Personal Inventory and Marketing Electronic System and Method

• US 20080120167A1
• Filed: 11/16/2007
• Published: 05/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AC Technologies SA
• Original Assignee: AC Technologies SA
• Inventors: Binzinger, Thomas, Guenster, Joachim
• Application Number:
  US11/941,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20080120167A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a personal inventory and marketing electronic system and method. The system comprises a RFID tag interrogator that collects data from RFID tags attached to user'"'"'s items, a host computer that stores and processes such data, a computer interface and a software resident on the host computer. The computer-implemented method is able to provide a personal inventory of user'"'"'s items placed at the interrogation locations by collecting data stored on RFID tags. Subsequently, the method includes means for offering such items for sale and exchange in online platforms. It also allows generating recommendation lists of items predicted to be of interest for the user and purchasing such items upon authorization of the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for creating a personal inventory to facilitate online marketing, comprising:

(a) providing a RFID tag interrogator which is able to collect the data stored on the RFID tags attached, embodied or otherwise associated to user'"'"'s items located within an interrogation location, said RFID tag interrogator transmitting said data to a host computer;

(b) providing a host computer which is associated to said RFID tag interrogator and connected to an external network, the host computer having storage and processing means for receiving, collecting, storing, sorting and processing the data received from said RFID tag interrogator and from external sources;

(c) providing a user interface operatively connected to said processing and storage means that allows the user to access the personal inventory, submit required information and set parameters for performing of inventory and marketing applications by said programming means,

(d) providing programming means stored on said host computer which;

1. create a personal inventory of user'"'"'s items by using i. data collected from said RFID tags, ii. information provided by the user and iii. information collected from external sources;

2. provide marketing characteristics and additional data on said user'"'"'s items by collecting information from sources available in the external network to which the host computer is connected;

3. generate a list of items predicted to be of interest to the user, said list based on information contained on the personal inventory and data collected from sources available in the external network, said items of interest being automatically purchased upon request of the user;

4. incorporate purchased items into the personal inventory;

5. track purchase operations in a user'"'"'s purchase record, said purchase record including product type, brand name, retailer, and price;

6. identifying user'"'"'s items for sale or exchange in online platforms, said identification based on the expiration date of a period of use previously determined by the user, said sale or exchange being performed upon authorization of the user only;

7. delete sold and exchanged user'"'"'s items from the personal inventory;

8. incorporate items received from an exchange operation into the personal inventory;

9. track sale and exchange operations in a user'"'"'s sale record, said sale record including product type, brand name, retailer and price;

10. provide the user with a monthly account statement of sale, exchange and purchase operations.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said RFID tag interrogator retrieve the data stored on RFID tags from multiple interrogation locations in which user'"'"'s items are located.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein items offered for sale or exchange are new items, said items being offered in online platforms upon request of the user.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein (d) 3 further includes presenting to the user information about product characteristics, availability, average retailer'"'"'s price and expected time of delivery.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein (d) 6 further includes:

i. generating alerts to inform the user on the expiration of the period of use of an item ii. generating alerts when a sale or exchange action begins and the offered item is not located within the interrogation location.