INFORMATION SYSTEM

SYSTEME D'INFORMATION

English Abstract

The present invention relates to an information system including at least one
user's device connected via a connection unit to a memory device for storing
information. The system comprises a device for generating a set of requested
information and advertising information, connected to the memory device for
storing
information and to the connection unit, and also comprises an entry for
inputting the
advertising information. The system also comprises an advertising information
memory
device, connected to said entry of said device for generating. The device for
generating
is programmed with capabilities that change sequencing of the provided
requested
information or advertising information or simultaneously requested and
advertising
information.

French Abstract

Cette invention se rapporte au domaine des systèmes d'information, des dispositifs fournissant des renseignements et des informations et/ou des systèmes fournissant des informations à la demande d'un utilisateur et dans lesquels il est possible d'introduire un ensemble d'informations publicitaires. Cette invention a pour but d'élargir les capacités fonctionnelles du système ainsi que le nombre de moyens techniques utilisés afin de fournir des informations. Ce système permet d'utiliser les moyens susmentionnés en quelque lieu que ce soit, et non dans des lieux spécifiques comme à la maison, au travail ou sur la route, ceci à l'aide de différents réseaux de communication. Ce système permet de fournir des informations selon un mode quelconque lui convenant, ou de sélectionner un type d'informations publicitaires intéressant l'utilisateur. Ce système peut en outre fournir une partie des informations et/ou une partie de la publicité selon des séquences diverses, et peut en outre fournir simultanément des informations et de la publicité, ce qui est pratique pour l'utilisateur. Ce système peut fournir des informations sous forme visuelle, sous forme d'informations acoustiques ou sous une forme imprimée. A cette fin, le système comprend au moins un dispositif d'utilisateur connecté par une unité de connexion à une mémoire de stockage d'informations, ainsi qu'un dispositif de génération d'un ensemble d'informations à demander et d'informations publicitaires qui est connecté à la mémoire de stockage des informations et à l'unité de connexion, et qui comprend une entrée servant à la saisie des informations publicitaires.

Claims

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IN THE CLAIMS:
1. An information system including at least one user's device connected via
a connection unit to a memory device for storing information, characterized
by including into said system a device for generating a set of requested
information and advertising information, connected to the memory device
for storing information and to the connection unit, and comprising an entry
for inputting the advertising information, and also by including into said
system an advertising information memory device, connected to said entry
of said device for generating, said device for generating having means for
forming said set of requested information and advertising information
according to one of a programmed procedure of different sequencing of the
provided requested information and advertising information, or of
simultaneous presentation of requested and advertising information.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized by said device for
generating being implemented in a microprocessor.
3. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by said device
for generating having means for providing video display presentation of
requested information or advertising information.
4. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by said device
for generating having means for providing simultaneous video display
presentation of requested and advertising information.
5. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by said device
for generating having means for providing presentation of visual requested
information and acoustic advertising information.
6. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by said device
for generating having means for providing printing of requested
information.

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7. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized by the user's
device is a personal computer.
8. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized by the user's
device is a telephone.
9. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized by the user's
device is a remote control.
10. A system as claimed in claim 9, characterized by the device for
generating a set of requested information and advertising information is an
information display board.
11. A system as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, characterized by the
connection unit is a multiplexer.
12. A system as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, characterized by the
connection unit is a communication network or a telecommunication
network.
13. A system as claimed in claim 12, characterized by communication
network is a telephone network.
14. A system as claimed in claim 13, characterized by telephone network is a
cellular telephone radio network.
15. A system as claimed in claim 12, characterized by telecommunication
network is a wide area network.
16. A system as claimed in claim 12, characterized by telecommunication
network is the Internet network.

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17. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized by said device for
generating the set of requested and advertising information having means
for providing choosing of advertising information type.
18. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the memory device for
storing information is a server.
19. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized by the user's
device is a videophone.
20. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, characterized by the user's
device is a radiophone.

Description

CA 02361498 2006-10-27
INFORMATION SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to the field of information systems, inquiry
and
information devices and/or systems providing information to a user according
to his request
and in which an advertising set can be integrated.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is a well-known system for providing an advertising information
containing an
ultrasonic transmitter installed in a shop, directed to the area where a
potential customer
might, be. Any moving object within the area of coverage of the receiver
reflecting ultrasonic
waves of the transmitter causes change in the ultrasonic receiver condition.
The monitor
connected to said receiver selects the signal indicating change in the
ultrasonic receiver
condition by means of the comparator, turns on the videocassette player to
play on the TV or
Display screen a videotape containing advertising (GB 2146821 A, G09 F 27/00,
24.04.85).
There are analogous well-known audio-visual systems registering appearance of
a potential
user of advertising and including audio-visual devices containing advertising
information (EP
0421941 A, G09 F 27/00,10.04.91, GB 2270585 A, G09 F 27/00,16.03.94).
At present demonstration of advertising is also provided through
telecommunication
networks, for instance through the Internet (Jarry Honeycatt, The Internet,
second edition,
Kiev-Moscow, Dialektika, p.20-24, fig. 1.1), where the USA Today Web-page is
available
containing all indispensable news updated within the day; and where it is
visible that
Microsoft Corp M is one of many sponsors maintaining Yahoo M(see the same,
fig. 1.2).
However, in said source there are no technical means for implementing this
land of
advertising.
The closest to the proposed in its technical entity is the information system
intended
for transmitting the information requested by its user as well as advertising
information,
including at least one user's device for storing information (see EP 0337539
A2, G09 F 27/00,
18.10.89), the indicated memory device (mem) also stores advertising
information.
The well-known system is intended for transmitting the information requested
by the
user, stored in the memory device alongside with the advertising message.
The system includes many points for providing visual information. The user's
device
is implemented as a telephone and connected to an information-mapping device
implemented
as a monitor screen and so on.
The user requires the information he is interested in on the phone, the
computer
converts the user's inquiry into the information retrieval signal, which is
sent from the

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memory device to the screen. The items for providing information
(distributors) may also be
connected to the communication network to increase and to provide periodical
data refresh
through computer devices. .
The disadvantage of this system is that said items for providing information
are
situated in a specific location, whereas it is convenient to situate the
user's device, for
instance, at home, at the office, etc.
In the well-known information system information and advertising message are
transmitted from the above mentioned memory device only in one information
providing
mode whereas it is sometimes necessary to change the sequencing of providing a
requested
information as well as the advertising message, that is, for instance, to
transmit either a piece
of information message then a piece of advertising message, or the whole
advertising, or to
provide the information and advertising simultaneously. Moreover, in the
system the choice
of advertising type, for instance, according to the user's request is not
available, that is in the
well-known systems advertising is dictated.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of this invention is to increase the functional capacities of the
system as
well as the number of technical means used for providing the requested
information as well as
advertising.
This system allows to use the above-mentioned means in any convenient location
and
not in specific locations such as at home, at work or on the road using
various communication
networks, the system allows information to be provided according to any mode
suitable for it,
or enables the user to select the type of advertising information he is
interested in. This
system can further provide a portion of the information and/or a portion of
the advertising to
various sequences, and is further capable of providing information and
advertising
simultaneously, which is convenient for the user. This system can further
provide information
in a visual form, as acoustic information or in a printed form. As the system
here can be used
a telecommunication network, the Internet network, that is the global network,
as well as
ordinary inquiry information display boards installed in common places. The
introduction of
advertising information into the information set will further allow to get
extra financial means
for development of inquiry information systems and to improve the quality of
the information,
provided by the network.
The said purpose is achieved by that this information system including at
least one
user's device connected via a connection unit to a memory device for storing
information
comprises a device for generating a set of requested information as well as
advertising
information wherein said device is connected to the memory device for storing
information

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3
and to the connection unit and comprises an entry for inputting the
advertising information,
the advertising information memory device is connected to said entry of the
above-mentioned
device for generating, which can be implemented on a microprocessor, and the
above-
mentioned device for generating is programmed with capabilities that change
the sequencing
of the provided requested information or advertising information or
simultaneously requested
and advertising information.
Also said device for generating may be programmed with capabilities that
provide
video display of the requested or advertising information.
The indicated device for generating may also be programmed with capabilities
that
provide simultaneous video display of the requested information and
advertising information.
The above indicated device for generating may also be programmed with
capabilities
that provide visual requested information and audio advertising information
providing.
Furthermore, said device for generating may be programmed with capabilities
that
provide printing of requested information.
Furthermore, the user's device may be either a personal computer or telephone,
or
video telephone, or radiotelephone.
Furthermore, the user's device may be a remote control.
In this case the device for generating a set of requested and advertising may
be an
information display board.
The connection unit may be a multiplexer, or a connection network, or a
telecommunication network.
In this case a connection network may be a telephone network, for instance, a
cellular
telephone network or the wide area network.
The Internet network may represent a telecommunication network.
The device for generating a set of requested and advertising information may
be
programmed with capabilities that provide choosing of advertising information
types.
The memory device for storing information may be a server, if networks
(telecommunication, wide area network, Internet) are used as a connection
unit.
BRIEF LIST OF FIGURES
Fig.l shows an example of a system functional scheme, Fig.2 shows required and
advertising information being arranged simultaneously on the user's device
display screen,
Fig.3 shows an example of the system implementation as an inquiry information
display
board.

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THE PREFERRED VERSION OF THE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION.
The present system shown on Fig.1 includes user's devices 1 implemented, for
instance, as a personal computer. There may be a lot of said devices, that is,
for instance, in
case if a personal computer has an access to a communication network,
telephone network,
telecommunication network of the Internet type and so on. The user's device
may be
represented by telephone, video telephone or 'remote control. The user's
devices 1 are intended
for forming a request according to the information the user is interested in.
They may be
implemented in order to allow information display, for instance, on a user's
personal
computer display screen and so on. Said user's devices 1 are connected to the
connection unit
2. Said connection unit 2 may be, as it is mentioned above, implemented as a
communication
network, telephone network, wide area network e.t.c. Said unit, in case if the
system is
represented by an information board (Fig.2) may be represented by an ordinary
multiplexer
(bank switching), which according to command signals, input from the user's
device 1 control
panel, outputs information on to the device board 3 for generating a set of
requested and
advertising information.
Connection unit 2 as shown on Fig.l is intended for connection through well-
known
means or lines of communication of the user and the memory device 4 for
storing information
(mem), which stores requested information but also allows to store information
of any kind
and of different purpose of data base.
In case of implementation of the present system on the basis of
telecommunication
networks, mem 4 presents a server where the information provided according to
the user's
request is stored.
In difference to well-known networks where a server transmits the information
the
user is interested in according to his request without conversation, that is
the way it is stored
in the server, this system allows using the device 3 for generating a set of
requested and
advertised information before it is provided to the user.
The memory device (mem) 5 is connected to the entry 6 for inputting
advertising
information, of said device 3 for generating an information set which may be
implemented on
a microprocessor, to the information bus (entry 7) of said microprocessor
where the requested
information is transmitted from the server, to the other entry 6 of said
information bus an
advertising information is transmitted.
An advertising information can be input using the advertising information
memory
device. Different modes of input of requested as well as advertising
information can be
provided using software environment of the microprocessor.

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The microprocessor device 3, for instance a microcontroller, for generating a
set of
information is intended for unifying the user's requested information from mem
4 and
advertising information coming from mem 5 or directly from the keyboard. The
said device is
also intended for generating a mode for transmitting this or that information
according to
procedures included in the device, i.e.: to allow change of sequence of
providing requested
information or/and advertising information. The procedures can be the
following.
The first element of the information set is advertising, then requested
information.
The first element of the information set is represented by a list of different
types of
advertising or a list of different fields of technique or knowledge about
which where is an
advertising information provided e.t.c.
The procedure may implement simultaneous presentation of the requested
information
and advertising etc., as it is shown on Fig.2.
After the advertising information and the requested information have been
combined
according to the specified procedure, this set is transmitted to its user
through the connection
set 2 (through a network).
Additionally an advertising information can be input by the user from the
keyboard
using an input unit (not shown on the figure). If the user has a possibility
to choose the
advertising he is interested in, the system can work in a mode of a dialog:
the user forms a
requested information; the information is to be found in mem 4; the message is
transmitted
through the device 4 informing that the requested information is available, a
list of advertising
services is then transmitted; the user chooses the advertising service he is
interested in, sends
the answer to the network and receives a set of requested information and the
type of
advertising information according to the user's choice corresponding to the
mode of providing
information.
The present system may also be implemented as shown on Fig.3 as an inquiry
information display board, for instance as a monitor screen or an ordinary
display board. In
this case the user forms a requested information he is interested in using a
key remote control
(device 1), the converter (that is not shown in the figure) converts from the
remote control
input command into the signal corresponding to the object of the request, the
connection unit
2 (for instance, a multiplexer) plugs in the necessary memory cell mem 4,
where the requested
information is stored, the advertising information is then shown
simultaneously or before the
requested information is presented on a display board of the device 3.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The claimed information system may be used in a wide sphere of information and
inquiry-information systems, for it provides presentation of any information
the user is

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interested in, supplying it with an advertising information of any type, thus
the system allows
changing the mode of providing information. The present system may be
implemented using
well-known local, wide area networks and communication networks.

Representative Drawing