Location enhanced information delivery system

Abstract

The Location Enhanced Information Deliver System Architecture (LEIA) customizes the information that is displayed to an information recipient based on optimizing a match between information purveyors, such as advertisers, and the information recipients who are local to an information delivery system. The present location enhanced information delivery system presents the information most suited to the real current audience, as measured by location information systems, rather than to a static predicted audience. While the preferred embodiment discloses a beaconing-style wireless technology, the system concept is easily extensible both to other location-information systems, such as license-plate scanning with cameras, and to utilizing the location-information for private displays of information in addition to public displays of information.

1 . A system for customizing the delivery of information by an information server to a plurality of information recipients, wherein said information server transmits said information to information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, comprising: 
 means for determining a presence of potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server;    means for determining an identity of said potential information recipients of said information; and    means for modifying said information as a function of said determined identity of said potential information recipients.    
   
   
       2 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 1  wherein said means for determining a presence comprises: 
 means for establishing a wireless communication connection to a user terminal device in the possession of said potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       3 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 2  wherein said means for determining a presence further comprises: 
 means for retrieving a location identifier from said user terminal device in the possession of said potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server, wherein said location identifier is unique to said user terminal device.    
   
   
       4 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 3  wherein said means for determining an identity comprises: 
 means, responsive to said location identifier, for associating said location identifier with a user identifier that uniquely identifies said user.    
   
   
       5 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 4  wherein said means for determining an identity further comprises: 
 means, responsive to said user identifier, for associating said user identifier with a user profile that identifies predetermined characteristics of said user.    
   
   
       6 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of claim wherein said means for modifying said information comprises: 
 means, responsive to said user profiles of said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, for identifying an appropriate set of information to be displayed to said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       7 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 6  wherein said means for modifying said information further comprises: 
 means for transmitting said identified appropriate set of information to said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       8 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 1  wherein said means for determining an identity comprises: 
 means, responsive to determining a presence of a potential information recipient of said information in said vicinity of said information server, for generating a user identifier that uniquely identifies said potential information recipient.    
   
   
       9 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 8  wherein said means for determining an identity further comprises: 
 means, responsive to said user identifier, for associating said user identifier with a user profile that identifies predetermined characteristics of said potential information recipient.    
   
   
       10 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 1  wherein said means for modifying said information comprises: 
 means, responsive to said determined identity of said potential information recipients, for identifying an appropriate set of information to be displayed to said potential information recipients.    
   
   
       11 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 10  wherein said means for modifying said information further comprises: 
 means for transmitting said identified appropriate set of information to said potential information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       12 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 2  wherein said means for modifying said information further comprises: 
 means for prefetching said information to said information server from at least one data source where said information is stored.    
   
   
       13 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 12  wherein said means for prefetching comprises: 
 means for producing a prioritized plurality of information segments from each of a plurality of data items which are available from said at least one data source; and    means for providing data to said user terminal device, identifying a selected data item by a first of said prioritized information segments of said selected data item.    
   
   
       14 . A method for customizing the delivery of information by an information server to a plurality of information recipients, wherein said information server transmits said information to information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, comprising the steps of: 
 determining a presence of potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server;    determining an identity of said potential information recipients of said information; and    modifying said information as a function of said determined identity of said potential information recipients.    
   
   
       15 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 14  wherein said step of determining a presence comprises: 
 establishing a wireless communication connection to a user terminal device in the possession of said potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       16 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 15  wherein said step of determining a presence further comprises: 
 retrieving a location identifier from said user terminal device in the possession of said potential information recipients of said information in said vicinity of said information server, wherein said location identifier is unique to said user terminal device.    
   
   
       17 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 16  wherein said step of determining an identity comprises: 
 associating, in response to said location identifier, said location identifier with a user identifier that uniquely identifies said user.    
   
   
       18 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 17  wherein said step of determining an identity further comprises: 
 associating, in response to said user identifier, said user identifier with a user profile that identifies predetermined characteristics of said user.    
   
   
       19 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 18  wherein said step of modifying said information comprises: 
 identifying, in response to said user profiles of said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, an appropriate set of information to be displayed to said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       20 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 19  wherein said step of modifying said information further comprises: 
 transmitting said identified appropriate set of information to said information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       21 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 14  wherein said step of determining an identity comprises: 
 generating, in response to determining a presence of a potential information recipient of said information in said vicinity of said information server, a user identifier that uniquely identifies said potential information recipient.    
   
   
       22 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 21  wherein said step of determining an identity further comprises: 
 associating, in response to said user identifier, said user identifier with a user profile that identifies predetermined characteristics of said potential information recipient.    
   
   
       23 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 14  wherein said step of modifying said information comprises: 
 identifying, in response to said determined identity of said potential information recipients, an appropriate set of information to be displayed to said potential information recipients.    
   
   
       24 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 23  wherein said step of modifying said information further comprises: 
 transmitting said identified appropriate set of information to said potential information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server.    
   
   
       25 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 15  wherein said step of modifying said information further comprises: 
 prefetching said information to said information server from at least one data source where said information is stored.    
   
   
       26 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 25  wherein said step of prefetching comprises: 
 producing a prioritized plurality of information segments from each of a plurality of data items which are available from said at least one data source; and    providing data to said user terminal device, identifying a selected data item by a first of said prioritized information segments of said selected data item.    
   
   
       27 . A system for customizing the delivery of information by an information server to a plurality of information recipients, wherein said information server transmits said information to information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, comprising: 
 means for determining a population of information recipients in said vicinity of said information server;    means for determining an identity of each of said information;    means for determining a composite user profile for said population of information recipients; and    means for delivering information that is a function of said composite user profile.    
   
   
       28 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 27  wherein said means for modifying comprises: 
 means for pricing delivery of said information based on bids received from information purveyors.    
   
   
       29 . The system for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 28  wherein said means for modifying further comprises: 
 means for providing said composite user profile to said information purveyors.    
   
   
       30 . A method for customizing the delivery of information by an information server to a plurality of information recipients, wherein said information server transmits said information to information recipients who are located within a predetermined vicinity of said information server, comprising the steps of: 
 determining a population of information recipients in said vicinity of said information server;    determining an identity of each of said information;    determining a composite user profile for said population of information recipients; and    delivering information that is a function of said composite user profile.    
   
   
       31 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 30  wherein said step of modifying comprises: 
 pricing delivery of said information based on bids received from information purveyors.    
   
   
       32 . The method for customizing the delivery of information of  claim 31  wherein said step of modifying further comprises: 
 providing said composite user profile to said information purveyors.