Patents Examined by Christopher B Tokarczyk
  • Patent number: 10970734
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for implementing an interactive loyalty reward program for transactions conducted at transaction terminals, for instance, consumer purchase transactions conducted at a point-of-sale terminal. The system includes a server configured to monitor and identify qualifying transactions under the reward program. The server also coordinates operation of consumer-facing devices accessible to the consumer at the point-of-sale. The consumer-facing devices include an interactive value generator (IVG), which is configured to provide a game-like experience to consumers and interactively generates unspecified reward values for qualifying transactions. A loyalty reward application executing on the transaction terminal is also provided to guide consumer interaction with the IVG and communicate the generated reward values to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Rajesh Chopra, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Michael J. Cardamone, Arun Elangovan
  • Patent number: 10963898
    Abstract: When a user selects an input element from entertainment elements, related to a game, possessed by the user and accepts an advertisement output offer, advertisement watching control starts. Improvement control including 1) improving a parameter value associated with the input element, or 2) improving the parameter value associated with the input element and changing a display mode of the input element is performed in return for advertisement watching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Yuka Takei, Akio Onda
  • Patent number: 10956927
    Abstract: A system of servers and algorithms allows merchants to award value to a customer when certain criteria have been met, such as buy $100 worth of clothing and get a $20 credit toward a future purchase. Unlike a gift card, the funding for the award is held by the merchant until the award is used, at which time the award funds are transferred to the user's designated account, such as an open loop credit or debit card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: VISA INTERNATIONAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION
    Inventors: Peter Rhee, Edmar Soriano, Alexander Campbell
  • Patent number: 10956942
    Abstract: A radio receiver of an audio system receives a radio signal that includes a main signal and a radio data system (RDS) signal. The RDS signal includes custom information associated with media content tags and synchronized with time slots in the main signal. A media streaming service identifies targeted media content based on a profile of a mobile device connected to the audio system and sends the targeted media content to the mobile device over an Internet connection. During a playing of the audio broadcast, the audio system receives a custom information in the RDS signal and sends to the mobile device a request including the media content tag associated with the custom information. In response, the audio system receives from the mobile device a targeted media content matching the media content tag. The audio system plays the targeted media content synchronized with the time slot in the main signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gianluca Gargaro, Gian Filippo Maniscalco, Maria Angelini
  • Patent number: 10929884
    Abstract: A method is provided for preventing delivery of advertising content server device to a client device, where an advertising blocker monitors attempts of the client device to establish a connection to the server device, in the event of a detected attempt to establish a connection, determines if the WebSocket protocol is used for the attempt to establish a connection, if the WebSocket protocol is used for the attempt to establish a connection, checks, for the URI of the attempt to establish a connection, and if the URI may be used to establish a connection, and if the result of the check is that the URI may not be used to establish a connection, ends the attempt to establish a connection. Also provided is a client device for displaying electronic documents, wherein the client device has an advertising blocker designed to implement the method described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Ad-IP GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Dirk Hottes, Sascha Hottes
  • Patent number: 10929871
    Abstract: A system and method to analyze the effectiveness of advertisements of presented content. The advertisements include advertisements for which the behavior desired by the advertiser is to drive a viewer to perform a certain action, such as to watch particular television program content. The system determines if an advertisement is effective by correlating exposure to presented advertisements with the subsequent presentation of content that was promoted in the advertisements. To perform the analysis, the system collects tune data from set top boxes, digital video recorders (DVRs), or other component capable of storing tune data related to the content presented on an associated display component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Rentrak Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Vinson, Amir Yazdani
  • Patent number: 10929876
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided herein for ascertaining a demand of promotions. An example method comprises receiving, from one or more consumers, at least one consumer request for at least one of one or more requested promotions or one or more requested providers, generating an aggregated list of the at least one of the one or more requested promotions or the one or more requested providers, ranking the aggregated list of the at least one consumer request, and causing one or more ranked lists to be distributed to at least one sales resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Groupon, Inc.
    Inventors: Geoff Massanek, Karen Wei, Ethan Gunderson, Jerry Richard Vos, Erik Benoist
  • Patent number: 10922716
    Abstract: This disclosure generally covers systems and methods that identify objects within an augmented reality (“AR”) scene (received from a user) to gather information concerning the user's physical environment or physical features and to recommend products. In particular, the disclosed systems and methods detect characteristics of multiple objects shown within an AR scene received from a user and, based on the detected characteristics, select products to recommend to the user. When analyzing characteristics, in some embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods determine visual characteristics associated with the real object or virtual object, such as color or location of an object. The disclosed systems and methods, in some embodiments, then select an endorsed product to recommend for use with the real object—based on the determined visual characteristics—and create a product recommendation that recommends the endorsed product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: ADOBE INC.
    Inventors: Gaurush Hiranandani, Kumar Ayush, Chinnaobireddy Varsha, Sai Varun Reddy Maram
  • Patent number: 10922724
    Abstract: One variation of a method for quantifying user engagement includes: serving a digital advertisement to a mobile device; recording a first proportion of pixels of the digital advertisement rendered on a display of the mobile device during a first sampling period; recording a second proportion of pixels of the digital advertisement rendered on the display of the mobile device during a second sampling period offset in time from the first sampling period; calculating a cumulative pixel exposure of the digital advertisement at the mobile device based on a combination of a first product of the first proportion of pixels and a duration of the first sampling period and a second product of the second proportion of pixels and a duration of the second sampling period; and storing the cumulative pixel exposure as an engagement metric for a user consuming the digital advertisement at the mobile device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Yieldmo, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Yavonditte, David Sebag, Indu Narayan, Rahul Rao, Elber Carneiro, Nook Harquail, David Cohen
  • Patent number: 10922718
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are a system for content recommendation service, a content recommendation device and a method of operating the same. The system can recommend personalized content directly related with a recommendation target, irrespectively of whether the content consumption history of the recommendation target user is sufficient to analyze the purchase/use pattern or whether there are other users having similar purchase/user pattern with the recommendation target user. As a result, the recommendation reliability can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: SK Planet Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Gum Won Hong, Nam Hee Kang, Dong Hun Shin, Young Sook Hwang
  • Patent number: 10740800
    Abstract: An online system presents advertisements and content items to its users in a feed of content items (e.g., a newsfeed). The online system enforces one or more advertising policies regulating insertion of advertisements into the feed. For example, an advertising policy specifies a minimum distance between advertisements in the feed. Based on a likelihood of the user interacting with an advertisement, the online system may modify one or more of the advertising policies to increase a likelihood of the advertisement being included in the feed. For example, an advertising policy is modified if the user has at least a threshold likelihood of interacting with the advertisement. To modify an advertising policy, the online system may ignore the advertising policy when selecting content for the feed or may modify conditions limiting inclusion of advertisements in the feed specified by the advertising policy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Yi Tang
  • Patent number: 10679257
    Abstract: A frame coordinating computer 154, upon receiving a bidding popularity from a bid management computer 152(S1), determines whether a multiple-view video frame distributed as a content should be changed to an ad frame (S2). When it is determined that the multiple-view video frame distributed as the content should be changed to an ad frame, a change request is transmitted (S4). A content distributing computer 156P1, upon receiving such a change request (S11), changes one of content frames is changed to an ad frame (S12). Ad frame management system flexibly changes the number of ad frames in accordance with the advertisement demand by dynamically changing the number of ad frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: DENTSU INC.
    Inventor: Akihiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 10546315
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing and operating a customer loyalty and rewards platform including network-based and merchant-based registration and management, including mobile messaging, remote and local customer registration options, enrollment and automated payment card account association therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Inventor: Bruce Mitchell
  • Patent number: 10540674
    Abstract: The principles and embodiments of the invention relate to systems and computer-implemented methods for administering financial product accounts that provide reward benefits. An attribution rate on an investment in a financial account can be generated as benefit rewards received from the use of credit cards in a credit card account. The method can comprise issuing credit cards to customers, and receiving invested funds into corresponding financial accounts for each customer, wherein the financial accounts are configured by the computer-implemented method as a saving vehicle selected by the customers for investment. The computer-implemented administration system can comprise a credit or debit card provided to a person having an account, a first computer system having communication hardware for receiving credit or debit card data over a network, and a non-transitory computer readable media having an account database configured to record monetary values in the account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: GROUP ONE THOUSAND ONE, LLC
    Inventor: Jeffrey S. Lange
  • Patent number: 10515388
    Abstract: There are disclosed systems and methods for facilitating communications between individuals and enterprises and in particular, to methods and systems for tracking and attributing customer and/or customer prospect online and offline communications in association with a marketing campaign.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Invoca, Inc.
    Inventors: Garvan Michael Kuskey, Lauren Kimberly Harris, Colin D. Kelley
  • Patent number: 10445783
    Abstract: Target audience content interaction techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a plurality of content is quantified by one or more computing devices as a content feature representation for each of the plurality of content. A plurality of content feature clusters are generated by the one or more computing devices based at least in part on similarity of the content feature representations, one to another. Content cluster interaction data is also created by the one or more computing devices that describes interaction of each of a plurality of users with the plurality of content. A plurality of user interaction clusters are calculated from the content cluster interaction data by the one or more computing devices based at least in part on similarity of the content cluster interaction data of the plurality of users, one to another. The calculated plurality of user interaction clusters are employed by the one or more computing devices to determine content preferences of a target audience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Adobe Inc.
    Inventors: Shivani Gupta, Gaurush Hiranandani, Anshul Agrawal, Charanjit Singh Ghai
  • Patent number: 10311470
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods for validating adcopy instructions. A method may include generating, by a computer including one or more processors, media content. The method may also include identifying, by the computer, a destination server to receive playback statistics associated with playback of the media content. Furthermore, the method may include determining, by the computer, a callback address identifier associated with the destination server. Additionally, the method may include encoding, by the computer, the callback address identifier within the media content and transmitting, by the computer, the media content to a user device for playback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Mike Zeigler, Dan Garvel