Tangible icon representing network objects

a network object and icon technology, applied in the field of tangible user interfaces, can solve the problems of inherently limited size of objects that can be given to users in this manner, inability to provide objects on removable media, and a level of abstraction that will become increasingly burdensom

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-09-01
MEYERS STEPHAN
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This frees the user from having to navigate a network, but since a portable medium has an inherent maximum capacity for data, the size of an object that can be given to a user in this manner is inherently limited.
It may be desired to provide a user with easy access to such a presentation, but the method of providing it on a removable medium is inherently precluded.
While the graphical user interface (GUI), which enables a user to interact with a computer by manipulating graphical icons, has gone a long way to make computation easier for non-engineers, it still represents a level of abstraction that will become increasingly burdensome as computation becomes more distributed.

Method used

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  • Tangible icon representing network objects
  • Tangible icon representing network objects
  • Tangible icon representing network objects

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0021] In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practices. Its is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0022] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 depicts phicon (derived from “physical icon”) 100 for use in the present invention. Phicon 100 is about the size of a credit card for convenient carrying and manipulation by a user, and is made of plastic similar to the material typically used for credit cards. Phicon 100 includes machine readable tag 102 containing a destination address of a network object. In the Internet environment, a destination address is known as a URL. A preferred embodiment of the invention is practiced in an Internet set...

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Abstract

A tangible icon is permanently encoded with a URL of a first network object. Links (“shortcuts”) to other network objects are assigned as the contents of the first network object. A person in possession of the tangible icon can gain access to the other network objects without having to remember or enter their URLs, but need only present the physical icon to a reader. The system and method uses the URL encoded on the tangible icon to access the network object and to resolve the links contained therein to provide the contents of the linked objects. The number and size of the other network objects the user can access are virtually unlimited. The user gains access to the current version of an object.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 5828,763, filed on Apr. 9, 2001. The aforesaid patent application is incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a tangible user interface, and particularly to a system and method for providing a user, by means of a tangible icon, with access to provider-selected arbitrary-sized objects on a data network. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] The present-day paradigm in which a person uses a discrete manifestation of “a computer” (workstation, desktop computer, laptop computer, palmtop computer, personal data assistant, game player, etc.) to relate to computation is beginning to give way to “pervasive computation”, in which computation becomes part of the environment. See W. Mark, Turning Pervasive Computing into Mediated Spaces,...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G06F3/00G06F17/30G09G5/00
CPCG06F17/30876G06F16/955
Inventor MEYERS, STEPHAN
Owner MEYERS STEPHAN
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