Methods and apparatus for delivering targeted information and advertising over the internet
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method for providing a subsidized Internet connection to a user having a mini-portal comprising a communication device for connecting to the Internet and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying the advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the method comprising:
- associating a unique identifier with the mini-portal;
sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertising server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal;
using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements;
identifying owners of the one or more advertisements;
calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user;
collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; and
using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods are provided for subsidizing Internet access through advertising using a “portal provider” that supplies a “mini-portal” to the users of selected Internet service providers (ISPs). The mini-portal includes communications hardware, for connecting to the Internet, and display software, for displaying advertisements or other messages from local non-volatile storage during idle time, such as when the user'"'"'s computer is connecting to the Internet. Advertisers are sold access to display their advertisements through the display software, and the revenue thus generated may be used to subsidize providing the mini-portal and Internet access fees. A validation mechanism is provided wherein a validation server operated by the portal provider sends data to the mini-portal that helps keep the advertisements current, and gives the portal provider an ongoing role in providing advertisements to mini-portal users.
639 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method for providing a subsidized Internet connection to a user having a mini-portal comprising a communication device for connecting to the Internet and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying the advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the method comprising:
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associating a unique identifier with the mini-portal;
sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertising server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal;
using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements;
identifying owners of the one or more advertisements;
calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user;
collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; and
using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of providing advertisements over the Internet, the method comprising:
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providing a user with a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met;
sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertisement server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal;
using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements;
calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user;
collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements;
using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection;
downloading the one or more advertisements; and
storing the one or more advertisements on the Internet access device, so that they may be displayed by the display software. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A server that controls the access of one or more clients to advertising material, each of the one or more clients comprising a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the server comprising:
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a processor;
a communication device connecting the server to the Internet;
a storage device containing a database that associates the unique identifier of the mini-portal device with a pointer to an advertising server; and
a memory, the memory comprising;
an initialization routine that accepts the unique identifier of the mini-portal over the Internet, and sends the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. An advertisement server, that sends pointers to advertisements to a mini-portal device, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the advertisement server comprising:
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a processor;
a communication device connecting the server to the Internet;
a storage device containing an index file, the index file comprising pointers to one or more content servers; and
a memory, the memory comprising;
an advertisement routine that sends the index file to the mini-portal device in response to a request from the mini-portal device. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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Specification