Advertising compliance monitoring system
First Claim
1. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
- a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader and without transferring data to the tag, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and its-corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program; and
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising program.
20 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An advertising compliance monitoring system is provided that includes a tag affixed to a sign or marketing material or shopper ID card, the tag communicating with a reader on a periodic basis. The tag includes a memory for storing tag data, a transmitter and a receiver. The tag uses sleep modes to conserve power. The tag transmits tag data to a reader in response to an interrogation request, or automatically on a periodic basis. The tag data includes an identification number used to identify the tag associated with a particular sign, price, marketing material or shopper, status data (e.g., delivered, displayed), and time and date information. This data is processed by a central server to determine compliance with and/or exposure to a particular advertising program.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
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a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader and without transferring data to the tag, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and its-corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program; and
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising program. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
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a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program;
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising programs; and
wherein the tag includes a microcontroller and a power source, the tag awakening periodically to send the tag data to the reader. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
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a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program;
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising programs; and
wherein the tag is an active tag that uses sleep modes to conserve power.
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27. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
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a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program;
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising programs; and
wherein the reader includes a switch for switching the reader between different power conservation modes.
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28. An RF system for remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program comprising signs to be located at a plurality of different facilities by determining the presence of one or more advertising signs at a plurality of predetermined locations, with at least one sign at each facility in the program, comprising:
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a tag associated with each advertising sign, the sign being displayed for advertising purposes, and the tag being adapted for RF communication;
at least one RF reader at each facility for receiving tag data from each tag within range of the reader, where the received tag data indicates the identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding sign of the tag in a particular one of the predetermined locations at a facility in the program;
a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from each tag at the facility and for transmitting the tag data to a remotely located computer that receives and analyzes the tag data from the plurality of different facilities to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located in each facility and thereby which advertising signs and facilities are in compliance with the advertising programs; and
wherein the reader periodically awakens to detect the tag data transmitted by the tag.
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29. A method of remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program by determining the presence of a plurality of advertising signs at predetermined locations at a number of separate facilities where the signs are to be placed, comprising:
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associating an RF capable tag with each sign, the tag storing a tag identifier;
using an RF reader at each facility to receive tag data from each tag within range of the reader;
determining from the received tag data identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding advertising sign of the tag in a particular location at one of the facilities in the program;
locating a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from the tag;
receiving and analyzing the tag data from each hub at a location remote from at least one facility to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located and the facility where the tag is located and thereby whether each sign and each facility are in compliance with the advertising program; and
fixedly placing the reader within a predetermined distance from the sign or the expected location of the sign.
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30. A method of remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program by determining the presence of a plurality of advertising signs at predetermined locations at a number of separate facilities where the signs are to be placed, comprising:
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associating an RF capable tag with each sign, the tag storing a tag identifier;
using an RF reader at each facility to receive tag data from each tag within range of the reader;
determining from the received tag data identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding advertising sign of the tag in a particular location at one of the facilities in the program;
locating a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from the tag;
receiving and analyzing the tag data from each hub at a location remote from at least one facility to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located and the facility where the tag is located and thereby whether each sign and each facility are in compliance with the advertising program;
causing the reader to enter a sleep mode to conserve power; and
awaking the reader periodically to look for a transmission from the tag.
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31. A method of remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program by determining the presence of a plurality of advertising signs at predetermined locations at a number of separate facilities where the signs are to be placed, comprising:
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associating an RF capable tag with each sign, the tag storing a tag identifier;
using an RF reader at each facility to receive tag data from each tag within range of the reader;
determining from the received tag data identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding advertising sign of the tag in a particular location at one of the facilities in the program;
locating a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from the tag;
receiving and analyzing the tag data from each hub at a location remote from at least one facility to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located and the facility where the tag is located and thereby whether each sign and each facility are in compliance with the advertising program;
causing the tag to enter a sleep mode to conserve power; and
awakening the tag periodically to transmit tag data. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A method of remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program by determining the presence of a plurality of advertising signs at predetermined locations at a number of separate facilities where the signs are to be placed, comprising:
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associating an RF capable tag with each sign, the tag storing a tag identifier;
using an RF reader at each facility to receive tag data from each tag within range of the reader;
determining from the received tag data identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding advertising sign of the tag in a particular location at one of the facilities in the program;
locating a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from the tag;
receiving and analyzing the tag data from each hub at a location remote from at least one facility to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located and the facility where the tag is located and thereby whether each sign and each facility are in compliance with the advertising program;
mounting the reader in a fixed location with respect to the sign;
receiving signals from the tag within a predetermined range; and
generating an alert signal if no signals are received from the tag for a specified period, the alert signal indicating that the sign has been moved from the specified location.
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34. A system for remotely monitoring compliance with an advertising program without human intervention by determining the presence of a plurality of signs at a predetermined location at a plurality of facilities, comprising:
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RF means for wirelessly sending data associated with a sign being displayed for advertising purposes;
receiving means located remotely from the signs for receiving the sir data without transferring data to the RF means; and
analyzing means for directly or indirectly receiving the sign data and analyzing the sign data to determine the identity of the signs and whether the signs are timely and properly located at the various facilities and thereby in compliance with the advertising program.
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35. A system for remotely monitoring compliance with an advertising program without human intervention by determining the presence of a plurality of signs at a predetermined location at a plurality of facilities, comprising:
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RF means for wirelessly sending data associated with a sign being displayed for advertising purposes;
receiving means located remotely from the signs for receiving the sir data without transferring data to the RF means; and
analyzing means for directly or indirectly receiving the sign data and analyzing the sign data to determine the identity of the signs and whether the signs are timely and properly located at the various facilities and thereby in compliance with the advertising program; and
wherein the sign data includes an identification number.
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36. A system for remotely monitoring compliance with an advertising program without human intervention by determining the presence of a plurality of signs at a predetermined location at a plurality of facilities, comprising:
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RF means for wirelessly sending data associated with a sign being displayed for advertising purposes;
receiving means located remotely from the signs for receiving the sir data without transferring data to the RF means; and
analyzing means for directly or indirectly receiving the sign data and analyzing the sign data to determine the identity of the signs and whether the signs are timely and properly located at the various facilities and thereby in compliance with the advertising program;
the RF means is a contact tag;
the receiving means is a reader; and
the analyzing means is a computer.
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37. A method of remotely monitoring, without human intervention, compliance with an advertising program by determining the presence of a plurality of advertising signs at predetermined locations at a number of separate facilities where the signs are to be placed, comprising:
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associating an RF capable tag with each sign, the tag storing a tag identifier;
using an RF reader at each facility to receive tag data from each tag within range of the reader and without transferring data to the tag;
determining from the received tag data identity of and presence of the tag and corresponding advertising sign of the tag in a particular location at one of the facilities in the program;
locating a hub for directly or indirectly receiving tag data from the tag; and
receiving and analyzing the tag data from each hub at a location remote from at least one facility to determine the identity of each sign and whether each sign is timely and properly located and the facility where the tag is located and thereby whether each sign and each facility are in compliance with the advertising program. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification