Method of providing digital content for users of physical items

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10244064-B2
Application number	US-201615331496-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2016
Priority date	Feb 12, 2013
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for enhancing users' overall experiences with physical items by supplementing their physical experiences with digital experiences. According to an embodiment, an electronic device scans a smart tag associated with an item to obtain an item identifier of the item, and sends the item identifier to a server, which selects digital content to be made available to a user of the item.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing digital content related to an item, the item associated with a smart tag encoded with an item identifier that identifies the item, the smart tag configured to transmit the item identifier to an electronic device when the electronic device is positioned proximate to the smart tag, the method comprising:
receiving, at a server from the electronic device, the item identifier transmitted from the smart tag to the electronic device upon positioning of the electronic device proximate to the smart tag;
determining, by the server, a menu comprising an option based at least in part on whether a user identifier associated with the electronic device corresponds with a registered owner of the item;
transmitting, from the server to the electronic device, the menu comprising the option;
receiving, at the server from the electronic device, a selection of the option;
identifying, by the server, digital content associated with the item identifier and related to the item;
selecting, by the server, a subset of the identified digital content to provide to the electronic device, the subset of the identified digital content based at least in part on the selection of the option; and
transmitting, from the server to the electronic device, the subset of the identified digital content.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the subset of the identified digital content comprises:
determining a geo-location of the electronic device; and
assessing a relevance of the identified digital content to the geo-location of the electronic device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein assessing the relevance of the identified digital content to the geo-location involves determining whether a language spoken in the geo-location of the electronic device matches a language in which the digital content is presented.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein assessing the relevance of the identified digital content to the geo-location involves assessing a popularity in the geo-location of a subject matter of the identified digital content.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the subject matter of the identified digital content is related to at least one of: a sport, a sporting event, a team, a venue, an article of apparel, type of apparel, a style of apparel, or a brand of apparel.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the geo-location of the electronic device is determined based at least in part on at least one of: a language setting of the electronic device, a country setting of the electronic device, a time zone setting of the electronic device, location data provided by a GPS receiver of the electronic device, cell tower information obtained from the electronic device, or a WiFi location obtained from the electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user identifier does not correspond with the registered owner of the item, and wherein selecting the subset of the identified digital content comprises:
determining a location of the electronic device in a store where the item is being offered for sale; and
assessing a relevance of the identified digital content to the location of the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the location of the electronic device in the store is determined based at least in part on at least one of: a product category to which the item belongs, a floor plan of the store, location data provided by a GPS receiver of the electronic device, or a WiFi location information obtained from the electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the subset of the identified digital content comprises:
determining a time that at least one of the item identifier or the selection of the option was received at the server from the electronic device; and
identifying which of the identified digital content is relevant to the time.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the time is at least one of: a time of day, a time of week, a time of month, a time of year, a time that coincides with a sporting event, or a calendar season.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the server from the electronic device, the user identifier.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
searching a database comprising user profile data to identify user profile data corresponding to the user identifier; and
wherein the subset of the identified digital content is selected based at least in part on the identified user profile data.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the identified user profile data comprises at least one of: a home location, a number of purchases, a number of product recommendations, or a number of converted product recommendations.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the server from the electronic device, a language setting, wherein the subset of the identified digital content is selected based at least in part on the language setting.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the subset of the identified digital content comprises:
obtaining, by the server from the electronic device, at least one of a web cookie or a browser cache file; and
identifying, by the server, which of the identified digital content is relevant to the at least one of the cookie or the browser cache file.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the smart tag is a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag that transmits the item identifier to the electronic device via NFC.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user identifier does not correspond with the registered owner of the item and the option allows purchasing of the item at a price unique to the user identifier.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user identifier does not correspond with the registered owner of the item and the user identifier corresponds with an unregistered user, and wherein the option is further based at least in part on whether the unregistered user is a friend of the registered owner.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user identifier corresponds with the registered owner of the item and the option allows reassigning of the item to a new owner.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user identifier corresponds with the registered owner of the item and the option provides training statistics corresponding to registered owner.

21. A system providing digital content related to an item, the item associated with a smart tag encoded with an item identifier that identifies the item, the smart tag configured to transmit the item identifier to an electronic device when the electronic device is positioned proximate to the smart tag, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory device including instruction that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive from the electronic device the item identifier transmitted from the smart tag to the electronic device upon positioning of the electronic device proximate to the smart tag;
determine a menu comprising an option based at least in part on whether a user identifier associated with the electronic device corresponds with a registered owner of the item;
transmit to the electronic device the menu comprising the option;
receive from the electronic device a selection of the option;
identify digital content associated with the item identifier and related to the item;
select a subset of the identified digital content to provide to the electronic device, the subset of the identified digital content based at least in part on the selection of the option; and
transmit t

Assignees

• Adidas Ag

Inventors

• Werner Jon H
• Dibenedetto Christian
• Vaterlaus Amy Jones
• Vincent Stephen M

Classifications

• G06Q30/0623

  by investigating goods or services · CPC title

• G06Q20/203

  Inventory monitoring · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• G06F16/24575

  using context · CPC title

• G06F16/248

  Presentation of query results · CPC title