AUTOMATED TRAFFIC CONTROL AND BILLING FOR BILLBOARD ADVERTISING

摘要

An automated traffic control and billing system for billboard advertising searches a relational database having contract terms for billboards having powered features (such as illumination), and establishes one or more approval conditions for a specific billboard based on its corresponding contract terms. An approval condition may be payment of an invoice by a due date. The system monitors compliance with the approval condition, and generates a control signal when non-compliance is detected. A local signage control unit co-located at the billboard disables operation of the powered feature in response to the control signal. In those cases where the billboard has multiple powered features, the local signage control unit can selectively disable only one of the powered features associated with the non-paying customer. The powered feature is disabled according to different means depending on its nature; in an illustrative embodiment electricity to the feature is simply turned off.