Abstract:
A method and system for displaying advertisements in an unobtrusive manner alongside video content. The method comprises displaying primary content on a first region of a display and displaying an advertisement on a second region of the display, wherein the first and second regions of the display are separate screens on the same device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to the field of mobile video content. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and mobile device for displaying advertisements in an unobtrusive manner alongside video content. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Many on-line services offer free content. Revenue is generated through selling advertisements that are shown along with the primary content. Websites show advertisements in pop-over or pop-up windows, through interruptions in the content or in other obtrusive manners. Many times users are able to remove the ads by paying a subscription to the service or by purchasing content as desired. The problem with these solutions is that the users become annoyed with the ads interrupting or obscuring the content they are trying to enjoy. This may make the users give up trying to watch and instead find something better to do with their time. 
         [0003]    What is needed is a way to continue to show advertisements for revenue generation but in an unobtrusive manner. Besides being more agreeable with a user, many more ads can be shown during the session, because they can be shown continuously without hampering the user&#39;s ability to enjoy the content. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention relates to a mobile device for displaying advertisements in an unobtrusive manner alongside video content. 
         [0005]    In some embodiments of the present invention, there is a physical screen comprising multiple non-overlapping regions wherein the primary content and secondary content are shown in different regions. In some embodiments, the invention comprises more than one physical screen wherein the primary content and the secondary content are shown on different physical screens, which are located adjacent to each other or separated by a small gap. The user is able to see the primary content on a main screen or region while advertisements are displayed on a second screen or region, without the ads blocking or interrupting the main content. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments, a second screen is attached to the first screen with a hinge, so that the second screen can be folded onto the first screen when the device is not in use. In some embodiments, there are additional screens also hinged to the main screen. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, ads are related to the video content. The ads are chosen specifically to align with the main content because of a perceived increase in interest for the product or service being sold based on the topic of the primary content or other metrics. When a user chooses to watch certain content, it is presumed that he or she would be interested in a certain group of products or services, and ads targeting this user can be shown on the additional screens. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of the overall device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2   a  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the hardware of the device with more than one screen. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2   b  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the hardware of the device with one screen comprising multiple regions. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart describing operation of an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration of specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  presents embodiments of a mobile handheld device for displaying advertisements in an unobtrusive manner alongside video content. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the device comprises one or more displays with the ability to present to the user one or more content regions. The device in each of these examples can be comfortably held in a user&#39;s hand while watching the content.  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d  show various, non-limiting examples of the physical design of the invention. In each drawing of  FIG. 1 , multiple display regions can be seen where secondary content can be shown along with the primary content. For example, in  FIG. 1   a , primary content is shown in display region  10  while at the same time, secondary content may be displayed in content region  20 . Additionally, display regions  30 ,  40  and  50  may display additional secondary content.  FIGS. 1   b - 1   d  show alternate device shapes and configurations with different regions for secondary content. 
         [0014]    The main content can be a movie, short video clips, a presentation, a picture slide show, a live video feed, or any other content that a user wishes to view. The optimal aspect ratio of the display region for showing primary content is 16:9, which is the international standard format of HDTV, but it can be in any aspect ratio, as long as the display region for showing the primary content is rectangular. The secondary content can be advertisements, reminders, information relating to the main content, or any other information that the content provider wishes to convey to the user. Display regions for showing secondary content are not limited to being rectangular and may be any shape, examples of which are shown in  FIGS. 1   b  and  1   c.    
         [0015]      FIG. 2   a  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the hardware of the invention. This is only a high-level diagram and should not be used to limit the device to only these components. Main display  210  is connected to a device driver  220  that drives the display. The main display  210  presents the primary content and is rectangular in shape. Driver  220  is connected to a CPU  230  which is the main controller for the entire device. A second display  212  is connected to or integral with a second device driver  222  that drives the second display. Device Driver  222  is also connected to CPU  230 . The second display  212  may be connected to or integral with driver  220  if driver  220  is capable of driving two displays at once. In this case, driver  222  would not be needed. The second display  212  presents secondary content to the user. In addition to second display  212 , there may be any number of displays  214  for also presenting secondary content. These second displays may each be connected to or integral with corresponding device drivers  224 —or as with second display  212 , they may be connected to or integral with device driver  220 , if device driver  220  is so capable. Second displays  212 ,  214  are not limited to being rectangular and could be any shape, as represented, for example, by elements  20  and  30  in  FIG. 1   b . Displays for presenting secondary content are situated outside the regular shape and region of the main display. 
         [0016]    Attached to CPU  230  is storage  240 , which can be a hard drive or solid state RAM or any other memory to store the programs needed to run the device, perhaps including an operating system and web browser. Storage  240  can also store primary and secondary content to be viewed by the user if the user is not connected to any content provider. Also attached to CPU  230  is a wireless transceiver  250  that is able to communicate wirelessly to a wireless connection point  260 , such as wireless router or a cell-phone service, in order to connect to a content provider  270 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 2   b  is a block diagram of another embodiment of the hardware of the invention. This is only a high-level diagram and should not be used to limit the device to only these components. The basic components  220 - 270  may be the same as in  FIG. 2   a . Here, main display  280  comprises more than one display region, at least regions  282  and  284 . Region  282  may display the primary content and region  284  may display secondary content. Any number of other regions  286  can also display secondary content. The regions displaying secondary content are not limited to being rectangular and could be any shape, as represented, for example, by elements  20  and  30  in  FIG. 1   b . Regions for presenting secondary content are situated outside the regular shape and region of region  282 , which presents the primary content. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart that shows an embodiment of how content arrives at and is displayed on the device. At step  310 , the user connects to a content provider. At step  312 , the provider checks to see if the user has an account. If the user has an account with the provider, then the user may need to only provide a password to login to the system at step  314 . If the user does not have an account, he or she may sign up for the content at step  316 . At step  320 , the user chooses a video or some other content to be played on the device. Alternatively, the user may have selected content at an earlier time or may be in the middle of watching certain content, in which case this content will be readied to play on the device. At step  330 , the primary content is played on the first display (for example, element  210  in  FIG. 2   a ) while at the same time secondary content may be shown on the second display (for example, element  212  in  FIG. 2   a ) at step  340 . One will recognize that other embodiments may include the content being stored in the device&#39;s memory, so that it can be watched while the device is not connected to the content provider. In this case, the secondary content may also be stored in the device&#39;s memory to be displayed alongside the main content. 
         [0019]    Alternatively, a combination of stored content and online content may be viewed by the user. Primary content may be stored on the device while updated or alternate secondary content is fed from the content provider to the device. This keeps the advertisements current. Updates to the secondary content may also be downloaded while the user is not actively using the device, so that the updated secondary content is ready when the user views the primary content.