Machine-differentiatable identifiers having a commonly accepted meaning

• US 7,791,593 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Cohen, Alexander J., Lord, Robert W., Levien, Royce A., Jung, Edward K. Y., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier; Jeffery A
• Application Number:
  US11/166,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20060209043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/173, 715/863, 715/865
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/12 Details of acquisition arrangements; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1448 based on markings or identifiers characterising the document or the area
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/32 Digital ink

Abstract

Embodiments include an article of manufacture, apparatus, device, system, computer-program product, and method. In an embodiment, system is provided that includes at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers, each identifier of the at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers being respectively keyed to a data recipient and associatable with a hand-formed mark on a surface. The system also includes a commonly accepted meaning respectively associated by a group of users with each machine-differentiatable identifier of the at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers. The system may include a surface displaying the at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers. The system may include a surface displaying the at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers and the commonly accepted meaning respectively associated by a group of users with each machine-differentiatable identifier of the at least two machine-differentiatable identifiers.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a computing device configured to save a human-generated association between a hand-formed mark and a classification symbol of at least two classification symbols, the computing device configured to accept the association of the classification symbol with the mark, and the association between the hand-formed mark and the classification symbol is formed by a human user of the computing device; and

a data store comprising computer memory and coupled to the computing device and configured to store the hand-formed mark according to the association between the hand-formed mark and at least one of the at least two classification symbols;

wherein each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols is configured to be differentiated by the computing device using a predetermined classification over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and each of the at least two classification symbols are drag and drop associatable with the hand-formed mark, the hand-formed mark formed on an electronic display surface by the human user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually and user-touch differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols includes at least one of a color, a pattern, a shade, a tone, a letter, a word, a phrase, a number, an alphanumeric, a character, an icon, a geometric shape, a figure, a graphic, a glyph, a repeated pattern, a random pattern, an image, a region, and/or a legend that was previously visually differentiated by a group of human users.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols differentiated by the computing device using a pattern recognition method over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols differentiated by a computing machine over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols and keyed to a respective data file associated with the computing device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols differentiated by the computing device over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols and keyed to at least one of a respective file, a record, a database, and/or a storage medium associated with the computing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and formable on a writing surface by a handheld writing instrument by the human user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and capable of being spatially associated with the hand-formed mark.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and configured to be capable of being temporally associated with the hand-formed mark.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols being visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and capable of being scannable and associatable with the hand-formed mark.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and configured to be capable of being gesturally associated with the hand-formed mark.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a prospective group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a current group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a de facto group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification further includes:

each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols visually differentiated by a de jure group of human users over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device further includes:

a computing device displaying the at least two classification symbols.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device further includes:

a computing device displaying the at least two classification symbols and a predetermined classification by a group of human users for each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store comprising computer memory and coupled to the computing device and configured to store the hand-formed mark according to the association between the hand-formed mark and the at least one of the at least two classification symbols further includes:

the data store configured to save a human-user hand-implemented association between the hand-formed mark formed on an electronically driven display writing surface by the human user and a classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store comprising computer memory and coupled to the computing device and configured to store the hand-formed mark according to the association between the hand-formed mark and the at least one of the at least two classification symbols further includes:

the data store configured to save a human user hand movement implemented association between the hand-formed mark formed on a writing surface by the human user and a classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store comprising computer memory and coupled to the computing device and configured to store the hand-formed mark according to the association between the hand-formed mark and the at least one of the at least two classification symbols further includes:

the data store configured to save a human-user hand-implemented association between a textual mark formed on the electronic display surface by the human user and a classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store comprising computer memory and coupled to the computing device and configured to store the hand-formed mark according to the association between the hand-formed mark and the at least one of the at least two classification symbols further includes:

the data store configured to save a human-user hand-implemented association between a textual mark formed on the electronic display surface by the human user and a classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols, and to retrieve the textual mark formed on the electronic display surface in response to the classification symbol associated with the textual mark.

24. A system comprising:

means for at least two symbolic classifications, each means for symbolic classification of the means for at least two symbolic classifications being;

capable of being differentiated by a computing device over each other means for symbolic classification of the means for at least two symbolic classifications;

configured to be capable of visually differentiated using a predetermined classification over each other means for symbolic classification of the means for at least two symbolic classification; and

respectively representative of a commonly accepted classification; and

a data store comprising computer memory and configured to store a previously human generated association between a handwritten mark formed by a hand of a user and a means for a symbolic classification of the means for at least two symbolic classifications, each of the at least two symbolic classifications being drag and drop associatable with the handwritten mark formed by the hand of the user.

25. A method implemented on a computing device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the computing device to perform acts comprising:

saving, a human-generated association between a handwritten mark and a classification symbol formed by a user of at least two classification symbols, each of the at least two classification symbols being drag and drop associatable with the handwritten mark, and each classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols being;

capable of being differentiated by a computing device over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols; and

predetermined to be capable of being visually differentiated over each other classification symbol of the at least two classification symbols; and

storing the handwritten mark according the association between the handwritten mark and at least one of the at least two classification symbols, the at least two classification symbols representative of a predetermined classification.