Method and apparatus for providing a gift using a mobile communication network and system including the apparatus

• US 10,296,877 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2015
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eleven Street Co., Ltd. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Eleven Street Co., Ltd. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Choi, Kyung-Lim, Cho, Jae-Hee, Joo, Hyo-Jung
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy, Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US14/755,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20150302513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 705 21, 705 261, 705 272
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0637 Approvals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of providing a gift icon using a communication network. The method includes: providing, by a gift provision apparatus, information about products to a user terminal connected with the gift provision apparatus through the communication network; selecting, by the user terminal, at least one of the products, and inputting, by the user terminal, information of a receipt terminal to receive the at least one selected product, wherein the receipt terminal is separated from the user terminal; transmitting, by the user terminal, a request message for a gift to the gift provision apparatus; and providing, by the gift provision apparatus, the gift icon to the receipt terminal through the communication network, when the gift provision apparatus receives the request message, wherein the gift icon comprises a plurality of images and corresponds to the at least one selected product.

Claims

1. A method of providing a gift icon through a communication network, the method comprising:

providing, by a gift provision apparatus, information about at least one product to a user terminal connected with the gift provision apparatus through the communication network;

detecting, by the gift provision apparatus, a selection signal input at the user terminal, the selection signal including a selected product and a recipient terminal for receiving a gift icon corresponding to the selected product; and

providing, by the gift provision apparatus, the gift icon corresponding to the selected product to the recipient terminal through the communication network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gift icon is of a bar-code type.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a user of the recipient terminal, the selected product corresponding to the gift icon.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user terminal inputs information of the recipient terminal from an address book including at least one of an e-mail address and a telephone number.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user terminal and the recipient terminal are wired terminals or mobile terminals.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the user terminal and the recipient terminal operates a software for transmitting and receiving messages or data in real time through the communication network, and transmits and receives the gift icon through the software.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

when a request message for transmission of the gift icon to a predetermined mobile terminal is transmitted from the recipient terminal, transmitting the gift icon to the predetermined mobile terminal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said transmitting the gift icon to the predetermined mobile terminal comprises:

transmitting a message including an unique resource locator (URL) in which the gift icon is stored, to the predetermined mobile terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said transmitting the gift icon to the predetermined mobile terminal further comprises:

when the predetermined mobile terminal connects to the URL and requests download of the gift icon, downloading the gift icon to the predetermined mobile terminal.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the recipient terminal accepts the gift icon, registering, by the gift provision apparatus, an acceptance completion message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing the gift icon comprises:

providing a web page or a wap page, for a settlement, to the user terminal, and

providing the gift icon when the settlement has been finished through the provided page.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the gift provision apparatus, a request message for the gift icon, and delivering, by the gift provision apparatus, the request message to the recipient terminal;

when an acceptance message is received from the recipient terminal, providing, by the gift provision apparatus, a web page or a wap page for a settlement, to the recipient terminal; and

when the settlement has been finished through the provided page by the recipient terminal, providing, by the gift provision apparatus, the gift icon to the user terminal.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the recipient terminal selects a button for returning displayed on a screen of the recipient terminal, providing, by the gift provision apparatus, information about at least one product, and,

when the at least one product is selected,

transmitting, by the gift provision apparatus, the gift icon corresponding to the selected product, to the user terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

when a usable period is set, providing, by the gift provision apparatus, at least one of a first guide message regarding a repayment of money corresponding to the gift icon which is not used for the usable period, and a second guide message regarding a conversion of the gift icon which is not used for the usable period to reserve money, to the user terminal.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing, by the gift provision apparatus, contents of gift icons transmitted during a predetermined period, to the user terminal or the recipient terminal.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

authenticating, by the gift provision apparatus, a validity of the gift icon transmitted from a Point Of Sale (POS) terminal installed in a predetermined shop;

transmitting, by the gift provision apparatus, an authentication code corresponding to a completion of the authentication of the validity, to the POS terminal; and

when the selected product corresponding to the gift icon is received by a user of the user terminal, receiving, by the gift provision apparatus, a message indicating receipt completion from the POS terminal.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing, by the gift provision apparatus, contents of gift icons transmitted during a predetermined period, to the user terminal or the counterpart terminal.

18. The method of claim 4, wherein the address book includes at least one group consisting at least one of a telephone number and e-mail address of a terminal.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the gift icon has been used, receiving, by the gift provision apparatus, a confirmation message confirming the use of the gift icon; and

when the gift provision server receives the confirmation message, prohibiting, by the gift provision apparatus, a further use of the gift icon.