HK1114289A - Method and system of advertising in a mobile communication system - Google Patents

Description

Method and system for advertising in mobile communication system

This application claims the benefit of, and is a continuation-in-part of, the following patent applications: U.S. patent application No.10/851,524 filed on 21/5/2004; U.S. provisional patent application No.60/566,522 filed on 28.4.2004; U.S. provisional patent application No.60/562,088, filed on 13.4.2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to advertising in a mobile communication system, and more particularly, to a method and system for advertising in a mobile communication system.

Background

Mobile communication systems are increasingly becoming an integral part of everyday life. For example, the number of users of cellular telephone systems has steadily increased over the years. With the development of the mobile communication industry, significant advances in technology have been made in the industry. Mobile communication devices such as cellular telephones often include improved display devices capable of color display, text data display, and more complex graphical information display. In addition, the microprocessors in these devices have been developed to process very large amounts of data, thereby enabling the transmission and presentation of textual data, complex graphics and audio data. Therefore, mobile communication devices have become a useful medium for advertisers.

For example, U.S. patent 6,622,174B 1 relates to a system and method for sending, converting and adding advertisements to electronic messages sent over a network. European patent publication EP0986273 a1 relates to the transmission of advertising messages via Short Message Service (SMS). Russian patent publication RU2192049 relates to a method for disseminating advertising and information messages (variants). French patent publication FR2810836 relates to a remote messaging control system with a public terminal that can send selected advertisements to the user's address. Although these publications relate generally to advertising in mobile communication systems, the systems and methods for advertising in mobile communication systems discussed herein are not disclosed.

It is therefore apparent that it would be desirable to provide a method and system for advertising in a mobile communication system.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for advertising in a mobile communication system includes: an advertising device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and provide the requested advertisement information; a mobile communication device; and a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertising device and the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further comprises: a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information; a transmitting device adapted to transmit at least a request for advertisement information to an advertising device; a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information; an interface device adapted to present to a user of a mobile communication device, when the mobile communication device receives a request for a connection with a second communication device, advertising information selected from the requested advertising information, together with notification information indicating an incoming request for a connection; and a notification device adapted to record selected advertising information presented to the user by the interface device.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for advertising in a mobile communication system includes: an advertising device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and provide the requested advertisement information; a mobile communication device; a provider network adapted to provide communication between an advertising device and a mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further comprises: a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information; a transmitting device adapted to transmit at least a request for advertisement information to an advertising device; a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information; a connection request device adapted to provide a request for connection with a second communication device, wherein advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information and a request for connection are transmitted to the second communication device, thereby presenting the selected advertisement information and notification information indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of the second mobile communication device; and a notification device, located at the second communication device, adapted to record selected advertisement information presented to a user of the second communication device.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of advertising in a mobile communication system includes: generating, at the mobile communication device, a request for advertising information; sending at least a request for advertising information to an advertising device; providing the requested advertising information from the advertising device; receiving at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; storing at least the requested advertisement information; upon receiving a request for connection with a second communication device, presenting advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information and notification information indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of the mobile communication device; and recording, using the notification device, the selected advertising information presented to the user.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of advertising in a mobile communication system includes: generating, at the mobile communication device, a request for advertising information; sending at least a request for advertising information to an advertising device; providing the requested advertising information from the advertising device; receiving at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; storing at least the requested advertisement information; generating a request for connection with a second communication device; sending a request for a connection and advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information to the second communication device, thereby presenting the selected advertisement information and notification information indicating the request for the connection to a user of the second communication device upon receiving the request for the connection; and recording, at the second communication device, the selected advertising information presented to the user.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system includes: a processor; and a program storage device readable by a computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by a processor to perform method steps for advertising in a mobile communications system. The method comprises the following steps: generating, at the mobile communication device, a request for advertising information; sending at least a request for advertising information to an advertising device; providing the requested advertising information from the advertising device; receiving at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; storing at least the requested advertisement information; upon receiving a request for connection with a second communication device, presenting advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information and notification information indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of the mobile communication device; and recording, using the notification device, the selected advertising information presented to the user.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system includes: a processor; and a program storage device readable by a computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by a processor to perform method steps for advertising in a mobile communications system. The method comprises the following steps: generating, at the mobile communication device, a request for advertising information; sending at least a request for advertising information to an advertising device; providing the requested advertising information from the advertising device; receiving at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device; storing at least the requested advertisement information; generating a request for connection with a second communication device; sending a request for a connection and advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information to the second communication device, thereby presenting the selected advertisement information and notification information indicating the request for the connection to a user of the second communication device upon receiving the request for the connection; and recording, at the second communication device, the selected advertising information presented to the user.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for advertising in mobile communications includes: a mobile communication device; a provider network adapted to allow communication with a mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further comprises: a caller identification device adapted to identify a telephone number for an incoming request to connect with a mobile communication device; a local advertising device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information related to a plurality of individuals identified by at least the telephone numbers, wherein the local advertising device compares the identified telephone numbers with the telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals and provides specific advertisement information related to the matching individuals; and an interface device adapted to present specific advertisement information and notification information indicating an incoming request for a connection to a user of the mobile communication device.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of advertising in a mobile communication system includes: identifying a telephone number for an incoming request to connect with a mobile communication device; comparing the identified telephone number with telephone numbers of a plurality of individuals, wherein the telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals are stored in the local advertising device along with associated advertising information relating to each of the plurality of individuals; providing specific advertising information associated with the matching individual when the identified telephone number matches the telephone number of the matching individual; and presenting, to a user of the mobile communication device, the specific advertisement information and the notification information indicating the incoming request for the connection through the interface device.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for advertising in mobile communications includes: an advertising device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and provide the requested advertisement information; a mobile communication device; and a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertising device and the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further comprises: a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information from an advertising device; a transmitting/receiving device adapted to transmit information, including a request for connection, over a provider network and receive information, including requested advertising information; a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information provided from the advertisement device in response to the request; and an interface device adapted to present to a user of the mobile communication device, when the mobile communication device receives a request for a connection with a second communication device, advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information together with notification information indicating an incoming request for a connection.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of advertising in a mobile communication system includes: generating a request for advertisement information; sending a request for advertisement information to an advertisement device, wherein the advertisement device stores a plurality of advertisement information; receiving the requested advertisement information from the advertising device; storing the requested advertisement information in a storage device; and upon receipt of the request for the connection by the mobile communication device, presenting the selected advertising information and notification information indicative of the request for entry for the connection to a user of the mobile communication device.

A system for advertising in a mobile communication system including a plurality of mobile communication devices according to another embodiment of the present invention includes: an advertisement server for storing advertisement information including a plurality of advertisement units and transmitting the advertisement information including the plurality of advertisement units to the plurality of mobile communication devices; and a provider network for providing communication between the advertisement server and a plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of mobile communication devices comprises a memory for storing advertisement information comprising a plurality of advertisement units, and the advertisement server is configured to control selection of one of the plurality of advertisement units for presentation to a user of the plurality of mobile communication devices in accordance with a predetermined location of the user.

Drawings

The present disclosure will be better understood, and its advantages more fully understood, by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device of the system for advertising in a mobile communication system of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram of a computer system for implementing methods and systems in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an advertising method in a mobile network, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an advertising method in a mobile GSM network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic illustration of a method of preserving advertising information for an advertising system in a mobile network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a method of preserving advertisement information for an advertisement system in a GSM mobile network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of generating a presentation of statistics for an advertising system in a mobile network, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of generating a presentation of statistics for an advertising system in a GSM mobile network, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16 is an illustration of a method of advertising in a mobile network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 17 is an illustration of a method of advertising in a GSM mobile network, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

A mobile communication system typically includes: at least one mobile communication device, or client device; and a system operator, or provider network, typically a cellular network, to enable communication between the client device and other communication devices. That is, the provider network allows the mobile communication device to communicate with other mobile communication devices and other communication devices such as conventional telephones. In addition, the provider network may allow the mobile communication device to communicate with an internet service provider so that the mobile communication device may access the internet. More specifically, mobile communication devices typically use the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) to access the internet. Mobile communication devices typically include voice communication functionality and data communication functionality, thereby allowing users to make telephone calls, as well as to send and receive a variety of data, including, for example, text data, audio data, and/or graphical data. Examples of mobile communication systems include cellular telephone systems, such as those employing CDMA technology, which are commonly used in the united states, and those employing GSM technology, which are commonly used in europe and asia.

The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of software applications running on a computer system, such as a mainframe, Personal Computer (PC), handheld computer, server, etc. The computer system may be linked to a database or a variety of storage media. For example, the link may be through a direct link, such as a direct hardwired or wireless connection, through a network connection, such as a local area network, or through the Internet.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a computer system capable of implementing the present systems and methods. The computer system, generally referred to as system 100, may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU)102, a memory 104, a printer interface 106, a display unit 108, a LAN (local area network) data transfer controller 110, a LAN interface 112, a network controller 114, an internal bus 116, a database 120, and one or more input devices 118, such as a keyboard, mouse, and the like. Of course, other components may be included in computer system 100, and some components may not be present.

Fig. 1 illustrates a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system includes at least one mobile communication device 12, an advertising device 14, and a provider network 16 that allows at least communication between the mobile communication device and the advertising device. Additional mobile communication devices 12a, 12b and 12c may also be included.

Fig. 2 illustrates the mobile communication device 12 of fig. 1 in more detail. The mobile communication device 12 preferably includes a requesting device 22 adapted to generate a request for advertising information. The transmitting device 23 is adapted to transmit a request for advertisement information at least to the advertising device 14 via the provider network 16. The receiving device 24 is adapted to receive at least the requested advertising information from the advertising device 14. The storage device 26 is adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information. The interface device 27 is adapted to present at least selected ones of the requested advertisement information to a user of the mobile communication device upon receiving an incoming request for connection with the mobile communication device 12. Notification device 28 may be adapted to record advertising information presented to the user. A controller (not shown), such as a microprocessor, for example, may also be included to control the requesting device 22, the sending device 23, the receiving device 24, the storage device 26, the interface device 27, and the notification device 29.

The requesting device 22 generates a request for advertising information to be sent to the advertising device 14. The request preferably includes feature information relating to features of the mobile communication device 12. The characteristic information preferably includes information relating to, for example, the size of the display of the mobile communication device 12, the limitations of the display, and/or the audio capabilities of the mobile communication device.

The sending device 23 sends a request for advertisement information at least to the advertising device 14 via the provider network 16. The transmitting device 23 may also be used to transmit any other information on behalf of the mobile communication device 12. That is, a single transmitting device 23 may be used to transmit all information from the mobile communication device 12 through the provider network 16.

The advertising device 14 stores a plurality of advertising information and provides the requested advertising information to the mobile communication device 12. The advertising device 14 is preferably an advertising server that stores a plurality of advertisement information. More specifically, the advertising device 14 stores a plurality of units of advertising information, each of which preferably includes advertising information relating to a single advertisement. A single advertisement may be associated with a single advertiser or may be associated with a single product or service. The advertising device 14 provides the requested advertising information in response to a request sent by the sending device 23 of the mobile communication device 12. The requested advertisement information preferably comprises a plurality of advertisement information units, however, a single advertisement information unit may be sufficient.

The advertising information stored in advertising device 14 may be graphical, textual, and/or audio information. Each advertisement information element may also include the name of the advertiser, the telephone or fax number of the advertiser, and any other desired information, such as the URL of the advertiser's website. Each unit of advertisement information also preferably includes a presentation number indicating the number of times the unit of advertisement information is to be presented to the user of the mobile communication device 12. Preferably, the advertising device 14 responds to the request for advertising information by providing the requested advertising information based on the characteristic information included in the request. That is, the requested advertising information sent to the mobile communication device 12 is compatible with the functionality of the mobile communication device. The requested advertising information is preferably sent to the mobile communication device 12 through the provider network 16.

The receiving device 24 receives the requested advertising information from the advertising device 14. Preferably, the receiving device 24 receives all incoming information, including, for example, incoming voice information during a telephone conversation, as well as incoming requests for connection to other client devices. That is, a single receiving device 24 may be used to receive all of the information. Although a separate transmitting device 22 and a separate receiving device 24 are specifically discussed, a transmitting/receiving device providing both transmitting and receiving functions may also be used (see fig. 8). Such devices are commonly used in mobile communication systems.

The storage device 26 stores the requested advertising information received by the mobile communication device 12. The storage device 26 may be any storage medium and may store other information in addition to the advertisement information, if desired.

The interface device 27 presents information to the user of the mobile communication device 12. That is, the interface device 27 provides an interface between the user and the mobile communication device 12. The interface device 27 may include a display screen (not shown) for displaying text or graphics to the user. The interface device 27 may also include a speaker or any other audio device for producing sound so that audio advertising information may be presented to the user.

When a request for connection with the mobile communication device 12 is received from another or second communication device, the user is presented with advertising information selected from the requested advertising information stored in the storage device 26 through the interface device 27. The selected advertisement information is preferably a single unit of advertisement information. Preferably, the further communication device is a further mobile communication device. The request for connection typically includes information relating to the telephone number of the other communication device, which is typically displayed to the user of the mobile communication device 12 on a display screen of the interface device 27, for example. However, because the telephone number does not take up much space on the display, the user is also presented with advertising information selected from the requested advertising information stored in the storage device 26 when a request for a connection is received. The selected advertisement information may be textual information, graphical information, and/or audio information. Preferably, the selected advertising information is presented to the user until the user accepts the request for a connection. In this manner, the selected advertising information is presented to the user, but the presentation does not interfere with the use of the mobile communication device 12 or distract the user after communication with another communication device has begun. Because the interface device 27 generally draws the user's attention when a request for a connection is received, the user will typically view selected advertising information.

The request for a connection may also include enabling information. The enabling information allows the advertisement information to be presented to the user of the mobile communication device 12. If the request for connection does not include the enabling information, the interface device 27 does not display the selected advertisement information to the user.

Preferably, the generation of the request for advertising information, the transmission of the request, the provision of advertising information, the receipt of the requested advertising information and the storage of advertising information are performed by the requesting device 22, the transmitting device 23, the advertising device 14, the receiving device 24 and the storage device 26, respectively, when the mobile communication device 12 is in a standby mode, i.e. when the mobile communication device is "standby" awaiting communication with another communication device. A request timer (not shown) may be used while the mobile communication device is in standby mode to periodically generate requests for advertising information generated by the requesting device 22. In this manner, additional advertising information may be stored in storage device 26, and/or new advertising information may replace previous advertising information in storage device 26.

In a preferred embodiment, the requesting device 22, the sending device 23, the advertising device 14, the receiving device 24 and the storage device 26 perform the requesting of the advertising information, the sending of the request, the providing of the advertising information, the receiving of the requested advertising information and the storing of the advertising information, respectively, during off-peak periods on the provider network. Thus, when there is little activity on the provider network, the requested communication and the provision of advertising information is performed, thereby leaving the network more free during peak periods.

A notification device 28 may be included in the mobile communication device 12 to record the advertising information presented to the user. The notification unit 28 collects and records advertising information, more specifically the advertising information units presented to the user, and provides statistical information about the advertising information units presented to the user. The statistical information preferably indicates the particular units of advertising information presented to the user, the time each unit was presented to the user, and the number of times each unit has been presented to the user. The user may also access the statistics when they want to review previously presented units of advertising information. The statistical information may also include a flag indicating that the user has used the statistical information. The flag may indicate that the user has reviewed a particular advertising information element, has selected and stored a portion of the advertising information element, whether the user has connected to a web page or hyperlink identified in the advertising information element, and/or whether a telephone number included in the advertising information element has been called. Preferably, the statistical information is periodically transmitted to the advertising device 14 by the transmitting device 23, for example, when the mobile communication device 12 is in a standby mode.

Preferably, the statistical information sent to the advertising device 14 is used to reduce any costs associated with the user's use of the mobile communications system. For example, advertisers associated with advertising information reviewed by a particular user may pay the cost of the user's use of the communication system, or may pay the cost of receiving personal telephone calls during which the advertising information is presented.

Optionally, statistical information may be used to track usage of the advertising system. That is, the statistical information may be used to provide advertisers with information about their advertisements to help them focus their advertising campaigns.

A method of advertising in a mobile communication system is described with reference to fig. 5. At step S51, a request for advertisement information is generated. At step S52, a request for advertisement information is sent to the advertising device. In step S53, the requested advertisement information is provided from the advertisement device. In step S54, the requested advertisement information is received from the advertising device. At step S55, at least the requested advertisement information is stored. At step S56, when a request for connection with a second communication device is received, advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information is presented to a user of the mobile communication device. At step S57, the selected advertisement information presented to the user is recorded. The method of fig. 5 is essentially the method implemented by the system for advertising in a mobile communication system described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2, and therefore, a detailed description thereof is not required here.

Another embodiment of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system is described with reference to fig. 3. The system of fig. 3 is similar to that described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2, and common reference numerals are used to indicate common elements. As shown in fig. 1, the system generally includes at least one mobile communication device 12 connected to an advertising device 14 through a provider network 16. The requesting device 22 of the mobile communication device 12 generates a request for advertising information and the transmitting device 23 transmits the request to the advertising device 14. The advertising device 14 provides the requested advertising information and transmits the requested advertising information to the mobile communication device 12 via the provider network 16. The receiving device 24 receives at least the requested advertising information and stores the requested advertising information in the storage device 26 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with reference to fig. 2.

In the present embodiment, the mobile communication device 12 is used as a calling communication device. That is, the mobile communication device 12 initiates communication with another or second communication device. The connection requesting device 29 generates a request for connection to another communication device and transmits the request to the other communication device by the transmitting device 23 through the provider network 16. Further, advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information stored in the storage device 26 is transmitted together with the request for connection and presented to the user of another communication device when the request for connection is received. In a preferred embodiment, the other communication device is substantially similar to the mobile communication device 12 described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2. Thus, a notification device similar to the notification device 27 described above with reference to fig. 2 records the advertisement information presented to the user of the second communication device and provides statistical information to be sent to the advertisement device 14 in a manner similar to that described above. In this embodiment, the statistical information may be used to compensate for the cost of using the mobile communication system for the user of the mobile communication device, the user of the second mobile communication device, or both.

A method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to fig. 6. At step S61, a request for advertisement information is generated at the mobile communication device. At step S62, a request for advertisement information is sent to the advertising device. In step S63, the requested advertisement information is provided from the advertisement device. At step S64, at least the requested advertising information provided by the advertising device is received. In step S65, the requested advertisement information is stored. At step S66, a request for connection with a second communication device is generated. At step S67, a request for connection and advertisement information selected from the requested advertisement information are transmitted to the second communication device, so that upon receiving the request for connection, the selected advertisement information and notification information indicating the request for connection are presented to the user of the second communication device, and the selected advertisement information presented to the user of the second communication device is recorded. The method of fig. 6 is substantially similar to that used by the system described above with reference to fig. 3, and therefore, a detailed description is not required here.

As mentioned above, mobile communication devices commonly include caller identification functionality. That is, it is common for a mobile communication device to display the telephone number from which an incoming request for a connection originates. In addition, many mobile communication devices may store the phone numbers, names, and other information of multiple parties or users' contacts in an electronic phonebook to allow the user to easily access the names or phone numbers of their contacts. Many mobile communication devices will attempt to match the telephone number of an incoming request for a connection with a telephone number stored in an electronic phonebook and will, when a match is found, display the name of the individual associated with the telephone number of the incoming call.

Another embodiment of a system for advertising in mobile communications is described with reference to fig. 4. The system comprises: an advertising device 14 adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and provide the requested advertisement information; a mobile communication device 12; and a provider network 16 adapted to at least allow communication between the advertising device and the mobile device, similar to the devices provided in the system described above with reference to fig. 1, common reference numerals being used to denote common elements.

Fig. 4 is a more detailed illustration of the mobile communication device 12. The mobile communication device includes a caller identification device 42 adapted to identify the telephone number of the incoming request for connection to the mobile communication device. The requesting device 44 is adapted to request advertising information based on the identified telephone number. The local advertising device 46 is adapted to store at least a plurality of advertising information relating to a plurality of individuals identified by the telephone numbers. The requesting device 44 transmits the identified telephone number to the local advertising device to request advertising information from the local advertising device. The local advertising device compares the identified telephone number with the telephone numbers of a plurality of individuals and provides specific advertising information relating to the matching individual to the requesting device where it is sent to the interface device 47 for display to the user of the mobile communication device. The interface device 47 is substantially similar to the interface device 27 described above with reference to fig. 2.

In the event that no matching individuals are found in the local advertising device 46, the requesting device 44 requests advertising information from the advertising device 14. The request is executed in substantially the same manner as described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2. That is, the request is generated by the requesting device 44 and sent to the advertising device 14, and the advertising device 14 provides the requested advertising information for receipt by the mobile communication device. In this embodiment, the identified telephone number is transmitted to the advertising device 14 along with a request for advertising information. The advertising device 14 provides the requested advertising information to the requesting device based on the identified telephone number. The requested advertising information is presented to the user of the mobile communication device through the interface device 47. In addition, the requested advertising information and the identified telephone number are stored in the local advertising device for later use. The requested advertising information includes an associated time period during which the requested advertising information is associated with the owner of the identified telephone number. Storing the requested advertising information and the identified telephone number in the local advertising device at least during the associated time period.

A method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is further described with reference to fig. 7. At step S71, the telephone number in the incoming request for connection to the mobile communication device is identified. In step S72, the identified phone numbers are compared with phone numbers of a plurality of individuals, wherein the phone numbers of the plurality of individuals are stored in the local advertising device, together with related advertising information relating to each of the plurality of individuals. In step S73, when the identified phone number matches the phone number of the matching individual, specific advertising information related to the matching individual is provided. At step S74, the user of the mobile communication device is presented with specific advertisement information and notification information indicating an entry request for a connection through the interface device.

Another embodiment of a system for advertising in mobile communications is further described with reference to fig. 8. The system of fig. 8 is substantially similar to the system described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2, and common reference numerals are used to indicate common elements. The system of fig. 8 also includes a transmitting/receiving device 81 for transmitting and receiving information. In addition, a positioning device 82 may be included to determine the location of the mobile communication device. Such features are commonly included in mobile communication devices. These devices commonly use satellite signals or signals from network providers to determine the location of the mobile communication device 12. The system of fig. 8 operates in substantially the same manner as described above with reference to fig. 1. The transmitting/receiving device 81 transmits and receives information including the request and the requested identification information. The positioning device 82 provides location information that may be used to select selected advertisements for presentation to the user through the interface device 27.

The selected advertising information presented to the user may be selected based on the location of the mobile communication device. In this way, the user may be presented with advertising information relating to the area or neighborhood in which the user is located. The selected advertising information may be selected according to the time of day so that the user is presented with advertising information relating to the time of day. The requested advertising information from advertising devices 14 may include priority information indicating that particular advertising information is to be preferentially presented to the user. For example, in certain situations, a particular advertiser may wish to display its advertisements more frequently than other advertisements, and the priority information may be used to increase the presentation of such advertising information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the advertising device 14 is controlled by a system administrator to provide advertising information including a plurality of advertising units to the mobile communication devices 12, 12a, 12b and 12c shown in FIG. 1 when the mobile communication devices are in a standby mode. The received advertising information, including a plurality of advertising units, is stored in the memory device 26 of each mobile communication device.

As described above, by using the positioning device 82 shown in fig. 8, a system administrator of the advertising device 14 is able to select and present to a user of the mobile communication device a selected one of a plurality of advertising units stored in the mobile communication device, depending on the neighborhood in which the user is currently located.

Further, the system administrator of the advertising device 14 can select and present to the user of the mobile communication device a selected one of a plurality of advertising units stored in the mobile communication device based on the time of day.

An advantage of the above-described features of the present embodiment of the invention is that a system administrator of the advertising device 14 is able to control which advertisements are presented to the user of the mobile communication device based on the predetermined geographic area and time of day. For example, in a geographic area with a large number of bars, a system administrator can display ad units related to a particular bar during a "happy hour".

Furthermore, because of the above-described features of the present invention, the system administrator has the advantage of being able to sell a specific targeted advertising function to advertisers, which cannot be found in the previously mentioned systems.

The present disclosure may be conveniently implemented using one or more conventional general purpose digital computers and/or servers programmed according to the teachings of the present specification. Appropriate software code can be readily programmed by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, including the explanations set forth in FIGS. 10-17. The present disclosure may also be implemented by the configuration of application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional components.

Numerous additional modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above explanations. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims (40)

1. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system, comprising:

an advertising device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and provide the requested advertisement information;

a source mobile communication device; and

a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertising device and the source mobile communication device, wherein

The source mobile communication device further comprises:

a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information;

a transmitting device adapted to transmit at least a request for advertisement information to an advertising device;

a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device;

a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information;

an interface device adapted to send and present to a user of the destination mobile communication device selected advertising information from the requested advertising information stored in the storage device when the source mobile communication device sends a request for connection with the destination communication device; and

a notification device adapted to record selected advertising information presented to the user by the interface device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement device is a plurality of advertisement information units, each advertisement information unit relating to a single advertisement.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the requested advertising information comprises at least one advertising information element.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each advertisement information unit includes at least one of textual information, graphical information, and audio information.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each unit of advertising information includes a presentation number related to a number of times the unit of advertising information is to be presented to the user.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the request for advertisement information includes feature information related to a function of the source mobile communication device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the requested advertising information is provided based on the characteristic information.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the interface device further comprises:

a display adapted to display textual and graphical information to a user; and

an audio device adapted to provide audio information to a user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the interface device presents the selected advertising information to the user when the enabling information is detected in the request for connection.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the selected advertising information presented to the user by the interface device is at least one advertising information unit.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein after the interface device presents the selected advertising information to the user, the presented number of at least one advertising information unit included in the selected advertising information is decreased by 1.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the notification device provides statistical information related to the selected advertising information presented by the interface device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the statistical information includes information related to a number of presentations of the selected advertising information and a presentation time period of the selected advertising information.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the statistical information includes a telephone flag indicating that the user called a telephone number included in the selected advertisement information using the originating mobile communication device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the statistical information includes a flag indicating that the user accessed a hyperlink identified in the selected advertising information using the source mobile communication device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the statistical information is transmitted to the advertising device by a transmitting device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the advertisement device uses the statistical information to compensate the user for the cost of using the mobile communication system.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the advertising device uses the statistical information to track usage of the system.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the requesting device periodically generates a request for advertisement information according to a request time, such that new requested advertisement information is periodically provided by the advertising device and stored in the storage device.

20. A method of advertising in a mobile communication system, comprising:

generating, at a source mobile communication device, a request for advertisement information;

sending at least a request for advertising information to an advertising device;

providing the requested advertising information from the advertising device;

receiving at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertising device;

storing at least the requested advertisement information;

upon sending a request to connect with a destination communication device, sending and presenting to a user of the destination mobile communication device advertising information selected from the stored requested advertising information; and

selected advertising information presented to the user is recorded.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the advertising device stores a plurality of units of advertising information, each unit of advertising information relating to a single advertisement.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the requested advertising information comprises at least one advertising information unit.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein each unit of advertisement information comprises at least one of textual information, graphical information, and audio information.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each unit of advertisement information includes a presentation number related to a number of times the unit of advertisement information is to be presented to the user.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the request for advertisement information includes feature information related to a function of the source mobile communication device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the requested advertisement information is provided based on the characteristic information.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the presenting step further comprises:

displaying text information and graphic information to a user on a display screen; and

using an audio device, audio information is presented to a user.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the presenting step further comprises:

in a request for connection from a destination communication device, enabling information is detected, and after the enabling information is detected, selected advertising information is presented to a user.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the selected advertisement information presented to the user in the presenting step is at least one advertisement information unit, and the selected advertisement information is selected according to the number of presentations.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the presented number of at least one advertisement information unit included in the selected advertisement information is decreased by 1 after the presenting step presents the selected advertisement information to the user.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the recording step further comprises providing statistical information related to the selected advertising information presented to the user in the presenting step.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the statistical information includes information related to a number of presentations of the selected advertising information and a presentation time period of the selected advertising information.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistical information includes a telephone flag indicating that the user called a telephone number included in the selected advertisement information using the originating mobile communication device.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the statistical information includes a flag indicating that the user accessed a hyperlink identified in the selected advertising information using the source mobile communication device.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

the statistical information is sent to the advertising device.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

based on the statistical information, the user of the source mobile communication device is compensated for the cost of using the source mobile communication device.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising using statistical information to track usage of the system.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of generating the request is performed periodically according to a request time, whereby new requested advertisement information is provided periodically by the advertisement device and stored in the storage device.

39. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system comprising a plurality of mobile communication devices, comprising:

an advertisement server for storing advertisement information including a plurality of advertisement units and transmitting the advertisement information including the plurality of advertisement units to the plurality of mobile communication devices; and

a provider network for providing communication between an advertisement server and a plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of mobile communication devices comprises a memory for storing advertisement information including a plurality of advertisement units, and

the advertisement server is configured to control selection of one of the plurality of advertisement units for presentation to users of the plurality of mobile communication devices according to a predetermined location of the user.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the advertisement server is further configured to control the selection based on a time of day.