Cellular telephone advertising system

• US 5,852,775 A
• Filed: 09/12/1996
• Issued: 12/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: EarthWeb, Inc. (DHI Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hidary, Murray
• Primary Examiner(s): Dolinar, Andrew M.
• Application Number:
  US08/712,864
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 455/4.1, 455/4.2, 455/413, 455/404, 455/412, 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/45, 379/88.25
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 for mobile advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A cellular telephone system, is provided with an ad server and a memory for holding various commercial messages. The messages are either generic, or are tailored for specific demographically selected subscribers, or geographic cells. When communication is established either between a subscriber or a nonsubscriber, at least one of them gets either a generic or a specific commercial message.

Claims

1. A cellular telephone system comprising:

a central station;

a plurality of cells, each cell corresponding to a geographic area and having a cell transceiver in communication with said central station; and

a plurality of mobile telephones, each telephone being associated with a subscriber;

wherein said central station includes;

(a) first connectors for exchanging information with said telephones through said cell transceivers;

(b) second connectors for connecting said central station to a standard hardwired telephone system;

(c) a commercial message center for providing a commercial message to a specific mobile telephone when said mobile telephone establishes communication with said central station, said commercial message being unrelated to the operation of said mobile telephone; and

(d) a selector receiving commands from one of said subscribers indicative of whether said subscriber desires to receive commercial messages, said selector providing said commercial message to said subscriber if said one subscriber has indicated that he accepts commercial messages;

wherein said selector includes an emergency sensor for sensing an emergency command from said one subscriber, said selector connecting said one subscriber to a channel of communication in the presence of said emergency command.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said mobile telephone includes means for generating a request for initiating a call to a nonsubscriber, and wherein said commercial message is provided in response to said request.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said mobile telephone includes means for generating a request for information and wherein said commercial message is generated in response to said request.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said mobile telephone includes means for generating a request for connection to a nonsubscriber and wherein said message center generates a nonsubscriber message to said nonsubscriber in response to said request.

5. A commercial message center for a cellular telephone system, said telephone system being formed of a central station and a plurality of cells, each cell corresponding having a transceiver in communication with said central station and a plurality of subscriber telephones, each telephone being located in one of said cells, said center comprising:

a receiver for receiving a communication request from one of said subscriber telephones;

a first identifier for identifying the subscriber of said one subscriber telephone from said communication request and the cell from which said one subscriber is calling;

a memory bank holding a plurality of messages;

a correlator for correlating one of said messages from said memory bank with data associated with said one subscriber based on said cell; and

a transmitter for transmitting said message to said one subscriber.

6. The center of claim 5 wherein said subscriber telephone includes a request means for generating said communication request, said telephone system being responsive to said communication request to connect said subscriber telephone to another telephone device.

7. The center of claim 6 wherein said other telephone device is a subscriber telephone and said memory bank includes a first memory holding messages for said subscriber telephone and a second memory holding messages for said other telephone device.

8. The center of claim 5 wherein said memory bank includes a profile memory holding information related to profiles of all subscribers.

9. The center of claim 5 wherein said memory includes a generic memory holding generic messages.

10. The center of claim 5 wherein said memory bank includes a cell memory holding messages related to one of said cells.

11. The center of claim 5 further comprising a second transmitter for transmitting a second message to a device other said subscriber telephone.

12. The center of claim 5 further comprising an accumulator for accumulating a number of messages received by said subscriber.

13. A method of providing advertising information to subscribers of a cellular telephone system comprising the step of:

storing a plurality of commercial messages into a memory bank, said commercial messages being unrelated to the operation of said cellular telephone system;

sensing a request for communication from a subscriber telephone located in a cell of said system and said cell;

determining the identity of said subscriber from said request;

retrieving one commercial message from said information and based on said identity and the location of said subscriber from said cell; and

transmitting said one commercial message to said subscriber.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said request for communication identifies another telephone device, further comprising sending a second commercial message to said another telephone device.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said step of sensing includes sensing if said subscriber is ready to accept a commercial message.

16. The method of 13 further comprising accumulating the number of commercial messages received by a subscriber.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of crediting said subscriber with said number of commercial messages.

18. A cellular telephone system comprising:

a central station;

a plurality of cells, each cell corresponding to a geographic area and having a cell transceiver in communication with said central station; and

a plurality of mobile telephones, each telephone being associated with a subscriber;

wherein said central station includes;

(a) first connectors for exchanging information with said telephones through said cell transceivers;

(b) second connectors for connecting said central station to a standard hardwired telephone system;

(c) a detector for detecting a physical location of a particular subscriber; and

(d) a commercial message center for providing a commercial message to a specific mobile telephone based on said location when said mobile telephone establishes communication with said central station, said commercial message being unrelated to the operation of said mobile telephone.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said detector includes a cell identifier for identifying the cell of said subscriber, wherein said commercial messages is selected based on said cell.