Systems and methods to facilitate the specification of a complex geographic area

• US 10,210,531 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2007
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thryv, Inc. (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: YellowPages.com LLC (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Altberg, Ebbe, Faber, Scott, Hirson, Ron, Manca, Paul G., Van Der Linden, Sean, Zagofsky, Jennifer R
• Primary Examiner(s): Alvarez, Raquel
• Application Number:
  US11/862,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,164 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1469, 705 1449, 705 1455, 705 1458, 705 1457, 705 1454
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

Methods and systems to specify complex geographic areas for advertisements to connect advertisers and customers for real time communications. One embodiment includes: a web server to present a user interface to receive input specifying a plurality of geographic areas and one or more operations to combine the plurality of geographic areas into a geographic area of service of an advertisement and to provide the advertisement with a reference of a connection server for presentation to a customer when a location of the customer matches with the geographic area of service of the advertisement; and a connection server to receive a request from the customer for a connection to an advertiser of the advertisement and to provide the connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertiser in response to the request made via the reference of the connection server.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a server system comprising a plurality of servers configured to detect a location of an end-user device;

the server system comprising the plurality of servers, including a web server and a connection server, the web server configured to process a first transmission received by the web server from the end-user device, to facilitate user-selectable options of a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the user-selectable options presented for display via the user interface of a display device of the end-user device to prompt input specifying a plurality of geographic areas with different types of geographic limitations, the server system to, based at least in part on the processing of the first transmission, identify a first definition of a first geographic area and a second definition of a second geographic area and perform at least one operation to combine at least the first and the second geographic areas to form an overlapping geographic area used to define a geographic area of service of an advertisement, the different types of geographic limitations comprising a first type of one or more limitations and a second type of one or more limitations, wherein;

the first type of one or more limitations is different from the second type of one or more limitations;

the first geographic area is specified according to the first type of one or more limitations; and

the second geographic area is specified according to the second type of one or more limitations;

the server system comprising a database to store the advertisement in association with one or more specification of the geographic area of service, the server system to generate a first advertisement that (a) identifies a determined location of an advertiser in a detected geographic region of the detected location of the first end-user device and (b) provides, via the web server, visible indicia of the first advertisement, comprising a telephonic reference of the connection server assigned to the first advertisement, to the user interface of the display device of the end-user device of a customer, for user interaction with the visible indicia by the customer, in response to determining a location associated with the customer matches the geographic area of service of the advertisement;

the server system to process a second transmission received from the end-user device associated with the customer, the second transmission made based in part on detection of a selection, via the user interface of the end-user device, of the telephonic reference of the connection server and corresponding to a request for real time communications with the advertiser associated with the first advertisement;

establishing a real time communication session, via the connection server, by routing a telephone call, via a Voice over Internet Protocol using a Session Initiation Protocol connection via a session border controller device of the connection server, between the end-user device associated with the customer and another end-user device associated with the advertiser in response to (i) the request made and (ii) detecting the selection of the telephonic reference, via the user interface from the visible indicia, of the connection server;

wherein the first geographic area and the second geographic area at least partially overlap with each other, and at least one of the first geographic area and the second geographic area is not completely overlapping of an other of the first geographic area and the second geographic area; and

detecting a selection, via the user interface, of the geographic area of service of the advertisement from one of the overlapping area and/or a geographic area of at least the first geographic area and the second geographic area outside of the overlapping area denoted in an electronic interactive digital map displayed via the display device.

2. A method comprising:

detecting, via a server system, a location of an end-user device;

processing by a web server of the server system a first transmission, received by the web server from the end-user device, to facilitate user-selectable options of a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the user-selectable options presented for display via the user interface of a display device of the end-user device to prompt input specifying a plurality of geographic areas with different types of geographic limitations, the different types of geographic limitations comprising a first type of one or more limitations and a second type of one or more limitations, wherein the first type of one or more limitations is different from the second type of one or more limitations;

based at least in part on the processing of the first transmission, identifying, by the server system, a first definition of a first geographic area and a second definition of a second geographic area and performing at least one operation to combine at least the first and the second geographic areas to form an overlapping geographic area used to define a geographic area of service of an advertisement, wherein;

the first geographic area is specified according to the first type of one or more limitations; and

the second geographic area is specified according to the second type of one or more limitations;

storing by the server system the advertisement in association with one or more specifications of the geographic area of service in a database of the server system;

generating by the server system a first advertisement that (a) identifies a determined location of an advertiser in a detected geographic region of the detected location of the end-user device and (b) provides, by the web server, visible indicia of the first advertisement, comprising a telephonic reference of a connection server of the server system assigned to the first advertisement, to the user interface of the display device of the end-user device of a customer, for user interaction with the visible indicia by the customer, in response to determining a location associated with the customer matches the geographic area of service of the first advertisement;

processing by the server system a second transmission received from the end-user device associated with the customer, the second transmission made based in part on detection of a selection, via the user interface of the end-user device, of the telephonic reference of the connection server and corresponding to a request for real time communications with the advertiser associated with the first advertisement;

establishing a real time communication session, via the connection server, by routing a telephone call, via a Voice over Internet Protocol using a Session Initiation Protocol connection via a session border controller device of the connection server, between the end-user device associated with the customer and another end-user device associated with the advertiser in response to (i) the request made and (ii) detecting the selection of the telephonic reference, via the user interface from the visible indicia, of the connection server;

wherein the first geographic area and the second geographic area at least partially overlap with each other and at least one of the first geographic area and the second geographic area is not completely overlapping of an other of the first geographic area and the second geographic area; and

detecting a selection, via the user interface, of the geographic area of service of the advertisement from one of the overlapping area and/or a geographic area of at least the first geographic area and the second geographic area outside of the overlapping area denoted in an electronic interactive digital map displayed via the display device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of geographic areas has a portion that is not in the geographic area of service of the advertisement.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first geographic area is at least one of a city, a metropolitan area, a county, a state, and a country;

and the second geographic area is determined by a specified distance to a center.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the center is specified by at least one of a postal code, a street address, and a point on a map.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

charging the advertiser an advertisement fee per the provided connection.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the provided connection comprises a telephonic connection for a telephone conversation between the customer and the advertiser;

and the reference of the connection server comprises one or more of a session initiation protocol uniform resource identifier, a telephone number without an extension, a telephone number with an extension, a voice over Internet protocol user identifier, an instant messaging user identifier, and/or a link to a server to the connection server for a telephonic callback.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one operation includes an operation based on excluding a portion of a first geographic area according to a second geographic area of the plurality of geographic areas;

and wherein the first and second geographic areas partially overlap with each other.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein providing the connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertiser comprises:

the connection server establishing a first voice over Internet protocol connection to connect to the customer;

the connection server establishing a second voice over Internet protocol connection to connect to the advertiser; and

bridging the first and second voice over Internet protocol connections to connect the customer and the advertiser.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein bridging the first and second voice over Internet protocol connections comprises establishing a media connection that does not go through the connection server to connect the customer and the advertiser.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the location of the customer from a search request submitted from the customer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the location is based on a preference of the customer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the location is based on a location of the end-user device used by the customer to submit the search request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the location is specified by the customer as part of a search criterion of the search request.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

presenting, via the web server, a user interface to the customer configured to receive input specifying a plurality of geographic areas and to perform at least one operation to form the overlapping geographic area used to form a geographic area of interest; and

performing, via the connection server, a search of advertisements based on the geographic area of interest.

16. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a determined location of the customer when the request is received at the connection server via the reference of the connection server;

wherein the connection is provided in response to a determination that the determined location of the customer is within the geographic area of service of the advertisement.

17. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by a server system, causing the server system to:

detect, via the server system, a location of an end-user device;

process by a web server of the server system a first transmission, received by the web server from the end-user device, to facilitate user-selectable options of a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the user-selectable options presented for display via the user interface of a display device of the end-user device to prompt input specifying a plurality of geographic areas with different types of geographic limitations, the different types of geographic limitations comprising a first type of one or more limitations and a second type of one or more limitations, wherein the first type of one or more limitations is different from the second type of one or more limitations;

based at least in part on the processing of the first transmission, identify a first definition of a first geographic area and a second definition of a second geographic area and perform at least one operation to combine at least the first and the second geographic areas to form an overlapping geographic area used to define a geographic area of service of an advertisement, wherein;

the first geographic area is specified according to the first type of one or more limitations; and

the second geographic area is specified according to the second type of one or more limitations;

store the advertisement in association with one or more specifications of the geographic area of service in a data store of the server system;

generate a first advertisement that (a) identifies a determined location of an advertiser in a detected geographic area of the detected location of the end-user device and (b) provides visible indicia of the first advertisement, comprising a telephonic reference of a connection server of the server system assigned to the first advertisement, to the user interface of the display device of the end-user device of a customer, for user interaction with the visible indicia by the customer, in response to determining a location associated with the customer matches the geographic area of service of the first advertisement;

process a second transmission received from the end-user device associated with the customer, the second transmission made based in part on detection of a selection, via the user interface of the end-user device, of the telephonic reference of the connection server and corresponding to a request for real time communications with the advertiser associated with the first advertisement;

establish a real time communication session, via the connection server, by routing a telephone call, via a Voice over Internet Protocol using a Session Initiation Protocol connection via a session border controller device of the connection server, between the end-user device associated with the customer and another end-user device associated with the advertiser in response to (i) the request made and (ii) detecting the selection of the telephonic reference, via the user interface from the visible indicia, of the connection server;

wherein the first geographic area and the second geographic area at least partially overlap with each other and at least one of the first geographic area and the second geographic area is not completely overlapping of an other of the first geographic area and the second geographic area; and

detect a selection, via the user interface, of the geographic area of service of the advertisement from one of the overlapping area and/or a geographic area of at least the first geographic area and the second geographic area outside of the overlapping area denoted in an electronic interactive digital map displayed via the display device.