I lllll llllllll II llllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
`US 20120259704Al
`
`c19) United States
`c12) Patent Application Publication
`Monteverde
`
`c10) Pub. No.: US 2012/0259704 Al
`Oct. 11, 2012
`(43) Pub. Date:
`
`(54) TIME-SENSITIVE AND LOCATION-BASED
`COMMERCIAL OFFER SYSTEM
`
`(76)
`
`Inventor:
`
`Dante Monteverde, Las Vegas, NV
`(US)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`13/292,428
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 9, 2011
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 13/082,008,
`filed on Apr. 7, 2011.
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2012.01)
`G06Q 30102
`(52) U.S. Cl. ................................... 705/14.58; 705/14.49
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`A method, system, apparatus and computer program to notify
`a user of a commercial offer that is time-sensitive and time(cid:173)
`specific. The user can be notified of commercial offers asso(cid:173)
`ciated with locations near the user's current or predicted
`location. The commercial offers are time-specific, for
`example, a commercial offer for breakfast that can only be
`used during morning hours. As such, the commercial offers
`can be provided to consumers that are commonly located in
`the area of the vendor offering the commercial offer at the
`time of day in which the commercial offer is most relevant.
`
`START
`
`I
`S305
`Determine geographic
`points of interest
`
`1
`
`S310
`Determine target
`area
`
`l
`
`S315
`Request commercial offers
`
`l
`
`S320
`Transmit commercial
`offers to user
`
`1
`
`S325
`Present commercial
`offers to user
`
`l
`END
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 1 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 1 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`100
`User
`device
`
`110
`NETWORK
`
`105
`Server
`
`115
`
`115
`
`Fig. 1
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 2 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 2 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`100~
`
`205
`INTERFACE
`
`215
`TRANSCEIVER
`
`225
`GPS SENSOR
`
`235
`
`)
`
`210
`PROCESSOR
`
`220
`DISPLAY
`
`230
`MEMORY
`
`Fig. 2
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 3 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 3 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`START
`
`S305
`Determine geographic
`points of interest
`
`,.
`
`S310
`Determine target
`area
`
`,.
`
`S315
`Request commercial offers
`
`'
`S320
`Transmit commercial
`offers to user
`
`,.
`
`S325
`Present commercial
`offers to user
`
`,.
`END
`
`Fig. 3
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 4 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 4 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`START
`
`No
`
`/S305
`
`Yes
`
`No
`
`S410
`Prompt user to input
`geographic points of
`interest
`
`S420
`Determine location of
`user via GPS sensor
`
`Yes
`
`S435
`Retrieve past
`purchase locations
`
`S425
`Periodically prompt the
`GPS sensor for user
`location
`
`END
`
`Fig. 4
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 5 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 5 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`S530
`Expand
`target
`area around
`geographic
`point of
`interest
`
`Present audi
`or visual
`depiction
`of geographic
`points of
`interest
`
`S515
`Prompt user to
`modify default
`target area
`associated with
`geographic
`points of
`interest or
`to accept
`default target
`area
`
`S525
`Reduce target area
`around geographic point
`of interest
`
`S535
`Does demographic
`of area surrounding points
`of interest correspond
`to user's preferred
`emographic?
`
`S545
`Reduce target
`area around
`geographic
`point
`of interest
`
`Yes
`
`S540
`Expand target area
`around geographic
`point of interest
`
`No
`
`S560
`Reduce target
`area around
`geographic
`point
`of interest
`
`S555
`Expand target area
`around geographic
`point of interest
`
`Fig. 5
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 6 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 6 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`8575
`Expand target
`area
`around
`geographic
`point of
`interest
`
`8570
`Reduce target area around geographic
`point of interest
`
`8590
`Reduce
`target
`No
`">---- area around
`geographic
`point
`of interest
`
`8597
`Reduce
`target
`area
`around
`portion of
`tar et area
`
`No
`
`8585
`Expand target area around
`geographic point of interest
`
`END
`
`8596
`------1 Expand target area around
`portion of target area
`
`Fig. 5
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 7 of 23
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 7of14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`START
`
`Yes
`
`S610
`Prompt vendors for
`pay-for-placement bids
`
`No
`
`S615
`Do not present
`commercial offer
`to user
`
`S630
`No Display commercial offers in
`> - - - - . i
`order based on proximity
`of business to user
`
`Yes
`
`S625
`Display offers in order
`corresponding to bids received
`
`Fig. 6
`
`END
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 8 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 8 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Fig. 7(a)
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 9 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Fig. 7(b)
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 10 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Fig. ?(c)
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 11 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 11 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Fig. 8(a)
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 12 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 12 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Fig. 8(b)
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 13 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 13 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`900~
`
`905
`
`910
`
`915
`
`Determine location trend of user
`
`Determine commercial offer
`
`Notify user of commercial offer
`
`End
`
`Fig. 9
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 14 of 23
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Oct. 11, 2012 Sheet 14 of 14
`
`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`1000~
`
`Start
`
`S305-----
`
`Determine geographic points
`of interest
`
`S310
`
`Determine target area
`
`Record user location within target
`area at predetermined intervals
`
`Analyze locations to determine probability
`score indicating likelihood that user will be in
`offer area during offer period.
`
`81005
`
`81010
`
`81015
`
`No
`
`81020
`
`Transmit commercial offer to user
`
`Fig. 10
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 15 of 23
`
`

`

`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Oct. 11, 2012
`
`1
`
`TIME-SENSITIVE AND LOCATION-BASED
`COMMERCIAL OFFER SYSTEM
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of
`U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/082,008, filed Apr. 7,
`2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by ref(cid:173)
`erence in their entirety.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0002] The present invention relates generally to commer(cid:173)
`cial offers from vendors, and more specifically to time-sen(cid:173)
`sitive or specific commercial offers that are presented to a
`consumer likely to be located near the vendor during the time
`in which the commercial offer is most relevant.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0003]
`Internet-based "deal of the day" coupon offerings
`have become popular in recent years. Discounts of this sort
`are typically sent in deal of the day coupons to members of a
`predetermined list. If a sufficient number of people agree to
`the group discount, the group discount becomes available to
`all members of the list. However, ifthe predetermined thresh(cid:173)
`old of people do not agree to the group coupon, the deal will
`not become available to the members of the list. This business
`model has been successful in that it allows a large group to
`receive discounted offers for products or services, while
`allowing businesses to require a predetermined number of
`users to accept the discount so that their product or service
`may be sold in bulk.
`[0004] The above conventional methods are typically not
`targeted to a particular geographic area or, at best, are targeted
`to a general metropolitan area (e.g., the Chicago metropolitan
`area). As a result, conventional coupon distribution systems
`are not tailored to areas where a particular buyer would typi(cid:173)
`cally travel on a routine basis. The potential buyer is thus
`frequently subjected to offers from businesses not located
`within his or her most commonly traveled areas.
`[0005] Also, the typical commercial offers are not tied to
`the specific habits or routine of the user, nor do the commer(cid:173)
`cial offers focus on the time-specific nature of the offer. For
`example, the conventional online coupon is not targeted to
`specific users that are likely to be in a location of the vendor
`presenting the coupon at a time in which the coupon would be
`most relevant. The vendor cannot adequately target such
`users who may accept a commercial offer for a service that is
`time-specific, such as a coffee discount, which would likely
`be time-specific to the morning hours. The user may be
`located at or near the vendor during the morning hours con(cid:173)
`sistent with the user's routine, but would not be informed of
`the time-specific offer during the relevant time period and
`thus would not take advantage of the commercial offer.
`[0006] By their nature, group coupon deals encourage users
`to recommend the coupon to their peers so that a required
`minimum number of users utilize the deal, thereby increasing
`the vendor's customer base exposure. In other words, custom(cid:173)
`ers who purchased the deal generate additional customers for
`the vendor by "word of mouth" advertising in order to ensure
`that the minimum number of group coupons will be sold and
`the group coupon will be usable. Therefore, the conventional
`group coupon system uses the fear of a possible failed deal as
`a marketing technique to increase the number of purchasing
`
`customers for the vendor. However, this incentive can some(cid:173)
`times work too well-producing a large increase of custom(cid:173)
`ers for the vendor for a short period of time, which can
`overwhelm the vendor during the relevant coupon period
`(e.g., the vendor does not have adequate staffing or inventory
`to meet the coupons' demand).
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0007] The present application discloses a system that tar(cid:173)
`gets a user with time-specific commercial offers based on the
`location and time-based routines of the user. The user can be
`notified of commercial offers associated with a particular
`offer area that the user is frequently located in at a point in
`time that is relevant to the commercial offers, for example, a
`commercial offer for breakfast that can only be used during
`the morning hours. In an embodiment, the system uses a
`statistical analysis to anticipate the user's location and time in
`order to specifically target the user as a likely candidate for the
`commercial offer. As such, the commercial offers can be
`provided to consumers that are commonly located in the area
`of the vendor offering the commercial offer at the time of day
`in which the commercial offer is most relevant.
`[0008] The present application also discloses a system and
`method where coupons or other advertisements are transmit(cid:173)
`ted to potential customers in a controlled time-released fash(cid:173)
`ion to minimize the possibility of overwhelming the staff
`and/or inventory of the vendor during the time period that the
`coupon can be utilized. In an embodiment, sets of coupons or
`advertisements can be available for distribution, wherein a
`first set can be distributed to a first subset of users during a
`pre-selected time period. Then, during a different pre-se(cid:173)
`lected time period, a second set can be distributed to a second
`subset of customers. The deal can be then be sent to groups of
`customers over selected and controlled periods of time, rather
`than simultaneously transmitting the offer to all customers
`and overwhelming the vendor with a large surge in business.
`[0009]
`In another embodiment, the sets of coupons or
`advertisements can be simultaneously transmitted to all cus(cid:173)
`tomers, but each of the sets of coupons or advertisements has
`different time periods of usability. For example, a first set of
`coupons sent to a first subset of customers may be usable only
`on Monday, wherein a second set of coupons sent to a second
`subset of customers may be usable only on Tuesday, even
`though both subsets of customers received the coupon or
`advertisement at the same time. The time-released deal sys(cid:173)
`tem can further require that the customer refer the deal to a
`predetermined number of other customers before the cus(cid:173)
`tomer can utilize the deal, in a sort of recruitment program.
`[0010]
`In particular, the present application discloses a
`method of providing a commercial offer including establish(cid:173)
`ing a location trend of a user representing an estimated time
`when the user will be located within an anticipated location;
`determining a commercial offer that coincides with the loca(cid:173)
`tion trend; and providing the commercial offer to the user
`based on the time in which the user will be located near the
`anticipated location.
`[0011] The present application also discloses a method of
`providing a commercial offer including recording a location
`of a user at predetermined intervals to establish a location
`trend; analyzing the location trend to determine a probability
`score indicating the probability of the user being in the loca(cid:173)
`tion at the predetermined interval; determining whether the
`probability score is above a predetermined threshold; obtain(cid:173)
`ing a commercial offer from a vendor, wherein goods or
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 16 of 23
`
`

`

`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Oct. 11, 2012
`
`2
`
`services associated with the commercial offer can only be
`obtained during an offer period; and transmitting the com(cid:173)
`mercial offer to the user if the probability score is above a
`predetermined threshold.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0012] For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of
`the subject matter sought to be protected, there is illustrated in
`the accompanying drawing embodiments thereof, from an
`inspection of which, when considered in connection with the
`following description, the subject matter sought to be pro(cid:173)
`tected, its construction and operation, and many of its advan(cid:173)
`tages should be readily understood and appreciated.
`[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of
`the present invention;
`[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the hard(cid:173)
`ware components of an embodiment of a user device of the
`present invention;
`[0015] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
`present invention depicting a method for presenting relevant
`commercial offers to a user;
`[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
`present invention depicting a method for determining a geo(cid:173)
`graphic point of interest of the user;
`[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
`present invention depicting a method for determining a target
`area based on the established geographic points of interest of
`the user;
`[0018] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
`present invention depicting a method of presenting relevant
`commercial offers to a user based on a pre-established target
`area of the user;
`[0019] FIGS. 7(a)-(c) are illustrations ofa display showing
`several geographic points of interest of the user;
`[0020] FIG. 8(a) is an illustration of a display showing a
`user-modified target area based on the user-inputted geo(cid:173)
`graphic points of interest;
`[0021] FIG. 8(b) is an illustration of a display showing a
`completed custom target area;
`[0022] FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method of providing a
`commercial offer to a user; and
`[0023] FIG.10 is another flow chart of a method of provid(cid:173)
`ing a commercial offer to a user.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`[0024] While this invention is susceptible of embodiments
`in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and
`will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of
`the invention with the understanding that the present disclo(cid:173)
`sure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles
`of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect
`of the invention to embodiments illustrated.
`[0025] The present application discloses an apparatus,
`method, system and computer program for facilitating com(cid:173)
`mercial transactions between businesses and users located
`within a custom-designated target area. In an embodiment, a
`user device 100 may be connected to a server 105 via a
`network 110 by way of communication links 115, such as, for
`example, the Internet. The user device 100 communicates
`with the server 105 to transmit data to and receive data from
`the server 105. Such data can include, for example, search
`queries from the user, commercial offers received from the
`
`server 105 to the user device 100, the vendor's position in the
`search results based on a pay-for-placement auction, counter(cid:173)
`offers from the user device 100 to the server 105, and data that
`depicts the geographic points of interest of the user or the
`target area of the user.
`[0026] As used herein, the term "pay-for-placement" can
`refer to an auction or flat payment transaction where a vendor
`can bid on the placement of a link to their website or com(cid:173)
`mercial offer within a string of search results. A higher bid
`from the vendor can cause a link to the website to be displayed
`prominently within the search results, e.g., by displaying the
`link first or near the top of the list of search results, by
`displaying the link in font larger than font used to display
`links to websites of lower bids, by placing higher bid links in
`bold, underline or italics, by displaying the name ofhigher bid
`links in a color more visible to a user (e.g., red), or by dis(cid:173)
`playing higher bid links using a picture while lower bid links
`are displayed in text only, for example. Any other manner of
`displaying images or text more prominently can be used
`within the pay-for-placement auction without departing from
`the spirit and scope of the present application.
`[0027] As used herein, the term "bid" can refer to a flat
`amount of money paid to the search engine or a portion of the
`discount offered to the consumer (e.g., a dollar amount). In an
`embodiment, instead of paying the search engine a guaran(cid:173)
`teed amount of money, a vendor can also "bid" for placement
`by offering a portion of the discount offered to the buyer,
`referred to herein as a discount proposal. In this exemplary
`pay-for-placement auction, the commercial offers will be
`displayed in an order corresponding to the discount amount
`offered (i.e., highest discount first, second highest discount
`second, and so forth). The search engine can receive a com(cid:173)
`mission as a portion of the discount offered to the potential
`buyer. For example, if a buyer searches for pizza within his or
`her target area, and Domino's® Pizza offers a ten dollar
`discount compared to a five dollar discount offered by Papa
`Johns® Pizza, Domino's® discount will be displayed first.
`However, of the ten dollar discount offered by Domino's®,
`five dollars will be distributed to the potential buyer and five
`dollars will be distributed to the search engine as a commis(cid:173)
`sion. Of course, the commission can be any amount of the
`discount offered to the potential buyer.
`[0028] Commercial offers can include any offer from a
`vendor or consumer that is capable of being transmitted over
`the network 110, or any representation of the vendor's busi(cid:173)
`ness. As used herein, a consumer offer can be a listing of a link
`to a website in a list of search results, a coupon offer, a list of
`prices for relevant products or services, or any other means of
`communicating a potential commercial transaction. The
`commercial offers are typically provided from vendors
`located in the user's target area, but commercial offers from
`any vendor can be distributed to the user without departing
`from the spirit and scope of the present application.
`[0029] Geographic points of interest to the user can include
`any geographic point and can be determined either manually
`by user input or automatically if the user has not input any
`custom geographic points of interest. By way of example,
`common geographic points of interest may include the loca(cid:173)
`tion of the user's home, the location of the user's work, the
`location of the user's children's school, the location of the
`user's church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship,
`restaurants or other businesses commonly frequented by the
`user, or any other location that may help define the routine of
`the user and/or the locations where the user is likely to do
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 17 of 23
`
`

`

`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Oct. 11, 2012
`
`3
`
`business. It will be understood that the intent is that the
`preferred geographic points of interest are those points where
`the user typically travels to and/or from, although any points
`of interest can be included, such as, for example, a location
`where the user is going on a vacation. As discussed below,
`based on the geographic points of interest of the user, the
`embodiments of the present application determine a target
`area that more closely identifies an area that the user is likely
`to frequent and conduct business. Accordingly, pay-for(cid:173)
`placement bids and coupon offers can be more closely tai(cid:173)
`lored to a target consumer audience that is more likely to
`accept the commercial offers of, or conduct business with, the
`vendor.
`[0030] The user device 100 can be a device of any type that
`allows for the transmission and/or reception of data. By way
`of example, the user device 100 can include a smart phone
`(e.g. iPhone® ), personal computer, voice and video tele(cid:173)
`phone set, streaming audio and video media player, integrated
`intelligent digital television receiver, DYS receiver, work sta(cid:173)
`tion, radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile satellite
`receiver, GPS receiver, software system, social network or
`any combination of the above.
`[0031] The server 105 can also be a device of any type that
`allows for the transmission and/or reception of data, and that
`is capable of storing information to be transmitted to the user
`device 100. For example, the server 105 can include any
`device listed above with respect to the user device 100, or can
`include a non-transitory computer-readable
`recording
`medium, such as a hard drive, DVD, CD, flash drive, volatile
`or non-volatile memory, RAM, or any other type of data
`storage.
`[0032] The network 110 may be a single network or a
`plurality of networks of the same or different type. For
`example, the network 110 may include a local telephone
`network (such as a Bell Atlantic telephone number) in con(cid:173)
`nection with a long distance network (such as anAT&T long
`distance telephone network). Further, the network 110 may
`be a data network, an Intranet, the Internet or a telecommu(cid:173)
`nications network in connection with a data network. Any
`combination of telecommunications and data networks may
`be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the
`present application. For purposes of discussion, it will be
`assumed that the network 110 is the Internet.
`[0033] The communication links 115 may be any type of
`connection that allows for the transmission of information.
`Some examples include conventional telephone lines, fiber
`optic lines, direct serial connections, cellular telephone con(cid:173)
`nections, satellite communication links, local area networks
`(LANs), intranets, and the like.
`FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware compo(cid:173)
`nents of a user device 100 using an embodiment of the present
`invention. As shown, the user device 100 can include an
`interface 205, processor 210, transceiver 215, display 220,
`GPS sensor 225 and a memory 230 connected via a bus 235.
`[0034] The interface 205 allows the user to input informa(cid:173)
`tion or commands into the user device 100 and to transmit the
`information or command to the server 105 via the network
`110. By way of example, the interface can include a keyboard,
`mouse, touch screen, audio recorder, audio transmitter, mem(cid:173)
`ber pad, or any other device that allows for the entry of
`information from a user.
`[0035] The processor 210
`facilitates communication
`between the various components of the user device 100. The
`processor 210 can be any type of processor or processors that
`
`alone or in combination facilitate communication within the
`user device 100 and, together with the transceiver 215, are
`adapted to transmit information from the user device 100 to
`external devices. For example, the processor 210 can be a
`desktop or mobile processor, a microprocessor, a single-core
`or a multi-core processor.
`[0036] The transceiver 215 can be any device capable of
`transmitting data from the user device 100 or capable of
`receiving data within the user device 100 from an external
`data source. By way of example, the transceiver 215 can be
`any type of radio transmission antenna, cellular antenna,
`hardwired transceiver, or any other type of wired or wireless
`transceiver capable of communicating with an external
`device.
`In an embodiment, the display 220 can display vari(cid:173)
`[0037]
`ous information for the user to view and interpret, including
`commercial offers, a search engine interface, search engine
`results, or requests for the user to input information via the
`interface 205. By way of example, the display 220 can include
`a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode
`(OLED) display, plasma screen, cathode ray tube display, or
`any other kind of black and white or color display that will
`allow the user to view and interpret information on the user
`device 100. In an embodiment, the GPS sensor 225 is pro(cid:173)
`vided and can allow the user device 100 to determine its
`current GPS coordinates and thus determine the user's geo(cid:173)
`graphic orientation. As discussed below, the GPS coordinates
`of the user device 100 can be used to determine various
`geographic points of interest of the user without having to
`prompt the user to manually input such geographic points of
`interest.
`[0038] As used herein, the term "geographic points ofinter(cid:173)
`est" can include any geographic point and can be determined
`either manually by user input or automatically if the user has
`not input any custom geographic points of interest. By way of
`example, common geographic points of interest may include
`the location of the user's home, the location of the user's
`work, the location of the user's children's school, the location
`of the user's church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of
`worship, restaurants or other businesses commonly fre(cid:173)
`quented by the user, or any other location that may help define
`the routine of the user and/or the locations where the user is
`likely to do business. It will be understood that the intent is
`that the preferred geographic points of interest are those
`points where the user typically travels to and/or from,
`although any points of interest can be included, such as, for
`example, a location where the user is going on a vacation.
`[0039] As discussed below, based on the geographic points
`of interest of the user, the embodiments of the present appli(cid:173)
`cation determine a target area that more closely identifies an
`area that the user is likely to frequent and conduct business.
`Accordingly, pay-for-placement bids and coupon offers can
`be more closely tailored to a target consumer audience that is
`more likely to accept the commercial offers of, or conduct
`business with, the vendor.
`[0040]
`In an embodiment, the memory 230 can store any
`information including commercial offers or search results
`received from the server 105 via the network 110. The
`memory 230 can also store an operating system for the user
`device 100 or any other software or data that may be neces(cid:173)
`sary for the user device 100 to function. Similar to the server
`105 discussed above, the memory 230 can include any non(cid:173)
`transitory computer-readable recording medium, such as a
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1005
`Page 18 of 23
`
`

`

`US 2012/0259704 Al
`
`Oct. 11, 2012
`
`4
`
`hard drive, DVD, CD, flash drive, volatile or non-volatile
`memory, RAM, or any other type of data storage.
`[0041]
`In an embodiment, the bus 235 acts as the internal
`circuitry of the user device 100 that electrically connects the
`various hardware components of the user device 100. The bus
`235 can be any structure that performs such a function.
`[0042] FIG. 3 discloses a flow chart depicting an embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the present invention in which commercial offers are
`transmitted and presented to relevant potential buyers based
`on their preferred, typical geographic points of travel. The
`process starts at S305, where geographic points ofinterest are
`determined by either manually asking the user to input the
`geographic points of interest or by automatically determining
`the geographic points of interest based on various factors. As
`discussed above, the geographic points of interest represent
`specific locations in which the user is likely to travel based on
`his or her routine and/or based on areas that the user com(cid:173)
`monly frequents. Moreover, the geographic points of interest
`can be modified by typical click-and-drag capabilities and
`can be represented in any shape. Therefore, while the geo(cid:173)
`graphic points of interest are shown as hexagonal in FIGS. 7
`and 8, it will be appreciated that other shapes can be used,
`such as, for example, circular, square, rectangular or polygo(cid:173)
`nal. Moreover, the size of the shape can be modified in order
`to better represent the relevant geographic search area. For
`example, a circular shape could represent a 5-mile radius
`from a particular point of interest, wherein businesses within
`the 5-mile radius would have their results displayed to the
`user, and businesses outside of the 5-mile radius would not be
`displayed since it is unlikely the user would conduct business
`with that business. Moreover, the points ofinterest can further
`be interconnected to designated preferred travel corridors
`when the user travels between the different points of interest.
`For example, the home point ofinterest can be interconnected
`with the work point of interest, wherein geographically rel(cid:173)
`evant businesses along the designated travel route may be
`provided to the user.
`[0043] Once the geographic points of interest are estab(cid:173)
`lished in S305, the process proceeds to S310, where the target
`area can be determined based on the established geographic
`points of interest. The target area can be an area that depicts
`where the user frequently is located or travels based on his or
`her routine in a broader sense than that depicted in S305 with
`respect to the geographic points of interest. As discussed
`below, the target area may be modified by the user or may be
`automatically modified by the user device 100 to provide a
`more narrowly tailored target area for the particular user.
`[0044] Once the target area has been determined in S310,
`commercial offers can be requested in S315 by the user
`device. For example, the user device 100 can enter various
`search terms into a search engine so as to request commercial
`offers or business websites in the particular search engine.
`Alternately, the user device 100 can request commercial
`offers through an on-demand type methodology in which the
`user knows in advance from which vendor he or she would
`like to request a commercial offer. Although FIG. 3 illustrates
`the user entering various search terms in a search engine after
`the target area has been established, the order ofthis process
`can vary. For example, the user can enter search queries prior
`to establishing a target area, or the user can be sent the
`commercial offer without any search being conducted. In
`accordance with a group coupon delivery model, the user
`could purchase the commercial offer and, if enough of the
`
`commercial offers are purchased from other users, the com(cid:173)
`mercial offer will be honored by the vendor.
`[0045] After the commercial offers have been requested in
`S315, the commercial offers for vendors located in the target
`area where the user is located or commonly travels can be
`transmitted to the user in S320. The transmitted commercial
`offers can originate either from the server 105 or anywhere
`else within the network 110, for example, on an external user
`device 100 within a peer-to-peer network.
`[0046] Once the commercial offers are transmitted to the
`user in S32