TRANSACTION PRODUCT WITH SELECTIVELY ILLUMINATED BUTTONS

• US 20130116050A1
• Filed: 11/04/2011
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Albrecht, Jessica D., Muther, Aaron, Weaver, Robert Jerome, Clegg, Timothy P., Samardzija, Primoz, Peters, Allan, Hague, Madelaine Ann
• Granted Patent: US 8,647,203 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0049 Objects with a second use as toy or game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2402 Input by manual operation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/242 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2452 as a signal
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2489 by radio transmitters, e.g. using RFID
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/001 Games or toys connected to, or combined with, other objects; Objects with a second use as a toy or game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

A transaction product includes an electrical assembly, a housing, a button, and an account identifier. The electrical assembly includes a light. The housing substantially encloses the electrical assembly including the light, wherein the housing defines an exterior surface and an aperture extending through the exterior surface. The button has a rounded extremity and extends from within the housing to outside the housing through the aperture and beyond the exterior surface. The button aligns with and surrounds the light such that when the light is lit the button is illuminated. The account identifier is coupled to the housing and links the transaction product to a financial account having an associated monetary value available toward a price of a purchase, wherein the account identifier is machine readable.

Claims

1. A transaction product, comprising:

an electrical assembly including a light;

a housing substantially enclosing the electrical assembly including the light, wherein the housing defines an exterior surface and an aperture extending through the exterior surface;

a button having a rounded extremity, the button extending from within the housing to outside the housing through the aperture and beyond the exterior surface, wherein the button aligns with and surrounds the light such that when the light is lit the button is illuminated; and

an account identifier coupled to the housing and linking the transaction product to a financial account having an associated monetary value available toward a price of a purchase, wherein the account identifier is machine readable.

2. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein the account identifier is a bar code.

3. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein the account identifier includes at least one of a bar code, a magnetic strip, a smart chip, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) device.

4. The transaction product of claim 1, in combination with a remote database storing the financial account.

5. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein the button is formed of a diffusive material that diffuses light from the light to illuminate a substantial entirety of the button.

6. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein:

the button defines a crush zone coupled to the rounded extremity and positioned within the housing,

the light is supported within the housing by a printed circuit board,

the crush zone surrounds the light on the printed circuit board.

7. The transaction product of claim 6, further comprising:

an electrical contact pad coupled to the printed circuit board near the light;

wherein;

the electrical contact pad is surrounded by the crush zone,

the button includes a recessed surface facing the crush zone and an electrical contact node coupled to the recessed surface, such that when the button is pushed, the crush zone collapses and the electrical contact pad contacts the electrical contact node causing the light to one of illuminate and stop illuminating.

8. The transaction product of claim 7, wherein:

the button is one of a plurality of buttons extending from a primary panel formed of the same material as the plurality of buttons,

the primary panel extends between and is coupled to each of the plurality of buttons opposite the rounded extremity; and

the primary panel is enclosed within the housing.

9. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein:

the light is one of a plurality of lights,

the button is one of a plurality of buttons,

each of the plurality of buttons surrounding a different one of the plurality of lights,

the electrical assembly includes an integrated circuit, which directs the electrical assembly to light a random sequence of the plurality of lights maintaining each light in the random sequence for a shorter of a predetermined time period and a time period between when each light is first lit and when a user presses a corresponding one of the plurality of buttons that extends over the light that was lit as part of a gaming session, and

the random sequence only lights one light at a time.

10. The transaction product of claim 9, in combination with a backer and a blister pack configured to support and enclose the transaction product therebetween, the blister pack including a plurality of separate apertures each providing access to a different one of the plurality of buttons while the transaction product is maintained within the blister pack such that the user can initiate and play the gaming session on the transaction product while the transaction product is maintained within the blister pack.

11. The transaction product of claim 10, wherein:

the exterior surface is a first exterior surface,

the housing includes a second exterior surface opposite the first exterior surface, and

the account identifier is coupled to the second exterior surface.

12. The transaction product of claim 1, further comprising indicia applied to each of the housing and the button, wherein the indicia are visually associated to a retailer adapted to accept the associated monetary value of the financial account as payment toward the price of the purchase.

13. The transaction product of claim 1, further comprising decorative scenery applied to the housing, and the button includes decorative indicia visually corresponding to the decorative scenery.

14. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit further comprises a speaker and is configured to output a different sound upon an occurrence of each of the following:

a start of a game, a user pressing a lit one of the plurality of buttons, and a user pressing one of the plurality of buttons that is not lit.

15. The transaction product of claim 1, wherein the button is a game interface button, and the transaction product further comprises an activation button formed separate from the game interface button, the activation button is configured to interact with the electrical assembly to initiate a game session including lighting of the light.

16. A stored-value product comprising:

an electrical assembly including means for providing illumination and means for switching which of means for providing illumination is lit;

means for interfacing with the means for switching, wherein the means for interfacing includes;

means for surrounding all but one side of one of the means for providing illumination and one of the means for switching, wherein;

the means for surrounding is at least partially collapsible down upon the one of the means for providing illumination and the one of the means for switching, wherein the means for surrounding includes an electrical contact node facing the one of the plurality of means for switching, the electrical contact node is configured to selectively contact the one of the means for switching when the means for surrounding is at least partially collapsed, and

the means for surrounding is configured to diffuse the illumination and glow when the one of the means for providing illumination is lit; and

means for linking the stored-value product with an account having a value associated therewith such that the stored-value product can be used as payment toward a purchase of one or more of goods and services.

17. The stored-value product of claim 16, wherein each of the means for surrounding corresponds to a different one of the means for providing illumination and a different one of the means for switching, and all of the means for surrounding commonly extends from a single planar panel formed as a single piece of material with the means for surrounding.

18. The stored-value product of claim 17, further comprising means for enclosing the electrical assembly and for partially enclosing the means for surrounding, wherein the single planar panel is surrounded by the means for enclosing.

19. The stored-value product of claim 16, wherein the electrical assembly is at least partially supported by a printed circuit board within the means for enclosing, and each of the means for providing illumination and the means for switching are coupled to the printed circuit board.

20. A stored-value product comprising:

an electrical assembly including means for providing illumination and means for switching which of the means for providing illumination is lit;

a housing substantially enclosing the electrical assembly including the means for providing illumination, wherein the housing defines an exterior surface and an aperture extending through the exterior surface;

means for interfacing with the means for switching, wherein the means for interfacing has a rounded extremity, extends from within the housing to outside the housing through the aperture and beyond the exterior surface, and the means for interfacing includes;

means for surrounding all but one side of one of the means for providing illumination and one of the means for switching, wherein;

the means for surrounding is at least partially collapsible down upon the one of the means for providing illumination and the one of the means for switching and is illuminated when the one of the means for providing illumination is lit, wherein the means for surrounding includes an electrical contact node facing the one of the means for switching, the electrical contact node is configured to contact the one of the means for switching when the means for surrounding is at least partially collapsed, and

the means for surrounding is configured to diffuse the illumination and glow when the one of the means for providing illumination is lit; and

an account identifier coupled to the housing and linking the transaction product to a financial account having an associated monetary value available toward a price of a purchase, wherein the account identifier is machine readable.

21. A method of providing an amusing game session to a user via a financial transaction product, the method including:

providing a financial transaction product including;

providing an enclosure housing an electrical assembly having a plurality of light sources,

providing a plurality of buttons extending out of the enclosure and each being positioned over a different one of the plurality of light sources such that each of the plurality of buttons is illuminated when a corresponding different one of the plurality of light sources is lit, and the plurality of buttons are each configured to selectively collapse under finger pressure to provide input to the electrical assembly that will impact both light and sound output from the electrical assembly, and

providing an activation button separate from the plurality of buttons for initiating the amusing game session, wherein the activation button is covered by a decorative panel such that the activation button is hidden from view; and

displaying the financial transaction product to a potential consumer, including promoting the financial transaction product to consumer based on the light and sound output of the financial transaction product.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising providing packaging substantially surrounding the financial transaction product other than the plurality of buttons and an area over the activation button such that the potential consumer can interact with and play the amusing game session of the financial transaction product while the financial transaction product is maintained within the package.