US6442529B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Methods and apparatus for delivering targeted information and advertising over the internet
Assignee: Hanger Solutions LLC
•
Filing: 1999-07-29
•
Granted: 2002-08-27
•
Expires: 2019-07-29
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus and methods are provided for subsidizing Internet access through advertising using a “portal provider” that supplies a “mini-portal” to the users of selected Internet service providers (ISPs). The mini-portal includes communications hardware, for connecting to the Internet, and display software, for displaying advertisements or other messages from local non-volatile storage during idle time, such as when the user's computer is connecting to the Internet. Advertisers are sold access to display their advertisements through the display software, and the revenue thus generated may be used to subsidize providing the mini-portal and Internet access fees. A validation mechanism is provided wherein a validation server operated by the portal provider sends data to the mini-portal that helps keep the advertisements current, and gives the portal provider an ongoing role in providing advertisements to mini-portal users.
Inventors
- 👤 Baldev Krishan
- 👤 Leo Chien Chang
- 👤 Ronald G. Lambert
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 20:08
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/0241; G06Q30/0251; G06Q30/0254; G06Q30/0273; G06Q30/0277; G06Q30/0283; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q10/109; G06Q10/1091
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 44
Claim 1
Independent Claim
209 words
A computer implemented method for providing a subsidized Internet connection to a user having a mini-portal comprising a communication device for connecting to the Internet and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying the advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the method comprising: associating a unique identifier with the mini-portal; sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertising server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal; using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements; identifying owners of the one or more advertisements; calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user; collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; and using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
209 words
A computer implemented method for providing a subsidized Internet connection to a user having a mini-portal comprising a communication device for connecting to the Internet and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying the advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the method comprising: associating a unique identifier with the mini-portal; sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertising server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal; using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements; identifying owners of the one or more advertisements; calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user; collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; and using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection comprises using a portion of the fee to subsidize supplying the user with the mini-portal device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection comprises using a portion of the fee to subsidize access fees paid by the user to an Internet service provider.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein an Internet service provider sells advertisers an ability to provide content for the advertisements downloaded to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein a portal provider supplies the user with the mini-portal device, and sells the Internet service provider an ability to provide content for the advertisements downloaded to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein a portal provider sells the Internet service provider software that permits the Internet service provider to download the advertisements to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein a portal provider retains an ability to provide content for a first set of advertisements downloaded to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device, and sells the Internet service provider an ability to provide content for a second set of advertisements downloaded to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein the portal provider sells its ability to provide content for the first set of advertisements to one or more advertisers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein a portal provider supplies the user with the mini-portal device, and sells advertisers an ability to provide content for the advertisements downloaded to the Internet access device through the mini-portal device.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the first idle condition is selected from a group consisting of connecting to the Internet, waiting for a server to respond, and Internet browsing being idle for a period of time longer than a predetermined time limit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the second idle condition comprises usage of an Internet connection dropping below a predetermined threshold.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the display software comprises software routines for displaying a message comprising a combination of one or more elements selected from a group consisting of sound, video, animation, music, images, graphics, text, hyperlinks, and interactive content.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the mini-portal device comprises a communication device comprising modem circuitry, network interface circuitry, and hub circuitry.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising verifying that a user does not disable the display software of the mini-portal device.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising collecting information on how many times the advertisements are displayed by the display software.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising using personal information supplied by the user to target the content provided by the advertisers to the user.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
221 words
A method of providing advertisements over the Internet, the method comprising: providing a user with a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met; sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertisement server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal; using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements; calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user; collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection; downloading the one or more advertisements; and storing the one or more advertisements on the Internet access device, so that they may be displayed by the display software.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
221 words
A method of providing advertisements over the Internet, the method comprising: providing a user with a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met; sending the unique identifier over the Internet to a validation server, the validation server comprising a database that associates the unique identifier with a pointer to an advertisement server, the validation server sending the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal; using the pointer to the advertising server to connect to the advertising server over the Internet, the advertising server providing access to one or more advertisements; calculating a fee for displaying the one or more advertisements to the user; collecting the fee from the owners of the one or more advertisements; using a portion of the fee to subsidize the Internet connection; downloading the one or more advertisements; and storing the one or more advertisements on the Internet access device, so that they may be displayed by the display software.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising associating validation information with the unique identifier, and sending a validation stamp including the validation information to the mini-portal.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein sending a validation stamp further comprises sending a validation stamp comprising a duration after which the validation stamp expires.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 19 , further comprising obtaining a new validation stamp for the mini-portal from the validation server when the validation stamp expires.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 19 , further comprising ceasing display of advertisements when the validation stamp expires.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 19 , further comprising disabling the mini-portal when the validation stamp expires.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising sending an index file containing addresses of one or more content servers from the advertising server, and wherein downloading the one or more advertisements comprises contacting the one or more content servers and downloading one or more advertisements from each of the one or more content servers.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein sending the index file further comprises providing a set of parameters.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 24 , wherein providing a set of parameters comprises providing a set of parameters that includes an expiration time for the index file.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 24 , wherein providing a set of parameters comprises providing a set of parameters that includes one or more parameters for use by the display software, the one or more parameters affecting the first idle condition.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein providing a user with a mini-portal device comprises providing a mini-portal device in which the first idle condition is selected from a group consisting of connecting to the Internet, waiting for a server to respond, and Internet browsing being idle for a period of time longer than a predetermined time limit.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein providing a user with a mini-portal device comprises providing a mini-portal device in which the second idle condition comprises usage of an Internet connection dropping below a predetermined threshold.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein providing a user with a mini-portal device comprises providing display software that displays a message comprising a combination of one or more elements selected from a group consisting of sound, video, animation, music, images, graphics, text, hyperlinks, and interactive content.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein providing a user with a mini-portal device comprises providing a mini-portal device in which the communication device of the mini-portal comprises modem circuitry, network interface circuitry, and hub circuitry.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising verifying that the display software is not disabled.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising automatically reloading the display software if the display software is disabled.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising collecting information on how many times each of the one or more advertisements have been displayed by the display software.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 33 , further comprising establishing a connection to a statistics server, and sending the information on how many times each of the one or more advertisements have been displayed by the display software to the statistics server.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
164 words
A server that controls the access of one or more clients to advertising material, each of the one or more clients comprising a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the server comprising: a processor; a communication device connecting the server to the Internet; a storage device containing a database that associates the unique identifier of the mini-portal device with a pointer to an advertising server; and a memory, the memory comprising: an initialization routine that accepts the unique identifier of the mini-portal over the Internet, and sends the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
164 words
A server that controls the access of one or more clients to advertising material, each of the one or more clients comprising a mini-portal device having a unique identifier, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the server comprising: a processor; a communication device connecting the server to the Internet; a storage device containing a database that associates the unique identifier of the mini-portal device with a pointer to an advertising server; and a memory, the memory comprising: an initialization routine that accepts the unique identifier of the mini-portal over the Internet, and sends the pointer to the advertising server to the mini-portal.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
42 words
The server of claim 35 , wherein the database further associates validation information with the unique identifier of the mini-portal device, and wherein the memory further comprises a validation routine that sends a validation stamp including the validation information to the mini-portal.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
140 words
An advertisement server, that sends pointers to advertisements to a mini-portal device, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the advertisement server comprising: a processor; a communication device connecting the server to the Internet; a storage device containing an index file, the index file comprising pointers to one or more content servers; and a memory, the memory comprising: an advertisement routine that sends the index file to the mini-portal device in response to a request from the mini-portal device.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
140 words
An advertisement server, that sends pointers to advertisements to a mini-portal device, the mini-portal device comprising a communication device and display software that causes advertisements to be displayed on a screen of an Internet access device, the display software displaying advertisements stored on the Internet access device only when a first idle condition is met, the display software downloading the advertisements over the Internet and storing the advertisements on the Internet access device when a second idle condition is met, the advertisement server comprising: a processor; a communication device connecting the server to the Internet; a storage device containing an index file, the index file comprising pointers to one or more content servers; and a memory, the memory comprising: an advertisement routine that sends the index file to the mini-portal device in response to a request from the mini-portal device.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
42 words
The advertisement server of claim 37 , wherein the storage device further contains a parameter file, and the memory further comprises a parameter routine that sends the parameter file to the mini-portal device in response to a request from the mini-portal device.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
19 words
The advertisement server of claim 38 , wherein the parameter file contains parameters for use by the display software.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
15 words
The advertisement server of claim 39 , wherein the parameters affect the first idle condition.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-08-26 | 2006-02-25 | 2006-08-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-08-26 | 2010-02-25 | 2010-08-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-08-26 | 2014-02-25 | 2014-08-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |