# US 8,788,325 B2 · Techniques for generating a product path with custom advertisements

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 8,788,325 B2
- Document ID: US8788325B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/592,602
- Filed: 2009-11-30
- Published: 2011-06-02
- Granted: 2014-07-22
- Earliest claimed: 2009-11-30
- Assignees: NCR Corporation
- Applicants: Praveen Chandran Nair
- Inventors: Praveen Chandran Nair
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8788325B2

## CPC

- G06Q 90/00: Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing
- G06Q 30/02: Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
- G06Q 30/0224: {based on user history}
- G06Q 30/0256: {User search}
- G06Q 30/0267: {Wireless devices}
- G06Q 30/0268: {at point-of-sale [POS]}
- G06Q 30/0269: {based on user profile or attribute}
- G06Q 30/0276: {Advertisement creation}
- G06Q 90/20: {Destination assistance within a business structure or complex}
- 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

Techniques for generating a product path with custom advertisements are provided. A kiosk interacts with a consumer to acquire a product or service search within a facility. The kiosk generates a path to the product or service starting from the kiosk and ending at a location with the facility where the product or service can be found. Additionally, custom advertisements are interspersed throughout the path for other goods and services available at the facility. The kiosk then delivers the path with the custom advertisements to the customer for locating the product or service.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A processor-implemented method to execute on a processor configured to execute the method, comprising:
interacting, via a kiosk, with a customer to acquire a search for a product or service within a store or a mall;
searching, via the kiosk, map data for the store or mall using a kiosk location to find a location within the store or within the mall for the product or service, the kiosk location for the kiosk is within the store or within the mall and is configured within the kiosk with the map data;
generating, via the kiosk, a path from the kiosk to the location using the configured kiosk location and the location within the store or within the mall identified in the map data;
inserting, via the kiosk, custom advertisements along the path;
providing, via the kiosk, the path with the custom advertisements for the customer to use to reach the location.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein interacting further includes permitting the customer to use a touch screen integrated into the kiosk to define the search.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein interacting further includes permitting the customer to interact with a hierarchy to traverse to the product or service, the location within the hierarchy defining the search.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein searching further includes identifying a collection of advertisements with the map data that exists for other goods or services available along the path.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein identifying further includes accessing a policy that indicates which of the advertisements within the collection of advertisements are to be superimposed along the path as the custom advertisements.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein accessing further includes evaluating the policy to determine sizes, colors, effects, for each of the custom advertisements.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein providing further includes printing, via the kiosk, the path with the custom advertisements.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein providing further includes transmitting, via the kiosk, the path with the custom advertisements to an electronic device of the customer.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein providing further includes entailing, via the kiosk, the path with the custom advertisements to an email account defined by the customer and accessible to the customer on a cell phone.

### Claim 10

A processor-implemented method to execute on a processor configured to execute the method, the method, comprising:
automatically, interacting with a customer, via a kiosk having the processor, the interaction including:
defining a search by the customer to locate a product or service within a facility using a kiosk location for the kiosk configured within map data for the facility;
accessing the map data to produce a path from the kiosk location to a location with the facility having the product or service; and
interspersing custom advertisements along the path related to other products and services of the enterprise and available along the path.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein defining further includes accepting the search as free text terms or phrases entered into the kiosk by the customer.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein accepting further includes automatically guiding the customer in defining the search to include manufacturer brands and prices for matching products or services being defined by the search.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein defining further includes allowing the customer to use a touch screen integrated into the kiosk to toggle a hierarchy to find the product or service, the traversed path within the hierarchy defining the search for the product or service.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein interspersing further includes accessing an advertisement database to determine which particular advertisements are to appear along the path.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein interspersing further includes accessing an advertisement database to determine visual effects for each of the particular advertisements that appear along the path.

### Claim 16

A processor implemented system, comprising:
a kiosk having one or more processors and interfaced to a network; and
a product and advertisement service integrated into the kiosk and to execute on the one or more processors;
the kiosk is configured to interact with a customer to acquire a search for a product or service within a facility, the kiosk located at the facility, the kiosk further configured to interact with the product and advertisement service to locate the product or service within the facility based on a kiosk location for the kiosk and to generate a path from the kiosk to a location having the product or service, the kiosk location within the facility configured in the kiosk with the map data and the path produced from the kiosk location within the facility to the location, the product and advertisement service further configured to intersperse custom advertisements along the path for other goods and services of interest to the customer.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the product and advertisement service selects the advertisements based on a profile associated with the customer as defined in a customer relationship management database.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the product and advertisement service highlights or makes particular advertisements more noticeable within the path in response to value supplied by advertisers of the particular advertisements.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the product and advertisement service sends the path with advertisements to a printer integrated into the kiosk for print output to the customer.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the product and advertisement service selectively causes coupons to some of the other goods and services to be printed on a backside of the print output.