physical entities of interest; (b) means for transmitting said request to a computer server; (i) said computer server including characteristic accessibility data for a plurality of candidate physical entities, said characteristic accessibility data including at least a uniform resource locator of one of said candidate physical entities; (ii) at least one of said candidate physical entities being mobile; (iii) said characteristic accessibility data being used to generate an electronic file for each candidate physical entity; and (iv) said electronic file linking said physical entity to its corresponding web pages accessible via the Internet; (c) means for receiving from said computer server a subset of said candidate physical entities determined to satisfy said request.
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Specification