Interactive video distribution systems – System for awarding coupon – token – or credit
Reexamination Certificate
1996-08-14
2001-05-22
Grant, Chris (Department: 2711)
Interactive video distribution systems
System for awarding coupon, token, or credit
C725S037000, C725S105000, C725S141000, C705S014270
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237145
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for accessing and displaying promotion information and for generating redeemable coupons therefrom. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a system where the accessing and generating for each particular user is influenced by a user profile for the user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Discount coupons and other similar “tokens” are conventionally offered by manufacturers and retailers in newspapers, in magazines, by direct mail, and the like to entice members of the public to buy a particular product or service. As is well known, such coupons are usually targeted to specific types of consumers, and such targeting may be performed in a highly sophisticated manner. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the redemption rate for coupons in many situations may be in the range of one to two percent. A major reason for such a low rate is that many coupons offered to a particular consumer are rejected by that consumer simply for lack of interest. Further, even if a consumer wishes to take advantage of a coupon offer, the consumer may be prevented from doing so based on the inability to redeem the coupon before the expiration date. As a result, ninety-eight percent or more of all offered coupons are never redeemed.
Systems have been proposed to increase the rate of redemption of coupons. For example, in one system, product information (i.e., listings, specifications, prices, discounts or other information for a product or service including depiction by language or graphics) is broadcast from a central location to a user's remote location, either as an over-the-air broadcast television signal or a cable television signal. In response to the transmitted product information, the user can print a redeemable coupon at a generating unit at the user's remote location based upon the transmitted information. While such system may increase the percentage of coupons redeemed, the system has a serious disadvantage in that the user must endure what is essentially an unending series of television commercials, many of which are for products and/or services of no interest to the user.
In an improvement to the aforementioned system, the transmitted product information from the central location is stored in a storage unit at the user's remote location. The user can then play back, rewind, and fast forward through the stored product information, and can print a redeemable coupon at a generating unit at the user's remote location based upon the stored information. The storage unit can be configured to store all transmitted product information or only the transmitted product information that meets pre-selected requirements (e.g., product information for food products only). However, the improved system shares the same disadvantage as the previous system in that a user must still sift through much product information of no interest to the user. Furthermore, both systems are impractical in that the cost of placing a coupon generating unit at each user's remote location is prohibitive.
A need exists, then, for a redeemable coupon generation system that allows a user to quickly access and peruse promotions or offers that are likely to be of interest to that user, that allows the user to generate one or more coupons to take advantage of at least one of the accessed promotions and offers, and that does not require additional equipment beyond that which is likely already available to the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned need is satisfied by a system for accessing and displaying promotion information and for generating redeemable coupons based on at least one of the accessed promotions. The system has a promotion information record storage device for storing a plurality of promotion information records. Each promotion information record includes an electronic coupon offer in connection with a product or service a merchant sells and information relating to the product or service being promoted. The system also has a user profile storage device for storing a user profile for a system user. The user profile includes user preference information based on preferences of the user. The user has a unique system identifier.
A presentation device presents the stored promotion information records according to a hierarchical menu structure which includes a main menu and a plurality of hierarchically linked sub-menus. Each sub-menu includes a plurality of choices and the user navigates among the main menu and sub-menus to select promotion information records for presentation. An electronic coupon clipping device allows the user to electronically clip the coupon offer of the presented promotion information record. The electronic clipped coupon offer is stored in an electronic clipped coupon database in connection with the user profile for the user.
A paper coupon generating device is located at a merchant. With the paper coupon generating device, the unique system identifier of the user is entered, the electronic clipped coupon offer from the electronic clipped coupon database is accessed, the user reviews the electronic clipped coupon offer, and a paper coupon corresponding to the electronic clipped coupon offer may be selectively generated for the user. The paper coupon is then redeemable by the merchant.
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David Bernard
Narasimhan Ashok
Raman Vas
Christensen O'Connor Johnson & Kindness PLLC
Claiborne Anthony B.
Grant Chris
InfoSpace, Inc.
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