System and method for generating price-per-gallon discounts for fuel
DCFirst Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of providing a discount-per-gallon for fuel to a customer who purchases a threshold amount of goods or services, said method comprising:
- awarding by a store computer a first discount-per-gallon for the fuel to the customer in response to a purchase by the customer of at least a first threshold amount of goods or services;
storing the first discount-per-gallon in a discount database;
awarding by the store computer a second discount-per-gallon for the fuel to the customer in response to a purchase by the customer of at least a second threshold amount of goods or services;
adding by the store computer the second discount-per-gallon to the first discount-per-gallon stored in the discount database to determine a total discount-per-gallon for the fuel;
receiving by a fueling station controller, an indication that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel, said indication including an identifier associated with the total discount-per-gallon stored in the discount database;
retrieving by the fueling station controller in response to the indication that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel, the total discount-per-gallon from the discount database;
dispensing a number of units of fuel to the customer at a posted price-per-gallon to determine a preliminary cost of the fuel;
calculating by a fuel controller a financial discount by multiplying the total discount-per-gallon by the number of units of fuel dispensed; and
reducing by the fuel controller the preliminary cost by the calculated financial discount to determine a final cost of the fuel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel rewards program wherein awards received from the purchase of discount-triggering items at a first transaction are redeemed for a price-per-unit (PPU) discount on fuel. A scanner scans product codes and inputs the information to a POS system through a comparator such that a product may be determined to be a discount-triggering item. Information regarding the discount-triggering item is first stored in a potential buffer. A rewards process processes the information in the potential buffer and stores that information in a filtered potential buffer. A potential file accumulates basic information about one or more transactions. A purchase buffer stores all of the information, which is ultimately printed on a cash register receipt. The receipt may be scanned at a fuel dispenser to begin the redemption of the PPU discount on the fuel.
92 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of providing a discount-per-gallon for fuel to a customer who purchases a threshold amount of goods or services, said method comprising:
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awarding by a store computer a first discount-per-gallon for the fuel to the customer in response to a purchase by the customer of at least a first threshold amount of goods or services; storing the first discount-per-gallon in a discount database; awarding by the store computer a second discount-per-gallon for the fuel to the customer in response to a purchase by the customer of at least a second threshold amount of goods or services; adding by the store computer the second discount-per-gallon to the first discount-per-gallon stored in the discount database to determine a total discount-per-gallon for the fuel; receiving by a fueling station controller, an indication that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel, said indication including an identifier associated with the total discount-per-gallon stored in the discount database; retrieving by the fueling station controller in response to the indication that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel, the total discount-per-gallon from the discount database; dispensing a number of units of fuel to the customer at a posted price-per-gallon to determine a preliminary cost of the fuel; calculating by a fuel controller a financial discount by multiplying the total discount-per-gallon by the number of units of fuel dispensed; and reducing by the fuel controller the preliminary cost by the calculated financial discount to determine a final cost of the fuel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification