System and method for effectively supporting an advertising catalog in an electronic network

• US 20100293031A1
• Filed: 05/18/2009
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: SONY CORPORATION AND SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
• Inventors: Loughey, Donald L. III, Smith, Tim, Rainier, Rajiv, Frazier, Milton, Jacobs, Stephen, Noronha, Austin
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location

Abstract

A system and method for distributing reminder information in an electronic network includes an information service that is configured to provide information distribution services through said information distribution network. User devices are provided for device users to communicate with the information service for receiving the information distribution services. A transport structure communicates with network entities in the information distribution network for collecting appropriate types of metadata. A transport server then performs a metadata analysis procedure upon the various types of metadata to responsively generate the reminder information.

Claims

1. A system for implementing an information distribution network, comprising:

an information service that is configured to provide information distribution services through said information distribution network;

user devices that device users utilize to communicate with said information service for receiving said information distribution services;

a transport structure that communicates with network entities in said information distribution network, said transport structure collecting metadata for identifying and providing reminder information from said information service to a target user device; and

a transport server that performs a metadata analysis procedure upon said metadata to responsively generate said reminder information.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising an advertising catalog of inventory items that include products, services, and consumable items, certain of said inventory items being designated by said device users.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said metadata includes catalog metadata regarding said inventory items from said advertising catalog.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said metadata includes user metadata about said device users, device metadata about said user devices, geographic location metadata, and advertiser metadata.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said reminder information includes text messages and audio-visual information to remind a target device user about purchasing opportunities for said inventory items from said advertising catalog.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein said catalog metadata includes current monitored inventory levels for inventory items from said advertising catalog, and commercial transaction details involving said device users.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein said advertising catalog further includes inventory data corresponding to respective ones of said inventory items, said inventory data including current inventory amounts and reminder thresholds for each of said inventory items.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising a catalog manager that collects said catalog metadata from said transport server to populate and update said inventory data of said advertising catalog.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said catalog manager compares said current inventory amounts to said reminder thresholds, said catalog manager generating said reminder information when said current inventory amounts fall below said reminder thresholds.

10. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one intelligent inventory storage container that generates said catalog metadata to indicate current inventory amounts of said inventory items.

11. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one commercial transaction device that generates said catalog metadata to indicate commercial transaction details resulting from said reminder information.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said reminder information includes advertising to purchase complementary items that are indirectly related to said inventory items.

13. The system of claim 3 wherein said catalog metadata includes user preferences that are provided by said device users to expressly include one or more of said inventory items in said advertising catalog, said catalog metadata including user preferences that are created by said device users to expressly ban specific types of said reminder information.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising feedback metadata regarding usage characteristics of said reminder information, said feedback metadata being provided to advertising entities for evaluating how efficiently said reminder information is being targeted and utilized.

16. The system of claim 3 wherein a customer relationship management device generates feedback metadata regarding purchase transactions resulting from said reminder information, said feedback metadata being provided to one or more advertisers.

14. (canceled)

17-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A user device for utilizing an information distribution network, comprising:

a device application that a device user utilizes to communicate with an information service for receiving information distribution services;

a transport structure that communicates with network entities in said information distribution network, said transport structure collecting metadata for identifying and providing reminder information from a transport server of said information service to said user device after performing a metadata analysis procedure upon said metadata to responsively generate said reminder information; and

a processor device for controlling said device application.

25. The user device of claim 24 further comprising an advertising catalog of inventory items that include products, services, and consumable items, certain of said inventory items being designated by said device user.

26. The user device of claim 25 wherein said metadata includes catalog metadata regarding said inventory items from said advertising catalog.

27. The user device of claim 26 wherein said metadata includes user metadata about said device user, device metadata about said user device, geographic location metadata, and advertiser metadata.

28. The user device of claim 26 wherein said reminder information includes text messages and audio-visual information to remind said device user about purchasing opportunities for said inventory items from said advertising catalog.