Abstract:
A system and methods are disclosed for transmitting state specifications defining a location and state within a virtual reality environment to one or more recipients. The transmitted state specification would permit the recipient to enter into the virtual reality environment at the location specified and with any other included state parameters in effect.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to systems designed for the promotion of goods, services, and incentives, and to systems for electronic shopping. Within this field, it focuses on the use of an interactive graphical representation of a real or imagined environment (virtual reality) as a venue for conducting electronic commerce and the related activities of promotion, presentation of incentives, and communication between seller and potential buyer.  
           [0002]    The present invention addresses one aspect of communication between seller and buyer; namely, the transmission of an encoded state specification to one or more recipients enabling the recipients to enter the virtual reality system at the specified state or location.  
           [0003]    An interactive system capable of generating graphical representation of a real or imagined physical space is herein referred to as a “virtual reality system”. The term “interactive” in this context implies that the user may control or change their view of the system in such a way as to simulate continuous or quasi-continuous movement through the represented space, or otherwise simulate a change of position within the represented space, or to simulate changing the direction or field of view within the represented space. There may be other aspects of control or manipulation within such a system, but user control of viewpoint is the defining characteristic with respect to this invention. The means of representing the space may include raster-based imagery, such as photographs or video images, or vector-based graphical imagery, such as 3-dimensional models rendered by ray-tracing or other methods, or combinations of raster and vector-based imagery.  
           [0004]    Virtual reality systems according to this definition may be implemented as a simple collection of views of a place where transitions from one view to another are defined as referential links. Or they may be implemented as dynamical systems where a range of possible states of the system and possible transitions from one state to another are defined in terms of a set of scalar dimensions or mathematical graphs, or combinations of these methods. A set of values specifying such a view, or specifying points along such dimensions, or referencing specific nodes or edges within such a mathematical graph, or combinations of such values, or symbols which can be translated into or used to refer to such values, is referred to herein as a “state specification”.  
           [0005]    One implementation of this invention, for example, would allow a seller to transmit a state specification to one or more potential buyers, in order that they may enter the virtual reality system at a desired location and receive promotional information intended by the seller.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    This invention was conceived in the course of developing virtual reality systems as venues for the promotion and sale of goods and services over publicly accessible communications networks such as “the Internet”.  
           [0007]    It became apparent that sellers promoting goods and services through such systems need a means of transmitting state information to potential customers sufficient that they could be brought into the system at a specific location or state. Furthermore, sellers desired to provide marketing messages, both in the transmitted message and within the virtual reality environment upon entry.  
           [0008]    A variety of digitally-encoded messaging systems, including electronic mail and instant messaging systems, have been widely used to distribute promotional and advertising information over publicly accessible communication networks such as the Internet.  
           [0009]    The present invention was conceived to address the issue of transmitting state information via such messaging systems as electronic mail and instant messaging, and further to address the desire to incorporate customized content within the transmitted message and within the virtual reality environment at the point of entry and optionally at other locations within the represented space.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention comprises a system of methods and processes which enable information in the form of coordinates, nodal references, and other state-defining parameters of a virtual reality system to be transmitted by value or by reference to one or more recipients via publicly accessible communication network in such a manner that recipients may enter into said virtual reality system at the specific state or location desired by the sender.  
           [0011]    Methods are disclosed which allow a user of the system, typically a seller or promoter of goods and services, to select the state of the system he wishes to transmit either by reference or by navigating or otherwise manipulating the virtual reality system into the desired state and then initiating a subsequent process, whereby a record is made of all or part of the necessary state information as exemplified by the then current state of the system at the time the request is initiated;  
           [0012]    Methods are disclosed which allow the user of the system to compose a message and embed therein or attach thereto such recorded state information or an identification by which said state information may be later retrieved;  
           [0013]    Methods are disclosed which allow the user of the system to compose text or other specific content and cause this material to be presented within or in conjunction with the representation of the virtual reality environment upon entry by one or more of the recipients of such a transmitted message;  
           [0014]    Methods are disclosed which allow the user of the system to indicate a list of one or more recipient address specifications to which the message should be delivered;  
           [0015]    Methods are disclosed by which the user of the system may initiate and manage the transmission of such a message to a desired list of recipients.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a state-specification delivery system representative of the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the exemplary central controller of FIG. 1;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 illustrates a sample set of tables from the Virtual Reality database of FIG. 2;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 illustrates a sample set of tables from the Seller database of FIG. 2;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 illustrates a sample set of tables from the Recipient List database of FIG. 2;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 illustrates a sample table from the Transmission database of FIG. 2;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 illustrates a sample process for transmitting a state specification of the Virtual Reality Environment of FIG. 2 to a list of recipients. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]    [0023]FIG. 1 shows a system for managing the transmission of state information in conjunction with virtual reality environments (VRE)  100 . The system receives requests for graphical representations from buyers  110 ,  120 ,  130  and requests for creation and transmission of electronic messages from sellers  140 ,  150 ,  160 .  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of an illustrative central controller  100 . The central controller  100  includes certain standard hardware components, such as a central processing unit (CPU)  205 , a random access memory (RAM)  210 , a read only memory (ROM)  220 , a clock  225 , a data storage device  230 , and a communications port  240 . The CPU  205  can be linked to each of the other listed elements, either by means of a shared data bus, or dedicated connections, as shown in FIG. 2. The communications port  240  connects the central controller  100  to each buyer  110  and seller  130 . The communications port  240  can include multiple communication channels for simultaneously establishing a plurality of connections.  
         [0025]    The ROM  220  and/or data storage device  230  are operable to store one or more instructions, discussed further below in conjunction with FIG. 7, which the CPU  205  is operable to retrieve, interpret and execute. For example, the ROM  220  and/or data storage device  230  can store processes to accomplish the retrieval, composition, and delivery of graphic scenes with inserted content and supplemental material to sellers  130  and buyers  110 . Similarly, the ROM  220  and/or data storage device  230  can store processes to accomplish the retrieval, composition, and delivery of electronic messages via the communications port  240  to buyers  110 ,  120 ,  130 .  
         [0026]    As discussed further below in conjunction with FIGS. 3 through 6, respectively, the data storage device  230  includes a Virtual Reality Environment database  300 , a Seller database  400 , a Recipient List database  500 , and a Message Transmission database  600 .  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3. The Virtual Reality Environment (VRE) database  300  stores information defining all of the discrete loci, or nodes  310 , of the virtual reality environment within the VRE system, including geographic coordinates as well as the information required to generate a representation of the environment at that location. The virtual reality environment database also stores information defining connections  320  linking any given location to other locations within the virtual environment and to other information resources within the VRE system accessible from that location, including representations of any objects, product descriptions, or virtual people within the representational bounds of that locus.  
         [0028]    The virtual reality environment database also stores information describing all resources used to generate cartographic or isomorphic representations of the virtual reality environment in whole or part  330 , as well as the connections  340  from such representations to other information resources within the VRE system  100 . Buyers  110 ,  120 ,  130  may use these connections to control their movement through the virtual reality environment or to access other information resources including object representations, product descriptions, and virtual people.  
         [0029]    It is to be understood that the implementation of a Virtual Reality Environment does not require such a database structure and that the means of implementation of the Virtual Reality Environment is immaterial to the present invention. This figure is included as a sample implementation of a broader class of systems wherein the user could navigate to a desired location and from that point cause the system to derive or otherwise receive the state specification required for the processes central to the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 4. The Seller database  400  stores information on each seller  140 ,  150 ,  160  registered with the VRE system  100 , including contact information and username and password  410 .  
         [0031]    The Seller database  400  also stores information on each location or venue within the virtual reality environment which is associated with each seller  140 , 150 , 160 , including contact information and type of venue, as well as metric and descriptive information pertinent to each type of location or venue  420 .  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5. The Recipient List database  500  stores information on each recipient  110 ,  120 ,  130  to whom the seller  416  may transmit a message in a list of recipients  510 .  
         [0033]    The Recipient List database also includes grouping information permitting a seller  416  to define and maintain one or more independent lists of recipients, as recorded in the Recipient Lists table  520  and the Recipient List Members table  530 .  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 6. The Message Transmission database  600  stores information on each message transmitted, including such details as the recipient, the method of transmission, and the date of transmission, as well as the composed message, any state information needed to indicate the destination location within the Virtual Reality environment, and any differentiated content intended for viewing by the recipient upon entry at the specified location.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7. The Process for Transmitting State Information to a Recipient List  700  illustrates a sample process by which a seller  416  may compose a message containing state information defining a desired entry point and transmit it to one or more recipients. In this example, the seller  416  first enters the virtual reality environment and navigates to the desired state or location he wishes his recipients to enter  710 . He then initiates a message transmission process by triggering an actuating mechanism in the control interface of the virtual reality system.  720 , at which time the present state of the virtual reality environment is recorded by the central controller. He provides a username and password in a form provided  725 , and upon submission, this information, together with current state information defining his position within the virtual reality environment is returned to the central controller  100 . Upon receipt, the central control system authenticates his identity as a registered user  730  by means of reference to the Seller database  400  and retrieves a list of Recipient Lists  520  to which he is permitted access  740 .  
         [0036]    The central controller system  100  then provides to the user a message-composition form, allowing him to compose whatever text or other data is to be included in the message  750 . The composition form also provides a mechanism sufficient to allow the seller to compose differentiated content to be presented to the recipient upon entry into the virtual reality environment. The composition form also allows the seller to select the Recipient List  525  and the delivery method to be used in transmitting the message.  
         [0037]    When the user has finished composing these materials  760 , the form is submitted to the server. The server then retrieves the appropriate list of recipient addresses  770  and constructs a Message Transmission record  601  for each recipient on the list  780 . The system performs final composition of messages, including the insertion of the correctly formatted state information  790 . The system may then call an auxiliary process, such as a sendmail program in the case of electronic mail messages, to transmit the messages to their intended recipients  795 . Upon completion of the delivery, the system returns a status report to the seller  797 .  
         [0038]    It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown and described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.