SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTION AND REDEMPTION OF LOYALTY POINTS AND COUPONS
First Claim
1. A system for controlling a customer reward system comprising:
- (a) a first database for storing customer identifications, and for accumulated loyalty points awarded to the customer, (b) an administration terminal for establishing loyalty point values associated with any of plural predetermined activities, and for storing the values and identities of associated activities, in a second database, (c) a reading terminal for reading the identity of a customer at a location of the terminal, (d) first apparatus located in the region of the reading terminal for detecting an activity of the customer, and (e) second apparatus for accessing the second database, looking up the activity of the customer, and depositing corresponding loyalty points in the first database in association with an identification of the customer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for controlling a customer reward system comprising: a first database for storing customer identifications, and for accumulated loyalty points awarded to the customer, an administration terminal for establishing loyalty point values associated with any of plural predetermined activities, and for storing the values and identities of associated activities, in a second database, a reading terminal for reading the identity of a customer at a location of the terminal, first apparatus located in the region of the reading terminal for detecting an activity of the customer, and second apparatus for accessing the second database, looking up the activity of the customer, and depositing corresponding loyalty points in the first database in association with an identification of the customer.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system for controlling a customer reward system comprising:
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(a) a first database for storing customer identifications, and for accumulated loyalty points awarded to the customer, (b) an administration terminal for establishing loyalty point values associated with any of plural predetermined activities, and for storing the values and identities of associated activities, in a second database, (c) a reading terminal for reading the identity of a customer at a location of the terminal, (d) first apparatus located in the region of the reading terminal for detecting an activity of the customer, and (e) second apparatus for accessing the second database, looking up the activity of the customer, and depositing corresponding loyalty points in the first database in association with an identification of the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of controlling a customer reward system comprising:
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(a) distributing identification elements to prospective customers each of which store unique customer identifications, (b) detecting the presence of an identification element at a terminal, (c) receiving and storing at least one of currency credits, loyalty points credits and coupon credits in a database record associated with a customer identification based on at least one of a currency deposit and an activity undertaken by a customer, the loyalty points and coupon credits being predetermined by an administrator and are variable depending on the activity undertaken by the customer and at least one of;
an identity of a merchant or machine providing a product or a service, a total number or incremental number or skill level or persons which previously availed themselves of a product or service, an advertisement presented on a display located adjacent to an identified customer, a time interval or the real time when the product or service is provided, a skill bracket or handicapped skill achieved by the customer of an activity, a handicap attributed to a machine which provides a product or service, an interval since an activity was undertaken by the customer or by other customers or by customers of a particular demographic profile, a classification in which the customer belongs, and a demographic profile of the customer. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A method of controlling a customer reward system comprising:
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(a) distributing identification elements to prospective customers each of which store unique customer identifications, (b) detecting the presence of an identification element at a terminal, (c) receiving and storing loyalty point credits in a database record associated with a customer identification based on at least one of a currency deposit and an activity undertaken by a customer, (d) redeeming loyalty point credits by any of plural unrelated merchants at any of plural redemption terminals, (e) reporting loyalty point credits and redemptions undertaken by each of the plural merchants to an administrator terminal via a communication network, and (f) settling credits and redemptions of loyalty points from time to time as between the merchants and administrator, whereby the loyalty points are used as a medium of exchange between the merchants and administrator via the network and the terminals. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for controlling a customer reward system comprising:
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(a) establishing merchant, customer and administrator loyalty point databases, (b) depositing loyalty points in a designated customer'"'"'s database or in plural customer databases, (c) redeeming loyalty points of a customer by a merchant providing a goods or services, and decrementing the database of the customer by a predetermined number of loyalty points and incrementing the database of the merchant by the predetermined number of loyalty points, (d) decrementing a further predetermined number of loyalty points from the database of the merchant and incrementing the database of the administrator by the further predetermined number of loyalty points. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for controlling a customer reward system comprising:
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(a) establishing merchant, customer and administrator loyalty point databases, (b) depositing loyalty points in a designated customer'"'"'s database or in plural customer databases, (c) redeeming loyalty points of a customer by a merchant providing a goods or services, and decrementing the database of the customer by a first predetermined number of loyalty points and incrementing the database of the administrator by the first predetermined number of loyalty points, and (d) decrementing a further predetermined number of loyalty points from the database of the administrator which is smaller than the first predetermined number of loyalty points and incrementing the database of the merchant by the further predetermined number of loyalty points. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification