WO2002023511A2

WO2002023511A2 - Method and apparatus for controlling electronic billboard via satellite

Info

Publication number: WO2002023511A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/028613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Edward G. Berkhof
Original assignee: Eview Technologies, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-09-15
Filing date: 2001-09-14
Publication date: 2002-03-21
Also published as: AU2001292646A1; WO2002023511A3

Abstract

A method and apparatus for remotely controlling electronic signs using multicast satellite transmissions. Electronic sign images and control instructions are specified by a user with access to the system through an electronic communications network, uplinked to a communications satellite, and transmitted simultaneously to multiple sign locations where the images are displayed on electronic signs only at locations specified by the user.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRONIC SIGNS USING MULTICAST TRANSMISSIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for controlling electronic signs, and this invention specifically relates to a method and apparatus for controlling electronic signs using images generated by a user at a remote location connected to a central uplink server through an electronic communications network, which images are simultaneously relayed to multiple electronic signs through multicast satellite transmissions and displayed at selected electronic signs.

BACKGROUND ART

Advertising media is displayed in a variety of formats depending, among other things, on the location of the display, the nature of the advertising media, the nature of the audience and the nature of the products advertised. One of the predominant methods of advertisement in use today is billboards and other forms of signs placed in high traffic areas such as highways, shopping malls, city streets and public venues. Although advertising signs have been widely used for many years, they are limited in that they are static in nature, are difficult to set up, and changing the advertisements displayed in them is cumbersome, time consuming and labor intensive. With the advent of large-scale electronic displays, it is now possible to replace static, media- based, advertising signs with electronic signs capable of displaying dynamic content which is much more attractive and has greater impact than static content. In addition to achieving greater visibility, use of electronic signs in advertisement can generate greater revenue for their owners since a single sign can sequentially display multiple advertisements and thus generate revenue from multiple advertisers. In order to fully realize the benefits of using electronic signs for advertisements, sign operators must be able to inexpensively control signs from remote locations to replace the images displayed on the signs, establish the duration and sequence of advertisements displayed on the signs and allow for changes to easily be made on large numbers of signs simultaneously. An ideal system would allow advertisers themselves to purchase blocks of time on electronic signs at multiple locations and then interactively design and transmit the images to be displayed at the signs along with instructions specifying the sequence in which images are to be displayed and the duration of each image's exposure.

Previous attempts have been made to provide methods for remotely controlling electronic signs such as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,293,484 to Dabbs, III et al. ('484 patent) which is incorporated herein by reference.

The '484 patent describes a method and apparatus for controlling electronics signs using radiopaging signals. According to this invention, a display development kit is provided to create binary display programs which create visual activity on one or more electronic signs. These display programs are stored on the disk drive of a system control computer which periodically runs a system control program to upload display programs to the electronic signs using radiopaging signals. The system control program employs a telephone modem to connect through a public switched telephone network (PSTN) to a paging terminal. In accordance with the system control program, the system control computer divides each display program into multiple packets which are transmitted to the paging terminal as alphanumeric radiopages. The paging terminal encodes the packets into radiopaging format, frequency shift key modulates the data, and transmits the pages on a radio frequency channel. Electronic signs decode the radiopages into data packets. A receiver subsystem in the electronic sign reconstructs the original display programs using the data packets. Data provided in a display program can span across more than one page. The system control program creates packets containing display program data such that blocks of display program data that are greater than one page are transmitted transparently to a paging terminal from the central computer, and from the paging terminal to a paging receiver.

The '484 invention is deficient in several respects. Initially, the system depends on the existence of radiopaging infrastructure at the location of the sign, something which cannot be guaranteed for signs installed at remote rural locations.

Next, because of limitations in the page size of the underlying radiopaging technology, the binary display programs which control the images displayed on the signs must be created using proprietary software which requires users of this system to secure specialized training in its use. Also, because radiopaging technology is used, each individual sign must receive an independent transmission specifically addressed to it. Therefore, if a large number of signs must be updated at the same time, a large number of transmissions, each addressed to an individual sign must be made. This type of transmission is normally referred to as a "unicast" transmission. A more desirable method of communicating with multiple signs simultaneously is a "multicast" transmission in which a signal is broadcast throughout a large geographic area and is received simultaneously by multiple signs but is only executed at selected locations. Because radiopaging technology is limited to "unicast" transmissions, it is not possible to use "multicast" transmissions with the '484 patent and therefore it is impossible to simultaneously control multiple signs. Consequently, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus which makes it possible for a user to interactively and simultaneously program one or more remote electronic signs to display one or more image of the user's choosing.

There is a further need in the art for a method and apparatus for controlling electronic signs which does not depend on a telecommunications infrastructure being present at the location of the sign.

There is a further need in the art for a method and apparatus which makes it possible for users to update the images displayed at the electronic signs on demand and without the necessity of involving the electronic sign's operator or any other third party. There is a further need in the art for a method and apparatus which makes it possible for users to simultaneously control multiple electronic signs from a single location using a single multicast transmission. Finally, there is yet a further need in the art for a method and apparatus which permits users to utilize images in standard formats for transmission to and display at electronic signs.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention overcomes significant deficiencies in the art by providing a method and apparatus for remotely controlling multiple electronic signs using multicast satellite transmissions. The method and apparatus which is the subject of this invention accomplishes this by permitting a user to select at a computer the electronic images to be displayed and the location of signs to where the images are to be displayed, transmitting the image and location data in electronic form to an uplink server through an electronic communications network, further transmitting the data simultaneously to multiple electronic sign locations through a communications relay satellite, and displaying the selected electronic images at only the sign locations selected by the user.

Generally described, the present invention describes an apparatus for remotely controlling electronic signs using multicast satellite transmissions, comprising a communications satellite equipped with reception and transmission hardware, multiple electronic sign locations including at each such sign location an electronic sign connected to a computer equipped with satellite reception hardware, an uplink computer server equipped with satellite transmission hardware and network communication hardware, one or more user computers equipped with network communication hardware and one or more electronic images, software at the user computers for connecting with the uplink computer server through an electronic communications network, selecting from a list of the multiple electronic sign locations one or more electronic sign locations, selecting from among the electronic images one or more electronic images, transmitting to the uplink computer the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, software at the uplink computer server for connecting with the user computers through the electronic communications network, receiving from the user computers the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, creating an electronic sign update file including the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, and transmitting the electronic sign update file to the communications satellite, software at the communications satellite for broadcasting the electronic sign update file to the multiple electronic sign locations, and software at each of the electronic sign location computers for receiving the electronic sign update file, extracting the electronic images from the electronic sign update file, extracting the selection of electronic sign locations from the electronic sign update file, and displaying on an electronic sign the electronic images if the selection of electronic sign locations includes the subject electronic sign's location.

The present invention also describes, in general terms, a method for remotely controlling one or more electronic signs using a multicast satellite transmission, comprising the steps of establishing a connection from a user computer to an uplink computer server through an electronic communications network, at the user computer selecting from a list of electronic sign locations and electronic images one or more electronic sign locations and one or more electronic images, transmitting to the uplink computer server the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, at the uplink computer server creating an electronic sign update file incorporating the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, from the uplink computer server transmitting the electronic sign update file to a communications satellite, from the communications satellite broadcasting the electronic sign update file to multiple electronic sign locations, at the electronic sign locations receiving the electronic sign update file and extracting the electronic images and the selection of electronic sign locations, and at only the selected electronic sign locations displaying the electronic images on an electronic sign.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which makes it possible for a user to interactively and simultaneously program one or more remote electronic signs to display one or more image of the user's choosing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for controlling electronic signs which does not depend on a telecommunications infrastructure being present at the location of the sign. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which makes it possible for users to update the images displayed at the electronic signs on demand and without the necessity of involving the electronic sign's operator or any other third party. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which makes it possible for users to simultaneously control multiple electronic signs from a single location using a single multicast transmission.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which permits users to utilize images in standard formats for transmission to and display at electronic signs.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention may be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and by reference to the appended drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the environment for practicing a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A through 2C are a flowchart illustrating in sequence the steps in a system implementing a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several figures, the environment in a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a user site 100 connected through an electronic communications network, such as the Internet 150, to a server site 200 and an uplink server site 300. The communications link between the user, server and uplink server sites may be any standard network connection. In the preferred embodiment an Internet connection 140 is used. The user site is equipped with a personal computer 102 connected to a modem 104 or any other standard communications interface capable of connecting to the Internet. The server site is equipped with a world wide web server ("web server") 202 connected to a modem

204 or any other standard communications interface capable of connecting to the Internet. The uplink server site is equipped with a proxy server 302, which is connected to a modem 304 or any other standard communications capable of connecting to the Internet, a satellite interface gateway 306 and a satellite transmission antenna 308. Signals transmitted from the uplink server site are received by a relay satellite 400 and are re-transmitted to one or more electronic sign locations 500. Each electronic sign location is equipped with an electronic sign computer server 502 which is connected to a satellite reception antenna 504 and an electronic sign 506. A flowchart depicting the steps involved in the typical application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention begins at FIG. 2A. The sequence begins at the user site 100 with step 10 and advances to step 12 where the user establishes an internet connection using the personal computer 102 and modem 104. After establishing the internet connection, in step 14 the user logs on to the web server 202 at the server site 200 and, in step 16, is presented with a list of images available for display and list of available electronic sign locations. The images listed may include images stored at the web server, images stored at the user's personal computer or images stored at any other site connected to the Internet. The images may be static or animations and are encoded in standard computer readable formats. The sign locations presented to the user correspond to locations to which the user has been given access pursuant to previous arrangements with the operator of the system. In step 18 the user selects the image or images it wants displayed, the location or locations at which it wants the image or images displayed and the display duration for each such image at each such location. In the preferred embodiment, the user is given a choice of seven (7), 14 or 21 seconds of duration for each image. After the user completes the selections, in step 20 the selected image(s), sign location(s), and display duration instructions are transmitted through the Internet to the server site 200. Alternatively, if the image chosen by the user resides in the web server 202, a pointer or link to the image is transmitted instead of the actual image. In step 22 the web server 202 receives the image(s) or links thereto, sign location(s), and display duration instructions and, in step 24, a sign update file is generated by software designed for that purpose. The sign update file is composed of two separate sub-files which are compressed using standard compression techniques and combined into a single file. The first sub-file in the sign update file contains a single image transmitted or selected by the user. The second sub-file in the sign update file is a schedule file which contains the display duration instructions selected by the user, and a unique identifier for the accompanying image file. Depending on the number of images and sign locations selected by the user, multiple sign update files may be generated. A single sign update file is generated for every image and sign location combination selected by the user. Therefore, if a user selects three (3) images, each to be displayed at three (3) different locations, nine (9) separate sign update files would be generated. Each sign update file receives a unique name composed of an alpha-numeric identifier which corresponds to the sign location assigned to the image it contains and a code which corresponds to the time and date the file was generated. Next, in step 26, the sign update file(s) generated at the web server are transmitted through the Internet to the uplink server site 300.

Turning to FIG. 2B, in step 28, the proxy server 302 at the uplink server site receives the sign update file(s) and routes them to the satellite interface gateway 306 where, in step 30, the sign update file(s) are converted into a format suitable for satellite transmission. In step 32, the sign update file(s) are transmitted to the relay satellite 400 through the satellite transmission antenna 308. Next, in steps 34 and 36 the relay satellite receives the sign update files and immediately re-transmits them back to earth where the signals are received by the electronic sign locations.

Turning to FIG. 2C, in step 38, at every electronic sign location, the satellite signals are received by satellite reception antenna 504 which interfaces with the location's electronic sign computer server 502. Upon receiving the satellite signals, in step 39, the sign update file(s) are converted back into a computer readable format using software and hardware contained in the electronic sign computer server. Next, in step 40 the sign update file(s) are examined and any file(s) whose name does not correspond to the sign location's alpha-numeric identifier are deleted in step 42. If no file corresponding to the sign location's alpha-numeric identifier is received, the process terminates with no images being displayed at the location's electronic sign. If a file which does correspond to the sign location's alphanumeric identifier is received, in step 46 the file is decompressed into its image and schedule sub-files and is temporarily stored in a file directory in the electronic sign computer server. After a sign update file has been decompressed, its corresponding schedule sub-file is opened and the image's unique identifier and duration information are read and incorporated into a master schedule file stored in the electronic sign computer server

In step 48, the image sub-file is moved to an image cue directory in the electronic sign computer server where all images to be displayed on the electronic sign 506 are stored. If the image cue directory does not contain an image with the same identifier as the new image's identifier, the new image is simply added to the image cue directory. If the image cue directory already contains an image with the same identifier as the new image's identifier, the existing image is replaced with the new image. This procedure allows the user to replace an image at all signs where it is being displayed simply by assigning to a new image the identifier of the image to be replaced.

Finally, in step 50 the images stored in the image cue directory, including any new images recently added to it in the previous steps, are displayed on the location's electronic sign 506 in the sequential order, and for the duration, specified in the master schedule file.

Accordingly, it will be understood that the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed by way of example and that other modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A computer implemented method for remotely controlling one or more electronic signs using a multicast satellite transmission, comprising the steps of: from a user computer establishing a connection with an uplink computer server through an electronic communications network; at said user computer selecting from among multiple electronic sign locations one or more electronic sign locations and one or more electronic images; transmitting to said uplink computer server said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations; at said uplink computer server creating an electronic sign update file incorporating said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations; from said uplink computer server transmitting said electronic sign update file to a communications satellite; from said communications satellite broadcasting said electronic sign update file to said multiple electronic sign locations; at said multiple electronic sign locations receiving said electronic sign update file and extracting said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations; and at said selected elecfronic sign locations displaying said electronic images on an electronic sign.

2. An apparatus for remotely controlling electronic signs using multicast satellite transmissions, comprising: a communications satellite equipped with reception and transmission hardware; multiple electronic sign locations including at each such sign location an electronic sign connected to a computer equipped with satellite reception hardware; an uplink computer server equipped with satellite transmission hardware and network communication hardware; a user computer equipped with network communication hardware and one or more electronic images; software at said user computer for connecting with said uplink computer server through an electronic communications network, selecting from a list of said multiple electronic sign locations one or more electronic sign locations, selecting from among said electronic images one or more electronic images, transmitting to said uplink computer said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations; software at said uplink computer server for connecting with said user computer through said electronic communications network, receiving from said user computer said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations, creating an electronic sign update file including said electronic images and said selection of electronic sign locations, and transmitting said electronic sign update file to said communications satellite; software at said communications satellite for broadcasting said electronic sign update file to said multiple electronic sign locations; and software at each of said electronic sign location computers for receiving said electronic sign update file, extracting said electronic images from said electronic sign update file, extracting said selection of elecfronic sign locations from said electronic sign update file, and displaying on said electronic sign said electronic images if said selection of electronic sign locations includes the subject electronic sign's location.