Coupon card for electronic redemption of product purchases

• US 20070282679A1
• Filed: 05/30/2006
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Norman Gable
• Original Assignee: Norman Gable
• Inventors: Gable, Norman
• Application Number:
  US11/442,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20070282679A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0221 Re-usable coupons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]

Abstract

A portable plastic coupon card having coupons digitally encoded thereon is swiped through a coupon reader that, along with other coupon readers, is electrically interconnected to a store server that stores and processes all purchaser data and coupon data for each individual issued one coupon card so that any item purchased by an individual and which corresponds to a particular digitally encoded coupon can be redeemed upon verification by the store server that the item is redeemable whereupon an electrical transmission from the store server to the particular checkout register causes that item to be redeemed and displayed as a coupon redeemable purchase on the printed receipt provided to the individual.

Claims

1. A system for obtaining a discount for an item purchased at a store, comprising:

a coupon card having a backside for the digital encoding of a plurality of electronically redeemable coupons thereon;

a dedicated PC for entering user data pertinent for that coupon card including a card number associated with that respective coupon card;

an activation website electrically interconnected with the dedicated PC by an Internet connection for receiving transmissions from the dedicated PC pertaining to the data entered for that respective coupon card so that so that the data can be confirmed and the coupon card activated;

a store server electrically interconnected to the dedicated PC and the activation website for receiving updates for each coupon card and for the confirmation and storage of data pertaining to each coupon card;

at least one card reader electrically interconnected to the store server and having a magnetic detection slot through which the coupon card is swiped for electrically transmitting the card number and the coupons for that respective coupon card to the store server along with a list of both the coupon redeemable items and non-redeemable items associated with that respective coupon card; and

whereupon the store server matches the redeemable coupons to the respective items purchased and then electrically transmits this information to a checkout register so that the appropriate discounts are given at the checkout register for the items purchased and to which the redeemable coupons can be applied.

2. A method of reissuing a coupon card having a plurality of coupons digitally encoded thereon all of which have been redeemed through the successive purchases of items at a participating store with new redeemable couples, comprises:

turning in the coupon card at the participating store;

confirming the user data for the reissuance of the new coupon card by a dedicated PC located at the store;

transmitting the user data from the dedicated PC to a store server for confirmation and verification;

receiving the reissued coupon card containing the new redeemable coupons that are digitally encoded thereon; and

confirming the data on the reissued coupon card by the dedicated PC communicating with an activation website so that the reissued coupon card can be activated and used.