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Description  |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to mobile computer systems and more
particularly to a method and apparatus for accessing and downloading
information from the internet to a mobile computer system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The internet has become a pervasive medium through which both commercial
and personal users can communicate information targeted at a particular
audience. An internet user has the ability to access a vast amount of
information that is of interest to that user. For example, a user having
an interest in the stock price of a particular company can access any of a
multitude of pages available on the World Wide Web that provides stock
price information to the user. A user interested in the final score and
highlights of a particular sporting event can access a site on the
internet that contains sports scores and highlights of the desired game.
Access to the internet for the purpose of retrieving or sending information
is typically done using a desktop computer. Accessing internet information
using a desktop computer is inefficient because it makes the desired
information available to the user only at a relatively permanent, central
location. A user cannot readily take their desktop computer with them
during travel.
The use of traditional mobile computer systems, such as, for example,
laptop and notebook computers, improves the portability of the internet
access device, while maintaining a significant portion of the speed and
features provided by desktop computer system. Internet access via a
traditional mobile computer while the user is in transit, however, can be
awkward and unreliable. The wireless modem communication required to
transfer Internet information to a mobile computer is currently both slow
and unreliable, and, in addition, traditional mobile computers can be
heavy, fragile, and inconvenient for use in a transit situation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One desire of the present invention is to provide a means for accessing
information on the internet.
Another desire of the present invention is to view information downloaded
from the internet in a mobile form factor.
A method and apparatus for accessing and downloading information from the
internet to a hand held computer system is described. The computer system
includes a bus to which a processor, a display screen, input keys, and a
flash memory are coupled. The flash memory stores an operating system for
the computer system, search criteria, information corresponding to the
search criteria downloaded from the internet, and display application
software for displaying the information on the display screen.
Other desires, features, and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent from the accompanying drawings and the detailed description that
follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation
in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references
indicate similar elements and in which:
FIG. 1 is a hand held computer system formed in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a hand held computer system formed in accordance with another
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer system formed in accordance with
one embodiment the present invention;
FIG. 4 is information stored in a flash memory in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of an embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A method and apparatus for accessing and downloading information from the
internet to a hand held computer system is described in which a hand held
computer system, using flash memory storage, searches and downloads
information from the internet to the flash memory for subsequent display
of the information via an on board display screen. The flash memory of the
hand held computer system stores the operating system, search application
software, display application software, and search criteria. The hand held
computer system includes a phone jack through which the internet is
accessed via a modem.
A user enters search criteria into the hand held computer system, which is
stored in the flash memory. When the hand held computer system is provided
with access to the internet, the storage search application software is
executed and uses the stored search criteria to search the internet for
information corresponding to the search criteria. When such information is
located, it is downloaded from the corresponding internet site to the hand
held computer system and subsequently stored in the flash memory. Later,
when the user desires to view the stored information corresponding to the
search criteria, the display application software stored in the flash
memory is executed by the hand held computer system, and the desired
information stored in the flash memory is displayed on the display screen
of the hand held computer system.
Thus, the hand held computer system can search the internet and download
information overnight, and the user then uses the system to display the
stored information on the display screen while, for example, in transit
between the user's home and office during the morning commute. Various
configuration and implementations in accordance with alternate embodiments
of the present invention are described in more detail below.
FIG. 1 is a hand held computer system 10 that has been designed in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The computer
system includes a display screen 11, user input keys including cursor
movement controller 12, and function keys 13, data storage interface 14,
and external phone jack 15.
For one embodiment of the present invention, computer system 10 provides
the user with a menu on display screen 11, from which the user selects,
via cursor movement controller 12 and the select key of function keys 13,
the desired category of information. The computer system tabulates the
information stored in its flash memory, into a table of topics, as shown
on display screen 11 of FIG. 1, to facilitate topic selection in much the
same way that the index of a newspaper provides a user with a means for
quickly locating desired information. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a
particular alphabetical listing of primary topics stored in the flash
memory of hand held computer system 10 is listed down the left-hand side
of the display screen. Using cursor control input keys 12, a user
highlights a primary topic in the left-hand column, at which point various
subtopics appear in the right-hand column. Again, using the input keys,
the user selects the desired subtopic of the selected topic. For example,
to display information related to the communication business, cursor
movement controller input keys 12 are used to first highlight the primary
topic of business, then to scroll down and highlight the subtopic
"computer." Note that the double arrows at the bottom of the two columns
of display screen 11, indicate that additional topics and subtopics are
scrollable beyond the window of the display screen.
Once the proper topic and, if applicable, subtopic has been highlighted by
the user using cursor movement controller 12, the user presses the
"select" key of user input function keys 13 to display the information
corresponding to the highlighted topic. If the displayed information is of
no interest to the user, the user may press the "delete" key of input keys
13, to delete the undesired information. If instead, the user desires to
save the information to an external memory device, data storage interface
14 is provided for insertion of a PC card containing flash memory. Once a
PC card is inserted into the data storage interface port 14, the user
presses the "save" key of user input function keys 13 to initiate
downloading of the desired information to the flash memory of the PC card.
The purpose for the "setup" key of user input function keys 13 is to cause
hand held computer system 10 to enter a setup mode whereby the user has
the ability to personalize the operation of the computer system by, for
example, determining search criteria, display screen brightness, selecting
internal or external modem operation, and determining which topics are
displayed on the display screen. The "search" key is provided to initiate
a search of the internet once a phone line has been coupled to external
phone jack 15. This is accomplished by, for example, calling a predefined
telephone number of an internet access provider. A "power" button is also
provided for turning the battery-operated hand held computer system on and
off.
In accordance of one embodiment of the present invention, hand held
computer system 10 is approximately five inches wide, seven inches high,
and one inch deep. The screen of the computer system is approximately four
inches wide and five inches high. For alternate embodiments of the present
invention, the dimensions of the computer system are selected to provide
maximum display area in a minimum form factor for portability.
For an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the screen of the
hand held computer system is touch sensitive, so that cursor movement
control and function key selection is done directly from the display
screen itself, thereby eliminating the need to reserve space on the hand
held device, for cursor movement control and function user input keys. For
another embodiment, the computer system also does handwriting recognition
from the display screen, enabling user entry via a stylus. For another
embodiment, cursor movement control is accomplished using a fixed
trackball or joystick.
For one embodiment of the present invention, in addition to downloading
desired information from the internet to internal flash memory, the hand
held computer system also downloads a user's electronic mail messages.
Unfortunately, for the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the user input keys
provided, do not easily facilitate responding to email messages. In
addition, the limited number of input keys provided in the embodiment of
FIG. 1 do not facilitate the entry of highly complex user-defined search
criteria. Therefore, for an alternate embodiment of the present invention,
additional or alternately defined input keys are provided for the
convenience of the user.
FIG. 2 shows such an embodiment in which a hand held computer system has
been designed to provide greater flexibility with respect to the input of
information by a user. Hand held computer system 20 includes display
screen 21, an expanded set of user input keys 22, a data storage interface
23, and external phone jack 24. With hand held computer system 20, the
user can not only download and view email but also can write email
messages via user input keys 22, including a full alpha-numeric key pad.
In addition to being able to type in email messages via user input keys 22,
for one embodiment of the present invention, a user has the ability to
specifically tailor their internet search criteria, using input keys 22,
to limit their fields of search to more specific areas of information. For
example, while a user of the hand held computer system of FIG. 1 may be
limited to selecting between downloading all business news related to the
automotive industry or none at all, a user of the computer system of FIG.
2 can specifically enter, via input keys 22, that only automotive business
related to electric vehicles from Germany is to be downloaded and stored
in the internal flash memory of the computer system (see below for an
example of such a query).
Using the computer systems described above, a user can effectively design
their own "morning paper" by entering the appropriate search criteria into
to the computer system and providing the computer system with internet
access, overnight. Then, while the user is asleep, the computer system
downloads information from the Internet that corresponds to the search
criteria, and stores the information in its internal flash memory. In the
morning the user accesses the stored information, viewing it via the
display screen, thereby receiving up-to-date information without the use
of a newspaper.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer system formed in accordance with
embodiment of the present invention, in which, processor 30 is coupled to
bus 31 of the computer system. A bus is a means by which various
components of the computer system communicate with each other. Bus 31 of
FIG. 3 comprises any of a number of standard, proprietary buses and bus
protocols coupled by bridges or other coupling devices. Also, coupled to
bus 31 is data storage 32, screen 33, modem 34, flash memory 35, input
keys 36, and random access memory (RAM) 37.
Processor 30 is used to execute instructions stored in flash memory 35 or
RAM 37. For one embodiment of the present invention, processor 30
comprises a relatively cheap, older generation processor, such as, for
example, a 386 or 486 processor. For one embodiment of the present
invention, the processor is incorporated into an embedded controller or a
micro-processing device. Processor 30 need not be an expensive, high
powered processor because, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention, the most processing-intensive application of the computer
system occurs during a search of the internet during a period of time in
which the user is not actively awaiting the results of the search (such
as, for example, overnight, while the user is asleep). Because the user is
not actively awaiting results of the search, searching for and downloading
the desired information can proceed relatively slowly, allowing a less
expensive processor to be implemented, thereby reducing the cost of the
overall computer system.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is no
disk, either floppy or hard drive, coupled to bus 31 or otherwise
incorporated into the computer system. Instead, flash memory 35 is used to
store any and all data requiring non-volatile permanency. Ensuring that
the computer system is entirely solid-state in this manner, improves the
reliability and reduces the cost of the system.
For one embodiment of the present invention, data storage 32 coupled to bus
31 is optional, and may include, for example, a removable PC card that a
user can insert into a data storage interface slot of the computer system.
Data storage 32 is used to externally store information from internal
flash memory 35 or RAM 37, for the purpose of either backing up the
information or allowing the information to be transferred to another
computer system having a compatible data storage interface. This
embodiment may be found useful for applications in which, for example,
information downloaded from the internet and stored in the flash memory is
to be incorporated into a report or presentation being prepared on a
larger desktop or mobile computer system.
Screen 33 is coupled to bus 31 and is used to display the information
stored in flash memory 35. While information is being displayed on screen
33, screen image information is stored in RAM 37. Using RAM 37 to store
this information rather than flash memory 35 improves the speed with which
screen 33 is updated, because data stored in RAM 37 can be more quickly
updated than can data stored in flash memory 35.
For the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, the computer
system includes modem 34 coupled to bus 31, and is an internal modem of
the computer system. For an alternate embodiment of the present invention,
only a modem interface is coupled to the bus of the computer system. This
modem interface communicates with an external modem used to couple a phone
line to the computer system. For one embodiment of the present invention,
the modem used to couple the computer system to a an internet access
provider, via a phone line, operates at 19.2 Kbs. For alternate
embodiments of the present invention, slower modems may be used to reduce
the cost of the overall computer system, or faster modems may be used to
improve the performance of the system. In general, however, the reduced
performance provided by slower modems will not likely have a great impact
of the function of the computer system because, as described above with
respect to processor selection, a user will not perceive the slow
execution speed of searching for and downloading information, because this
is done during a period of time when the user is not directly interacting
with the computer system.
For one embodiment of the present invention, flash memory 35, which is
coupled to bus 31, includes approximately 8 to 16 Mb of internal flash
memory storage capacity. For an alternate embodiment of the present
invention, flash memory 35, includes as little as 2 Mb of storage
capacity. For other embodiments of the present invention, the flash memory
storage capacity of the computer system increases with increased flash
memory storage density and decreased cost per bit of flash storage. As
will become evident from the discussion below with respect to FIG. 4,
determination of the proper memory storage capacity of flash memory 35
involves balancing the cost of the flash memory, the size of the actual
flash memory devices, and the information storage capacity, operating
system size, display application software size, and other data which must
be stored in the flash memory.
Flash memory 35 is used to store the information downloaded from an
internet site corresponding to a predefined search criteria that the user
has entered. Although the speed with which information can be stored in a
flash memory device is relatively slow with respect to, for example, data
stored in RAM, the delay in storage speed is imperceptible to a user
because, as described above with respect to the selection of the processor
and modem, searching and downloading information from the internet to the
computer system is automatically done during a period of time in which the
user is not directly interacting with the computer system. In accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention, as information is downloaded
from the internet via a phone line and through modem 34 to bus 31, the
information is temporarily buffered in RAM 37 before being transferred
into flash memory 35. For an alternate embodiment of the present
invention, modem 34 buffers the data, placing it in a format which can be
quickly stored in flash 35.
Input keys 36 coupled to bus 31 includes user input function keys and user
input cursor movement controllers, such as, for example, an alphanumeric
keypad, arrow keys, mouse, trackball, or joystick. For an alternate
embodiment of the present invention in which the screen of the computer
system is touch sensitive, some or all of the input is done via the screen
itself.
For one embodiment of the present invention, RAM 37 coupled to bus 31
includes dynamic RAM devices. For an alternate embodiment of the present
invention, static RAM or video RAM may also be implemented.
FIG. 4 depicts the storage of information in the flash memory of a computer
system designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
An operating system 41 is stored in an address space of flash memory 40.
Operating system 41 contains the instructions and other information that
the computer system needs to implement the functions described above. For
one embodiment of the present invention, all or a portion of operating
system 41 is downloaded to the RAM of the computer system upon turning on
the computer system. For another embodiment, the operating system remains
in the internal flash memory and the processor runs the operating system
directly from the flash memory.
Search application software is stored in address space 42 of flash memory
40. For one embodiment of the present invention, this search application
software contains all the instructions and data needed such that, when the
processor executes this search application, the computer system searches
the internet for the desired information. For example, an intelligent
browser is included in the search application software address space. For
another embodiment of the present invention, the search application
software works in conjunction with search application software residing on
a server at an internet site to implement searching for and downloading of
the desired information. For example, bookmark definitions may be all that
is included in the search application software address space. These
bookmarks are used in conjunction with an internet-based search program to
download the desired information from the bookmarked internet sites. For
another embodiment of the present invention, there is no search
application software stored in the flash memory of the computer system.
For this embodiment, all search application instructions and data reside
on-line and the computer system executes the search application when the
computer system accesses the appropriate internet site.
Display application software is stored in address space 43 of flash memory
40. This display application software includes the instructions and data
that, when executed by the processor of the computer system, causes the
information to be displayed on a display screen. For example, for one
embodiment of the present invention, the display application software
includes routines that provide for highlighting successive topics of
information stored in the flash memory of the computer system in response
to a user input of cursor movement commands. For another embodiment of the
present invention, the display application software includes one or more
decompression routines for decompressing information stored in the flash
memory of the computer system, preparing the information for display on
the display screen of the computer system.
An identification number is stored in address space 44 of flash memory 40.
This identification number is permanently stored in flash memory 40 and
uniquely identifies the particular hand held computer system. For one
embodiment of the present invention, the identification number is
transmitted to a database residing at an internet site to access
predefined variables corresponding to the particular hand held computer
system. These variables are then used to tailor the execution of a
software application. For example, a user may enter specific search
criteria for an internet search and store that criteria in an on-line
database along with the users identification number. A hand held computer
system designed in accordance with the present invention then accesses
this database, transmits the identification number, and the search
criteria corresponding to the identification number is then provided and
used in conjunction with search application software (residing either
on-line or in the hand held computer system) to search for the appropriate
information. For another embodiment of the present invention, the
identification number is used for billing purposes, to charge the user of
the hand held computer system each time a search is executed.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the date
representing the date at which the hand held computer system was last
updated is stored in address space 45 of flash memory 40. For one
embodiment of the present invention, this date may be found useful for
application in which a previously searched internet site has not been
updated since the site was last searched. By comparing the date that the
site was last updated to the date that the information stored in the flash
memory was last updated, a time consuming, redundant search of the sight
may be avoided.
Search criteria is stored in address space 46 of flash memory 40. This
search criteria is defined by the user of the hand held computer system
and contains key words along with boolean expressions. For example, if a
user desires all information related to the German electric vehicle
industry, the search criteria will include the expression : (GERMAN) and
[(ELECTRIC VEHICLE) or (ELECTRIC CAR) or (ELECTRIC AUTO)]. For another
embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory of the computer
system does not contain search criteria, and instead the search criteria
is stored in a database, at an internet site along with the corresponding
unique hand held computer system identification number for access by the
hand held computer system during an internet search, as described above.
Information corresponding to the search criteria from corresponding
internet sites is stored in address space 47 of flash memory 40. For one
embodiment of the present invention, only text information is stored in
the information storage address space. For another embodiment of the
present invention, both text and graphical information is stored. The text
or graphic information may be stored as compressed or uncompressed data.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention in which
the hand held computer system operates in conjunction with an on-line
database to search the internet for information corresponding to the
user-defined search criteria. First, the internet is searched for a
predefined set of information corresponding to a broad predefined search
criteria, at step 50. This broad search criteria may be defined by the
hand held computer system user or by a facilitator. The results of the
search at step 50 are filtered, compiled, and, for one embodiment, are
placed in a presentable format by the facilitator and stored in a database
at step 51.
Referring back to FIG. 1, information corresponding to all of the possible
categories of information that a user has an opportunity to select, using
hand held computer system 10, is stored in the database at step 51 of FIG.
5. For example, all arts, business, classifieds, comics, editorial, etc.,
information is pre-searched and pre-categorized into topics and subtopics,
and is stored in the database at step 51.
Next, at step 52 the hand held computer system sends its user-defined
search criteria to the on-line database via a modem. At step 53, the
database then sends information matching the user-defined search criteria
back to the hand held computer system. At step 54, this information is
then loaded into flash memory in the hand held computer system. At step
55, the information is displayed on the display screen on the hand held
computer system in response to user selections of the corresponding topics
and subtopics.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with
reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be
evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without
departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The
specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an
illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
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