Method and apparatus for accessing electronic data via a familiar printed medium
First Claim
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1. A system for displaying programming material to a user, the system comprising:
- a printed advertisement having at least one machine recognizable feature;
a remote server comprising programming material associated with said machine recognizable feature, wherein said programming material is related to said advertisement;
a feature recognition unit including;
a means for recognizing said feature, a means for transmitting a coded signal in response to the recognition of said feature and an intelligent controller further including;
a means for accessing said remote server and retrieving said programming material in response to receiving said coded signal; and
a display unit for presenting said programming material;
wherein said programming material is updatable.
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Abstract
The disclosed methods and apparatus relate generally to the electronics media industry, such as cable television (CATV), home shopping services, on-line computer services and computer memory applications. These methods and apparatus allow a user to access and make use of electronic media input and output devices by reference to and/or utilization of standard printed matter, such as magazines, textbooks, or any other printed matter that can be correlated to electronic media.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for displaying programming material to a user, the system comprising:
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a printed advertisement having at least one machine recognizable feature; a remote server comprising programming material associated with said machine recognizable feature, wherein said programming material is related to said advertisement; a feature recognition unit including;
a means for recognizing said feature, a means for transmitting a coded signal in response to the recognition of said feature and an intelligent controller further including;
a means for accessing said remote server and retrieving said programming material in response to receiving said coded signal; anda display unit for presenting said programming material; wherein said programming material is updatable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of providing a user access to programming material, comprising the steps of:
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printing a machine recognizable feature within an advertisement; providing a remote server comprising programming material associated with said machine recognizable feature; scanning said machine recognizable feature of said advertisement using a device; transmitting, using the same device, data associated with said machine recognizable feature via a communication link to access said remote server and retrieve said programming material, wherein said programming material is related to said advertisement; wherein said programming material is updatable. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A method of providing a user access to programming material associated with an advertisement, comprising the steps of:
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providing a remote server comprising programming material; printing a machine recognizable feature within said advertisement, wherein said machine recognizable feature has associated therewith a command sequence for accessing said remote server and retrieving said programming material; scanning said machine recognizable feature within said advertisement and downloading data indicative of said machine recognizable feature via the Internet to said remote server using a device; accessing programming material from said remote server; and transmitting, using the same device, said programming material to said user, allowing said user to perceive said programming material in a humanly perceivable form, wherein said programming material is related to said advertisement; wherein said programming material is updatable. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification