SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING INTERACTIVE CONTENT TO A USER
Systems and methods are set forth which provide seamless connectivity between an enterprise and a user's mobile device and a fixed terminal such as a gaming terminal. The connectivity can follow the user through several different communication channels and can enable different content, including interactive content, to be provided based upon the communication channel currently invoked which can be attributed to the user's location as either within a venue and at a terminal or roaming about remote from the terminal and venue. In various embodiments the system may be open to outside content providers to provide content to a user of the system. The systems and methods also support the use of an electronic wallet account for funding activities.
1 . An improved system for providing for seamless user interactive content to a user's mobile device and at a user terminal including (i) one or more data servers and data repositories to package and transmit interactive content via a wireless mobile telephone bi-directional first communication channel for wire-less telephonic communication with the user mobile device, the user mobile device having a display and a user input interface and the terminal including a terminal video display and in bi-directional network communication with the one or more servers to display interactive content at the terminal display, an improved system comprising:
a software application to configure the user's mobile device for establishing the first communication channel link with the one or more servers to receive and display the interactive content at the mobile device display and to transmit user inputs from the user interface to the one or more servers;
a short range communication beacon-transceiver associated with the terminal, the geo-location of the beacon-transmitter and associated terminal being known;
the software application configuring the user's mobile device to establish a bi-directional short-range second channel communication link between the user's mobile device and the one or more servers when the user's mobile device is within a short range of a beacon-transceiver, the second channel communication with the user's mobile device defining a geo-location for the user's device proximate the terminal;
configuring the one or more servers to provide the interactive content;
the one or more servers and user's mobile device configured by the software application to (a) when the user's mobile device is within the short range, concurrently provide the interactive content to the terminal display via the network and the user's mobile device display through the second channel and to receive user inputs from one or the user interface and a terminal user interface and (b) when the user's mobile device is outside of the short range to hand-off the provision of the interactive content to the user's mobile device over the first communication channel.
2 . A system comprising:
an external host system configured to deliver system content;
a fixed gaming terminal configured to communicate with the host system via a network communication channel, the gaming terminal including a video display, the gaming terminal configured to receive the system content via the network communication channel and display the delivered system content on the video display; and
a software application configuring a user's mobile device to communicate with the host system via a first wireless communication channel when the mobile device is remote from the gaming terminal and via a second, different wireless communication channel when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal, the software application configuring the mobile device to receive the system content via the first or second communication channel depending upon whether the mobile device is remote from or proximate the gaming terminal and to display the delivered system content.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the system content includes interactive content, the gaming terminal configured to receive user inputs and transmit the user inputs to the host system via the network communication channel, the software application configuring the mobile device to receive other user inputs and transmit the other user inputs to the host system via the first or second communication channel depending upon whether the mobile device is remote from or proximate the gaming terminal.
4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the system content includes one or more of advertising, promotions, notifications, account information, transactions, games, surveys, or community activities.
5 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the system content includes first content and second content, the software application configuring the mobile device to receive the first content, but not the second content, via the first communication channel and to receive the second content, but not the first content, via the second communication channel.
6 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the first communication channel is a mobile cellular network, and wherein the second communication channel is a short-range channel.
7 . The system of claim 6 , further including a beacon-transceiver associated with the gaming terminal and coupled to the host system via the network communication channel, the software application configuring the mobile device to establish the short-range channel with the beacon-transceiver when the mobile device is within a short range of the beacon-transceiver, the mobile device communicating with the host system via the short-range channel between the mobile device and the beacon-transceiver and the network communication channel between the beacon-transceiver and the host system.
8 . The system of claim 2 , wherein when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal, the host system is configured to concurrently deliver the system content to the gaming terminal and the mobile device.
9 . The system of claim 2 , wherein in response to the mobile device moving into and out of a range served by the second communication channel, delivery of the system content to the mobile device is handed off from the first communication channel to the second communication channel and vice versa.
10 . The system of claim 2 , further including a channel services module configured to serve the network communication channel, the first communication channel, and the second communication channel.
11 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the second communication channel defines a geo-location for the mobile device proximate the gaming terminal.
12 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the gaming terminal is configured to display the system content delivered thereto in a dedicated system window on the video display of the gaming terminal.
13 . A method of operating a system including an external host system, a fixed gaming terminal, and a mobile device, the method comprising:
delivering system content from the host system to the gaming terminal for display thereon via a network communication channel; and
delivering the system content from the host system to the mobile device for display thereon via a first wireless communication channel when the mobile device is remote from the gaming terminal and via a second, different wireless communication channel when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the system content includes interactive content, and further comprising:
receiving user inputs at the gaming terminal and transmitting the user inputs from the gaming terminal to the host system via the network communication channel; and
receiving other user inputs at the mobile device and transmitting the other user inputs from the mobile device to the host system via the first communication channel when the mobile device is remote from the gaming terminal and via the second communication channel when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the system content includes one or more of advertising, promotions, notifications, account information, transactions, games, surveys, or community activities.
16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the system content includes first content and second content, and further comprising delivering the first content, but not the second content, from the host system to the mobile device via the first communication channel and delivering the second content, but not the first content, from the host system to the mobile device via the second communication channel.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first communication channel is a mobile cellular network, and wherein the second communication channel is a short-range channel.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further including a beacon-transceiver associated with the gaming terminal and coupled to the host system via the network communication channel, and further comprising establishing the short-range channel with the beacon-transceiver when the mobile device is within a short range of the beacon-transceiver such that the system content is delivered from the host system to the mobile device via the network communication channel between the host system and the beacon-transceiver and via the short-range channel between the beacon-transceiver and the mobile device.
19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal, the steps of delivering the system content from the host system to the gaming terminal and delivering the system content from the host system to the mobile device occur concurrently.
20 . The method of claim 13 , wherein in response to the mobile device moving into and out of a range served by the second communication channel, handing off delivery of the system content to the mobile device from the first communication channel to the second communication channel and vice versa.
21 . The method of claim 13 , further including a channel services module configured to serve the network communication channel, the first communication channel, and the second communication channel.
22 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the second communication channel defines a geo-location for the mobile device proximate the gaming terminal.
23 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising displaying the system content delivered to the gaming terminal in a dedicated system window on a video display of the gaming terminal.
24 . A system comprising:
an external host system configured to deliver system content to a fixed gaming terminal for display thereon via a network communication channel; and
a software application configuring a user's mobile device to communicate with the host system via a first wireless communication channel when the mobile device is remote from the gaming terminal and via a second, different wireless communication channel when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal, the software application configuring the mobile device to receive the system content via the first or second communication channel depending upon whether the mobile device is remote from or proximate the gaming terminal and to display the delivered system content.
25 . The system of claim 24 , wherein the first communication channel is a mobile cellular network, and wherein the second communication channel is a short-range channel.
26 . The system of claim 25 , further including a beacon-transceiver associated with the gaming terminal and coupled to the host system via the network communication channel, the software application configuring the mobile device to establish the short-range channel with the beacon-transceiver when the mobile device is within a short range of the beacon-transceiver, the mobile device communicating with the host system via the short-range channel between the mobile device and the beacon-transceiver and the network communication channel between the beacon-transceiver and the host system.
27 . The system of claim 24 , wherein when the mobile device is proximate the gaming terminal, the host system is configured to concurrently deliver the system content to the gaming terminal and the mobile device.
28 . The system of claim 24 , wherein in response to the mobile device moving into and out of a range served by the second communication channel, delivery of the system content to the mobile device is handed off from the first communication channel to the second communication channel and vice versa.