Delivering and Displaying Advertisement or Other Application Data to Display Systems

• US 20080235749A1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prysm Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Spudnik Inc.
• Inventors: Hajjar, Roger A., Jain, Amit, Mundkur, Yatin
• Granted Patent: US 9,525,850 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Display devices and systems including television sets, and systems, apparatus and methods for delivering information and providing services through display devices and systems. The display used in the described systems and methods is capable of receiving one or more TV programming channels and an independent designated application channel and having at least a first display window and a second display window separated from each other without spatial overlap on the screen. The information sent over the designated application channel to the display is displayed on the first display window while simultaneously displaying one of the TV programming channels on the second display window. A viewer control mechanism is provided in the display to allow the viewer to switch the information received from the designated application channel from the first display window to the second display window and switch back at the viewer'"'"'s choice.

Claims

1. A method for delivering information to a display, comprising:

establishing a communication link with a display, which receives one or more TV programming channels and an independent designated application channel and includes at least a first display window and a second display window separated from each other without spatial overlap on the screen, to send data of the independent designated application channel to the display, wherein the communication link is separate from one or more communication links that deliver the one or more TV programming channels to the display; and

delivering information over the designated application channel to the display to display in the first display window while simultaneously displaying a TV programming channel on the second display window.

2. The method as in claim 1, comprising:

providing a viewer control mechanism to allow the viewer to switch the information received from the designated application channel from the first display window to the second display window and switch back at the viewer'"'"'s choice.

3. The method as in claim 2, comprising:

using at least one computer server in communication with a communication network to deliver data of the designated application channel to the display over the communication network;

providing a viewer feedback from the display to the computer server via a display remote control and a user graphic interface through the designated application channel to allow a viewer to send a viewer request or viewer data to the computer server; and

selecting content of the data in the designated application channel to the display based on the viewer request or data.

4. The method as in claim 3, wherein the viewer request includes viewer preference for advertisements to be delivered through the designated application channel to the viewer'"'"'s display.

5. The method as claim 3, wherein the viewer data includes viewer demographic information or information on viewer'"'"'s personal interests.

6. The method as in claim 5, comprising:

controlling the computer server to individualize content of advertisements delivered in the designated application channel based on the viewer demographic information or information on viewer'"'"'s personal interests.

7. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

controlling the computer server to deliver different advertisements in the designated application channel to different viewers based on differences on the viewer demographic information or information on viewer'"'"'s personal interests of the different viewers.

8. The method as in claim 3, comprising:

storing advertisements from one or more advertisers in the computer server; and

delivering the stored advertisements to displays connected to the communication network through the designated application channel to each display.

9. The method as in claim 3, wherein the communication network is a wireless communication network, and the designated application channel is provided through a wireless communication link between the communication network and the display.

10. The method as in claim 9, wherein the wireless communication network is a cellular network.

11. The method as in claim 9, wherein the wireless communication network is a WiFi network under an IEEE 802.11 standard.

12. The method as in claim 9, wherein the wireless communication network is a WiMax network.

13. The method as in claim 9, comprising:

storing data of the designated application channel received at the display in a local memory in the display; and

retrieving stored data from the local memory to project on the display.

14. The method as in claim 13, comprising:

controlling downloading data of the designated application channel through the wireless communication network to the local memory during one or more time periods when communication traffic is low.

15. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

delivering an application through the designated application channel to the display to allow a viewer to use a service provided by the application.

16. The method as in claim 15, wherein the service of the application is to a control of an appliance connected on the Internet.

17. The method as in claim 15, wherein the service of the application is to provide a telephone call or a video conference call.

18. The method as in claim 15, wherein the service of the application is to provide an electronic game to the viewer at the viewer'"'"'s choice.

19. The method as in claim 15, wherein the service of the application is to provide security monitoring of a security system to the viewer.

20. The method as in claim 15, wherein the service of the application is to provide phonebook-like information to the viewer.

21. The method as in claim 2, comprising:

storing data received from the TV programming channel in a local memory in the display when the TV programming channel is switched from the second display window to the first display window and the designated application channel is switched from the first display window to the second display window; and

retrieving the stored data of the TV programming channel from the local memory to display on the second display window when the TV programming channel is switched to the second display window and the designated application channel data is switched to the first display window.

22. The method as in claim 1, comprising:

storing data received from the designated application channel in a local memory in the display; and

retrieving the stored data from the local memory to display on the screen.

23. The method as in claim 1, wherein the display is a plasma flat panel display, a LCD flat panel display, a field emission display (FED) flat panel or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) flat panel.

24. The method as in claim 1, wherein the display is a CRT projection display, a LCD projection display, a digital light processing (DLP) projection display, a digital direct drive image light amplifier (D-ILA) projection display, or a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) projection display.

25. The method as in claim 1, wherein the display is a scanning beam fluorescent or phosphorescence display.

26. The method as in claim 1, comprising:

linking the viewer to a website selling a product or service through the independent designated application channel when the viewer selects the product or service on the TV set displaying the designated application channel.

27. A display system, comprising:

a screen to display images;

at least one TV and video input to receive a TV or video input channel for display on the screen;

a designated application channel receiver to receive a designated application channel that is independent from a broadcast TV programming channel;

a local memory that stores data received in the designated application channel; and

a display controller to control each frame displayed on the screen to have a first display window at a first location on the screen that displays the TV or video input channel and a second window at a second location without overlap with the first display window that displays the stored data in the designated application channel,

wherein the display controller includes a switch mechanism to switch displayed contents between the first and the second display windows.

28. The system as in claim 27, wherein the designated application channel receiver is a wireless receiver which receives a wireless signal from a wireless communication network that carries the designated application channel.

29. The system as in claim 28, wherein the wireless communication network is a cellular network.

30. The system as in claim 28, wherein the wireless communication network is a WiFi network under an IEEE 802.11 standard.

31. The system as in claim 28, wherein the wireless communication network is a WiMax network.

32. The system as in claim 27, wherein the screen is a plasma flat panel, a LCD flat panel, a field emission display (FED) flat panel or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) flat panel.

33. The system as in claim 27, wherein the screen is a screen of a CRT projection display, a LCD projection display, a digital light processing (DLP) projection display, a digital direct drive image light amplifier (D-ILA) projection display, or a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) projection display.

34. The system as in claim 27, comprising:

an optical module to produce at least one scanning optical beam to the screen,

wherein the screen comprises fluorescent or phosphorescence stripes that emit light under optical excitation of the at least one scanning optical beam to form images by the emitted light.

35. A system, comprising:

a communication network to provide communications to devices in communication with the communication network;

a designated application channel computer server in communication with the communication network to send out data of a designated application channel that is independent from a broadcast TV programming channel; and

a display system comprising a designated application channel receiver in communication with the communication network to receive the data of the designated application channel, a local memory to store the received data, a screen to display images, a display controller to retrieve the stored data from the local memory and to display the retrieved data on the screen, and a TV programming receiver to receive the broadcast TV programming channel,

wherein the display controller operates to control each frame displayed on the screen to simultaneously display the stored data in the designated application channel and the broadcast TV programming channel on the screen.

36. The system as in claim 35, wherein the display controller to control each frame displayed on the screen to have a first display window at a first location on the screen that displays the broadcast TV programming channel and a second window at a second location without overlap with the first display window that displays the stored data in the designated application channel.

37. A method for sending TV advertisements to TV viewers, comprising:

delivering a designated application channel, that is separated from TV programming channels, through a communication network to networked displays equipped to receive the designated application channel and TV programming channels; and

using one or more computer servers in communication with the communication network to supply selected TV advertisements over the designated application channel without TV programming to each of the networked displays based on viewer profile information of one or more TV viewers associated with the respective networked display.

38. The method as in claim 37, comprising:

storing a collection of TV advertisements in the one or more computer servers; and

selecting one or more TV advertisements from the stored collection based on the viewer profile information as the selected TV advertisements.

39. The method as in claim 38, comprising:

charging an advertiser a fee for placing one or more TV advertisements from the advertiser in the stored collection.

40. The method as in claim 38, further comprising:

distributing the displays equipped to receive the designated application channel and TV programming channels to TV viewers for free or at a nominal charge in exchange for delivery of the designated application channel to the TV viewers and for the viewer profile information.

41. The method as in claim 38, comprising:

distributing a networked display equipped to receive the designated application channel and TV programming channels to a TV viewer for an initial charge in exchange for delivery of the designated application channel to the TV viewer and for the viewer profile information; and

refunding the TV viewer at least a portion of the initial charge in installments or in a sum after a period of delivering the designated application channel to the TV viewer.

42. The method as in claim 38, comprising:

charging an advertiser a fee each time when a TV advertisement from the advertiser in the stored collection is delivered to a TV viewer.

43. The method as in claim 37, comprising:

updating the viewer profile information from data collected from each TV viewer through the designated application channel; and

adjusting selected TV advertisements delivered to a TV viewer based on the updated viewer profile information of the TV viewer.

44. The method as in claim 37, comprising:

receiving a request for TV advertisements from a TV viewer through the designated application channel; and

overriding a pre-determined schedule for delivery to the requesting TV viewer based on the viewer profile information of the requesting TV viewer to deliver the requested TV advertisements to the requesting TV viewer.

45. The method as in claim 37, comprising:

using the designated application channel to allow a TV viewer to access a service application stored on the one or more computer servers.

46. The method as in claim 45, wherein the service application includes a video conference call service.

47. The method as in claim 45, wherein the service application includes a remote control of an on-line appliance connected to the communication network.

48. The method as in claim 45, wherein the service application includes an on-line game from the one or more computer servers.

49. The method as in claim 45, wherein the service application includes an on-line phonebook from the one or more computer servers.

50. The method as in claim 45, wherein the service application includes monitoring a security system.