Method for streamlining the giving of contribution and gift commitments

• US 5,696,366 A
• Filed: 07/17/1995
• Issued: 12/09/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pierun Corporation
• Original Assignee: Witold A. Ziarno
• Inventors: Ziarno, Witold A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL GUNYOUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/503,206
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/379, 235/472, 235/381, 902/4, 902/22
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 33/00 Religious or ritual equipment in dwelling or for general use
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/343 Cards including a counter
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/203 Dispensing operations within ATMs dispensing in general G07D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/22 electrically actuated
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02

Abstract

A method of streamlining, simplifying and inducing the giving of contributions or gifts by prospective contributors or gift givers, receiving and immediately capturing thereof upon receipt is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a stimulus for evoking an impulse to make a monetary contribution or gift commitment. The stimulus is selected from the group consisting of an audio stimulus, a video stimulus, and an audio/visual stimulus. The method further consists of the step of spreading amidst a crowd of prospective contributors or gift givers a plurality of electronic contributions or gifts management devices for immediate capture of a string of data that includes successive monetary contributions or gifts and batch off-loading of the data from the contributions or gifts management device whereby recordation of each of the contributions is uninterrupted by a verification of validation and/or authorization. The latent contribution potential of the crowd of prospective gift givers or contributors is activated and the contribution or gift preferences of the gift givers or contributors is accommodated. The contribution is selected from the group consisting of a political contribution, a charitable contribution, and a religious contribution, and the step of spreading includes advancing, dispersing, distributing, migrating, interspersing, and disseminating the devices; and the devices are optionally self-powered. The monetary gift is selected from the group consisting of a wedding gift, a funeral gift, a christening gift, a birthday gift, an anniversary gift, a graduation gift, a mother'"'"'s day gift, a father'"'"'s day gift, a baby shower gift, a first holy communion gift, a religious rite gift, and a baptism gift.

Claims

1. A method of streamlining, simplifying and inducing the giving of contributions or gifts by prospective contributors or gift givers, receiving and immediately capturing thereof upon receipt comprising, in combination,

providing a stimulus for evoking an impulse to make a contribution or gift commitment data input on a electronic contributions or gifts management device, the stimulus selected from the group consisting of an auditory stimulus, a visual stimulus, and an audio/visual stimulus;

and,

spreading amidst a crowd of prospective contributors or gift givers a plurality of said electronic contributions or gifts management devices for immediate capture of a string of data sets comprised of successive monetary contribution or monetary gift commitment data inputs and batch off-loading of said data sets from said contributions or gifts management devices to a second device whereby recordation of each of the contributions is uninterrupted by verification of validation and/or authorization,

whereby a latent contribution potential of the crowd of prospective gift givers or contributors is activated and the contribution of gift preferences of the gift givers or contributors is accommodated.

2. The method of claim 1 in which said contribution data input is selected from the group consisting of a political contribution data input, a charitable contribution data input, and a religious contribution data input;

in which the step of spreading is selected from the group consisting of advancing, dispersing, distributing, migrating, interspersing, and disseminating; and

, in which the devices are self-powered.

3. The method of claim 1 in which said monetary gift commitment data input is selected from the group consisting of a wedding gift commitment data input, a funeral gift commitment data input, a christening gift commitment data input, a birthday gift commitment data input, an anniversary gift commitment data input, a graduation gift commitment data input, a mother'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, a father'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, a baby shower gift commitment data input, a first holy communion gift commitment data input, a religious rite gift commitment data input, and a baptism gift commitment data input.

4. The method of claim 1 in which said monetary gift commitment data input is selected from the group consisting of a wedding gift commitment data input, a funeral gift commitment data input, a christening gift commitment data input, a birthday gift commitment data input, an anniversary gift commitment data input, a graduation gift commitment data input, a mother'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, a father'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, a baby shower gift commitment data input, a first holy communion gift commitment data input, and a baptism gift commitment data input, and in which the devices are self-powered.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1 in which the gift commitment data input is selected from the group consisting of a wedding gift commitment data input, a birthday party gift commitment data input, a christening gift commitment data input, a graduation gift commitment data input, an anniversary gift commitment data input, a religious rite gift commitment data input, a mother'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, and a father'"'"'s day gift commitment data input, and in which the contributions or gifts commitment data inputs are consecutively entered on the devices without breaking up of the entry of a string of the contributions or gifts commitment data inputs by verification of authorization whereby the throughput of contributions or gifts made on the devices is enhanced.

6. The method of claim 1 in which said electronic contributions or gifts management device is provided prior to the dissipation of the contribution or gift giving potential of said contributors or gift givers.

7. The method of claim 1 in which the contributions or gifts are captured on the electronic contributions or gifts management devices continuously unimpeded by authorization from a remote authorization source and in which the throughput of contributions or gifts made on the devices is enhanced.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of communicating the contributions or gifts from said electronic contributions or gifts management devices to another device for storage thereof.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of communicating the contributions or gifts commitment data inputs to a card account processor for processing thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 in which the step of processing comprises entering credits to accounts of recipients of the gifts or contributions and entering debits to accounts of the contributors or gift givers,

whereby the throughput of contributions and gifts made on the devices is enhanced.

11. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the step of providing said stimulus from an electronic apparatus remote from said electronic contributions or gifts management devices.

14. The method in accordance with claim 11 further comprising the steps of entering credits to accounts of recipients of the gifts or contributions and entering debits to accounts of the contributors or gift givers.

12. A method of streamlining the giving of contributions or gifts by prospective contributors or gift givers, and receiving thereof comprising, dispersing in the midst of a throng of prospective contributors or gift givers a plurality of electronic contributions or gifts management devices for immediate capture of a string of data comprised of successive monetary contributions or gifts data inputs, and batch off-loading of said data sets from said contributions or gifts management devices to a second device whereby recordation of each of the contributions is uninterrupted by verification of validation and/or authorization,

whereby a latent contribution potential of the crowd of prospective gift givers or contributors is activated and the contribution or gift preferences of the contributions or gift givers are accomodated.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

communicating the string of data to a remote central processing location, automatically correlating the data inputs with address information data of respective contributor or gift givers or gift givers, and

forwarding acknowledgments comprising the address information and gift or contribution data thereon to the contributors or gift givers at remote locations,

wherein a multiplicity of contributions or gifts made at remote locations are readily acknowledged.

15. The method in accordance with claim 12 further comprising the step of immediately capturing a string of data comprised of the idenitities and location identifiers of the contributors or gift givers making the successive monetary contributions or gifts at the time the contributions or gifts are made,

whereby data necessary for acknowledgements of the respective gifts or contributions is readily assembled.

17. The method in accordance with claim 15 further comprising the steps of:

communicating the string of data to a central processing location,

correlating the data with address information of respective contributors or gift givers, and

forwarding acknowledgments to the contributors or gift givers making the monetary contributions or gifts from a location remote from where the contributions or gifts were made

whereby the contribution or gift throughput on said devices is enchanced.

16. A method of streamlining the giving of monetary contributions or monetary gifts by prospective contributors or gift givers, receiving and immediately capturing thereof upon receipt comprising,

converging on a throng of prospective contributors or gift givers with a plurality of electronic contributions or gifts management devices that provide for direct entry of a string of data consisting essentially of consecutive monetary contributions or monetary gifts, and batch off-loading of said data sets from said contributions or gifts management devices to a second device whereby recordation of each of the contributions is uninterrupted by verification of validation and/or authorization,

whereby contribution or gift preferences of respective contributors or gift givers in the assemblage of gift givers or contributors is accommodated.

18. The method of claim 16 in which the contributions or gifts are consecutively entered on the devices continuously unimpeded by a remote verification of authorization

and in which the throughput of contributions or gifts made on the devices is greatly enhanced.

19. The method in accordance with claim 16 further comprising the steps of entering credits to accounts of recipients of the gifts or contributions and entering debits to accounts of the contributors or gift givers.

20. The method in accordance with claim 16 in which the string of data further comprises data of the cause or gift recipient to which the contribution or gift is designated.