Digital signage system

Abstract

A method of operating a digital signage system. The method includes creating at least one user account, creating or retrieving a display content to be displayed on a display device, searching for a display location and at least one display device associated with the display location, and sending a request to display the content on at least one selected display device. The method further includes automatically downloading the content to be displayed on the selected display device, automatically processing a payment from a first user account to a second user account that is associated with the display device, and displaying the content on the selected display device.

1 - 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A method of operating a network of a plurality of display devices, the method comprising:
 establishing, a database, the database storing a plurality of records;   receiving, by a processor of a computer, a request to establish a first account for a first entity to be included in the plurality of account records;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the first entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the first entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record associated with the first entity includes an identifier of the first entity;   receiving, by the processor, a request to establish a second account for a second entity;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the second entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the second entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record of the second entity includes the identifier of the second entity and is associated with a display device included in the plurality of display devices;   receiving, by the processor, a search request associated with the first entity, the search request specifying one or more parameters for display devices sought by the first entity;   in response to verifying the first entity based on the plurality of records, automatically identifying based on the plurality of records, by the processor, a subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request, wherein one of the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request is the display device associated with the record of the second entity;   automatically transmitting, by the processor, data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request to the first entity, the data including pricing information associated with at least one display device included in the subset of the plurality of display devices;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the display device associated with the record of the second entity from the first entity from the data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request;   receiving, by the processor, content from the first entity;   in response to the selection, automatically generating and transmitting, by the processor, an electronic message to the second entity, the electronic message including a request to display the content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity; and   in response to receiving a reply to the request including an acceptance of the request, transmitting, by the processor, the content over a communication network to a display device computer associated with the display device, wherein the display device computer controls the display device to display the content on the display device, wherein transmitting the content in response to the reply to the request including the acceptance of the request includes automatically downloading the content to the selected display device and processing a payment when the automatic download completes successfully.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising automatically generating and sending an electronic message to the first entity when the automatic download completes successfully. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein transmitting the data including the pricing information associated with at least one display device in the subset of the plurality of display devices includes transmitting the data including a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 exchanging data between the first entity and the second entity to negotiate a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein processing the payment includes automatically processing the payment from an account associated with the first entity to an account associated with the second entity. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising receiving the reply to the request, wherein receiving the reply to the request includes receiving a manually-initiated reply from a user associated with the second entity. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the record associated with the first entity is not associated with any of the plurality of display devices. 
     
     
         30 . A method of operating a network of a plurality of display devices, the method comprising:
 establishing a database, the database storing a plurality of records;   receiving, by a processor of a computer, a request to establish a first account for a first entity;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the first entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the first entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record associated with the first entity includes the identifier of the first entity;   receiving, by the processor, a request to establish a second account for a second entity;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the second entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the second entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record of the second entity includes the identifier of the second entity and is associated with a display device included in the plurality of device devices;   receiving, by the processor, a search request associated with the first entity, the search request specifying one or more parameters for display devices sought by the first entity;   in response to verifying the first entity based on the plurality of records, automatically identifying based on the plurality of records, by the processor, a subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request, wherein one of the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request is the display device associated with the record of the second entity;   automatically transmitting, by the processor, data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request to the first entity, the data including pricing information associated with at least one display device included in the subset of the plurality of display devices;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the display device associated with the record of the second entity from the first entity from the data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request;   receiving, by the processor, content from the first entity;   in response to the selection, automatically generating and transmitting, by the processor, an electronic message to the second entity, the electronic message including a request to display the content on the display device;   in response to receiving a reply to the request including an acceptance of the request, automatically transmitting, by the processor, the content over a communication network to a display device computer associated with the display device, wherein the display device computer controls the display device to display the content on the display device; and   automatically cancelling the request when the request is not accepted or rejected within a predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein transmitting the data including the pricing information associated with at least one display device in the subset of the plurality of display devices includes transmitting the data including a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising:
 exchanging data between the first entity and the second entity to negotiate a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the record associated with the first entity is not associated with any of the plurality of display devices. 
     
     
         34 . A method of operating a network of a plurality of display devices, the method comprising:
 establishing a database, the database storing a plurality of records;   receiving, by a processor of a computer, a request to establish a first account for a first entity;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the first entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the first entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record associated with the first entity includes the identifier of the first entity;   receiving, by the processor, a request to establish a second account for a second entity;   receiving, by the processor, an identifier of the second entity;   storing, by the processor, a record associated with the second entity in the plurality of records stored in the database, wherein the record of the second entity includes the identifier of the second entity and is associated with a display device included in the plurality of display devices;   automatically, by the processor, determining additional location information for the display device associated with the record of the second entity;   receiving, by the processor, a search request associated with the first entity, the search request specifying one or more parameters for display devices sought by the first entity;   in response to verify the first entity based on the plurality of records, automatically identifying based on the plurality of records, by the processor, a subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request, wherein one of the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request is the display device associated with the record of the second entity;   automatically transmitting, by the processor, data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request to the first entity, the data including pricing information associated with at least one display device included in the subset of the plurality of display devices and the additional location information determined for the display device associated with the record of the second entity;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the display device associated with the record of the second entity from the first entity from the data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices matching the search request;   receiving, by the processor, content from the first entity;   in response to the selection, automatically generating and transmitting, by the processor, an electronic message to the second entity, the electronic message including a request to display the content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity; and   in response to receiving a reply to the request including an acceptance of the request, automatically transmitting, by the processor, the content over a communication network to a display device computer associated with the display device, wherein the display device computer controls the display device to display the content on the display device.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining the additional location information includes determining at least one selected from the group comprising an Internet service provider and an Internet service speed. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining the additional location information includes determining at least one selected from the group comprising a country, a latitude, a longitude, and a location type. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining the additional location information includes determining a market area. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 34 , further comprising automatically determining a rank of the display device within the market area. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining the additional location information includes determining a rank for each of the plurality of display devices. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein automatically transmitting the data regarding the subset of the plurality of display devices includes transmitting the rank associated with each display device of the subset of the plurality of display devices. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein transmitting the data including the pricing information associated with at least one display device in the subset of the plurality of display devices includes transmitting the data including a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 34 , further comprising:
 exchanging data between the first entity and the second entity to negotiate a price for displaying content on the display device associated with the record of the second entity.