METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SERVING PROMOTIONS IN A LOW-POWER WIRELESS NETWORK

• US 20120209716A1
• Filed: 02/15/2012
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2011
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Multi-Flex Circuits Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Multi-Flex Circuits Pty., Ltd.
• Inventors: Burns, Patrick E.
• Application Number:
  US13/396,739
• Publication Number:
  US 20120209716A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A first electronic device may begin communicating with a second electronic device in response to detecting that the second electronic device is within communication range of a low-power wireless interface of the first electronic device. The first device may receive, via the low-power wireless interface, information about a status and/or profile of the second electronic device. The first device may generate a promotion customized based on the received information. The low-power wireless interface 114 may communicate in conformance with ISO 18000-7. The first electronic device may send, via the low-power wireless interface information about a status and/or profile of the first electronic device to the second electronic device. The second electronic device may request a promotion based on the profile and/or status of the first electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in a first electronic device,

communicating with a second electronic device in response to detecting that said second electronic device is within communication range of a wireless interface of said first electronic device, wherein said communicating comprises receiving, via said wireless interface, information about a status and/or profile of said second electronic device; and

generating a promotion that is customized based on said received information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said wireless interface communicates in conformance with ISO 18000-7.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first electronic device transmits said promotion via said wireless interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said first electronic device transmits a uniform resource locator (URL) that enables retrieving said promotion via the Internet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting is based on output of an environmental sensor, a location sensor, and/or a motion sensor residing in said first electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting is based on radio frequency (RF) energy incident on said first electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising customizing said promotion based, at least in part, on information previously received by said first electronic device from a third electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating said promotion comprises querying a database that is stored in memory of said first electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating said promotion comprises querying a database that is stored in one or more devices of a network and said query is submitted via a wired or wireless connection to said network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating said promotion comprises selecting each of a plurality of objects based on said received information, and combining said selected objects.

11. A method comprising:

in a first electronic device,

communicating with a second electronic device in response to detecting that second electronic device is within communication range of a first wireless interface of said first electronic device, wherein said communicating comprises transmitting, via said first wireless interface, information about a status and/or profile of said first electronic device and/or its user; and

presenting, via a user interface of said first electronic device, a promotion that is customized based on said transmitted information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said first wireless interface communicates in conformance with ISO 18000-7.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said first electronic device receives said promotion via said first wireless interface.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said promotion is transmitted in the form of an HTML and/or XML file.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said first electronic device receives, via said first wireless interface, a uniform resource locator (URL) that enables retrieving said promotion via the Internet.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising utilizing said URL to retrieve said promotion from the Internet via a second wireless interface of said first electronic device.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein said detecting is based on output of an environmental sensor, a location sensor, and/or a motion sensor residing in said first electronic device.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein said detecting is based on radio frequency (RF) energy incident on said first electronic device.

19. The method of claim 11, comprising:

receiving, via said first wireless interface, information about a status and/or profile of said second electronic device; and

requesting said promotion from said second electronic device based on said information about a status and/or profile of said second electronic device.

20. The method of claim 11, comprising:

detecting, in said first electronic device, that a third electronic device is within communication range of said first wireless interface of said first electronic device;

transmitting said promotion to said third electronic device.