Method and apparatus for leisure and entertainment merchandising
First Claim
1. A computerized method executed in a processor of an encounter generator for merchandising, to a community of subscribers, commercial attractions offered by at least one attraction provider server, the method comprising:
- receiving in the processor of the encounter generator the commercial attractions from the at least one attraction provider server and presenting, by the processor of the encounter generator, the commercial attractions to subscriber terminals of subscribers of the community;
receiving in the processor of the encounter generator a wish-list from a respective subscriber terminal of each participating subscriber of a plurality of participating subscribers from the community, said wish-list including at least a ranking of said participating subscriber'"'"'s level of interest in each attraction of a plurality of attractions of the commercial attractions;
generating in the processor of the encounter generator an encounter in response to at least said rankings received from said plurality of participating subscribers, said generating including;
picking, from said plurality of participating subscribers, an ensemble of subscribers for said encounter, said ensemble consisting of less subscribers than said plurality of participating subscribers, andassigning an attraction of the ranked commercial attractions to said ensemble;
presenting said encounter to respective subscriber terminals of said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers; and
booking said attraction, for said ensemble, by the processor of the encounter generator, at the at least one attraction provider server.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Leisure & entertainment attraction information is available from commercial attraction-provider servers. Users subscribe to a computerized service to facilitate making arrangements for visiting such attractions. Subscribers fill in wish-lists to specify their level of interest in specific attractions, in getting together with specific other subscribers, and in arranging their preferred schedules for outings. An encounter generator processes the subscriber wish-lists to identify matches of subscribers who are interested in the same attraction, who favor each other'"'"'s company, and who are free at the same time. The system notifies the matched subscribers, optionally offering ticketing and/or reservation assistance. The system is adaptable for serving singles who wish to identify and get to know a prospective mate through mutual visits to attractions, as well as individuals, couples, and families who want to go out with their existing friends or make new friends.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computerized method executed in a processor of an encounter generator for merchandising, to a community of subscribers, commercial attractions offered by at least one attraction provider server, the method comprising:
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receiving in the processor of the encounter generator the commercial attractions from the at least one attraction provider server and presenting, by the processor of the encounter generator, the commercial attractions to subscriber terminals of subscribers of the community; receiving in the processor of the encounter generator a wish-list from a respective subscriber terminal of each participating subscriber of a plurality of participating subscribers from the community, said wish-list including at least a ranking of said participating subscriber'"'"'s level of interest in each attraction of a plurality of attractions of the commercial attractions; generating in the processor of the encounter generator an encounter in response to at least said rankings received from said plurality of participating subscribers, said generating including; picking, from said plurality of participating subscribers, an ensemble of subscribers for said encounter, said ensemble consisting of less subscribers than said plurality of participating subscribers, and assigning an attraction of the ranked commercial attractions to said ensemble; presenting said encounter to respective subscriber terminals of said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers; and booking said attraction, for said ensemble, by the processor of the encounter generator, at the at least one attraction provider server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for merchandising, to a community of subscribers, commercial attractions, the apparatus comprising:
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a subscriber interface communicating with subscriber terminals; an attraction interface communicating with at least one attraction provider server; and a processor configured to; communicate with said at least one attraction provider server and receive the commercial attractions, communicate with terminals of said subscriber terminals and present the commercial attractions, communicate with terminals of said subscriber terminals and receive a wish-list from each participating subscriber of a plurality of participating subscribers from the community, said wish-list including at least a ranking of said participating subscriber'"'"'s level of interest in each attraction of a plurality of attractions of the commercial attractions, generate an encounter in response to at least said rankings received from said plurality of participating subscribers, said generate including;
picking, from said plurality of participating subscribers, an ensemble of subscribers for said encounter, said ensemble consisting of less subscribers than said plurality of participating subscribers, and assigning an attraction of the ranked commercial attractions to said ensemble,communicate with subscriber terminals of the ensemble'"'"'s subscribers and present said encounter to said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers, and communicate with a server of said at least one attraction provider server and book said attraction for said ensemble. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for merchandising, to a community of subscribers, commercial attractions, the system comprising:
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at least one attraction provider server; a plurality of subscriber terminals operable by the subscribers; and an encounter generator comprising a processor configured to; communicate with said at least one attraction provider server and receive the commercial attractions, communicate with said subscriber terminals and receive a wish-list from each participating subscriber of a plurality of participating subscribers from the community, said wish-list includes including at least a ranking of said participating subscriber'"'"'s level of interest in each attraction of a plurality of attractions of the commercial attractions, generate an encounter in response to at least said rankings of-received from said plurality of participating subscribers, said generate includes including;
picking, from said plurality of participating subscribers, an ensemble of subscribers for said encounter, said ensemble consisting of less subscribers than said plurality of participating subscribers, and assigning an attraction of the ranked commercial attractions to said ensemble,communicate with subscriber terminals of the ensemble'"'"'s subscribers for presenting said encounter to said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers, and communicate with a server of said at least one attraction provider server and book said attraction for said ensemble. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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16. A software product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium to instruct a computer to:
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communicate with at least one attraction provider server for receiving commercial attractions; communicate with community subscribers and receive a wish-list from each participating subscriber of a plurality of participating subscribers from said community, said wish-list including at least a ranking of said participating subscriber'"'"'s level of interest in each attraction of a plurality of attractions of said commercial attractions; generate an encounter, said generate including; picking, from said plurality of participating subscribers, an ensemble of subscribers for said encounter in response to at least said rankings received from said plurality of participating subscribers, said ensemble consisting of less subscribers than said plurality of participating subscribers, and assigning an attraction of said ranked commercial attractions to said ensemble; communicate with said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers and present said encounter to said ensemble'"'"'s subscribers; and communicate with a server of said at least one attraction provider server and book said attraction for said ensemble. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification