Method and apparatus for dynamically presenting content in response to successive scans of a static code

• US 8,413,884 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2011
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Life in Mobile Innovation Inc.
• Original Assignee: Life In Mobile, Inc.
• Inventors: Packes, John M. Jr., Lim, John W.
• Primary Examiner(s): HESS, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US13/040,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20120223131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/375, 455/414.1, 455/414.3
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

QR codes or the like are used in hardlink applications, by which different users may receive different information in response to a scan of the same code that is displayed at one or more locations in the real world. The content delivered to a particular user may be dependent on the time of the scan, the geographic location of the user, a weather condition at the geographical location, personal information associated with the user, a number of previous scans of the code by prior individuals, and any combination of the these or other variables, which may be determined by an originator of the QR code or other party.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computer server system in communication with a wireless communication network via a computer network, comprising:

establishing a web site on the computer network,

storing, in an electronic memory, a plurality of separate merchant site addresses in a computer-readable format, the merchant site addresses comprising addresses on the computer network;

storing, in the electronic memory, geographic data comprising geographic locations at which hardlink codes are visually presented to users, the hardlink codes for directing devices to the web site upon decoding of the hardlink codes;

storing, in the electronic memory, at least one rule for selecting a merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses, the at least one rule dependent on a geographic location, a time at the geographic location, and a weather condition at the geographic location, which are determined in response to indications of hardlink codes received from the wireless devices;

receiving, at the web site from a wireless device of a user via the wireless communication network, an indication of a hardlink code decoded by the wireless device;

determining the geographic location of the user based on the geographic data stored for the hardlink code decoded by the wireless device;

determining the time at the geographic location of the user;

determining the weather condition at the geographic location of the user by referencing a weather site on the computer network;

selecting a merchant site address from the plurality of merchant site addresses based on the rule, the geographic location of the user the time at the geographic location of the user and the weather condition at the geographic location of the user; and

re-directing the wireless device to the merchant site address on the computer network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a transmitter and a receiver for communicating signals over the wireless communications network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a global positioning system (GPS) for determining the geographic location of the wireless device, the wireless device transmits the geographic location of the wireless device with the indication, and the geographic location of the user device is used to confirm the geographic location of the user determined from the geographic data stored for the hardlink code.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a camera including at least one of a still camera and a video camera for imaging the hardlink code, and software instructions for decoding the hardlink code after said imaging.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indication includes information that was decoded by the wireless device from a scan of the hardlink code by the camera.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hardlink code comprises at least one of:

a one-dimensional barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, a dataform, a dataglyph, alphanumeric text, a photographic image and a symbology.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the hardlink code is a photographic image, said receiving further comprising:

receiving the photographic image as the indication, determining a feature in the image using image recognition software and wherein the geographic data includes the feature.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications network comprises at least one of a cellular telephone network, a cellular data network and a wireless computer network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one rule is dependent on additional data including a number of scans of the hardlink code performed by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting comprises selecting at least two merchant site addresses from the plurality of merchant site addresses, transmitting comprises transmitting the at least two merchant site addresses to the wireless device of the user;

and said re-directing further comprises;

receiving a selection of one of the at least two merchant site addresses from the wireless device of the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the hardlink code comprises a Quick Response (QR) code and wherein the indication received from the user includes information decoded from a scan of the QR code by the wireless device of the user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises a transmission of an alphanumeric character string by Short Message Service (SMS) from the wireless device to an SMS address that is visually displayed with the hardlink code.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the web site address is visually displayed to the user with the hardlink code.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule is further dependent on bids from a plurality of merchants for redirecting wireless devices of the users to a particular merchant in response to receiving the indication of the code.

15. A computer server system in communication with a wireless communications network via a computer network, comprising:

a communications device for transmitting and receiving signals over the wireless communication network via the computer network;

an electronic memory for storing a plurality of separate merchant site addresses on the computer network for selective transmission to wireless devices of users;

the electronic memory further storing geographic data comprising geographic locations at which hardlink codes are visually presented to users, the hardlink codes for directing devices to a web site on the computer network upon decoding of one of the hardlink codes;

the electronic memory further storing a rule for selecting a merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses, the rule dependent on a geographic location, a time at the geographic location, and a weather condition at the geographic location which are determined in response to indications of hardlink codes received from the wireless devices via the communication device;

a processor, operable with the communication device and the electronic memory, to enable the computer server system to;

establish the web site on the computer network;

receive, from a first wireless device, a first indication of a hardlink code that is visually displayed at a first geographic location;

determine, in response to the first indication, first data that includes the first geographic location, the time of the first indication, and a current weather condition at the first geographic location;

select a first merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses based on at least a portion of the first data and the rule;

re-directing the first wireless device to the first merchant site address;

receive, from a second wireless device, a second indication of the hardlink code that is visually displayed at the first geographic location;

determine, in response to the second indication, second data that includes the first geographic location, the time of the second indication, and a weather condition at the first geographic location at the time of the second indication;

select a second merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses based on at least a portion of the second data and the at least one rule; and

re-directing the second wireless device to the second merchant site address.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the computer server system is further enabled to:

receive, from a third wireless device, a third indication of the hardlink code that is visually displayed at a second geographic location;

determine, in response to the third indication, third data that includes the second geographic location, the time of the third indication, and a weather condition at the second geographic location at the time of the third indication;

select a third merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses based on at least a portion of the third data and the rule; and

re-directing the third wireless device to the third merchant site address.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the computer server system is further enabled to:

receive, from a third wireless device, a third indication of the hardlink code that is visually displayed at a second geographic location;

determine, in response to the third indication, third data that includes the second geographic location, the time of the third indication, and a weather condition at the second geographic location at the time of the third indication;

select the first merchant site address from the plurality of separate merchant site addresses based on at least a portion of the third data and the rule; and

re-directing the third wireless device to the first merchant site address.