EP2218246A2

EP2218246A2 - Digital data processing with electronic communication devices

Info

Publication number: EP2218246A2
Application number: EP08848090A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Maguire; Richard Seward
Original assignee: Blue Whale Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Blue Whale Systems Ltd
Priority date: 2007-11-10
Filing date: 2008-11-10
Publication date: 2010-08-18
Also published as: GB0722117D0; WO2009060223A3; WO2009060223A2

Abstract

The invention to which this application relates is a system and method which allows the effective transmission of one or more portions of data to at least one device via a communications link. When the portion of data is requested and received by the device, the same is used to create a display on a screen of the device, and/or stored, so as to be subsequently available to be processed, even if there is no communication link to the device established at that time. Indicators can also be generated to illustrate when the display has been generated and said indicators can be analysed remotely from the device such as, for example, if the display is an advert, to indicate the number of times the advert has been viewed by the user of the device.

Description

Digital data processing with electronic communication devices

The present invention relates to a system which allows portions of digital media, such as, but not necessarily exclusively, data for the generation of adverts or other displays, to be made available to users of electronic devices such as portable communication and/or data devices, in a manner which allows the data to be accessible via the device even when the connection between the device and a remote communication means or transmitter is not always available or is intermittent.

The use of electronic devices such as a mobile phone, PDA or the like, which provides services to the user via data which is received from a remote location, is widespread. For the service to be effective and efficient there is a need to ensure that the data, as much as possible, is available to be received and processed as quickly as possible after the user demands the service. The provision of the data can be problematic when the device is in a poor reception area with regard to connecting with the remote data transmitter or the connection is intermittent.

The services which are provided are in many cases either wholly or at least partially funded and supported by the selling of advertising which is carried and accessible via the electronic devices as part of the service. In certain instances the entire service may be paid for and supported by a single advertiser. In some examples, by the service provider allowing the display of advertising on the viewable "pages" of their service on a display screen of the device in conjunction with service details requested by the user, so the user of the service may be provided widi web search results, free email services, news and/or other information services. The attractiveness of the use of advertising on systems or services which can be accessed via these electronic devices, such as websites or the like, is improved as the users of these devices are generally in possession of disposable income to varying degrees and may be targeted individually or in relatively small groups in comparison to the conventional advertising medium.

When generating the advert, the same is typically provided as an image or other media element and is downloaded via the communication link to the device along with the other content for the page which is to be displayed on the display screen of the device. The downloading of the data can occur dynamically as and when the user visits the service, makes the appropriate selections and the web browser of the user's device then generates the display on the screen. The access to the requested service is typically achieved by a web browser provided with the device, generating the request for the constituents of the display including the advert. A request for the appropriate URL for each component is made, including the URL for the advertisement, which will normally be the address of a server which will provide the data for the advert to be generated. At this stage the server stores in memory an indication that the advertisement has been requested and the data transmitted.

When the services are accessed in a home or office environment using a desktop or laptop device the service is then most typically provided along with advertisements which are incorporated into the screen display or displays of the web page of the service which the user is trying to view and interact with. The communication link is typically stable in that it is continuous and reliable.

The same principle of obtaining the data is conventionally used when a web page from a service is selected using a mobile or portable electronic device in that the data for the display material, such as advertisements to be displayed on the screen, are fetched dynamically at the time a user visits a WAP page on the browser, although some variation in the display of the advertisement may occur if the use of a portable electronic device is detected. However in instances where the user has selected to access a particular screen display with their portable electronic device, the connection between the electronic device and the remote communication location may not be available or may break down due, for example, to the geographical location of the user. This can mean that the advert for that screen is never generated, or if generated, is shown on a delayed basis which can in some instances lead to the advert causing frustration to the user of the device which obviously is undesirable.

A first aim of the present invention is to provide an alternative means of allowing access to media which is to be displayed and for the same to be achieved in a manner so as to improve the user's experience of use of electronic devices, even when the source of the data which is to be used to generated the display screen is not always available.

Regardless of the particular electronic device used to make the request for a particular display, and regardless of the particular advertisement which is generated, there is a need for the "reach" of the material, and particularly adverts, to the device users to be assessed and so there is a need for feedback to be provided to the advertiser. While the ability for this reach to be assessed is relatively easily achievable when the user is using apparatus for which a reliable communication link to the data transmitting source is available, it is more difficult to assess when the link to the remote transmitting source is not always available as it may be that while it is logged at the data server that the data for the advert has been transmitted, there is no certainty that that data will have been received by the portable electronic device and/or received for a sufficient period of time to allow the material to have been properly generated and viewed by the user of the device.

An example of the conventional system used is shown in Figure 1 for generating a display of a portion of data on the screen 2 of a mobile electronic device 4. In this case the user of the device has selected to connect to a remote data transmitting location and a demand via communication link 6 is sent to a remote server 8. The server 8, if it receives the request, identifies the page to be displayed and starts to retrieve the data required. In this case part of the display includes an advert, the data for which is transmitted as soon as a request is made to the advert server 10 and the data identified. This data is then transmitted to the electronic device by communication link 6 to allow the display, including the advert, to be displayed on screen 2. At the time of the advert server transmitting the data a log entry is made at the server 10 that the advert has been generated and hence, it is assumed, viewed. However, in practice, if, for example, the user of the electronic device is in a relatively remote or confined geographical location and/or is moving about while using the device, the generation and maintenance of the communication link 6 for the required duration to allow the above actions to occur is not always achieved. For example , if the communication link was maintained up until the transmission of the demand for the data and the retrieval of the data from the servers, 8, 10 but then fails prior to transmission of the data to the electronic device 4 the display is not generated on screen 2. This would mean that the device and user would at least have to wait until the communication link was restored or the display may not be generated at all. A further problem is that the server 10, typically from which the advert or other material is generated, has generated an indication that the advert has been viewed by the user when in fact this is not the case as the data did not reach the electronic device. This results in flawed viewing figures being provided to the advertiser or other material provider.

A further aim of the invention is therefore to provide a means whereby a more reliable indication of actual user access to adverts or other material can be assessed and therefore give the advertiser or other material provider more information and reassurance that the adverts or other material they are paying the service provider for are achieving the desired exposure levels.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a system for the downloading of data to allow a visual and/or audible display to be generated via an electronic device which receives said data, said data downloaded via a communication link between the device and a remote database and wherein at least a portion of said data is stored in a memory of the device so as to be available for the generation of said visual and/or audible display whether the communication link is active or not at that time.

Typically the generation of the display from said at least portion of data is performed in response to a user demand made via the device.

In one embodiment the said portion of data may be used to generate a display in conjunction with other data which is received from a remote location at that time and/or in conjunction with other data which is stored within the device. In one embodiment the said portion of data is selectively accessed and the display which is generated is selectively positioned on the display screen with reference to an activity being performed via the device at that time. In one embodiment the activity is the playing of a game, which game is depicted on screen and the said portion or portions of data are used to generate specific displays as the game progresses.

In one embodiment the said portion of data represents a predetermined display or part of a display. In one embodiment the display represents an advert.

In one embodiment in addition to the data required to generate the display, data representing an ID code is downloaded to the electronic device and associated with the said portion of data.

Typically at the time of receipt of the portion of the data, an indication of this is logged at the device. In one embodiment in addition or alternatively, an indication is logged at the device when the display is generated from said portion of data. In whichever embodiment the indications which are logged are transmitted from the device to a database to provide a record to a third party of the receipt of the data and/or generation of the display via the electronic device.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a system including at least one electronic device capable of receiving data transmitted from a remote location via a communication link said device including a screen and/or speaker via which the received data can be displayed, said data which is transmitted including a portion of data to which an identification (ID) code is added, said identification code used to identify and/or selectively process the data at the electronic device. In a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of providing at least a portion of data to an electronic device for the generation of a display thereon, said method including the steps of providing at least one electronic device capable of receiving data transmitted from a remote location via a communication link, said device including a screen and/or speaker via which the received data can be displayed, transmitting data from the remote location and wherein said data which is transmitted includes a portion of data to which an identification (ID) code is added, said identification code used to identify and/or selectively process the data at the electronic device.

In one embodiment the said data is transmitted in response to a user demand made via the electronic device.

In one embodiment the system includes a client programme which is used to control the processing of the said portion of data with the ID code. In one embodiment the client programme is an internet browser, a game or an email client.

In one embodiment the said portion of data represents an attachment to an e-mail communication or a portion of material or display which is to be selectively generated as part of a game or activity which is provided on the device or an advert which is to be displayed via the electronic device.

In one embodiment the portion of data is generated by a server and at the server the identification code is added.

In one embodiment when the server receives a request for the portion of data a database is searched and the appropriate portion of data is accessed, the ID code is added, and the data is transmitted to be received ultimately by the electronic device.

Typically the provision of the identification code allows a client programme to identify the portion of data at the device and log in a database that the portion of data has been received by the device and/or has been viewed and/or interacted with. The identification code can also be used to control parameters relating to the processing, such as the display of the portion of data. Other parameters which may be used individually or in combination include maximum display frequency, the number of times of display.

In one embodiment, in addition to data to allow a first display to be generated, at least one further data portion is transmitted which relates to the ability of the user to interact with the said first display, such as for example to allow the user to obtain further information relating to an advert by selecting a link which is generated from the additional data.

In this embodiment more than one portion of data may be transmitted in response to a command from the device. Typically these portions of data will be linked, thus for example, if the user accesses one portion of data via the device, a further portion of data has been transmitted to the device so as to be immediately available should the user make a particular option selection when interacting with the first portion of data. By allowing the transmission of several linked portions of data and storage of the same in eth device, following an initial request so, when the user comes to interact with the data, all of the options relating to the portion of data are available to be accessed. This avoids the conventional problem of having to download successive portions of data and the wait for the same to occur as and when a user interaction is detected with the first of the linked portions of data.

Typically, in this embodiment, in addition to the storage of an indicator of the first portion of data being accessed, indicators can be stored if any of the further linked portions of data are accessed. These indicators can then be provided to monitoring means such as for example advertisers wishing to monitor the viewing of their adverts.

In accordance with the system of the invention the said portion of data is received by the device and stored in memory in the device as well as being available to be processed and displayed as soon as possible via the electronic device. If the client program instructs that the data is stored or cached in the memory of the device, the data can subsequently be selected to be displayed by the user, or in accordance with a predesignated display schedule via the electronic device .

This later viewing can occur even if the electronic device is not at that time capable of being in communication with the data source as the communication link is down.

Typically the later viewing of the portion of data is as a result of user interaction with the electronic device such as, for example, viewing an email message for an e-mail application, or for a gaming activity moving a simulated vehicle past a particular location. Furthermore, once the portion of data has been viewed, even at a later time than when the data was received by the device, the generation and viewing of the portion of data can be logged and allocated to the particular portion of data by reference to the identification code. The viewing data can then be sent to a remote database, either individually or in groups of data representing particular time intervals. Furthermore, this

~π\l data can be sent as and when a communication link is established. In one embodiment the data representative of the viewing of the portion of data can be caused to occur automatically when the electronic device next communicates with the remote location.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings; wherein

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional system in a schematic manner;

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic indication of an embodiment in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the invention in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this case there is provided an electronic device 102 which can, but need not be, portable. The device is provided with a display screen 104, user selection means 106 and a means for generating a communications link 108 with a remote server location 110 such as for example, at a location of a mobile phone service provider.

If the device is being used to receive data from the remote location for, for example, an e-mail, game or to select a page from a website, the user controls the device to emit a signal via . communication link 108 to the remote server location H O at which the required data for the page to be displayed is obtained.

In a first example, the user is using the electronic device to play a game, which in one example, can be a race track game in which the user guides the movement of a vehicle depicted on the display screen along a track. As is normal with racetracks, advertising "hoardings" are displayed along the side of the track. Conventionally the actual adverts on these hoardings would have to be fixed at the time of writing the software for the game, as the adverts, using the conventional system of Figure 1 cannot be dynamically obtained from a remote location either quickly or reliably enough during the playing of the game for the same to be generated on the screen.

However, in accordance with the current invention, the portions of data for the adverts which are to be shown on the hoardings can be downloaded from the server to the electronic device and stored in memory in the device. This means that when the game is played using the electronic device 102, particular adverts of the downloaded adverts can be selected to be generated by the control programme of the electronic device on particular billboards or hoardings of the race track by retrieving appropriate portions of data from the memory of the storage device 102 rather than having the same to be transmitted at that time from the remote location.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that these adverts can be changed over time by the selective deletion and downloading and storage of replacement adverts. And at the same time the number of "views" by the user of the device of each advert can be identified and stored.

It should also be appreciated that the same principles apply for the general display of an advert independently on the display screen of the electronic device. For example, when a user accesses a particular function of the electronic device an advert may be automatically generated from the portion of data already stored in memory in the device, thereby avoiding the need for the that data to be transmitted at that time.

If the portion of data is an e-mail or e-mail attachment the control programme for the device can cause the device to connect to the remote location as and when the communication link is detected and/or at regular intervals. At that time of communication, any new e-mail data can be transmitted to the device and stored in the device memory. The e-mails need not be automatically displayed at that time ( although they can be if required) . The portions of data may simply be stored in the device memory at the time of retrieval along with their ID code such that when the user next uses the device to view e-mails, and selects an attachment from an e-mail the portion of data representing the attachment can be retrieved from the memory and displayed on the device. This means that recent e-mails and attachments thereof can be available to be viewed even if the communication link between the device and the remote location is down at the time of viewing.

In another example of the invention, advert data can be collected from the remote server 112 and transmitted, in this case along with an identification code. However in accordance with the invention the advert server 1 12 need not log the sending of the data.

If the communication link is maintained, all the data is transmitted to the electronic device, or if the communication link is not maintained, the data is transmitted when the communication link is next restored.

When the data is received, at least the portion of the data with an identification code (in this case the data relating to the advert) is selectively used to generate the advert on the screen 104 of the device 102. The advert may be generated immediately upon receipt of the data or, in addition, or alternatively, the said portion of data is stored along with the identification code in the memory 114 of the device so as to be available to be displayed at a selected time thereafter. This therefore means the advert is available to be viewed when desired by the user of the device and/or when required as set out by the client programme of the device and importantly can be shown whether or not the electronic device is in communication at that time with the remote location.

It should also be appreciated that although the examples of use refer to a portion of data, multiple portions of data may be stored at any given time on the device. These portions of data can be provided for separate purposes or, alternatively may be linked so as to be used a particular function selected by a user to be provided upon user interaction with a display generated from a first linked portion of data.

In whichever embodiment of the invention, the ability to store an indicator representing the actual number of displays on the display screen of the electronic device of the advert or other material, rather than the number of times the advert data was transmitted is a significant benefit. It allows the advertiser or other material provider to be provided with significantly more accurate information which they can rely upon when making decisions as to subsequent advertising budgets and where to direct the expenditure. This is also of significant benefit to the hosts of adverts i.e the companies paid by the advertisers to provide the data to be generated as these hosts can provide accurate "advert reach" information and hence are more likely to attract the expenditure from the advertisers.

The present invention therefore represents significant benefits to the data providers and also to the user of the electronic device as the user can be confident that the display of information, video and/or audio from the portion of data can be generated at a time to suit the user, from the at least one portion of data stored on the device and regardless of whether the device is in communication with the remote server location at that time.

Claims

1. A system for the downloading of data to allow a visual and/or audible display to be generated via an electronic device which receives said data, said data downloaded via a communication link between the device and a remote database and wherein at least a portion of said data is stored in a memory of the device so as to be available for the generation of said visual and/or audible display whether the communication link is active or not at that time.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the generation of the display from said at least portion of data is performed in response to a user demand made via the device.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the said portion of data is used to generate a display in conjunction with other data which is received from a remote location at that time and/or in conjunction with other data which is stored within the device.

4 A system according to claim 1 wherein the said portion of data is selectively accessed and/or the display which is generated is selectively positioned on the display screen with reference to an activity being performed via the device at that time.

5 A system according to claim 4 wherein the activity is the playing of game, which game is depicted on the display screen and the said portion or portions of data are used to generate specific displays as the game progresses.

6 A system according to claim 1 wherein the said portion of data represents a predetermined display or part of a display.

7 A system according to claim 6 wherein the display represents an advert.

8 A system according to claim 1 wherein in addition to the data required to generate the display, data representing an identification code for the said portion of data is downloaded to the device and associated with the said portion of data.

9 A system according to claim 1 wherein at the time of receipt of the portion of the data, an indication of this is logged in memory in the device.

10 A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein an indication is logged in the memory of the device of when a display is generated from said stored portion of data.

11 A system according to claim 9 or 10 wherein the indications which are logged are transmitted from the device to a database to provide a record to a third party of the receipt of the data and/or generation of the display via the device.

12 A method of providing at least a portion of data to an electronic device for the generation of a display thereon, said method including the steps of providing at least one electronic device capable of receiving data transmitted from a remote location via a communication link, said device including a screen and/or speaker via which the received data can be displayed, transmitting data from the remote location and wherein said data which is transmitted includes a portion of data to which an identification (ID) code is added, said identification code used to identify and/or selectively process the data at the electronic device.

13 A method according to claim 12 wherein the said data is transmitted in response to a user demand made via the electronic device.

14 A method according to claim 12 wherein the system includes a client programme which is used to control the processing of the said portion of data with the ID code.

15 A method according to claim 14 wherein the client programme is any, or any combination of, an internet browser, a game or an email client.

16 A method according to claim 12 wherein the said portion of data represents any or any combination of, an attachment to an e-mail communication, a portion of material or display which is to be selectively generated as part of a game or activity which is provided on the device, and/or an advert which is to be displayed via the electronic device.

17 A method according to claim 12 wherein the portion of data is generated by a server and at the server the identification code is added.

18 A method according to claim 17 wherein when the server receives a request for a portion of data, a database is searched and the appropriate portion of data is accessed, the ID code is added, and the data is transmitted to be received by the electronic device.

19 A method according to claim 12 wherein the provision of the identification code allows the client programme to identify the portion of data at the device and log information into a database that the portion of data has been received by the device and/or has been viewed and/or interacted with.

20 A method according to claim 12 wherein the identification code is used by the device to control parameters relating to the processing of the data.

21 A method according to claim 20 wherein the parameters are any or any combination of, the generation of the display, the frequency of display and/or the number of times of display.

22 A method according to claim 21 wherein at least one further data portion is transmitted and stored at the device.

23 A method according to claim 22 wherein the said further portion of data represents a link which can be selected by the user to obtain further information and/or establish a communication link, related to the display generated from the first portion of data.

24. A method according to claim 22 wherein more than one portion of data is transmitted in response to a command from the device.

25 A method according to claim 24 wherein said portions of data are linked such that user access of a first portion of data via the device allows access to a further portion of data which has been transmitted to the device and which is available should the user make a particular option selection when interacting with the first portion of data.

26 A method according to any of claims 22-25 wherein an indicator is stored representing the first portion of data being accessed and indicators are stored to indicate if any of the further linked portions of data are accessed. 27 A method according to claim 26 wherein the stored indicators are transmitted to a remote location from the electronic device to allow subsequent analysis of the same.

28 A method according to claim 27 wherein the stored indicators are transmitted when the communication link between the device and the remote location is established.

29 A method according to any of the preceding claims wherein the communication link is a transmission system of the type which is used to provide data transmission for a mobile communication device such as a mobile telephone, PDA or the like.

30 A method according to claim 12 wherein the said portion of data is received by the device and stored in memory in the device as well as being available to be processed and displayed via the electronic device.

31 A method according to claim 30 wherein once the portion of data is stored or cached in a memory of the device, the data can subsequently be selected by the user to be displayed, and/or the display is generated from the portion of data in accordance with a predesignated display schedule via the electronic device .