Game presentation in a retail establishment

• US 6,634,550 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2000
• Issued: 10/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Inventor Holdings LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Walker Digital LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Inventors: Fincham, Magdalena, Gilman, Norman C., Walker, Jay S., Golden, Andrew P., Bemer, Keith, Gelman, Geoffrey M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US09/659,752
• Time in Patent Office: 1,135 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/375, 235/383, 235/382, 235/384, 235/462.01, 235/461.25, 235/472.01, 235/472.03, 235/492, 235/486, 705/10, 705/14, 705/16, 705/26
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/01 Details for indicating displaying information in general G09F, G09G

Abstract

A game presentation such as a virtual slot machine is displayed by a display device associated with a point of sale (POS) terminal. The game presentation includes images of products for which product identifying codes are entered at the POS terminal. The game presentation indicates to a customer an outcome of a random process pursuant to which the customer may be awarded a benefit such as a free product, a discount on a product selected for purchase, a coupon or an upsell offer.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

entering a plurality of product identifiers, each corresponding to a respective product selected for purchase by a customer;

generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins one of the selected products; and

determining which one of the selected products is won.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the product identifiers are entered by scanning bar codes on the products.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the random outcome to the customer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the random outcome is displayed to the customer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the random outcome is displayed in an entertainment interface.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the entertainment interface includes an image of at least one of the products corresponding to the entered product identifiers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

entering a customer identifier for identifying the customer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the customer identifier is entered by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying an image that represents at least one of the products that correspond to the entered product identifiers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the random outcome is generated by a server computer that communicates the random outcome to the POS terminal.

11. A method comprising:

entering, into a terminal at a shelf, at least one product identifier that corresponds to a respective product selected for purchase; and

generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins a product that corresponds to the at least one product identifier.

12. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of product identifiers, each corresponding to a respective product selected for purchase by a customer;

generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins one of the selected products; and

determining which one of the selected products is won.

13. A method comprising:

receiving at a shelf at least one product identifier that corresponds to a respective product selected for purchase; and

generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins a product that corresponds to the at least one product identifier.

14. A system comprising:

means for entering a plurality of product identifiers, each corresponding to a respective product selected for purchase by a customer;

means for generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins one of the selected products; and

means for determining which one of the plurality of selected products is won.

15. A system comprising:

means, located at a shelf, for entering at least one product identifier that corresponds to a respective product selected for purchase; and

means for generating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins a product that corresponds to the at least one product identifier.