Method and system for electronically distributing, displaying and controlling advertising and other communicative media
First Claim
1. A method of scheduling a distribution of content to a plurality of remote output devices utilizing a network, comprising the steps of:
- (a) accessing a present content in a database;
(b) generating schedule data by inputting preferences to a scheduling algorithm, the scheduling algorithm being based on predetermined methods of processing input preferences relating to parameters comprising frequency of play, interval, time of play, trigger events, and category filtering, said frequency of play being assigned as a relative weight to be used by an output device to determine how often the present content is to be displayed relative to the play of other content in order to vary the play of the present content after the present content is deployed to each of the output devices individually;
(c) distributing the present content and the schedule data to the plurality of output devices that can dynamically display the present content; and
(d) causing the output devices to communicate the present content to an audience based on the frequency of play weight associated with the present content as it relates to the frequency of play weight assigned to the other content;
wherein a remote communication device that is coupled to the network can receive and respond to the schedule data to communicate the present content to one of the output devices, said remote communicative device including a mirror of said scheduling algorithm so that said remote communicative device can continue to function in an event of a loss of the network communication.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for facilitating the electronic scheduling for playback of a variety of media such as music or video is disclosed. In the described system, discrete items of content (such as music or video) are scheduled for play back based upon a schedule created by the integration of five standard scheduling methods into a single comprehensive scheduling algorithm. In the first scheduling method a discrete item of content is assigned a frequency rating relative to other items of content. A second way to schedule is called recurring playback. In the recurring method, a particular item of content is scheduled to repeat at specific intervals of time. Intervals can be in terms of minutes, hours or days. A third scheduling method allows the content to be played according to a time base, that is, media content can be scheduled to play at a specific date and time. The forth type of input to the scheduling system is a trigger event which is received from a source external to the scheduling system. Upon receiving a trigger event, particular media content will be played. This type of input includes a mechanism called asynchronous request and relates to play of previously unscheduled content on an external request basis. And lastly, means are provided for selectively determining whether or not particular content is available for play in a particular venue or during a particular period of time. These five methods of scheduling playback of content are integrated into a single comprehensive scheduling system.
63 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method of scheduling a distribution of content to a plurality of remote output devices utilizing a network, comprising the steps of:
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(a) accessing a present content in a database; (b) generating schedule data by inputting preferences to a scheduling algorithm, the scheduling algorithm being based on predetermined methods of processing input preferences relating to parameters comprising frequency of play, interval, time of play, trigger events, and category filtering, said frequency of play being assigned as a relative weight to be used by an output device to determine how often the present content is to be displayed relative to the play of other content in order to vary the play of the present content after the present content is deployed to each of the output devices individually; (c) distributing the present content and the schedule data to the plurality of output devices that can dynamically display the present content; and (d) causing the output devices to communicate the present content to an audience based on the frequency of play weight associated with the present content as it relates to the frequency of play weight assigned to the other content; wherein a remote communication device that is coupled to the network can receive and respond to the schedule data to communicate the present content to one of the output devices, said remote communicative device including a mirror of said scheduling algorithm so that said remote communicative device can continue to function in an event of a loss of the network communication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 40, 41)
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14. An apparatus for scheduling a distribution of content to a plurality of output devices utilizing a network, comprising:
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(a) means for accessing a present content in a database; (b) means for generating schedule data in response to the input of preferences to a scheduling algorithm, the scheduling algorithm being based on predetermined methods of processing input preferences relating to parameters comprising frequency of play, interval, time of play, trigger events, and category filtering, said frequency of play being assigned as a relative weight to be used by an output device to determine how often the present content is to be displayed relative to the play of other content in order to vary the play of the present content after the present content is deployed to each of the output devices individually; (c) means for distributing the present content and the schedule data to the plurality of output devices that can dynamically display the present content; and (d) means for causing the output devices to communicate the present content to an audience based on the frequency of play weight associated with the present content as it relates to the frequency of play weight assigned to the other content; wherein a remote communication device that is coupled to the network can receive and respond to the schedule data to communicate the present content to one of the output devices, said remote communicative device including a mirror of said scheduling algorithm so that said remote communicative device can continue to function in an event of a loss of the network communication. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 42, 43)
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27. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for scheduling a distribution of content to a plurality of output devices utilizing a network, comprising:
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(a) a code segment for accessing a present content in a database; (b) a code segment including a scheduling algorithm that generates schedule data in response to input preferences, the scheduling algorithm being based on predetermined methods of processing input preferences relating to parameters comprising frequency of play, interval, time of play, trigger events, and category filtering, said frequency of play being assigned as a relative weight to be used by an output device to determine how often the present content is to be displayed relative to the play of other content in order to vary the play of the present content after the present content is deployed to each of the output devices individually; (c) a code segment for distributing the present content and the schedule data to the plurality of output devices that can dynamically display the present content; and (d) a code segment for causing the output devices to communicate the present content to an audience based on the frequency of play weight associated with the present content as it relates to the frequency of play weight assigned to the other content; wherein a remote communication device that is coupled to the network can receive and respond to the schedule data to communicate the present content to one of the output devices, said remote communicative device including a mirror of said scheduling algorithm so that said remote communicative device can continue to function in an event of a loss of the network communication. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45)
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Specification