System for acquiring goods and/or services

• US 20030033213A1
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Published: 02/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bogot, Carmi
• Application Number:
  US10/129,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20030033213A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In an environment including a television (110) hand held by a use (115) an including at least one directional control (130), a method for acquisition of goods or services including selecting goods or services by employing only the at least one direction control (130), and completing a transaction for selected goods or services by employing only the at least one direction control (130) and other related methods as disclosed.

Claims

1. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising:

selecting goods or services by employing only said at least one direction control; and

completing a transaction for selected goods or services by employing only said at least one direction control.

30. A method according to any of claims 1-4 and wherein said transaction is a purchase transaction.

31. A method according to any of claims 1-4 and wherein said transaction is a non-purchase transaction.

32. A method according to any of claims 1-4 and 7-31 and wherein said services include at least one of gambling services, betting services, gaming services, financial services, educational services, information retrieval services, entertainment services, and transportation services.

33. A method according to any of claims 1-3 and 30-32 and wherein said selecting and completing are effected in a single user action.

34. A method according to any of claims 1-3 and 30-104 and wherein said selecting and completing are effected in multiple user actions.

2. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one non-numerical non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising:

selecting goods or services by employing only said at least one non-numerical non-direction control; and

completing a transaction for selected goods or services by employing only said at least non-numerical non-direction control.

3. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one numerical control, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising:

selecting goods or services by employing only said at least one numerical control; and

completing a transaction for selected goods or services by employing only said at least one numerical control.

4. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control and at least one non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising:

selecting goods or services by employing only at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-direction control; and

completing a transaction for selected goods or services by employing only at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-direction control.

5. A method according to claim 4 and wherein said transaction is a non-purchase transaction.

6. A method according to claim 4 and wherein said non-direction control is a select control.

7. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control, at least one non-numerical non-direction control and a plurality of numerical designated keys, a method for acquisition of goods or services and viewing television content comprising:

acquiring goods or services by employing at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control; and

employing said plurality of numerical designated keys for television selection and not for purchase of goods or services.

8. A method according to claim 7 and wherein said acquiring is a purchase transaction.

9. A method according to claim 7 and wherein said acquiring is a non-purchase transaction.

10. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control and at least one non-numerical non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising acquiring goods or services by providing a user interface for a user engaging at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control a plurality of times in a sequence including at least:

A. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, followed by

B. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, and

C. at least zero transitions between engagement between different ones of said at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, said user interface being characterized in that;

a number of said transitions is minimized at the expense of non-minimization of a number of said engagements.

35. A method according to any of claims 7-26, 29, 34, 39, 45, 46 and 48 and wherein said non-numerical non-direction control is a select control.

36. A method according to any of claim 10-15 and wherein said acquisition is a purchase transaction.

37. A method according to any of claims 10-15 and wherein said acquisition is a non-purchase transaction.

11. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control and at least one non-numerical non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services and viewing television content comprising acquiring goods or services by providing a user interface for a user engaging at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control a plurality of times in a sequence including at least:

A. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, followed by

B. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, and

C. at least zero transitions between engagement between different ones of said at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, said user interface being characterized in that;

time required by a user in order to effect acquisition is minimized at the expense of non-minimization of a number of said engagements.

12. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control and at least one non-numerical non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services and viewing television content comprising acquiring goods or services by providing a user interface for a user engaging at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control a plurality of times in a sequence including at least:

A. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, followed by

B. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, and

C. at least zero transitions between engagement between different ones of said at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, said user interface being characterized in that;

said goods or services are ranked by a provider in accordance with a provider'"'"'s priority; and

ease of acquisition by a user engaging said at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control a plurality of times in said sequence for at least some of said goods or services corresponds to the provider'"'"'s priorities associated therewith.

13. A method according to claim 12 and wherein said user interface is configured such that goods or services having high provider'"'"'s priorities can be acquired by a user without engaging said at least one direction control.

14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13 and wherein said user interface is configured such that goods or services having high provider'"'"'s priorities can be acquired by a user with minimized engagement of said at least one direction control.

38. A method according to any of claims 12-15 and wherein said provider'"'"'s priorities are based on economic benefit to said provider.

39. A method according to any of claims 12-15 and 38 and wherein said provider'"'"'s priorities are based on an expected statistical preference of the user.

15. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user and including at least one direction control and at least one non-numerical non-direction control, a method for acquisition of goods or services and viewing television content comprising acquiring goods or services by providing a user interface for a user engaging at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control a plurality of times in a sequence including at least:

A. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, followed by

B. at least one engagement of one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, and

C. at least zero transitions between engagement between different ones of said at least one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control, said user interface being characterized in that;

said goods or services are ranked by a provider in accordance with a provider'"'"'s priority; and

goods or services having high provider'"'"'s priorities can be acquired by a user by engagement of only one of said at least one direction control and said at least one non-numerical non-direction control.

16. In an environment comprising a television and a remote control unit hand held by a user, a method for acquisition of goods or services comprising:

selecting goods or services by the user employing said remote control unit; and

completing a transaction for selected goods or services at least partially by the user speaking.

17. A method for acquisition of goods and services according to claim 16 and wherein said completing includes the user engaging in interactive voice communication with a synthesized speech source.

18. A method according to claim 16 or claim 17 and wherein said synthesized speech source is incorporated in a set top box.

19. A method according to any of claims 16-18 and wherein said synthesized speech source is incorporated in said television.

20. A method according to any of claims 16-19 and wherein said completing includes the user engaging in interactive voice communication with a human via a telephone.

21. A method according to any of claims 16-20 and wherein said interactive voice communication is initiated other than by said user dialing a telephone call.

22. A method according to any of claims 16-21 and wherein said interactive voice communication is initiated by an operator dialing a telephone call to the user.

23. A method according to any of claims 16-21 and wherein said interactive voice communication is initiated other than by an operator dialing a telephone call to the user.

24. A method according to any of claims 16-23 and wherein said interactive voice communication is initiated by an automatic call back system in response to a user command.

25. A method according to any of claims 16-24 and wherein said user speaking provides transaction information other than selection of said goods or services.

26. A method according to any of claims 16-25 and wherein said user speaking provides transaction information related to a delivery address.

27. A method according to any of claims 16-26 and also comprising the step of storing transaction information received as a result of the user speaking.

28. A method according to any of claims 16-27 and also comprising displaying at least some of the transaction information received, as a result of the user speaking, on said television.

29. A method according to any of claims 16-28 and also comprising obtaining user confirmation of the correctness of the transaction information received, as a result of the user speaking, on said television following display thereof on said television.