Patent Application
20120226531
1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to devices and methods of advertising displays, and particularly to an electronic device and method for embedding product information in an electronic map with product placements.
2. Description of Related Art
An electronic map is a visual representation of an area, i.e., a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes. Particularly, street view images can be viewed on an electronic map by zooming in and by dragging a “pegman” icon onto a location on the electronic map. However, the street view images are static, information fluidity is non-existent or very low. This lack of information renders the electronic map less effective than it could be.
In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as in an EPROM. It will be appreciated that modules may comprise connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may comprise programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device.
In one embodiment, the electronic device 1 may be a computer, a TV, a portable electronic device, or any other electronic device that includes a storage system 30 and at least one processor 40.
The information embedding unit 10 is configured to embed the advertising information of the products in a selected display area of a street view mode of the map. When the desired display area is selected (via an input device such as a mouse or a touchscreen), the information embedding unit 10 displays the advertising information concurrently with the street view mode on the display device 2. Detail functions of the information embedding unit 10 are described in
The display device 2 is used for displaying the geographical map, the street view map, and the advertising information of the products.
In one embodiment, the storage system 30 may be a magnetic or an optical storage system, such as a hard disk drive, an optical drive, or a tape drive. The processor 40 may be a central processing unit including a math co-processor, for example.
When the display device 2 displays the electronic map 20 in the geographical map mode, the place selection module 100 can receive a first selection from a user, via an input device, for a place to display advertising information of a product on the electronic map 200. For example, Love Canal, Kaohsiung of Taiwan may be selected as the place on the map to display the advertising information of the product.
The street view module 102 imports the street view information of the electronic map 200 from the map database 20, and searches for a street view image related to the place. For example, the street view module 102 may search for an image of that location (the Love Canal, Kaohsiung of Taiwan) from the street view information.
The region selection module 104 receives a second selection of a display area from a user on the street view image. The display area is used for embedding the advertising information of the product. In detail, a user uses the region selection module 104 to enclose the display area of the street view image in a drawing box. The drawing box can be a rectangle, a circle, or a box drawn by a user. In the embodiment, a size of the drawing box can be defined by the user. The display area may include a virtual TV wall, a virtual panel ad module, and an outer frame of a building. The virtual TV wall is an actual wall of a building on which the ad is shown by the computer. The virtual panel ad maybe a picture of an ad billboard superimposed on an image of a building.
The embedding module 106 takes the advertising information of the product from an advertisement (ad) database (not shown in
The setting module 108 sets a duration for displaying the advertising information of the product, such as two minutes or three minutes, for example.
The output module 110 receives a third selection from a user in relation to the display area of the electronic map 200 presented on the display device 2, and reveals the advertising information of the product within the display area on the display device 2 for the set duration.
In the embodiment, if the display area is the virtual TV wall, the output module 110 may display the advertising information in multimedia form. If the display area is the virtual panel ad module, the output module 110 may display a shopping website in a dialog box, or opens a new window interface to display a Web advertisement, and/or a shopping website related to the advertising information. If the display area is the outer frame of the building, the output module 110 may display a shopping website in a new window interface.
In block S300, when the display device 2 displays the electronic map 200 in a geographical map mode, the place selection module 100 receives a first selection from a user, via an input device, for a place to display advertising information of a product on the electronic map 200.
In block S302, the street view module 102 imports street view information of the electronic map 200 from the map database 20, and searches for a street view image related to the place selected.
In block S304, the region selection module 104 receives a second selection of a display area on the street view image from a user. The display area is used for embedding the advertising information of the product. In detail, the user uses the region selection module 104 to enclose the selected display area in a drawing box. In the embodiment, a size of the drawing box can be defined by the user. The display area may include a virtual TV wall, a virtual panel ad module, and an outer frame of a building.
In block S306, the embedding module 106 takes the advertising information of the product from an advertisement database and embeds the advertising information in the display area, and the setting module 108 sets a duration for which the advertising information will be displayed. In the embodiment, the advertising information of the product may include text, audio, advertisement files, Web advertisements, and/or shopping websites. The duration of time can be set as two minutes or three minutes, for example.
In block S308, the output module 110 determines whether the display area has been selected by a viewer. If the display area has been selected by the viewer, block S310 is implemented. Until an advertising is selected by the viewer, the flow pauses at this point.
In block S310, the output module 110 determines which type of display area has been selected. If the display area is the virtual TV wall, block S312 is implemented. If the display area is the virtual panel ad module, block S314 is implemented. If the display area is the outer frame of a building, block S316 is implemented.
In block S312, the output module 110 may display the advertising information in multimedia form.
In block S314, the output module 110 may display a shopping website in a dialog box, or open a new window interface to display a Web advertisement, and/or a shopping website giving the advertising information.
In block S316, the output module 110 may display a shopping website related to the advertising information in a new window interface.
Although certain inventive embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100107290 | Mar 2011 | TW | national |
