METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH MOVEMENT BETWEEN LOCATIONS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for collecting information associated with movement between locations, comprising:
- a plurality of individual cards, each of said individual cards including;
a respective storage area; and
a respective interactor for receiving promotional unit data and for transferring said received promotional unit data to said respective storage area as a respective one of said cards moves between locations;
a plurality of promotional units, each transmitting respective promotional unit data to any of said cards, said respective promotional unit data one of a) transmitted by said respective one of said promotional units, and b) received by any one of said cards, when said any one of said cards and said respective one of said promotional units are in proximity for communications between them to occur; and
an administrative unit for receiving all of said promotional unit data situated in said respective storage area of any one of said cards.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system collects information associated with movement between locations. The system includes individual cards. Each individual card has a storage area and an interactor for receiving promotional unit data. A plurality of promotional units are also included. Each promotional unit transmits respective promotional unit data to any card with which it interacts. The promotional unit data within each card may then be downloaded to determine with which promotional units interaction has occurred.
54 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A system for collecting information associated with movement between locations, comprising:
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a plurality of individual cards, each of said individual cards including;
a respective storage area; and
a respective interactor for receiving promotional unit data and for transferring said received promotional unit data to said respective storage area as a respective one of said cards moves between locations;
a plurality of promotional units, each transmitting respective promotional unit data to any of said cards, said respective promotional unit data one of a) transmitted by said respective one of said promotional units, and b) received by any one of said cards, when said any one of said cards and said respective one of said promotional units are in proximity for communications between them to occur; and
an administrative unit for receiving all of said promotional unit data situated in said respective storage area of any one of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of collecting information associated with movement between locations having respective promotional units, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of individual cards each having a respective storage area to a respective plurality of individuals;
having any one of said promotional units provide respective promotional unit data to any one of said cards which interacts therewith and storing said respective promotional unit data in said respective storage area of said respective one of said cards; and
receiving said respective promotional unit data from respective ones of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for collecting information associated with movement of shoppers between locations in a retail complex, comprising:
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a plurality of individual cards, each of said individual cards corresponding to a respective one of said shoppers, each of said cards including;
a respective storage area; and
a respective interactor for receiving promotional unit data and for transferring said received promotional unit data to said respective storage area as a respective one of said shoppers moves their respective card between locations;
a plurality of promotional units, each transmitting respective promotional unit data to any of said cards, said respective promotional unit data one of a) transmitted by said respective one of said promotional units, and b) received by any one of said cards, when said any one of said cards and said respective one of said promotional units are brought in proximity by one of said shoppers for communications between them to occur; and
an administrative unit for receiving all of said promotional unit data situated in said respective storage area of any one of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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31. A method of collecting information associated with movement of shoppers between locations in a retail complex, said locations having respective promotional units, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of individual cards each having a respective storage area to said shoppers;
having any one of said promotional units provide respective promotional unit data to any one of said cards which said shoppers cause to interact therewith as said shoppers move through said retail complex and storing said respective promotional unit data in said respective storage area of said respective one of said cards; and
receiving said respective promotional unit data from respective ones of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for collecting information associated with movement between locations having respective promotional units, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect:
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providing a plurality of individual cards each having a respective storage area to a respective plurality of individuals;
having any one of said promotional units provide respective promotional unit data to any one of said cards which interacts therewith and storing said respective promotional unit data in said respective storage area of said respective one of said cards; and
receiving said respective promotional unit data from respective ones of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for collecting information associated with movement of shoppers between locations in a retail complex, said locations having respective promotional units, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of individual cards each having a respective storage area to said shoppers;
having any one of said promotional units provide respective promotional unit data to any one of said cards which said shoppers cause to interact therewith as said shoppers move through said retail complex and storing said respective promotional unit data in said respective storage area of said respective one of said cards; and
receiving said respective promotional unit data from respective ones of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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43. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a collection of information associated with movement of shoppers between locations in a retail complex, said locations having respective promotional units, computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect:
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providing a plurality of individual cards each having a respective storage area to said shoppers;
having any one of said promotional units provide respective promotional unit data to any one of said cards which said shoppers cause to interact therewith as said shoppers move through said retail complex and storing said respective promotional unit data in said respective storage area of said respective one of said cards; and
receiving said respective promotional unit data from respective ones of said cards. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45)
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Specification