944 results about "Information appliance" patented technology

The present invention relates to systems and methods to identify a level of access for a resource being accessed via a secure socket layer virtual private network (SSL VPN) connection to a network, and to control the action on the resource based on the identified level of access. The appliance described herein provides intelligent secure access and action control to resources based on a sense and respond mechanism. When a user requests access to a resource via the SSL VPN connection of the appliance, the appliance obtains information about the client to determine the user access scenario—the location, device, connection and identify of the user or client. Based on the collected information, the appliance responds to the detected user scenario by identifying a level of access to the resource for the user / client, such as rights to view, print, edit or save a document, Based on the identified level of access, the appliance controls the actions performs on the resource by various techniques described herein so that the user can only perform the allowed action n accordance with the level of access. As such, the present invention allows organization to control and provide the appropriate level of access to valuable, confidential or business critical information accessed remotely or via a pubic network while protecting such information by controlling the types of actions performed or allowed to be performed remotely on the information.

There is provided a system for supporting interactive operations for inputting user commands to a household electric apparatus such as a television set / monitor and information apparatuses. According to the system for supporting interactive operations applying an animated character called a personified assistant interacting with a user based on speech synthesis and animation, realizing a user-friendly user interface and simultaneously making it possible to meet a demand for complex commands or providing an entry for services. Further, since the system is provided with a command system producing an effect close to human natural language, the user can easily operate the apparatus with a feeling close to ordinary human conversation.

A content control system for limiting access by sensitive users, such as children, or the like, to certain types of content. The content control system provides a user interface for an information handling system, information appliance, content recorder, or the like that provides a single point of user control for parental locks for multiple audio and / or audiovisual devices. In embodiments of the invention, the content control system may employ a method of setting the content rating parameters of a content control system based on content rating of example content. The content control system may also employ a method for modifying the content rating of content received by a content recorder such as a personal video recorder, or the like.

A mail delivery system for facilitating delivery of a plurality of mail pieces sorted into a plurality of containers to a postal service. The mail delivery system includes a mail piece information apparatus for determining information about each of the mail pieces, such as by scanning delivery addresses of the mail pieces. A sorting apparatus associates an identifiers of the containers with mail pieces sorted into the containers. A tracking system tracks the containers through delivery using the container identifiers. Paperless manifests describing the mail pieces in the containers and delivery of the containers to a postal service location are generated by the system by correlating tracking information on the containers with contents information for the containers using the identifier. The mail delivery system is also configured to implement quality control processes and billing using the tracking and manifest information, resulting in time savings and increased billing accuracy.

The design of typable devices, in particular, touch-typable devices embodying ambiguous codes, presents numerous ergonomic problems. Solutions for these problems are herein disclosed. This invention teaches methods for the selection of ambiguous codes from the classes of strongly-touch-typable ambiguous codes and substantially optimal ambiguous codes for touch-typable devices such as computers, telephones, pagers, personal digital assistants, smart cards, television set-top devices and other information appliances, given design constraints such as the size, shape, and computational capacity of the device, the typical uses of the device, and conventional constraints such as respect of alphabetic ordering or Qwerty ordering.

A method, system, and computer program product for asynchronous unconscious retrieval retrieves and presents information to end users without requiring the end users to explicitly request the information. The invention automatically and asynchronously formulates queries and presents relevant information to end users within the context of existing applications, so as to minimize the effort, overhead, and context shifts associated with conventional conscious retrieval.

The remote monitoring and controlling of controllable devices is provided by sending control information to and receiving status information from information appliances over a network. A user is able to monitor the information appliances from a remote location, and control the information appliances from the remote location. The remote monitoring and control can be facilitated by graphical user interfaces. The information appliance can be a home lighting system, a home alarm system, a home entertainment system, a water gardening system, a home heating system, a home cooling system, and a television system having recording capabilities.

Real time location system functionality is provided in conjunction with bar codes and other coded information devices to provide location information in transaction processing systems. A system and method of the present invention may be used to track the location of objects which are coupled to coded information devices.

An information equipment remote operating system includes an operated-side information equipment and an operating-side information equipment. The operated-side information equipment includes a view region storing unit for storing view information regarding a view region correlated with an window, a screen information processing unit for generating an image to be displayed on an operating-side display unit as an initial state based on the view information, a communication unit, and a control information processing unit for operating an application. The operating-side information equipment includes a communication unit, a view region storing unit for storing the view information, a screen information processing unit for displaying images on multiple display regions in high to low display priority order, and a control information processing unit for transmitting application operating information to the operated-side information equipment.

The present invention proposes a dot pattern on which code information and x and y coordinate information can be defined even if the dot pattern is extremely small, and proposes an information reproducing method and an information reproducing device based on the dot pattern. More specifically, a medium such as a printed material on which is formed a dot pattern portion by arranging in accordance with a given rule dots generated by a dot code generating algorithm in order to recognize various kinds of multimedia information is scanned as image data by scanning means. Then, the image data is converted into code data. Multimedia information corresponding to the code data is read out of storing means to be reproduced.

A digital information appliance comprises a housing having a display disposed on a first surface for displaying information to a user of the digital information appliance and an input device disposed on a second surface opposed to the first surface for imputing information. The input device is oriented with respect to the display so as to be operable by the fingers of the user's hand for input of information while holding the housing so the display is viewable.

Charging stations, systems for charging and identifying electric vehicles, and methods for detecting and providing charging information of a vehicle are provided. The charging stations include vehicle detectors, charging connectors, and system controllers to estimate the state of charge of a vehicle based on current measurements from the charging connectors and then to output charge status signals if the state of charge is at or above a predetermined energy level and the vehicle is detected as being properly positioned by the vehicle detectors. These results may be output to indicators, computers, and network connections. Also disclosed are systems where the vehicle has a vehicle information device readable by the vehicle detector to obtain vehicle data that is transmitted to the system controller and other components of the system. Methods of monitoring current, estimating state of charge, and providing a charge status signal if certain conditions are also present.

Pervasive output capability is provided so that an information apparatus can pervasively output digital content to an output device. A data output system for rendering at an output device output content managed from an information apparatus includes means for obtaining a document object relating to the output content managed from the information apparatus and means for obtaining an output device object with one or more attributes corresponding to the output device. The document object and the output device object are provided to a server application that is operated on a server that is distinct from the information apparatus and the output device and that generates output data employing at least partly the document object and the output device object. The output data is then provided to the output device for rendering the output content.

A video image display system including an information apparatus and a transmissive head mounted display that allows a user to visually recognize video images distributed from the information apparatus as virtual images is provided. The information apparatus includes a video image distributor that distributes video images corresponding to a specific geographic region to the head mounted display. The head mounted display includes a motion detector that detects motion of the user's head and allows the user to visually recognize, as virtual images, video images selected based on motion information representing the motion.

A software update system includes a first server resided in a network different from a home network and has a storage device to store a software to be used for information equipment, and a second server resided in a network different from the home network and has an information equipment control unit that requests a software version to the information equipment, and a service control unit that requests a software version to the first server and compares the software version acquired from the information equipment with the software version acquired from the first server, which uniformly manages the information equipment by an internet service provider (ISP), in which ISP uses a standardized DHCP scheme and MAC address as an inherent value to identify the information appliance such that a user's operational burden can be reduced by using a TV monitor, a cellular telephone, etc. as a user interface.

A device management server uses both point-to-point and broadcast transport protocols to remotely manage a plurality of electronic devices. The server uses extensions to a standard device management protocol to access, via the point-to-point transport protocol, device management information in memory of the electronic device. The device management information permits the electronic device to receive information using the broadcast transport protocol. Results from processing the received information are returned to the server using the point-to-point transport protocol. The device management server also employs handset control and enterprise control management objects to conduct device wipe, lock, unlock and other operations.

A device and a process for analyzing a medical condition of a user. This device and process can also be used to predict a future abnormal medical condition of the user. The device includes a portable information-receiving device, an information processing device and a remote storage and processing device. These three devices may be in communication with each other via a wireless communication system. This device can include a GPS system for locating the user when the user is having an abnormal medical condition. The process is designed to take a digital signal from a plurality of ECG sensors on the portable information device and form a QRS wave. One or more points are extracted from this QRS wave are used to form a QRS complex wave. QRS complex waves are used to analyze the medical condition of the user. A plurality of parameters are calculated from these points on the QRS wave. If the medical condition of the user is in an abnormal range then an alarm will sound. However, if the user is not in an abnormal range, then the device may also predict the possibility of a future occurrence of an abnormal medical condition in the user.

Disclosed is a highly integrated and flexible system for vending products and services to consumers. The system receives information in advance of the vend by having the consumer insert an identification (ID) card, preferably a driver's license, into a point-of-purchase terminal (referred to as an OSU device). The OSU device preferably contains an Optical Scanning Unit (OSU), capable of scanning the textual information on the ID card. In one embodiment, the scanned information is compared against optical templates present in the system to discern or verify the information on the ID card, and is then used by the system to enable or disable the vending transaction, and / or to allow access to several preregistered system accounts.

Multiple electrical appliances are connected to household network. Each appliance informs device control unit of own description information through broadcasting mode. Based description information received, device control unit creates relevant networked virtual information appliances and stores their device description information, and sends the description information in standard format to network server. Based on received device description information, network server creates web page of appliance list and control web page, which are released to user terminal device. Using device list web page in user interface and control web page of information appliance, user sends out command for controlling information appliances. After command is completed, information appliance sends out own newest state to network server through device control unit, letting server update web page.

The invention relates to an apparatus and method for data transmitting / receiving between a microwave oven and an information appliance PDA. The apparatus includes a wireless data transmitting / receiving unit for conducting wireless data communication with an external system including an information appliance; a data storage unit for storing transmitted / received data through the wireless data transmitting / receiving unit and / or downloaded data from Internet; a display unit for displaying transmitted data from the wireless data transmitting / receiving unit; a load drive unit for driving a magnetron and / or a heater; and Micom interfaced with the above elements, and interpreting the transmitted data from the wireless data transmitting / receiving unit and / or checking a state of the microwave oven, and controlling the wireless data transmitting / receiving unit to transmit the data on the state of the microwave oven to an information appliance. According to the invention, although the microwave oven does not include built-in networked communication equipment like a modem, it can interface with Internet through an information appliance, a PDA for example, which download data and transmits to the microwave oven. Thus, increase in price of the microwave oven with the modem is minimized and user interface is provided. Also, repair cost of the microwave oven can be minimized by checking the microwave based on the data on the internal state of the microwave being transmitted to the PDA.

Provided is a ubiquitous home media service apparatus and method based on single media multi devices (SMMD). The apparatus includes: a database for storing sensor information, a device profile, a user profile, and ne-media; a user interface for requesting the ne-media to an external ne-media providing server and receiving the corresponding ne-media; a ne-media process unit for dividing the received ne-media into neo-data, media including audio / video / text, synchronization / control information of each device, and identification (ID) information; a ne-media playing unit for playing the divided media; a device control and synchronizing unit for discovering peripheral device information, generating a cooperating device group, generating a synchronization signal, and recording the synchronization signal; and a network managing unit for transmitting the ne-media from the device control and synchronizing unit to a peripheral device play apparatus and a play auxiliary apparatus.

A system for providing interactive data services to a home voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) user includes a plurality of broadband information appliances. A host server is in communication with the broadband information appliances via a network. At least one media server is in communication with the host server via the network and fulfills requests for media and services from the plurality of broadband information appliances through the host server.

The present invention includes a method and apparatus for automatically assigning a network address to a network device in an electronic communications network carrying inter-device communication packets to and from electronic devices located at assigned network addresses. The network device, also referred to as an appliance, communicates with at least one other network device to collect information from inter-device communication packets, which contain network address assignment information. From the network address assignment information in the communication packets, the appliance determines an available network address. The appliance assumes the available network address. The appliance may access a remote network device to retrieve an available, permanent, network configuration, including IP address.

A method for manufacturing a magnetic disk glass substrate including a chemical strengthening step is provided. In the method, chemical strengthening treatment is sufficiently performed over the entire main surfaces of a glass substrate. Consequently, the resulting magnetic disk glass substrate can provide a magnetic disk allowing the magnetic head to have a low flying height and achieving high-density information recording, and particularly a magnetic desk suitably used in small hard disk drives for portable information apparatuses. In the chemical strengthening step, a chemical strengthening agent is brought into contact with a glass substrate to perform ion exchange by allowing the chemical strengthening agent to flow with respect to the glass substrate, or by moving the glass substrate with respect to the chemical strengthening agent.

An Internet-Phone device and system for receiving and outputting digital content. The Internet-Phone device may be an Internet-enabled smart phone with access to the Internet, may include a voice communication functionality and a messaging application, may be a mobile apparatus, and may be a wireless information apparatus. The Internet-Phone system may include one or more of a digital camera for image data acquisition, a digital imaging application for image editing, a touch sensitive screen, a graphical user interface, a document creation or document editing application, an e-mail application, and an Internet browsing application. The Internet-Phone device may include an operating system providing an object model or an application programming interface to facilitate access with an output service. The Internet-Phone device further may include a wireless communication unit that may have a radio frequency controller for establishing radio frequency wireless communication between the Internet-Phone device and a wireless output devices, and an output manager for managing output of the digital content to a selected wireless output device.

The invention relates to an information on-line searching method adopted on information devices such as computer, mobile phone and so on. A text string on a computer screen is transformed into a searching string via mouse searching actions such as moving a mouse pointer or dragging and dropping the mouse and so on. And a mouse searching operation is processed automatically and corresponding immediate on-line searching result is displayed on a mouse searching window. Clicking a special searching key can activate a keyboard searching window and in a course of inputting the searching string, a keyboard immediate on-line searching is processed automatically and corresponding immediate on-line searching result is displayed. Clicking a return key can process to determine on-line searching and then a corresponding searching result web page is displayed in a browser window.

The present invention provides a proxy device, a network system, and a communication method to enable communication between an information appliance capable of communicating only within a closed network and an information appliance capable of communicating only within a closed network different from the network, via an open network, wherein in a proxy device 4 capable of transmitting and receiving a message to and from a DLNA-compliant device 6 present in a home network 2, a message which can be communicated within the home network 2 but cannot be communicated to the Internet 3 is encapsulated so as to be communicated to the Internet 3, the encapsulated message is transmitted and received via the Internet 3, and the encapsulated message is decapsulated, and the decapsulated message is transmitted into the home network 2 in which the proxy device 4 itself is present.