Apparatus, method and process of influencing information gathered by a tethered item and computer-readable medium thereof

• US 9,712,966 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2016
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adflow Networks Inc. (Daktronics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Adflow Networks Inc. (Daktronics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Roscoe, David M., Abbott, Mike, Duczmal, Tomasz
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROCHE, JOHN B
• Application Number:
  US15/219,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20160337791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/10 Program control for peripheral devices G06F13/14 - G06F13/42 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/387 for adaptation of different data processing systems to different peripheral devices, e.g. protocol converters for incompatible systems, open system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0268 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/64 in which the articles are individually suspended from stationary supports
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A tethered item is associated with an identifier that uniquely identifies the item, and one or more content processing devices execute obtaining an identifier of the item, and correlating the obtained item identifier with information related to the tethered item.

Claims

1. A kiosk, comprising:

a holder to hold a device identifiable by an identifier (ID) that uniquely identifies the device, the device ID retrievable from the device through an application interface executing on the device and the holder identifiable as physical location information in a geographic and/or area location for the device;

at least one memory that stores instructions;

at least one hardware data communication interface; and

at least one hardware processor coupled to the memory and to the at least one hardware data communication interface to cause, including by executing the instructions, the following operations to be performed;

obtain the device ID by communicationally interfacing over the at least one hardware data communication interface with the application interface executing on the device to request the ID of the device, in response to a presence event detected in connection with presence of the device determined based upon the holder, and

trigger retrieving information related to the device influenced by the device ID and the holder, in response to the presence event determined based upon the holder,

the retrieved information related to the device determined according to a combination of the device ID obtained from the device and the holder indicative of the physical location information in the geographic and/or area location for the device for output to a mobile device communicationally linked over the at least one hardware data communication interface.

2. The kiosk of claim 1, wherein the kiosk further comprises a display device, and the information related to the device is to be output at the display device of the kiosk.

3. The kiosk of claim 1, wherein

the holder includes a sensor to detect the presence event in connection with the presence of the device, and

in response to the detected presence event, the at least one hardware processor obtains the device ID.

4. The kiosk of claim 3, wherein the presence event is one or more of lifting of the device, a person approaching the device, or receipt of a command signal from another device.

5. The kiosk of claim 3, wherein

in response to an initial obtainment of the device ID, the at least one hardware processor stores in the at least one memory information indicating a correspondence of the holder to the obtained device ID of the device held by the holder, and

in response to a subsequent presence event of same device held by the holder, the at least one hardware processor obtains the device ID from the information indicating the correspondence.

6. The kiosk of claim 3, wherein

a memory among the at least one memory, a hardware processor among the at least one hardware processor and a hardware data communication interface among the at least one hardware data communication interfaces are included with the holder to store in the memory, in response to the initial obtainment of the device ID, the information indicating the correspondence of the holder to the obtained device ID of the device held by the holder,

the hardware processor of the holder causes a device ID reset in the memory of the holder in response to a new device being held by the holder by obtaining a new device ID of the new device and storing the new device ID in the memory of the holder for the subsequent presence event of the new device.

7. The kiosk of claim 1, wherein the at least one hardware processor retrieves the information related to the device in response to the presence event from a server and/or the device, through the at least one hardware data communication interface.

8. The kiosk of claim 1, wherein the at least one hardware processor retrieves the information related to the device in response to the presence event from the at least one memory and/or from the device.

9. The kiosk of claim 1, wherein the hardware data communication interface establishes a communication link which is a wire and/or wireless communication link to the device and/or a server.

14. The kiosk according to claim 1, wherein

the holder is identifiable by a position ID indicative of the physical location information in the geographic and/or area location for the device,

the at least one hardware processor generates a key which is a combination of the device ID, the position ID for the holder, and information ID associated with the information related to the device,

the retrieved information related to the device determined based upon the key.

10. A method of providing information related to an identifiable device tethered to an apparatus, comprising:

executing by a computer to;

detect a presence event in connection with presence of the identifiable device in a tether identifiable as physical location information in a geographic and/or location area for the identifiable device,

interface, over a communication link to the identifiable device, with an application interface executing on the identifiable device to request an identifier (ID) of the identifiable device through the application interface, in response to the presence event determined based upon the tether,

obtain the ID of the identifiable device requested from the identifiable device through the application interface, and

trigger retrieval of information related to the identifiable device influenced by the device ID and the tether, in response to the presence event,

the retrieved information related to the identifiable device determined according to a combination of the identifiable device ID obtained from the identifiable device and the tether indicative of the physical location information in the geographic and/or location area for the identifiable device, for output to a mobile device communicationally linked to the computer and/or for output to a display device.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

by at least one hardware processor for the tether of the identifiable device,

obtaining from the identifiable device, the identifiable device ID through the application interface over the communication link to the identifiable device, and

transmitting the obtained identifiable device ID to the computer for retrieving the information, in response to the presence event.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein

the tether is identifiable by a position ID to indicative of the physical location information in the geographic and/or area location for the identifiable device,

the computer further executes to generate a key which is a combination of the identifiable device ID, the position ID for the tether, and information ID associated with the information related to the identifiable device,

the information related to the identifiable device determined based upon the key.

12. A kiosk configured to tether a target device, the kiosk comprising:

a content processing device configured to perform;

identifying the kiosk as physical location information in a geographic and/or location area for the target device,

in response to a presence event in connection with presence of the target device at the identified kiosk, obtaining an identifier (ID) of the target device by interfacing with an application interface executing on the target device over a communication link between the target device and the content processing device to request the ID of the target device, and

triggering retrieving information related to the target device influenced by the device ID and the identified kiosk in response to the presence event,

the retrieved information related to the target device determined according to a combination of the target device ID obtained from the target device and the identified kiosk indicative of the physical location information in the geographic and/or location area for the target device, for output to a mobile device communicationally linked to the content processing device and/or for output to a display device of the kiosk.

13. The kiosk according to claim 12, wherein the presence event is a user profile based event and the information is related to the target device and according to the user profile.

16. The kiosk according to claim 12, further comprising a tether to tether the target device, wherein

the tether is identifiable by a position ID as the physical location information in the geographic and/or area location for the device,

the content processing device is configured to generate a key which is a combination of the target device ID, the position ID for the tether, and information ID associated with the information related to the target device,

the information related to the target device determined based upon the key.