METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENABLING INTERACTION BETWEEN A MOBILE DEVICE AND ANOTHER DEVICE

• US 20100107092A1
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kindberg, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 9,208,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/760
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0004 Hybrid readers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10475 arrangements to facilitate interaction with further interrogation devices, e.g. such that at least two interrogation devices may function and cooperate in a network of such devices

Abstract

A user acquires a data item 36 in a mobile device 2, the data item representing, for example, the right to a digital asset. A web page 34 including bar code symbol 40 is displayed on the display 26 of a further device such as a PC 14. The bar code symbol codes a location of a resource. The mobile device 2 reads the bar code symbol 40 and sends data from the data item to the resource at the location coded by the bar code symbol. The further device 14 subsequently carries out an action using the data-item data received at the resource, or associated data; for example, the further device uses the data to fetch a related digital asset. In one embodiment the location coded by the bar code symbol is that of a database record uniquely associated with the symbol. In another embodiment, the location coded by the bar code symbol is the address on a local network of the further device 14.

Claims

1. A method of interacting between a mobile device and a further device, comprising:

storing a data item in the mobile device,

displaying a coding symbol on the further device, the coding symbol coding the location of a resource;

reading the displayed coding symbol in the mobile device;

transferring data of the data item from the mobile device to the location coded by the coding symbol; and

carrying out an action in the further device using or in dependence on the data-item data received at the location coded by the coding symbol or data derived therefrom.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising taking measures in the further device to minimize the delay between receipt of the data-item data at the location coded by the coding symbol and the carrying out of said action.

3. A method according to claim 1,

wherein the further device includes a web-based application,

wherein the data item represents the right to a digital asset;

wherein the step of displaying a coding symbol on the further device includes displaying a web page including the coding symbol; and

the step of carrying out an action in the further device comprises loading a new page in the web-based application allowing access to the digital asset.

4. A method according to claim 3 further comprising:

creating the web page including the coding symbol in a server and supplying the web page from the server to the further device.

5. A method according to claim 2 wherein the coding symbol represents a URI including a unique identifier identifying the instance of the coding symbol displayed.

6. A method according to claim 5 including:

updating a database with reference to the unique identifier when the data-item data transferred from the mobile device is received at the location coded by the coding symbol; and

running a script in the further device;

wherein the script polls the database, using the unique identifier as a reference, and when the database has been updated with the data-item data, returning that data, or data derived using that data, to the further device for use in carrying out said action in the further device.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the mobile device sends the data-item data to the location coded by the coding symbol through a public mobile network.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, after the step of reading the coding symbol in the mobile device, the steps of:

requiring the user to enter an access code into the mobile device;

validating the access code to determine if the access code is valid, and

stopping the mobile device from transferring the data-item data from the mobile device if the access code is not valid.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the coding symbol codes as said location of a resource, an address of the further device on a local network.

10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the local network is a Bluetooth network.

11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the coding symbol codes a data-item indicator, the mobile device using the data-item indicator to determine which of multiple data items to use in sending data-item data to the location coded by the coding symbol.

12. A method of operating a web server to supply content to a further device, comprising:

receiving a request for a web page from the further device;

supplying a web page to the further device, the web page including with a bar code symbol representing a unique ID, the web page further including a script for polling the server that unique ID;

receiving a message from a mobile device including the unique ID and first data; and

updating a database with said first data for access by reference to said unique ID;

determining, in response to being polled with said unique ID, whether the database has been updated with said first data and, in such case, returning second data comprising the first data or data dependent thereon.

13. A method of operating a web-based application on a computer, comprising:

requesting a web page from a server;

receiving a web page from the server, the web page including a bar code symbol representing a unique ID, the web page further including a script for polling a server with that unique ID;

displaying the symbol on the display of the PC so that the symbol can be read by a mobile device;

running the script, to poll the server keyed by the unique ID and, receiving back access data, in response to said polling, and

using the access data to acquire a digital asset.

14. A system comprising:

a mobile device having a barcode reader and a memory for storing data items;

a further device having a display; and

a server having a database and a means for supplying a display image to the further device with a bar code symbol representing a unique ID

wherein the mobile device is arranged to read the bar code symbol in the mobile device and to send data from a corresponding data item from the mobile device to the location coded by the bar code symbol; and

means for causing the further device to poll the database with the unique ID to determine whether the data-item data is received at the location coded by the coding symbol, and where such data-item data is received at the location coded by the coding symbol, to carry out an action in the further device.

15. A system according to claim 14 wherein

the means for causing the further device to poll the database with the unique ID is a script;

and

the server is arranged to supply a web page including the display image with the bar code symbol and the script,

wherein the script is arranged to cause the further device to poll the database with the unique ID to determine whether the data-item data is received at the location coded by the coding symbol, and where the data-item data is received at the location coded by the coding symbol, to carry out an action in the further device.

16. A system according to claim 15,

wherein the step of carrying out an action in the further device comprises loading a new page in the web-based application after the data-item data is received at the location coded by the coding symbol.