Telephone communication system and method, and server for providing advertisement information

• US 6,977,997 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2001
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Shioda, Takehiko, Saito, Yukitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quynh H.
• Application Number:
  US09/971,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20020044639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.12, 379/114.05, 379/114.13
• US Class Current: 379/114.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42017 Customized ring-back tones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

A telephone communication method and system for retrieving and providing advertisement information that matches a communication terminal user'"'"'s preference as to advertisement information. The telephone communication method of the invention is a method of providing the communication terminal with one or more pieces of advertisement information via a telephone network. This method obtains a plurality of pieces of advertisement information from an advertiser terminal prior to provision of the advertisement information on one hand, and obtains user-related information from the user'"'"'s communication terminal as a retrieval condition for retrieval of the advertisement information on the other hand. The method then transmits to the communication terminal at least one piece of advertisement information retrieved from a plurality of pieces of advertisement information on the basis of the user-related information.

Claims

1. A telephone communication system for providing a communication terminal, which is a subscriber of a communication company, with a piece of advertisement information via a telephone network of a facility associated with the communication company,

wherein the communication terminal includes means for transmitting user-related information and means for receiving the piece of advertisement information,

wherein the facility includes means for storing pieces of advertisement information, means for retrieving a particular piece of advertisement information from the storing means, means for receiving the user-related information from the communication terminal, and means for transmitting the retrieved piece of advertisement information to the communication terminal,

wherein the retrieving means of the facility performs a retrieval procedure on the basis of the user-related information sent from the communication terminal,

wherein when the communication terminal sends a telephone number specifying a call receiving terminal to the facility of the communication company, the communication terminal also transmits the user-related information to the facility of the communication company, and

wherein the user-related information includes at least one of information about preference of a user who utilizes the communication terminal, history of information distribution to the user, and position information of the user.

2. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal includes means for storing the user-related information.

3. The telephone communication system according to claim 1 further including an advertiser for providing the piece of advertisement information, wherein the facility of the communication company includes means for obtaining information about achievement of distribution of the piece of advertisement information, and means for billing an advertisement fee calculated on the basis of the information about achievement of distribution to the advertiser.

4. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the facility of the communication company includes means for changing billing information accumulated as the communication terminal utilizes the telephone network for communication, on the basis of a discount calculated in accordance with the information of achievement of distribution.

5. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the facility of the communication company includes means for connecting the communication terminal with a second communication terminal via the telephone network, and the retrieving means retrieves the piece of advertisement information when the communication terminal makes a request for connection to the second communication terminal.

6. The telephone communication system according to claim 5, wherein the facility of the communication company also receives second user-related information from the second communication terminal, and transmits a piece of advertisement information retrieved on the basis of the second user-related information to the second communication terminal.

7. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal transmits the user-related information when it makes a request for connection to a second communication terminal.

8. The telephone communication system according to claim 7, wherein the facility of the communication company also receives second user-related information from the second communication terminal, and transmits a piece of advertisement information retrieved on the basis of the second user-related information to the second communication terminal.

13. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the user-related information includes the history of information distribution to the user, and the means for transmitting the retrieved piece of advertisement information transmits the retrieved piece of advertisement information to the user based on the history of information distribution.

14. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the user-related information includes the position information of the user, and the position information of the user is geographical information of the communication terminal.

15. The telephone communication system according to claim 1, wherein the user-related information includes the position information of the user, and the position information of the user is entered by the user.

16. The method according to claim 15 further including the step of not sending the same piece of advertisement information to the same communication terminal within a predetermined period, based on the history of information distribution.

9. A method of providing a communication terminal, which is a subscriber of a communication company, with a piece of advertisement information via a telephone network of a facility associated with the communication company when the communication terminal makes a request for connection to a second communication terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the connection request from the communication terminal;

receiving user-related information from the communication terminal, wherein when the communication terminal sends a telephone number specifying a call receiving terminal to the facility of the communication company, the communication terminal also transmits the user-related information to the facility of the communication company;

retrieving a desired piece of advertisement information from advertisement information storage means designed to store pieces of advertisement information on the basis of the received user-related information, wherein the user-related information includes at least one of information about preference of a user who utilizes the communication terminal, history of information distribution to the user, and position information of the user;

transmitting the retrieved piece of advertisement information to the communication terminal; and

connecting the communication terminal with the second communication terminal such that the communication terminal can communicate with the second communication terminal via the telephone network.

10. A server, for use with a communication company adapted to connect a first communication terminal with a second communication terminal via a telephone network, for providing advertisement information, the server comprising:

means for storing pieces of advertisement information;

means for obtaining user-related information from the first and/or second communication terminal, wherein the user-related information is obtained during a same time period as when a connection reciuest including a telephone number specifying a call receiving terminal is obtained;

means for retrieving at least one piece of advertisement information from the storing means on the basis of the user-related information from the first and/or second communication terminal, wherein the user-related information includes at least one of information about preference of a user who utilizes the first and/or second communication terminal, history of information distribution to the user, and position information of the user;

means for transmitting the retrieved piece of advertisement information to the first and/or second communication terminal; and

means for connecting the first communication terminal with the second communication terminal via the telephone network.

17. The server according to claim 10 further including means for not sending the same piece of advertisement information to the same communication terminal within a predetermined period, based on the history of information distribution.

11. A telephone communication system for providing a communication terminal, which is a subscriber of a communication company, with a piece of advertisement information via a telephone network of a facility associated with by the communication company,

wherein the communication terminal includes means for transmitting user-related information, means for receiving a list of advertisement information and a piece of advertisement information from the communication company, means for selecting a desired advertisement item from the list of advertisement information, and means for transmitting the selected item as selection information to the communication company,

wherein the facility of the communication company includes means for storing pieces of advertisement information, means for creating the list of advertisement information on the basis of the pieces of advertisement information stored in the storing means and on the basis of the user-related information from the communication terminal, means for retrieving a desired piece of advertisement information from the storing means, means for receiving the selection information from the communication terminal, and means for transmitting the piece of advertisement information to the communication terminal,

wherein when the communication terminal sends a telephone number specifying a call receiving terminal to the facility of the communication company, the communication terminal also transmits the user-related information to the facility of the communication company,

wherein the user-related information is includes at least one of information about preference of a user who utilizes the communication terminal, history of information distribution to the user, and position information of the user, and

wherein the communication terminal transmits user-related information to the communication company facility, and the advertisement list creating means of the communication company facility creates the list of advertisement information in accordance with the user-related information.

12. The telephone communication system according to claim 11, wherein the retrieving means of the communication company facility retrieves the desired piece of advertisement information in accordance with the selection information transmitted from the communication terminal.

18. The telephone communication system according to claim 11 further including means for not sending the same piece of advertisement information to the same communication terminal within a predetermined period, based on the history of information distribution.

19. The telephone communication system according to claim 12 further including means for not sending the same piece of advertisement information to the same communication terminal within a predetermined period, based on the history of information distribution.