Method of placing visible advertising

Abstract

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a method of placing visible advertising on the upper surface of a road ( 1 ). This method includes determining the location of any traffic control signs that are applied to the surface of the road, such as the location of signs ( 22, 25 ). Following from this, two exclusion zones ( 31, 32 ) are defined. These zones extend from the respective signs ( 22, 25 ) and terminate at a predetermined minimum distance from the signs. Advertising is then applied to the surface such that it overlies neither the signs nor the exclusion zones. Particularly, the advertising has been placed in the areas bounded by rectangles ( 33, 34 ) which are respectively disposed within lanes ( 7, 8 ).

1 - 50 . (canceled)  
     
     
         51 . A method of placing visible advertising on a surface of a road, the method comprising the steps of: 
 determining the location of one or more traffic control signs that are applied to the surface of the road;    defining exclusion zones that extend from the respective signs and which terminate at a predetermined minimum distance from the signs; and    applying the advertising to the surface such that the advertising overlies neither the signs nor the exclusion zones.    
     
     
         52 . A method according to  claim 51 , wherein 
 the road is subject to a maximum speed limit, and    the method further comprises the step of calculating predetermined minimum distance in response to that limit.    
     
     
         53 . A method of selecting a portion of a road lane for placing visible advertising, the method comprising the steps of: 
 determining a direction of travel of traffic along the lane;    determining a location of two consecutive decision zones along the lane, wherein the zones are spaced apart in the direction of travel to define an upstream zone and a downstream zone;    defining a lead zone that extends from the downstream zone toward the upstream zone and that terminates at a first predetermined distance from the downstream zone; and    selecting the portion to lie between the upstream zone and the lead zone.    
     
     
         54 . A method according to  claim 53 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining a maximum allowable speed of the traffic along the lane; and    being responsive to the maximum allowable speed for calculating the predetermined distance.    
     
     
         55 . A method according to  claim 53 , wherein, to calculate the predetermined distance, the method further comprises the step of multiplying the maximum allowable speed by a constant time factor.  
     
     
         56 . A method according to  claim 55 , wherein the time factor is three seconds.  
     
     
         57 . A method according to  claim 53 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining a maximum allowable speed of the traffic along the lane; and    being responsive to the maximum allowable speed for calculating a minimum length of the visible advertising in the direction of travel.    
     
     
         58 . A method according to  claim 53 , further comprising the step of defining a trailing zone that extends from the upstream zone toward the downstream zone and that terminates at a second predetermined distance from the upstream zone.  
     
     
         59 . A method according to  claim 58 , wherein the first and the second predetermined distances are about equal.  
     
     
         60 . A method according to  claim 58 , wherein the first and the second predetermined distances are not equal and the first predetermined distance is greater than the second predetermined distance.  
     
     
         61 . A method according to  claim 53 , wherein the direction of travel is constant.  
     
     
         62 . A method according to  claim 53 , further comprising the step of applying the visible advertising to the selected portion.  
     
     
         63 . A method according to  claim 62 , wherein 
 the portion includes a surface, and    the method further comprises the step of applying the advertising by modifying the surface.    
     
     
         64 . A method according to  claim 53 , further comprising the step of orienting the visible advertising within the lane for preferential viewing by a user progressing along the lane in the direction of travel.  
     
     
         65 . A method according to  claim 64 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining a probable perspective that the user is to have of the visible advertising while progressing along the lane in the direction of travel; and,    prior to applying the advertising to the portion, adjusting the advertising in response to the probable perspective.    
     
     
         66 . A method according to  claim 53 , wherein the decision zones are traffic control signals.  
     
     
         67 . A method for providing advertising to an advertiser, the method comprising the steps of: 
 obtaining advertising information from the advertiser;    applying visible advertising to a surface of a road in response to the advertising information;    obtaining a weighting that is indicative of traffic flows on the road; and    being responsive to the weighting for determining a time cost for the advertising.    
     
     
         68 . A method according to  claim 67 , wherein the weighting is obtained prior to applying the advertising to the surface.  
     
     
         69 . A method according to  claim 67 , wherein the weighting is obtained after applying the advertising to the surface.  
     
     
         70 . A method according to  claim 67 , wherein 
 the advertising information includes information parcels that are indicative of corresponding visual advertisements from one or more parties, and    the method further comprises the steps of: 
 (a) obtaining order information from the one or more parties for placement of the visual advertisements;  
 (b) defining a plurality of zones on the surface for receiving respective advertisements;  
 (c) categorizing each zone by one or more of: location; size; maximum allowable speed; time period; and premium; and  
 (d) allocating the parcels to the zones in response to a result of the categorizing step and the order information; and  
 wherein the step of applying visible advertising is done in response to the advertising information parcels and the allocation of those parcels.