Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a method for acquiring, by a mobile terminal located in the vicinity of a display panel, additional information linked to at least one display present on the display panel. 
     Advertising display panels are communication media that make it possible to address a message to consumers passing in front of this medium. They are placed on the outside or on the inside and make it possible to present a product or a service to consumers. 
     This presentation of the product or services on the display panel can be performed by, for example, a paper or polymer display placed on the display panel that is optionally lit or backlit, or by a plasma or LCD screen or an electronic ink display. 
     The invention relates to a method and a device supplying a consultation service of additional information to a consumer located in front of a display panel that makes it possible for him to obtain additional information on the product or services presented on this panel quickly and simply. 
     Different methods or devices have been proposed to make possible such a service. 
     For example, on a display, a product is presented and also telephone numbers or addresses of distributors or of stores are indicated where it is possible to obtain them. 
     This very simple method is, however, not practical because the distributors or stores indicated can be located far from the display panel. 
     To eliminate this drawback, it has been proposed, for example, to add a banner indicating the stores or the nearby service providers, which, here again, is not very practical, not practical for the consumer but for the manager of the advertising panels who is forced to personalize each display as a function of the location where it is placed. Also, such a method exhibits the drawback of interfering with the esthetics of the display, which is very troublesome in view of the considerable efforts put forth to create beautiful displays. 
     In another system of the prior art (for example, EP 2 026 275 A1 and EP 1 587 014 A1), it has been proposed to print on the displays themselves an optical code that is recognizable by dedicated software. The consumer interested by the product presented on the display uses, for example, his mobile telephone in photo mode to capture the optical code of the display. To search for additional information, the consumer is connected to a server either in an indirect way or in a direct way by use of a URL associated with the product that is the object of the display and thus to access additional information on this product. 
     However, this method exhibits the drawback that the optical code that is added does not necessarily correspond to the graph chart used in the display and thus can compromise its aesthetic integrity. Also, since the display placed on different panels is always the same, it is impossible to identify the panel on which the consumer has seen the display when he retrieves the corresponding additional information. 
     Also, to access the additional information, the consumer must take a photo of the optical code with a mobile telephone equipped with a photo device, transmit this image by MMS to a remote server that recognizes the code, a server that resends the corresponding URL by SMS to the user. Using the browser of his mobile telephone, the consumer can ultimately download and consult the additional information from the URL received in the SMS message. 
     In another proposed method, the consumer downloads an application, installs it on his mobile telephone, and then he launches this application that, by the photo mode of his mobile telephone, retrieves the image of the optical code and then analyzes it. This analysis reveals the URL either directly if it is encoded by the optical code, or by a remote server to which the application is connected by the mobile telephone network. The server sends back to the application the URL corresponding to the data item encoded by the optical code. The application can then open the browser of the mobile telephone that will then download the additional information from the URL received. 
     In another proposed method, the additional information is sent to the consumer on his mobile telephone by the advertising display panel equipped with a radio transmitter that detects and establishes the communication with the mobile telephones equipped with a radio link, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, for example. However, each panel needs a considerable storage capacity to store all of the additional information. Also, each display panel should store personalized data of said panel. 
     Consequently, it is necessary to update each panel with different data. This method furthermore presents an intrusive troublesome character that can give rise to a violation of privacy since the downloading of the additional data can be done automatically when a mobile terminal is found in the vicinity of the display panel. 
     In another system of the prior art (for example, US 2002/0116268 A1), it is proposed to use an RFID-type label affixed to the advertising display to make it possible for a mobile terminal to retrieve the URL making it possible to access the additional information. This system exhibits the drawback that since all of the displays of a certain piece of information have the same RFID, it is not possible for the mobile terminal to have a piece of information on the display panel on which it is installed, which limits the additional information that can be provided. 
     To eliminate this drawback, it has also been proposed in the prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,625 B1) to provide a transmitter of electromagnetic waves (optical or radio, for example) in the vicinity of the panel and containing the positional information. A mobile terminal, located in the perimeter covered by the electromagnetic wave transmitter and equipped to be able to receive the electromagnetic signal, is able to retrieve this positional information and to transmit it to a central system that is able to identify the information displayed on the panel and therefore to send additional information back to the mobile terminal. 
     However, this system exhibits several serious drawbacks. Actually, said electromagnetic transmitter, which transmits electromagnetic waves, consumes power; if several panels are located at distances that are close to one another, there are risks of interference between these waves and a multiplication of risks of collision of the messages; finally, the mobile terminal entering the perimeter of coverage can be activated by said electromagnetic waves, which generates the electric power consumption in the mobile terminals, a very disturbing consumption because the life of a charge of the battery is a crucial parameter for the user of the mobile terminal. 
     In these different methods of the prior art, the process of accessing the additional information is detrimental to the esthetics of the display, to the freedom of the consumer, and to the life of the charge of the battery of the mobile terminal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention in at least one embodiment has as its object to eliminate the different drawbacks of the state of the art and to provide improvements. 
     A first aspect of the invention proposes, for this purpose, a method for acquisition, by a mobile terminal located in the vicinity of a display panel, of additional information linked to at least one display present on the display panel, the method comprising the following steps: acquiring the identification data that make it possible to identify the display panel, transmitting the identification data to a processing service by means of a communication network; and receiving, from the processing service, the additional information related to the display presented on the display panel identified by the processing service from the identification data. 
     In an embodiment of the invention, the identification data can be retrieved directly from the display panel by establishing a wireless communication link between the mobile terminal and the display panel. In another embodiment, the identification data can be retrieved from the geographic data of the mobile terminal. In still another embodiment, the identification data can be retrieved from the display panel by means of an image capture or by data capture by means of the keyboard of the mobile terminal, for example. 
     A second aspect of the invention proposes a method of broadcasting to a mobile terminal additional information linked to at least one display present on a display panel, the method comprising the following steps: receiving from a mobile terminal, by means of a communication network, the identification data that make it possible to identify a display panel; identifying said display panel from the identification data; locating the display panel and identifying the display presented on the display panel; retrieving the additional data related to the display presented on the identified display panel; and transmitting the additional data to the mobile terminal. 
     Advantageously, the additional data can be related to the geographic location of said display panel. 
     Furthermore, the method can comprise a step for storing the identification data related to a plurality of display panels, and for each display panel, a step for storing the geographic positional data of the display panel and the identification data of the display present on the respective display panel making it possible to retrieve the corresponding additional information. 
     The method can further comprise a step of customizing the additional information from the identification data of the display panel and, if necessary, the geographic positional data of the display panel. 
     In an embodiment, the additional information can be updated when the display panel is modified or replaced. 
     A third aspect of the invention proposes a system for broadcasting the additional data linked to at least one display present on a display panel to a mobile terminal, the system comprising means for receiving, from a mobile terminal, using a communication network, identification data that make it possible to identify a display panel; means for identifying said display panel from the identification data; means for identifying the location of the display panel and the display present on the display panel; means for retrieving the additional information related to the display presented on the identified display panel; means for transmitting the additional information to the mobile terminal. 
     In an embodiment, the additional information can be related to the geographic location of said display panel. 
     In an embodiment, the broadcasting system can comprise an operations center comprising means for storing the identification data related to a plurality of display panels, as well as for each display panel, the geographic positional data of the display panel and the identification data of the display or displays presented on the respective display panel making it possible to retrieve the corresponding additional information; and a service center comprising means for storing the additional information and means for broadcasting the additional information to the mobile terminal, the operations center and the service center being interconnected by means of a communication network. 
     The data can be exchanged between the service center and the operations center by exchange of XML files, for example in the SOAP format. 
     A fourth aspect of the invention proposes a display panel comprising an identification element, identification data representative of the identification element being retrievable by a mobile terminal located in the vicinity of the panel and making it possible to identify the display panel, the geographic location of the display panel as well as the display or displays presented on the display panel. 
     The display panel can further comprise means for transmitting the data that are representative of the identification element to a mobile terminal by means of a wireless communication link. 
     A fifth aspect of the invention proposes a mobile terminal comprising: means for acquiring the identification data that make it possible to identify a display panel located in the vicinity of the mobile terminal, means for transmitting the identification data to a processing service by means of a communication network; and means for receiving, from the processing service, the additional information related to a display or to the displays presented on the display panel identified by the processing service from the identification data, and if necessary, related to the geographic location of said display panel. 
     Thus, a consumer located in front of a panel can obtain additional information about the product or services presented on this panel quickly and simply. 
     In an embodiment, the identification data once captured by the mobile terminal can be stored in the terminal. 
     Each aspect of this invention proposes a computer program for using at least one part of the corresponding method described above. Such a program can be downloadable via a telecommunication network and/or stored in a memory of a processing device and/or stored on a storage medium intended to work with a processing device. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description below of an example of embodiment by way of nonlimiting illustration, and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  diagrammatically illustrates a system for obtaining additional information linked to a display present on a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the steps of a method for acquiring the additional information linked to a display present on a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  diagrammatically illustrates a system according to a first embodiment of the invention that makes it possible for a mobile terminal to obtain additional information linked to a display present on an advertising display panel. The modules shown in the figure are functional units, which may or may not correspond to physically distinguishable units. For example, these modules, or some of them, can be regrouped into a single component, or constitute functions of the same software. A contrario, some modules can possibly be composed of separate physical entities. 
     The system comprises a display panel  10  to which is fastened a display  11  that presents a product or a service to consumers. The display panel  10  further comprises an identification element  12  that supplies to a mobile terminal  20  identification data that make it possible to identify the display panel  10 . 
     The identification element  12  of the display panel  10  can be presented by any means that makes it possible for it to be seen directly by the consumer. It can be printed directly on the body of the panel  10 , or displayed by a variable display screen using LCD technology, plasma, LEDs or electronic ink, for example. The identification element  12  can be presented in the form of a code, an image, or text, for example. 
     In this embodiment, the data that are representative of the identification element  12  are a photograph of the identification element  12 . 
     The system further comprises an operations center  30  in which storage means  31  are provided, these storage means  31  containing data that are representative of the different identification elements  12  of the panels  10  as well as the geographic position of each panel  10  and the identifier of the display or the displays presented on the associated panel  10 . The operator of the display panels is responsible for updating the storage means of the operations center  30  when display panels are added, display panels are removed or display panels are modified. 
     The operations center  30  is linked by a network R such as a private Internet network, for example, to at least one service center  40  in which means for storage and broadcasting of the additional information related to the display of the display panel  10  are provided. 
     The operations center  30  further comprises automatic means for receiving  32  identification elements  12  of the panels  10  and automatic means for sending  33  the identifier of the display or of the displays  11  presented on the display panel  10  and of the geographic position of the display panel  10  from the identification element  12 . 
     The service center  40  comprises: 
     automatic means  42  for receiving data, representative of the identification element  12 , transmitted by the mobile terminal  20 , and processing means  43  to extract the identification element from the representative data received, 
     automatic means for sending  44  the extracted identification elements to the operations center  30 , 
     automatic means for sending  45  the additional information to the mobile terminal  20 , 
     automatic means for receiving  46  the identifier of the display or of the displays and the geographic position of a display panel  10 , 
     means for customizing  47  the additional information from the identifier of the display or displays  11  and the geographic position received by the receiving means. 
     The storage means of the service center  40  or of the operations center  30  can be a server containing a database that incorporates the information described. The server can implement a service for interrogating this database using a “Web Service.” Advantageously, it will be possible to use the WXML language to describe this service, which will be implemented by exchanging XML files in the SOAP format between the service center  40  and the operations center  30 . 
     The mobile terminal  20  can be a portable telephone, a PDA, a portable computer, etc., comprising means for capturing information such as a keyboard  21  or a tactile interface of a screen  22  and calculating means, and means for sending and receiving data, in particular for sending data that are representative of the identification element, by the connection to a public telecommunication network R′ such as a 3G GSM network, for example. The mobile terminal  20  is designed to receive and to show the additional information on the screen  22  from the data received from the service center or service centers  40 . 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 2  in which the exchanges of data between the different entities of the system illustrated in  FIG. 1  are illustrated to communicate additional information to a user of the mobile terminal  20  about a product or services presented on a display  11  placed in a display panel  10  according to the first embodiment of the invention. 
     The user of the terminal  20  passes in front of the display panel  10  on which the display  11  is presented. The display  11  presents information about a product in which the user is interested and on the subject of which he wishes to have additional information, such as, for example, the price of the product, the nearby stores that sell this product, etc. In a first step of the method, the user of the mobile terminal  20  places himself in the vicinity of the display panel  10  to retrieve identification data that make it possible to identify the display panel  10 . 
     During a step S 1  of acquiring identification data, the identification data representative of the identification element  12  of the display panel  10  are retrieved from the display panel  10  in the form of a photograph of the identification element  12  by means of an image capture. 
     It is possible, in a variant, to have in the mobile terminal a memory so as to keep the identification data there once captured by the mobile terminal, so that the user can transmit the identification data to the operations center so as to access the additional information, even if he is far from the display panel, for example if he was moving while passing in front of the display panel. 
     A step S 2  follows of transmission of identification data from the mobile terminal  20  directly to the service center  40  by a public telecommunication network R′. After receiving the identification data, in a data analysis step S 3 , the representative data are processed so as to extract from them the identification element  12  of the display panel  10 . Then, in a step S 4 , the extracted identification element  12  is sent from the service center  40  to the operations center  30 . 
     Of course, in a variant, the analysis of the representative data for extracting the identification element from them can take place in the operations center  30 . 
     In a step S 5 , the operations center  30  uses the identification element  12  to identify the display panel  10  and to obtain geographic coordinates of the display panel  10 . 
     During a step S 6 , the operations center  30  transmits to the service center  40  the identifier of the display  11  (or of the displays) of the display panel that corresponds to the identification element  12  and the geographic coordinates of the display panel  10  that correspond to the identification element  12 . 
     In a step S 7 , the service center  40  retrieves additional data related to the display  11  presented on the identified display panel  10  and related to the geographic location of the display panel. 
     A step S 8  follows of dialogue between the mobile terminal  20  and the service center  40  that supplies to the consumer additional information about the product or services presented on the identified display  11 , as well as information specific to the geographic location of the display panel  10 . 
     The consumer can use the mobile terminal  20  to receive the additional information by Internet network. To link up with the Internet network, a Wi-Fi technology optionally incorporated in the mobile terminal can be used if an access point is within its range, or a 3G modem incorporated in the mobile terminal or incorporated in a USB key connected to the mobile terminal. 
     The service center can be implemented using a web server. If the identification element  12  of the panel  10  is Y, the display panel  10  can incorporate a comment of the type “To learn more about it, go to http://www.abcdef.com/Y.” The site www.abcdef.com can right away contain the specific information or perform an automatic redirection to a site containing the information specific to the product or service advertised on the display  11 , while transmitting the geographic coordinates of the identified panel  10 . 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and a device supplying a consultation service of additional information to a consumer located in front of a display panel making it possible for him to obtain quickly and simply additional information about the product or services presented on this panel. 
     In short, when the consumer accesses the service center  40  by a public network R′, the display panel  10  on which he has seen a display  11  is identified. The service center  40  can interrogate the operations center  30  and retrieve the geographic location of the display panel (and therefore of the consumer) as well as the display present on the display panel thanks to the identification element of the display panel and to the information stored in the storage means of the operations center. Thus, the information presented to the consumer is consistent with the display viewed as well as its geographic location. 
     Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples of embodiment represented and described above, from which other designs and other forms of embodiment will be able to be foreseen, without thereby going outside of the scope of the invention. 
     In variants, for example, the identification element will be able to be deduced from the geolocation of the mobile terminal  10 . In this case, the geolocational data obtained, for example by means of a geolocational module installed on the terminal, can be transmitted from the mobile terminal  20  to the service center  40 . 
     In other variants, the service center or service centers  40  and the operations center  30  can, in certain cases, constitute a one and only center and or a sole server. In this case, the broadcasting and receiving means from one center to the other and vice versa are not necessary, and the service center has access directly to the location and display data of the panels. 
     In other variants, the network R, which makes the link between the operations center and the service center, can be the same network R′, which makes the link between the mobile terminal and the service center. This network can be an Internet network, for example. 
     In some embodiments, data representative of the identification element that make it possible to extract the identification element can be processed so as to extract the identification element either at the level of the portable electronic device, or at the level of the service center or centers, or at the level of the operations center. 
     In variants of the invention, the data representative of the identification element can be a string of characters entered by the user on the keyboard of his portable telephone or of his computer. In other embodiments, identification data of the panel can be transmitted from the panel to the terminal by a wireless link, such as a radio link or an infrared link, for example. 
     In some embodiments, the identification element of the panel can comprise a short narrative indicating to the consumer the process of accessing the information related to the display. If the service is based on the video telephony on the 3G networks, the consumer will use his 3G mobile telephone to receive the additional information. If the telephone number of the service is X and the identifier of the panel is Y, the identification element of the display panel can consist of the comment “For more information, call X in Visio and type Y.” Since the number X is the same for all of the panels, a short number with four digits, for example, will be able to be used advantageously for X to speed up the access to the service.

Technology Category: 3