GB2525034A

GB2525034A - System for trading

Info

Publication number: GB2525034A
Application number: GB1406523.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Michael Fenlon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-04-11
Filing date: 2014-04-11
Publication date: 2015-10-14
Also published as: GB201406523D0

Abstract

A system for trading items through visual media exposure in which a viewer tags an item of interest in order to receive information thereon, the tag representing an expression of interest in the item, the system comprising: an item identification system; a viewer identification system; and a routing system directing viewer contact and tag details to a source of the item. The item identification system may comprise a machine vision system and a shape recognition system. The item identification system may comprise a system in which data associated with an item is displayed together with the item, where the data may be overtly displayed. The item may be tagged using an on-screen pointing device, or by a smartphone app.

Description

System for Trading This invention relates to systems for trading, particularly for trading items through visual media exposure.

The conventional sales-to-customer route involving display in stores for purchase and carry away has been supplemented over the years by mail order through catalogues and, latterly, by internet trading, where manufacturers and retailers promote products on websites, from which they can be ordered and paid for, for delivery to a specified address. Products are advertised on visual media including television and cinema films In paid-for advertisements screened between programmes and during advertising breaks in programmes.

Visual media advertising must work, or manufacturers and retailers would not pay for it. The advertisements, though often seemingly idiotic in content, are expensive productions, and air time even more expensive. But to many people, advertisements screened during programmes are an annoyance, and, at least to those people, ineffective at best, and more probably counterproductive.

While it happens occasionally, by and large, programme companies do not support the promotion of products in programme material. They would prepare promotion on paid-for air time in advertising breaks. State broadcasting systems such as the BBC do not permit in-programme promotion or endorsement of branded products. Vet the appearance of recognisable branded products in programmes can scarcely be avoided -Aston Martin cars, for example, in Bond films, Apple computers in news programmes.

The present invention provides a system for trading items which facilitates at least the identification of products available for purchase by prospective purchasers viewing news, entertainment, documentary and other television programmes and cinema films without the overt promotion of the same, and which can, further, facilitate such prospective purchaser's expressing purchase interest in so identified products which can lead to an eventual transaction.

The invention comprises a system for trading items through visual media exposure in which a viewer tags an item of interest in order to receive information thereon, the tag representing an expression of interest in the item, the system comprising: an item identification system; a viewer identification system; and a routing system directing viewer contact and tag details to a source of the item.

The item identification system may comprise a machine vision system and a shape recognition system, or may comprise a system identifying items by time of display.

I

The rem dentWcaton system may, nowever, compose a system rn which data assocateci wh an tern is d!sraved together with the item. The date. may he overtiy aspayed or covertly thsphsyecu swtchaHe to an oven dsplay.

An item may he tagged using an on-screen pointing device, or by a smartphone app.

Thus, during screening of a programme, a prospective purchaser may he able to select an or.

screen tern by placing a pnintin device over the tern and r.iir.kirig on it, using a mouse or a mouse function of a remote controller, or by simoharly operating a smart phone suitably apped.

A tag may appear. pe.rh.aps only briefly, on or by the item selected, which can he downloaded For Further rirocessing. The tag may comprise, for e)amnpie, a O,RC, enc:odng nromaton identifying the tagged toni and perhaps guiding the prospective purchaser to a site at which a transaction may he completed.

A viewer identification system may be corn nosed n a sma rtphone a pp or a program on a laptop or other corn uter or tablet. Such a system will automatically dowrJoad view details to a rransachon site.

A routing system may likewise be comprised in an app or a computer progre.mme ano estahhshes a data link to the transaction site, perhaps over a landline, a cellular network or the i itemnet.

A system for trading items through visual media exposure accord;ng to the invention will now be described with reFerence to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fisure 1 is a view of a television sc:reer d:spiaying pictures of automobies; Figure 2 is a view of the screen of Figure 1, with one item tagged; and Figure 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of components of a web or network based system.

The drawings illustrate a system For trading items through visual media exposure in which a viewer tags an item of interest in order to receive information thereon, the tag representing an expresson of interest in the ten., the system comprising: an item identification svstc a viewer idcntifical:ion system; and a routing system directing viewer contact and tag details to a source of the item.

Figures 1. and 2 show a television screen Li. on which mages are displayed including images of items that might be for sale, rent or other kind of trading. As illustrated, there are three automobile images 12a, 12h, tic. The images may displayed in a special promotiona vice:o or may smply he displayed during the course of a news programme, a documentary or entertainment programme, and the images could be of any kind oF product such as clothing Items -which might be simply what an actor happens to be wearing -household items, jewellery, cosmetics and perfumes, essentially anything that can be traded.

Using pointing device 13, operated by a mouse-like function assigned to a remote controller, the viewer has, in Figure 2, selected Item 12c, and this has caused an indIcator 14 to appear next to the selected item on the screen 11 to confirm that this item has been selected. The indicator can appear transiently, the selection having been made without interrupting the flow of the programme, the selection being stored in a memory, which might be a local memory or a cloud memory, fir later attention. A frame grabber may store the frame or a short sequence of frames from the moment of selection for later review, and the Indicator 14 may be in the form of a QR code or a bar code or other screen artefact that can be used to connect the viewer to the source of the product.

in another method according to the invention, there may be no interference with the screen image or the flow of the programme, and items appearing on screen may not be tagged at all.

Rather, when the viewer clicks on a mouse-like device to make a selection, the time and channel are recorded which will later be used to access a database from which the products on screen on that channel and at that time are retrieved and displayed to the viewer.

The item identification system can, in another method, comprise a machine vision system and a shape recognition system. Information derived from such an arrangement may then be used to Instruct a search engine to identify the product in question and, optionally, similar objects that the view might wish to compare.

A television set can be hooked up to a programmed lap top to provide the pointing device and interactive programming, or to a wi-fl enabled smartphone or tablet that can communicate with a wi-fl enabled television set.

A viewer identification system can be comprised in a smartphone app or a program on a laptop or other computer or tablet. Such a system will automatically download view details to a transaction site.

FigureS shows a typical operating environmenL A television station 31 broadcasts programmes to be picked up by a set 32. An etail database and transaction processor 33 is connected to an Internet Application Server 34 that communicates via the Internet or a cellular network 35 with a suitably-apped smartphone 36 that is in wi-fl communication with the set 32. This component collection can be arranged to operate according to any of the methods described above.

Claims

ciaims: 1 A system for trading items through visual media exposure in which a viewer tags an item of interest in order to receive information thereon, the tag representing an expression of interest in the item, the system comprising: S an item identification system; a viewer identification system; and a routing system directing viewer contact and tag details to a source of the Item.
2 A system according to claim 1, in which the item identification system comprises a machine vision system and a shape recognition system.
3 A system according to claim 1, in which the item dentification system comprises a system identifying items by time of display.
4 A system according to claim 1, in which the item identification system comprises a system in which data associated with an item is displayed together with the item.
A system according t claim 4, in which the data are overtly displayed.
6 A system according to claim 5, in which the data are covertly displayed, switchabie to an overt display.
7 A system according to any one of claims 1 to6, in which an item is tagged using an on-screen pointing device, or by a smartphorie app.
8 A system according to any one of claims I to 7. in which a viewer identification system is comprised in a smartphone app or a program on a laptop or other computer or tablet.
9 A system according to any one of claims ito 8, In which a routing system Is comprised In an app or a computer programme and establishes a data link to the transaction site, over a landline, a cellular network or the internet.