METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDEEMING AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE
First Claim
1. A method for redeeming an economic incentive, the method comprising:
- receiving in a portable electronic device an economic incentive associated with a merchant;
displaying the economic incentive on a display of the portable electronic device; and
transmitting over a network a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the displayed economic incentive, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for redeeming an economic incentive is described. One illustrative embodiment receives in a portable electronic device an economic incentive associated with a merchant; displays the economic incentive on a display of the portable electronic device; and transmits over a network a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the displayed economic incentive, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant.
43 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for redeeming an economic incentive, the method comprising:
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receiving in a portable electronic device an economic incentive associated with a merchant; displaying the economic incentive on a display of the portable electronic device; and transmitting over a network a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the displayed economic incentive, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for redeeming an economic incentive, the method comprising:
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receiving in a portable electronic device an economic incentive associated with a merchant; displaying the economic incentive on a display of the portable electronic device; presenting on the display a plurality of options in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the economic incentive; printing the economic incentive in response to the user'"'"'s selection of a first option in the plurality of options when the portable electronic device is in communication with a printer; storing a request to print the economic incentive in response to the user'"'"'s selection of the first option when the portable electronic device is not in communication with a printer and automatically printing the economic incentive when the portable electronic device is subsequently in communication with a printer; and transmitting over a network, in response to the user'"'"'s selection of a second option in the plurality of options, a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A portable electronic device, comprising:
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a display; a processor; at least one communication interface; and a plurality of program instructions stored in a memory and executable by the processor that are configured to cause the processor to; receive, via the at least one communication interface, an economic incentive associated with a merchant; display the economic incentive on the display; and transmit over a network a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the displayed economic incentive, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A portable electronic device, comprising:
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a display; a processor; at least one communication interface; and a plurality of program instructions stored in a memory and executable by the processor that are configured to cause the processor to; receive, via the at least one communication interface, an economic incentive associated with a merchant; display the economic incentive on the display; present on the display a plurality of options in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the economic incentive; print the economic incentive in response to the user'"'"'s selection of a first option in the plurality of options when the portable electronic device is in communication with a printer; store a request to print the economic incentive in response to the user'"'"'s selection of the first option when the portable electronic device is not in communication with a printer and automatically print the economic incentive when the portable electronic device is subsequently in communication with a printer; and transmit over a network, in response to the user'"'"'s selection of a second option in the plurality of options, a message from the portable electronic device to a computer associated with the merchant in response to a user'"'"'s selection of the displayed economic incentive, the message indicating a request by the user for the economic incentive to be applied to a user purchase automatically by a point-of-sale computer of the merchant upon authentication of the user by the point-of-sale computer during a subsequent visit of the user to a store of the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification