Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specified indicator structure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-12
2001-05-22
Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specified indicator structure
C340S988000, C340S990000, C340S425500, C340S463000, C340S464000, C705S001100, C705S014270, C235S383000, C040S591000, C040S592000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236330
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to systems for presenting a visual display of information for advertising or other purposes and more specifically to a system which includes movable visual displays with associated controllers for geographic and time sensitive display message content.
2. Background History
Mobile displays have proven to be as an effective advertising medium and has remained intact from inception in virtually all formats, from the person wearing a sandwich board to the ice cream vendor's truck with an illustration of an ice cream popcicle, trucks indicating the source of their contents, taxi, bus, railroad and subway car billboards and more recent innovations, such as, buses entirely wrapped in electrostatic marking film carrying advertising graphics as well as cargoless vehicles carrying billboards traversing streets of metropolitan areas.
Advertising was known to be time and location sensitive. Among the disadvantages heretofore encountered with visual displays has been the inability to efficiently deliver the intended message to a target audience in desired geographic zones and specified time slots so that advertising revenues could be maximized in accordance with the value delivered.
For example, a local dry cleaning establishment on the upper west side of a city might wish to target only upper west side customers while a movie theater in the same locale may wish to target potential customers from a larger geographic base.
The dry cleaning establishment with a limited advertising budget desired to pay for mobile billboard advertising only when the billboard was in the upper west side while, the movie theater perceived value in displaying its billboard message throughout the city.
Similarly, business which desired to attract children, e.g. amusement parks, did not wish to bear costs associates with mobile billboard displays when their target customers were not available, e.g. during the times of day when children were in school or in the late evening.
There was a further need to target precise visual messages directed to a particular location and time of day at minimal expense.
The advertiser's needs with respect to receiving advertising billing which reflected specific desired dates, times of day, duration of display, specific locale wherein the advertiser's message was displayed were also unfulfilled.
Mobile billboards heretofore known were deficient in providing versatility in these and several other aspects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A mobile visual display system comprises one or more billboard display panels capable of delivering changeable messages e.g., LED, liquid crystal, etc., and an associated programmable controller which drives the display panels to provide a viewable message. The controller ascertains that the billboard is within a predefined geographic zone which can be customized for each message and drives the display to generate a message selected for targeted public viewing. The message is displayed pursuant to a schedule which includes date, time of day and display duration while the billboard is within the zone or until the billboard is located in another zone which is not within the message schedule.
The controller maintains a transaction record of times, dates, zone locations, monitored parameters and duration of each message displayed. Each controller may be in communication with a network of fixed location stations from which it receives programming data, message content and scheduling data and to which it transmits the transaction records. The stations process the transaction records to generate advertiser billing and other accounting records. The stations may also be in communication with a master control unit which oversees the stations, performs analysis of the transaction records and billing records and generates advertiser fee schedules as well as revised zone definitions.
It will be appreciated that it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a mobile display system of the general character described which is not subject to the disadvantages of the background history aforementioned.
A feature of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described which includes a billboard display panel readily adapted for changing message content.
A consideration of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described including a mobile billboard display panel, the panel being driven by an on-board controller which is in communication with a network of fixed stations for programming as well as loading display content and schedules.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described which includes a mobile billboard display panel, the panel being driven by an on-board controller which is in communication with a fixed station for downloading a transaction record of times, dates, geographic locations and duration of each message displayed.
Another consideration of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described wherein message content on a mobile billboard display is changeable as a function of a the physical location of the billboard.
A feature of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system with the general character described which includes a mobile billboard display panel having an associated controller which receives signals indicative of the geographic location of the billboard for verification that the message being displayed is in accordance with a prescribed schedule of message content as a function of both time and location.
To provide a mobile display system of the general character described which is relatively low in cost and well suited for implementation by unskilled personnel is a further aspect of the present invention.
A still further aspect of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described wherein specific advertisements are displayed when and where the advertisers chooses.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described which optimizes exposure of advertising to a target audience at a relatively low cost.
A further consideration of the present invention is to provide a mobile display system of the general character described which is equally suited for use with a variety of message content from general public advertisements to personal messages.
Other aspects, features and considerations of the present invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed hereinafter.
With these ends in view, the invention finds embodiment and certain combinations of elements arrangements of parts and series of steps by which the aforesaid aspects, features and considerations and certain other aspects, features and considerations will be attained, all with reference to the accompanying drawings and the scope of which will be more particularly pointed out and indicated in the appended claims.
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Adapt Media, Inc.
Lee Benjamin C.
Natter & Natter
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