Remote control having an optical indicia reader

Abstract

A method for a user to access information on a network (306). A remote control device (3700) is provided operating in a first and control mode with internally generated control commands and in a second and scanning mode. In the control mode, an appliance at a user location is controlled by wirelessly transmitting the control commands to the appliance. In the scanning mode, a machine recognizable code (MRC) information is extracted from an MRC (1606) using the remote control device (3700), the MRC (1606) having associated therewith routing information corresponding to a remote location (312) on the network (306). The extracted MRC information is wirelessly transmitted from the MRC (1606) to a network interface device (302) in response to the step of extracting. The user location is then connected over the network (306) to the remote location (312) associated with the extracted MRC information, and the information downloaded therefrom. The downloaded information is then displayed on a display (1612) at the user location, such that when displayed, substantially immediate feedback is provided to the user in response to the step of scanning.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. pending application Ser. No. 09 / 611,161, filed on Jul. 6, 2000, in which the Issue Fee was paid on Dec. 8, 2003, which is a Continuation-in-Part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 580,848 (Atty. Dkt. No. PHLY-25,087) entitled “OPTICAL READER AND USE” filed on May 30, 2000, which is a Continuation-in-Part of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 378,221 (Atty. Dkt. No. PHLY-24,669), in which the Issue Fee was paid on Jan. 12, 2004, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ACCESSING A REMOTE LOCATION BY SCANNING AN OPTICAL CODE” filed on Aug. 19, 1999, which is a Continuation-in-Part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 151,471 (Atty. Dkt. No. PHLY-24,397) entitled “METHOD FOR INTERFACING SCANNED PRODUCT INFORMATION WITH A SOURCE FOR THE PRODUCT OVER A GLOBAL NETWORK,” filed on Sep. 11, 1998, which a Continuation-in-Part of U. S. Pat. No. 6,098,106, issued on Aug. 1, 2000, S...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for accessing information on a network using a remote control device. The device can control an appliance at a user location wirelessly and also extract information from a machine-readable code (MRC) associated with a remote location on the network. This information is then displayed on a display at the user location, providing almost instant feedback to the user. The technical effect of this invention is to provide a convenient and efficient way for users to access information on a network.

Problems solved by technology

This aspect of the current technology is cumbersome since the update process requires downloading information to the viewer's computer.

Moreover, the likelihood for error in performing the update, and the necessity of redoing the update in the event of a later computer crash, further complicates the process.

Additionally, current technologies are limited in the number of companies which may be stored in the database.

This is a significant limitation since world-wide access presented by the Internet and the increasing number of companies connecting to perform on-line E-commerce necessitates a large database.

Many types of optical readers are known, however, their cost and complexity have heretofore limited their use primarily to industrial and commercial users.

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