Method of and apparatus for controlling the selection, initiation and execution of computer programs automatically and directly in response to the remote (or proximal) scan of special barcodes or other coded indicia, in direct response to receiving the barcode scan signals from the reader, and without other human intervention

• US 7,314,178 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Issued: 01/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert H. Rines
• Original Assignee: Robert H. Rines
• Inventors: Saindon, Paul, Rines, Justice C., Rines, Robert H., Ercolino, Elijah
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Thien Minh
• Application Number:
  US11/011,840
• Publication Number:
  US 20060124742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 23546201-46225, 235/375, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/472.03, 235/454, 235/455, 235/380
• US Class Current: 235/472.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/15 Synchronised browsing

Abstract

A technique for automatically controlling a computer by the remote (or proximal or local) scanning of special coded-indicia to execute computer-stored programs directly and automatically in response to computer-translated instructions represented by the scanned coded indicia, such as the presentation of specified supplemental pictorial and other website stored materials to the reader of a book or magazine or the like containing such coded indicia keyed to said website, and more generally, to cause the computer automatically to execute desired programs in direct response to such coded indicia scanning.

Claims

1. A method of providing a reader of a publication which is associated with a corresponding publisher internet website and portal, with automatic computer display screen access to the website portal and to a desired specific subject matter portion of the website stored thereon, that comprises,

providing barcode indicia in the publication that respectively uniquely correspond to different subject matter portions or passages therein;

storing at different specific portions of said website, supplemental pictorial and other material related respectively to such different subject matter portions or passages of the publication and corresponding respective barcode indicia;

encoding each barcode indicia with a set of digits and sequences thereof that digitally represent and identify the corresponding URL and the respective said specific portions of the website, and also a set of digits and sequences that represent a computer application program of instructions to open a browser and proceed directly to that URL and said specific portion(s) of the website;

enabling the reader of the publication to select and effect scanning of the desired barcode indicia and transmitting the scan signals to the computer; and

responding at the computer to the receipt of the reader-selected barcode scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned barcode digits and sequences into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically to open the browser and proceed directly to that URL and directly execute said instruction to provide a screen display of the desired supplemental pictorial and other material stored on the corresponding selected subject matter website portion, all without any human intervention, apart from the reader effecting scanning of the selected publication barcode indicia at the publication.

2. The method claimed in claim 1 wherein the reader of the publication is remote from the computer, but is enabled to view the display content of the screen.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the reader scans the barcode at the publication with a barcode electronic reader and transmits the barcode scan signals to the computer by an associated wireless or wired wand transmitter.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the barcode indicia also includes digital information identifying publication or website subscribers or a special group of publication readers for providing selective access thereto of specific website portions not otherwise or generally available to web inspection.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said subject matter portions or passages of the publication comprise product or service advertisements also associated with their own internet website portals and wherein such advertisements are provided in the publication with corresponding barcode indicia coded to identify the specific advertiser'"'"'s website, with the reader scan of such barcode indicia at the advertisement in the publication automatically causing the displaying on the computer screen of the desired supplemental pictorial and other advertiser material stored on the corresponding subject matter website portion of the advertiser'"'"'s website.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the advertiser'"'"'s barcode indicia also includes digital or related information identifying publication subscribers or a special group of publication readers for providing selective access thereto of specific website portions not otherwise or generally available to web inspection.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the barcode indicia further includes digit or related information serving as a reader response or reply to the publication publisher or an advertiser, for noting or tabulation at the computer.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said translating is effected by providing an application at the computer that receives the scanned barcode digits and translates them into a series of corresponding computer instructions for thereupon being directly executed by the computer automatically to access the desired website portion.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said publication is of a format selected from the group consisting of printed or written books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, sheets and electronically presented “

printed”

displays.

40. The method claimed in claim 1 wherein the barcode or other code indicia is selected from the group consisting of strips of one-dimensional lines, two-dimensional patterns, optical patterns, and radio frequency RFID and EPC chips.

10. A method of providing a reader of a published product or service advertisement which is associated with a corresponding advertiser internet website, with automatic computer display screen access to the website portal and to a desired specific subject matter portion of the website stored thereon, that comprises,

providing barcode indicia in the advertisement that respectively uniquely correspond to specific subject matter portions or passages therein;

storing at different specific portions of said website, supplemental pictorial and other material related respectively to such specific subject matter portion(s) of the advertisement and to corresponding respective barcode indicia;

encoding each barcode indicia with a set of digits and sequences thereof that represent and identify the corresponding, URL and the respective specific portions of the website, and also a set of digits and sequences that represent a computer application program of instructions to open a browser and proceed directly to that URL and the specific portion of the website;

enabling the reader of the advertisement to select and scan thereat the desired barcode indicia and transmit the scan signals to the computer;

responding at the computer to the receipt of the reader-selected barcode scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned barcode digits and sequences into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically to open the browser and proceed directly to the URL and automatically and directly to provide a screen display of the desired supplemental pictorial and other material stored on the corresponding selected subject matter website portion, all without any human intervention, apart from the reader effecting scanning of the selected barcode indicia at the advertisement.

11. The method claimed in claim 10 wherein the reader of the advertisement is remote from the computer, but is enabled to view the display content of the screen.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the reader scans the barcode at the publication with a barcode electronic reader and transmits the barcode scan signals to the computer by an associated wireless or wired wand transmitter.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the barcode indicia also includes digital information identifying advertiser-selected customers or potential customers or special groups of advertisement readers for providing selective access thereto of specific website portions not otherwise generally available to web inspection.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the barcode indicia further includes digit or related information serving as an advertisement reader'"'"'s response or reply to the advertiser, for noting or tabulation at the computer.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein said translating is effected by providing an application at the computer that receives the scanned barcode digits and translates them into a series of corresponding computer instructions for thereupon being directly executed by the computer automatically to access the desired advertiser'"'"'s website portion.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the advertisement is published in a format selected from the group consisting of books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, sheets and electronically presented “

printed”

displays.

17. A method of enabling reader users to barcode-control the operation of a computer containing specific programs including pictorial and other material related to specific subject matters, that comprises,

providing the user with barcode indicia encoded with digits and sequences thereof that respectively correspond to and digitally represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in the computer;

enabling the user to select and scan a desired barcode indicia and transmit the scan signals to the computer; and

responding at the computer to the receipt of the user-selected barcode scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned barcode digits and sequences into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and operate said specific program and provide a screen display of the desired pictorial and other material stored in said specific program, all without any human intervention, apart from the user scanning the selected barcode indicia.

18. The method claimed in claim 17 wherein the user is remote from the computer.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the user scans the barcode with a barcode electronic reader and transmits the barcode scan signals to the computer by an associated wireless or wired wand transmitter.

20. A method of enabling users to barcode-control the operation of a computer containing specific programs, providing the user with barcode indicia encoded with digits and sequences thereof that respectively correspond to and represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in the computer;

enabling the user to select and scan a desired barcode indicia and to transmit the scan signals to the computer; and

responding at the computer to the receipt of the user-selected barcode scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned barcode digits and sequences into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and operate said specific program, all without any human intervention, apart from the user scanning of the selected barcode indicia.

21. A method of providing a reader of a publication which is associated with a corresponding publisher internet website and portal, with automatic computer display screen access to the website portal and to a desired specific subject matter portion of the website stored thereon, that comprises,

providing coded indicia in the publication that respectively uniquely correspond to different subject matter portions or passages therein;

storing at different specific portions of said website, supplemental pictorial and other material related respectively to such different subject matter portions or passages of the publication and their corresponding respective code indicia;

encoding each indicia with code elements that represent and identify the corresponding URL of the website and the respective specific portions thereof, and also instructions to open a browser and proceed directly to that URL and to said specific portion of the website;

enabling the reader of the publication to select and effect scan thereat of a desired code indicia and to transmit the scan signals to the computer;

responding at the computer to the receipt of the reader-selected code scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned code elements into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to provide a screen display of the desired supplemental pictorial and other material stored on the corresponding selected subject matter website portion, all without any human intervention, apart from the reader scanning of the selected publication code indicia at the publication.

22. A method of enabling users to coded-indicia-control the operation of a computer containing specific programs, that comprises,

providing the user with indicia encoded with code elements that respectively correspond to and represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in the computer;

enabling the scanning of a desired coded indicia and the transmission of the scan signals to the computer; and

responding at the computer to the receipt of the coded scan signal transmission by thereupon directly translating the received scanned code elements into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and execute said specific program, all without any intervention, apart from scanning of the selected coded indicia.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the coded indicia is provided in a publication for scanning by a reader of the publication to access supplemental pictorial and other material stored in or accessible by said program.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said program enables accessing internet web pages.

25. A method of barcode control of the operation of a computer containing specific programs, that comprises,

providing barcode indicia encoded with digits and sequences thereof that respectively correspond to and digitally represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in the computer;

scanning the barcode indicia and transmitting the scan signals to the computer;

responding at the computer to the receipt of the barcode scan signals transmission in an application stored in the computer for translating the received scanned barcode digits and sequences directly into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and operate said specific program, all without any intervention apart from the scanning of the barcode indicia.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the computer is remote from the region of the barcode scanning.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the computer is proximal to the region of the barcode scanning.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein the barcode is provided in a publication for scanning by a reader of the publication to access supplemental pictorial and other material stored or accessible by said program.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein said program enables accessing internet web pages.

30. A method of coded-indicia control of the operation of a computer containing specific programs, that comprises,

providing indicia encoded with coded elements thereof that respectively correspond to and represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in a computer;

scanning the coded indicia and transmitting the scan signals to the computer;

responding at the computer to and upon the receipt of the scan code signals transmission in a program application stored in the computer for translating the received scanned code elements into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and operate said specific program, all without any intervention apart from the scanning of the coded indicia.

31. A method of barcode control of the operation of a computer-stored program, that comprises,

receiving at the computer scanned digits of a barcode indicia encoded such as to represent and correspond to specific computer-operational instructions for initiating and executing such computer program;

and

responding to the received scan digits to effect the automatic and direct execution by the computer of said program.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said responding comprises providing the computer with an application for translating the received scanned indicia into a corresponding computer program operational instruction set.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the barcode is provided in a publication for scanning by a reader of the publication to access supplemental pictorial and other material stored in or accessible by said program.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said program enables accessing internet web portals.

35. A method of coded-indicia control of the operation of a computer-stored program, that comprises,

receiving at the computer scanned code elements of a coded indicia encoded such that its code elements represent and correspond to specific computer operational instructions for initiating and executing such computer program;

and

responding to the received scan code elements to effect the automatic and direct execution by the computer of said program.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein said responding comprises providing the computer with an application for translating the received coded elements into a corresponding computer program operational instruction set.

37. A method of providing a reader of a publication which is associated with one or more electronic storage media selected from the group consisting of a corresponding publisher internet website storing pictorial and other recorded materials, an electronically accessible memory medium for storing such pictorial and other materials, and/or computer-stored or accessible files or archives of pictorial and other materials, with automatic reader-access to the stored pictorial and other materials of the selected storage medium, that comprises,

providing coded indicia in the publication that respectively correspond to different subject matter portions or passages therein and as to which corresponding supplemental material is desired by the reader from said selected storage medium;

encoding each coded indicia with code elements that represent and identify a corresponding portion or passage subject matter of the publication and instructions to proceed to and access the corresponding portion of the selected storage medium;

responding at the selected medium to the receipt of reader-initiated coded indicia scan signals transmitted to the selected medium, by directly translating the received scanned coded indicia code elements into corresponding computer and storage media-understandable instructions, thereby to cause the automatic execution of those instructions and directly to enable display on a computer screen of the desired supplemental pictorial and other material stored on the selected storage medium, all without any human intervention, apart from the reader effecting scanning of the selected coded indicia at the publication.

38. The method claimed in claim 37 wherein the reader of the publication is remote from but enabled to view displaying of the content of the screen.

39. The method claimed in claim 37 wherein the supplemental material is selected from the group consisting of pictures, slideshow, documents, video and movie materials.

41. Apparatus for providing a reader or user of a publication which is associated with a corresponding publisher internet website and portal, with automatic computer display screen access to the website portal and to a desired specific subject matter portion of the website stored thereon, having in combination,

barcode indicia affixed in the publication that respectively uniquely correspond to different subject matter portions or passages therein;

means for storing at different specific portions of said website, supplemental pictorial and other material related respectively to such different subject matter portions or passages of the publication and corresponding respective barcode indicia;

means for encoding each barcode indicia with a set of digits and sequences that digitally represent and identify the corresponding URL and specific portions of the website, and a set of digits and sequences that represent computer program application instructions to open a browser and proceed directly to that URL and said specific portion(s) of the website;

means for enabling the reader of the publication to select and effect scanning of desired barcode indicia and to transmit the scan signals to the computer; and

means for responding at the computer to the receipt of the reader-selected barcode scan signal transmission including a computer application translator for thereupon directly translating the received sets of scanned barcode digits and sequences into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set to cause the computer thereupon to execute those instructions, thereby automatically to open the browser and proceed directly to the URL directly to provide a screen display of the desired supplemental pictorial and other material stored on the corresponding selected subject matter website portion, all without any human intervention, apart from the reader effecting scanning of the selected publication barcode indicia at the publication.

42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the reader is provided with a barcode electronic reader and an associated wireless or wired wand transmitter to enable the reader to scan the barcode at the publication with the barcode electronic reader and to transmit the barcode scan signals to the computer by the associated transmitter.

43. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the barcode indicia also includes digital information identifying publication or website subscribers or a special group of publication readers for providing selective access thereto of specific website portions not otherwise or generally available to web inspection.

44. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein said subject matter portions or passages of the publication comprise product or service advertisements also associated with their own internet website portals and wherein such advertisements are provided in the publication with corresponding barcode indicia coded to identify the specific advertiser'"'"'s website, with the reader scan of such barcode indicia at the advertisement in the publication automatically causing the displaying on the computer screen of the desired supplemental pictorial and other advertiser material stored on the corresponding subject matter website portion of the advertiser'"'"'s website.

45. The apparatus of claim 44 wherein the barcode indicia also includes digital information identifying advertiser-selected customers or potential customers or special groups of advertisement readers for providing selective access thereto of specific website portions not otherwise generally available to web inspection.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the barcode indicia further includes digit or related information serving as an advertisement reader'"'"'s response or reply to the advertiser, for noting or tabulation at the computer.

47. Apparatus for enabling users to coded-indicia-control the operation of a computer containing specific programs having pictorial and other material related to specific subject matters, having, in combination,

indicia encoded with code elements that respectively correspond to and represent specific computer operational instructions for operating such a specific program stored in the computer;

means for enabling the scanning of a desired coded indicia and the transmission of the scan signals to the computer; and

means for responding at the computer to the receipt of the coded scan signal transmission, including a computer application translator for thereupon directly and automatically translating the received scanned code elements into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions, thereby to cause the computer thereupon automatically to execute those instructions, automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and execute said specific program and provide a screen display of the desired pictorial and other material stored in said specific program, all without any intervention, apart from the scanning of the selected coded indicia.

48. Apparatus for enabling users to coded-indicia-control the operation of a computer containing specific programs, having, in combination,

indicia encoded with code elements that respectively correspond to and represent specific computer operational instructions for operating a specific program stored in the computer;

means for enabling the scanning of a desired coded indicia and the transmission of the scan signals to the computer; and

means for responding at the computer to the receipt of the coded scan signal transmission including a computer application translator for thereupon directly translating the received scanned code elements into a corresponding computer-understandable instruction set of said specific program operational instructions, thereby to cause the computer thereupon automatically to execute those instructions, automatically and directly to cause the computer to initiate and execute said specific program, all without any intervention, apart from scanning of the selected coded indicia.

49. The apparatus of claim 48 wherein the coded indicia is provided in a publication for scanning by a reader of the publication to access supplemental pictorial and other material stored in or accessible by said program.

50. The apparatus of claim 49 wherein said program enables accessing internet web pages.

51. Apparatus for direct coded-indicia control of the operation of a computer-stored program, that comprises, a receiver at the computer for receiving scanned code elements of a coded indicia encoded such that its code elements represent and correspond to specific computer operational instructions for initiating and executing such computer program;

and means at the computer for responding to the received scan code elements to carry out the operational instructions they represent and to effect the automatic and direct execution by the computer of said program.

52. The apparatus of claim 51 wherein said responding means comprises an application stored in the computer for translating the received coded elements into a corresponding computer program operational instruction set to which the computer responds.