Advertising method and system for providing advertisement and telephone-call service

• US 20010012344A1
• Filed: 02/06/2001
• Published: 08/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hwang-Sub Kwon
• Original Assignee: Hwang-Sub Kwon
• Inventors: Kwon, Hwang-Sub
• Application Number:
  US09/778,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20010012344A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/111
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/02 Coin-freed or check-freed systems , e.g. mobile- or card-operated phones, public telephones or booths
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

Disclosed is an advertising method using a public telephone and a system for providing free or discounted call service according to watching of an advertisement. A public telephone, a relay server, a communication line provider, an advertiser server and an Internet information server are connected through a communication network together. The relay server receives advertisement information from the advertiser server or the Internet information server and displays advertisement information through a display device of the public telephone for advertisement. The public telephone periodically downloads renewed advertisement information from the relay server to renew it. A user is benefited by free-call or discounted-call service depending on seeing and hearing of an advertisement over a given number. The multifunctional public telephone, which is installed at an unspecified location and displays advertisements, provides advertising effect of a high level for a low price to advertisers.

Claims

1. An advertising method using a public telephone, which connects to a relay server through a communication network and downloads advertisement information from the relay server to perform display of advertisements, the method comprising:

a step of checking standard time that counts a waiting period of time of the public telephone and checks whether or not the counted time exceeds a preset standard time;

a step of performing telephone mode that, if telephone mode is sensed during the standard time checking step, retrieves a predetermined guide information concerning the telephone mode, displays the guide information on a display device of the public telephone and, at the same time, switches into the telephone mode to perform telephone function;

a step of performing advertisement mode that, as the result of the standard time checking step, if telephone mode is not sensed until the counted time exceeds the standard period of time, retrieves predetermined advertisement information previously stored and displays it on the display device; and

a step of switching to telephone mode that, if the telephone mode is sensed during the advertisement mode performing step, cancels the advertisement mode, displays the guide information concerning the telephone mode and, at the same time, switches to the telephone mode.

2. The advertising method as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the relay server is connected to an Internet information server or an advertiser server and provided advertisement information from the Internet information server or the advertiser server.

3. An advertising method using a public telephone, which connects to a relay server through a communication network and downloads advertisement information from the relay server in a predetermined period of time to perform display of advertisement, the method comprising:

a step of counting the predetermined period of time and checking whether the counted time exceeds a preset standard time;

a step of connecting the public telephone through the communication network to the relay server if the counted time exceeds the standard time;

a step of checking whether renewed advertisement information exists in the relay server; and

a step of replacing advertisement information previously stored in the public telephone with renewed advertisement information if renewed advertisement information exists in the relay server.

4. The advertising method as claimed in

claim 3

, wherein the relay server is connected to an Internet information server or an advertiser server and provided advertisement information from the Internet information server or the advertiser server.

5. The advertising method as claimed in

claim 3

, further comprising:

a step of checking standard time that counts a waiting period of time of the public telephone and checks whether or not the counted time exceeds a preset standard time;

a step of performing telephone mode that, if telephone mode is sensed during standard time checking step, retrieves a predetermined guide information concerning the telephone mode, displays the guide information on a display device of the public telephone and, at the same time, switches to the telephone mode to perform telephone function;

a step of performing advertisement mode that, as the result of the standard period of time checking step, if telephone mode is not sensed until the counted time exceeds the standard period of time, retrieves predetermined advertisement information previously stored and displays it on the display device; and

a step of switching to telephone mode that, if the telephone mode is sensed during the advertisement mode performing step, cancels the advertisement mode, displays the guide information concerning the telephone mode and, at the same time, switches into the telephone mode.

6. An advertising method using a public telephone, which connects to a relay server through a communication network, downloads advertisement information from the relay server to perform display of advertisement, the public telephone being installed at an unspecified location and having a sensor for sensing a user being within a sensing range, the method comprising:

a step of checking standard time that counts a waiting period of time of the public telephone and checks whether or not the counted time exceeds a preset standard time;

a step of performing telephone mode that, if telephone mode is sensed during standard time checking step, retrieves a predetermined guide information concerning the telephone mode, displays the guide information on a display device of the public telephone and, at the same time, switches to the telephone mode to perform telephone function;

a step of performing advertisement mode that, as the result of the standard period of time checking step, if telephone mode is not sensed until the counted time exceeds the standard period of time, retrieves predetermined advertisement information previously stored and displays it on the display device;

a step of switching to telephone mode that, if the telephone mode is sensed during the advertisement mode performing step, cancels the advertisement mode, displays the guide information concerning the telephone mode and, at the same time, switches into the telephone mode; and

a step of switching to initial mode that, if the sensor senses the user'"'"'s approaching during the advertisement mode performing step, cancels the advertisement mode and initializes to display an initial screen previously set in the display device.

7. The advertising method as claimed in

claim 6

, wherein the initial screen mode is in a state that various service modes provided from the public telephone is displayed on the display device.

8. An advertising method using a public telephone, which connects to a relay server through a communication network, downloads advertisement information from the relay server to perform display of advertisement, the public telephone being installed at an unspecified location and having a sensor for sensing a user being within a sensing range, the method comprising:

a step of performing telephone mode if the telephone mode is sensed;

a step of checking through the sensor whether or not the user is separated from the public telephone;

a step of counting period of time from the time of the user'"'"'s separation if the user has departed from the public telephone and checking whether or not the counted time exceeds a preset standard time;

a step of performing advertisement mode that, if the counted time exceeds the standard time, retrieves previously stored advertisement information and displays it on a display device of the public telephone; and

a step of switching that, if the telephone mode is sensed during the advertisement mode, cancels the advertisement mode and switches to an operation state corresponding to the telephone mode.

9. A system for providing advertisement and call service using a public telephone, in which a public telephone terminal, a relay server storing advertisement information including advertiser name, an advertiser server and an Internet information server for providing advertisement information to the relay server and communication line provider providing a communication network to the relay server according to a contract of line use with the relay server are connected together through a communication line, wherein the public telephone terminal comprising:

means for downloading and displaying a number of advertiser names registered in the relay server if a user requests a request signal of free-call;

means for counting the selected number of each advertiser name if the user selects the advertiser names over predetermined number of the plurality of advertiser names displayed on the advertiser display means, cumulatively calculating and, at the same time, retrieving and displaying the previously registered advertisement information corresponding to the selected advertiser names; and

means for providing call service if the advertiser names over the predetermined number are selected.

10. The system as claimed in

claim 9

, wherein the relay server includes:

an advertisement information transmission unit for transmitting advertisement information provided from the advertiser server to the public telephone terminal;

an advertisement information sorting unit for sorting advertisement information provided from the advertiser server into advertiser list, fixed advertisement information and selected advertisement information and storing them in an advertiser list DB, a fixed ad data DB and a selected ad data DB respectively;

a cumulative computing unit for accumulating information of the seeing and hearing number of advertisement provided from the public telephone terminal and calculating total seeing and hearing number of advertisement;

an accounting unit for calculating claimed amount of advertising costs corresponding to the computed seeing and hearing number;

a billing unit for demanding the claimed amount by advertisement, which is calculated by the accounting unit, to the advertiser server or the Internet information server;

a central processing unit for controlling all the units, wherein the central processing unit divides advertisement information provided from the advertiser server into fixed advertisement and selected advertisement, contracts and demands utility fee in a specified period of time unit in connection with the fixed advertisement, contracts and demands claimed amount by unit according to the seeing and hearing number of advertisement corresponding to the selected advertiser list of various advertiser lists displayed on the public telephone terminal in connection with the selected advertisement; and

wherein the accounting unit, after multiplying the claimed amount by unit according to the seeing and hearing number of the corresponding advertisement, demands amount of money adding contracted payment of fixed advertisement.

11. The system as claimed in

claim 9

, wherein the call service is a free-call service.

12. The system as claimed in

claim 9

, wherein the call service is a discounted