Hand-held portable WWW access terminal with visual display panel and GUI-based WWW browser program integrated with bar code symbol reader

A portable information access terminal for allowing an operator to access and display HTML-encoded documents located on an information network by reading bar code symbols encoded with URLs pointing thereto, said portable information access terminal comprising:

• a hand-supportable housing;
• a bar code symbol reader, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, and programmed for (i) reading a bar code symbol encoded with a URL specifying the location of an HTML-encoded document stored in an information server connected to said information network and supporting the TCP/IP standard, and (ii) producing symbol character data representative of said URL;
• visual information display means, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for visually displaying information including graphical information contained in said HTML-encoded document specified by said URL;
• network accessing means, disposed in said hand-supportable housing and responsive to said bar code symbol reader, said network accessing means further including
• (i) computing means disposed in said hand-supportable housing, and
• (ii) a GUI-based WWW browser program executed by said computing means, and integrated with said bar code symbol reader in said hand-supportable housing, so that, in response to said bar code symbol reader reading the bar code symbol encoded with said URL, said GUI-based WWW browser program automatically accesses the HTML-encoded document specified by said URL using said TCP/IP standard and the symbol character data representative of said URL, and automatically displays said accessed HTML-encoded document on said visual information display means for review by the operator;
• and
• a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver, integrated with said hand-supportable housing and being operably connected to said network accessing means, for enabling a wireless two-way telecommunication link between said Internet accessing means and a base station operably connected to an Internet service provider (ISP) connected to said information network so as to enable said network accessing means to access said HTML-encoded document specified by the URL encoded in said bar code symbol read by said bar code symbol reader.

An Internet-based information system for allowing an operator to access and display HTML-encoded documents on the WWW by reading bar code symbols encoded with URLs pointing thereto, said information system comprising:

• (A) an Internet information server connected to the Internet, supporting the TCP/IP standard, and storing a HTML-encoded document at a location on the Internet specified by a URL;
• and
• (B) a portable WWW access terminal including
• (1) a hand-supportable housing supportable within the hand of said operator;
• (2) a bar code symbol reader, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, and programmed for (i) reading a bar code symbol encoded with said URL specifying the location of said HTML-encoded document stored in said Internet information server, and (ii) producing symbol character data representative of said URL;
• (3) visual information display means, integrated with said hand-supportable housing, for visually displaying information including graphical information contained in said HTML-encoded document specified by said URL;
• (4) Internet accessing means, disposed in said hand-supportable housing and responsive to said bar code symbol reader, said Internet accessing means further including
• (i) computing means disposed in said hand-supportable housing, and
• (ii) a GUI-based WWW browser program executed by said computing means, and integrated with said bar code symbol reader in said hand-supportable housing, so that, in response to said bar code symbol reader reading the bar code symbol encoded with said URL, said GUI-based WWW browser program automatically accesses from said Internet information server, the HTML-encoded document specified by said URL using said TCP/IP standard and the symbol character data representative of said URL, and automatically displays said accessed HTML-encoded document on said visual information display means of said portable WWW access computer terminal for review by the operator;
• and
• (5) a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver, integrated with said hand-supportable housing and being operably connected to said Internet accessing means, for enabling a wireless two-way telecommunication link between said Internet accessing means and a base-station operably connected to an Internet service provider connected the Internet so as to enable said Internet accessing means to access said HTML-encoded document specified by the URL encoded in said bar code symbol read by said bar code symbol reader.