Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ORDERING
AN ADVERTISING SPOT OVER A DATA NETWORK
Iaveators:
Deaie Khoo
Raymoad F. RatCliff III
BACKGROUN2'? OF ~ I~~~NTIQ~
Field o~ the invention
The present invention relates generally to data
networks, and more particularly, to a method and system
for ordering advertising spots for advertisements over a
data network to a target user during the transmission of
motion pictures.
Description of the Related Art
The delivery of advertisements to viewers of
television programs has been based on an inefficient and
wasteful model that does not reach the true target
audience for the advertisement being shown. That is, the
present paradigm for pricing and delivery of
advertisements does not deliver the advertisement to only
those viewers who should be targeted for that
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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advertisement. This problem is best explained with
reference to prior art FIG. 1.
Prior art FIG. 7. is a block diagram view of the
present advertisement pricing model. In prior art
FIG. 1, an example is provided for ordering an
advertising spot by a feminine product company for a
feminine hygiene product to be viewed by 100,000 women
between the ages of 35 and 50. The "demographics" in
this example include a number (100,000 individuals), a
gender (women) and an age {between 35 and 50). This is
shown at box 5 of prior art FIG. 1. Then at box l0, the
television broadcaster or similar entity researches the
television shows to determine which shows satisfy all, or
a significant portion of all, demographics requested by
the feminine product company at box 5. In the example of
prior art Fig. 1, the television show chosen is women's
tennis. At box 15, the cost per 1,000 (CPM) is
calculated as a function of the most significant
demographic in the viewing audience. That is, not all
television shows may satisfy the three demographics
(number (100,000), gender (women) and ages (35-50)), but
a particular television show may have a significant
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
-3-
percentage of those three demographics. Based on that
CPM, at box 20, the television broadcaster charges a
price ($10,000 for a 30-second spot) which is essentially
a $7.00 CPM. The actual number of viewers is 360,000
S people at box 23. Then at box 25, the advertisement is
shown on the television during a television show.
The waste with the pricing model shown in prior art
FIG. 1 is explained by reference to boxes 30, 35 and 40
which demonstrate the demographics of the individuals
1o that actually view the advertisement (box 30), the cost
per individual (box 35) based on the $20,000 charge by
the television broadcaster and the inefficiency analysis
(box 40) that results using this pricing model. At box
30, six different groups of individuals actually viewed
z5 the advertisement (box 31). Specifically, from box 30,
125,000 women between the ages of 35 and 50 viewed the
advertisement; however, individuals with different, non-
targeted demographics also viewed the advertisement.
Those individuals include 75,000 women between the ages
20 of 20 to 35 (box 32), 25,000 women that are teenagers
(box 33) , 7S, 000 men ages 35 to 50 (box 34) , 50, 000 men
ages 20 to 35 (box 36) and 10,000 men in their teens (box
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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37). Essentially, the advertisement was placed in this
television show (e.g. women's tennis) based on the
125,000 women ages 35 to 50. However, the remaining
viewers (boxes 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37) are not
S individuals that the feminine product company wanted to
show the advertisement to, yet the feminine product
company is paying for those non-targeted individuals.
The amount that the feminine product company is
paying fox those individuals is shown in box 35. The
l0 costs per individuals as shown in box 35 are arbitrary
costs based on the percentage of viewers of the total
viewing audience multiplied by the $10,000 cost. Thus,
in box 35, the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 have a cost of
$3,472.50 for the group shown while the other costs for
i5 the non-targeted individuals is also directly
proportional to the percentage of the number of
individuals who see the advertisement (box 30) to the
total viewers (360,000). In box 40, the inefficiency
analysis is shown where only the costs of the group of
20 the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 (box 31) are accurate and
all the remaining individuals viewing the tennis_match
are wasted. In conclusion, only $3,472.50 of the
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_5_
$10,000.00 total costs for all individuals is accurate,
resulting in a waste of 65.3%. This correlates to a
waste of $6,528.00 of the $10,000.00 paid for the
advertisement because only approximately 35% of the
individuals viewing the advertisement were in the target
audience.
Prior art FIG. 1 exemplifies the limitations in the
prior art in that estimates based on group demographics
are inefficient and wasteful. A need exists for an
advertisement system that targets the advertising to
particular individuals rather than a group. In addition,
the feminine product company is paying the same costs per
individual for all the 125, 000 women between the ages 35
and 50, when the women closer to a particular age in that
range (e.g., 35 years old) may be a better target for the
company than women at the other end of that range (e. g.,
50 years old). Therefore, there is a further need to be
able to highly individualize the targeted audience on a
person-by-person basis rather than on a group basis.
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The present invention provides for a method for
ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a
data network to be transmitted to a target user during a
transmission of a motion picture. An advertiser first
provides to a broadcaster a predetermined constraint that
defines the target user for receiving the advertisement.
Then, the broadcaster uses the predetermined constraint
to determine a price for the advertising spot. The price
to is then offered by the broadcaster to the advertiser and
the advertiser then orders the advertising spot based on
the price to place the advertisement in the advertising
spot to be transmitted to the target user during the
transmission of a motion picture.
In a further embodiment, a method for determining
the price for the advertising spot for transmitting the
advertisement to a target user during a motion picture is
also provided. This method includes providing to a
broadcaster, by an advertiser, a predetermined constraint
2o defining the target user to receive the advertisement.
Then, the broadcaster searches an individual inventory
containing a plurality of individuals where each of the
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_ 7
plurality of individuals has a profile. The searching is
performed to determine the target user by comparing each
of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the
predetermined constraint to locate a match between the
profiles of the plurality of individuals and the
predetermined constraint. Once matched, a cost is
determined for each of the plurality of individuals based
on a predetermined formula and the costs of each of the
plurality of individuals are totaled to determine the
20 price for the advertising spot.
The method of the present invention is embodied: in
both software and hardware embodiments in the present
invention.
IS
A more complete appreciation of the invention and
many of the advantages thereof will be readily obtained
as the same becomes better understood by reference to the
detailed description when considered in connection with
2o the accompanying drawings, wherein:
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_ a _
Prior art FIG. 1 is a block diagram view of a
conventional pricing model for pricing and delivery of
advertisements;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment fox
the method for ordering an advertising spot for an
advertisement over a data network of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a further embodiment of
the method for ordering an advertising spot for an
1o advertisement over a data network;
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
method for determining a price for an advertising spot of
the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of
the predetermined formula and an embodiment of the method
for determining a price of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of
the system of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
2o method for ordering an advertising spot for an
advertisement of the present invention; and .
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_g_
FIG. 8 is an embodiment of a computer system
implementing the method and system of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCR.j,~,Z'ION OE,~ PREFERRED EMBOD3MENTS
FIG. 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of
the method for ordering an advertising spot for an
advertisement over a data network. In FIG. 2, an
advertiser 205 wishes to order an advertising spot 236
for an advertisement 225 over a data network 215_ The
advertisement is to be sent to a target user 235 by the
broadcaster 220 during a transmission of a motion
picture 238. In FIG. 2, the advertiser is an entity that
wishes to place advertising content (e.g., commercials or
other type of action calling attention to the public of
the advertiser through paid announcements) to the target
user 235. In order to get the advertisement 225 to the
target user 235, the advertiser goes to a broadcaster 220
that is able to transmit the advertisement 225 to the
target user 235 as part of a motion picture 238
incorporating or otherwise transmitting the advertising
spot 236 within the motion picture 238. It is noted that
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the advertisement 225 may be sent either directly or
indirectly from the advertiser to the broadcaster through
intermediary entities, yet such indirect transmission of
the advertisement falls within the scope of the present
invention as claimed below. The advertiser-205 may be
any company that wishes to publicly pay for announcements
through the advertisement 225.
The advertiser has predetermined constraints 210
that are determined by the advertiser 205 in a variety of
to ways. The predetermined constraint 210 is any
information regarding the target user 235 that the
advertiser 205 wishes to view the advertisement 225.
This includes, without limitation, information such as
name, age, income, address, hobbies, hours of television
watched per day, profession, gender, and any other type
of information of a target user 235 that is suitable for
purposes of marketing content, including advertisement
225, to a target user 235. The predetermined constraints
210 typically are determined by the advertiser based on
2o research of its products or services being offered in
order to reach the target user 235. These predetermined
constraints 210 may be sent through a data network 215,
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for example, the Internet, or other network that
exchanges data. The data network 215, in turn, sends the
predetermined constraint, defining the target user 235
that will receive the advertisement 225, to the
broadcaster 220 in order to determine a price for the
advertising spot 236 that will be shown to the target
user 235. Upon receiving the predetermined constraint
210, the broadcaster 220 uses the predetermined
constraint 210 to determine the price by performing the
1o method for determining a price for the advertising spot
as described in detail below. The broadcaster 220, after
having determined the price for the advertising spot,
offers that price 230 to the advertiser 205 by returning
the price 230 through the data network 215 to the
advertiser 205. The advertiser then orders the
advertising spot 236 for the advertisement 225 based on
the price 230 by sending to the broadcaster 220, through
the data network 215, an order for the advertising spot.
The advertising spot is then transmitted to the target
2o user 235 during the transmission of a motion picture.
The target user 235 is any individual viewing the motion
picture 238.
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In use, the system of FIG. 2 operates as follows.
An advertiser 205 communicates with a data network 215 by
logging on to the Internet 215 as is well known in the
art through a computer system, such as the computer of
Fig. 8. Once on the Internet, the advertiser 205 locates
the broadcaster on the Internet through a web site of the
broadcaster 220. Once at the web site (URL) of the
broadcaster 220, the advertiser 205 sends the
predetermined constraints 210 to the broadcaster 220
through the data network 215. This may be performed by
entering a predetermined constraint 210, such as the
name, age, gender, income, address, hobbies, hours of
television watched per day profession etc. defining the
target user 235, into the web site that is sent across
the data network 215 to the broadcaster 220. Again, it
is noted that the advertiser 205 enters the predetermined
constraints 210 into a computer system such as the
computer system described with regard to FIG. 8 below.
Once the predetermined constraints 210 are sent to the
broadcaster 220, the broadcaster 220 uses the
predetermined constraints 210 to determine a price 230
for the advertising spot 236. The broadcaster 220
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determines the price for the advertising spot 236 by
searching an individual inventory (FIG. 6) that is a
database containing a plurality of individuals. The
plurality of individuals each have a profile that
generally describes the individual, much in a similar
manner as the predetermined constraints. That is, the
profile contains information such as age, gender, income,
hobbies, and other information that generally describe
each individual in the individual inventory. The
to broadcaster 220 searches the individual inventory
comparing the profile to the predetermined constraints. in
order to make a match between the two. For example, in
one embodiment, an individual in the individual inventory
may be a 35-year-old woman with a skiing hobby. The
advertiser 205 may have entered a predetermined
constraint 210 of a woman between the ages of 30 and 40
having a hobby of outdoor activities. The broadcaster
220, by searching and comparing the predetermined
constraints 210 (woman, ages 30-40, hobby of outdoors
2o activities) to the profile of the individual inventory,
is able to match the predetermined constraint 210 tQ the
individual having the profile described in order to
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_. -14-
select that individual. Once that individual is
selected, the broadcaster 220 determines a cost for that
individual based on a predetermined formula described
below in FIG. 5. Each individual is then totaled to
determine the price 230 to send over the data network 215
to the advertiser 205 as the price for placing the
advertisement 225 in the motion picture 238. Once the
advertiser 205 receives the price 230, the advertiser 205
determines whether it wishes to place that advertisement
l0 in the motion picture 238 with the broadcaster 220, and
if so, the advertiser 205 agrees to the price 230 by
sending to the broadcaster 220, over the data network
215, the advertisement 225 and a confirmation to proceed
with placing the advertisement 225 into the advertising
spot 236 in the motion picture 238. Once the advertiser
205 receives the advertisement 225 and confirmation to
proceed from the advertiser 205, which may or may not
include payment of the price 230, the broadcaster 220
places the advertisement 225 into the advertising spot
236 to be shown to the target user 235.
The method of FIG. 2 contains a practical
application in the technological arts of transmitting
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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over a data network 215 a price 230 for individualized
advertisement 225. That is, in the past, advertisements
were placed into advertising spots in motion pictures
based on group rates for certain demographics. As shown
in prior art FIG. 1, this, resulted in an inefficient
pricing model where an advertiser paid for advertising to
individuals that did not fall within the targeted
audience all though a data network. Now, with the method
and system of the present invention, the advertiser pays
per individual, as opposed to a group of individuals,
where each individual is within the target audience.
There is therefore a cost savings to the advertiser
because all advertisements are accurately shown to the
desired target user.
Furthermore, from a broadcaster's perspective, the
broadcaster may charge the advertiser for the specific
number of individuals that are shown the advertisement,
rather than sending the advertisement to both targeted
individuals and non-targeted individuals. Additionally,
2o with the present method and system of the present
invention, the interests of the individuals in. the
individual inventory is much more focused where very
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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specific hobbies and other type of information is known
of the individual to more narrowly focus the
advertisements related to those hobbies or other
information to create a more effective and efficient
advertising scheme. The present system further removes
the need for any intermediary agency between the
advertiser and broadcaster because the broadcaster
contains the individual inventory and therefore does not
need the services of an intermediary, such as an
1o advertising agent, that may provide market research that
links the demographics to the particular motion pictures.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
method for ordering an advertising spot for an
advertisement over a data network. In FIG. 3, a
broadcaster receives a list of predetermined constraints
for an advertisement from the advertiser at 305. The
broadcaster then determines whether the advertiser
specified a minimum number of impressions (i.e. the
number of instances that the advertisement will be
2o shown). In one embodiment, the impressions are sent to
the broadcaster over the data network When using the
system of the present invention. If the advertiser did
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
not specify the impression, then the broadcaster requests
for that impression to be specified and the advertiser
specifies the impressions at 315. If the advertiser did
specify impressions, then the broadcaster scans the
individual inventory at 320 for matches between the
predetermined constraints and profiles of the individuals
in the individual inventory. Then at 325, the
broadcaster determines whether the predetermined
constraints can be met which, if they cannot be met, the
1o broadcaster informs the advertiser over the data network
that the predetermined constraints cannot be met at 330.
If the predetermined constraints can be met and matches
are made between the predetermined constraints and the
profiles of the individuals in the individual inventory,
then the broadcaster determines a price for the
advertisement based on the predetermined formula at 335.
The price is determined using the method of determining a
price for an advertising spot as shown in FIG. 5 below.
Then at 340, the price is sent back to the advertiser
over the data network and the advertiser orders the
advertising spot at the price offered at 350 whereby the
advertiser pays the price for the advertising spot and
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster. It is
noted that, in one embodiment, the advertisement is sent
to the broadcaster after a price has been agreed to
between the advertiser and the broadcaster. However, in
alternative embodiments, it is possible for the
advertiser to send the advertisements at various times
during the communication between the advertiser and
broadcaster, even including when the advertiser transmits
the predetermined constraints to the broadcaster.
Lastly, at 360, the advertisement is transmitted to a
target user during a transmission of a motion picture on
a display device such as the display devices described
with reference to FIG. 8 below.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
method for determining a price for an advertising spot of
the present invention. In FIG. 4, an advertiser provides
to a broadcaster a predetermined constraint that defines
the target user to receive the advertiser at 405. Again,
these predetermined constraints may include the gender,
2o age, income, hobbies, and other information that
describes the target user to receive the advertisement.
Upon receipt ~of the predetermined constraints, the
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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broadcaster searches a database of individual inventory
to determine the target user based on the predetermined
constraints defined by the advertiser at 410. Once a
match is determined, the broadcaster determines a coat
for each of the individuals from the individual~ inventory ,
that have matched the profile that now become the target
user based on a predetermined formula (FIG. 5) at 4'15.
The cost for each individual is then added to determine a
total price for the advertising spot at 420.
1o FIG. 5 is an embodiment of the method for
determining a price in the method of the present
invention. In FIG. 5, the predetermined constraints at
510, in this embodiment, include an age of 42, a gender
of male and an income of between $50,000 and $100,000
annually. In the individual inventory, a 42-year-old man
with an income of $64,000 annually is located. One
embodiment of a predetermined formula 505 has been set
forth in the embodiment of FIG. 5 that determines the
cost per individual based on two criteria: index value
515 and coefficients 520. It is important to note that
the predetermined formula 505 is only one embodiment of
the type of predetermined formulas that may be used to
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_ ' _2~_
determine the cost per individual in the individual
inventory. In essence, the predetermined formula may be
any formula that determines the demand on the individuals
in the individual inventory. This demand may be based on
the supply and demand of the specific individuals
contained in the individual inventory, as well as the
supply and demand from the advertiser. Thus, in FIG. 5,
the index values are first inserted at 515 for x1, xz, x3
and x,,. These index values, in this embodiment, are
1o determined by the relative importance of the individual
in the individual inventory to the broadcaster. That is,
an individual in the individual inventory may have a
higher or lower index value based on the demand for an
individual by the broadcaster with certain demographics
in higher demand. The demand for an individual from the
advertiser creates a weighted significance upon which the
predetermined formula is based. The weighted
significance is defined as the amount of significance
given to the coefficient values that is in turn based on
zo the target individual's demand. In one embodiment, that
demand may be based on the amount of time available for
the target individual to receive an advertisement. Thus,
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if an individual is age 35 and male, fox example, many
advertisers may want to advertise to the individual which
would raise the demand for the individual and lower the
time available to the individual. Then at 520, the
coefficient values for age, income, sex are inserted,
added and the formula produces a price for that
individual at 525. The coefficient values are based on
the demand for the individual from the advertiser's
perspective. Then, all the prices for the specific
1o individuals matched are added to determine the total
price for the advertising spot.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of
the system of the present invention. In FIG. 6, three
specific devices are shown including the advertiser
client 605, the broadcaster server 610 and a storage
device 621. The advertiser client 605 and the
broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems, in one
embodiment, such as the computer system of FIG. 8. In
one embodiment, the advertiser client 605 and the
2o broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems that can
run software in order to perform the method and system of
the present invention. The storage device 62I contains
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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databases that may be located with the broadcaster server
610 or even in other storage mediums locally or remotely
from the broadcaster server 610 as long as the storage
device 621 remains in communication with the broadcaster
server 610. The storage device 621 may be any of the
storage devices described in FIG. 8 below. The advertiser
client 605 permits an advertiser (not shown) to
communicate with the broadcaster server 610 to provide to
the broadcaster (not shown) the predetermined constraint
to as described in FIG. 2 above. The advertiser therefore
uses the advertiser client 605 to send the predetermined
constraints to the broadcaster server 610 over a data
network 606. In an alternative embodiment, the
broadcaster server 610 asks the advertiser client 605 for
the predetermined constraint in order to determine a
price for the advertising spot. This is performed by the
order component 625 in the broadcaster server 610. Once
the broadcaster server 610 requests the predetermined
constraint, the advertiser client 60S provides the
2o constraint through the data network 606 to the
broadcaster server 610. The order component 625 receives
the predetermined constraint from the advertiser client
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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605 and communicates with the pricing component 635 to
transmit the predetermined constraint to the pricing
component 635. It is noted that the components 625, 630,
635 and 640 of the broadcast server 620 are, in one
embodiment, software modules written in well-known
programming languages. The pricing component 635 then
communicates with the advertiser component 630 and the
profile component 640 in order to determine the price for
the advertising spat. In turn, the advertising component
l0 630 and the profile component 640 communicate with the
individual inventory 655 in order to search the
individual inventory 655 to compare the profile of the
individuals in the individual inventory 655 with the
predetermined constraints in order to find a match.
After the matches have been found, the price for the
individuals matched is determined by the pricing
component 635 (using, e.g., the predetermined formula of
FIG. 5) and summed to determine a total price for the
advertising spot. That total price is then transmitted
2o to the advertiser client 605 through the data network
606. The advertiser client 605 then approves the total
price and transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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server 610. The broadcaster server 610 then places the
order in a order database 645 and places the advertiser
in the advertiser database 650. It is noted that the
storage device 621 containing the order database 645, the
advertiser database 650 and the individual inventory 655
is accessed by the broadcaster server 610 through the
data access layer 620. It is further noted that the
storage device 621 may be located within or without the
broadcaster server 610, as long as the two are in
communication.
FIG. 7 is flow chart of an embodiment of the method
for ordering an advertising spot of the present
invention. In FIG. 7, the advertiser specifies the
predetermined constraints for an advertisement at 705.
Then, at 710, the broadcaster determines the price for
the advertisement based on the predetermined constraints
and returns a total price to the advertiser over the data
network. The advertiser then accepts the total price and
submits the advertisements to the broadcaster over the
data network at 715. When at 720, the broadcaster
displays the advertisement to the target users. while
transmitting the motion picture.
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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FIG. 8 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a
general purpose computer system which is used, in one
embodi~nt, to implement the method and system of the
present invention. The general purpose computer 846, in
one embodiment, acts as either the broadcaster sewer 610
or advertiser client 605 of FIG. 6. The general purpose
computer 846 of FIG. a includes a processor 830 and
memory 825. Processor 830 may contain a single
microprocessor, or may contain a plurality of
to microprocessors, for configuring the computer system as a
multi-processor system. Memory 825, stores, in part,
instructions and data for execution by processor 830,
e.g. the components 625, 630, 635, 640 of the broadcaster
server 610. If the system of the present invention is
wholly or partially implemented in software, including
computer instructions, memory 825 stores the executable
code when in operation. Memory 825 may include banks of
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as well as high speed
cache memory.
The computer system 846 of FIG. 8 further includes a
mass storage device 835, peripheral devices) 840, audio
means 850, input devices) 855, portable storage medium
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
_, _ 2 6
drivels) 860, a graphics subsystem 880 and a display
means 885. For purposes of simplicity, the components
shown in FIG. 8 are depicted .as being connected via a
single bus 880 (i.e. transmitting means). However, the
components may be connected through one or more data
transport means (e.g. Internet, Intranet, etc.). For
example, processor 830 and memory 825 may be connected
via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass storage
device 835, peripheral devices) 840, portable storage
l0 medium drivels) 860, and graphics subsystem 880 may be
connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses. Mass
storage device 835, which is typically implemented with a
magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, is in one
embodiment, a non-volatile storage device for storing
data and instructions for use by processor 830. The mass
storage device 835 includes the storage medium of
embodiments of the present invention, and the server
storage medium and client storage medium in alternative
embodiments. In another embodiment, mass storage device
835 stores the components of the broadcaster server 610.
In another embodiment, the storage device 621 may also be
the mass storage device 835. The computer instructions
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
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that implement the method of the present invention also
may be stored in processor_830.
Portable storage medium drive 860 operates in
conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium,
such as a floppy disk, or other computer-readable medium,
to input and output data and code to and from the
computer system of FIG. 8. In one embodiment, the method
of the present invention that is implemented using
computer instructions is stored on such a portable
1o medium, and is input to the computer system 846 via the
portable storage medium drive 860. Peripheral devices)
840 may include any type of computer support device, such
as an input/output (I/O) interface, to add additional
functionality to the computer system 846. For example,
i5 peripheral devices) 840 may include a network interface
card for interfacing computer system 846 to a network, a
modem, and the Like,
Input devices) 855 provide a portion of a user
interface. Input devices) 855 may include an alpha
2o numeric keypad for inputting alpha-numeric and other key
information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a
trackball, stylus or cursor direction keys. In order to
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display textual and graphical information, the computer
846 of FIG. 8 includes graphics subsystem 880 and display
means. 885. Display means 885 may include a cathode ray
tube (CRT) display, liquid crystal display (L~), other
suitable display devices, or means for displaying, that
enables a user to view the motion picture. Graphics
subsystem 88o receives textual and graphical information
and processes the information for output to display 885.
The computer system 846 of FIG. 8 also includes an audio
system 850. In one embodiment, audio means 850 includes
a sound card that receives audio signals from a
microphone that may be found in peripherals 840. In
another embodiment, the audio system 850 may be a
processor, such as processor 830, that processes sound.
Additionally, the computer of FIG. a includes output
devices 845. Examples of suitable output devices include
speakers, printers, and the like.
The devices contained in the computer system of FIG.
8 are those typically found in general purpose computer,
2o and are intended to represent a broad category of such
computer components that are well known in the art . The
system of FIG. 8 illustrates one platform which can be
CA 02413853 2002-12-11
used for practically implementing the method of the
present invention. Numerous other platforms can also
suffice, such as Macintosh-based platforms available from
Apple Computer, Inc., platforms with different bus
configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor
platforms, other personal computers, workstations,
mainframes, navigation systems, and the like.
In a further embodiment, the present invention also
includes a computer program product which is a computer
l0 readable medium (media) having computer instructions
stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer
to perform the method of the present invention as shown
in FIGs. 4 and 7. The storage medium can include, but is
not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks,
optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks,
RAMS, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any
type of media suitable for storing electronic
instructions.
These same computer instructions may be located in
2o an electronic signal that is transmitted over a data
network that performs the method as shown in FIGs. 4~ and
7 when loaded into a computer, such as the computer
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system 846 of FIG. 8. The computer instructions are in
the form of~ data being transmitted over a data network.
In one embodiment, the method of the present invention is
implemented in computer instructions and those computer
instructions are transmitted in an electronic signal
through cable, satellite or other transmitting means for
transmitting the computer instructions in the electronic
signals.
Stored on any one of the computer readable medium
(media), the present invention includes software for
controlling both the hardware of the general
purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for
enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with
a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of
the present invention. Such software may include, but is
not limited to, device drivers, operating systems and
user applications. Ultimately, such computer readable
media further includes software for performing the method
of the present invention as described above.
2o Although the present invention has been described in
detail with respect to certain embodiments and examples,
variations and modifications exist which are within the
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scope of the present invention as defined in the
following claims.
