Method and apparatus for browser based advertisement insertion

• US 8,418,197 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2009
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GoldSpot Media, Inc. (Japan) (Dentsu Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GoldSpot Media, Inc. (Japan) (Dentsu Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Feng, Xin, Dharmaji, Srinivasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Jason K
• Application Number:
  US12/582,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20100107191A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6473 Monitoring network processes errors for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Content is downloaded to a mobile handheld device (MHD) and buffered on the MHD prior to, and during, viewing. Normal wireless bandwidth varies with atmospheric conditions, distance, obstructions in the path, etc. and hence the speed at which a content-buffer (CB) on the MHD is replenished changes. Because this can result in very low quality viewing experience for the user, the capability for alternate content scheduling provided a micro-splicer is used to enable stored alternate-content or advertisement insertion during periods of low viewing quality, when the CB does not hold sufficient content during the viewing period. This alternate content insertion allows the CB to be refilled before the user resumes content viewing.

Claims

1. A mobile handheld device, comprising:

a display;

a display buffer coupled to said display;

a first content buffer for buffering a received content stream, said content buffer coupled to said display buffer via a switch;

a second content buffer for buffering an alternate content stream for display on said display, said second content buffer coupled to said display buffer via said switch;

a storage unit having stored therein preloaded content, said storage unit coupled to said second content buffer;

a threshold checker for checking a fill and an empty status of said first content buffer, for identifying an end-of-content-file, and for outputting a control signal responsive thereof to operate a micro-splicer; and

a micro-splicer coupled to said first content buffer, said second content buffer, said storage unit, and said switch, said micro-splicer configured to operate said switch in response to said control signal to provide alternate content from said second content buffer to said display buffer when said first content buffer has insufficient content to ensure good quality display on said handheld display;

wherein viewing quality on the mobile handheld device is improved;

wherein said micro-splicer is configured to load said second content buffer from said storage unit at the same time that advertisements are loaded into said display buffer from said second content buffer, thereby emptying said second content buffer.

2. A method for improving the viewing quality on a mobile handheld device (MHD), comprising the steps of:

a user initiating viewing of content on said MHD;

a content buffer (CB) starting to load content into a display buffer of said MHD from a wireless link;

simultaneously loading alternate content into an alternate content buffer (ACB) from a storage containing pre-downloaded alternate content;

a threshold checker continuously checking a fill status of the CB, said threshold checker outputting a control signal responsive thereof to operate a micro-splicer;

wherein, if the control signal from the threshold checker indicates that the CB fill status is below a threshold value Et, the micro-splicer stops loading the display buffer from the CB and starts loading the display buffer from the ACB with alternate content;

said threshold checker monitoring the CB to detect when the CB fill status reaches the threshold value Ft;

when the CB fill status reaches the threshold Ft, the control signal from the threshold checker is sent to the micro-splicer, stopping the loading of the display buffer from the ACB at the end of a currently loading advertisement and beginning loading of the display buffer from the CB;

the threshold checker checking for an-of-content-file EOCF data block in the CB;

wherein, if at any time the EOCF is recognized while the display buffer is being loaded from the ACB, the control signal from the threshold checker is sent to the micro-splicer, which stops loading of the display buffer from the ACB and starts loading the display buffer from the CB after the completion of a current advertisement;

continuing loading the display buffer until the EOCF is recognized;

rendering any content loaded into the display buffer and sending said rendered content to a display screen for display;

wherein said micro-splicer is configured to load said alternate content buffer from said storage at the same time that advertisements are loaded into said display buffer from said alternate content buffer, thereby emptying said alternate content buffer.

3. An apparatus for improving the viewing quality on a mobile handheld device (MHD), comprising:

a content buffer (CB) configured for starting to load content into a display buffer of said MHD from a wireless link upon a user initiating viewing of content on said MHD;

an alternate content buffer (ACB) into which alternate content is simultaneously loaded from a storage containing pre-downloaded alternate content;

a threshold checker for continuously checking a fill status of the CB, the threshold checker further configured for checking for an end-of-content-file EOCF data block in the CB, said threshold checker outputting a control signal responsive thereof to operate a micro-splicer; and

a micro-splicer, responsive to the control signal from the threshold checker, configured to stop loading the display buffer from the CB and start loading the display buffer from the ACB with alternate content if the CB fill status is below a threshold value Et, the micro-splicer configured for monitoring the CB to detect when the CB fill status, as determined by the threshold checker, reaches the threshold value Ft, the micro-splicer configured for stopping loading of the display buffer from the ACB at the end of a currently loading advertisement and beginning loading of the display buffer from the CB when the CB fill status, as determined by the threshold checker, reaches the threshold Ft, the micro-splicer configured to stop loading of the display buffer from the ACB and start loading the display buffer from the CB after the completion of a current advertisement if at any time the EOCF is recognized by the threshold checker while the display buffer is being loaded from the ACB, the micro-splicer configured to continue loading the display buffer until the EOCF is recognized by the threshold checker;

wherein any content loaded into the display buffer is rendered and sent to a display screen for display;

wherein said micro-splicer is configured to load said alternate content buffer from said storage at the same time that advertisements are loaded into said display buffer from said alternate content buffer, thereby emptying said alternate content buffer.