Patent ID: 6321991
Filing Date: 2001-11-27
Classification: G06F,G06K,H04L

Abstract:
A web-based television system for enabling an operator to access and display HTML-encoded documents located on the World Wide Web(WWW), said Web-based television system comprising:one or more Internet information servers connected to the infrastructure of the Internet, supporting the TCP/IP standard, and storing a plurality of HTML-encoded documents at a plurality of storage locations provided therein, wherein said plurality of specified storage locations are specified by a plurality of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs);a WWW-site guide in which a plurality of bar code symbols are preprinted along with a plurality of Web-site descriptors, each said bar code symbol being encoded with information related to one of said plurality of URLs;an Internet terminal unit connected to the infrastructure of the Internet, and embodying a GUI-based Internet browser program, supporting the TCP/IP networking standard;a television set operably connected to said Internet terminal unit, and having an audio-visual display monitor for displaying graphical and audio information content contained in each HTML-encoded document accessed by said Internet terminal unit; anda wireless remote control device havinga hand-supportable housing supportable within the hand of an operator,a bar code symbol reader integrated within said hand-supportable housing, anda communication circuit for enabling a wireless data communication link with said Internet terminal unit, wherein said bar code symbol reader is programmed for reading each said bar code symbol printed on said WWW-site guide and producing information related to one said plurality of URLs; andupon reading each said bar code symbol on said WWW-site guide, said bar code symbol reader automatically produces information related to one said URL, and said produced information is transmitted over said wireless data communication link, to said Internet terminal unit, andwhereupon said GUI-based Internet browser program at said Internet terminal uses said TCP/IP networking standard and said produced data to automatically access the HTML-encoded document specified by said URL related to said produced information, and display said accessed HTML-encoded document on said audio-visual monitor of said television set for viewing purposes.