# US 12,120,392 B2 · Method, apparatus and system for realizing dynamic scheduling for a cinema and controlling playing of a movie

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- Number: US 12,120,392 B2
- Document ID: US12120392B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/987,706
- Filed: 2022-11-15
- Published: 2023-05-11
- Granted: 2024-10-15
- Earliest claimed: 2018-04-13
- Assignees: Gogocinema International Fz-LLC
- Applicants: Gogocinema International Fz-LLC
- Inventors: Pranay Kumar; Man Nang Chong
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12120392B2

## CPC

- H04N 21/252: {Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data}
- H04N 21/458: Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules {; time-related management operations (arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10)}
- G06Q 10/02: Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
- G06Q 10/025: {Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation}
- G06Q 10/063116: {Schedule adjustment for a person or group}
- G06Q 10/101: Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
- H04N 21/25435: {involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising}
- H04N 21/25891: {being end-user preferences (retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18)}
- H04N 21/262: Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists {(scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62)}
- H04N 21/26241: {involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children programme}
- H04N 21/41415: {involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk}
- H04N 21/44204: {Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched (monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31)}
- H04N 21/4524: {involving the geographical location of the client (retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00)}
- H04N 21/4622: {Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet (web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859)}
- H04N 21/4755: {for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre (retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306)}
- H04N 21/482: End-user interface for programme selection
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and system for realizing dynamic scheduling for a cinema and controlling playing of a movie. In particular, embodiments of the present invention relate to dynamic scheduling of content presentation in a cinema by collecting user preferences of a plurality of users, wherein the user preference specifies at least a movie that a user desires to watch, a time for watching the movie, a cinema for watching the movie, and a number of people watching the movie; generating, based on the collected user preferences, a respective dynamic schedule for at least one cinema of a plurality of cinemas according to one of a plurality of scheduling schemes; and transmitting the generated respective dynamic schedule to at least one second electronic apparatus corresponding to the at least one cinema.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for implementing a dynamic schedule for a cinema, the method comprising:
receiving user preferences from a plurality of users, wherein a user preference of the user preferences is indicative of one or more of a movie that a user desires to watch, a time when the user desires to watch the movie, and a cinema where the user desires to watch the movie;
determining a turnover of a first movie using the user preferences, wherein the turnover is based on playing the first movie in a first cinema at a first time, and a price of the first movie played at the first time at the first cinema;
comparing the turnover of the first movie to a first threshold;
if the turnover exceeds the first threshold, generating, a dynamic schedule for the first movie playing in the first cinema;
determining a scheduling conflict for different movies at a same time in the first cinema; and
generating the dynamic schedule based on one or more of a time when the plurality of users provided the user preferences and identities of the plurality of users.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining pricing data corresponding to a plurality of movies played at a plurality of cinemas.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first time corresponds to a time period when different users desire to watch the first movie.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the dynamic schedule for the first movie for the first cinema at a designated time, the designated time based on the first time.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the user preference further comprises a number of people in the user's party.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a number of users associated with playing the first movie at the first cinema at the first time, wherein determining the turnover is further based on the number of users.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the user preference is further indicative of a type of consumption, and
if the type of consumption for the user preference corresponds to block-booking, the dynamic schedule is generated based on the movie that the user desires to watch at the time the user desires to watch the movie and further at the cinema where the user desires to watch the movie.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein if the dynamic schedule does not correspond to the user preference of the user, the method further comprising:
generating recommendation information based on the user preferences; and
transmitting the recommendation information to the user, the recommendation information corresponding to one or previously generated dynamic schedules, the recommendation information comprising:
first alternative schedule information, comprising the time and the cinema specified in the user preference and a different movie from the movie that the user desires to watch specified in the user preference;
second alternative schedule information, the movie and the time specified in the user preference, and at a different cinema from the cinema where the user desires to watch the movie specified in the user preference; and
third alternative schedule information, comprising the movie and the cinema specified in the user preference, and different time from the time when the user desires to watch the movie specified in the user preference.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic schedule is transmitted by a first electronic apparatus to a second electronic apparatus associated with the first cinema.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the dynamic schedule comprises:
transmitting, to the second electronic apparatus, the dynamic schedule for a specific time period based on a request by the second electronic apparatus; or
transmitting periodically the dynamic schedule to the second electronic apparatus.

### Claim 11

An electronic apparatus for generating a dynamic schedule for a cinema, the electronic apparatus comprising a memory having computer executable instructions stored thereon and a processor, the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising:
receiving user preferences from a plurality of users, wherein a user preference of the user preferences is indicative of one or more of a movie that a user desires to watch, a time when the user desires to watch the movie, and a cinema where the user desires to watch the movie;
determining a turnover of a first movie using the user preferences, wherein the turnover is based on playing the first movie in a first cinema at a first time, and a price of the first movie played at the first time at the first cinema;
comparing the turnover of the first movie to a first threshold;
if the turnover exceeds the first threshold, generating, a dynamic schedule for the first movie playing in the first cinema;
determining a scheduling conflict for different movies at a same time in the first cinema; and
generating the dynamic schedule based on one or more of a time when the plurality of users provided the user preferences and identities of the plurality of users.

### Claim 12

A method for controlling playing a movie according to a dynamic schedule, the method being performed by a second electronic apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a dynamic schedule from a first electronic apparatus; and
controlling playing the movie based on the dynamic schedule,
wherein, the dynamic schedule is generated according to a method comprising:
receiving user preferences from a plurality of users, wherein a user preference of the user preferences is indicative of one or more of a movie that a user desires to watch, a time when the user desires to watch the movie, a cinema where the user desires to watch the movie, and a number of people in the user's party;
determining a turnover of a first movie using the user preferences, wherein the turnover is based on playing the first movie in a first cinema at a first time, and a price of the first movie played at the first time at the first cinema;
comparing the turnover of the first movie to a first threshold;
if the turnover exceeds the first threshold, generating, a dynamic schedule for the first movie playing in the first cinema;
determining a scheduling conflict for different movies at a same time in the first cinema; and
generating the dynamic schedule based on one or more of a time when the plurality of users provided the user preferences and identities of the plurality of users.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the dynamic schedule is generated according to the method further comprising obtaining pricing data corresponding to a plurality of movies played at a plurality of cinemas.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the first time corresponds to a time period when different users desire to watch the first movie.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the dynamic schedule is generated according to the method further comprising generating the dynamic schedule for the first movie for the first cinema at a designated time, the designated time based on the first time.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the dynamic schedule is generated according to the method further comprising determining a number of users associated with playing the first movie at the first cinema at the first time, wherein determining the turnover is further based on the number of users.

### Claim 17 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the user preference is further indicative of a type of consumption, and
if the type of consumption for the user preference corresponds to block-booking, the dynamic schedule is generated based on the movie that the user desires to watch at the time the user desires to watch the movie and further at the cinema where the user desires to watch the movie.