Award point service system, recording medium for use therein and award point service method

• US 20020070270A1
• Filed: 11/19/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Family FARE Incorporated (SpartanNash Company), Toyota Finance Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Toru, Nakamoto, Hiroshi, Furugane, Hiroshi, Narita, Yuichi
• Application Number:
  US09/988,333
• Publication Number:
  US 20020070270A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A virtual store server is provided in a virtual store of at least one of tie-up companies. The virtual store is established on the internet so as to issue points to a member upon access to the virtual store. The virtual store server includes a virtual store point DB for recording the number of the issued points. When the member makes a purchase in the actual store with the number of points that has been read by at least one terminal provided in an actual store, the terminal functions in reducing the number of points that has been read and used in the actual store.

Claims

1. An award point service system, comprising:

a point issuing device that issues points to a customer who purchases an article;

a memory that stores data of the points issued to the customer;

a data access permitting device that permits the data of the points issued to the customer to be read from the memory; and

a point reducing device that allows use of at least a part of the points read from the memory by subtracting the at least points from the data of the points stored in the memory;

wherein

at least one virtual store established on a network is accessible to the point issuing device; and

wherein

at least one actual store is accessible to the point reducing device.

2. An award point service system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one actual store is accessible to the point issuing device.

3. An award point service system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one virtual store is accessible to the point reducing device.

4. An award point service system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one virtual store is accessible to the point reducing device.

5. An award point service system according to claim 1, further comprising a managing device that manages the points issued by the point issuing device and the points reduced by the point reducing device.

6. An award point service system according to claim 2, further comprising a managing device that manages the points issued by the point issuing device and the points reduced by the point reducing device.

7. An award point service system according to claim 3, further comprising a managing device that manages the points issued by the point issuing device and the points reduced by the point reducing device.

8. An award point service system according to claim 4, further comprising a managing device that manages the points issued by the point issuing device and the points reduced by the point reducing device.

9. An award point service system according to claim 1, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

10. An award point service system according to claim 2, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

11. An award point service system according to claim 4, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

12. An award point service system according to claim 3, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

13. An award point service system according to claim 5, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

14. An award point service system according to claim 9, wherein the recording medium comprises a medium used for making a payment.

15. An award point service system according to claim 2, wherein the memory device includes a first memory that stores points issued to the customer in the virtual store and a second memory that stores points issued to the customer in the actual store.

16. An award point service system according to claim 4, wherein the memory device includes a first memory that stores points issued to the customer in the virtual store and a second memory that stores points issued to the customer in the actual store.

17. An award point service system according to claim 6, wherein the memory device includes a first memory that stores points issued to the customer in the virtual store and a second memory that stores points issued to the customer in the actual store.

18. An award point service system according to claim 10, wherein the memory device includes a first memory that stores points issued to the customer in the virtual store and a second memory that stores points issued to the customer in the actual store.

20. An award point service system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one virtual store is accessible to the point issuing device.

21. An award point service system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one actual store is accessible to the point reducing device.

22. An award point service system according to claim 20, wherein the memory includes a first memory that stores points issued to the customer in the virtual store and a second memory that stores points issued to the customer in the actual store.

23. An award point service system according to claim 19, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

24. An award point service system according to claim 20, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

25. An award point service system according to claim 21, wherein the data access permitting device comprises a terminal provided in the actual store, and the terminal receives the data of the points from a recording medium owned by the customer and supplies the recording medium with the data of the points.

26. An award point service system according to claim 23, wherein the recording medium comprises a medium used for making a payment.

28. A recording medium according to claim 27, comprising an IC card having an IC chip.

19. An award point service system, comprising:

a point issuing device that issues points to a customer who purchases an article;

a memory that stores data of the points issued to the customer;

a data access permitting device that permits the data of the points issued to the customer to be read from the memory; and

a point reducing device that allows use of at least a part of the points read from the memory by subtracting the at least points from the data of the points stored in the memory;

wherein

at least one virtual store established on a network is accessible to the point reducing device; and

wherein

at least one actual store is accessible to the point issuing device.

27. A recording medium used in a point service system including an award point issuing device that issues points to a customer who purchases an article, a memory that stores data of the points issued to the customer, a data access permitting device that permits the data of the points issued to the customer to be read from the memory, and a point reducing device that allows use of at least a part of the points read from the memory by subtracting the at least points from the data of the points stored in the memory, wherein

the recording medium transmits and receives the data of the points to and from the data access permitting device, and wherein

the recording medium stores the points issued or reduced by any of at least one virtual store and at least one actual store.

29. An award point service management method comprising the steps of:

issuing points to a customer who purchases an article in at least one of virtual stores established on a network;

recording the issued points; and

subtracting points used by the customer from the data of the points stored in a memory in at least one of actual stores such that the points are used by the customer for purchasing an article in the at least one of actual stores.

30. An award point service management method comprising the steps of:

issuing points to a customer who purchases an article in at least one of actual stores;

recording the issued points; and

subtracting points used by the customer from the data of the points stored in a memory in at least one of virtual stores such that the points are used by the customer for purchasing an article in the at least one of virtual stores.