Method and apparatus for accessing and downloading information from the internet
First Claim
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1. A method of automatically gathering information from a computer network onto a hand held computer system comprising the steps of:
- defining a search criteria, the search criteria including one or more topics;
storing the search criteria in a flash memory of the hand held computer system;
providing the hand held computer system with access to the computer network through a phone line and modem;
signaling a processor in the hand held computer to execute search application software, the search application software being stored in the flash memory;
automatically searching the computer network for information corresponding to the search criteria, the search being performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user;
automatically downloading the information corresponding to the search criteria from the computer network into the flash memory of the hand held computer;
the downloading being performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user;
displaying portions of information on a display screen of the hand held computer system in response to user input commands at a time when the user desires to view the stored information corresponding to the search criteria.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for accessing and downloading information from the internet to a hand held computer system. The computer system includes a bus to which a processor, a display screen, input keys, and a flash memory are coupled. The flash memory stores an operating system for the computer system, search criteria, information corresponding to the search criteria downloaded from the internet, and display application software for displaying the information on the display screen.
22 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of automatically gathering information from a computer network onto a hand held computer system comprising the steps of:
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defining a search criteria, the search criteria including one or more topics; storing the search criteria in a flash memory of the hand held computer system; providing the hand held computer system with access to the computer network through a phone line and modem; signaling a processor in the hand held computer to execute search application software, the search application software being stored in the flash memory; automatically searching the computer network for information corresponding to the search criteria, the search being performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user; automatically downloading the information corresponding to the search criteria from the computer network into the flash memory of the hand held computer;
the downloading being performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user;displaying portions of information on a display screen of the hand held computer system in response to user input commands at a time when the user desires to view the stored information corresponding to the search criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of automatically gathering information from a computer network onto a hand held computer system comprising the steps of:
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defining broad search criteria corresponding to one or more topics; storing the broad search criteria in a flash memory of the hand held computer system; signaling a processor in the hand held computer to execute search application software, the search application software being stored in the flash memory; automatically searching the computer network for information corresponding to the broad search criteria; automatically categorizing the information corresponding to the results of the search according to the one or more topics and storing the information in an on-line database located on the computer network; wherein the search and the categorization are performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user; storing user-defined search criteria in the flash memory of the hand held computer system; automatically accessing the on-line database of the computer network and filtering the stored information using the user-defined search criteria; automatically downloading the filtered information corresponding to the user-defined search criteria from the computer network into the flash memory of the hand held computer; wherein the filtering and downloading are performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user; displaying portions of the filtered information on a display screen of the hand held computer system in response to user input commands at a time when the user desires to view the stored information corresponding to the search criteria. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A hand held computer system comprising:
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a bus; a processor coupled to the bus; a display screen coupled to the bus; a modem coupled to the bus and to a phone jack which allows the computer system to communicate with a computer network; and flash memory coupled to the bus for storing all data requiring non-volatile permanency, the flash memory having stored therein; an operating system having instructions; search criteria corresponding to one or more topics; search application software that, responsive to the operating systems instructions, automatically searches and downloads information corresponding to the search criteria from the computer network into the flash memory during a period of time when there is no interaction between the computer system and a user; and display application software that, when executed by the processor, causes the information to be displayed on the display screen. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method, comprising:
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defining a search criteria in a hand held computer; storing the search criteria in a flash memory of the hand held computer; signaling a processor in the hand held computer to execute search application software stored in the flash memory; automatically sending the search criteria to a computer network to search for corresponding information, the search being performed during a period of time when there is no interaction between a user and the hand held computer; and automatically downloading information corresponding to the search results into flash memory of the hand held computer, wherein downloading occurs during a period of time when there is no interaction between the hand held computer and a user. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method, comprising:
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receiving from a portable device, a search request including search criteria, the search request automatically sent by the portable device at a time when there is no interaction between the portable device and a user, the search criteria being stored in a flash memory of the portable device, and a processor in the portable device being signaled to execute search application software stored in the flash memory; and downloading information corresponding to the search criteria into the flash memory of the portable device, wherein downloading occurs during a time when there is no interaction between the portable device and the user. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor in a hand held computer to initiate a search of a network using a search criteria in response to a signal to execute search application software; a non-volatile memory in the hand held computer coupled to the processor to store information retrieved from the network using the search criteria, the non-volatile memory comprising a flash memory, and the search application software and the search criteria being stored in the non-volatile memory; and an operating system adapted to cause the processor to automatically initialize the search and download the information retrieved from the network into the non-volatile memory using the search criteria at times when there is no interaction between a user and the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 34)
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29. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor in a hand held computer to initiate a search of a network using a search criteria in response to receiving a signal to initiate the search; a static random access memory in the hand held computer coupled to the processor; a non-volatile memory in the hand held computer to store the search criteria and information from the network corresponding to results of the search criteria, the non-volatile memory comprising a flash memory; and an operating system stored on one of the static random access memory or the non-volatile memory, the operating system defining operations for the processor to automatically initialize the search and download the information from the network corresponding to the results of the search criteria at times when there is no interaction between the apparatus and a user. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. An article comprising:
- a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, that, when executed by a hand held portable computing platform, results in storing search criteria in a flash memory of the hand held portable device, initiating a search of a network using search criteria and downloading information from the network corresponding to results of the search criteria into the flash memory of the hand held portable device, the search of the network being initiated in response to a signal to execute search application software stored in the flash memory, wherein initiating the search of the network and downloading the information from the network may occur during periods of time when there is no interaction between the hand held portable device and a user.
- View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
Specification