Method and apparatus for a portable digital assistant device having improved data input
First Claim
1. A portable data assistant (PDA) comprising:
- a processor;
a memory in communication with said processor;
a barcode scanner in communication with said processor; and
a special input routine (SIR) loaded in said memory, said routine including instructions for retrieving barcode data from said scanner and using a qualifier code for validating said barcode data.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A Portable Data Assistant (PDA) inputs non-conventional data such as barcode data from a barcode reading device (i.e., a barcode scanner) into an application program running on the PDA. A special input routine (SIR) is loaded into the PDA for inputting and processing data received from the non-conventional input device. The SIR scans the input data and verifies that it contains valid data for the target application program. The input data is remapped, if needed, responsive to instructions in a configuration file. For example, barcode data may be remapped to predefined ASCII characters. The input data is then communicated to the application program via conventional communications paths compatible with the application program.
8 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A portable data assistant (PDA) comprising:
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a processor;
a memory in communication with said processor;
a barcode scanner in communication with said processor; and
a special input routine (SIR) loaded in said memory, said routine including instructions for retrieving barcode data from said scanner and using a qualifier code for validating said barcode data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A PDA comprising:
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a processor;
a memory in communication with said processor;
a non-conventional input device in communication with said processor;
an SIR loaded into a portion of said memory other than the memory specified for application programs, said routine including instructions for retrieving and validating data from said input device. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of interfacing with a non-conventional input device in communication with a PDA having a non-multitasking operating system, the method comprising the steps of:
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adding an SIR to the operating system memory of the PDA;
the SIR processing data from said non-conventional input device;
scanning the data for a qualifier code;
discarding the data if the qualifier code is not found; and
communicating the input data to an application program. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification