Method and apparatus for determining the context of a handheld device
First Claim
1. A transmitter for receiving information from a service provider about a service and for conveying the information to a handheld device, said transmitter comprising:
- means for defining a context in said transmitter;
means for receiving the information at said transmitter;
means for formatting the information in said transmitter into a machine-readable form to produce a transmitted signal compatible with the handheld device and relevant to said context; and
means for conveying said transmitted signal from said transmitter to the handheld device located within said context, said information displayed to a user of the handheld device if the user has previously expressed an interest in the service;
wherein said conveying means transmits a diffuse infrared signal;
wherein said machine-readable form is an XML element;
wherein said XML element is encapsulated in an integrity element; and
wherein said integrity element further includes;
a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information;
a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information;
a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and
an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said size value and said seed value to compute said checksum value.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining the context of a wireless device is disclosed. An emitter (108) transmits an infrared signal to a wireless client (112). Emitter (108) is placed at a known location and has a known coverage area associated therewith. The location and coverage area form a locational context for emitter (108) and a client (112) located within the coverage area. Emitter (108) receives data from a service provider (102). The received data is relevant to the locational context of emitter (108). Emitter (108) transmits the data to client (112) using a diffuse infrared signal (142). Client (112) receives the signal and processes it such that only information of interest to a user of client (112) is displayed.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A transmitter for receiving information from a service provider about a service and for conveying the information to a handheld device, said transmitter comprising:
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means for defining a context in said transmitter; means for receiving the information at said transmitter; means for formatting the information in said transmitter into a machine-readable form to produce a transmitted signal compatible with the handheld device and relevant to said context; and means for conveying said transmitted signal from said transmitter to the handheld device located within said context, said information displayed to a user of the handheld device if the user has previously expressed an interest in the service; wherein said conveying means transmits a diffuse infrared signal; wherein said machine-readable form is an XML element; wherein said XML element is encapsulated in an integrity element; and wherein said integrity element further includes; a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said size value and said seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A handheld device operating in a context associated with a transmitter conveying a formatted signal said handheld device comprising:
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means for receiving the formatted signal, said received signal including information from a service provider offering a service, said received signal further being present when said handheld device is located within the context, the context being communicatively associated with the transmitter; and means for extracting said information when a user of said handheld device has expressed an interest in such a service; wherein said information includes a first XML element; wherein said information is encapsulated in an integrity element; wherein said integrity element further includes; a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said size value and said seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for establishing a context of a user located within a coverage area associated with a transmitter, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving information at the transmitter, the transmitter being communicatively associated with a handheld device, the information being of interest to the user of the handheld device if located within the coverage area; formatting the information into a first XML element; encapsulating the first XML element in a second XML element, the second XML element being an integrity element; converting the first XML element and the integrity element into a signal; and emitting the signal to the handheld device located within the coverage area, the information displayed to the user of the handheld device if the user has established a preference at a time prior to receiving the signal; wherein the context for the user having the handheld device and located within the coverage area has been determined; and wherein said integrity element further includes; a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said value and said seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for receiving contextual information contained in an emitted signal formatted by and received from a transmitter having a coverage area associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of:
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establishing a preference for the contextual information; receiving the emitted signal containing an integrity element and the contextual information formatted by the transmitter, the contextual information included in a broadcast XML element; processing the broadcast XML element to extract the contextual information; and displaying at least a portion of the contextual information to the user located within the coverage area if the preference was established prior to receiving the broadcast XML element; wherein the contextual information is received from the transmitter; and wherein the integrity element further includes; a checksum value, the checksum value representative of the contextual information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of the contextual information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, the operator being used in conjunction with the size value and the seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of utilizing executable code in a transmitter to establish a context of a user having a handheld device and operating within a coverage area associated with the transmitter, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, through the executable code in the transmitter, information about a service at the transmitter, the information being of interest to the user of the handheld device if the user is located within the coverage area; executing the executable code to format the information into an XML element for conversion into a signal; and emitting the signal, including an integrity element from the transmitter, to the handheld device located within the coverage area, the information displayed to the user of the handheld device; wherein said integrity element further includes; a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said size value and said seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A method of utilizing executable code in a handheld device receiving a signal formatted by a transmitter, said method comprising the steps of:
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establishing a preference for information contained in the signal, the information including an integrity element and being formatted by the transmitter as an XML element; receiving the signal at a communication interface communicatively associated with the handheld device; processing the signal to extract the information contained therein; and displaying at least a portion of the information to the user located within the coverage area; and wherein said integrity element further includes; a checksum value, said checksum value representative of said information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, said operator being used in conjunction with said value and said seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for providing contextually-relevant information to a user comprising:
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means for receiving by the transmitter electronic raw data about a service; means for determining by the transmitter said contextually-relevant information about said service from said electronic raw data; means for formatting by the transmitter said contextually-relevant information into a standard machine-readable format; means for transmitting by the transmitter said formatted contextually-relevant information and an integrity element; means for receiving by a client said formatted contextually-relevant information; means for providing to the user by the client said formatted contextually-relevant information; and wherein the integrity element further includes; a checksum value, the checksum value representative of the contextually-relevant information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of the contextually-relevant information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, the operator being used in conjunction with the size value and the seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. A system for providing contextually-relevant information to a user comprising:
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a transmitter including; a network interface capable of receiving electronic raw data about a service; a data formatter capable of determining the contextually-relevant information about the service from the electronic raw data, said data formatter capable of formatting the contextually-relevant information into a standard machine-readable format; and an optical transmitter capable of transmitting the formatted contextually-relevant information and an integrity element; and a client including; an input/output module capable of receiving the formatted contextually-relevant information; and a processing module for providing to the user by said client the formatted contextually-relevant information; and wherein the integrity element further includes; a checksum value, the checksum value representative of said formatted contextually-relevant information; a size value, said size value indicating the size of said formatted contextually-relevant information; a seed value, said seed value being used in computing said checksum value; and an operator, the operator being used in conjunction with the size value and the seed value to compute said checksum value. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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Specification