Computer system control with user data via interface and sensor with identifier Number:7,437,671 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent A method and system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system. The user is provided with an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software. A sensing device in the form of an optically sensing stylus contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user. When the user writes with the stylus, or uses it as a pointer, an operative end of the stylus is brought into contact with the interface surface. The sensing device senses indicating data indicative of the at least one interactive element using at least some of the coded data. The computer system receives the identifying data and the indicating data from the sensing device. The interactive element is identified in the computer system using the indicating data, and user data is identified using the identifying data. The computer software is operated at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.<H identifier, interface, Computer, system, 7437671.html, Patent, pto, 7437671

Title: Computer system control with user data via interface and sensor with identifier

Abstract: A method and system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system. The user is provided with an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software. A sensing device in the form of an optically sensing stylus contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user. When the user writes with the stylus, or uses it as a pointer, an operative end of the stylus is brought into contact with the interface surface. The sensing device senses indicating data indicative of the at least one interactive element using at least some of the coded data. The computer system receives the identifying data and the indicating data from the sensing device. The interactive element is identified in the computer system using the indicating data, and user data is identified using the identifying data. The computer software is operated at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

Patent Number: 7,437,671 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Lapstun, et al.

Inventors: Lapstun; Paul (Balmain, AU), Silverbrook; Kia (Balmain, AU)
Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd (Balmain, New South Wales, AU)

Appl. No.: 10/291,546

Filed: November 12, 2002

Related U.S. Patent Documents


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
09575161	May., 2000

Foreign Application Priority Data


May 25, 1999 [AU]			PQ0559
Jun 30, 1999 [AU]			PQ1313

Current U.S. Class: 715/702 ; 382/113; 382/114; 434/114; 463/30; 715/701; 715/786; 715/792

Current International Class: G06F 3/00 (20060101)

Field of Search: 715/792,856,701,702 463/30 382/114

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2306669	May., 1997	GB
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Other References

Tappert, Charles C., Ching Y. Suen, Toru Wakahara, "The State of the Art in On-line Handwriting Recognition", IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Aug. 1990, IEEE, vol. 12, No. 8, pp. 787-808. cited by examiner .
Zacker, Craig et al., Using IntranetWare.TM. Special Edition, 1997, Que.RTM. Corporation, pp. 1, 155-158, 234, 243, 487, 608,652, 680, 730. cited by examiner .
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Primary Examiner: Hong; Stephen
Assistant Examiner: Pitaro; Ryan

Parent Case Text

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/575,161 filed on May. 23, 2000.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system via: a first interface surface containing first information relating to the computer software and including first coded data indicative of at least one first interactive element relating to the computer software, said first coded data being printed as a collection of first tags, each first tag identifying an identity of the first surface and a location of the first tag on the first surface; and a sensing device which: contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user; and, when placed in an operative position relative to the first interface surface, senses at least some of the coded data and generates indicating data indicative of the identity of the first surface and of the position of the sensing device relative to the first surface; the method including the steps of, in the computer system: (a) receiving the identifying data from the sensing device; (b) receiving the indicating data from the sensing device when placed in an operative position relative to the first interface surface; (c) identifying the at least one first interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identifying user data from the identifying data; (e) operating the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one first interactive element; and (f) instructing a printer to print a second interface surface representing the output of the computer software operating in accordance with the instructions, said second interface including second information and second coded data indicative of at least one second interactive element relating to the computer software, said second coded data being printed as a collection or second tags, each second tag identifying an identity of the second surface and a location of the second tag on the second surface, wherein the sensing device is further adapted to store a sensing device identifier which is adapted to distinguish the sensing device from other sensing devices of the same type.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user data is identified from both the identifying data and the indicating data.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sensing device generates at least one of movement data and position data, the movement data being indicative of the movement of the sensing device relative to the first interface surface, the position data being indicative of the position of the sensing device relative to the first interface surface, the method including the step of receiving, in the computer system, at least one of the movement data and the position data.

4. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of receiving, in the computer system, the sensing device identifier.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of receiving, in the computer system, the sensing device identifier comprises receiving the sensing device identifier as an encrypted sensing device identifier.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the encrypted sensing device identifier is encrypted using an encryption key.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of receiving, in the computer system, the sensing device identifier comprises receiving the sensing device identifier via a radio frequency signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of receiving, in the computer system, the sensing device identifier comprises receiving the sensing device identifier via a relay device adapted to receive the radio frequency signal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is adapted to store the sensing device identifier in a non-volatile memory in the sensing device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first interactive element is a checkbox field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a hand-drawn mark by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the checkbox field.

11. The method according to claim 10, including the step of associating, in the computer system, a true value with the checkbox field.

12. The method according to claim 10, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the checkbox field.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first interactive element is a text field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered handwritten text data by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the text field.

14. The method according to claim 13, including the step of converting, in the computer system, the handwritten text data to computer text.

15. The method according to claim 14, including the step of associating, in the computer system, the computer text with the text field.

16. The method according to claim 13, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the text field.

17. The method according to claim 14, including the step of converting, in the computer system, the handwritten text data to computer text using an online handwriting recognition program.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first interactive element is a signature field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a handwritten signature by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the signature field.

19. The method according to claim 18, including the step of verifying, in the computer system, that the signature is that of the user.

20. The method according to claim 19, including the step of generating, in the computer system and using a signature key of the user, a digital signature of at least data indicative of a name and/or value of at last one field related to the computer software.

21. The method according to claim 20, including the step of associating, in the computer system, the digital signature with the signature field.

22. The method according to claim 18, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the signature field.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first interactive element is a drawing field related to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a hand-drawn picture by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the drawing field.

24. The method according to claim 23, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the drawing field.

25. A system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system, via: a first interface surface containing first information relating to the computer software and including first coded data indicative of at least one first interactive element relating to the computer software, said first coded data being printed as a collection of first tags, each first tag identifying an identity of the first surface and a location of the first tag on the first surface; and a sensing device which: contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user; and, when placed in an operative position relative to the first interface surface, senses at least some of the coded data and generates indicating data indicative of the identity of the first surface and of the position of the sensing device relative to the first surface; the system being configured to, in the computer system: (a) receive the identifying data from the sensing device; (b) receive the indicating data from the sensing device; (c) identify the at least one first interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identify user data from the identifying data; (e) operate the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one first interactive element; and (f) instruct a printer to print a second interface surface representing the output of the computer software operating in accordance with the instructions said second interface including second information and second coded data indicative of at least one second interactive element relating to the computer software, said second coded data being printed as a collection of second tags, each second tag identifying an identity of the second surface and a location of the second tag on the second surface, wherein the sensing device is further adapted to store a sensing device identifier which is adapted to distinguish the sensing device from other sensing devices of the same type.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the user data is identified from both the identifying data and the indicating data.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein the sensing device generates at least one of movement data and position data, the movement data being indicative of the movement of the sensing device relative to the first interface surface, the position data being indicative of the position of the sensing device relative to the first interface surface, the method including the step of receiving, in the computer system, at least one of the movement data and the position data.

28. The system according to claim 25, the system further including the sensing device.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the sensing device is configured to sense at least one of a movement and a position of the sensing device relative to the first interface surface.

30. The system according to claim 25, wherein the computer system is adapted to receive the sensing device identifier from the sensing device.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the computer system is adapted to receive the sensing device identifier as an encrypted sensing device identifier.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the encrypted sensing device identifier is encrypted using an encryption key.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the computer system is adapted to receive the sensing device identifier via a radio frequency signal.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the computer system is adapted to receive the sensing device identifier via a relay device adapted to receive the radio frequency signal.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein the sensing device is adapted to store the sensing device identifier in a non-volatile memory in the sensing device.

36. The system according to claim 25, wherein the first interactive element is a checkbox field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a hand-drawn mark by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the checkbox field.

37. The system according to claim 36, including the step of associating, in the computer system, a true value with the checkbox field.

38. The system according to claim 36, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the checkbox field.

39. The system according to claim 25, wherein the first interactive element is a text field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered handwritten text data by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the text field.

40. The system according to claim 39, wherein the computer system is adapted to convert the handwritten text data to computer text.

41. The system according to claim 40, including the step of associating, in the computer system, the computer text with the text field.

42. The system according to claim 39, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the text field.

43. The system according to claim 40, wherein the computer system is adapted to convert the handwritten text data to computer text using an online handwriting recognition program.

44. The system according to claim 25, wherein the first interactive element is a signature field relating to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a handwritten signature by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the signature field.

45. The system according to claim 44, including the step of verifying, in the computer system, that the signature is that of the user.

46. The system according to claim 45, including the step of generating, in the computer system and using a signature key of the user, a digital signature of at least data indicative of a name and/or value of at last one field related to the computer software.

47. The system according to claim 46, including the step of associating, in the computer system, the digital signature with the signature field.

48. The system according to claim 44, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the signature field.

49. The system according to claim 25, wherein the first interactive element is a drawing field related to the computer software, the method including the steps of identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered a hand-drawn picture by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an operation associated with the drawing field.

50. The system according to claim 49, including the step of sending, in the computer system, data to the computer software indicative of at least the drawing field.

51. The method of claim 9, wherein the sensing device is adapted to store the sensing device identifier in a read-only memory in the sensing device.

52. The system of claim 35, wherein the sensing device is adapted to store the sensing device identifier in a read-only memory in the sensing device.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system.

The invention has been developed primarily for improving the ease of interaction between a user and a remote computer, by automatically identifying a sensing device used to interact with an interface surface. Although the invention will largely be described herein with reference to this use, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to use in this field.

CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present invention are disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention with the present application:

TABLE-US-00001 6428133 6526658 6315399 6338548 6540319 6328431 6328425 6991320 6383833 6464332 6439693 6390591 7018016 6328417 09/575197 7079712 09/575123 6825945 09/575165 6813039 6987506 7038797 6980318 6816274 7102772 09/575186 6681045 6728000 7173722 7088459 09/575181 7068382 7062651 6789194 6789191 6644642 6502614 6622999 6669385 6549935 6987573 6727996 6591884 6439706 6760119 09/575198 6290349 6428155 6785016 6870966 6822639 6737591 7055739 09/575129 6830196 6832717 6957768 09/575172 7170499 7106888 7123239 6409323 6281912 6604810 6318920 6488422 6795215 7154638

The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by cross-reference.

BACKGROUND

When a user interacts with a computer system, the user typically establishes a personal context so that subsequently invoked computer programs operate by default on data specific to the user. The user can establish a context in various ways, for example by entering a user identifier via a keyboard, or by presenting a hardware token such as a smart card which contains a user identifier.

When a user interacts with an Internet Web site, a personal context is often automatically established with reference to a cookie previously stored by the Web site on the user's computer system.

In the process of establishing a personal context, the user is often expected to provide secret or biometric information which is difficult for a potential impostor to obtain or forge. Usually, the secret or biometric information is verified in the context of the identity of the user, rather than being indicative of the identity of the user per se.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system via:

an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software; and

a sensing device which: contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user; and, when placed in an operative position relative to the interface surface, senses indicating data indicative of the at least one interactive element using at least some of the coded data;

the method including the steps of, in the computer system: (a) receiving the identifying data from the sensing device; (b) receiving the indicating data from the sensing device; (c) identifying the at least one interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identifying user data from the identifying data; and (e) operating the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system, the method including the steps of:

providing an interface surface containing: information relating to the computer software; and coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software; and

in the computer system: (a) receiving identifying data from a sensing device, wherein the sensing device contains the identifying data and the identifying data is indicative of an identity of the user; (b) receiving the indicating data from the sensing device, wherein the sensing device, when placed in an operative position relative to the interface surface, senses the indicating data using at least some of the coded data, the indicating data being indicative of the at least one interactive element; (c) identifying the at least one interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identifying user data from the identifying data; and (e) operating the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system, via:

an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software; and

a sensing device which: contains identifying data indicative of an identity of the user; and, when placed in an operative position relative to the interface surface, senses indicating data indicative of the at least one interactive element using at least some of the coded data;

the system being configured to, in the computer system: (a) receive the identifying data from the sensing device; (b) receive the indicating data from the sensing device; (c) identify the at least one interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identify user data from the identifying data; and (e) operate the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system, the system including:

an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of at least one interactive element relating to the computer software;

the system being configured to, in the computer system: (a) receive identifying data from a sensing device, the identifying data being: indicative of an identity of the user; and contained in the sensing device; (b) receive indicating data from the sensing device, the indicating data being indicative of the at least one interactive element, wherein, when placed in an operative position relative to the interface surface, the sensing device senses indicating data using at least some of the coded data; (c) identify the at least one interactive element from the indicating data; (d) identify user data from the identifying data; and (e) operate the computer software at least partly in reliance on the user data, and in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

Preferably, in each of the aspects, the user data is identified from both the identifying data and the indicating data.

In a preferred embodiment, the coded data, and therefore the indicating data, is indicative of an identity of the interface surface and of at least one reference point of the interface surface.

Preferably, the sensing device generates movement data indicative of its movement relative to the interface surface, the method including the step of receiving, in the computer system, the movement data.

Preferably in the third and fourth aspects, the system includes the sensing device. More preferably, the sensing device is configured to sense its movement relative to the interface surface.

Preferably, the coded data takes the form of tags disposed on the interface surface.

In a particularly preferred form, the tags are printed onto a surface in the form of a piece of paper, and are configured to be read by a sensing device in the form of an optical sensing stylus. The stylus includes non-volatile onboard memory that stores identity data. In one form, the identity data identifies the user to the system, either directly or via a link to data stored remotely. The tags are preferably printed using an ink that absorbs near infrared light but is substantially invisible to a human viewer under normal lighting conditions. When a user brings a sensing end of the stylus close to the surface, one or more of the tags are imaged, interpreted and decoded to provide an indication of the identity of an interactive element, such as a hyperlink element, or a checkbox, text or signature field. Software in an associated computer system is then operated on the basis of instructions associated with the interactive element.

Further aspects of the invention will become apparent from reading the following detailed description of preferred and other embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Preferred and other embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a the relationship between a sample printed netpage and its online page description;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a interaction between a netpage pen, a netpage printer, a netpage page server, and a netpage application server;

FIG. 3 illustrates a collection of netpage servers and printers interconnected via a network;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a high-level structure of a printed netpage and its online page description;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a structure of a netpage tag;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a relationship between a set of the tags shown in FIG. 5 and a field of view of a netpage sensing device in the form of a netpage pen;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a tag image processing and decoding algorithm;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a netpage pen and its associated tag-sensing field-of-view cone;

FIG. 9 is a perspective exploded view of the netpage pen shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a pen controller for the netpage pen shown in FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a wall-mounted netpage printer;

FIG. 12 is a section through the length of the netpage printer of FIG. 11;

FIG. 12a is an enlarged portion of FIG. 12 showing a section of the duplexed print engines and glue wheel assembly;

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of the ink cartridge, ink, air and glue paths, and print engines of the netpage printer of FIGS. 11 and 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a printer controller for the netpage printer shown in FIGS. 11 and 12;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of duplexed print engine controllers and Memjet.TM. printheads associated with the printer controller shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram of the print engine controller shown in FIGS. 14 and 15;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a single Memjet.TM. printing element, as used in, for example, the netpage printer of FIGS. 10 to 12;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a small part of an array of Memjet.TM. printing elements;

FIG. 19 is a series of perspective views illustrating the operating cycle of the Memjet.TM. printing element shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a short segment of a pagewidth Memjet.TM. printhead;

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a user class diagram;

FIG. 22 is a schematic view of a printer class diagram;

FIG. 23 is a schematic view of a pen class diagram;

FIG. 24 is a schematic view of an application class diagram;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view of a document and page description class diagram;

FIG. 26 is a schematic view of a document and page ownership class diagram;

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of a terminal element specialization class diagram;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view of a static element specialization class diagram;

FIG. 29 is a schematic view of a hyperlink element class diagram;

FIG. 30 is a schematic view of a hyperlink element specialization class diagram;

FIG. 31 is a schematic view of a hyperlinked group class diagram;

FIG. 32 is a schematic view of a form class diagram;

FIG. 33 is a schematic view of a digital ink class diagram;

FIG. 34 is a schematic view of a field element specialization class diagram;

FIG. 35 is a schematic view of a checkbox field class diagram;

FIG. 36 is a schematic view of a text field class diagram;

FIG. 37 is a schematic view of a signature field class diagram;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of an input processing algorithm;

FIG. 38a is a detailed flowchart of one step of the flowchart of FIG. 38;

FIG. 39 is a schematic view of a page server command element class diagram;

FIG. 40 is a schematic view of a resource description class diagram;

FIG. 41 is a schematic view of a favorites list class diagram;

FIG. 42 is a schematic view of a history list class diagram;

FIG. 43 is a schematic view of a subscription delivery protocol;

FIG. 44 is a schematic view of a hyperlink request class diagram;

FIG. 45 is a schematic view of a hyperlink activation protocol;

FIG. 46 is a schematic view of a form submission protocol; and

FIG. 47 is a schematic view of a commission payment protocol.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Note: Memjet.TM. is a trade mark of Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd, Australia.

In the preferred embodiment, the invention is configured to work with the netpage networked computer system, a detailed overview of which follows. It will be appreciated that not every implementation will necessarily embody all or even most of the specific details and extensions discussed below in relation to the basic system. However, the system is described in its most complete form to reduce the need for external reference when attempting to understand the context in which the preferred embodiments and aspects of the present invention operate.

In brief summary, the preferred form of the netpage system employs a computer interface in the form of a mapped surface, that is, a physical surface which contains references to a map of the surface maintained in a computer system. The map references can be queried by an appropriate sensing device. Depending upon the specific implementation, the map references may be encoded visibly or invisibly, and defined in such a way that a local query on the mapped surface yields an unambiguous map reference both within the map and among different maps. The computer system can contain information about features on the mapped surface, and such information can be retrieved based on map references supplied by a sensing device used with the mapped surface. The information thus retrieved can take the form of actions which are initiated by the computer system on behalf of the operator in response to the operator's interaction with the surface features.

In its preferred form, the netpage system relies on the production of, and human interaction with, netpages. These are pages of text, graphics and images printed on ordinary paper, but which work like interactive web pages. Information is encoded on each page using ink which is substantially invisible to the unaided human eye. The ink, however, and thereby the coded data, can be sensed by an optically imaging pen and transmitted to the netpage system.

In the preferred form, active buttons and hyperlinks on each page can be clicked with the pen to request information from the network or to signal preferences to a network server. In one embodiment, text written by hand on a netpage is automatically recognized and converted to computer text in the netpage system, allowing forms to be filled in. In other embodiments, signatures recorded on a netpage are automatically verified, allowing e-commerce transactions to be securely authorized.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a printed netpage 1 can represent a interactive form which can be filled in by the user both physically, on the printed page, and "electronically", via communication between the pen and the netpage system. The example shows a "Request" form containing name and address fields and a submit button. The netpage consists of graphic data 2 printed using visible ink, and coded data 3 printed as a collection of tags 4 using invisible ink. The corresponding page description 5, stored on the netpage network, describes the individual elements of the netpage. In particular it describes the type and spatial extent (zone) of each interactive element (i.e. text field or button in the example), to allow the netpage system to correctly interpret input via the netpage. The submit button 6, for example, has a zone 7 which corresponds to the spatial extent of the corresponding graphic 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the netpage pen 101, a preferred form of which is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and described in more detail below, works in conjunction with a netpage printer 601, an Internet-connected printing appliance for home, office or mobile use. The pen is wireless and communicates securely with the netpage printer via a short-range radio link 9.

The netpage printer 601, a preferred form of which is shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 and described in more detail below, is able to deliver, periodically or on demand, personalized newspapers, magazines, catalogs, brochures and other publications, all printed at high quality as interactive netpages. Unlike a personal computer, the netpage printer is an appliance which can be, for example, wall-mounted adjacent to an area where the morning news is first consumed, such as in a user's kitchen, near a breakfast table, or near the household's point of departure for the day. It also comes in tabletop, desktop, portable and miniature versions.

Netpages printed at their point of consumption combine the ease-of-use of paper with the timeliness and interactivity of an interactive medium.

As shown in FIG. 2, the netpage pen 101 interacts with the coded data on a printed netpage 1 and communicates, via a short-range radio link 9, the interaction to a netpage printer. The printer 601 sends the interaction to the relevant netpage page server 10 for interpretation. In appropriate circumstances, the page server sends a corresponding message to application computer software running on a netpage application server 13. The application server may in turn send a response which is printed on the originating printer.

The netpage system is made considerably more convenient in the preferred embodiment by being used in conjunction with high-speed microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based inkjet (Memjet.TM.) printers. In the preferred form of this technology, relatively high-speed and high-quality printing is made more affordable to consumers. In its preferred form, a netpage publication has the physical characteristics of a traditional newsmagazine, such as a set of letter-size glossy pages printed in full color on both sides, bound together for easy navigation and comfortable handling.

The netpage printer exploits the growing availability of broadband Internet access. Cable service is available to 95% of households in the United States, and cable modem service offering broadband Internet access is already available to 20% of these. The netpage printer can also operate with slower connections, but with longer delivery times and lower image quality. Indeed, the netpage system can be enabled using existing consumer inkjet and laser printers, although the system will operate more slowly and will therefore be less acceptable from a consumer's point of view. In other embodiments, the netpage system is hosted on a private intranet. In still other embodiments, the netpage system is hosted on a single computer or computer-enabled device, such as a printer.

Netpage publication servers 14 on the netpage network are configured to deliver print-quality publications to netpage printers. Periodical publications are delivered automatically to subscribing netpage printers via pointcasting and multicasting Internet protocols. Personalized publications are filtered and formatted according to individual user profiles.

A netpage printer can be configured to support any number of pens, and a pen can work with any number of netpage printers. In the preferred implementation, each netpage pen has a unique identifier. A household may have a collection of colored netpage pens, one assigned to each member of the family. This allows each user to maintain a distinct profile with respect to a netpage publication server or application server.

A netpage pen can also be registered with a netpage registration server 11 and linked to one or more payment card accounts. This allows e-commerce payments to be securely authorized using the netpage pen. The netpage registration server compares the signature captured by the netpage pen with a previously registered signature, allowing it to authenticate the user's identity to an e-commerce server. Other biometrics can also be used to verify identity. A version of the netpage pen includes fingerprint scanning, verified in a similar way by the netpage registration server.

Although a netpage printer may deliver periodicals such as the morning newspaper without user intervention, it can be configured never to deliver unsolicited junk mail. In its preferred form, it only delivers periodicals from subscribed or otherwise authorized sources. In this respect, the netpage printer is unlike a fax machine or e-mail account which is visible to any junk mailer who knows the telephone number or email address.

1 Netpage System Architecture

Each object model in the system is described using a Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram. A class diagram consists of a set of object classes connected by relationships, and two kinds of relationships are of interest here: associations and generalizations. An association represents some kind of relationship between objects, i.e. between instances of classes. A generalization relates actual classes, and can be understood in the following way: if a class is thought of as the set of all objects of that class, and class A is a generalization of class B, then B is simply a subset of A. The UML does not directly support second-order modelling--i.e. classes of classes.

Each class is drawn as a rectangle labelled with the name of the class. It contains a list of the attributes of the class, separated from the name by a horizontal line, and a list of the operations of the class, separated from the attribute list by a horizontal line. In the class diagrams which follow, however, operations are never modelled.

An association is drawn as a line joining two classes, optionally labelled at either end with the multiplicity of the association. The default multiplicity is one. An asterisk (*) indicates a multiplicity of "many", i.e. zero or more. Each association is optionally labelled with its name, and is also optionally labelled at either end with the role of the corresponding class. An open diamond indicates an aggregation association ("is-part-of"), and is drawn at the aggregator end of the association line.

A generalization relationship ("is-a") is drawn as a solid line joining two classes, with an arrow (in the form of an open triangle) at the generalization end.

When a class diagram is broken up into multiple diagrams, any class which is duplicated is shown with a dashed outline in all but the main diagram which defines it. It is shown with attributes only where it is defined.

1.1 Netpages

Netpages are the foundation on which a netpage network is built. They provide a paper-based user interface to published information and interactive services.

A netpage consists of a printed page (or other surface region) invisibly tagged with references to an online description of the page. The online page description is maintained persistently by a netpage page server. The page description describes the visible layout and content of the page, including text, graphics and images. It also describes the input elements on the page, including buttons, hyperlinks, and input fields. A netpage allows markings made with a netpage pen on its surface to be simultaneously captured and processed by the netpage system.

Multiple netpages can share the same page description. However, to allow input through otherwise identical pages to be distinguished, each netpage is assigned a unique page identifier. This page ID has sufficient precision to distinguish between a very large number of netpages.

Each reference to the page description is encoded in a printed tag. The tag identifies the unique page on which it appears, and thereby indirectly identifies the page description. The tag also identifies its own position on the page. Characteristics of the tags are described in more detail below.

Tags are printed in infrared-absorptive ink on any substrate which is infrared-reflective, such as ordinary paper. Near-infrared wavelengths are invisible to the human eye but are easily sensed by a solid-state image sensor with an appropriate filter.

A tag is sensed by an area image sensor in the netpage pen, and the tag data is transmitted to the netpage system via the nearest netpage printer. The pen is wireless and communicates with the netpage printer via a short-range radio link. Tags are sufficiently small and densely arranged that the pen can reliably image at least one tag even on a single click on the page. It is important that the pen recognize the page ID and position on every interaction with the page, since the interaction is stateless. Tags are error-correctably encoded to make them partially tolerant to surface damage.

The netpage page server maintains a unique page instance for each printed netpage, allowing it to maintain a distinct set of user-supplied values for input fields in the page description for each printed netpage.

The relationship between the page description, the page instance, and the printed netpage is shown in FIG. 4. The page instance is associated with both the netpage printer which printed it and, if known, the netpage user who requested it.

1.2 Netpage Tags

1.2.1 Tag Data Content

In a preferred form, each tag identifies the region in which it appears, and the location of that tag within the region. A tag may also contain flags which relate to the region as a whole or to the tag. One or more flag bits may, for example, signal a tag sensing device to provide feedback indicative of a function associated with the immediate area of the tag, without the sensing device having to refer to a description of the region. A netpage pen may, for example, illuminate an "active area" LED when in the zone of a hyperlink.

As will be more clearly explained below, in a preferred embodiment, each tag contains an easily recognized invariant structure which aids initial detection, and which assists in minimizing the effect of any warp induced by the surface or by the sensing process. The tags preferably tile the entire page, and are sufficiently small and densely arranged that the pen can reliably image at least one tag even on a single click on the page. It is important that the pen recognize the page ID and position on every interaction with the page, since the interaction is stateless.

In a preferred embodiment, the region to which a tag refers coincides with an entire page, and the region ID encoded in the tag is therefore synonymous with the page ID of the page on which the tag appears. In other embodiments, the region to which a tag refers can be an arbitrary subregion of a page or other surface. For example, it can coincide with the zone of an interactive element, in which case the region ID can directly identify the interactive element.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Tag data Field Precision (bits) Region ID 100 Tag ID 16 Flags 4 Total 120

Each tag contains 120 bits of information, typically allocated as shown in Table 1. Assuming a maximum tag density of 64 per square inch, a 16-bit tag ID supports a region size of up to 1024 square inches. Larger regions can be mapped continuously without increasing the tag ID precision simply by using abutting regions and maps. The 100-bit region ID allows 2.sup.100 (.about.10.sup.30 or a million trillion trillion) different regions to be uniquely identified.

1.2.2 Tag Data Encoding

The 120 bits of tag data are redundantly encoded using a (15, 5) Reed-Solomon code. This yields 360 encoded bits consisting of 6 codewords of 15 4-bit symbols each. The (15, 5) code allows up to 5 symbol errors to be corrected per codeword, i.e. it is tolerant of a symbol error rate of up to 33% per codeword.

Each 4-bit symbol is represented in a spatially coherent way in the tag, and the symbols of the six codewords are interleaved spatially within the tag. This ensures that a burst error (an error affecting multiple spatially adjacent bits) damages a minimum number of symbols overall and a minimum number of symbols in any one codeword, thus maximising the likelihood that the burst error can be fully corrected.

1.2.3 Physical Tag Structure

The physical representation of the tag, shown in FIG. 5, includes fixed target structures 15, 16, 17 and variable data areas 18. The fixed target structures allow a sensing device such as the netpage pen to detect the tag and infer its three-dimensional orientation relative to the sensor. The data areas contain representations of the individual bits of the encoded tag data.

To achieve proper tag reproduction, the tag is rendered at a resolution of 256.times.256 dots. When printed at 1600 dots per inch this yields a tag with a diameter of about 4 mm. At this resolution the tag is designed to be surrounded by a "quiet area" of radius 16 dots. Since the quiet area is also contributed by adjacent tags, it only adds 16 dots to the effective diameter of the tag.

The tag includes six target structures. A detection ring 15 allows the sensing device to initially detect the tag. The ring is easy to detect because it is rotationally invariant and because a simple correction of its aspect ratio removes most of the effects of perspective distortion. An orientation axis 16 allows the sensing device to determine the approximate planar orientation of the tag due to the yaw of the sensor. The orientation axis is skewed to yield a unique orientation. Four perspective targets 17 allow the sensing device to infer an accurate two-dimensional perspective transform of the tag and hence an accurate three-dimensional position and orientation of the tag relative to the sensor.

All target structures are redundantly large to improve their immunity to noise.

The overall tag shape is circular. This supports, amongst other things, optimal tag packing on an irregular triangular grid. In combination with the circular detection ring, this makes a circular arrangement of data bits within the tag optimal. To maximise its size, each data bit is represented by a radial wedge in the form of an area bounded by two radial lines and two concentric circular arcs. Each wedge has a minimum dimension of 8 dots at 1600 dpi and is designed so that its base (its inner arc), is at least equal to this minimum dimension. The height of the wedge in the radial direction is always equal to the minimum dimension. Each 4-bit data symbol is represented by an array of 2.times.2 wedges.

The 15 4-bit data symbols of each of the six codewords are allocated to the four concentric symbol rings 18a to 18d in interleaved fashion. Symbols are allocated alternately in circular progression around the tag.

The interleaving is designed to maximise the average spatial distance between any two symbols of the same codeword.

In order to support "single-click" interaction with a tagged region via a sensing device, the sensing device must be able to see at least one entire tag in its field of view no matter where in the region or at what orientation it is positioned. The required diameter of the field of view of the sensing device is therefore a function of the size and spacing of the tags.

Assuming a circular tag shape, the minimum diameter of the sensor field of view is obtained when the tags are tiled on a equilateral triangular grid, as shown in FIG. 6.

1.2.4 Tag Image Processing and Decoding

The tag image processing and decoding performed by a sensing device such as the netpage pen is shown in FIG. 7. While a captured image is being acquired from the image sensor, the dynamic range of the image is determined (at 20). The center of the range is then chosen as the binary threshold for the image 21. The image is then thresholded and segmented into connected pixel regions (i.e. shapes 23) (at 22). Shapes which are too small to represent tag target structures are discarded. The size and centroid of each shape is also computed.

Binary shape moments 25 are then computed (at 24) for each shape, and these provide the basis for subsequently locating target structures. Central shape moments are by their nature invariant of position, and can be easily made invariant of scale, aspect ratio and rotation.

The ring target structure 15 is the first to be located (at 26). A ring has the advantage of being very well behaved when perspective-distorted. Matching proceeds by aspect-normalizing and rotation-normalizing each shape's moments. Once its second-order moments are normalized the ring is easy to recognize even if the perspective distortion was significant. The ring's original aspect and rotation 27 together provide a useful approximation of the perspective transform.

The axis target structure 16 is the next to be located (at 28). Matching proceeds by applying the ring's normalizations to each shape's moments, and rotation-normalizing the resulting moments. Once its second-order moments are normalized the axis target is easily recognized. Note that one third order moment is required to disambiguate the two possible orientations of the axis. The shape is deliberately skewed to one side to make this possible. Note also that it is only possible to rotation-normalize the axis target after it has had the ring's normalizations applied, since the perspective distortion can hide the axis target's axis. The axis target's original rotation provides a useful approximation of the tag's rotation due to pen yaw 29.

The four perspective target structures 17 are the last to be located (at 30). Good estimates of their positions are computed based on their known spatial relationships to the ring and axis targets, the aspect and rotation of the ring, and the rotation of the axis. Matching proceeds by applying the ring's normalizations to each shape's moments. Once their second-order moments are normalized the circular perspective targets are easy to recognize, and the target closest to each estimated position is taken as a match. The original centroids of the four perspective targets are then taken to be the perspective-distorted corners 31 of a square of known size in tag space, and an eight-degree-of-freedom perspective transform 33 is inferred (at 32) based on solving the well-understood equations relating the four tag-space and image-space point pairs (see Heckbert, P., Fundamentals of Texture Mapping and Image Warping, Masters Thesis, Dept. of EECS, U. of California at Berkeley, Technical Report No. UCB/CSD 89/516, June 1989, the contents of which are herein incorporated by cross-reference).

The inferred tag-space to image-space perspective transform is used to project (at 36) each known data bit position in tag space into image space where the real-valued position is used to bilinearly interpolate (at 36) the four relevant adjacent pixels in the input image. The previously computed image threshold 21 is used to threshold the result to produce the final bit value 37.

Once all 360 data bits 37 have been obtained in this way, each of the six 60-bit Reed-Solomon codewords is decoded (at 38) to yield 20 decoded bits 39, or 120 decoded bits in total. Note that the codeword symbols are sampled in codeword order, so that codewords are implicitly de-interleaved during the sampling process.

The ring target 15 is only sought in a subarea of the image whose relationship to the image guarantees that the ring, if found, is part of a complete tag. If a complete tag is not found and successfully decoded, then no pen position is recorded for the current frame. Given adequate processing power and ideally a non-minimal field of view 193, an alternative strategy involves seeking another tag in the current image.

The obtained tag data indicates the identity of the region containing the tag and the position of the tag within the region. An accurate position 35 of the pen nib in the regio