System for managing a plurality of computer jukeboxes

• US 20030074219A1
• Filed: 11/20/2002
• Published: 04/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1990
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arachnid Incorporated
• Original Assignee: John R. Martin, Michael L. Tillery, Samuel N. Zammuto
• Inventors: Martin, John R., Tillery, Michael L., Zammuto, Samuel N.
• Granted Patent: US 6,970,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/305 for record players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 : of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 : by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 : Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 : Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06

Abstract

A computer jukebox capable of receiving and storing advertisement data representing a plurality of advertisement from a remote central management system by way of a transmission link between the computer jukebox and the central management system, comprising a communication interface, a programmable computer memory and a processor. The computer jukebox downloads advertisement data. The communication interface receives advertisement data from the remote central management system by way of the transmission link. The advertisement data represents an identity of each of the plurality of advertisements, and data representing times for each of the advertisements to be run. The programmable computer memory stores the advertisement data. The processor runs the plurality of advertisements according to the advertisement data.

Claims

1. A computer jukebox capable of receiving and storing digital data representing a plurality of advertisements, data representing the identity of each of said advertisements, and data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run, comprising:

a display associated with said jukebox, said display allowing a user to retrieve and play a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs stored in said jukebox;

a communication interface for receiving said advertisement data, said data representing the identity of each of said advertisements, and said data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run, said computer jukebox downloading said advertisement data from a transmission link that allows bi-directional communication between a remote central management system and said communication interface of said computer jukebox;

a programmable computer memory storing said digital data representing each advertisement on said jukebox, the location of said digital data representing each advertisement, and said data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run on said display; and

a processor for displaying one of said plurality of advertisements on said display, when said jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from said plurality of songs stored in said jukebox, wherein said processor is responsive to said data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run.

2. The computer jukebox of claim 1, wherein said communication interface includes at least one of a modem, a radio frequency receiver, a direct interface port, a portable infra red device, a satellite receiver, and cellular telephone receiver.

3. A computer jukebox network comprising:

a central management system including a host computer and a programmable memory storing song data representing a plurality of songs, said programmable memory also storing advertisement data representing at least one advertisement;

a computer jukebox remotely located from said central management system, said computer jukebox including a processor and a data storage unit, said data storage unit having a song storage location configured to store song data and an advertisement storage location configured to receive advertisement data; and

a transmission link allowing bi-directional communication between said central management system and said computer jukebox, said computer jukebox downloading said song data from said central management system by way of said transmission link and storing said song data in said song storage location of said data storage unit, said computer jukebox downloading said advertisement data from said central management system by way of said transmission link and storing said advertisement data in said advertisement storage location of said data storage unit.

4. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement within said advertisement data downloaded from said central management system when said computer jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs within said song data stored in said song storage location.

5. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement downloaded as advertisement data from said central management system on a visual display.

6. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein said central management system uploads information from said computer jukebox by way of said transmission link, wherein said information includes the number of times said at least one advertisement is run by said computer jukebox.

7. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein at least one of said central processor and said jukebox processor tracks the number of times said at least one advertisement is run by said computer jukebox.

8. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein said advertisement data comprises digital data representing an identity of said at least one advertisement, and a number of times and when said at least one advertisement is to be run by said computer jukebox.

9. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, further comprising an electronic game having a visual display, wherein said electronic game is associated with said computer jukebox, and wherein said at least one advertisement is displayed on said visual display.

10. The computer jukebox network of claim 3, wherein said processor presents user attract data on a display, wherein said user attract data is based on a song stored within said song data in said song storage location of said data storage unit.

11. A computer jukebox capable of receiving and storing advertisement data representing at least one advertisement from a remote central management system by way of a transmission link between the computer jukebox and the central management system, said computer jukebox comprising:

a communication interface receiving advertisement data from the remote central management system by way of the transmission link;

a programmable memory storing said advertisement data; and

a processor running said at least one advertisement according to said advertisement data, wherein said advertisement data includes an identity of at least one advertisement, and wherein said advertisement data includes at least one time for said at least one advertisement to be run by said computer jukebox.

12. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement according to said advertisement data when said jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs stored in said jukebox.

13. The computer jukebox of claim 11, further comprising a visual display, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement on said visual display.

14. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein said programmable memory includes a song storage unit for storing song data and an advertisement storage unit for storing said advertisement data downloaded from the central management system.

15. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein said computer jukebox communicates bi-directionally with the central management system by way of the transmission link.

16. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein the central management system uploads information from said computer jukebox, wherein said information includes the number of times each of the plurality of advertisements is run by said computer jukebox.

17. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein said processor tracks the number of times said at least one advertisement is run by said computer jukebox.

18. The computer jukebox of claim 11, further comprising an electronic game having a visual display, wherein said electronic game is associated with said computer jukebox, and wherein said at least one advertisement is displayed on said visual display.

19. The computer jukebox of claim 11, wherein said processor presents user attract data on a display, wherein said user attract data is based on a song being played by said computer jukebox.

20. A computer jukebox for receiving, storing and tracking the activation and playing of digital song data and digital advertisement data, the computer jukebox comprising a processor and a data storage unit, said data storage unit comprising:

a song location receiving a digitized song transferred to the computer jukebox from a remote central management system, said processor playing the digitized song on said computer jukebox in response to receipt of payment made by the public; and

an advertisement location receiving a digitized advertisement transferred to the computer jukebox from said remote central management system, the processor publishing the digitized advertisement on the computer jukebox at predetermined times.

21. The computer jukebox of claim 20, wherein said remote central management system includes a host computer and a memory storing said digitized song and said digitized advertisement, said computer jukebox transferring said digitized song and said digitized advertisement to said computer jukebox by way of a transmission link.

22. The computer jukebox of claim 20, wherein said processor records publication of the digitized advertisement by said computer jukebox as advertisement publication information, said processor relaying said advertisement publication information to said central management system so that said central management system may determine an advertisement fee based on a number of times said digitized advertisement is published on the computer jukebox.

23. The computer jukebox of claim 20, wherein said computer jukebox bi-directionally communicates with said central management system.

24. The computer jukebox of claim 20, wherein said digitized advertisement comprises data representing a number of times and when said digitized advertisement is to be run by said computer jukebox.

25. The computer jukebox of claim 20, further comprising an electronic game having a visual display, wherein said electronic game is associated with said computer jukebox, and wherein said digitized advertisement is displayed on said visual display.

26. The computer jukebox of claim 20, wherein said processor presents user attract data on a display, wherein said user attract data is based on said digitized song.