Patent Publication Number: US-2006015531-A1

Title: Device and system for digital signage

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to methods and systems for digital signage.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The term “electronic signage” refers to the display of visual content on an electronic display screen for public viewing. The displayed visual content may be, for example, advertising or information to people in the vicinity of the display screen. In contrast to traditional billboards displaying printed matter, electronic signage allows display of animated or video sequences. Electronic signage also allows rapid changeover of the displayed contents. The rapid changeover of electronic signage also allows an electronic display screen to display, intermittently, several different visual content items over a time period. This prevents the boredom generated by traditional billboards once their visual content has been on display for a relatively short period of time.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,603 to Hunter discloses a system for placement of visual content on electronic displays. Advertisers send advertisements over the Internet to a server. The advertisements are then transmitted from the server over a communications network to one or more electronic displays. The communications network may be a high speed cable, a satellite communication system, a dedicated phone line, the Internet, a cellular phone system, or radio/radio pulse transmission.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In its first aspect, the present invention provides a display device for digital signage. The display device includes an electronic display screen. The device further includes a PC-based player. The PC-based player is a multimedia player configured to play a multimedia format such a MPEG, 1/2/4, FLASH, JPEG and Power Point in a scheduled manner. The PC-player has a memory and is configured to display one or more multimedia presentations stored in its memory on the display screen. The player is also configured to receive one or more multimedia presentation files from a portable storage device, and to store multimedia presentation files downloaded from the portable storage device in the PC-player memory. Downloading of multimedia presentation files from the portable storage device to the PC-memory may be by means of a wired or a wireless connection. The display device of the invention is not configured to be connected to a communications network.  
      In its second aspect, the invention provides a system for digital signage. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the system includes one or more display devices for digital signage of the invention. The system also includes a programming station that may be, for example, a personal computer. The programming station includes a processor configured to run a computer program for designing one or more multimedia presentations (referred to herein as “clips”) for display on a display device of the system. A clip designed at the programming station may be stored in a memory associated with the processor.  
      The system also includes a portable storage device having a processor and a memory. The processor of the portable storage device and the programming station processor are configured to allow one or more clips designed at the programming station to be transferred from the programming station processor to the memory of the portable storage device. Together with each clip, auxiliary information relating to the clip may also be transferred from the programming station processor and the memory of the portable storage device. Such auxiliary information may include, for example, the display devices in the system in which the clip is to be displayed or the precise times at which it is to be displayed on each specific display device (scheduling). A clip, together with any auxiliary information, may be transferred from the programming station to the portable storage device over a wired or wireless connection.  
      It is also possible to send the programming products (i.e. the clip/s and the playlist) to a remote PC and there to be downloaded to the portable device After one or more clips have been stored in the portable storage device memory, the portable storage device is brought into proximity with one of the digital signage devices of the system. One or more clips, possibly with auxiliary information relating to the clips, are then downloaded from the memory of the portable storage device to the memory of the PC-player.  
      In its third aspect, the invention provides a fixture having an integrated device for digital signage in accordance with the invention. The fixture may be, for example, a billboard or a sales rack. The fixture does not need to be connected by a wired connection to a communication network.  
      Thus, in accordance with one of its aspects, the invention provides a device for digital signage comprising: 
          (a) an electronic display screen;     (b) a player having a first memory, configured to: 
            (i) communicate with a portable storage device having a second memory, so as to download one or more multimedia presentation files from the second memory to the first memory; and     (ii) display on the display screen one or more multimedia files stored in the first memory.    
               

      In another of its aspects, the invention provides a system for digital signage comprising: 
          (a) one or more devices for digital signage according to the invention;     (b) a programming station having a third memory configured to store one or more multimedia presentation files and to communicate with a portable storage device having a second memory, so as to transfer one or more multimedia presentation files from the third memory to the second memory; and     (c) one or more portable storage devices, each portable storage device having a second memory, each portable storage device being configured to 
            (i) receive one or more multimedia presentation files stored in the third memory and store the one or more multimedia presentation files in the second memory; and     (ii) download one or more multimedia presentations stored in the second memory to a first memory of one or more of the players.    
               

      In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a method for digital signage comprising: 
          (a) transferring one or more multimedia presentation files from a third memory of a programming station to a second memory of a portable storage device; and     (b) downloading one or more multimedia presentation files stored in the second memory of the portable storage device to a first memory of a player, and     (c) displaying on an electronic display screen one or more multimedia files stored in the first memory.        

    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  shows a display device for digital signage in accordance with one aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  shows a system for digital signage in accordance with another aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 3  shows downloading of an multimedia presentation to a display device for digital signage of the invention;  
       FIG. 4  shows a billboard having an integrated device for digital signage in accordance with the invention; and  
       FIG. 5  shows a sales rack having an integrated device for digital signage in accordance with the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       FIG. 1  shows a display device  1  for digital signage in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The display device  1  includes an electronic display screen  2  that may be, for example, a plasma screen. The screen  2  has one or more associated sound speakers  4 . The device  1  further includes a PC-based player  3 . The player  3  is a multimedia player configured to play a multimedia format such a MPEG, 1/2/4, FLASH, JPEG and Power Point in a scheduled manner. The player  3  has a memory  5  and is configured to display one or more multimedia presentations stored in the memory  5  on the display screen  2 . The player  3  is further configured to receive one or more multimedia presentation files from a portable storage device, as described below.  
       FIG. 2  shows a system  10  for digital signage in accordance with one embodiment of this aspect of the invention. The system  10  includes one or more display devices  11  for digital signage of the invention. In the system  10 , two devices for digital signage,  11   a  and  11   b  are shown. This is by way of example only, and the system of the invention may be implemented with any number of devices  11  for digital signage of the invention.  
      As described above in reference to  FIG. 1 , the devices  11   a  and  11   b  include an electronic display screen  2   a  and  2   b , respectively, and a PC based player  3   a  and  3   b , respectively. The display screens  2   a  and  2   b  include a speaker  4   a  and  4   b , respectively. The PC-players  3   a  and  3   b  are multimedia players configured to play a multimedia format such a MPEG, 1/2/4, FLASH, JPEG and Power Point in a scheduled manner. The PC-players  3   a  and  3   b  have a memory  5   a  and  5   b , respectively, and are configured to display one or more multimedia presentations stored in its memory on the display screen  2   a  and  2   b , respectively.  
      The system  10  further includes a programming station  12  that may be a personal computer. The programming station  12  includes a processor  13  having an associated memory for storing one or more clips to be displayed on one or more of the display devices  11 . The programming station  12  may be configured to run a computer program for designing one or more clips to be displayed on one or more of the display devices  11 . A clip designed at the programming station may be stored in the memory associated with the process  13 .  
      The system  10  also includes one or more portable storage devices  14 . Each portable storage device  14  includes a processor  15  and a memory  16 . The processor  13  of the programming station  12  and the processor  15  of the portable storage device  14  are configured to allow one or more clips stored in the memory of the programming station  12  to be transferred from the programming station processor  13  to the memory  16  of the portable storage device processor  15 . Each clip may be transferred from the programming station processor  13  to the memory  16  of the portable storage device processor  15  together with auxiliary information relating to the clip. A clip may be transferred from the processor  13  to the processor  15  over a wired connection. In a preferred embodiment, the portable storage device  14  may be provided with a plug  17  configured to be inserted into a mated socket  18  on the processor  13 , for transferring clips from the programming station memory to the memory  16  of the portable storage device. Alternatively, clips from the programming station  12  may be transferred to the portable storage device  14  over a wireless connection. Each clip transferred from the processor  13  to the processor  15  is stored in a separate entry  21  in the memory  16 . Alternatively, the programming products may be sent to a remote station such as a PC, for example, as an e-mail attachment or using FTP. The remote PC does not need to run the programming software. The portable storage device (PDA) can then be uploaded from the remote PC.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , after one or more clips have been stored in the memory  16 , the portable storage device  14  is brought into proximity with one of the digital signage devices  11  of the invention, such as the digital signage device  11   a . The one or more clips that are to be downloaded onto the memory  5   a  of the player  3   a  are then downloaded onto the memory of the player  3   a  together with the play-list that contains the scheduling program for the player  3   a . This may be carried out, for example, by inputting a numerical code identifying each player to a keypad  19  in order to download the dedicated pre programmed play-list and clips for this player. The processor then transmits the clip, together with auxiliary information relating to the clip, to the memory  5   a . Alternatively, a numerical code identifying the display device  11   a  may be input to the keypad  19 , and the clips to be downloaded to this display device are then downloaded to the memory  5   a  of the PC-player  3   a.    
      Downloading of a clip from the memory  16 , of the portable program storage device  14  to the memory  5   a  of the PC-based player  3   a  may be via a wireless connection. Alternatively, the PC-based player  3   a  of the digital display device  11   a  may be provided with a socket  18 ′ to receive the plug  17  of the portable storage device  14  for downloading clips to the memory  5   a , as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
      The display device  1  may be integrated into a fixture. For example,  FIG. 4  shows a billboard  20  having an integrated device  1  for digital signage in accordance with the invention. The display screen  2  and associated sound speaker  4  are exposed on the surface of the billboard  20 , while the player  3  is concealed in an interior chamber of the billboard  20 . The billboard is designed to display printed matter such as a poster  22 . Power for the device  1  is provided from an electrical socket  23  via an electric cable  24 . The billboard  20  does not need to be connected by a wired connection to a communication network. In  FIG. 4 , communication between a portable storage device  14   a  and the player  3  is established by inserting the portable storage device  14   a  into a socket  18  located on the surface of the billboard. The player  3  is programmed from the portable storage device  14 , as described above.  
       FIG. 5  shows a sales rack  30  having an integrated display device  1  for digital signage in accordance with the invention. The display screen  2  and associated sound speaker  4  are exposed on the surface of the sales rack  30 , while the player  3  is concealed in an interior chamber of the sales rack  30 . The sales rack  30  is designed to display items  31  for sale. Power for the device  1  is provided from an electrical socket  23  via an electric cable  24 . The sales rack  30  does not need to be connected by a wired connection to a communication network. In  FIG. 5 , communication between a portable storage device  14   b  and the sales rack  30  is by means of a wireless communication link  28  and a receiver associated with the player (not shown). The player  3  is programmed from the portable storage device  14 , as described above.