US5940595A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electronic network navigation device and method for linking to an electronic address therewith
Assignee: Hanger Solutions LLC
•
Filing: 1996-09-23
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Granted: 1999-08-17
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Expires: 2016-09-23
Abstract
Abstract An electronic network navigation device (10) comprises a substrate (12) which supports a human-viewable image (14) and machine-readable data (16). The human-viewable image is associated with an electronic address, and the machine-readable data includes navigation instructions for linking to the electronic address. A network access apparatus (24) utilizes a data reader (30) to read the machine-readable data (16). The network access apparatus (24) links to the electronic address based upon the navigation instructions.
Inventors
- 👤 William L. Reber
- 👤 Cary D. Perttunen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 05:04
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/955; G06F16/9554; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/08; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04L61/00; H04L61/30; H04L67/00; H04L67/01; H04L67/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 54
Claim 1
Independent Claim
115 words
An electronic network navigation device dedicated for linking to a single electronic address, the electronic network navigation device comprising: a substrate; a human-viewable image supported by the substrate, the human-viewable image associated with the single electronic address; and printed data supported by the substrate, the printed data comprising a first machine-readable instruction to select a client routine to be executed by a network access apparatus and a second machine-readable instruction to link the network access apparatus to the single electronic address, wherein the first machine-readable instruction is used by the network access apparatus to select the client routine to be executed from a plurality of client routines which are executable by the network access apparatus.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
115 words
An electronic network navigation device dedicated for linking to a single electronic address, the electronic network navigation device comprising: a substrate; a human-viewable image supported by the substrate, the human-viewable image associated with the single electronic address; and printed data supported by the substrate, the printed data comprising a first machine-readable instruction to select a client routine to be executed by a network access apparatus and a second machine-readable instruction to link the network access apparatus to the single electronic address, wherein the first machine-readable instruction is used by the network access apparatus to select the client routine to be executed from a plurality of client routines which are executable by the network access apparatus.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the second machine-readable instruction includes a partial uniform resource locator for the single electronic address.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the second machine-readable instruction includes at least a portion of an internet protocol address.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the human-viewable image is printed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the human-viewable image corresponds to an image viewable using the network access apparatus upon linking to the single electronic address.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the printed data is not readily interpretable by a user.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the printed data includes a bar code representative of the first machine-readable instruction.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is card-shaped.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is formed substantially of a dielectric material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is formed substantially of a nonmagnetic material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is formed of paper.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is formed of cardboard.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the client routine includes a Web browser routine.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
47 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 1 wherein the substrate is formed of a substantially dielectric and nonmagnetic material, and wherein at least a portion of the human-viewable image corresponds to an image viewable using the network access apparatus upon linking to the single electronic address.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The electronic network navigation device of claim 14 wherein the printed data comprises a bar code representative of the first instruction.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of linking to an electronic address, the method comprising the steps of: machine-reading printed data from a network navigation device dedicated for linking to the electronic address, the printed data providing a first instruction and a second instruction; selecting a client routine from a plurality of executable client routines based upon the first instruction; executing the client routine; and linking to the electronic address using the second instruction.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of linking to an electronic address, the method comprising the steps of: machine-reading printed data from a network navigation device dedicated for linking to the electronic address, the printed data providing a first instruction and a second instruction; selecting a client routine from a plurality of executable client routines based upon the first instruction; executing the client routine; and linking to the electronic address using the second instruction.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the second instruction includes at least a portion of a URL for the electronic address.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the second instruction includes at least a portion of an IP address for the electronic address.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, the method further comprising the step of displaying an image which corresponds to at least a portion of the human-viewable image upon linking to the electronic address.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the printed data is not readily interpretable by a user.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the printed data includes a bar code representative of the first instruction.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of machine-reading the printed data comprises machine-reading the printed data from a substantially dielectric material.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of machine-reading the printed data comprises machine-reading the printed data from a substantially nonmagnetic material.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of machine-reading the printed data comprises machine-reading the printed data from paper.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising retrieving and displaying content based on the electronic address.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of executing the client routine includes executing a Web browser routine.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of storing the first instruction and the second instruction to provide a shortcut to the electronic address.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 27 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, the method further comprising the step of storing a representation of the human-viewable image to provide an iconic representation for the shortcut.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 28 wherein the representation of the human-viewable image is read from the network navigation device.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 28 wherein the representation of the human-viewable image is received from the electronic address.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, the method further comprising the steps of displaying an image which corresponds to at least a portion of the human-viewable image upon linking to the electronic address.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 wherein the printed data comprises a bar code representative of the first instruction.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
94 words
An article of manufacture which directs a network access apparatus to link to an electronic address, the article of manufacture comprising: a computer-readable storage medium; and computer-readable data stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable data to direct steps of reading printed data including a first instruction and a second instruction from a network navigation device dedicated for linking to the electronic address, selecting a client routine from a plurality of executable client routines based upon the first instruction, executing the client routine, and linking to the electronic address using the second instruction.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
94 words
An article of manufacture which directs a network access apparatus to link to an electronic address, the article of manufacture comprising: a computer-readable storage medium; and computer-readable data stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable data to direct steps of reading printed data including a first instruction and a second instruction from a network navigation device dedicated for linking to the electronic address, selecting a client routine from a plurality of executable client routines based upon the first instruction, executing the client routine, and linking to the electronic address using the second instruction.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
23 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the first instruction includes at least a portion of a URL for the electronic address.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
24 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the first instruction includes at least a portion of an IP address for the electronic address.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
50 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, wherein the computer-readable data further directs a step of displaying an image which corresponds to at least a portion of the human-viewable image upon linking to the electronic address.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
18 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the printed data is not readily interpretable by a user.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
20 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the printed data includes a bar code representative of the first instruction.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
25 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the step of reading the printed data includes reading the printed data from a substantially dielectric material.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
25 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the step of reading the printed data includes reading the printed data from a substantially nonmagnetic material.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
26 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the step of reading the printed data includes reading the printed data from a substrate formed of paper.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
26 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the step of reading the printed data includes reading the printed data from a substrate formed of cardboard.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
21 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the step of executing the client routine includes executing a Web browser routine.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
32 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the computer-readable data further directs a step of storing the first instruction and the second instruction to provide a shortcut to the electronic address.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
45 words
The article of manufacture of claim 44 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, wherein the computer-readable data further directs a step of storing a representation of the human-viewable image to provide an iconic representation for the shortcut.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
21 words
The article of manufacture of claim 45 wherein the representation of the human-viewable image is read from the network navigation device.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
20 words
The article of manufacture of claim 45 wherein the representation of the human-viewable image is received from the electronic address.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
51 words
The article of manufacture of claim 33 wherein the network navigation device has a human-viewable image associated with the electronic address, and wherein the computer-readable data further directs a step of displaying an image which corresponds to at least a portion of the human-viewable image upon linking to the electronic address.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
20 words
The article of manufacture of claim 48 wherein the printed data comprises a bar code representative of the first instruction.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
100 words
An electronic network navigation device dedicated for linking to a single electronic address, the electronic network navigation device comprising: a substrate; and printed data supported by the substrate, the printed data comprising a first machine-readable instruction to select a client routine to be executed by a network access apparatus and a second machine-readable instruction to automatically link the network access apparatus to the single electronic address, wherein the first machine-readable instruction is used by the network access apparatus to select the client routine to be executed from a plurality of client routines which are executable by the network access apparatus.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
100 words
An electronic network navigation device dedicated for linking to a single electronic address, the electronic network navigation device comprising: a substrate; and printed data supported by the substrate, the printed data comprising a first machine-readable instruction to select a client routine to be executed by a network access apparatus and a second machine-readable instruction to automatically link the network access apparatus to the single electronic address, wherein the first machine-readable instruction is used by the network access apparatus to select the client routine to be executed from a plurality of client routines which are executable by the network access apparatus.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-08-16 | 2003-02-15 | 2003-08-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-08-16 | 2007-02-15 | 2007-08-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-08-16 | 2011-02-15 | 2011-08-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |