Voting system with content

• US 9,424,534 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2010
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InfoMedia Services Limited
• Original Assignee: InfoMedia Services Limited
• Inventors: Medved, Jonathan William
• Primary Examiner(s): Reagan, James A
• Application Number:
  US12/838,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20110015970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,227 Days
• Field of Search: 705/12, 705/15, 705/59
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus

Abstract

An apparatus includes a database of content and a content system. The database stores content related to a set of entities to be voted upon in a voting system, wherein there is at least one piece of content for each selection. The content system receives a vote of a user from the voting system and at least an identifier of a cellphone of the user and provides content related to the vote from the database to the cellphone. At least a portion of the content is playable on the cellphone.

Claims

1. Apparatus in communication with a voting system which receives votes from a plurality of cell phones for a set of entities, the voting system comprising:

a recorder configured to record a communication from a cell phone of a user the communication having at least an identifier of the cell phone of the user and a vote of said user for a voted entity;

a registration unit configured to register the user'"'"'s vote and tabulate votes from the plurality of cell phones for the set of entities; and

a forwarding unit configures to formulate a response to the user and send the formulated response to the user; and

the apparatus comprising;

a database of content storage related to said set of entities to be voted upon in said voting system, wherein there is at least one piece of content for each entity and wherein specific media content is associated with a respective entity;

a content unit to receive from said voting system at least the identifier of the cell phone of the user and the vote of said user for the voted entity;

a response formulator configured to provide an identifier to the cell phone of the user via the forwarding unit to enable the specific media content related to said voted entity to be downloaded from said database to said cell phone of said user;

a unit to read a profile of said user and to select the specific media content as a function of the vote and said the profile; and

a content provider that provides the specific media content to the cell phone of said user based on the identifier,

wherein at least a portion of said specific media content is playable on said cell phone.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said vote is provided by SMS and wherein said identifier is a caller identifier (caller ID) provided with said SMS.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 and wherein said entity is one of:

an entertainer, a band, an act and a candidate for an office.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 and wherein said media content comprises at least a link to a storage location of said portion.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 and wherein said portion comprises at least a multimedia clip.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 and wherein said multimedia clip is a video ringtone playable upon a communications triggering event.

7. A method implementable on a computing device in communication with a voting system which receives votes for candidates from a plurality of cell phones of users, the method comprising:

recording a communication from a cell phone of a user the communication having at least an identifier of the cell phone of the user and a vote of said user for a candidate;

registering the user'"'"'s vote and tabulating votes from the plurality of cell phones for the candidates; and

formulating a response to the user and sending the formulated response to the user; and

providing a database of content related to said candidates, wherein there is at least one piece of content for each candidate;

associating specific media content a respective candidate;

receiving from said voting system at least the identifier of said cell phone of said user and the vote of said user for a voted candidate;

reading a profile of said user and selecting said media content as a function of said vote and said user profile;

enabling the specific media content related to said voted candidate to be downloaded from said database to said cell phone of said user by providing a content identifier to the cell phone of said user; and

providing the specific media content to the cell phone of said user based on the content identifier,

wherein at least a portion of said media content is playable on said cell phone.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein said vote is provided by SMS and wherein said identifier is a caller identifier (caller ID) provided with said SMS.

9. The method according to claim 7 and wherein said entity is one of:

an entertainer, a band, an act and a candidate for an office.

10. The method according to claim 7 and wherein said media content comprises at least a link to a storage location of said portion.

11. The method according to claim 7 and wherein said portion comprises at least a multimedia clip.

12. The method according to claim 11 and wherein said multimedia clip is a video ringtone playable upon a communications triggering event.