Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 1 of 19 PageID 13
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 1 of 19 PageID 13
`
`Exhibit A
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 2 of 19 PageID 14
`case 6:20'CV'01854'PGB'GJK Documeni11111111111111"inliifiiiflilliiliiilfllilililii 14
`
`USOO9582689B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`US 9,582,689 B2
`Rothschild
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Feb. 28, 2017
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`
`(54)
`
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING
`INFORMATION ABOUT AN OBJECT ON A
`PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
`
`(71)
`
`Applicant: Leigh M. Rothschild, Miami, FL (US)
`
`(72)
`
`Inventor: Leigh M. Rothschild, Miami, FL (US)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.: 15/149,852
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`May 9, 2016
`
`(65)
`
`(63)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2016/0253530 A1
`
`Sep. 1, 2016
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`Continuation of application No. 14/599,704, filed on
`Jan. 19, 2015, now Pat. No. 9,378,398, which is a
`continuation of application No. 14/ 181,945, filed on
`Feb. 17, 2014, now Pat. No. 8,936,190, which is a
`continuation of application No. 13/868,071, filed on
`(Continued)
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(51)
`
`G06K 7/10
`G06Q 20/10
`G06Q 30/02
`G06Q 50/18
`G06F 17/30
`G06K 19/07
`US. Cl.
`
`(52)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2012.01)
`(2012.01)
`(2012.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`CPC ............... G06K 7/10 (2013.01); G06F 17/30
`(2013.01); G06K 7/10009 (2013.01); G06K
`19/07 (2013.01); G06Q 20/10 (2013.01);
`
`G06Q 30/02 (2013.01); G06Q 30/0207
`(2013.01); G06Q 50/188 (2013.01)
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`USPC ..................... 235/375, 379; 705/39, 41.1, 80
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U. S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2007/0216226 A1*
`
`9/2007 Matsumoto ............... B60L 3/04
`307/1011
`2007/0291534 A1* 12/2007 Maatta ................ H04M1/0237
`365/174
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner 7 Allyson Trail
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm 7 Eugenio J. Torres-Oyola;
`Victor Rodriguez-Reyes; Rafael Rodriguez-Muriel
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Systems and methods are provided for enabling a portable
`electronic device to retrieve information about an object
`when the object’s symbology, e.g., a barcode, is detected.
`According to one embodiment a method is providing in
`which symbology associated with an object is detected and
`decoded to obtain a decode string. The decode string is sent
`to one or more visual detection applications for processing,
`wherein the one or more visual detection applications reside
`on the portable electronic device, and receiving a first
`amount of information about the object from the one or more
`visual detection applications. The method also includes
`sending the decode string to a remote server for processing
`and receiving a second amount of information about the
`object from the remote server. The first amount of informa-
`tion is combined with the second amount of information to
`
`obtain cumulative information which is displayed on the
`portable electronic device.
`
`17 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`
` Satellile
`
`Satellite uisfi“
`
`.
`Communication Network
`
`
`
`26
`__, /’
`
`Mobile Terminal
`Communications
`Tower
`
`1
`
`WFi Tower
`
`161
`
`‘1—111151
`
`30
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 3 of 19 PageID 15
`Case 6:20-cv-01854—PGB-GJK Document 1—1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 3 of 19 PageID 15
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`Page 2
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`Apr. 22, 2013, now Pat. No. 8,651,369, which is a
`continuation of application No. 13/170,810, filed on
`Jun. 28, 2011, now Pat. No. 8,424,752, which is a
`continuation of application No. 12/882,616, filed on
`Sep. 15, 2010, now Pat. No. 7,992,773.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2008/0201310 A1*
`2009/0099961 A1*
`
`8/2008 Fitzpatrick ........ G06F 17/30867
`4/2009 Ogilvy ................... G06Q 20/10
`705/39
`................... G06Q 30/02
`705/1429
`2010/0280960 A1* 11/2010 Ziotopoulos ......... G06Q 20/202
`705/80
`
`2010/0280896 A1* 11/2010 Postrel
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 4 of 19 PageID 16
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 4 of 19 PageID 16
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 1 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
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`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 5 of 19 PageID 17
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 5 of 19 PageID 17
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 2 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`ANT
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 6 of 19 PageID 18
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 6 of 19 PageID 18
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 3 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`DiSPLl-‘x‘r’
`
`
`MODULE
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`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 7 of 19 PageID 19
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 7 of 19 PageID 19
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 4 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPUTER
`
`PROCESSENG
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`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 8 of 19 PageID 20
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 8 of 19 PageID 20
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 5 of 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`
`SYMBOLQGY
`
`
`MANAGEMENT
`MODULE
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`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 9 of 19 PageID 21
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 9 of 19 PageID 21
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 6 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`ALLOW USER TC) SELECT
`
`PREFERENOES:
`
`1 34
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`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 10 of 19 PageID 22
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 10 of 19 PageID 22
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 7 0f 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`SEND DETECTED SYMBOLQGY
`TO PREmSELECYEQ VESUAL
`
`DETECTéON APRUCATEOMS)
`FOR DECODSNG AND
`ENFORMATiON RETREEVAL
`
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`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 11 of 19 PageID 23
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 11 of 19 PageID 23
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 28, 2017
`
`Sheet 8 of 8
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`magma SYMBQLOGY
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`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 12 of 19 PageID 24
`Case 6:20-cv-01854—PGB-GJK Document 1—1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 12 of 19 PageID 24
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING
`INFORMATION ABOUT AN OBJECT ON A
`PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`5
`
`10
`
`The present application is a continuation patent applica-
`tion and claims priority under the laws and rules of the
`United States,
`including 35 USC §120,
`to US. patent
`application Ser. No. 14/599,704, filed on Jan. 19, 2015,
`which is a continuation patent application of US. patent
`application Ser. No. 14/181,945 filed on Feb. 17, 2014, now
`US. Pat. No. 8,936,190, which is a continuation patent
`application of US. patent application Ser. No. 13/868,071 15
`filed on Apr. 22, 2013, now US. Pat. No. 8,651,369, which
`is a continuation patent application and claims priority under
`the laws and rules of the United States, including 35 USC
`§120, to US. patent application Ser. No. 13/170,810 filed on
`Jun. 28, 2011 now US. Pat. No. 8,424,752 issued onApr. 23, 20
`2013 which is a continuation patent application and claims
`priority under the laws and rules of the United States,
`including 35 USC §120, to US. patent application Ser. No.
`12/882,616 filed on Sep. 15, 2010 now US. Pat. No.
`7,992,773 issued on Aug. 9, 2011. The contents of US. 25
`application Ser. No. 14/599,704, US. patent application Ser.
`No. 14/181,945, now US. Pat. No. 8,936,190, US. patent
`application Ser. No. 13/868,071, now US. Pat. No. 8,651,
`369, US. patent application Ser. No. 13/170,810, US. Pat.
`No. 8,424,752, US. patent application Ser. No. 12/882,616 30
`and US. Pat. No. 7,992,773 are herein incorporated by
`reference in their entireties.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`35
`
`Field
`
`40
`
`The present disclosure relates generally to portable elec-
`tronic devices, and more particularly, to systems and meth-
`ods for enabling portable electronic devices to present
`information about a selected object.
`Description of the Related Art
`It is increasingly common for individuals to own and
`carry portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones,
`personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Many of these
`devices are capable of providing fully functional computer 45
`processing incorporating cellular communication and net-
`work data communication. Examples include various Win-
`dowsTM Pocket PC devices, which have an operating system
`created by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Other
`examples include various mobile phone devices, some of 50
`which have built-in cameras, scanning devices, and other
`types of imaging devices. Still other portable digital devices
`include portable media players from Creative Media of
`Singapore, Samsung of South Korea, Archos, Inc. of Irvine,
`Calif., and Apple Computers,
`Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.
`Additionally, Sony of New York and Japan manufacture a
`portable game playing device called the Sony PSPTM (Play-
`Station Portable).
`Increasingly, many of these portable electronic devices
`include means of transmitting and receiving digital data.
`Various communications technologies are frequently built
`into these devices. Examples of portable communicating
`devices
`include mobile phones which employ GSM,
`CDMA, W-CDMA, and FOMA technology, among other
`standards, to send and receive data in addition to handling 65
`voice communications. Many of the portable media devices
`also include transmission capabilities including Wi-Fi (IEEE
`
`55
`
`60
`
`2
`
`802.11a, b, g and x among others), BluetoothTM, infrared,
`etc. to allow the user to transmit and receive digital data over
`relatively short distances. The Sony PSPTM device, for
`example, includes Wi-Fi (i .e., IEEE 802.1 lb) to transmit and
`receive digital data.
`Many portable electronic devices are configured to con-
`tain various applications, which may be installed during
`manufacture and/or may be downloaded by the user.
`Examples of these applications include e-commerce appli-
`cations, word processing, movie theater locating applica-
`tions, games, e-mail programs, GPS navigation software,
`medical information, weather applications, etc. Examples of
`the portable electronic devices that contain both applications
`and imaging systems include Apple Computer’s IPhone,
`Google’s Droid, and various mobile devices from Motorola.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`In keeping with one aspect of this invention, an object is
`scanned using an electronic device. The object contains a
`Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID). Symbology
`associated with the object is detected using the electronic
`device, and the symbology is decoded to obtain a decode
`string using one or more detection applications residing on
`the electronic device. The decode string is sent to a remote
`server
`for processing.
`Information about
`the object
`is
`received from the remote server based on the decode string.
`The information is displayed on a display device associated
`with the electronic device.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of
`the present disclosure will become more apparent in light of
`the following detailed description when taken in conjunction
`with the accompanying drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system enabling communication
`among a number of components;
`FIG. 2A is a front View of the portable electronic device
`illustrated in FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of
`the present disclosure;
`FIG. 2B is a rear view of the portable electronic device of
`FIG. 2A;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of various modules included in
`the portable electronic device illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, and
`2B, according to various embodiments of the present dis-
`closure;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of various modules included in
`the server illustrated in FIG. 1, according to various embodi-
`ments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of various modules included in
`the symbology management module illustrated in FIG. 3,
`according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of a server
`for retrieving information about an object;
`FIGS. 7A through 7C collectively illustrate a flow dia-
`gram of a method of a portable electronic device for pre-
`senting information of an object, according to various
`embodiments of the present disclosure.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be
`described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying
`drawings. In the following description, well-known func-
`tions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid
`
`obscuring the present disclosure in unnecessary detail.
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 13 of 19 PageID 25
`Case 6:20-cv-01854-PGB-GJK Document 1-1 Filed 10/06/20 Page 13 of 19 PageID 25
`
`US 9,582,689 B2
`
`3
`Systems and methods are provided for enabling portable
`electronic devices to gather information about a selected
`object and present the information on a display device.
`Using any applicable visual detection device (e.g., a camera,
`scanner, or other device) on the portable electronic device,
`the user may select an object by scanning or capturing an
`image of symbology (e.g., barcodes) associated with the
`object. The object may be an article of commerce, product,
`service, or any item associated with various types of sym-
`bology.
`Many types of detection systems are available to enable a
`user to select an object. One such system may be an image
`capture device containing a charge couple device (CCD) or
`camera, where the user may scan or take a picture of
`symbology (e.g., a barcode) placed on or associated with an
`object. Portable devices (e.g., IPhone from Apple, Android
`from HTC, etc.) may include decoding software to be used
`to decode the scanned barcode symbology. In a further
`embodiment, the object may contain Radio Frequency Iden-
`tification (RFID) tags used to identify the object to a reader
`device. Furthermore, if the portable electronic device con-
`tains an image capture device (e.g., a camera) and character
`recognition software, the user may take a picture of the
`object and the character recognition software may be used to
`decode the image and/or name of the object.
`When symbology has been detected according to the
`embodiments of the present disclosure, the portable elec-
`tronic devices are configured to send the symbology infor-
`mation to the appropriate applications residing on the por-
`table electronic device. These applications are instructed to
`decode the symbology,
`if not already decoded by other
`applications on the portable electronic device. The decode
`string representing the decoded symbology may be used to
`determine the object associated with the symbology and then
`gather
`information about
`that object. Furthermore,
`the
`decode string is sent to a server that is configured to decode
`symbology (if necessary),
`identify one or more objects
`associated with the symbology, retrieve information about
`the one or more objects, and send the information to the
`portable electronic device. The portable electronic device
`may then combine the information from the different sources
`and display the information to the user.
`Some applications that may be downloaded to portable
`electronic devices
`include symbology seaming and/or
`decoding programs. Examples of applications that allow
`scanning include Neomedia’s Neo Reader, Microsoft’s
`Smart Tags, Android’s Shop Savvy, Red Laser, ScanBuy,
`etc. However, when a user wishes to scan an object, the user
`must then select an application on the portable electronic
`device that is capable of accomplishing the desired func-
`tions. Since a user may have dozens of applications loaded
`on his or her portable electronic device, it may be difficult to
`select the appropriate application for executing the scanning
`functions. The present disclosure provides for the automatic
`selection of scanning application upon recognition of appli-
`cable symbology. The embodiments of the present disclo-
`sure also allows for the selection of the best application or
`applications for scanning a particular symbology when
`multiple scanning applications reside on the device. In some
`embodiments, the symbology managing application may be
`configured to recognize decodable symbology when the user
`is using the portable electronic device for a simple image
`capture process. In this sense, the device may allow the user
`to select whether or not the symbology is to be decoded.
`According to various embodiments of the present disclo—
`sure, various portable devices already owned by many
`customers can be enhanced with software applications to
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`enable information retrieval procedures as described in the
`present disclosure. The portable electronic device may use
`any suitable communications protocols including but not
`limited to WiFi (a, b, c d, n, x), cellular communications
`such as GSM, CDMA, FOMA, etc., infrared communica-
`tions, cabled communications, Bluetooth communications,
`satellite communications, etc.
`FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a
`communication system 10 in accordance with various imple-
`mentations of the present disclosure. The communication
`system 10 in this embodiment includes a server 12, a storage
`medium 14, a portable electronic device 16, one or more
`satellites 18, one or more satellite dishes 20, one or more
`mobile terminal communications towers 22, one or more
`Wi-Fi
`towers 24, each of which may be configured to
`transmit and/or receive signals to the other elements of the
`communication system 10 via a communication network 26.
`For example,
`the portable electronic device 16 may be
`configured to communicate with the server 12 via the
`communication network 26 to transfer cellular voice signals,
`data signals, or other types of signals.
`The portable electronic device 16 and server 12 may be
`connected to the communication network 26 (e.g., the Inter-
`net) by any suitable means, such as, for example, hardwired
`and/or wireless connections, such as dial-up, hardwired,
`cable, DSL, satellite, cellular, PCS, wireless transmission
`(e.g., 802.11a/b/g), etc.
`It
`is to be appreciated that
`the
`communication network 26 may be a local area network
`(LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, or any other
`type of network that couples a plurality of computers to
`enable various modes of communication via network mes-
`
`sages. Furthermore, the server 12 may communicate using
`various protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol/
`Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
`Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc. and secure proto-
`cols such as Internet Protocol Security Protocol (IPSec),
`Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Secure Sockets
`Layer (SSL) Protocol, etc. The server 12 may access the
`storage medium 14, which is configured to store a database
`containing information about a number of objects, such as
`tables identifying objects by their respective decoded sym-
`bology, information about the specifications, cost, features,
`and other details about the objects, and other information
`and data.
`According to some embodiments, the objects of interest
`may refer to products and/or services sold at various stores.
`As will be appreciated from the description below, a unique
`identification code is associated with each product and/or
`service and may take many forms, such as a barcode number,
`a UPC number, an alphanumeric number assigned to the
`product, a name of the article (e. g., “Batman Begins DVD”),
`etc. The identification codes may be attached to or printed on
`the products or in some other way associated with the
`products. According to other embodiments, the products or
`items may refer to any type of object for which the user
`wishes to receive information,
`identifiable by a unique
`identification code.
`
`The user may utilize the portable electronic device 16 to
`obtain a visual representation of an object 28 or portion of
`the object 28. For example, if the object 28 includes a
`barcode 30, the portable electronic device 16 may be con-
`figured to scan the barcode 30 and decode the barcode to
`acquire an identification code of the object. In some embodi-
`ments, the portable electronic device 16 may be configured
`to capture an image of the barcode 30 and decode the
`barcode to acquire the associated identification code of the
`object. Using standard and existing computer processing
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`power and software solutions such as Attrasoft Image rec-
`ognition software, or optical character recognition software
`(OCR software such as OmniPage or ReadIris), the image or
`name of the object may be decoded to determine the identity
`of the object.
`In another embodiment, the user may enter an identifica-
`tion code of the object or the name of the object Via a user
`interface, if the portable electronic device 16 contains a user
`interface allowing user keyboard input. In some implemen-
`tations, the user may speak the name of the product into the 10
`portable electronic device 16 using a microphone and the
`audio signals may in turn be processed into digital form via
`speech recognition software.
`In a further embodiment, some objects may contain Radio
`Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The portable digital
`device 16 may contain an RFID reader to resolve the identity
`of the product. In another embodiment, the name or identi-
`fication code of an object may be broadcast via the Wi-Fi
`tower 24 over a predetermined range. Furthermore, the name
`or identification code of an object may be broadcast from 20
`another portable electronic device (e.g., a gaming device,
`mobile phone, etc.). Here, a user may approach the other
`portable electronic device having an application stored in
`memory or currently being used. The other portable elec-
`tronic device may be configured to automatically broadcast 25
`the identification code of the object (i.e., application) or the
`user of the other portable electronic device may initiate a
`transfer of the identification code, e.g., via an infrared port
`or other wireless port, to the first user.
`The portable electronic device 16 may use the resources 30
`with the device itself to obtain information about the identity
`of the object and other details of the object. Also, once the
`product is identified, the portable electronic device 16 may
`use communications protocols including but not limited to
`Wi-Fi (a, b, c d, n, x), mobile phone communications such 35
`as GSM, CDMA, FOMA, etc., infrared communications,
`cabled communications, Bluetooth communications, satel-
`lite communications, to transmit the identification code to
`the server 12 on the global computer network (GCN), e.g.,
`the Internet. It is to be appreciated that the portable elec- 40
`tronic device 16 may use any one or a combination of
`protocols to transmit the identification code to the server 12.
`For example, the portable electronic device 16 may employ
`a telecommunication protocol to transmit the identification
`code via the communication module 26. In another embodi- 45
`
`ment, the portable electronic device 16 may communicate to
`the server 12 via the same Wi-Fi tower 24 that broadcasts a
`
`list of objects for which information is available, e.g., a hot
`spot in a retail location.
`The server 12 may be maintained by a vendor associated 50
`with the object. For example, in the case of seeking infor-
`mation about a Warner BrothersTM DVD movie, the server
`12 may be a Warner Brothers server connected to a Warner
`Brothers website. However, the server 12 may also be a
`vendor not associated or even competing with the object. For 55
`example, if the product is a Warner BrothersTM DVD movie,
`the server 12 may be an e-commerce site such as Amazon-
`.com that oifers DVD movies from many companies includ-
`ing Warner Brothers.
`FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of the portable electronic 60
`device 16 shown in FIG. 1. According to various implemen-
`tations, the portable electronic device 16 may be configured
`to transmit and receive wireless communication signals. As
`illustrated in this embodiment, the portable electronic device
`16 includes various electrical components disposed within a 65
`generally rectangular housing 40. A display device 42 is
`provided for displaying text, images, video, and other visual
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`content, such as movies, animation, etc. A speaker 44 is
`provided for producing audio (e.g., voice, music, sound-
`tracks associated with a video, or other types of audio
`content). An audio port 46 may be configured to receive a
`plug or connector from a headphone, speaker system, stereo
`system, etc., to stream the audio to an external device. It is
`to be appreciated that when the external device is connected
`to the audio port 46, the speaker 44 may be disabled. Input
`means 48 may include a plurality of buttons 50 for inputting
`data and navigating through a plurality of menus. A touch
`screen overlaid upon the display device 42 may also be
`coupled to the input module for facilitating user input. The
`portable electronic device 16 further includes a memory port
`52 for storing a plurality of content and a transmission
`system (not shown) for transmitting/receiving data and/or
`content
`to another device, e.g., a personal computer, a
`personal digital assistant (PDA), a server residing on the
`Internet, etc. Optionally, the portable electronic device 16
`may include a microphone 54 for acquiring audio from the
`user of the device to input data. In some embodiments, the
`portable electronic device 16 may include a scanning device
`56. An image capture device 58 may be located on a back
`side of the portable electronic device 16 as shown in FIG.
`2B.
`
`Referring to FIG. 3, various components of the portable
`electronic device 16 of FIG. 2 are described. In FIG. 3, the
`portable electronic device 16 contains a bus 60 that inter-
`connects a display module 62 (related to the display device
`42), an input module 64 (related to input means 48), a
`storage module 66 (related to memory port 52), a transmis-
`sion module 68, a computer processing module 70, a capture
`module 72 (related to image capture device 58), a scanning
`module 74 (related to scanning device 56), other visual
`detection modules 76, a communication module 78, a sym-
`bology management module 80, and an encryption module
`82.
`
`The computer processing module 70 (e.g., a micropro-
`cessor) may use computer software instructions and con-
`ventional computer processing power to interact and orga-
`nize the traffic flow between the various other modules. It is
`
`to be understood that the present disclosure may be imple-
`mented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware,
`special purpose processors, or a combination thereof. The
`bus 60 couples the various components shown in FIG. 3 and
`may be any of several types of bus structures (e.g., a memory
`bus, memory controller, a peripheral bus, a local bus, etc.)
`using any of a variety of bus architectures. The portable
`electronic device 16 also includes an operating system and
`micro instruction code preferably residing in read only
`memory (ROM) of the storage module 66. The various
`processes and functions described herein may either be part
`of the micro instruction code or part of an application
`program (or a combination thereof) which is executed via
`the operating system. Exemplary operating systems include
`but are not limited to SymbianOS, Windows Mobile/Win-
`dows CE, Palm OS, Linux, Blackberry OS, BREW, etc.,
`which have been developed for mobile computing applica-
`tions and can handle both data computing and communica-
`tion applications, e.g., voice communications.
`It is to be further understood that because some of the
`
`constituent device components and method steps depicted in
`the accompanying figures may be implemented in software,
`the actual connections between the device components (or
`the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in
`which the present disclosure is programmed. Given the
`teachings of the present disclosure provided herein, one of
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`ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate
`these and similar implementations or configurations of the
`present disclosure.
`The computer processing module 70 may further include,
`in addition to a microprocessor, a digital signal processor
`(DSP) for decoding stored audio, Video and photo files to be
`played on the portable electronic device 16. As is known in
`the art, the DSP may include several known decompression
`algorithms for decompressing stored media content, e.g., a
`MP3 file. The device 16 of the present disclosure is config-
`ured to support various file types including but not limited
`to Microsoft Windows Media Video files (.wmv), Microsoft
`Photo Story files (.asf), Microsoft Windows Media Audio
`files (.wma), MP3 audio files (.mp3), JPEG image files (.jpg,
`.jpeg,
`.jpe,
`.jfif), MPEG movie files (.mpeg,
`.mpg,
`.mpe,
`.mlv,
`.mp2v .mpeg2), Microsoft Recorded TV Show files
`(.dvr-ms), Microsoft Windows Video files (.avi) and Micro-
`soft Windows Audio files (.wav).
`The display module 62 is configured to display digital
`information such as video files, image files, text files, etc.
`The display module 62 (and any corresponding display
`devices) may be configured in any suitable form, including,
`for example, Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD), Light emitting
`diode displays (LED), Cathode Ray Tube Displays (CRT) or
`any other type of display currently existing or existing in the
`future. The display module 62 may also include an audio
`output device, e.g., speaker 44, audio port 46, etc., allowing
`the user to also hear audio output, e.g., audio associated with
`a video, a MP3 file, etc.
`The input module 64 is configured to either receive user
`instructions via text
`input by the way of buttons 50, a
`standard keyboard interface c