METHOD OF VALIDATING A DISCOUNT OFFER
First Claim
1. A method of validating a discount offer on a product, comprising:
- obtaining discount information from a coupon at a dispenser adapted to dispense the product, the dispenser located at a first location, wherein the discount information includes a unique discount identifier and a discount amount;
sending the discount information to a local controller located at the first location, said local controller adapted to control the dispenser, wherein the local controller includes a local database adapted to store identifiers associated with previously redeemed coupons;
attempting to communicate with a central system to validate the coupon;
in response to the attempting to communicate being unsuccessful, attempting to locate the unique discount identifier in the local database to determine whether the coupon has been redeemed;
in response to the attempting to locate revealing that the unique discount identifier has not been redeemed, sending a message to the dispenser to approve the discount offer;
reducing an amount charged to the customer by the discount amount; and
adding the redeemed unique discount identifier to the local database.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of validating a discount offer includes obtaining discount information from a coupon at a dispenser, the discount information including a unique discount identifier. The discount information is sent to a local controller, which attempts to communicate with a central system to validate the offer. If the central system is inaccessible, the local controller then compares the unique discount identifier with a local database of previously redeemed coupons. If the unique discount identifier is not found in the local database, the local controller approves the coupon and instructs the dispenser to reduce the amount charged to a customer by the discount amount. The local controller then adds the unique discount identifier to the local database. When the central server is again accessible, the redeemed discount identifiers are communicated from the local database to the central system.
119 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of validating a discount offer on a product, comprising:
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obtaining discount information from a coupon at a dispenser adapted to dispense the product, the dispenser located at a first location, wherein the discount information includes a unique discount identifier and a discount amount; sending the discount information to a local controller located at the first location, said local controller adapted to control the dispenser, wherein the local controller includes a local database adapted to store identifiers associated with previously redeemed coupons; attempting to communicate with a central system to validate the coupon; in response to the attempting to communicate being unsuccessful, attempting to locate the unique discount identifier in the local database to determine whether the coupon has been redeemed; in response to the attempting to locate revealing that the unique discount identifier has not been redeemed, sending a message to the dispenser to approve the discount offer; reducing an amount charged to the customer by the discount amount; and adding the redeemed unique discount identifier to the local database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of validating a discount offer on fuel, comprising:
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issuing a coupon to a customer at a retail location and associating discount information with the coupon, the discount information including at least an expiration date, a unique discount identifier, a discount amount and a status, wherein the status is approved; transferring the discount information to a central system; obtaining the discount information from the coupon at a fuel dispenser located at a first fuel dispensing location; storing identifiers associated with coupons redeemed at the first fuel dispensing location in a local database; sending the discount information to a local controller located at the first fuel dispensing location, wherein the local controller is adapted to control the fuel dispenser and access the local database; attempting to communicate with the central system to check the status of the coupon; in response to the attempting being unsuccessful, checking the expiration date, wherein a current date is at least the same as or earlier than the expiration date; and comparing the unique discount identifier with the identifiers in the local database; and in response to the comparing indicating that the unique discount identifier is not included in the database, sending a message to the fuel dispenser to approve the discount offer, reducing an amount charged to the customer by the discount amount, changing the status of the coupon to redeemed and adding the identifier associated with the redeemed coupon to the local database. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of validating a discount offer on a product, comprising:
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obtaining discount information from a coupon at a dispenser adapted to dispense the product, the dispenser located at a first location, wherein the discount information includes a unique discount identifier; sending the discount information to a local controller located at the first location, said local controller adapted to control the dispenser, wherein the local controller includes a local database adapted to store identifiers associated with previously redeemed coupons; attempting to communicate with a central system to validate the coupon; in response to said attempting being unsuccessful, comparing the unique discount identifier with the identifiers in the local database; and in response to the comparing step, sending a message to the dispenser to one of approve and reject the discount offer. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification