Method and system for administrating consumer club membership cards
First Claim
1. A method for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a club administrator:
- (a) maintaining a database of subscribers and details of each consumer club of which each subscriber is a member, and (b) conveying to a portable subscriber unit details of at least one club for certifying membership of the at least one club.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for administering membership of a club, wherein a club administrator maintains a portfolio of a subscriber'"'"'s clubs including details of each club of which the subscriber is a member, and conveys to a portable subscriber unit details of at least one club for displaying membership certification thereof on a display of the subscriber unit. The club portfolio may be stored in a memory of the portable subscriber unit, which may be a cellular telephone and may include identity data of the registered owner of the portable subscriber unit, including the owner'"'"'s picture. The memory may be a standalone module adapted for use with a cellular telephone having a suitable interface and the data may be updated by the club administrator so as to ensure that the data is constantly current. In use, the registered owner can display information attesting to his or her membership of a club, thus obviating the need to carry large numbers of club membership cards. In the event of loss, the club administrator or a service provider mediating between the club administrator and the subscriber can disable use of the portable subscriber unit so as to prevent an unauthorized party from accessing club membership data or from using it fraudulently. The invention further contemplates a chain of retail outlets under the aegis of the club administrator for facilitating joining of consumer clubs and promoting those clubs that are affiliated with the club administrator.
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Citations
91 Claims
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1. A method for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a club administrator:
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(a) maintaining a database of subscribers and details of each consumer club of which each subscriber is a member, and (b) conveying to a portable subscriber unit details of at least one club for certifying membership of the at least one club. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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36. A method for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a portable subscriber unit or by an owner thereof:
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(a) downloading from a club administrator details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the subscriber unit is a member, and (b) using the subscriber unit to certify membership of said at least one consumer club. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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46. A method for administering membership of a club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a portable subscriber unit:
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(a) storing in a memory of the subscriber unit details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the subscriber unit is a member, and (b) conveying membership certification of said at least one consumer club to said at least one club. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A portable subscriber unit for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising:
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a communications port for downloading from a club administrator details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the subscriber unit is a member, and a certification unit coupled to the communications port for certifying membership certification of said at least one consumer club. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A club administrator server for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising:
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a processor capable of accessing a database, a communication port coupled to the processor for communicating with a subscriber unit belonging to a member of a consumer club administered by the club administrator server. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps:
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(a) maintaining a database of subscribers and details of each consumer club of which each subscriber is a member, and (b) conveying to a portable subscriber unit details of at least one consumer club for certifying membership of the at least one consumer club.
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65. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for administering membership of a consumer club, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to maintain a database of subscribers and details of each consumer club of which each subscriber is a member, and computer readable program code for causing the computer to convey to a portable subscriber unit details of at least one consumer club for certifying membership certification thereof.
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66. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for administering membership of a club, comprising the following steps:
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(a) downloading from a club administrator details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the subscriber unit is a member, and (b) certifying membership certification of said at least one consumer club.
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67. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for administering membership of a club, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to download from a club administrator details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the computer is a member, and computer readable program code for causing the computer to certify membership of said at least one consumer club.
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68. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for administering membership of a club, comprising the following:
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(a) storing in a memory of the subscriber unit details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the subscriber unit is a member, and (b) certifying membership certification of said at least one consumer club.
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69. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for administering membership of a consumer club, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to store in a memory of the computer details of at least one consumer club of which an owner of the computer is a member, and computer readable program code for causing the computer to certify membership certification of said at least one consumer club.
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70. A service provided by a public utility for administering membership of a consumer club by a club member, said service comprising:
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(a) facilitating communication between a portable subscriber unit used by the club member and a club administrator that administers membership of the consumer club on behalf of the club member, (b) forwarding an identity of the subscriber unit to the club administrator, and (c) allowing the club member to download data from a database maintained by the club administrator and to upload data thereto. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for allowing a subscriber unit to utilize a service provided by a public utility for administering membership of a consumer club by a club member using the subscriber unit, said method comprising:
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(a) facilitating communication between the portable subscriber unit used by the club member and a club administrator that administers membership of the consumer club on behalf of the club member, (b) forwarding an identity of the subscriber unit to the club administrator, and (c) allowing the club member to download data from a database maintained by the club administrator and to upload data thereto.
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77. A computer program product computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for allowing a subscriber unit to utilize a service provided by a public utility for administering membership of a consumer club by a club member using the subscriber unit, said computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the subscriber unit to effect communication via the public utility with a club administrator that administers membership of the club on behalf of the club member, computer readable program code for causing the public utility to forward an identity of the subscriber unit to the club administrator, and computer readable program code for causing the subscriber unit to download data from a database maintained by the club administrator and to upload data thereto.
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- 78. A memory module containing a database of club membership data pertaining to a registered owner of the memory module.
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81. A method for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a club module located in a consumer club or an affiliate thereof:
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(a) connecting to a database containing details of each consumer club of which at least one subscriber is a member, and (b) querying the database in order to determine whether a target consumer is a member of a consumer club with which the club module is associated. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85)
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86. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for administering membership of a consumer club, comprising the following steps all carried out by a club module located in a consumer club or an affiliate thereof:
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(a) connecting to a database containing details of each consumer club of which at least one subscriber is a member, and (b) querying the database in order to determine whether a target consumer is a member of a consumer club with which the club module is associated.
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87. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for administering membership of a consumer club, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to connect to a database containing details of each consumer club of which at least one subscriber is a member, and computer readable program code for causing the computer to query the database in order to determine whether a target consumer is a member of a consumer club with which the club module is associated.
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88. A club module for locating in association with a consumer club or an affiliate thereof for administering membership of a consumer club, the club module comprising:
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a communication unit for connecting to a database containing details of each consumer club of which at least one subscriber is a member, and a data extraction unit coupled to the communication unit for querying the database in order to determine whether a target consumer is a member of a consumer club with which the club module is associated. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91)
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Specification