International Business Machines Corporation

Lenovo (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation

Noboru Kamijo

Toru Aihara

Kazumasa Ochiai

Kohichi Kamijoh

Yasuo Usuba

Tadanobu Inoue

Shunichi Amano

Denny Duan-Lee Tang

Frank Rui-Feng Chu

John Peter Karidis

Sanehiro Furuichi

Hiroshi Ishikawa

Shivkumar Kalyanaraman

Hiroaki Agata

Susumu Shimotono

Susan Sommers Moffatt

Junya Shimizu

Robyn Ruth Schwartz

Toshitaka Imai

Kazuo Sekiya

Masana Murase

Koichi Kamijo

Takeo Nakada

Alwyn R Lobo

Kazutoshi Sugimoto

Hidekazu Tanaka

Toshiki Takahashi

Shin Kurogi

Kohichiro Kishimoto

Koichi Komijoh

Kiran Appasaheb Kate

A method and system for processing shopping information. The shopping information, which pertains to an item purchased by a user, is read from a mobile device, and was scanned by the mobile device from an item tag attached to the item. The item relates to another user. A set of affiliates is determined from analysis of the shopping information. Each affiliate is entitled to receive a reward due to purchase of the item.

Processing requests to buy items or services

Methods and arrangements for processing face-to-face mobile phone transactions. An agreed-upon price for a product is accepted from a buyer mobile phone and a seller mobile phone. Distinct random numbers are assigned to each of the buyer and seller mobile phones. The random number assigned to the seller mobile phone is received from the buyer mobile phone, and the random number assigned to the buyer mobile phone is received from the seller mobile phone. A match is ascertained between the buyer and seller mobile phones based on receipt from the buyer mobile phone the random number assigned to the seller mobile phone and receipt from the seller mobile phone the random number assigned to the buyer mobile phone.

Systems and methods for face-to-face mobile phone mercantile transactions

A computer-implemented method, a system, and a computer program product manage a blacklist. The method includes, for a detected improper device, transferring a blacklist or an identifier or identifiers, present in the blacklist, respectively, of one or more devices associated with information on at least one geographic position of associated with a position of the improper device to one or more relay devices which exist at or near the at least one geographic position associated with the position of the improper device. The blacklist is used for controlling commutation or communication from or to the improper device.

Management of a blacklist for controlling a communication

The present invention can be a method, system, and computer program product. One embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for identifying an artificial object. The method includes receiving capacitance data which is obtained by measuring with at least one electrodes in a sensor at least one predefined surfaces of the artificial object placed against the sensor; converting each of the obtained capacitance data into an evaluation level in an evaluation system having more than two evaluation levels, to obtain a capacitance distribution on the surface of the artificial object; determining whether the obtained capacitance distribution matches a pre-registered capacitance distribution or one of pre-registered capacitance distributions; and if the determination result is positive, concluding the artificial object is identified. The method can further include identifying or performing an authentication of a user associated with the artificial object when artificial object is identified.

Identification of artificail object and artifical object used therein

A computer-implemented method, a system, and a computer program product manage a blacklist. A server computer and method communicate with a device via a relay device, the relay device being connected to the device via a wireless network, in response to a detection of an improper device, adding, into a blacklist, information on a position of the improper device or information on a position associated with a position of the improper device, and an identifier of the improper device, wherein the blacklist is used for controlling commutation from or to an improper device. The blacklist or an identifier in the blacklist of a device associated with the information on the position of the improper device is transferred to a relay device in or near the position of the improper device and/or to a relay device in or near the position associated with the position of the improper device.

A method and system. A layout design of invisible information to be printed with invisible ink in a book is generated. The invisible information includes a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located. The URL is encoded in a code within the invisible information. The additional information is associated with an article.

Manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data

A computer system which implements a method of manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. The computer system includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor. The storage device contains program code which, upon being executed by the processor via the memory, implements the method. In accordance with the method, a layout design of visible information to be printed with visible ink in a book is generated, wherein the visible information including an article; and a layout design of invisible information to be printed with invisible ink in a book is generated, wherein the invisible information includes a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located, the URL being encoded in a code within the invisible information, and the additional information being associated with the article.

Computer system for manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data

A cellular phone configured to be used by an operator. The cellular phone includes a light-emitting element, a digital camera, and a memory. The light-emitting element is configured to emit light of a specific wavelength to illuminate invisible information written in invisible ink in an object to make the invisible information visible. The invisible information includes a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located. The URL is encoded in a code within the invisible information. The digital camera is configured to take a picture of the illuminated invisible information to capture an image of the code. The memory is configured to store the captured image.

Cellular phone for illuminating invisible information in an object to obtain additional information located at a web server

A method of manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. A layout design of visible information to be printed with visible ink in a book is generated, the visible information including an article. A layout design of invisible information to be printed with invisible ink in a book is generated, the invisible information including a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located, the URL being encoded in a code within the invisible information, the additional information being associated with the article.

Mobile product advising includes creating, via a computer processor, vectors for each of a number of subjects corresponding to a product and assigning attributes of the subjects to corresponding fields of the vector. The mobile product advising also includes assigning values in the fields of the vectors reflecting a status of the attributes relative to the subjects. The mobile product advising further includes creating a product label for the product and encoding the vector including the attributes and values on the product label.

Mobile product advisor

A computer program product to implement a method for manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. A layout design of visible information to be printed with visible ink in a book is generated, the visible information including an article. A layout design of invisible information to be printed with invisible ink in a book is generated, the invisible information including a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located, the URL being encoded in a code within the invisible information, the additional information being associated with the article.

Manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data and obtaining additional information associated with an article in a book

To support a shopper to perform self-service shopping by using an electronic shelf label (ESL) while looking at actual items displayed in a store and to expand the functions of the electronic shelf label (ESL) to enable the linkage with other data processing systems expansively. A shopper uses a mobile processing device (typically, a cell phone owned by the shopper) in a store. The functions necessary to obtain contents from the electronic shelf label (ESL) are obtained by introducing an application program into the shopper's own cell phone, by which it is expected that the shopper is able to easily enjoy shopping. When photographing the electronic shelf label (ESL), the contents associated with items are encoded (the price display automatically changes to a barcode) and then decoded.

Self shopping support by getting contents from electronic shelf labels

A method of manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. A layout design of visible and invisible information to be printed in a book with visible and invisible ink, respectively, is generated. The visible information includes an article. The invisible information includes a URL of an address of a web server at which additional information associated with the article is located. Print data of the visible and invisible information based on the generated layout design of the visible and invisible information are generated. The generated print data of the visible and invisible information are stored on the physical medium. A book containing the article in visible ink and the invisible information in invisible ink is produced. A cellular phone is used to obtain the additional information by identifying the URL via illuminating and photographing the invisible information in the book using a light-emitting element in the cellular phone.

System, method and program for generating data for printing invisible information, and method of manufacturing physical medium whereupon invisible information is printed

A keyboard type input device used in conjunction with a wristwatch or a portable telephone has multiple key positions provided as character entry keys. Each key corresponds to one key in the selected row of the conventional QWERTY keyboard. A second set of control buttons provide for the selection of which row of a conventional QWERTY keyboard are represented by the character keys in addition to other functions such as case shift, and alpha-numerical control functions. A selected row is shown on a display, as visual feedback. Alternatively the keys are implemented as LCDs with pressure sensors and the characters of the selected row are displayed directly on the corresponding key positions. The keyboard finds particular use in portable devices as it demands less space than traditional keyboards.

Compact universal keyboard

An image of a sample print printed to obtain parameters is picked up by using 'a parameter obtaining device' that meets the standards of an instrument for the invention of 'the electronic scrap system.' Then, the picked-up image is captured by a DTP system, and color data of a needed position are imported to a parameter DB. Thereby, parameters for simulation to be used in an invisible code printing support system can be easily inputted. Use of this method eliminates the necessity of figuring out parameters through experiments and the like, and of inputting these parameters as numerical values. In addition, since this method uses a physical medium and inks to be actually used, as they are, their optical characteristics, an influence of a blue component of invisible light emitted from an ultraviolet LED, and the like can be inputted all together as a picked-up image. Accordingly, it becomes possible to input parameters capable of accurately reproducing actual printed conditions, and thereby to produce printed materials providing high reading accuracy.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa-ken, Japan

Noboru Kamijo