Data processing: presentation processing of document – operator i – Presentation processing of document – Layout
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-30
2004-01-13
Shah, Sanjiv (Department: 2176)
Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator i
Presentation processing of document
Layout
C705S026640
Reexamination Certificate
active
06678866
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to technology for efficiently sending notifications such as the advertisements of service providers by computer, and particularly relates to a notification information display apparatus, a system therefor, and a recording medium therefor, wherewith the content of the advertisement or other notification can be modified at will.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computers have been used in stand-alone (independent mode) configurations and in configurations wherein they are connected to a LAN or other intra-organizational network. Registered application program icons and operational icons have been displayed on the so-called “desktops” (display screens) of display apparatuses which display image data generated by the personal computer. When a user employs a browser to connect to the internet or other network participated in by businesses, and connects to a business website, business advertisements established in that website can be displayed on the display screen of the personal computer.
There has been a problem, however, in that in providing advertisement information via the internet, a service provider cannot provide advertisement information unless a user wishes to have that information. In the case of TV commercials, which are presented irrespective of whether or not the user wishes to see them, a will to purchase can be induced in the mind of the user without the user even being aware of it. It is precisely because of this that such advertisements have value. In the conventional personal computer environment wherein advertisement information can only be presented when a user accesses that information, a manufacturer is unable to actually conduct the advertising deemed necessary.
This being the case, even though advertisement information may be offered in a recording medium or an advertisement display application program may be offered for the purpose of displaying advertisement images on the computer desktop, the advertisement is usually not information needed by the user, wherefore the effectiveness of advertising by these means cannot be said to be anything but low.
There are also application programs, meanwhile, wherewith it is possible for the user to write any message he or she wishes to, and to paste tag-like images in any desired position on the desktop (display screen). When such an application program is run on personal computers provided with communications functions that form a network such as a LAN, a user can send messages written on a “tag” to another personal computer. And the personal computer to which this message is sent is configured so that it can display the message on a “tag” image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems noted in the foregoing, the inventors made a thorough study of effective advertising methods in the personal computer environment, and came up with the idea of adding advertising functions to application programs such as that mentioned above, developed in the interest of user convenience, and of making it possible to renew the advertisement content.
More specifically, a first object of the present invention is to provide technology for implementing advertising that is highly effective in the personal computer environment by making it possible to display advertisements and other notification information on a label image.
A second object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible to implement advertising coordinated with times of high advertising effectiveness by making it possible to control the display of advertisements and other notification information according to time.
A third object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible, from advertisements or other notification information, to display more specific advertising information.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible to conduct effective advertising while stimulating user interest, by securing a display area for advertisements and other notification information which simulates an actual paper image.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible to stimulate user interest by making it possible to modify the label image.
A sixth object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible to present useful information while stimulating user interest, by presenting attractive label images which speak dialogue lines.
A seventh object of the present invention is to provide advertising technology wherewith it is possible to implement highly effective advertising the content whereof is modified according to the time, by employing a configuration wherewith it is possible to sequentially supply advertisements and other notification information.
The present invention is a notification information display apparatus comprising: a notification information memory area for storing notification information for displaying prescribed information; a label information memory area wherein is stored label information for providing the area for displaying the notification; and a controller configured so as to refer the label information memory area and the notification information memory area, and output image data for synthesizing notification images and/or notification character strings, based on the notification information, and displaying these on the label image generated on the basis of the label information.
The term “notification” as used herein includes advertisements and all other information communicated by a service provider to a user. Government notices made by a government agency are also included, for example. By “label” is meant a display area on a computer display screen for displaying information. This term refers to an image that simulates an actual label or paper tag that can be displayed on to the desktop as though a piece of paper (tag) were affixed there. By “notification image” and “notification character string” are meant, in cases where the notification information is advertising information, trademarks, product images, and related advertising messages in that advertisement. These label images and notification images may be displayed as still pictures, or they may also be displayed as moving pictures by switching and outputting a plurality of images at prescribed intervals. A “memory area” may be formed on any kind of storage medium which can be referred by computer equipment. This includes not only internal memory devices such as a RAM, ROM, or hard disk, but also such devices as a floppy disk, CD-ROM, or DVD, and even external memory devices such as those of a remote server accessed via a communication line.
In the present invention, the notification information noted above is inclusive of time-designating information which specifies the time period that information is to be displayed, and the controller is configured so that it compares the time-designating information with time information defining the current time, and, when the current time corresponds with the display time specified by that time-designating information, enables the display of that information.
“Time-designating information” as used here may be information which indicates a notification end time that indicates the valid time period for a notification. The term “time” or “time period” as used here includes not only dates (year/month/day), but also units of time down to hours, minutes, and seconds.
In the present invention, the notification information noted above includes address information that indicates network addresses related to a given notification, and the controller is configured so that, when address information is contained in the notification information, it incorporates that address information in the notification character strings which are synthesized in the label image, and establishes link information for linking a network address to that address information
Akihara Masatoshi
Fukuda Toshiya
Ishikawa Yukio
Kakimoto Shuji
Kanai Hideyuki
Hakuhodo Inc.
Shah Sanjiv
Singh Rachna
LandOfFree
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