International Business Machines Corporation

James M Mathewson, Ii

Marcia Lambert Peters

Bryan Eric Aupperle

John Raithel Hind

Marcia L Stockton

Renee Marie Kovales

Brian Thomas Webb

Edith H Stern

Barry Edward Willner

David Louis Kaminsky

Steven Michael Miller

Gabriel Aaron Cohen

Yongcheng Li

Yih-Shin Tan

Robert J Sundstrom

Diane Phylis Pozefsky

James P Gray

David Blair Gilgen

Srinivasan Muralidharan

J Smith Doss

Richard Dean Telford

Gerald Laverte Mitchell, Jr

Bradley Thomas Marchesseault

Keith Rafferty

Gregory Thomas Knowles

Anandha S Srinivasan

Carol Eddy Aupperle

Michael Srihari

David William Galloway

A method and system for providing targeted advertising in public places and carriers such as trains, buses, train stations, shopping malls, airports, etc. The demographics, purchasing history and/or personal preferences of individuals in the public place are collected from personal digital assistants (PDAs) or other wireless communication devices carried by the individuals in the public place or public carrier. The collected data pertaining to a group of individuals who are present near the display device, is processed and used to select appropriate advertisements that would most likely interest that group of individuals. The selected advertisements are displayed on the display device located in the public place or public carrier so as to provide targeted advertising to the group of individuals.

Method and system for providing targeted advertising in public places and carriers

As a user navigates through a sequence of screens by selecting certain 'aid' keys, a graph will be built reflecting the navigation history of the user. When a user requests a certain screen by selecting a particular key, screen data is received from a host on a web server. The screen data for the requested screen is compared to the screen data for the screen(s) in the graph associated with the selected key. If a match is established, the user has visited this screen before and its data has already been converted (e.g., scraped). As such, the screen can be retrieved from storage and served to the user. If, however, a match cannot be established, the requested screen will be converted and stored, and the graph will be updated.

Learning computer-generated screens based on user key selections

The present invention is a method of managing missed calls providing a calling party, who initiates a call that is not pick-up by a called party (i.e., intended recipient), the autonomy to retain or delete telephone number of calling party in phone registered on the called party phone as caller identification (ID) through a mobile service provider (MSP) of a telecommunications network. The method may be implemented as part of a telecommunication system or as part of a computer program. Also, provided is a method and system for calling party to create annotation in a mobile service provider system parenthetical information for called party to retrieve or to alert called party.

Method and system for enhanced management of missed phone calls

A method, system and article of manufacture for determining whether a presentation space (PS) is completely built in a TN3270 environment. In general, a TN3270 client is provided with an indication from a TN3270 server that a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) application has completely built the PS. In some cases, the indication prompts the TN3270 client to unlock a device, such as a keyboard.

Systems and methods for determining completion of building a presentation space in a TN3270 environment

A method for activating a distinctive ring-tone can include the steps of extracting caller identifying data from an incoming phone call; comparing the caller identifying data to data in a caller list; determining whether the caller is authorized to activate a distinctive ring-tone based upon the comparison; and, activating a distinctive ring-tone if the caller is authorized and if a request to activate a distinctive ring-tone can be detected in the incoming phone call. The extracting step can include the step of extracting a source phone number from the incoming phone call. The determining step can include the step of determining whether the caller has been included in the caller list as an authorized caller. Conversely, the determining step comprises the step of determining whether the caller has been included in the caller list as an unauthorized caller.

Ring-tone identification of urgent phone calls

Methods, systems, and computer program products for enabling message senders and event creators to convey time-sensitivity of their messages and events (such as electronic mail messages, electronic calendar entries, and 'to-do' items), and for handling such messages and events at a receiver. A message sender marks messages as to whether they are time-sensitive, and may also identify a starting and ending time and/or date during which the time-sensitive status applies. When such a message arrives at a recipient, it is evaluated and if the time-sensitive period has been reached, the message is automatically displayed to the recipient. Preferably, the recipient must handle the displayed message before continuing on to other messages. The disclosed techniques enable messages to be viewed in a timely manner, according to the sender's representation of the time-sensitivity of the message. As a result of these improvements, communication between senders and receivers may become more effective.

Time-sensitive messages and events

A personal articles tracking system, method and apparatus. In the system of the invention, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader can be coupled to a tracking processor. A data store further can be configured to store tag data from corresponding RFID tags. Finally, an alert can be programmed to activate when the tracking processor no longer can sense within range of the RFID reader an RFID tag having corresponding tag data stored in the data store.

Personal articles tracking

A method, system and apparatus for collectively tracking a lost, misplaced or stolen personal article. The method can include distributing a multiplicity of tracking processors to corresponding subscribers in a personal article tracking community. An indication can be received from one of the subscribers in the community that a personal article having an RFID tag has fallen out of range of a tracking processor associated with the one of the subscribers. An identifier for the RFID tag can be forwarded to other subscribers in the community. Subsequently, notification can be received from at least one of the other subscribers that the RFID tag has been sensed in proximity to a tracking processor coupled to the at least one of the other subscribers.

Collective personal articles tracking

A method and system for identifying and tracking persons using RFID-tagged items carried on the persons. Previous purchase records for each person who shops at a retail store are collected by POS terminals and stored in a transaction database. When a person carrying or wearing items having RFID tags enters the store or other designated area, a RFID tag scanner located therein scans the RFID tags on that person and reads the RFID tag information. The RFID tag information collected from the person is correlated with transaction records stored in the transaction database according to known correlation algorithms. Based on the results of the correlation, the exact identity of the person or certain characteristics about the person can be determined. This information is used to monitor the movement of the person through the store or other areas.

Identification and tracking of persons using RFID-tagged items in store environments

Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business by adapting audio renderings of non-audio messages (for example, e-mail messages that are processed by a text-to-speech translator) to reflect various nuances of the non-audio information. Audio cues are provided for this purpose, which are sounds that are 'mixed' in with the audio rendering as a separate (background) audio stream. Audio cues may reflect information such as the topical structure of a text file, or changes in paragraphs. Or, audio cues may be used to signal nuances such as changes in the color or font of the source text. Audio cues may also be advantageously used to reflect information about the translation process with which the audio rendering of a text file was created, such as using varying background tones to convey the degree of certainty in the accuracy of translating text to audio using a text-to-speech translation system, or of translating audio to text using a voice recognition system, or of translating between languages, and so forth. Stylesheets, such as those encoded in the Extensible Stylesheet Language ('XSL'), may optionally be used to customize the audio cues. For example, a user-specific stylesheet customization may be performed to override system-wide default audio cues for a particular user, enabling her to hear a different background sound for messages on a particular topic than other users will hear.

Audio renderings for expressing non-audio nuances

Techniques are disclosed for detecting shoplifting or theft, particularly in a retail environment, using radio-frequency identification ('RFID'). Preferred embodiments leverage RFID tags on merchandise and RFID data that is written at the point of sale on the merchandise-borne RFID tags themselves, on the customer's receipt, or both. Some embodiments also leverage RFID tags on customer identification or 'loyalty' cards. After writing RFID data on the merchandise-borne tags and/or receipt, a matching operation is performed at an RFID reader when the shopper and his merchandise exit the premises, in order to determine whether the shopper has paid for the items in his possession.

Using radio frequency identification with transaction-specific correlator values written on transaction receipts to detect and/or prevent theft and shoplifting

Using radio frequency identification to detect and/or prevent theft and shoplifting

A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product for using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to store product information in tags attached to items of merchandise is disclosed. The RFID tagging scheme of the present invention prevents tampering with stored information, global tracking of customers and their purchased items, and pricing mistakes made at the point of sale.

Method to address security and privacy issue of the use of RFID systems to track consumer products

An object matching method, system and apparatus. The system can include a multiplicity of RFID tags storing corresponding tag data coupled individually to respective objects. Selected ones of the RFID tags can be programmed with tag data associating the selected ones of the RFID tags with one another. At least one RFID reader/interrogator can be configured to interrogate the RFID tags and responsive to the interrogation to read the corresponding tag data. Finally, matching logic can be programmed to determine whether interrogated ones of the RFID tags contain tag data indicating an association between coupled ones of the objects. Notably, the matching logic can be disposed in the RFID reader/interrogator.

Object matching via RFID

Under the present invention, a mailbox is equipped with a RFID reader. The RFID reader receives a continuously transmitted signal from an RFID tag that contains an RF identifier. Upon receipt, the RFID reader compares the RF identifier in the signal to an RF identifier assigned to the mailbox. If a match is established, the mailbox is unlocked and access is permitted.

Growing community of inventors

Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America

James M Mathewson, Ii