ELECTRONIC DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR REAL-TIME, LOCATION-BASED CUSTOMER-TAILORED
REMOTE ADVERTISING
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
This invention relates to wearable or portable electronic devices or mobile phone applications for social, professional, and/or commercial networking, and in particular, a mobile phone application or an electronic device worn by a user which features electronics and software for the wireless reception of location-aware advertisements and offers to purchase goods and/or services while the electronic device holder or phone application user is physically present at shopping centers, malls, arcades, or other business precincts or areas where goods and services are offered for sale.
BACKGROUND
Ubiquitous computing and communication has been the dream of network researchers for the past few decades. Mobile telephones, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other social and business networking avenues have provided personal connection and interactivity on a scale that has never been seen before. However, improvements to these processes are needed in order to unlock the maximum utility these types of services offer to users. Recently, businesses such as GROUPON, LIVINGSOCIAL, BRANCHBARK, BUYWITHME, PLUM DISTRICT, JASMERE.COM, SAVEOLOGY, and GOOGLE OFFERS have begun offering so called "deal-of-the-day" online offers that are sent to subscribers via electronic mail or other electronic communications medium.
SUMMARY
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer-implemented methods comprising:
(a) a method comprising use of a computer program product for:
(1) a store electronically detecting a person in proximity or passing by,
(2) transmission and reception of profile data between the person and store, respectively,
(3) transmission and reception of profile data between the store and cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure, respectively, (4) generation of an offer for goods and/or services that statistically correlates with passerby attributes and interests,
(5) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure and the store, respectively,
(6) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the store and passerby, respectively, and
(7) display and/or notification of goods and/or services on the passerby's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent application, happens in real-time, or within a time period where a person walking at a typical pace will have not ventured too far from the respective store such that it becomes cumbersome for the passerby to recognize and understand any offers for goods and/or services and decide to enter the store that has sent the offer, with an intent to make a purchase; or,
(b) a computer-implemented method comprising a subset of, substantially all, or all of the steps as set forth in the flow chart of Figure 1 or 2.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer program products comprising: computer-executable logic contained on a computer-readable medium and configured for causing the following computer-executed step to occur:
(1) a store electronically detecting a person in proximity or passing by,
(2) transmission and reception of profile data between the person and store, respectively,
(3) transmission and reception of profile data between the store and cloud
infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure, respectively,
(4) generation of an offer for goods and/or services that statistically correlates with passerby attributes and interests,
(5) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure and the store, respectively,
(6) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the store and passerby, respectively, and
(7) display and/or notification of goods and/or services on the passerby's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent application, happens in real-time, or within a time period where a person walking at a typical pace will have not ventured too far from the respective store such that it becomes cumbersome for the passerby to recognize and understand any offers for goods and/or services and decide to enter the store that has sent the offer, with an intent to make a purchase; or,
(b) a computer-implemented method comprising a subset of, substantially all, or all of the steps as set forth in the flow chart of Figure 1 or 2.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer systems comprising a processor and a data storage device wherein said data storage device has stored thereon: (a) a computer program product for implementing a computer- implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product for processing data of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer-implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides a non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for running, processing and/or implementing: (a) a computer- implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer- implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of or a plurality of computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to run, process and/ or implement: (a) a computer-implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer-implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer program products comprising: a computer-readable storage medium; and a set of or a plurality of program instructions residing in said storage medium which, when executed by a computer, run, process and/ or implement: (a) a computer-implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer- implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer program storage devices, embodied on a tangible computer readable medium, comprising: (a) a computer- implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer- implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computers or equivalent electronic systems, comprising: a memory; and a processor operatively coupled to the memory, the processor adapted to execute program code stored in the memory to: run, process and/ or implement: (a) a computer-implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer-implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides a system or systems, comprising: a memory configured to: store values associated with a plurality of data points and/or a plurality of data elements, and a processor adapted to execute program code stored in the memory to: run, process and/ or implement: (a) a computer-implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer-implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer-implemented systems for providing an application access to an external data source or an external server process via a connection server, and providing the ability to store values associated with the plurality of data points and/or the plurality of data elements, and an application for running, processing and/or implementing: (a) a computer-implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer-implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides computer-implemented methods for displaying feed data comprising a plurality of data points and/or a plurality of data elements, the computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for: a mobile phone or equivalent application and a wearable or portable electronic device that uses data in the form of social, professional, commercial, and/or extracurricular characteristics and interests of the device owner or mobile application user to derive customized advertisements and offers to purchase goods and/or services that are transmitted by companies, corporations, vendors, or other sole proprietors, that possess a building or store for operations, when the mobile application user or wearable or portable electronic device wearer or carrier comes into physical proximity of the building or store:
(a) a computer- implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer- implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides storage devices storing program instructions executable by a processor or processors to run, process and/or implement: (a) a computer- implemented method of the invention; (b) a computer program product of the invention; (c) a computer program product of the invention; (d) a computer system of the invention; (e) a non-transitory memory medium of the invention; (f) a computer-readable storage medium of the invention; (g) a computer program product of the invention; (h) a computer program storage device of the invention; (i) a computer or equivalent electronic system of the invention; (j) a system of the invention; (k) a computer- implemented system of the invention; (1) a computer- implemented method for displaying feed data of the invention; (m) a storage device storing program instructions executable by a processor of the invention; or, (n) a combination thereof. The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
All publications, patents, patent applications, GenBank sequences and ATCC deposits, cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated by reference for all purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Drawings are illustrative of aspects of the invention and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed by the claims.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In alternative embodiments the invention provides computer-implemented methods and computer program products for performing computer-implemented operations for: a mobile phone or equivalent application and/or a wearable or portable electronic device that uses data in the form of social, professional, commercial, and/or extracurricular
characteristics and interests of the device owner or mobile application user to derive customized advertisements and offers to purchase goods and/or services that are transmitted by companies, corporations, vendors, or other sole proprietors, that possess a building or store for operations, when the mobile application user or wearable or portable electronic device wearer comes into physical proximity of the building or store.
In alternative embodiments the invention provides portable or wearable electronic devices or mobile phones or phone or equivalent applications for social, professional, and/or commercial networking, and in alternative embodiments, a mobile phone or equivalent application or an electronic device worn or otherwise carried by a user which comprises (features) electronics and software for the wireless reception of location-aware
advertisements; and the device or phone offers to purchase goods and/or services for the user either: while the electronic device holder or phone application user is physically present at a shopping center, a mall, an arcade, or other business precincts or areas where goods and services are offered for sale; or optionally at a later time.
In alternative embodiments the invention provides a mobile phone or equivalent or a device application and/or a wearable or portable electronic device that uses data in the form of social, professional, commercial, and/or extracurricular characteristics and interests of the device owner or mobile application user to derive customized advertisements and offers to purchase goods and/or services that are transmitted by companies, corporations, vendors, or other sole proprietors, that possess a building or store for operations, when the mobile application user or wearable electronic device wearer comes into physical proximity of the building or store.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated by the architecture information flow illustrated in Figure 1, which in alternative embodiments is effected or implemented by the computer program products, computer implemented methods, systems and/or other products of manufacture of the invention. As a customer walks past a storefront in a shopping center, the customer's wearable or portable electronic device or mobile phone application comes into wireless range of a fixture in a store that contains an electronic device compatible with the customer's wearable or portable device, or a computer system that runs a software application that is compatible with a mobile phone or equivalent application running on the customer's mobile phone or equivalent. When both devices or applications are in communication range, a profile containing identification information along with social, professional, extracurricular, or other interests or attributes about the customer is transmitted from the customer's wearable or portable device or phone application to the respective store's compatible device. The store then transmits this information to a cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure via a wireless and/or wired LAN supplied by the store's Internet service provider. Software deployed in the cloud
infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure uses the uploaded customer provided data together with other data obtained from a history of previous device or mobile application transactions initiated by the customer to identify offers for goods and/or services that correlate statistically with the customer's interests or attributes. Any positively well correlated offers for goods and/or services are then sent from the cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure to the store's compatible electronic device or phone or equivalent application and then to the customer's wearable or portable device or phone application over a communications link, which optionally can be a low- power communications link. Offers for goods and/or services received by the customer's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent application are displayed on the device itself, or shown on the customer's phone display.
In alternative embodiments the entire process of (1) the store electronically detecting a person passing by, (2) transmission and reception of profile data between the person and store, respectively, (3) transmission and reception of profile data between the store and cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure, respectively, (4) generation of an offer for goods and/or services that statistically correlates with passerby attributes and interests, (5) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure and the store, respectively, (6) transmission and reception of any offers for goods and/or services between the store and passerby, respectively, and (7) display and/or notification of goods and/or services on the passerby's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent application, happens in real-time, or within a time period where a person walking at a typical pace will have not ventured too far from the respective store such that it becomes cumbersome for the passerby to recognize and understand any offers for goods and/or services and decide to enter the store that has sent the offer, with an intent to make a purchase. This exemplary sequence of data transfer is classified as scenario A and is the data architecture diagram illustrated in Figure 1.
In alternative embodiments, the invention provides an alternative process or architecture, which in alternative embodiments is effected or implemented by the computer program products, computer implemented methods, systems and/or other products of manufacture of the invention. In alternative embodiments, the customer's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent application detects a store's compatible device or application which causes identity information about the store to be transmitted to the customer. This exemplary embodiment or scenario is illustrated in Figure 2, and differs from scenario A (e.g., the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1) in that the cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure receives information coupling the customer with a particular store through the customer's cell provider network. In this alternative embodiment, identity data received from the store is transmitted from the customer's wearable or portable electronic device over a Bluetooth or equivalent connection between the wearable or portable device and the customer's mobile phone or equivalent. The mobile phone or equivalent device will then transmit store identification data to a cloud infrastructure or network accessible relational database infrastructure that generates offers for goods and/or services that statistically correlate with the respective customer. Any offers are then transmitted back to the customer's wearable or portable device or mobile phone or equivalent device over a cell provider network or a wireless LAN or other wireless communications medium, or equivalents. In either scenario, a person walking, passing or moving by, past or through a store participating in this real-time, location-based remote advertising scheme will receive offers for goods and/or services that are customized to the interests of that person, who can be walking, passing or moving by. In alternative embodiments, offers are constructed, transmitted, and received by a participating customer in a constrained time frame before the customer, for example, walking at an average pace of 5.0 km/h (3.1 mph), will have walked too far away to stop, view, understand a received offer, and enter the respective store to potentially make a purchase.
Some portions of the detailed description that follows are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing", "computing", "calculating", "determining", "displaying" or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the method steps. The structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of embodiments of the invention as described herein.
In alternative embodiments, a machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory ("ROM"), random access memory ("RAM"), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.), a machine-readable transmission medium (electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)), etc.
In this description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
Computer Systems and Data Storage Devices
The methods of the invention, in whole or in part, necessarily require implementation using a machine, computer system or equivalent, within which a set of instructions for causing the computer or machine to perform any one or more of the protocols or
methodologies of the invention may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines, e.g., in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet, or any equivalents thereof. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. The term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines, computers or products of manufacture that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the
methodologies of the invention.
In alternative embodiments, an exemplary computer system of the invention comprises a processing device (processor), a main memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device, which communicate with each other via a bus.
In alternative embodiments, a processor represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processor may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC)
microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or a processor implementing other instruction sets or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processor may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. In alternative embodiments the processor is configured to execute the instructions (e.g., processing logic) for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.
In alternative embodiments the computer system further comprises a network interface device. The computer system also may include a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device (e.g., a speaker).
In alternative embodiments, the data storage device (e.g., drive unit) comprises a computer-readable storage medium on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the protocols, methodologies or functions of this invention. The instructions may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system, the main memory and the processor also constituting machine-accessible storage media. The instructions may further be transmitted or received over a network via the network interface device. In alternative embodiments the computer-readable storage medium is used to store data structure sets that define user identifying states and user preferences that define user profiles. Data structure sets and user profiles may also be stored in other sections of computer system, such as static memory.
In alternative embodiments, while the computer-readable storage medium in an exemplary embodiment is a single medium, the term "machine-accessible storage medium" can be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. In alternative embodiments the term "machine-accessible storage medium" can also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention. In alternative embodiments the term "machine- accessible storage medium" shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid- state memories, and optical and magnetic media.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention. Modifications of this invention will occur readily to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of these teachings. The above description is illustrative and not restrictive. This invention is to be limited only by the following claims, which include all such embodiments and modifications when viewed in conjunction with the above specification and accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.