Information device

This is a continuation of pending application Ser. No. 11/506,907, filed Aug. 21, 2006, which is itself a continuation of parent application Ser. No. 11/017,060 filed Dec. 21, 2004, now abandoned.

This invention relates information devices. More specifically, the invention relates to a method, device and system for obtaining information from a remote location to an information device.

In modern life there is a continuous need for updated information, such as weather forecasts, traffic reports, stock market quotes, sports results and general news. Such information may be obtained in various ways using many types of media and communication means. Such communication means may include physical delivery such as newspapers, or using networking such as landline telephony, cellular telephony, radio and television. The Internet is gradually being recognized as an important, reliable and rich source of information.

In order to obtain updated information, and specifically to obtain specific information required by a specific user, the user is required to actively and repetitively seek for the information. For example, in order to get the weather forecast via the television the user is required to turn on the television set, select a weather channel and watch until the relevant information appears on the screen. Using the Internet to obtain a weather forecast requires turning on a computer, connecting to the Internet, running a web browser and selecting the relevant web site.

It would be more convenient to obtain and display information, and specifically information tailored towards specific user preferences, automatically and periodically without any user intervention. U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,573 to Schiller et al. discloses an appliance which automatically and periodically connects to a remote server for obtaining information. However, the appliance and system taught by Schiller et al. is oriented towards mailing images between users being part of a community.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method, device and system for periodically and automatically obtaining information from a remote location.

An information device according to the present invention comprises a communication unit for connecting to the remote location, an info memory for storing the information obtained and a display unit for displaying the stored obtained information. The device periodically and automatically initiates a communication session with the information-storing server in the remote location, during which selected information is downloaded to the information device.

The communication with the remote site may use the PSTN, to which the information device is connected, by a dial up modem or a cellular network, to which the device connected thereto by a cellular modem. Other telephony connections or any other medium may also be employed. Connection to a telephone outlet may either use cable or be cordless. In addition to narrowband, any broadband connection such as ADSL or cable modem may be employed. The communication may be direct point-to-point connection (such as in telephony) or via the Internet.

The information device may connect to a single remote site, or alternatively may connect to multiple such sites, such as for retrieving distinct information from each site. The communication session may be initiated by the information device or by the remote location.

Settings and parameters such as the telephone number to dial or the URL to download from, the connection period interval as well as the selection of required information may be set in production, by the user (using on device controls) or by the remote location.

In the case wherein the communication unit is a dial up modem or cellular modem, various means may be employed in order to avoid interference with other devices and services using the same connection. The device may include means for delaying and stopping the call initiation in the case wherein other devices (of higher priority) requires the connection medium.

The information device may be powered from a regular AC power, batteries or by extracting power from the telephone connection.

The information device may be housed within a self-contained stand-alone enclosure, or may be integrated with another appliance. In such integration additional functionalities may be integrated added to the shared housing. For example, the communication means may be shared, the display, the control and the information memory or any combination of the above. As such, the information device may be integrated within a telephone set (either landline or cellular), a PDA or a television set. Similarly, the information device may share other appliances display or connection means.

A system according to the present invention comprises one or more user sites, each employing an information device as described below, and one or more remote sites, each comprising an information server storing the information to download and connection means for connecting to the information devices.

It is understood that other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein are shown and described only embodiments of the invention by way of illustration. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various other respects, all without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.