HUT75416A - Automatic and interactive information network in a public place with a line transmission, controlled by computer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a computer information network connected by telephone line, in which the terminals placed in the public domain display the contents of their database automatically or interactively, which may be text, image, motion picture or any variation thereof. The ad can be printed with a block printer by placing a coin. The printed bonus - if advertised by the advertiser and therefore entitled to the discount from the advertising fee in the same proportion as the discount offered by the advertiser. Typical Figure 2. / ή. ek 6

Description

The invention phone lines' (fe5- ^_ off-line connected computer information network, which posted in public areas of terminals ^ öymmt advertisers machines display the content databases to automatically or interactively, which can be text, image, movie or those of any variation. The advertisement of a coin The printed bonus - if accepted by the advertiser and therefore qualifies for a discount on the advertising fee in the same proportion as the discount it offers.

Typical Figure: Figure 2.

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Computer-controlled, public-area, automatic and interactive information network connected to a telephone line.

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Inventor: Tibor Csókási, Zalaegerszeg | ru .ol

Date Posted: Aug. 1995 & 22-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the creation of a new off-line computer network connected to a telephone line, which automatically or interactively displays stored information and can manage it without computer skills. In the following, information is understood to mean primarily text and / or (moving) image ads, advertisements, and information of public interest.

There are many ways to communicate information. Of these, I only mention those that are similar in some way to my invention.

According to solutions described in the literature, such advertisers (kiosks) are separate machines, which usually contain a tourist database, car shows or video films. The MIA database of Vareszi Kft. Also contains tourism, trade and manufacturing companies. (CD Panorama July 1995 - Information Systems: Touch!).

Everyone has come across television ads. These are attractive, very high quality commercials. Television's teletext service offers a simpler level of advertising, but has the advantage of being interactive. The solutions mentioned above resemble my invention in that they use a TV screen, a monitor, for transmitting information. But this is only the end product for both television and my invention.

Another big group of information is advertising on the streets, squares, walls, shop windows, public transport, ie in public places. These can be posters, flyers, stickers, wall paintings, advertising lights of all sizes.

The fourth, but not negligible, group is the group of newspaper ads. Almost everyone reads the ads in the daily newspapers, and the professional magazines contain them directly to the potential customer. target a professional circle.

The known solutions have several disadvantages. Kiosks use monitors with a maximum diameter of 15, which, at an average advertisement font size, are less than 3 meters away, and are difficult to read. In contrast, my invention is equipped with a 28-inch screen, which almost doubles the radius of the awareness loop. Three times as many people in a circle twice as large can watch the monitor without obstructing the image.

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None of the solutions described in the literature are networked, so updating the databases takes a long time.

Television commercials tend to upset broadcast time because they are most often played at the time when a movie is scheduled to begin. Even less frequently in Hungary, but abroad, films and broadcasts are interrupted for the sake of advertising (well paid). The psychological basis for this is that, in an exciting, exciting part, one's attention is focused on the television screen, and then ... advertising comes. This will impair the enjoyment of the program.

The teletext service of the television is not accessible to everyone, only those who have a television ready for this operation. 30-40% of TV consumers buy this device. These ads can't be really eye-catching: only a very simple, steady, character rendering can be achieved with a few colors.

Posters and mural paintings can be aesthetically pleasing, all the while they must be eye-catching, but they have two big flaws: 1) After a few months the iron teeth of the time will erode them, so they want a great maintenance background or worsen the cityscape. 2) if they lose their actuality, they will usually remain in mind until a new copy arrives to cover it.

Driving around in vibrant colors with a variety of colors, we feel (almost) like driving in the streets of Tokyo or New York. This is a good feeling in Central Europe, but it can distract the driver and make it more difficult to recognize traffic safety signs (signs, traffic lights).

The main disadvantage of newspaper ads is the turnaround time, which is at best 2-3 days.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of prior art by providing an information network that displays information stored in its database simultaneously on multiple monitors of a public computer connected to a central computer telephone line, cyclically displayed, computer-aided, and .

One of the foundations of the invention is the realization that people are usually bored at places where they have to wait (eg at the cash desk, at a train station). They might like to see some interesting colorful moving things. It attracts their attention, they become more patient and time goes faster. If you can get useful information or save money while watching this monitor, then everyone is in good hands: The advertiser has found a circle that is happy to receive the product or service he is promoting, as he is not watching an exciting movie, you drive a vehicle, meaning you are bored, and the buyer doesn't have to flip through a newspaper or turn on the TV to find out which product to buy or which service to use.

A further basis of the invention is that the above recognition can be accomplished by a computer network connected to infinitely expandable telephone lines and by appropriate computer programs.

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System concept:

-database: the data group containing the ads;

-cycle time: the time between two successive impressions of an arbitrarily selected ad;

Computer (A, l): IBM PC or compatible computer;

-monitor (2): rectangular unit of 60-100 cm diagonal displaying ads;

-modem (7): an electronic unit providing a telephone line connection between two computers;

- central computer (A): a computer for preparing advertisements, creating a database, sending the database to a vending machine (B) via modem (7) and telephone line (C);

-block printer (8): a device for printing text, pictures on 6-10 cm wide paper with a paper cutter;

- coin acceptor (5): electronic equipment which can be programmed to receive different denomination coins;

-converting electronics (4): electronic equipment for communication between the coin acceptor and the computer;

-Advertising vending machine (B): set up in a public area, in a protective box, with a modem (7), a monitor (2), a coin receiving device (5), a coin arriving electronics (4), a tower printer (8), a track-ball ( 4) a computer (1) equipped with an uninterruptible power supply (3);

-cursor: a movable signal displayed on the computer monitor;

cursor control unit (6): a device for controlling the movement of the cursor on the monitor (track-ball, joystick);

-DOS: version 6.0 or higher running the computer (operating system);

-MS-Windows: operating system with graphical interface version 3.1 or higher;

-image: A collection of data that contains a portrait image ad page. File extension: CDR or BMP;

-videofile: A collection of data that contains a moving image ad page. File extension: AVI;

-info.exe: A program that runs on Windows to automatically cycle through the database, image files, and video files, as well as image and video files. handling motion between video files, managing coin arrivals, detecting the arrival of a new database over a telephone line, updating an old database, printing, and allowing new coin acceptances;

-penz2.exe. a program for initializing the converter electronics;

-erme.exe is a program that processes the transducers sent by the converter electronics.

The main units of the invention and their static description (I give the minimum requirement when specifying values, better, faster units can be used):

Central computer (A): IBM PC or compatible computer, processor: 486DX2 / 66Mhz, memory: 8MB, winchester: 850MB, k

9 ··· ··· * floppy drive: 1.44 MB, monitor: 14 color SVGA, 2 MB with memory card, modem: 19,600 baud,

DOS operating system: 6.0,

Windows operating system: 3.1,

Corel Draw Graphics Program: 4.0.

Advertiser Machine (B): IBM PC or compatible computer (1) (486DX2 / 66MHz, 8MB RAM, 500MB HDD, 1.44MB FDD), Monitor (2): 20 color SVGA, 2MB memory card, cursor moving unit (6): track-ball, modem (7): 19.600 baud block printer (8): 9 pin matrix, coin acceptor (5): Mars MS 100, converter electronics (4), uninterruptible power supply (3): 600W.

The structure of the network is shown in Figure 1.

The relationship between the advertiser's automated components is shown in Figure 2.

In-Deployment Description of Advertiser Automation Main Units:

After powering on and loading the DOS operating system, the Windows graphics operating system starts automatically. Windows automatically starts the modem manager, erme.exe and info.exe. These programs always run in parallel, parallel to each other. The erme.exe and info.exe programs communicate information through the erme.flg file. The modem manager puts a new database from a central computer over a telephone line into a specific subdirectory of winchester.

Erme.exe: 1. verifies that C0M2 port is OK;

2. check that the converter electronics is OK;

3. Initialize the converter electronics;

4. Expects data from converter electronics;

5. When the data has arrived (one of the characters C, D, E, F) it creates the erme.flg file and disables the coin acceptance. Go to point 7;

6. if no C, D, E, F characters come, then wait. Go to point 4;

7. Wait for the erme.flg file to exist;

8. if erme.flg file (info.exe deleted after printing) is gone, then waiting for new data. Go to step 4.

Info.exe: 1. jumps to the first record in the database;

2. If the ad cannot be displayed (not posted), skip to step 10;

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3. if a video file is to be displayed it will trigger the advertisement. Go to point 5;

4. exposing the image if it is required to be displayed;

5. If you detect an intervention (previous, next, first, last record), you position the record pointer and display the contents of the record. Go to point 2;

6. Enable printing if a coin has been received (erme.flg file exists);

7. if printing starts, deletes the erme.flg file and disables printability until the next coin is inserted;

8. update the old database with new data when a new database is received;

9. Wait for display time to elapse (30 sec);

10. sets the record pointer to the next record and displays the contents of the record. Go to step 2.

The main advantages of the computer network implemented by the invention are:

a) Displays the contents of the database automatically, cyclically.

b) Database search is optional, so you don't have to wait for a cycle time.

c) The text part of the ads can be printed.

d) The printed bonus entitles you to a bargain purchase if the advertiser has agreed to do so.

e) A discount on the advertising fee is given to the advertiser who gives a discount on a product or service from a vending machine printed bonuses and undertakes to do so by contract.

f) The vending machines are connected to the central computer via a telephone line, so a posted image ad is placed in the vending machine in 30 seconds, and a motion picture ad in 15 minutes. Within one year, with the development of telephone lines (ISDN), transmission rates are six to seven times higher (Source: Zalai Hírlap, August 5, 1995: Voice, data, picture - by phone).

g) In the case of a telephone connection with a radiotelephone, the automatic placement of the advertiser is not a prerequisite for the existence of a (conventional) telephone line. The disadvantage of radiotelephone transmission is the slower data rate.

h) Big screen display is more readable and has a greater eye-catching effect than the known solutions.

i) The computer program allows the advertisements to be displayed with the accuracy of the date, hour, minute, respectively. disable.

The process of the invention is illustrated by the following example.

There are three ways to submit your ad: 1. personally; Letter 2; Attached to the letter 3, a remittance voucher for payment of the advertising fee. When posting the advertisement, the advertiser declares that he will give this discount to a customer coming from the machine or the price of his service. If he gives a discount, he will receive a discount on the advertising fee in the same proportion as the discount he offers.

The advertiser wishing to advertise declares the time interval (day, hour, minute) you want your ad to appear.

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We create the ad together with the advertiser or on commission. If the advertising request was received by mail without proof of payment of the advertising fee, the ad will not be processed until after the invoice and the invoiced amount have been received.

If the advertisement is requested by the advertiser with an express appearance, the advertisement will be sent to the advertising vending machines. With non-express ads, we update the databases of advertising vending machines overnight.

Claims (5)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. A computer-controlled public information and advertising machine (B), characterized by automatically displaying its database in a cyclical manner, querying it in the database at any time by passers-by, issuing a coin-printable ad, obtaining a print-off with a printed bonn, connects to a central computer (A) via a telephone line (C) and automatically updates its own database with data from the central computer (A). Information network according to claim 1, characterized in that a coin receiving device (5) is fitted to the computer of the advertiser automatic (B) by means of converting electronics (4). 3. Information network according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a block printer (8) can print a discount offense at the advertiser. 4. Information network according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the advertising machines (B) are connected to the central computer (A) by a telephone line (C). 5. Information network according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sender of the advertisement receives a discount from the advertising fee as much as he gives to the person arriving from the machine with the printed bonuses. 2/1 PBX computer