Time and location-based non-intrusive advertisements and informational messages

• US 8,014,762 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Bernard, Christophe, Chmaytelli, Mazen, Larom, David Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): AJIBADE AKONAI, OLUMIDE
• Application Number:
  US11/096,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20060253453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,350 Days
• Field of Search: 455/457, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.3, 455/414.4, 4554561-4566, 455/466, 455/566, 455/558, 705/14, 705/37, 705/10, 705/26
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 for mobile advertising

Abstract

Systems and methods for sending and receiving ads from a server to a client device are disclosed. The ads can be sent based on the location of the client device and/or a designated time window. An ad manager on the client device can display, store and manage the received ads and activated additional applications based on the content of the ad.

Claims

1. A wireless advertisement delivery system, comprising:

a server configured to generate and transmit an advertisement containing location data that defines a geographic area; and

a client device including a carrier announcement manager (CAM), wherein the CAM is configured to receive the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is directed to the client device based on a location of the client device and the geographic area defined in the advertisement, and wherein the CAM is configured to store the advertisement in an inbox on the client device upon receipt by the client device and to convert an oldest Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device is at least one of a wireless computing device, a wireless telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a paging device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device location is determined using at least one of network-based location information, client-based location information or hybrid location information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement is at least one of a text-based advertisement or a graphic-based advertisement.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

logic configured to determine whether the client device is located within the geographic area defined in the advertisement.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the logic is located in at least one of the client device, an advertisement generation system, a remote server operably coupled to a carrier network, or a server in a carrier network in communication with the client device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement is automatically deleted from the inbox based upon at least one of a current location of the client device, a number of advertisements in the inbox, a memory usage of the inbox, a specified time or an event-based trigger.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the inbox is a CAM inbox that is separate from a Short Message Service (SMS) inbox.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the server comprises at least one of a CAM console, an advertisement dispatch server, or a Short Message Service Center (SMSC).

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the CAM console is remotely located from the advertisement dispatch server.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein an access gateway is coupled between the CAM console and the advertisement dispatch server and wherein the access gateway is configured to provide secure communications between the CAM console and the advertisement dispatch server.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the access gateway is coupled to the CAM console by at least one of the Internet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network, a wide area network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a wireless link.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the CAM console is operably coupled to at least one additional advertisement dispatch server.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the CAM is configured to report advertisement response data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the advertisement response data is at least one of purchase data, advertisement display time, advertisement display date, advertisement viewing data, or advertisement type.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the server comprises logic to receive and process the advertisement response data.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the CAM is configured to request a document in response to a URL contained in the advertisement, and wherein the server is configured to transmit the document selected based on the URL and characteristics of the client device.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the characteristics of the client device include at least one of a type of client device, memory capacity, display resolution, display color capability, operating system, software installed, or input/output devices.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically deleting the stored advertisement based upon at least one of the location of the client device, a current time, a number of advertisements store, or an event-based advertisement delete request.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

preventing the deletion of the advertisement at an initial display of the advertisement.

21. A method for wirelessly communicating advertisements comprising:

generating an advertisement containing location data;

identifying a client device to receive the advertisement based on the location data in the advertisement and a location of the client device;

transmitting the advertisement to the client device;

receiving the advertisement at the client device;

storing the advertisement on the client device in an inbox if the client device is within a targeted geographic area defined by the location data and

converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the advertisement includes a Short Message Service (SMS) message containing code configured to initiate an application resident on the client device.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein identifying the client device comprises:

accessing client device location information; and

determining if the client device is within a geographic area defined by the location data in the advertisement.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the client device location information comprises longitude and latitude coordinates, and wherein the location data in the advertisement comprises longitude and latitude coordinates defining the geographic area.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the client device location information is stored remotely from the client device and wherein the determination if the client device is within the geographic area is performed by a remote server.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein identifying the client device comprises:

initiating a location application on the client device; and

determining the location of the client device using at least one of network-based location information, client-based location information or hybrid location information.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the client device determines a geographic area defined by the location data in the advertisement and determines if the client device is within the geographic area.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein identifying the client device further comprises:

identifying at least one base station capable of communication with devices within a targeted geographic area defined by the location data in the advertisement; and

identifying the client device in communication with the at least one base station.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

requesting an HTML document in response to a URL contained in the advertisement; and

transmitting the HTML document based on the URL and characteristics of the client device.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the characteristics of the client device include at least one of a type of client device, memory capacity, display resolution, display color capability, operating system, software installed, or input/output devices.

31. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

reporting advertisement response data from the client device.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the advertisement response data is at least one of purchase data, advertisement display time, advertisement display date, advertisement viewing data, or advertisement type.

33. A wireless client device, comprising:

a user interface; and

a carrier announcement manager (CAM) configured to receive an advertisement containing location data that defines a targeted area, configured to store the advertisement on the client device in an inbox, if the client device is within the targeted area, and configured to convert an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

34. The client device of claim 33, wherein the client device is at least one of a wireless computing device, a wireless telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDAs), or a paging device.

35. The client device of claim 33, wherein the CAM is further configured to automatically delete the advertisement from the inbox based on at least one of a current location of the client device, a number of advertisements in the inbox, a memory usage of the inbox, a specified time or an event-based trigger.

36. The client device of claim 33, wherein the CAM is further configured to retrieve and display the stored advertisement based on a predefined event.

37. The client device of claim 36, wherein the predefined event is at least one of ending a communication, pressing a key on the client device, exiting an application on the client device, activating the client device or opening the client device.

38. The client device of claim 33, wherein the CAM is further configured to determine a geographic location of the client device.

39. The client device of claim 38, wherein the geographic location is determined using at least one of network-based location information, client-based location information or hybrid location information.

40. The client device of claim 38, wherein the CAM is further configured to determine if the client device is within the targeted area.

41. The client device of claim 40, wherein the CAM is further configured to discard the advertisement if the client device is not within the targeted area.

42. The client device of claim 33, wherein the CAM is further configured to receive and store the advertisement in a background mode.

43. A method for wirelessly receiving an advertisement at a client device comprising:

receiving an advertisement containing location data;

determining a geographic location of the client device;

determining if the client device is within a geographic area defined by the location data contained in the advertisement based on the geographic location of the client device;

storing the advertisement in an inbox on the client device if the client device is within the geographic area; and

converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein determining the geographic location of the client device further comprises:

communicating data with a remote server to determine the geographic location of the client device.

45. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

transmitting the geographic location of the client device to a remote server on at least one of a periodic basis, an initiation of the client device or an initiation of the CAM.

46. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

automatically deleting the advertisement from the inbox based on at least one of a current location of the client device, a number of advertisements in the inbox, a memory usage of the inbox, a specified time or an event-based trigger.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein the advertisement is presented on a display after a predefined event has occurred.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the predefined event includes at least one of ending a communication, pressing a key on the client device, exiting an application on the client device, activating the client device or opening the client device.

49. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for wirelessly communicating location-based advertisements, the computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the computing device to perform the process of:

generating an advertisement containing location data;

identifying a client device to receive the advertisement based on the location data in the advertisement and a geographic location of the client device;

transmitting the advertisement to the client device;

receiving the advertisement at the client device;

storing the advertisement on the client device in an inbox if the client device is within a targeted geographic area defined by the location data; and

converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

50. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the process of identifying the client device comprises:

accessing client device location information; and

determining if the client device is within a geographic area defined by the location data in the advertisement.

51. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for wirelessly communicating location-based advertisements, the computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the computing device to perform the process of:

receiving an advertisement containing location data at a client device;

determining a geographic location of the client device;

determining if the client device is within a geographic area defined by the location data contained in the advertisement based on the geographic location of the client device;

storing the advertisement in an inbox on the client device if the client device is within the geographic area and

converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

52. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 51, wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by at least one computing device, further cause the computing device to perform the process of:

discarding the advertisement if the client device is not within the geographic area; and

automatically deleting the advertisement from the inbox based on at least one of a current location of the client device, a number of advertisements in the inbox, a memory usage of the inbox, a specified time or an event-based trigger.

53. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 52, wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by at least one computing device, further cause the computing device to perform the process of:

reporting advertisement response data, wherein the advertisement response data is at least one of purchase data, advertisement display time, advertisement display date, advertisement viewing data, or advertisement type.

54. A system for wirelessly communicating advertisements comprising:

means for generating an advertisement containing location data that defines a geographic area;

means for identifying a client device to receive the advertisement based on the geographic area and a geographic location of the client device;

means for transmitting the advertisement to the client device;

means for receiving the advertisement at the client device;

means for storing the advertisement on the client device in an inbox if the client device is within a targeted geographic area defined by the location data; and

means for converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the advertisement is at least one of a Short Message Service (SMS) message, an HTML document or an Announcement Download Request (ADR) containing a URL.

56. The system of claim 54, further comprising:

means for storing at least one HTML document related to an ADR; and

means for accessing the at least one stored HTML document based on characteristics of the client device requesting the document.

57. The system of claim 54, further comprising:

means for storing a plurality of HTML documents related to the advertisement based on characteristics of a plurality of client devices; and

means for selecting one of the plurality of HTML documents based on characteristics of the client device.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the characteristics of the client device include at least one of a type of client device, memory capacity, display resolution, display color capability, operating system, software installed, or input/output devices.

59. A client device for wirelessly receiving advertisements comprising:

means for receiving an advertisement containing location data that defines a geographic area;

means for storing the advertisement on the client device in an inbox, if a geographic position of the client device is within the geographic area; and

means for converting an oldest HTML advertisement in the inbox to an advertisement containing a uniform resource locator (URL) referring to a server-side location of an HTML document, when storing a new advertisement would exceed a memory usage of the inbox.

60. The client device of claim 59, further comprising:

means for accessing client device location information; and

means for determining if the client device is within the geographic area defined by the location data in the advertisement.

61. The client device of claim 60, further comprising:

means for automatically deleting the stored advertisement based upon at least one of a current location of the client device, a current time, or an event-based advertisement delete request.

62. The client device of claim 59, further comprising:

means for presenting the advertisement on a display after a predefined event has occurred.

63. The client device of claim 62, wherein the predefined event includes at least one of ending a communication, pressing a key on the client device, exiting an application on the client device, activating the client device or opening the client device.

64. The client device of claim 59, further comprising:

means for displaying the advertisement as advertisement wallpaper on a main screen.

65. The client device of claim 64, wherein the advertisement wallpaper is displayed on the main screen after an initial display of the advertisement.

66. The client device of claim 65, wherein the advertisement wallpaper is removed from the main screen based on at least one of a user request or an elapsed display time.