Signal transmission management system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for organizing a plurality of signals to be transmitted to a plurality of subscriber receivers over at least one channel. At least one computer includes at least one processor and comprises at least one of a client computer and a server computer. The at least one computer is configured to generate at least one graphical user interface comprising (i) a scalable timeline that visually represents an absolute time reference for the at least one channel, the scalable timeline comprising a plurality of horizontal lines each corresponding to a channel of the at least one channel, wherein each horizontal line comprises an arrangement of different signals to be transmitted over a corresponding channel at different times, and (ii) a vertical time indicator on the scalable timeline that visually represents a present time, such that at least one signal currently being transmitted over the at least one channel is identifiable.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for organizing a plurality of signals to be transmitted to a plurality of subscriber receivers over at least one channel, comprising:
 at least one computer including at least one processor, wherein the at least one computer comprises at least one of a client computer and a server computer, the at least one computer configured to generate at least one graphical user interface comprising:
 (i) a scalable timeline that visually represents an absolute time reference for the at least one channel, the scalable timeline comprising a plurality of horizontal lines each corresponding to a channel of the at least one channel, wherein each horizontal line comprises an arrangement of different signals to be transmitted over a corresponding channel at different times; and 
 (ii) a vertical time indicator on the scalable timeline that visually represents a present time, such that at least one signal currently being transmitted over the at least one channel is identifiable. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer is further configured to receive user input, through the at least one graphical user interface, for organizing the plurality of signals over the at least one channel, and produce administrative instructions based at least partially on the user input. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one computer is at least one client computer, the system further comprising a central management server in communication with the at least one client computer, the central management server configured to receive the administrative instructions from the at least one client computer and transmit, to at least a portion of the plurality of subscriber receivers, signals organized based at least partially on the administrative instructions. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one graphical user interface displays, for each of the signals to be transmitted over the at least one channel, a contents category corresponding to each signal, and for at least a subset of the signals to be transmitted over the at least one channel, facilitates a user to manipulate segments of each signal such that a particular sub-segment will be displayed by each subscriber receiver of the subscriber receivers that has a profile category matching the contents category corresponding to the particular sub-segment. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one graphical user interface is configured to, for at least a sub-set of the signals to be transmitted over the at least one channel, facilitate the user to select a suitable sub-segment for each of a number of profile categories for a segment of a signal. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to enable the user to, for each sub-segment, select a profile category, wherein a default profile category is based on a compiled data set formed on basis of activity-monitoring information pertaining to signals having been presented in the subscriber receivers. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to allow the user to, for each sub-segment, select a geographical area within which subscriber receivers will present the sub-segment, wherein a default geographical area is based on positional information pertaining to signals having been presented in the subscriber receivers. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface is further configured to enable the user to, for each sub-segment, select a priority level denoting a relative position of the sub-segment within a particular segment. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , comprising a compiler adapted to produce a preliminary organization of the signals on the at least one channel before transmitting corresponding administrative instructions to the central management server. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface is configured to enable a user to manipulate the preliminary organization of the signals, and the at least one computer comprises processing means adapted for producing administrative instructions for transmission to a central management server on the basis of user manipulations. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one graphical user interface further comprises a symbol field corresponding to each channel of the at least one channel, the symbol field indicating a content type for a signal currently being transmitted or a signal that is scheduled to be transmitted next. 
     
     
         12 . A method for transmitting a signal to a plurality of subscriber receivers over at least one channel of a plurality of channels, comprising:
 generating, on at least one client computer, at least one graphical user interface comprising a scalable timeline adapted to visually represent an absolute time reference for the at least one channel, the scalable timeline representing a horizontal arrangement of signals to be transmitted over the at least one channel at different times;   receiving user input through the at least one graphical user interface for arranging different signals horizontally along the scalable timeline; and   generating a vertical time indicator on the scalable timeline that visually represents a present time, wherein the vertical time indicator identifies at least one signal of the horizontal arrangement of signals for the at least one channel that is currently being transmitted.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 producing administrative instructions based at least partially on the user input;   transmitting, to a central management server, the administrative instructions, wherein the administrative instructions enable the central management server to organize the signals and transmit, to at least a portion of the plurality of subscriber receivers, signals organized based at least partially on the administrative instructions.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 receiving, at a central management server, the administrative instructions from the at least one client computer; and   transmitting, to the at least a portion of the plurality of subscriber receivers, the signals organized based at least partially on the administrative instructions.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 displaying, on the at least one graphical user interface and for each of the signals to be transmitted over at least one channel of the plurality of channels, a contents category corresponding to each signal; and   facilitating a user to manipulate segments of at least one signal such that a particular sub-segment will be displayed by each subscriber receiver of the subscriber receivers that has a profile category matching the contents category corresponding to the particular sub-segment.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: receiving, from a user, a sub-segment for each of a number of profile categories for a segment of a signal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising: receiving, from a user through the at least one graphical user interface, a selection of a profile category for each sub-segment, wherein a default profile category is based on a compiled data set formed on basis of activity-monitoring information pertaining to signals having been presented in the subscriber receivers. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: generating, on the at least one graphical user interface, a symbol field corresponding to each channel of the plurality of channels, the symbol field indicating a content type for a signal currently being transmitted or a signal that is scheduled to be transmitted next. 
     
     
         19 . A computer program product for transmitting a signal to a plurality of subscriber receivers over at least one channel of a plurality of channels, comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to:
 generate at least one graphical user interface comprising a scalable timeline adapted to visually represent an absolute time reference for the at least one channel, the scalable timeline representing a horizontal arrangement of signals to be transmitted over the at least one channel at different times;   receive user input through the at least one graphical user interface for arranging different signals horizontally along the scalable timeline; and   generate a vertical time indicator on the scalable timeline that visually represents a present time, wherein the vertical time indicator identifies at least one signal of the horizontal arrangement of signals for the at least one channel that is currently being transmitted.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one computer to:
 produce administrative instructions based at least partially on the user input;   transmit, to a central management server, the administrative instructions, wherein the administrative instructions enable the central management server to organize the signals and transmit, to at least a portion of the plurality of subscriber receivers, signals organized based at least partially on the administrative instructions.   
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one computer to:
 display, on the at least one graphical user interface and for each of the signals to be transmitted over the plurality of channels, a contents category corresponding to each signal; and   facilitate a user to manipulate segments of at least one signal such that a particular sub-segment will be displayed by each subscriber receiver of the subscriber receivers that has a profile category matching the contents category corresponding to the particular sub-segment.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer is further configured to verify content of each of the signals to be transmitted with respect to content of any neighboring signal segments. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one administrative instruction specifies that at least one channel is available for use by at least one second client computer during a particular time interval.