U.S. patent application number 12/165175 was filed with the patent office on 2009-01-15 for system for serving targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services.
This patent application is currently assigned to Yahoo! Inc.. Invention is credited to Shubhasheesh Anand, Sam P. Hamilton, Ramesh R. Sarukkai, Subash Sundaresan.
Application Number | 20090018913 12/165175 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40253570 |
Filed Date | 2009-01-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090018913 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sarukkai; Ramesh R. ; et
al. |
January 15, 2009 |
SYSTEM FOR SERVING TARGETED ADVERTISEMENTS OVER MOBILE MESSAGING
SERVICES
Abstract
A system is described for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services. The system may include a processor, a
memory and an interface. The memory may store a content related to
a mobile alert service and an advertisement. The content may be
provided to a user when an alert condition is met. The interface
may be operatively connected to the memory and may communicate with
the user. The processor may be operatively connected to the memory
and the interface. The processor may receive a request from the
user, via the interface, to subscribe to the mobile alert service.
The processor may detect when the alert condition is met and
generate a mobile message containing the content. The processor may
retrieve an advertisement related to the content and may attach the
advertisement to the mobile message. The processor may provide the
mobile message to the user via the interface.
Inventors: |
Sarukkai; Ramesh R.; (Union
City, CA) ; Sundaresan; Subash; (Fremont, CA)
; Hamilton; Sam P.; (Los Altos, CA) ; Anand;
Shubhasheesh; (Mountain View, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE / YAHOO! OVERTURE
P.O. BOX 10395
CHICAGO
IL
60610
US
|
Assignee: |
Yahoo! Inc.
Sunnyvale
CA
|
Family ID: |
40253570 |
Appl. No.: |
12/165175 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11776073 |
Jul 11, 2007 |
|
|
|
12165175 |
|
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.56 ;
705/14.64; 705/14.68; 705/14.73 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0267 20130101;
H04M 3/53383 20130101; H04M 3/02 20130101; H04M 2207/18 20130101;
G06Q 30/0258 20130101; G06Q 30/0272 20130101; H04W 4/12 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0277 20130101; H04M 3/4878 20130101;
H04M 2203/2011 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A method for serving targeted advertisements over mobile
messaging services, comprising: receiving a request from a user to
subscribe to a mobile alert service, wherein a content related to
the mobile alert service is provided to the user when an alert
condition is met; detecting when the alert condition is met;
generating a mobile message wherein the mobile message comprises
the content related to the mobile alert; retrieving an
advertisement wherein the advertisement is related to the content;
attaching the advertisement to the mobile message; and providing
the mobile message and the attached advertisement to the user.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile alert service provides
a real time information update.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the real time information update
comprises at least one of a stock quote, a news headline, or a
sports score.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert condition comprises a
stock price threshold.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert condition comprises a
change in a score of a sporting event.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert condition is met on a
periodic basis.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising verifying that a length
of the mobile message does not exceed a maximum message length.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement is attached to a
determined number of mobile messages over a period of time.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement is targeted to a
recipient of the mobile message.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the mobile message and
the attached advertisement to the user further comprises
communicating the mobile message to a mobile device of the
user.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile message comprises a
short message service message.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving an advertisement
further comprises retrieving an advertisement using a client
browser based targeting mechanism.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement comprises a
link to a mobile web page.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising determining if a
mobile device of the user is capable of displaying the mobile web
page.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a mobile
network operator of the user; and retrieving an advertisement
related to the content of the mobile message and targeted to the
mobile network operator.
16. A method for serving targeted advertisements over mobile
messaging services, comprising: receiving a request from a user to
provide a mobile message to the user via a mobile device when a
condition is satisfied; determining that the condition is
satisfied; determining a mobile network operator of the mobile
device; retrieving an advertisement related to the mobile message
and targeted to the mobile network operator; attaching the
advertisement to the mobile message; verifying that a length of the
mobile message does not exceed a maximum message length; and
providing the mobile message and the attached advertisement to the
user on the mobile device.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the mobile message is provided
to the user over a short messaging service.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein providing the mobile message and
the attached advertisement to the user on the mobile device
comprises providing the mobile message and the attached
advertisement to the mobile network operator of the mobile
device.
19. The method of claim 16 further comprising determining the
maximum message length based on the mobile network operator.
20. A system for serving targeted advertisements over mobile
messaging services, comprising: a memory to store a content related
to a mobile alert service, the content provided to a user when an
alert condition is met, and an advertisement; an interface
operatively connected to the memory, the interface to communicate
with the user; and a processor operatively connected to the memory
and the interface, the processor for running instructions, wherein
the processor receives a request from the user, via the interface,
to subscribe to the mobile alert service, detects when the alert
condition is met, generates a mobile message comprising of the
content, retrieves an advertisement related to the content,
attaches the advertisement to the mobile message and provides the
mobile message and the attached advertisement to the user via the
interface.
21. The system of claim 20 wherein the mobile alert service
provides a real time information update.
22. The system of claim 20 wherein the alert condition comprises a
stock price threshold.
23. The system of claim 20 wherein the alert condition comprises a
change in a score of a sporting event.
24. The system of claim 20 wherein the processor verifies that a
length of the mobile message does not exceed a maximum message
length.
25. The method of claim 20 wherein the mobile message comprises a
short message service message.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/776,073, filed on Jul. 11, 2007, which is
incorporated by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present description relates generally to a system and
method, generally referred to as a system, for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services, and more
particularly, but not exclusively, to serving targeted
advertisements over short messaging services ("SMS").
BACKGROUND
[0003] The mobile phone may be increasingly important as an
information and content access device. Currently there may be twice
as many mobile communication devices as personal computers. Mobile
operators may be increasingly looking to high value data services
as a way to overcome the continuing voice average revenue per user
decline. Billions of dollars may be being spent globally on
wireless licenses with billions more in investments in the pipeline
for development of infrastructure and services by wireless service
and content providers. Carriers may be introducing new data,
content and multimedia services as a means of generating new
revenue stream, reversing negative ARPU trends, retaining and
attracting customers as well as increasing returns on investment,
and extending and differentiating their service offering to
consumers. The emergence of these wireless technologies may be
creating unique opportunities for wireless carriers, advertisers
and publishers to generate additional revenue streams through new
and existing customers. As consumer adoption of wireless technology
continues to increase, marketing via mobile devices may become an
important part of all integrated data communications
strategies.
[0004] Mobile messaging services may be developing rapidly
throughout the world. In 2001, there may have been billions of
mobile messages sent, and that number may have doubled. Mobile
messaging services may be widely used for delivering digital
content, such as news alerts, financial information, ring tones,
etc. Mobile messaging may also be used to send messages from one
mobile user to another mobile user. There may not currently be an
advertising solution to reach users of mobile messaging.
SUMMARY
[0005] A system is disclosed for serving targeted advertisements
over mobile messaging services. The system may include a processor,
a memory and an interface. The memory may be operatively connected
to the processor and the interface and may store a content related
to a mobile alert service and an advertisement. The content may be
provided to a user when an alert condition is met. The interface
may be operatively connected to the memory and may communicate with
the user. The processor may be operatively connected to the memory
and the interface. The processor may receive a request from the
user to subscribe to the mobile alert service. The processor may
detect when the alert condition is met and generate a mobile
message containing the content. The processor may retrieve an
advertisement related to the content and may attach it to the
mobile message. The processor may provide the mobile message to the
user.
[0006] Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or
will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination
of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended
that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages
be included within this description, be within the scope of the
embodiments, and be protected by the following claims and be
defined by the following claims. Further aspects and advantages are
discussed below in conjunction with the description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The system and/or method may be better understood with
reference to the following drawings and description. Non-limiting
and non-exhaustive descriptions are described with reference to the
following drawings. The components in the figures are not
necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
illustrating principles. In the figures, like referenced numerals
may refer to like parts throughout the different figures unless
otherwise specified.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general overview of a system
for serving targeted advertisements over mobile messaging
services.
[0009] FIG. 2 is block diagram of a simplified view of a network
environment implementing the system of FIG. 1 or other systems for
serving targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an implementation of the system
of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an implementation for a service
provider of the system of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving
targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
advertisements through user to user mobile messaging in the systems
of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted advertisements
over mobile messaging services.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations of
communicating an advertisement to a mobile network operator in the
system of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
an advertisement through a mobile messaging alert in the system of
FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
an advertisement through a third party mobile messaging alert in
the system of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services.
[0016] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a mobile device displaying a
mobile message with a targeted advertisement attached by the system
of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services.
[0017] FIG. 10 is an illustration of a mobile device displaying a
mobile messaging application including a targeted advertisement
delivered by the system of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving
targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services.
[0018] FIG. 11 is an illustration a general computer system that
may be used in a system for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] A system and method, generally referred to as a system,
relate to serving targeted advertisements over mobile messaging,
and more particularly, but not exclusively, to serving targeted
advertisements over SMS messaging. The principles described herein
may be embodied in many different forms.
[0020] FIG. 1 provides a general overview of a system 100 for
serving targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services. Not
all of the depicted components may be required, however, and some
implementations may include additional components. Variations in
the arrangement and type of the components may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth
herein. Additional, different or fewer components may be
provided.
[0021] The system 100 may include one or more revenue generators
110A-N, such as mobile advertisers, a service provider 130, such as
a portal, one or more mobile network operators ("MNOs") 115A-N,
more commonly referred to as mobile carriers, or simply carriers,
and one or more users 120AA-NN, such as mobile subscribers or
consumers. The service provider 130 may implement an advertising
campaign management system incorporating an auction based and/or
non-auction based advertisement serving system.
[0022] The revenue generators 110A-N may pay the service provider
130 to serve, or display, advertisements of their goods or
services, such as on-line advertisements, to the users 120AA-NN,
such as over mobile messaging, mobile web, the Internet, or
generally any venue for displaying advertisements. The
advertisements may include sponsored listings, banners ads, popup
advertisements, or generally any way of attracting the users
120AA-NN to the web site or mobile site of the revenue generators
110A-N. The users 120AA-NN may utilize the services of the service
provider 130 through web applications, mobile applications or
standalone applications.
[0023] The service provider 130 may maintain a mobile portal and/or
a web portal, such as a search site, where the service provider 130
may display advertisements of the revenue generators 110A-N to the
users 120AA-NN. In the case of a mobile portal, the service
provider 130 may share revenue with the mobile network operators
MNOs 115A-N of the users 120AA-NN for displaying advertisements of
the revenue generators 110A-N via their mobile networks, on mobile
applications running on their mobile networks or as a part of a
mobile message sent through their mobile network. Alternatively or
in addition the service provider 130 may share revenue with
individual publishers for displaying advertisements of the revenue
generators 110A-N on their mobile and/or web sites. The service
provider 130 may supply and API to the MNOs 115A-N enabling the
MNOs 115A-N to request advertisements from the service provider
130.
[0024] The MNOs 115A-N may provide a mobile network to the users
120AA-NN which may provide a variety of services to the users
120AA-NN, such as the ability to send and receive phone calls, send
and receive mobile messages, to access the internet and/or the
mobile web, or generally any service that may be implemented on a
mobile device. The MNOs 115A-N may store data describing the users
120AA-NN, such as billing addresses, call histories, messaging
histories, or generally any data regarding the users 120AA-NN that
may be available to the MNOs 115A-N.
[0025] The service provider 130 may also provide a mobile alert
service. The mobile alert service may allow the users 120AA-NN to
receive information on their mobile devices over mobile messaging,
such as news, stock prices, cricket scores, or generally any
information the users 120AA-NN may wish to receive on their mobile
device. The service provider 130 may include advertisements of the
revenue generators 110A-N within the mobile alerts. The service
provider 130 may also communicate advertisements to the MNOs 115A-N
to display with mobile messages routed through their mobile
networks or within mobile applications running on mobile devices on
their mobile networks.
[0026] The amount the revenue generators 110A-N may pay the service
provider 130 may be based on one or more factors. These factors may
include impressions, click throughs, conversions, and/or generally
any metric relating to the advertisement and/or the behavior of the
users 120AA-NN. The impressions may refer to the number of times an
advertisement may have been displayed to the users 120AA-NN. The
click throughs may refer to the number of times the users 120AA-NN
may have clicked through an advertisement to a web site, mobile web
site or mobile landing page of one of the revenue generators
110A-N, such as the revenue generator A 110A. The conversions may
refer to the number of times a desired action was taken by the
users 120AA-NN after clicking though to a web site of the revenue
generator A 110A. The desired actions may include submitting a
sales lead, making a purchase, viewing a key page of the site,
downloading a whitepaper, and/or any other measurable action. If
the desired action is making a purchase, then the revenue generator
A 110A may pay the service provider 130 a percentage of the
purchase.
[0027] The users 120AA-NN may be mobile users who may engage in
mobile messaging with one another, such as through a short message
service ("SMS"), a multimedia messaging service ("MMS"), enhanced
messaging service ("EMS"), J-PHONE's Skymail, NTT DOCOMO'S Short
Mail, or generally any service for sending messages to/from mobile
devices. The mobile messages may be routed through the MNOs 115A-N.
The MNOs 115A-N may request advertisements from the service
provider 130 to attach to the mobile messages of the users
120AA-NN. For example, the user AA 120AA may wish to send a mobile
message to the user AB 120AB. The message may first be routed from
the user AA 120AA to the MNO A 115A. The MNO A 115A may then
forward the message to the MNO B 115B. The MNO B 115B may receive
the message, and then, before forwarding the message to the user AB
120AB, the MNO B 115B may request a targeted advertisement of one
of the revenue generators 110A-N from the service provider 130. The
targeted advertisement may be attached to the message, and the
message may then be sent to the user AB 120AB. The service provider
130 may share revenue with the MNOs 115A-N for attaching
advertisements of the revenue generators 110A-N to messages routed
through their mobile networks.
[0028] The users 120AA-NN may also be consumers of goods or
services who may be searching for a business, such as the business
of one of the revenue generators 110A-N. Alternatively or in
addition the users 120AA-NN may be machines or other servers, such
as the third party server 250. The users 120AA-NN may need a user
identifier or identification ("user ID") to access the services of
the service provider 130. In order to obtain a user ID the users
120AA-NN may need to supply information describing themselves to
the service provider 130, such as the location, gender, or age of
the users 120AA-NN, or generally any information that may be
required for the users 120AA-NN to utilize the services provided by
the service provider 130. The service provider 130 may collect user
behavior data from the users 120AA-NN when they are logged in, such
as queries searched for by the users 120AA-NN, links clicked on by
the users 120AA-NN and/or any user interactions with the services
provided by the service provider 130. The service provider 130 may
also use cookies, such as a browser cookie, to collect user
behavior data of users 120AA-NN who are not logged in or who are
not otherwise identifiable.
[0029] The service provider 130 may serve advertisements to the
users 120AA-NN, via mobile messages, relevant to the collected user
behavior data. For example, if a user AA 120AA performed searches
for sports topics, subscribed for sports alerts, or viewed sports
related media or articles, the service provider server 130 may
serve a sports related ad to the user AA 120AA with the alert. The
revenue generators 110A-N may identify categories to associate
their advertisements with, such as sports. Alternatively or in
addition, the service provider server 130 may perform content
matching on the advertisements of the revenue generators 110A-N and
identified interests of the user AA 120AA, such as sports.
[0030] In the system 100, the revenue generators 110A-N may
interact with the service provider 130, such as via a web
application. The revenue generators 110A-N may send information,
such as billing, website or mobile site and advertisement
information, to the service provider 130 via the web application.
The web application may include a web browser or other application
such as any application capable of displaying web content. The
application may be implemented with a processor such as a personal
computer, personal digital assistant, mobile phone, or any other
machine capable of implementing a web application.
[0031] The users 120AA-NN may also interact individually with the
service provider 130, through the mobile network operators 115A-N,
such as via a mobile phone or any mobile device capable of
communicating with the mobile network operators 115A-N. The users
120AA-NN may interact with the service provider 130 via a mobile
web based application, a mobile standalone application, or any
application capable of running on a mobile device. The service
provider 130 may communicate data to the revenue generators 110A-N
over a network and to the users 120AA-NN over a network via the
MNOs 115A-N. The following examples may refer to a revenue
generator A 110A as an online advertiser or mobile advertiser;
however the system 100 may apply to any revenue generators 110A-N
who may desire to serve advertisements over mobile devices.
[0032] A revenue generator A 110A who is an mobile advertiser may
maintain one or more accounts with the service provider 130. For
each account the revenue generator A 110A may maintain one or more
campaigns. For each campaign the revenue generator A 110A may
maintain one or more listings. A listing may include a keyword, or
a category, and one or more mobile message listings. Each mobile
message listing may include an advertisement title, an
advertisement description, a bid amount and a mobile site URL, if
any. A mobile message listing may represent an association between
a keyword, or a category, and a mobile advertisement. The listing
may also include an option to have the advertisement displayed to
users over any mobile messages. The revenue generators 110A-N may
be able to specify demographic characteristics, such as age,
gender, etc, they wish their advertisement to be targeted to. The
revenue generators 110A-N may be able to specify a minimum number
of mobile messages to have their advertisement attached to per
month.
[0033] If the revenue generator A 110A does not have a mobile site
URL for the MNO A 115A, the revenue generator A 110A may still bid
on a keyword for the MNO A 115A. In this case, the service provider
130 may dynamically create a "WAP ad." The "WAP ad" may be an offer
landing page containing the phone number of the advertiser and/or
the logo of the advertiser. When a user AA 120AA clicks on the
advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A who does not have a
mobile site, the user AA 120AA may be taken to a page showing the
phone number and/or logo of the revenue generator A 110A. The user
AA 120AA may then use their mobile device to call the phone number
of the revenue generator A 110A and complete their transaction. The
data associated with the "WAP ad" may be stored in the
advertisement title and/or the advertisement description
fields.
[0034] The keywords may represent one or more terms that the
revenue generator A 110A wishes to associate with their
advertisement. If the keywords appear in a mobile message, the
advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A may be attached to
the mobile message. The category may represent a category of mobile
messages that the revenue generator A 110A wishes their
advertisement to be associated with, such as "sports." The
advertisement title may represent the data the revenue generator A
110A wishes to be displayed to a user AA 120AA. Alternatively or in
addition, the advertisement description may represent the data the
revenue generator A 110A wishes to be displayed to a user AA 120AA
when the user AA 120AA receives a mobile message containing the
keyword. The mobile site URL may represent the link the revenue
generator A 110A wishes a user AA 120AA to be directed to upon
clicking on the mobile advertisement of the revenue generator A
110A, such as the home page of the revenue generator A 110A. The
bid amount may represent a maximum amount the revenue generator A
110A may be willing to pay each time a user AA 120AA may click on
the mobile advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A or each
time the mobile advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A may
be shown to a user AA 120AA, such as in a mobile message.
[0035] The revenue generators 110A-N may bid on categories of
mobile messages to target their advertisements to, such as sports,
finance, or generally any category capable of classifying mobile
messages. Alternatively or in addition the revenue generators
110A-N may bid on mobile messages sent via a particular carrier,
network or to/from a particular publisher. The revenue generators
110A-N may bid on any messages sent via a particular carrier,
network or to/from a particular publisher, or the revenue
generators 110A-N may bid on specific keywords that appear in
messages or categories of messages sent via a particular carrier,
network or to/from a particular publisher. More detail regarding
the aspects of mobile advertising systems, as well as their
structure, function and operation, can be found in commonly owned
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/712,276, filed on Feb. 28,
2007, entitled, "SYSTEM FOR SERVING ADVERTISEMENTS OVER MOBILE
DEVICES", which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety. The systems and methods herein associated with mobile
advertising systems may be practiced in combination with methods
and systems described in the above-identified patent application
incorporated by reference.
[0036] The service provider 130 may utilize a flat rate advertising
model, such as offering a "flat rate-card" to the revenue
generators 110A-N. A "flat rate-card" may offer the revenue
generators 110A-N the opportunity to purchase a fixed number of
mobile messages which their advertisement may be attached to over a
given time period, such as month. The fee for this service may be a
flat-rate fee and may recur on a periodic basis, such as monthly.
For example, a revenue generator A 110A may pay ten dollars per
month to have their advertisement attached to two thousand mobile
messages per month. The revenue generators 110A-N may combine the
flat rate model with any of the aforementioned targeting
mechanisms, such as messages relating to a particular keyword,
category, network, carrier or publisher. Alternatively or in
addition the revenue generators 110A-N may elect to have their
advertisements attached to any mobile messages, without
restriction.
[0037] The flat rate fee may be based on the number of users 120A-N
who actually click on an advertisement of a revenue generator A
110A, measured by a cost per click ("CPC"). Alternatively or in
addition the flat rate fee may be based on the number of
impressions of an advertisement of a revenue generator A 110A. The
number of impressions may refer to the number of times users 110A-N
view the advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A. The
impressions may be measured by cost per mille ("CPM"), which may
refer to the cost per one thousand impressions.
[0038] The service provider 130 may use metrics related to the
number of mobile messages sent in previous months to determine a
projection of the number of mobile messages which may be sent in
subsequent months. The service provider 130 may use the projections
to sell advertisements attached to a guaranteed number of mobile
messages, such as two thousand mobile messages. The revenue
generators 110A-N may pay a premium amount or an extra fee to
purchase have their advertisement attached to a guaranteed number
of mobile messages over a given time period, such as a month.
Alternatively or in addition, the revenue generators 110A-N may pay
less for a non-guaranteed number of advertisements over a given
time period, such as a month. The concept of guaranteed and
non-guaranteed advertisements may be incorporated with the above
mentioned "flat rate-card" model.
[0039] There may be some instances where multiple revenue
generators 110A-N may have bid on the same keywords targeted to
mobile messages. The service provider 130 may serve to the users
120AA-NA the online advertisements that the users 120AA-NA may be
most likely to click on. For example, the service provider 130 may
include a relevancy assessment to determine the relevancy of the
multiple mobile advertisements to the keywords. The more relevant a
mobile advertisement may be to the keyword the more likely it may
be that the user AA 120AA may click on the advertisement. Methods
for assessing relevancy in online web search marketing may also
apply to mobile messaging marketing.
[0040] In operation, one of the MNOs 115A-N, such as the MNO 115A,
may receive a mobile message to be communicated to one of the users
120AA-AN, such as the user AA 120AA. The MNO 115A may then request
an advertisement from the service provider 130. In one instance,
the short message service center ("SMSC") component of the MNOs
115A-N may receive the mobile message and request the advertisement
from the service provider 130. The request may include information
describing the message, the sender, the recipient, such as the user
AA 120AA, or generally any information that may be used to target
an advertisement.
[0041] The information describing the recipient and/or the source
may include the type of mobile device the recipient is using,
demographic information of the recipient, such as gender, age,
location of the recipient, etc., or generally any information
describing the recipient that may be used to target an
advertisement. The information describing the source may also
indicate whether the source of the message was an external short
messaging entity ("ESME"), such as a voting system response, or
generally any information regarding the ESME that may be used to
target an advertisement. The information describing the message may
include the message length, the entire content of the message,
keywords from the content of the message, a category of the
message, or generally any information about the message that may be
used to target an advertisement. Alternatively or in addition, the
MNOs 115A-N may supply different amounts of information with the ad
request.
[0042] The information received with the ad request may be applied
to existing client browser targeting mechanisms of the service
provider 130. The service provider 130 may use any or all of the
received information to target an advertisement, such as targeting
the advertisement to the specific mobile device, the user AA 120AA,
the time of the day, the location of the user, the source of the
message, or generally using any of the information supplied by the
MNO A 115A. The advertisement may be communicated back to the MNO A
115A. The MNO 115A may attach the advertisement to the mobile
message and communicate the mobile message to the user AA 120AA.
Alternatively or in addition the MNO A 115A may communicate the
entire message to the service provider 130. The service provider
130 may attach an advertisement to the message and may communicate
the message, with the advertisement attached, to the MNO A 115A.
The MNO A 115A may then communicate the message, with the
advertisement attached to the user AA 120AA. The service provider
130 may store data regarding the user AA 120AA and the
advertisement. The data may include the demographics of the user AA
120AA and whether the user AA 120AA clicked on the advertisement in
the mobile message.
[0043] Alternatively or in addition the content of the message, if
received, may be targeted with a content matching system. The
service provider 130 may implement a content matching system. The
content matching system may process the words on a given message to
determine a set of terms. The set of terms may be the most commonly
occurring words, or may be determined by some other factor. The set
of terms may then be used to determine which of the content match
advertisements to display. The content matching system may use the
set of terms to select advertisements, such as by selecting the
advertisements which contain the most number of words matching the
set of terms. The set of terms may be referred to as a query or a
content match query.
[0044] Alternatively or in addition, the MNOs 115A-N may display
advertisements within the mobile applications of the users
120AA-NN. For example, the mobile messaging applications of the
users 120AA-NN may have an ad slot where the MNOs 115A-N may
display advertisements. The MNOs 115A-N may request a batch of
advertisements from the service provider 130 for display on the
mobile applications of each of the users 120AA-NN. The MNOs 115A-N
may communicate data relating to each of the individual users
120AA-NN to the service provider 130. The service provider 130 may
use the data relating to each of the individual users 120AA-NN to
retrieve advertisements relating to each of the users 120AA-NN. The
service provider 130 may then communicate the batches of
advertisements for each of the users 120AA-NN to the MNOs 115A-N.
The MNOs 115A-N may then display the advertisements in the mobile
applications of each of the users 120AA-NN, such as mobile
messaging applications.
[0045] More detail regarding the aspects of auction-based systems,
as well as the structure, function and operation of the service
provider 130, as mentioned above, can be found in commonly owned
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/625,082, filed on Jul. 22,
2003, entitled, "TERM-BASED CONCEPT MARKET"; U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/625,000, file on Jul. 22, 2003, entitled,
"CONCEPT VALUATION IN A TERM-BASED CONCEPT MARKET" filed on Jul.
22, 2003; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/625,001, filed on
Jul. 22, 2003, entitled, "TERM-BASED CONCEPT INSTRUMENTS"; and U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/489,386, filed on Jul. 18, 2006,
entitled, "ARCHITECTURE FOR AN ADVERTISEMENT DELIVERY SYSTEM," all
of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety. The systems and methods herein associated with ad
campaign management may be practiced in combination with methods
and systems described in the above-identified patent applications
incorporated by reference.
[0046] Furthermore, the service provider 130 may generate reports
based on the data collected from the users 120AA-NN and communicate
the reports to the revenue generators 110A-N to assist the revenue
generators 110A-N in measuring the effectiveness of their mobile
advertising. The reports may indicate the number of times the users
120AA-NN viewed a mobile advertisement of the revenue generators
110A-N, the number of times a mobile advertisement of the revenue
generators 110A-N was clicked on by the users 120AA-NN, or
generally any information useful to the revenue generators 110A-N.
There may be a separate report for each MNO 115A-N the
advertisement of the revenue generator A 110A was displayed on. The
reports may also generally indicate any data that may assist the
revenue generators 110A-N in measuring the effectiveness of their
mobile advertising campaigns.
[0047] FIG. 2 provides a simplified view of a network environment
implementing a system 200 for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services. Not all of the depicted components may
be required, however, and some implementations may include
additional components not shown in the figure. Variations in the
arrangement and type of the components may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth
herein. Additional, different or fewer components may be
provided.
[0048] The system 200 may include one or more web applications,
standalone applications and mobile applications 210A-N, which may
be collectively or individually referred to as client applications
of the revenue generators 110A-N. The system 200 may also include
one or more mobile applications, or mobile apps, which may be
running on one or more mobile devices 220AA-NN. The system 200 may
also include one or more MNO messaging gateway servers 215A-N, a
network 230, a network 235, the service provider server 240, a
third party server 250, and an advertising services server 260.
[0049] Some or all of the advertisement services server 260,
service provider server 240, and third-party server 250 may be in
communication with each other by way of network 235 and may be the
system or components described below in FIG. 11. The advertisement
services server 260, third-party server 250 and service provider
server 240 may each represent multiple linked computing devices.
Multiple distinct third party servers, such as the third-party
server 250, may be included in the system 200. The third-party
server 250 may be an MNO messaging gateway server 215A-N or a
server associated with, or in communication with an MNO messaging
gateway server 215A-N.
[0050] The networks 230, 235 may include wide area networks (WAN),
such as the internet, local area networks (LAN), campus area
networks, metropolitan area networks, or any other networks that
may allow for data communication. The network 230 may include the
Internet and may include all or part of network 235; network 235
may include all or part of network 230. The networks 230, 235 may
be divided into sub-networks. The sub-networks may allow access to
all of the other components connected to the networks 230, 235 in
the system 200, or the sub-networks may restrict access between the
components connected to the networks 230, 235. The network 235 may
be regarded as a public or private network connection and may
include, for example, a virtual private network or an encryption or
other security mechanism employed over the public Internet, or the
like.
[0051] The revenue generators 110A-N may use a web application
210A, standalone application 210B, or a mobile application 210N, or
any combination thereof, to communicate to the service provider
server 240, such as via the networks 230, 235. The service provider
server 240 may communicate to the revenue generators 110A-N via the
networks 230, 235, through the web applications, standalone
applications or mobile applications 210A-N.
[0052] The users 120AA-NN may use a mobile application running on a
mobile device 220AA-220NN, such as a mobile web browser, to
communicate with the service provider server 240, via the MNO
messaging gateway servers 215A-N and the networks 230, 235. The
service provider server 240 may communicate to the users 120AA-NN
via the networks 230, 235 and the MNO messaging gateway servers
215A-N, through the mobile devices 220AA-NN.
[0053] The web applications, standalone applications, mobile
applications and mobile devices 210A-N, 220AA-NN may be connected
to the network 230 in any configuration that supports data
transfer. This may include a data connection to the network 230
that may be wired or wireless. Any of the web applications,
standalone applications and mobile applications 210A-N, may
individually be referred to as a client application. The web
application 210A may run on any platform that supports web content,
such as a web browser or a computer, a mobile phone, personal
digital assistant (PDA), pager, network-enabled television, digital
video recorder, such as TIVO.RTM., automobile and/or any appliance
capable of data communications.
[0054] The standalone applications 210B may run on a machine that
may have a processor, memory, a display, a user interface and a
communication interface. The processor may be operatively connected
to the memory, display and the interfaces and may perform tasks at
the request of the standalone applications 210B or the underlying
operating system. The memory may be capable of storing data. The
display may be operatively connected to the memory and the
processor and may be capable of displaying information to the
revenue generator B 110B. The user interface may be operatively
connected to the memory, the processor, and the display and may be
capable of interacting with a revenue generator A 110A. The
communication interface may be operatively connected to the memory,
and the processor, and may be capable of communicating through the
networks 230, 235 with the service provider server 240, third party
server 250 and advertising services server 260. The standalone
applications 210B may be programmed in any programming language
that supports communication protocols. These languages may include:
SUN JAVA, C++, C#, ASP, SUN JAVASCRIPT, asynchronous SUN
JAVASCRIPT, or ADOBE FLASH ACTIONSCRIPT, amongst others.
[0055] The mobile application 210N may run on any mobile device
which may have a data connection. The mobile applications 210N may
be a web application 210A, a standalone application 210B, or a
mobile browser. The mobile devices 220AA-NN may be one of a broad
range of electronic devices which may include mobile phones, PDAs,
and laptops and notebook computers. The mobile devices 220AA-NN may
have a reduced feature set, such as a smaller keyboard and/or
screen, and may be incapable of supporting a traditional web
search.
[0056] The data connection of the mobile devices 220AA-NN may be a
cellular connection, such as a GSM/GPRS/WCDMA connection, a
wireless data connection, an internet connection, an infra-red
connection, a Bluetooth connection, or any other connection capable
of transmitting data. The data connection may be used to connect
directly to the network 230, or to connect to the network 230
through the MNO messaging gateway servers 215A-N.
[0057] The MNO messaging gateway servers 215A-N may control the
access the mobile devices 220AA-NN may have to the network. The MNO
messaging gateway servers 215A-N may also control the technology
supporting the respective mobile devices 220AA-NN. This may affect
aspects of the user experience, such as signal strength and
availability, speed and billing mechanisms. For example, the MNO
messaging gateway server A 215A may only allow the users 120AA-NA
access to content provided by partners of the MNO A 115A.
Furthermore, the MNO messaging gateway servers 215A-N may only
allow users 120AA-NN access to data in a specific format, such as
WML, XHTML, NTT DOCOMO IMODE HTML, or cHTML. Alternatively or in
addition, the mobile devices 220AA-NN may only support one of the
aforementioned formats.
[0058] The MNOs 115A-N may utilize various components to provide
these services to the users 120AA-NN, such as network switching
systems ("NSS"), mobile switching centers ("MSC"), mobile switching
center servers ("MSC-S"), home location registers ("HLR"),
authentication centers ("AUC"), short message service centers
("SMSC"), signal transfer points ("STP"), message service centers
("MSC"), or generally any component that may be utilized to provide
the mobile services. The MNOs 115A-N may interface with one or more
external short messaging entities (ESME), such as the third party
server 250, which may connect to the MNOs 115A-N to send and/or
receive mobile messages to the users 120AA-NN. The ESMEs may
provide voicemail, web, email, or other services to the users
120AA-NN of the MNOs 115A-N.
[0059] The service provider server 240 may include one or more of
the following: an application server, a data source, such as a
database server, a middleware server, and an advertising services
server. One middleware server may be a mobile commerce platform,
such as the YAHOO! SUSHI platform, which may properly encode data,
such as mobile pages or mobile advertisements, to the formats
specific to the MNO messaging gateway servers 215A-N. The service
provider server 240 may co-exist on one machine or may be running
in a distributed configuration on one or more machines. The service
provider server 240 may collectively be referred to as the server.
The service provider server 240 may receive requests from the users
120AA-NN and the revenue generators 110A-N and may serve mobile
pages to the users 120AA-NN and web pages and/or mobile pages to
the revenue generators 110A-N based on their requests.
[0060] The third party server 250 may include one or more of the
following: an application server, a data source, such as a database
server, a middleware server, and an advertising services server.
The third party server 250 may co-exist on one machine or may be
running in a distributed configuration on one or more machines.
Alternatively or in addition, the third party server may be an ESME
server. The advertising services server 260 may provide a platform
for the inclusion of advertisements in pages, such as web pages or
mobile pages. The advertisement services server 260 may be used for
providing mobile advertisements that may be displayed to the users
120AA-NN.
[0061] The service provider server 240, the third party server 250
and the advertising services server 260 may be one or more
computing devices of various kinds, such as the computing device in
FIG. 11. Such computing devices may generally include any device
that may be configured to perform computation and that may be
capable of sending and receiving data communications by way of one
or more wired and/or wireless communication interfaces. Such
devices may be configured to communicate in accordance with any of
a variety of network protocols, including but not limited to
protocols within the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite. For example, the web application
210A may employ HTTP to request information, such as a web page,
from a web server, which may be a process executing on the service
provider server 240 or the third-party server 250.
[0062] There may be several configurations of database servers,
application servers, middleware servers and advertising services
servers included in the service provider server 240 or the third
party server 250. Database servers may include MICROSOFT SQL
SERVER, ORACLE, IBM DB2 or any other database software, relational
or otherwise. The application server may be APACHE TOMCAT,
MICROSOFT IIS, ADOBE COLDFUSION, YAPACHE or any other application
server that supports communication protocols. The middleware server
may be any middleware that connects software components or
applications. The application server on the service provider server
240 or the third party server 250 may serve pages, such as web
pages to the users 120AA-NN and the revenue generators 110A-N. The
advertising services server may provide a platform for the
inclusion of advertisements in pages, such as web pages. The
advertising services server 260 may also exist independent of the
service provider server 240 and the third party server 250.
[0063] The networks 230, 235 may be configured to couple one
computing device to another computing device to enable
communication of data between the devices. The networks 230, 235
may generally be enabled to employ any form of machine-readable
media for communicating information from one device to another.
Each of networks 230, 235 may include one or more of a wireless
network, a wired network, a local area network (LAN), a wide area
network (WAN), a direct connection such as through a Universal
Serial Bus (USB) port, and the like, and may include the set of
interconnected networks that make up the Internet. The networks
230, 235 may include any communication method by which information
may travel between computing devices.
[0064] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an implementation of
the system of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services. Not all of the
depicted components may be required, however, and some
implementations may include additional components not shown in the
figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components
may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the
claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer
components may be provided.
[0065] The system 300 may include the service provider server 240,
the third party server 250, such as an ESME server, the MNO A
messaging gateway server 215A, the mobile devices 220AA-NA, and the
users 120AA-NA. The service provider server 240 may include an MNO
API interface 310, a mobile message ad delivery layer 330, an
outbound mobile message component 340, an ad delivery system 320,
and an ad data store 350.
[0066] In operation, the user AA 120AA may send a mobile message to
the user BA 120BA. The message may be routed through the MNO A
messaging gateway server 215A. The MNO A messaging gateway server
215A may make an advertisement request to the service provider 240,
via the MNO API interface 310. The request may include information
describing the user AA 120AA, the user BA 120BA, the content of the
message, or some derivative of the content of the message, and
generally any information that may be used to target an
advertisement. The request may also include the length of the
message, as the total length of the message, including the
advertisement, may be limited to a fixed number of characters, such
as 160.
[0067] The MNO API interface 310 may communicate the request to the
mobile message ad delivery layer 330. The mobile message ad
delivery layer 330 may process the request to format the data from
the request into a standardized form used by the ad delivery system
320. The ad delivery system 320 may also supply ads for client
browser based targeting. The processing of the data may include
generating content match keywords from the content of the message,
or parsing the demographic information of the recipient. The mobile
message ad delivery layer 330 may also determine the maximum length
the advertisement may be to comply with the space restrictions of
mobile messaging.
[0068] The mobile message ad delivery layer 330 may also determine
whether the data describing the recipient can be used to identify
the recipient. For example, if the mobile message ad delivery layer
330 receives an address of the recipient, the mobile message ad
delivery layer 330 may be able to match the address to an existing
user ID on the service provider 130. If the recipient is
identifiable, the historical behavior associated with their user ID
may also be used to target an advertisement.
[0069] The mobile message ad delivery layer 330 may request an
advertisement from the ad delivery system 320, based on the
processed data from the ad request. The ad delivery system 320 may
retrieve an ad from the ad data store 350 relating to the processed
data. For example, if the MNO A 115A communicates the current
location of the user BA 120BA to the service provider 130, the
service provider 130 may retrieve an advertisement related to the
current geographic location of the user BB 120BA.
[0070] The revenue generators 110A-N may elect to participate in
the mobile messaging advertising and may provide a short mobile
message advertisement in addition to their web advertisements. The
short mobile message ad may be stored in the ad data store 350.
Alternatively or in addition the ad delivery system 320 may use all
or part of the title and/or description of an advertisement as a
mobile message advertisement.
[0071] The ad delivery system 320 may then communicate the ad to
the mobile message ad delivery layer 330. The mobile message ad
delivery layer may shorten the link, or URL, associated with the
advertisement, such as by storing a mapping from the original link
to a shortened link. A short link may be necessary to comply with
the space requirements of the mobile message. The mobile message ad
delivery layer 330 may then communicate the text of the
advertisement and the link to the MNO API interface 310. The MNO
API interface 310 may then communicate the advertisement and link
to the MNO A messaging gateway server 215A. The MNO A messaging
gateway server 215A may attach the advertisement and the link to
the mobile message, such as at the end of the message. The mobile
message, with the attached advertisement, may be communicated to
the intended recipient, the user BA 120BA.
[0072] The user BA 120BA may view the mobile message, with the
attached advertisement, on their mobile device 220BA. If the user
BA 120BA selects the link in the mobile message, the mobile web
browser of the user BA 120BA may be opened and directed to the link
represented by the short link. The short link may direct the mobile
browser of the user BA 120BA to the service provider server 240.
The service provider server 240 may store data indicating that the
user BA 120BA clicked on the mobile message advertisement and may
then redirect the browser of the user BA 120BA to the link mapped
to the short link.
[0073] Alternatively or in addition, the MNO A messaging gateway
server 215A may communicate the entire message to the MNO API
interface 310. In this case, the mobile message ad delivery layer
330 may attach the advertisement and link directly to the mobile
message. The mobile message, with the advertisement and link
attached, may then be communicated back to the MNO A messaging
gateway server 215A.
[0074] Alternatively or in addition the outbound mobile message
component 340, may identify alerts that may be sent to the users
120AA-NA. The users 120AA-NA may have subscribed to the alerts,
such as sports scores, news headlines or stock quotes. The alerts
may be communicated to the users 120AA-NA via a mobile message,
such as an SMS message. In this instance the service provider
server 240 may be an ESME. The outbound mobile message component
340 may communicate an ad request to the mobile message ad delivery
layer 330. The ad request may include information about the alert,
such as the content of the alert or a category of the alert.
[0075] The mobile message ad delivery layer 330 may process the
data communicated in the ad request so the data conforms to the
inputs used by the ad delivery system 320 for client browser
targeting. The processed data may then be communicated to the ad
delivery system 320. The ad delivery system 320 may retrieve ads
from the ad data store 350 based on the processed data. For
example, if the category of the alert was sports, the ad delivery
system 320 may search for sports advertisements or for
advertisements of revenue generators 110A-N who requested their
advertisement be displayed with sports messages.
[0076] The ad delivery system 320 may then communicate the
advertisement to the mobile message ad delivery layer 330. The
mobile message ad delivery layer 330 may attach the advertisement
to the alert and communicate the alert, with the attached
advertisement, to the outbound mobile message component 340. The
outbound mobile message component 340 may then communicate the
alert, with the attached ad, to the MNO A messaging gateway server
215A. The MNO A messaging gateway server 215A may then communicate
the alert, with the attached advertisement, to the user AA 120AA,
via the mobile device 220AA.
[0077] Alternatively or in addition the outbound mobile message
component 340 may communicate the alert to the MNO A messaging
gateway server 215A, without attaching an advertisement. In this
case, the MNO A mobile messaging gateway server 215A may make an ad
request to the MNO API interface 310 for the alert, as described
above.
[0078] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an implementation by a
mobile network operator A 115A and a service provider 130 of the
system of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services. Not all of the
depicted components may be required, however, and some
implementations may include additional components not shown in the
figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components
may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the
claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer
components may be provided.
[0079] The system 400 may include a short message service center
("SMSC") 410, one or more home location registers ("HLR") 420, one
or more signal transport point ("STP") 425, one or more mobile
switching centers ("MSC") 430, one or more air interfaces 435, one
or more mobile devices 220AA-220NA, a voicemail ESME 466, a web
ESME 464, an email ESME 462, other ESMEs 460, and a service
provider server 240. The service provider server 240 may include an
SMS Ads Layer 440, an Infinity/Federation Layer 450, a Display Ads
MME 460, a YSM/Panama Ads 465, an outbound SMS 470, and a
QuickSilver component 475.
[0080] The MNO A 115A may implement one or more mobile network
components, such as the SMSC 410, the HLR 420, the STPs 425, the
MSCs 430 and the air interfaces 435. The users 120AA-NA may
interact with the MNO A 115A through the mobile devices 220AA-NA.
The mobile devices 220AA-NA may interface with the MNO A 115A
through the air interfaces 435, such as cell phone tower. The air
interfaces 435 may communicate with the MNO A 115A through one of
the MSCs 430. The MSCs 430 may assist the MNOs 115A-N in
determining the location of the users 120AA-NA and in routing the
mobile services of the users 120AA-NA to the MNO A 115A. The STPs
425 may route the communication data between the MSCs 430 and the
SMSC 410. The HLRs 420 may be databases which may store information
about each of the users 120AA-NA, authorized to access the MNO A
115A. The HLRs 420 may supply information about the users 120AA-NA
to the SMSC 410. The SMSC 410 may interface with ESMEs, such as the
voicemail ESME 466, the web ESME 464, the email ESME 462 or other
ESMEs 460. The ESMEs may provide additional services to the users
120AA-NA via mobile messaging.
[0081] The service provider server 240 may implement one or more of
the SMS Ads Layer 440, the Infinity/Federation Layer 450, the
Display Ads 460, the YSM/Panama Ads 465, the outbound SMS 470 and
the Quicksilver component 475. The SMS Ads Layer 440 may receive
requests for advertisements from the MNO A 115A and may communicate
advertisements to the MNO A 115A. The Display Ads MME 460 and the
YSM/Panama Ads 465 may be two advertisements stores that may be
utilized by the SMS Ads Layer 440. The Infinity/Federation Layer
450 may be a client browser advertisement delivery mechanism that
may provide a seamless integration of both the Display Ads MME 460
and the YSM/Panama Ads 465. The outbound SMS 470 may identify when
alerts should be sent to the users 120AA-NN and the QuickSilver
component 475 may assist in communicating the alerts to the SMS Ads
Layer 440 for advertisement inclusion or in communicating the
alerts directly to the users 120AA-NA.
[0082] In operation, one the of the users 120AA-NA, such as the
user AA 120AA may send a mobile message. The mobile device 220AA of
the user AA 120AA may interface with the MNO A 115A via the air
interface 435, such as a mobile phone tower. The air interface 435
may interact with one of the MSCs 430. The MSCs 430 may utilize the
STPs 425 and/or the HLRs 420 to communicate the message to the SMSC
410.
[0083] The SMSC 410 may send and receive mobile messages to/from
the users 120AA-NA; thus, in this instance, the SMSC 410 may be the
MNO A messaging gateway server 215A. If the recipient user is not
available, the SMSC 410 may store the mobile message and send it
when the recipient user becomes available. The message may be
routed back through to one of the users 120AA-NA on the MNO A 115A,
or the message may be routed to users 120BA-NN of one of the other
MNOs 115B-N. Upon receiving the mobile message, the SMSC 410 may
make a request for an advertisement from the service provider
server 240 via the SMS Ads layer 440. The SMSC 410 may receive
information pertaining to the user AA 120AA from the HLRs 420. The
information may be communicated to the SMS Ads layer 440 as part of
the request for an advertisement. The SMS Ads layer 440 may
interface with the Infinity/Federation Layer 450 to retrieve
advertisements from either the Display Ads MME 460, or the
YSM/Panama Ads 465. The SMS Ads Layer 440 may then communicate the
advertisement back to the SMSC 410.
[0084] In the case of a mobile messaging alert, the outbound SMS
470 may communicate the outbound alert to the SMS Ads Layer 440 via
the QuickSilver component 475. The SMS Ads Layer 440 may retrieve
an ad for the alert from the Display Ads Mme 460 or the YSM/Panama
Ads 465, via the Infinity/Federation Layer 450. The SMS Ads Layer
440 may then attach an advertisement to the alert and communicate
the alert, with the advertisement attached, to the SMSC 410. The
SMSC 410 may communicate the alert, with the attached
advertisement, to one of the mobile devices 220AA-NA of one of the
users 120AA-NA, via the STPs 425, HLRs 420, MSCs 430 and air
interfaces 435.
[0085] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
advertisements through user to user mobile messaging in the system
of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted advertisements
over mobile messaging services. At block 510, the user AA 120AA may
send a mobile message, from the mobile device 220AA to the user BB
120BB. The mobile device 220AA may communicate the message to the
MNO A 115A.
[0086] At block 520, the MNO A 115A may receive the message from
the user AA 120AA. The MNO A 115A may identify the destination of
the message and communicate the message to the MNO B 115B. At block
530, the MNO B 115B may receive the message and may identify the
recipient as the user BB 120BB. The MNO B 115B may be able to
access the account of the user BB 120BB and all of the data
associated with the account of the user BB 120BB. This data may
include the call history of the user BB 120BB, the mobile messaging
history of the user BB 120BB, the data usage of the user BB 120BB,
the payment mechanism of the user BB 120BB, the address of the user
BB 120BB, the current location of the user BB 120BB, or generally
any information that the MNO B 115B may have access to pertaining
to the user BB 120BB.
[0087] At block 540, the MNO B 115B may communicate an ad request
to the service provider 130. The ad request may include data
pertaining to the message, data pertaining to the user AA 120AA,
data pertaining to the user BB 120BB, or generally any data that
may be used to target an advertisement of one of the revenue
generators 110A-N. The data may include the length of the message,
the entire content of the message, or some subset or categorization
of the content of the message. The data may include some or all of
the data relating to the account of the user BB 120BB.
[0088] At block 550 the service provider 130 may receive the ad
request and may retrieve an advertisement based on the data
describing the message, the sender of the message, the recipient of
the message, or any other data communicated by the MNO B 115B. The
service provider 130 may process the data to put it into a
standardized format accepted by the existing client browser based
targeting systems of the service provider 130. By using the
existing client browser based targeting systems the service
provider 130 may seamlessly interface mobile messaging advertising
with existing behavioral data and with existing advertisements of
the revenue generators 110A-N.
[0089] The service provider 130 may also incorporate the length of
the message as an input for retrieving the advertisement. The
mobile message may be limited to a fixed number of characters.
Thus, the service provider 130 may only retrieve advertisements
that meet the space limitations of the mobile message. In order to
shorten the message, the service provider 130 may implement a URL
mapping system. The URL mapping system may replace the URL of the
advertiser associated with an advertisement with a shortened URL.
The shortened URL may refer to the service provider 130. When the
users 120AA-NN click on a shortened URL, they may be directed to
the service provider 130. The service provider 130 may then use the
URL mapping system to redirect the users 120AA-NN to the web site
of the revenue generator A 110A associated with the advertisement.
The service provider 130 may also use the URL redirect to store
data describing the interaction with the users 120AA-NN, such as
data describing that the users 120AA-NN clicked through on the URL
of the advertisement. This information may later be used for
billing, targeting, or reporting purposes.
[0090] If the service provider 130 is unable to retrieve any mobile
message advertisements, the service provider 130 may retrieve a
client browser advertisement of one of the revenue generators
110A-N. The client browser advertisement may then be processed to
convert it into a format acceptable for mobile messaging
advertising. The formatting may consist of shortening the
advertisement or of inserting the title of the advertisement or the
description of the advertisement into a template, such as "Buy
[TITLE]!" or "Visit [TITLE]."
[0091] At block 560 the service provider 130 may communicate the
advertisement to the MNO B 115B. At block 570, the MNO B 115B
attaches the advertisement to the mobile message. Alternatively or
in addition if the MNO B 115B communicates the entire mobile
message to the service provider 130, the service provider 130 may
attach the advertisement to the message and communicate the mobile
message and the advertisement to the MNO B 115B.
[0092] At block 580 the MNO B 115B communicates the mobile message,
with the advertisement attached, to the mobile device 220BB of the
user BB 120BB. The user BB 120BB may then view the mobile message,
and the advertisement, via the mobile device 220BB. The user BB
120BB may click on, or select, the advertisement attached to the
mobile message and may then be directed to the web site of the
revenue generator A 110A associated with the advertisement.
Alternatively or in addition clicking on the advertisement may
cause the mobile device 220BB of the user BB 120BB to dial the
phone number of the revenue generator A 110A.
[0093] Alternatively or in addition the high volume of mobile
messages through the MNOs 115A-N may require that the MNOs 115A-N
cache advertisements rather than make an ad request for each mobile
message. This may provide a scalable solution to accommodate for
the increasing amount of mobile messages being sent by the users
120AA-NN. In this case, the MNOs 115A-N may request a batch of ads
for one or more categories of mobile messages, such as sports,
finance, etc. The MNOs 115A-N may maintain metrics describing how
many of the advertisements were displayed to the users 120AA-NN and
whether any of the users 120AA-NN clicked on any of the
advertisements. The MNOs 115A-N may then communicate the metrics to
the service provider 130 when requesting new batches of
advertisements. In addition, the service provider 130 may supply
the MNOs 115A-N with targeting mechanisms, such as a content
matching system, in order to ensure that the MNOs 115A-N properly
target the advertisements to the mobile messages.
[0094] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations of
communicating an advertisement to a mobile network operator in the
system of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services. At block 610 the
service provider 130 may receive an ad request from one of the MNOs
115A-N, such as the MNO A 115A. The ad request may be based on a
mobile message from a third party to one of the users 120AA-NN,
from one of the user 120AA-NN to another one of the users 120AA-NN,
or from any source to one of the users 120AA-NNr. The ad request
may include data that may describe various aspects of the mobile
message, such as the content, the sender, the recipient, or
generally any data that may be used to target an advertisement.
[0095] At block 620 the service provider 130 may retrieve an
advertisement based on the data included in the ad request. The
service provider 130 may utilize existing ad targeting mechanisms,
such as those used in client browser targeting, to retrieve the
advertisement. If the service provider 130 can link the recipient
data included in the ad request with a known user, the service
provider 130 may also use the behavioral data associated with the
user to target the advertisement. The data may also include the
length of the message, and/or the number of characters available
for an advertisement. The service provider 130 may use this
information to select an advertisement that meets the space
requirements of the mobile messages. In order to meet the space
requirements, the service provider 130 may implement a URL mapping
system, which may allow for the URL associated with the
advertisement to be shortened.
[0096] At block 630 the service provider 130 may communicate the
advertisement back to the MNO A 115A. Alternatively or in addition,
if the MNO A 115A communicates the entire message to the service
provider 130, the service provider 130 may attach the advertisement
to the mobile message and then communicate the message, with the
advertisement attached, to the MNO A 115A.
[0097] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
an advertisement through a mobile messaging alert in the system of
FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services. At block 710 one of the users 120AA-NN,
such as the user AA 120AA, may register for an alert. The user AA
120AA may register for the alert with the service provider 130 or
with a third party. The alert may relate to a particular category,
such as sports, news, finance, etc., and may convey information
such as sports scores, news headlines, stock quotes, or generally
any information that the user AA 120AA may wish to be alerted of.
The alert may only be sent when a condition is met. The condition
may be temporal, such as every hour, or the condition may be when
an event occurs, such as when a sporting score changes or when a
stock price reaches a threshold.
[0098] At block 720, the condition relating to the alert may be
triggered. The condition may be triggered when a certain event
occurs, such as the passage of time or a change in a score or stock
quote. If the alert is being supplied by the service provider 130
the service provider 130 may generate the alert. If the alert is
being supplied by a third party, the third party may communicate
the alert, or data describing the alert and/or the recipient to the
service provider 130. In this situation the system 100 may follow
the operations described in FIG. 5.
[0099] At block 730, the service provider 130 may retrieve an
advertisement based on the alert. The advertisement may relate to
the content of the alert or may relate to the recipient of the
alert. The user AA 120AA may need to be logged in with top the
service provider 130 with a user ID to access the alerts
functionality. The service provider 130 may have stored behavioral
data associated with the user ID of the user AA 120AA and may use
the behavioral data to target the advertisement. Alternatively or
in addition the service provider 130 may target the advertisement
based on the category of the alert, such as sports, finance, etc.
The service provider 130 may need to determine the maximum message
size supported by the MNO A 115A. The service provider 130 may need
to ensure that when the advertisement is added to the message the
combined message/advertisement does not exceed the maximum message
length. The service provider 130 may implement a URL mapping system
to map longer URLs to shorter URLs, thereby reducing the number of
characters needed for the advertisement.
[0100] At block 740, the service provider 130 may attach the
advertisement to the alert. The advertisement may be appended to
the end of the alert. The service provider 130 may ensure that the
mobile device 220AA of the user AA 120AA can support the underlying
technology of the URL that the advertisement directs the user AA
120AA to. If the mobile device 220AA of the user AA 120AA does not
support the technology implemented by the website referenced in the
URL, then the service provider 130 may direct the user AA 120AA to
a "WAP ad" or a call landing page. At block 750 the service
provider 130 may communicate the alert to the user AA 120AA via the
MNO A 115A. The user AA 120AA may then view the alert, and the
advertisement, via the mobile device 220AA.
[0101] Alternatively or in addition the service provider 130 may
communicate the alert, without an advertisement, to the MNO A 115A.
The MNO A 115A, may then make an ad request back to the service
provider 130 for the alert. If the alert does not have enough space
for an advertisement, the alert may be communicated to the user AA
120AA without an advertisement attached.
[0102] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operations of delivering
an advertisement through a third party mobile messaging alert in
the system of FIG. 1, or other systems for serving targeted
advertisements over mobile messaging services. At block 810 the
service provider 130 may identify an outbound alert 810 to be
communicated to one of the users 120AA-NN, such as the user 120AA.
At block 820 the service provider 130 may retrieve an advertisement
based on the alert. The advertisement may be based on the content
of the alert, a category associated with the alert, the recipient
of the alert, or generally any data describing the alert that may
be used to target an advertisement. The service provider 130 may
use existing client browser targeting mechanisms, such as content
matching, to retrieve an advertisement for the alert. The total
size of the alert may be limited to a maximum number of characters.
The advertisement retrieved by the service provider 130 may be
limited in size by the available space in the alert.
[0103] At block 830 the service provider 830 may attach the
advertisement to the alert. The service provider 130 may append the
advertisement to the end of the alert, may append the advertisement
to the beginning of the alert, or generally may attach the
advertisement to any part of the alert. At block 840 the service
provider 130 may communicate the alert with the advertisement to
the user AA 120AA, via the MNO A 115A. Alternatively or in addition
the service provider 130 may communicate the alert, without an
advertisement, to the MNO A 115A. The MNO A 115A may then make an
ad request back to the service provider 130 to receive an
advertisement for the alert.
[0104] FIG. 9 illustrates a mobile device 220AA displaying a mobile
message with a targeted advertisement attached by the system of
FIG. 1 or other systems for serving targeted advertisements over
mobile messaging services. Not all of the depicted components may
be required, however, and some implementations may include
additional components not shown in the figure. Variations in the
arrangement and type of the components may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth
herein. Additional, different or fewer components may be
provided.
[0105] The mobile device 220AA of the user AA 120AA may include a
display 910. When viewing a mobile message, the display 910 may
display a sender 920, a message 930, and an advertisement 940. The
display 910 may be displaying a mobile message received from the
user BB 120BB. The advertisement 940 may have been attached to the
mobile message by the service provider 130 or the MNO A 115A. The
advertisement 940 may relate to the mobile message, or the
recipient, the user AA 120AA.
[0106] For example, in FIG. 9, the mobile message 930 from the user
BB 120BB regards "Yahoo! Mobile Web." The advertisement 940
attached to the message 930 may relate to "Yahoo! Mobile Web," such
as "Try Yahoo! Mobile." The link associated with the advertisement
940, "http://m.yahoo.com/start," may have been shortened by the
service provider 130 to fit within the space limitations of the
message.
[0107] FIG. 10 illustrates a mobile device 220AA displaying a
mobile messaging application including a targeted advertisement
delivered by the system of FIG. 1 or other systems for serving
targeted advertisements over mobile messaging services. Not all of
the depicted components may be required, however, and some
implementations may include additional components not shown in the
figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components
may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the
claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer
components may be provided.
[0108] The mobile device 220AA may include a display 910. The
display 910 may display a mobile messaging application 1010 and an
advertisement 1020. The mobile messaging application 1010 may have
space allotted for advertisements 1020 from the service provider
130 or the MNO A 115A. The advertisements may relate to the mobile
messages in the mobile messaging application 1010, or may generally
relate to the user AA 120AA. The MNO A 115A may have access to
information relating to the user AA 120AA, such as home address,
current location, etc. and may communicate this information to the
service provider 130. The service provider 130 may then use the
information to retrieve advertisements related to the user AA
120AA.
[0109] Alternatively or in addition, the service provider 130 may
be able to link the information communicated by the MNO A 115A to
an existing user ID of the service provider 130. The service
provider 130 may then use the historical behavioral data associated
with the user ID to provide targeted advertisements for display in
the mobile messaging application 1010. The user information from
the MNO A 115A may be linked to a user ID through the home address
of the user AA 120AA, the mobile phone number of the user AA 120AA,
or generally any information that may be linked from the mobile
account of the user AA 120AA to the user ID of the user AA 120AA on
the service provider 130.
[0110] The MNO A 115A may provide an incentive to the user AA 120AA
for displaying ads in the mobile messaging application 1010, such
as not charging the user AA 120AA for receiving and/or sending
mobile messages. If the user AA 120AA selects the advertisement
1020, the mobile web browser of the user AA 120AA may be opened to
the mobile site identified by the advertisement 1020. Alternatively
or in addition selecting the advertisement may result in the mobile
device 220AA dialing the phone number associated with the
advertisement 1020, such as the phone number of one of the revenue
generators 110A-N. Alternatively or in addition selecting the
advertisement may result in entering a survey or a contest of one
of the revenue generators 110A-N.
[0111] FIG. 11 illustrates a general computer system 1100, which
may represent a service provider server 240, a third party server
250, an advertising services server 260, one of the mobile devices
220AA-NN or any of the other computing devices referenced herein.
Not all of the depicted components may be required, however, and
some implementations may include additional components not shown in
the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the
components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope
of the claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer
components may be provided.
[0112] The computer system 1100 may include a set of instructions
1124 that may be executed to cause the computer system 1100 to
perform any one or more of the methods or computer based functions
disclosed herein. The computer system 1100 may operate as a
standalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to
other computer systems or peripheral devices.
[0113] In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate
in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a
server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer
system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The
computer system 1100 may also be implemented as or incorporated
into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet
PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a
mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop
computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a
land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a
facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a
web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other
machine capable of executing a set of instructions 1124 (sequential
or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In
a particular embodiment, the computer system 1100 may be
implemented using electronic devices that provide voice, video or
data communication. Further, while a single computer system 1100
may be illustrated, the term "system" shall also be taken to
include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually
or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to
perform one or more computer functions.
[0114] As illustrated in FIG. 11, the computer system 1100 may
include a processor 1102, such as, a central processing unit (CPU),
a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 1102 may
be a component in a variety of systems. For example, the processor
1102 may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation.
The processor 1102 may be one or more general processors, digital
signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field
programmable gate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits,
analog circuits, combinations thereof, or other now known or later
developed devices for analyzing and processing data. The processor
1102 may implement a software program, such as code generated
manually (i.e., programmed).
[0115] The computer system 1100 may include a memory 1104 that can
communicate via a bus 1108. The memory 1104 may be a main memory, a
static memory, or a dynamic memory. The memory 1104 may include,
but may not be limited to computer readable storage media such as
various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media, including
but not limited to random access memory, read-only memory,
programmable read-only memory, electrically programmable read-only
memory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory,
magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one case, the
memory 1104 may include a cache or random access memory for the
processor 1102. Alternatively or in addition, the memory 1104 may
be separate from the processor 1102, such as a cache memory of a
processor, the system memory, or other memory. The memory 1104 may
be an external storage device or database for storing data.
Examples may include a hard drive, compact disc ("CD"), digital
video disc ("DVD"), memory card, memory stick, floppy disc,
universal serial bus ("USB") memory device, or any other device
operative to store data. The memory 1104 may be operable to store
instructions 1124 executable by the processor 1102. The functions,
acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described herein may be
performed by the programmed processor 1102 executing the
instructions 1124 stored in the memory 1104. The functions, acts or
tasks may be independent of the particular type of instructions
set, storage media, processor or processing strategy and may be
performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware,
micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination.
Likewise, processing strategies may include multiprocessing,
multitasking, parallel processing and the like.
[0116] The computer system 1100 may further include a display 1114,
such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting
diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a
cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known
or later developed display device for outputting determined
information. The display 1114 may act as an interface for the user
to see the functioning of the processor 1102, or specifically as an
interface with the software stored in the memory 1104 or in the
drive unit 1106.
[0117] Additionally, the computer system 1100 may include an input
device 1112 configured to allow a user to interact with any of the
components of system 1100. The input device 1112 may be a number
pad, a keyboard, or a cursor control device, such as a mouse, or a
joystick, touch screen display, remote control or any other device
operative to interact with the system 1100.
[0118] The computer system 1100 may also include a disk or optical
drive unit 1106. The disk drive unit 1106 may include a
computer-readable medium 1122 in which one or more sets of
instructions 1124, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, the
instructions 1124 may perform one or more of the methods or logic
as described herein. The instructions 1124 may reside completely,
or at least partially, within the memory 1104 and/or within the
processor 1102 during execution by the computer system 1100. The
memory 1104 and the processor 1102 also may include
computer-readable media as discussed above.
[0119] The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable
medium 1122 that includes instructions 1124 or receives and
executes instructions 1124 responsive to a propagated signal; so
that a device connected to a network 235 may communicate voice,
video, audio, images or any other data over the network 235. The
instructions 1124 may be implemented with hardware, software and/or
firmware, or any combination thereof. Further, the instructions
1124 may be transmitted or received over the network 235 via a
communication interface 1118. The communication interface 1118 may
be a part of the processor 1102 or may be a separate component. The
communication interface 1118 may be created in software or may be a
physical connection in hardware. The communication interface 1118
may be configured to connect with a network 235, external media,
the display 1114, or any other components in system 1100, or
combinations thereof. The connection with the network 235 may be a
physical connection, such as a wired Ethernet connection or may be
established wirelessly as discussed below. Likewise, the additional
connections with other components of the system 1100 may be
physical connections or may be established wirelessly. In the case
of a service provider server 240, a third party server 250, an
advertising services server 260, the servers may communicate with
users 120AA-NN and the revenue generators 110A-N through the
communication interface 1118.
[0120] The network 235 may include wired networks, wireless
networks, or combinations thereof. The wireless network may be a
cellular telephone network, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax
network. Further, the network 235 may be a public network, such as
the Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or
combinations thereof, and may utilize a variety of networking
protocols now available or later developed including, but not
limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.
[0121] The computer-readable medium 1122 may be a single medium, or
the computer-readable medium 1122 may be a single medium or
multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database,
and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of
instructions. The term "computer-readable medium" may also include
any medium that may be capable of storing, encoding or carrying a
set of instructions for execution by a processor or that may cause
a computer system to perform any one or more of the methods or
operations disclosed herein.
[0122] The computer-readable medium 1122 may include a solid-state
memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or
more non-volatile read-only memories. The computer-readable medium
1122 also may be a random access memory or other volatile
re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium 1122
may include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or
tapes or other storage device to capture carrier wave signals such
as a signal communicated over a transmission medium. A digital file
attachment to an e-mail or other self-contained information archive
or set of archives may be considered a distribution medium that may
be a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure may be
considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium
or a distribution medium and other equivalents and successor media,
in which data or instructions may be stored.
[0123] Alternatively or in addition, dedicated hardware
implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits,
programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, may be
constructed to implement one or more of the methods described
herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of
various embodiments may broadly include a variety of electronic and
computer systems. One or more embodiments described herein may
implement functions using two or more specific interconnected
hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals
that may be communicated between and through the modules, or as
portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.
Accordingly, the present system may encompass software, firmware,
and hardware implementations.
[0124] The methods described herein may be implemented by software
programs executable by a computer system. Further, implementations
may include distributed processing, component/object distributed
processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively or in addition,
virtual computer system processing maybe constructed to implement
one or more of the methods or functionality as described
herein.
[0125] Although components and functions are described that may be
implemented in particular embodiments with reference to particular
standards and protocols, the components and functions are not
limited to such standards and protocols. For example, standards for
Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g.,
TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the
art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more
efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.
Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or
similar functions as those disclosed herein are considered
equivalents thereof.
[0126] The illustrations described herein are intended to provide a
general understanding of the structure of various embodiments. The
illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description
of all of the elements and features of apparatus, processors, and
systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein.
Many other embodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art
upon reviewing the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized
and derived from the disclosure, such that structural and logical
substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the
scope of the disclosure. Additionally, the illustrations are merely
representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions
within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other
proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and the
figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than
restrictive.
[0127] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and
described herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent
arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be
substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is
intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations
of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and
other embodiments not specifically described herein, may be
apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the
description.
[0128] The Abstract is provided with the understanding that it will
not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the
claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various
features may be grouped together or described in a single
embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This
disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that
the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly
recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,
inventive subject matter may be directed to less than all of the
features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following
claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each
claim standing on its own as defining separately claimed subject
matter.
[0129] The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered
illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are
intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other
embodiments, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the
description. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope
is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of
the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be
restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.
* * * * *
References