WO2005101864A2

WO2005101864A2 - Method and system of advertising in a mobile communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2005101864A2
Application number: PCT/US2005/012638
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael V. Papulov
Original assignee: Global Direct Management Corp.
Priority date: 2004-04-13
Filing date: 2005-04-13
Publication date: 2005-10-27
Also published as: US20070066287A1; EA200501816A1; US7162226B2; EP1736014A2; US20050227679A1; CA2562666A1; WO2005101864A3; US20080120173A1; EA007757B1; EP1736014A4

Abstract

A method for advertising in a mobile communication system may include generating a request for advertisement information, transmitting the request for advertisement information to advertisement device, wherein the advertisement device stores a plurality of advertisement information, receiving requested advertisement information from the advertisement device, storing the requested advertisement information in a storage device and presenting selected advertisement information along with notification information indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of a mobile communication device when a request for connection is received by the mobile communication device. The presented selected advertisement information may be stored and statistic information relates to the selected advertisement information may be generated and sent to the advertisement device. The statistic information may be utilized to offset the cost of using the mobile communication system for the user or to track use of the system. The advertisement information may be requested, provides, received and stored during a stated by mode of the mobile communication device. The advertisement information may be request, provided received and stored during a non-peak time on a provider network used by the mobile communication device.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM OF ADVERTISING LN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Reference To Related Applications This application claims benefit of and is a continuatioii-in-part of U.S. Serial

No. 10/851,524, filed May 21, 2004, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/566,522, filed April 28, 2004, and UTS. Provisional Application No. 60/562,088, filed April 13, 2004, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

Field of Disclosure The present disclosure relates to advertising in mobile communication systems and more particularly to a method and system for advertising in mobile communication systems.

Background of the Disclosure

Mobile communication systems are increasingly becoming an integral part of every day life. For example, the number of users of cellular telephone systems has been steadily increasing for many years. As the mobile communication industry has grown, the technology in the industry has improved greatly. Mobile communication devices, such as cell phones, commonly include improved display devices capable of color display, the display of text data and more complex graphical information. In addition, the microprocessors in such devices have advanced such that they are capable of processing very large amounts of data, thus enabling the transmission and presentation of text data, complex graphics and audio data as well. Thus, mobile communication devices have become a useful medium for advertisers. For example, U.S Patent 6,622,174 Bl relates to a system and method for sending, converting, and adding advertisements to electronic messages sent across a network. European Patent Publication EP0986273 Al relates to the transmission of advertising messages via shoitmessage service (SMS). Russian Patent Publication RU2192049 relates to a method for disseminating advertising and informative messages (variants). French Patent Publication FR2810836 relates to a remote message control system with a public terminal that can send selected publicity to user addresses. While these publications relate generally to advertising in a mobile communication system, they do not disclose the system and methods for advertising in a mobile communication system discussed herein. Thus it is clear that it is desirable to provide a method and system for advertisement in a mobile communication system.

Summary of the Disclosure A system for advertising in a mobile communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an advertisement device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and to provide requested advertisement information, a mobile communication device and a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertisement device and the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further includes a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information, a tønsmission device adapted to send at least the request for advertisement information to the advertisement device, a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertisement device, a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement information, an interface device adapted to present selected advertisement information from the requested advertisement information to a user of the mobile communication device when a request for connection to a second communication device is received by the mobile communication device along with notification information indicating the incoming request for comiection and a notification device adapted to record the selected advertisement information presented to the user by the interface device. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes an advertisement device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information and to provide requested advertisement information, a mobile communication device, a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertisement device and the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further includes a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information, a transmission device adapted to send at least the request for advertisement information to the advertisement device, a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement information provided by the advertisement device, a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement infoπnation, a comiection request device adapted to provide a request for connection to a second conimunication device, wherein selected advertisement information from the requested advertisement mfoπnation and the request for connection are transmitted to the second communication device, such that the selected advertisement information is presented to a user of the second mobile communication device with notification information indicating the incoming request for connection, and a notification device, positioned at the second communication device, adapted to record tlie selected advertisement infoπnation presented to the user of tlie second communication device. A method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes generating a request for advertisement infoπnation at a mobile communication device, transmitting at least the request for advertisement infoπnation to an advertisement device, providing requested advertisement information from the advertisement device, receiving at least^' the requested advertisement information provided by the advertisement deyice, storing at least the requested advertisement infoπnation, presenting selected advertisement infoπnation from the requested advertisement infoπnation and notification mfomiation indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of the mobile communication device when the request for connection to a second communication device is received and recording tlie selected advertisement information presented to the user using a notification device. A method for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of tlie present disclosure includes generating a request for advertisement infoπnation at a mobile communication device, transmitting at least the request for advertisement infoπnation to an advertisement device, providing requested advertisement infoπnation from the advertisement device, receiving at least the requested advertisement infoπnation provided by the advertisement device, storing at least tlie requested advertisement information, generating a request for connection to a second communication device, transmitting the request for connection and selected advertisement infoπnation from tlie requested advertisement information to the second communication device such that the selected advertisement infoπnation and notification infoπnation indicating the request for connection are presented to a user of the second communication device when the request for connection is received and recording, at the second communication device, the selected advertisement infoπnation presented to the user. A computer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processor and a program storage device readable by the computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform method steps for advertising in a mobile communication system. The method steps include generating a request for advertisement mfomiation at a mobile communication device, transmitting at least the request for advertisement information to an advertisement device, providing requested advertisement information from tlie advertisement device, receiving at least the requested advertisement infoπnation provided by the advertisement device, storing at least the requested advertisement infoπnation, presenting selected advertisement information from the requested advertisement information and notification infoπnation indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of the mobile communication device when the request for connection to a second communication device is received and recording the selected advertisement information presented to the user using a notification device. A computer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processor and a program storage device readable by tlie computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by tlie processor to perform method steps for advertising in a mobile communication system. Tlie method steps include generating a request for advertisement infoπnation at a mobile communication device, transmitting at least the request for advertisement information to an advertisement device, providing requested advertisement infoπnation from the advertisement device, receiving at least tlie requested advertisement infoπnation provided by the advertisement device, storing at least the requested advertisement information, generating a request for connection to a second communication device, transmitting the request for connection and selected advertisement mfomiation from the requested advertisement infoπnation to the second communication device such that tlie selected advertisement information and notification information indicating the incoming request for connection are presented to a user of the second communication device when the request for connection is received and recording, at the second communication device, the selected advertisement infoπnation presented to tlie user. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a mobile communication device, a provider network adapted to allow communication with the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further includes a caller identification device adapted to identify a telephone number of an incoming request for connection to the mobile communication device, a local advertisement device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement infoπnation related to a plurality of individuals identified at least by telephone number, wherein the local advertisement device compares the identified telephone number to telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals and provides specific advertisement information related to a matching individual and an interface device adapted to present the specific advertisement infoπnation to a user of the mobile communication device with notification infomiation indicating tlie incoming request for connection. A method for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes identifying a telephone number of an incoming request for comiection to a mobile communication device, comparing the identified telephone number to telephone numbers of a plurality of individuals, wherein the telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals are stored in a local advertisement device along with related advertisement mfoπnation related to each of the plurality of individuals, providing specific advertisement information related to a matching individual when the identified telephone number matches the telephone number of the matching individual and presenting the specific advertisement infomiation to a user of the mobile communication device with notification infomiation indicating the incoming request for connection via an interface device. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of tlie present disclosure includes an advertisement device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement infomiation and to provide requested advertisement infomiation, a mobile communication device and a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertisement device and tlie mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device further includes a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement infomiation from the advertisement device, a fransmission/receivmg device adapted to transmit infoπnation, including the request for comiection and to receive infomiation, including the requested advertisement infoπnation via the provider network, a storage device adapted to store at least requested advertisement infomiation from the advertisement device provided in response to tl e request and an interface device adapted to present selected advertisement infoπnation from the requested advertisement infoπnation to a user of the mobile communication device when a request for connection to a second communication device is received by the mobile communication device along with notification infomiation indicating tlie incoming request for connection. A method for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes generating a request for advertisement infoπnation, fransmitting the request for advertisement infomiation to an advertisement device, wherein the advertisement device stores a plurality of advertisement infoπnation, receiving requested advertisement information from tlie advertisement device, storing the requested advertisement infomiation in a storage device, and presenting selected advertisement infomiation along with notification information indicating an incoming request for connection to a user of a mobile communication device when a request for connection is received by the mobile communication device. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system including a plurality of mobile communication devices according to a further embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement server for storing advertisement infoπnation including a plurality of advertisement units and for transmitting to the plurality of mobile communication devices the advertisement infoπnation including the plurality of advertisement units, and a provider network for providing communication between the advertisement server and the plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of mobile communication devices includes a memory for storing tlie advertisement infoπnation including the plurality of advertisement units, and the advertisement server is configured to control the selection of one of the plurality of advertisement units for presentation to users of the plurality of mobile communication devices baded on a predetermined location of the users.

Brief Description of the Drawings A more complete appreciation of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; ^• Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device of tlie system for advertising in ajmobile communication system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 4 is a block diagram of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of advertising in a mobile conniTimicatioii system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating a system of advertising in. a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 9 is an illustration of a computer system. for implementing a method and system according to the present disclosure; Figure 10 is an illustration of an advertising method in a mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 11 is an illustration of an advertising method in a mobile GSM network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 12 is an illustration of a method of saving advertisement infomiation for an advertising system in a mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 13 is an illustration of a method of saving advertisement information for an advertising system in a GSM mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 14 is an illustration of generating statistic infomiation of an advertising system in a mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 15 is an illustration of generating statistic infomiation of an advertising system in a GSM mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 16 is an illustration of a method of advertising in a mobile network according to an embodiment of tl e present disclosure; and Figure 17 is an illustration of a method of advertising in a GSM mobile network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description of the Disclosure Mobile communication systems typically include at least one mobile communication device, or client device and a system operator, or provider network, typically a cellular network, that enables communication between the client device and other communication devices. That is, the provider network allows the mobile communication device or devices to communicate with other mobile communication devices and with other communication devices, such as conventional telephones. In addition, the provider network may allow the mobile communication device to communicate with internet service providers so that the mobile communication device can access the internet. More specifically, mobile communication devices commonly use wireless application protocol (WAP) to access the internet. Mobile communication devices commonly include both voice communication capabilities as well as data communication capabilities, thus allowing users to make telephone calls and to send and receive various data, including, for example, text data, audio data and/or graphical data. Examples of mobile communication systems include cellular telephone systems, such as those using CDMA technology, popular in the United States, and GSM technology which is popular in Europe and Asia. The system and method of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of a software application miming on a computer system such as a mainframe, personal computer (PC), handheld computer, server etc. The computer system may be linked to a database or various types, of storage media. The link may be, for example, via a direct link such as a direct hard wire or wireless connection, via a network comiection such as a local area network, or via the Internet. An example of a computer system capable of implementing the present system and method is shown in Figure 9. The computer system referred to generally as system 100 may include a central processing unit (CPU) 102, memory 104, a printer interface 106, a display unit 108, a LAN (local area network) data transmission controller 110, a LAN interface 112, a network controller 114, an internal bus 116, a database 120 and one or more input devices 118 such as, for example, a keyboard, mouse, etc. Naturally, other components may be included in the computer system 100 and some components may not be present. Figure 1 illustrates a system for advertising in a mobile communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system includes at least one mobile communication device 12, an advertisement device 14 and a provider network 16 allowing for communication between at least the mobile communication device and the advertisement device. Additional mobile communication devices 12a, 12b, 12c may also be included. Figure 2 illustrates the mobile communication device 12 of Figure 1 in greater detail. The mobile communication device 12 preferably includes a requesting device 22 adapted to generate a request for advertisement infomiation. A transmission device 23 is adapted to transmit at least the request for advertisement infomiation to tl e advertisement device 14 via the provider network 16. A receiving device 24 is adapted to receive at least requested advertisement infoπnation from the advertisement device 14. A storage device 26 is adapted to store at least the requested advertisement infomiation. An interface device 27 is adapted to present at least selected advertisement infomiation from tlie requested advertisement infomiation to a user of the mobile communication device when an incoming request for connection to the mobile communication device 12 is received. Notification device 28 may be adapted to record the advertisement infomiation presented to the user. A controller (not shown) such as a microprocessor, for example, may also be included to control the requesting device 22, the transmission device 23, the receiving device 24, the storage device 26, the interface device 27 and the notification device 29. The requesting device 22 generates a request for advertisement infoπnation to be sent to the advertisement device 14. The request preferably includes feature infomiation related to the features of tlie mobile communication devicel2. The feature infomiation preferably includes infomiation related to a size of a display of the mobile communication device 12, tlie limitations of the display, and/or tlie audio capabilities of the mobile communication device, for example. The transmission device 23 transmits at least the request for advertisement infomiation to the advertisement device 14 via provider network 16. The transmission device 23 may also be used to transmit any other infomiation on behalf of the mobile communication device 12. That is, tlie single transmission device 23 may be used to transmit all infomiation from the mobile communication device 12 via the provider network 16. The advertisement device 14 stores a plurality of advertisement infomiation and provides requested advertisement infomiation to the mobile communication device 12. The advertisement device 14 is preferably an advertisement server storing a plurality of advertisement infomiation. More specifically, the advertisement device 14 stores a plurality of advertisement infomiation units, with each advertisement infomiation unit preferably including advertisement infomiation related to a single advertisement. A single advertisement may be related to a single advertiser or may be related to a single product or service. The advertisement device 14 provides requested advertisement infoπnation in response to the request transmitted by the transmission device 23 of the mobile communication device 12. The requested advertisement infomiation preferably includes multiple advertisement infomiation units, however, a single advertisement infomiation unit may be sufficient. The advertisement infomiation stored in the advertisement device 14 may be graphical, text and/or audio infoπnation. Each advertisement infomiation unit may also include a name of an advertiser, a telephone or facsimile number of the advertiser and any other desired information, such as a URL for the advertiser's web site. Each advertisement infomiation unit preferably also includes a presentation number indicating tlie number of times the advertisement infomiation unit is to be presented to the user of the mobile communication device 12. The advertisement device 14 preferably provides the requested advertisement infomiation in response to the request for advertisement infomiation based on the feature infoπnation included in tlie request. That is, the requested advertisement infomiation sent to the mobile communication device 12 is compatible with the capabilities of tlie mobile communication device. The requested advertisement infoπnation is preferably transmitted to the mobile communication device 12 via the provider network 16. The receiving device 24 receives the requested advertisement infomiation from the advertisement device 14. The receiving device 24 preferably receives all incoming infomiation including incoming voice information during telephone conversations and incoming requests for comiection to other client devices, for example. That is, the single receiving device 24 may be utilized to receive all information. While a separate transmission device 22 and a separate receiving device 24 are specifically discussed, a transmission/reception device (see Figure 8) which provides both transmission and receiving capabilities may also be used. Such devices are commonly used in mobile communication systems. The storage device 26 stores the requested advertisement infomiation received by the mobile communication device 12. Tlie storage device 26 may be any storage medium and may store other infomiation in addition to the advertisement infomiation, if desired. The interface device 27 presents information to the user of the mobile communication device 12. That is, the interface device 27 provides an interface between the user and the mobile communication device 12. The interface device 27 may include a display screen (not shown) for displaying text or graphics to the user. The interface device 27 may also include speakers or any other audio device for producing sound such that audio advertisement infomiation may be presented to the user. Selected advertisement infomiation from the requested advertisement information stored in the storage device 26 is presented to the user via tlie interface device 27 when a request for connection to the mobile communication device 12 is received from another,- or second, communication device. The selected advertisement mfoπnation is preferably a single advertisement infomiation unit. Preferably, the other communication device is another mobile communication device. The request for connection commonly includes infomiation related to the telephone number of the other communication device which is commonly displayed to a used of the mobile communication device 12, for example on tlie display screen of the interface device 27. Since the telephone number does not take up much space on the display, however, when a request for connection is received, selected advertisement mfoπnation from the requested advertisement information stored in the storage device 26 is also presented to the user. The selected advertisement information may be text infomiation, graphical information and/or audio infomiation. Tlie selected advertisement infomiation is preferably presented to the user until the user accepts the request for comiection. In this manner, the selected advertisement information is presented to the user, however, the presentation does not disrupt use of tlie mobile communication device 12 or distract the user after communication with the other communication device has begun. Since the user's attention is generally drawn to the interface device 27 when a request for connection is received, the user will commonly view the selected advertisement infomiation. The request for comiection may also include enablement infoπnation. The enablement information enables the presentation of advertisement information to the user of the mobile communication device 12. If no enablement infomiation is included with the request for connection, the interface device 27 will not display the selected advertisement infomiation to tlie user. The generation of the request for advertisement infomiation, the sending of the request, the provision of advertisement infomiation, the reception of tlie requested advertisement infomiation and the storage of the advertisement irrfoπnation by the requesting device 22, transmission device 23, advertisement device 14, receiving device 24 and the storage device 26, respectively, are preferably performed while the mobile communication device 12 is in stand by mode. That is, when the mobile communication device is "standing by" for communication with another communication device. A request timer (not shown) may be utilized such that requests for advertisement infomiation generated by the requesting device 22 are generated periodically while the mobile communication device is in stand by mode. In this manner, additional advertisement infomiation may be stored in the storage device 26 and/or new advertisement infomiation may replace previous advertisement infoπnation in tlie storage device 26. In a preferred embodiment, the request for advertisement information, the sending of the request, the provision of advertisement infomiation, the reception of the requested advertisement infomiation and the storage of the advertisement information by the requesting device 22, transmission device 23, advertisement device 14, receiving device 24 and the storage device 26, respectively, are perfomied during a non-peak time on the provider network. Thus, the communication of the request and tlie provision of the advertisement infomiation are perfomied at a time when there is little activity on the provider network, hence leaving the network more free during peak hours. , The notification device 28 may be included in the mobile communication device 12 to record the advertisement infomiation presented to the user. The notification device 28 collects and records the advertisement information, more specifically, the advertisement infomiation units presented to the user and provides statistic infomiation related to the advertisement infomiation unit or units presented to the user. The statistic infomiation preferably indicates the specific advertisement infomiation units presented to the user, tlie time during which each unit was presented to the user and the number of times each unit has been presented to the user. The user may also access the statistic infomiation when desired to review the advertisement infomiation units previously presented. The statistic infomiation may also include flags indicating that the user has made use of the statistic infomiation. The flags may indicate that the user has reviewed a specific advertisement infomiation unit or units, has selected and stored some portion of an advertisement infomiation unit or units, whether the user has connected to a web page or hyperlink identified in an advertisement infomiation unit or units and/or telephone a telephone number included in an advertisement unit or units. The statistic infomiation is preferably transmitted to the advertisement device 14 periodically, via the transmission device 23, for example, preferably while the mobile communication device 12 is in stand by mode. The statistic infomiation sent to the advertisement device 14 is preferably utilized to reduce any costs associated with the use of tlie mobile communication system by the user. For example, advertisers associated with the advertisement infomiation reviewed by a specific user, may contribute to the costs of the use of the communication system by the user, or may contribute to the costs of receiving the individual telephone calls during which the advertisement infomiation was presented. Alternatively, the statistic information may be used to track usage of the system for advertising. That is, tlie statistic infoπnation may be used to provide infomiation to advertisers regarding their advertisement to help them focus their advertising efforts. A method of advertising in a mobile communication system is described with reference to Figure 5. In step S51, a request for advertisement infomiation is generated. The request for advertisement information is transmitted to an advertisement device in step S52. In step S53, requested advertisement information is provided from the advertisement device. The requested advertisement information is received from the advertisement device ,at step S54. At step S55, at least the requested advertisement infomiation is stored. Selected advertisement mfomiation from the requested advertisement information is presented to a user of the mobile communication device when a request for connection to a second communication device is received in step S56. In step S57, the selected advertisement infomiation presented to the user is recorded. The method of Figure 5 is substantially that implemented by the system for advertising in a mobile communication system . described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2 and thus need not be described in further detail herein. Another embodiment of a system for advertisement in a mobile communication system is described with reference to Figure 3. The system of Figure 3 is similar to that described above with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 and common reference numbers are used to refer to common elements. The system generally includes at least one mobile communication device 12 connected to an advertisement device 14 via provider network 16 as depicted in Figure 1. The requesting device 22 of the mobile communication device 12 generates a request for advertisement infomiation and the request is transmitted by transmission device 23 to tlie advertisement device 14. The advertisement device 14 provides requested advertisement infomiation and sends the requested advertisement information to the mobile communication device 12 via the provider network 16. The receiving device 24 receives at least the requested advertisement infomiation and the requested advertisement information is stored in storage device 26 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with reference to Figure 2. In the present embodiment, the mobile communication device 12 is a utilized as a calling communication device. That is, the mobile communication device 12 initiates communication with another, or second communication device. A connection request device 29 generates a request for connection to another communication device that is transmitted by the transmission device 23 to the other communication device via the provider network 16. In addition, selected advertisement infomiation from tlie requested advertisement stored in the storage device 26 is transmitted with the request for comiection and is presented to a user of the other communication device when the request for connection is received. In a prefeπed embodiment, the other communication device is substantially similar to the mobile communication device 12 described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Thus, a notification device similar to the notification device 27 described above with reference to Figure 2 records advertisement infoπnation presented to the user of the second communication device and provides statistic infomiation to be transmitted to the advertisement device 14 in a manner similar to that described above. In this embodiment, the statistic information may be utilized offset the cost of using the mobile communications system to the user of the mobile communication device, the user of the second communication device, or to both users. A method for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference with Figure 6. In step S61, a request for advertisement infomiation is generated at a mobile communication device. At step S62, the request for advertisement infomiation is transmitted to an advertisement device. At step S63, requested advertisement infomiation is provided from the advertisement device. In step S64, at least the requested advertisement infomiation provided by the advertisement device is received. At step S65, the requested advertisement infomiation is stored. A request for connection to a second communication device is generated at step S66. In step S67, the request for connection and selected advertisement information from the requested advertisement infomiation are transmitted to the second communication device such that the selected advertisement information and notification infomiation indicating the request for comiection are presented to a user of tlie second communication device when the request for connection is received, and the selected advertisement infoπnation presented to the user of the second communication device is recorded. The method of Figure 6 is substantially similar to that utilized by the system described above with reference to Figure 3, and thus, need not be discussed in further detail. As noted above, it is common for mobile communication devices to include a caller identification function. That is, it is common for mobile communication devices to display the telephone number from which an incoming request for connection originates. In addition, many mobile communication devices may store the telephone number, name and other infomiation of various parties, or contacts of the user, in an electronic phonebook to allow the user easy access to the names and telephone numbers of their contacts. Many mobile communication devices will attempt to match the telephone number of an incoming request for connection to a telephone number stored in the electronic phonebook and will display tlie name of the individual related to the telephone number of tlie incoming call when a match is found. Another embodiment of a system for advertising in a mobile communication is described with reference to Figure 4. The system includes an advertisement device 14 adapted to store a plurality of advertisement infoπnation and to provide requested advertisement information, a mobile communication device 12 and a provider network 16 adapted to allow communication at least between the advertisement device and the mobile communication device similar to those provided in the system described above with reference to Figure 1 and common reference numbers are used to refer to common elements. Figure 4 is a more detailed illustration of tlie mobile communication device 12. The mobile communication device includes a caller identification device 42 adapted to identify a telephone number of an incoming request for connection to the mobile communication device. A request device 44 is adapted to request advertisement infomiation based on tlie identified telephone number. Local advertisement device 46 is adapted to store a plurality of advertisement information related to a plurality of individuals identified at least by telephone number. The request device 44 requests advertisement information from the local advertisement device by passing the identified telephone number to the local advertisement device. The local advertising device compares the identified telephone number to telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals and provides the specific advertisement infomiation related to a matching individual to the request device where it is sent to interface device 47 to be displayed to the user of the mobile communication device. Interface device 47 is substantially similar to the interface device 27 described above with reference to Figure 2. In the event that no matching individual is found in local advertisement device 46, the request device 44 requests advertisement infomiation from the advertisement device 14. This request is perfomied in substantially the same manner as described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. That is the request is generated by request device 44, transmitted to the advertisement device 14, which provides requested advertisement infomiation that is received by the mobile coimiiunication device. In tlie present embodiment, the identified telephone number is sent with the request for advertisement infoπnation to the advertisement device 14. The advertisement device 14 provides requested advertisement information based on the identified telephone number to the request device. The requested advertisement device is presented to the user of the mobile communication device via the interface device 47. In addition, the requested advertisement device and the identified telephone number are stored in the local advertisement device for future use. The requested advertisement information includes a relevant period during which the requested advertisement information is relevant to the owner of the identified phone number. The requested advertisement infomiation and identified telephone number are stored in the local advertisement device at least for the relevant time period. A method for advertising in a mobile communication system according to another embodiment of tlie present disclosure is further described with reference to Figure 7. At step S71, a telephone number of an incoming request for connection to a mobile communication device is identified. In step S72, the identified telephone number is compared to telephone numbers of a plurality of individuals, wherein the telephone numbers of the plurality of individuals are stored in a local advertisement device along with related advertisement infomiation related to each of the plurality of individuals. At step S73, specific advertisement infomiation related to a matching individual when the identified telephone number matches the telephone number of the matching individual is provided. At step S74, the specific advertisement infoπnation is presented to a user of the mobile communication device with notification infomiation indicating the incoming request for comiection via an interface device. Another embodiment of a system for advertising in a mobile communication system is further described with reference to Figure 8. The system of Figure 8 is substantially similar to that described above with reference the Figures 1 and 2 and common reference numbers are used to refer to common elements. The system of Figure 8 further includes a transmission/receiving device 81 for transmitting and receiving infomiation. In addition, a locating device 82, may be included to deteπnine the location of the mobile communication device. Such a feature is commonly included in mobile communication devices. Such devices commonly utilize satellite signals or signals from the network provider to detemiine the location of the mobile communication device 12. The system of figure 8 operates in substantially the same manner as that described above with reference to Figure 1. The transmission/receiving 81 device transmits and receives infoπnation including the request and the requested identification infomiation. Locating device 82 provides location infomiation that may be used to select tlie selected advertisement presented to the user via the interface device 27. The selected advertisement infoπnation presented to the user may be selected based on the location of the mobile communication device. In this manner, tlie user may be presented with advertisement information related to the area or neighborhood tlie user is in. The selected advertisement infomiation may be selected based on the time of day, such that tl e user is presented with advertisement infomiation relevant to the time of day. The requested advertisement information from the advertisement device 14 may include preference infomiation, indicating that certain advertisement infomiation is preferably presented to the user. For example, in certain situations, a specific advertiser may wish to have their advertisements displayed more often than others, the preference infoπnation may be utilized to increase presentation of such advertisement infomiationr- In a further embodiment of the present invention, the advertisement device 14 is controlled by a system administrator to provide the mobile communication devices 12, 12a, 12b, and 12c, shown in Figure 1, with advertisement infomiation including a plurality of advertisement units when the mobile communication devices are in stand by mode. The received advertisement infoπnation including the plurality of advertisement units is stored in the respective storage devices 26 of the mobile communication devices. As described above, by using the locating device 82, shown in, Figure 8, the system administrator of the advertisement device 14 is able to select and present to the users of the mobile communication devices with a selected one of the plurality of advertisement units stored in the mobile communication devices based on the neighborhood the users are currently located. Further, the system administrator of the advertisement device 14 is able to select and present to the users of the mobile communication devices with a selected one of the plurality of advertisement units stored in the mobile communication devices based on the time of day. Advantages of the above-noted features of this further embodiment of the present invention are that the system administrator of the advertisement device 14 is capable of controlling which advertisements are presented to the users of the mobile communication devices based on a predetermined geographical area and time of day. For example, the system administrator is capable of displaying an advertisement unit relating to a particular bar during "happy hour" in a geographical area having a large density of bars. Further, because of the above-noted features of the- present invention the system administrator has tlie advantage of being able to sell to advertisers a particularly targeted advertisement capability not found in previously proposed systems. The present disclosure may be conveniently implemented using one or more conventional general purpose digital computers and/or servers programmed according to the teachings of the present specification. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure including tlie teachings shown in Figures 10-17. Tlie present disclosure may also be implemented by the preparation of application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional components. Numerous additional modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in view of the above-teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, tlie present disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system comprises: an advertisement device adapted to store a plurality of advertisement infomiation and to provide requested advertisement infomiation; a source mobile communication device; and a provider network adapted to provide communication between the advertisement device and the source mobile communication device, wherein the source mobile communication device further comprises: a requesting device adapted to generate a request for advertisement information; a transmission device adapted to send at least the request for advertisement infoπnation to the advertisement device; a receiving device adapted to receive at least the requested advertisement infomiation provided by the advertisement device; a storage device adapted to store at least the requested advertisement infomiation; an interface device adapted to transmit and present selected advertisement infomiation from the requested advertisement infomiation stored in the storage device to a user of a destination mobile communication device when a request for connection to the destination communication device is transmitted by the source mobile communication device; and a notification device adapted to record the selected advertisement mfomiation presented to the user by the interface device.

2. The system of claiml, wherein the plurality of advertisement infomiation stored in the advertisement device is a plurality of advertisement infomiation units, with each advertisement infomiation unit related to a single advertisement.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the requested advertisement infomiation includes at least one advertisement infoπnation unit.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each advertisement infoπnation unit includes at least one of text infomiation, graphical infomiation, and audio infomiation.

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

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the request for advertisement infoπnation includes feature infomiation related to capabilities of the source mobile communication device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the requested advertisement infoπnation is provided based on the feature infomiation.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the interface device further comprises: a display adapted to display text iiifo iation and graphical infomiation to the user; and an audio device adapted to provide audio infomiation to the user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the interface device presents the selected advertisement infomiation to the user when enablement infomiation is detected in the request for connection.

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

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the presentation number of the at least one advertisement infomiation unit included in tlie selected advertisement infomiation decreases by one after tlie interface device presents the selected advertisement information to tlie user.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the notification device provides statistic infomiation related to the selected advertisement infoπnation presented by the interface device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the statistic infomiation includes infomiation related to a number of times the selected advertisement infomiation is presented and a period -of time that the selected advertisement infomiation is presented.

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

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

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the statistic infomiation is transmitted via tlie transmission device to. the advertisement device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the advertisement device utilizes the statistic infomiation to offset a cost of utilizing the mobile communication system to the user.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the advertisement device utilizes the statistic information to track usage of the system.

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

20. A method of advertising in a mobile coimiiunication system comprises: generating a request for advertisement infomiation at a source mobile communication device; transmitting at least the request for advertisement infomiation to an advertisement device; providing requested advertisement infomiation from the advertisement device; receiving at least the requested advertisement infomiation provided by the advertisement device; ^~ storing at least the requested advertisement infomiation; transmitting and presenting selected advertisement infomiation from the stored requested adveitisement infomiation to a user of a destination mobile communication device when a request for connection to the destination communication device is transmitted; and recording the selected advertisement infomiation presented to the user.

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

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the requested advertisement infoπnation includes at least one advertisement infonnatioii unit.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein each advertisement infonnatioii unit includes at least one of text infonnatioii, graphical infomiation, and audio infomiation.

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

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

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the requested advertisement infonnatioii is provided based on the feature infomiation.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein tlie presenting step further comprises: displaying text infomiation and graphical mfoπnation to the user on a display screen; and presenting audio infonnatioii to the user with an audio device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the presenting step further comprises: detecting enabling information in the request for connection from the destination communication device, wherein the selected advertisement infoπnation is presented to tlie user after tlie enabling infomiation is detected.

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

30. The method of claim 29, wherein tlie presentation number of tlie at least one advertisement infonnation unit included in tlie selected advertisement infonnatioii decreases by one after tlie selected advertisement infomiation is presented to the user in the presenting step.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the recording step further comprises providing statistic infomiation related to the selected advertisement infomiation presented to the user in the presenting step.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the statistic information includes infomiation related to a number of times, the selected advertisement infomiation is presented and a period of time that the selected advertisement information is presented.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistic infomiation includes a phone flag indicating that the user called a telephone number included in the selected advertisement infomiation using the source mobile communication device.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the statistic infonnatioii includes a flag indicating that the user accessed a hyperlink identified in the selected advertisement infonnation using the source mobile communication device.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: transmitting the statistic information to the advertisement device.

36. The method of step 35, further comprising: offsetting a cost of using the source mobile communication device to the user of the source mobile communication device based on the statistics infonnatioii.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising tracking usage of the system utilizing the statistic infomiation.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of generating the request is perfomied periodically based on a request time, such that new requested advertisement infonnatioii is provided by the advertisement device and stored in the storage device periodically.

39. A system for advertising in a mobile communication system including a plurality of mobile communication devices, comprising: an advertisement server for storing advertisement infonnation including a plurality of advertisement units and for transmitting to the plurality of mobile communication devices the advertisement infonnation including the plurality of advertisement units; and a provider network for providing communication between the advertisement server and the plurality of mobile communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of mobile communication devices includes a memory for storing the advertisement infonnation including the plurality of advertisement units, and the advertisement server is configured to control the selection of one of the plurali_ty of advertisement units for presentation to users of the plurality of mobile communication devices based on a predetermined location of the users.

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