Automatic content retrieval based on location-based screen tags

• US 8,615,565 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2009
• Issued: 12/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TPG Specialty Lending Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Monster Patents LLC (Monster Media LLC)
• Inventors: Randall, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, LIANG CHE A
• Application Number:
  US12/556,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20100064007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,567 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/226, 709/229, 709/246
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

Systems and methods automatically obtain contents and display the contents on location-specific display screens, based on content attributes associated with the screens. Associating content attributes (“tags”) with the screens allows administrators to specify the types of contents desired for display on the screens. For example, an establishment that caters to customers of a particular demographic (such as 21-27 year old singles, families with children, fans of rock-and-roll music, “bikers,” sports fans or ice cream lovers) may associate one or more content attributes (such as “dating,” “Disney,” “Led Zeppelin,” or “Red Sox”) with its display screen. The system then automatically obtains contents based on the attribute(s) and displays the contents on the screen. Patrons with mobile telephones or web-based users may send text messages for display on the screen or play interactive games displayed on the screen, as described in the incorporated patent application. However, even absent such activity, the disclosed systems and methods populate the screen with potentially ever-changing contents, thereby keeping the screen “fresh” and avoiding a situation known as the “ghost town” effect. The system may obtain the contents to be displayed from a variety of sources. For example, Twitter messages (“Tweets”) that contain or are otherwise associated (such as via “hashtags”) with a content attribute of a screen may be displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of displaying contents on a geographic location-specific display screen, the method comprising:

receiving, via an administrative interface, at least one content attribute, including at least one content attribute identifying a geographic location of the geographic location-specific display screen;

associating the at least one content attribute with the geographic location-specific display screen;

automatically searching or subscribing, over a computer network, for contents selected based on at least one of the at least one content attribute associated with the display screen;

automatically obtaining the contents; and

displaying the obtained contents on the display screen, wherein the geographic location-specific display screen is located at a specific geographic location.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the obtained contents on the display screen comprises displaying the obtained contents on:

a display screen coupled via a computer to a wide area network;

a display screen of a jukebox;

a display screen of an interactive game system;

a display screen of a point-of-sale kiosk;

or

a display screen coupled to a private television distribution network.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising making the contents displayed on the screen available via the Internet as a web page.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein associating the at least one content attribute with the display screen comprises associating a plurality of content attributes with the display screen.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of content attributes is selected from a set consisting of:

geographic location of the screen;

venue type of the geographic location of the screen;

a demographic characteristic of an expected viewer of the screen; and

a message topic.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein associating the at least one content attribute with the display screen comprises receiving a message sent by a user to an address associated with the screen, the message identifying the at least one content attribute.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving a message sent by the user from a mobile telephone.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving a message sent by the user from an Internet-connected computer, the message traversing at least a portion of the Internet.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein associating the at least one content attribute with the display screen comprises automatically identifying the content attribute, based on content of at least one message already displayed on the display screen or based on content of at least one message to be displayed on the display screen.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein associating the at least one content attribute with the display screen comprises receiving information descriptive of an activity currently taking place at the geographic location of the display screen.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein receiving information descriptive of an activity currently taking place comprises receiving automatically-generated information from a game system.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein receiving information descriptive of an activity currently taking place comprises receiving automatically-generated information about a song being played by a jukebox.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein automatically obtaining contents comprises automatically obtaining additional information about the song being played by the jukebox.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein automatically obtaining additional information about the song being played comprises automatically obtaining information about other geographic locations where the song is currently being played.

15. A method according to claim 13, wherein automatically obtaining additional information about the song being played comprises automatically obtaining information about people who are currently playing the song in other geographic locations.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein automatically obtaining additional information about the song being played comprises automatically obtaining information about people who have indicated an interest in the song or in an artist who performed the song.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein automatically obtaining the contents over the computer network comprises automatically obtaining the contents, via the Internet, from:

a social networking system, a news data system, a classified advertisement system, an entertainment information system, a syndicated data feed system or an advertisement system.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein automatically obtaining the contents over the computer network comprises automatically querying a computer system, via the Internet, for the contents.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein automatically obtaining the contents over the computer network comprises:

subscribing to a data feed from a computer system; and

receiving contents automatically sent by the computer system in response to the subscription.

20. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

automatically selecting a subset of the obtained contents according to a rule base; and

wherein displaying the obtained contents comprises displaying the selected subset of the obtained contents on the display screen.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the rule base at least statistically favors displaying contents that were generated specifically for the display screen over contents that were not specifically generated for the display screen.

22. A method according to claim 20, wherein the rule base at least statistically favors displaying contents that are associated with the display screen over contents that are not associated with the display screen.

23. A method according to claim 20, wherein the rule base at least statistically favors displaying contents that are associated with the geographic location of the display screen over contents that are not associated with the geographic location of the display screen.

24. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

automatically obtaining other contents displayed on another geographic location-specific display screen; and

displaying the other contents on the display screen.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein automatically obtaining the other contents or displaying the other contents is performed such that the other contents are selected according to at least one rule.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein automatically obtaining the other contents or displaying the other contents is performed such that at least of the at least one rule disfavors selecting contents associated with a predetermined set of other geographic location-specific display screens.

27. A method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the obtained contents on the display screen comprises displaying the obtained contents for an amount of time based at least in part on other contents displayed on the screen.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the amount of time is based at least in part on a number of other contents displayed on the screen.

29. A method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the obtained contents on the display screen comprises displaying the obtained contents for a predetermined amount of time.

30. A system for displaying contents on a geographic location-specific display screen, the system comprising:

a plurality of geographic location-specific display screens;

an administrative user interface configured to receive at least one content attribute, including, for each display screen of the plurality of geographic location-specific display screens, at least one content attribute identifying a geographic location of the display screen;

a server coupled to the plurality of geographic location-specific display screens and to the administrative user interface and configured to;

store the received at least one content attribute;

associate the received at least one content attribute with at least one of the plurality of geographic location-specific display screens;

automatically search or subscribe, over a computer network, for contents selected based on at least one of the at least one received content attribute;

automatically obtain the contents; and

for each display screen of the plurality of geographic location-specific display screens, display the obtained contents on the display screen, according to the at least one content attribute associated with the display screen, wherein each display screen of the plurality of geographic location-specific display screens is located at a respective specific geographic location.