System and method for generating and verifying targeted advertisements delivered via a printer device

• US 8,886,556 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2008
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Gnanasambandam, Shanmuga-nathan, Harrington, Steven Jay, Sharma, Naveen
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss, John G
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHORNESKY, ADAM B
• Application Number:
  US12/245,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20100088178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,227 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.49, 705/14.45, 705/14.64, 705/14.66
• US Class Current: 705/14.45
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements

Abstract

A system and method is provided for providing targeted advertising to a user of a printer assembly having at least one printer device and having data communication capabilities. The printer assembly may include a grid which includes a plurality of printers that share resources and workloads. The aggregator server includes a processor for receiving and storing ad generation criteria from at least one advertiser, receiving target information from at least one printer assembly, and executing a series of programmable instructions. The instructions provide for matching the received target information with stored ad generation criteria, generating ads when a match is found, and delivering ads to the printer assembly for output to a user. Delivery or use of the ad may be verified. Charges may be levied on the advertiser for verified ads and the printer assembly may be credited accordingly, e.g., for subsidizing operating costs associated with the printer assembly.

Claims

1. An aggregator server for providing targeted advertising to a user of at least one printer assembly, each printer assembly including at least one printer device and having data communication capabilities, the aggregator server comprising:

a processor, the processor being adapted to;

receive, store, and access ad generation criteria transmitted from at least one associated advertiser server,

receive target information transmitted from a printer device of the at least one printer assembly,

search for an ad opportunity based on the received target information and the stored ad generation criteria;

in response to matching the received target information with the ad opportunity in a timer period that does not exceed a predetermined time interval;

notify the at least one associated advertiser server of the ad opportunity,

receive at least one ad generated from the associated advertiser server and based on the match, and

relay the at least one ad to the printer assembly for delivery to a user of the printer assembly,

in response to searching for the time period exceeding the predetermined time interval, send an instruction to execute the print job without relaying the at least one ad.

2. The aggregator server according to claim 1, wherein the ad generation criteria includes at least one of at least one keyword and a contextual condition.

3. The aggregator server according to claim 2, wherein the target information includes data related to a job request submitted by the user of the printer assembly of the at least one printer assembly;

and

wherein the matching includes determining if data included in the target information matches at least one keyword or satisfies the contextual condition included in the ad generation criteria associated with an advertiser of the at least one advertiser.

4. The aggregator server according to claim 1, wherein the programmable instructions further comprise a verifier module for determining whether respective ads of the at least one generated ad were verified by at least one of determining whether a predetermined verification action which verifies a usage of the respective delivered ads was performed by the user of the printer assembly, and receiving notification that the respective delivered ads were output to a user.

5. The aggregator server according to claim 4, wherein the programmable instructions further comprise an accounting module for at least one of charging the advertiser associated with a delivered ad for which a determination was made that the ad was verified, and crediting an owner or lessee of the printer assembly upon the determination that the ad was verified.

6. The aggregator server according to claim 4, wherein the programmable instructions further comprise an accounting module for crediting the account of an owner or lessee of the printer assembly upon the determination that the ad was verified, wherein the account is an account maintained by a provider which has a contract with the owner or lessee of the printer assembly for provision of at least one of service and consumables to the printer assembly.

7. The aggregator server according to claim 6, wherein the amount credited or charged is based on whether a predetermined verification action was performed by the user or notification that the respective delivered ads were output to a user was received.

8. The aggregator server according to claim 1, wherein an identity of the user and printer assembly and contact information associated with the user and printer assembly is not accessible by the advertiser associated with the delivered ad.

9. A printer assembly including at least one printer device receiving print job requests submitted by at least one user, the printer assembly comprising:

a communication interface for providing data communication with an associated aggregator server which generates at least one targeted ad, the data communication interface being adapted to;

receive a request for a print job submitted to the printer assembly by a user;

stall execution of the print job for a predetermined time interval;

provide target information retrieved from the print job to the associated aggregator server,

in response to a time period exceeding the time interval without receiving at least one targeted ad relayed from the associated aggregator server, execute the print job without the at least one targeted ad,

in response to receiving the at least one targeted ad before the time interval,

deliver the at least one targeted ad to the user; and

,

a processor for executing a series of programmable instructions, the instructions including a content/context retriever module, the processor adapted to;

retrieve the target information including at least one of content and context information associated with the request for the print job, and

merge the at least one targeted ad with the print job before rendering output of the print job.

10. The printer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the content information includes content included with the job requested.

11. The printer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the context information includes at least one of temporal and geographic information related to the job request, demographic information related to the at least one user of the printer assembly, and information related to usage of the printer assembly.

12. The printer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the programmable instructions further comprise an ad delivery module for merging the at least one targeted ad received from the aggregator server into output associated with execution of the job request.

13. The printer assembly according to claim 12, wherein the ad delivery module further provides data communication from a computing device operated by a user of the printer assembly to the printer assembly for delivering evidence of a verification action performed by the user which verifies a usage of the delivered ad.

14. The printer assembly according to claim 9, further comprising a storage device for storing generated ads, wherein the stored generated ads are accessible for a predetermined time period by a user of the printer assembly.

15. The printer assembly according to claim 9, further comprising a verification module adapted to provide verification data communication to the aggregator server for verifying use of the ad by the user, and the printer device inserts identifying data into the verification data communication for verifying the identity of at least one of the user, the printer device and the printer assembly.

16. The printer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the printer assembly includes a printer grid having at least two printer devices in which the printer devices share at least one of workload, functionality and resources, wherein the printer grid communicates as a single entity with the aggregator server.

24. The printer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the printer assembly is further adapted to:

receive a select level for searching; and

,

retrieve a type of data corresponding to the target information based on the select level for searching.

17. A method for providing targeted advertising to at least one device having data communication capabilities, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a print job at a printer device;

stalling an execution of the print job for a predetermined time interval;

retrieving at the printer device target information from the print job;

relaying by the printer device the target information to an associated server;

in response to receiving at the printer device at least one advertisement relayed from the associated server before the predetermined time interval, merging the at least one advertisement with the print job at the printer device and processing the print job; and

,

in response to not receiving the at least one advertisement before the predetermined time interval, processing the print job without the at least one advertisement.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the ad generation criteria includes at least one of at least one keyword and a contextual condition.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the retrieving the target information includes:

receiving a select level for searching; and

,

retrieving a type of data corresponding to the target information based on the select level for searching;

wherein the data relates to the job request submitted by a user and is compared to ad generation criteria for matching an ad.

20. The method according to claim 17, further comprising determining whether a predetermined verification action which verifies a usage of the delivered ad has been performed by a user of the device for verifying the delivered ad.

21. The method according to claim 17, further comprising at least one of:

charging the advertiser for each verified delivered ad to which it is associated, and crediting an owner or lessee of the device for each verified delivered ad.

22. The method according to claim 17, further comprising crediting the account of an owner or lessee of the device upon the determination that the predetermined verification action was performed, wherein the account is an account maintained by a provider which has a contract with the owner or lessee of the device for provision of service to the device.

23. The method according to claim 17, wherein an identity of a user of the device or the device and contact information associated with the user and the device is not accessible by the advertiser associated with the delivered ad.