Receipt visualization and receipt data applications

• US 8,095,439 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Harman, Susan A., Char, Ronald J., Zafar, Abraham, Sitapara, Ojas R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEIN, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US12/609,922
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

Visually presenting spending behavior, spending patterns, and spending activity to a consumer across of their all receipt based purchase transactions. Receipt data is received at a first or host computer from respective transaction processing devices or host systems of respective merchants, or received from self-service action of the consumer, and identifies respective goods or services purchased by the consumer. A user interface is displayed to the consumer and comprises a thumbnail arrangement of discrete objects, each of which represents respective receipts generated by respective transaction or transaction processing devices. A discrete object may comprise data of one or multiple goods or services and includes category indicators that visually inform the consumer about the type of good or service. Embodiments may also involve requesting receipt data utilizing a mobile communication device, searching receipt data collected by the computer and responding to the request with requested receipt data.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of visually presenting spending activity to a consumer, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first computer, respective receipt data from respective transaction processing devices of respective merchants, the respective receipt data identifying purchases of respective goods or services by the consumer from respective merchants;

generating a user interface with a receipt program executing on the first computer, the user interface comprising;

a thumbnail arrangement of a plurality of discrete objects, the plurality of discrete objects representing respective receipts generated by respective transaction processing devices, each discrete object comprising object data related to at least one good or service purchased by the consumer from a merchant,

a first field populated by the receipt program and comprising a total number of receipts represented by the plurality of discrete objects,

a second field populated by the receipt program and comprising a sum of respective numbers of goods or services identified by respective receipt data, and

a third field populated by the receipt program and comprising a sum of respective total amounts of respective purchases identified by respective receipt data, the discrete objects being separated from the first field, the second field and the third field; and

transmitting data of the user interface from the first computer, through a network, to a second computer of the consumer, the user interface being displayed by the second computer to the consumer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one discrete object represents a receipt generated in response to the consumer purchasing a good or service with a transaction card.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one discrete object represents a receipt generated in response to the consumer purchasing a good or service with cash.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein additional information about a particular good or service is available for display by selecting a discrete object representing a receipt for the particular good or service, the additional information being displayed by the second computer to the consumer.

5. The method of claim 4, the additional information comprising an account number of a transaction card, a store membership card or a rewards card that was utilized during the purchase of the good or service.

6. The method of claim 4, the additional information comprising item level receipt data related to the good or service.

7. The method of claim 6, the item level receipt data comprising an indicator of a category of the good or service.

8. The method of claim 6, the item level receipt data comprising a name, a description, a model or part number or an identification of the good or service.

9. The method of claim 1, each discrete object including at least one indicator of a category of a good or service to which the corresponding receipt relates.

10. The method of claim 9, the at least one indicator comprising a color-coded or symbolic indicator.

11. The method of claim 1, at least one discrete object comprising a logo of a merchant.

12. The method of claim 1, each discrete object comprising a name of a merchant, a transaction amount and a transaction date.

13. The method of claim 1, at least one discrete object comprising a number of days within which a purchased good can be returned to the merchant.

14. The method of claim 1, the user interface comprising a first window including the thumbnail arrangement of the plurality of discrete objects, a second window comprising a list of merchants that generated receipts represented as discrete objects, and a third window comprising a list of categories.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein all receipt-based purchases by the consumers are displayed as respective discrete objects of the thumbnail arrangement.

16. The method of claim 1, the plurality of discrete objects of the thumbnail arrangement being grouped together to provide a visual snapshot of spending by the consumer.

17. The method of claim 1, the user interface comprising a search field to allow the consumer to search for receipt data hosted by the first computer.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first computer hosts item level receipt data, the item level receipt data being searchable by the consumer with the receipt program.

19. The method of claim 18, the item level receipt data comprising a name, a model or a description of the good or service.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising

searching receipt data at the first computer;

selecting receipt data; and

transmitting selected receipt data from the first computer, through a network, to a mobile communication device.

21. The method of claim 20, the selected receipt data being related to a return period, a warranty period or a recall of the good or service.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising receiving, at the first computer, a request from the mobile communication device for data related to the good or service purchased by the consumer, wherein receipt data is selected and sent from the first computer to the mobile communication device in response to the request.

23. The method of claim 22, the request comprising a request for item level receipt data, and the response comprising the requested item level receipt data.

24. The method of claim 23, the item level receipt data relating to a model number or a purchase date of the good or service, and the response comprising the requested model number or the purchase date.

25. A computer-implemented method of visually presenting spending activity to a consumer, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first computer, respective receipt data from respective transaction processing devices of respective merchants, the respective receipt data identifying purchases of respective goods or services by the consumer from respective merchants;

generating a user interface with a receipt program executing on the first computer, the user interface comprising;

a thumbnail arrangement of a plurality of discrete objects representing respective receipts generated by respective transaction processing devices, each discrete object comprising object data related to at least one good or service purchased by the consumer from a merchant, at least one discrete object comprising a category indicator while not identifying a particular good or service,

a first field populated by the receipt program and comprising a total number of receipts represented by the plurality of discrete objects,

a second field populated by the receipt program and comprising a sum of respective numbers of goods or services identified by respective receipt data, and

a third field populated by the receipt program and comprising a sum of respective total amounts of respective purchases identified by respective receipt data; and

transmitting data of the user interface from the first computer, through a network, to a second computer of the consumer, the user interface being displayed by the second computer to the consumer.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein additional information about the plurality of goods or services is displayed to the consumer when the consumer selects the at least one discrete object representing the single receipt.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein additional information about a particular good or service is available for display by selecting a discrete object representing a receipt for the particular good or service, the additional information being displayed by the second computer to the consumer.

28. The method of claim 27, the additional information comprising an account number of a transaction card, a store membership card or a rewards card that was utilized during the purchase of the good or service.

29. The method of claim 27, the additional information comprising item level receipt data related to the good or service.

30. The method of claim 29, the item level receipt data comprising an indicator of a category of the good or service.

31. The method of claim 29, the item level receipt data comprising a name, a description, a model or part number or an identification of the good or service.

32. The method of claim 25, each discrete object including at least one indicator of a category of a good or service to which the corresponding receipt relates.

33. The method of claim 25, each discrete object comprising a name of a merchant, a transaction amount and a transaction date.

34. The method of claim 25, at least one discrete object comprising a number of days within which a purchased good can be returned to the merchant.

35. The method of claim 25, the user interface comprising a first window including the thumbnail arrangement of the plurality of discrete objects, a second window comprising a list of merchants that generated receipts represented as discrete objects, and a third window comprising a list of categories.

36. The method of claim 25, the plurality of discrete objects of the thumbnail arrangement being grouped together to provide a visual snapshot of spending by the consumer.

37. The method of claim 25, the user interface comprising a search field to allow the consumer to search for receipt data hosted by the first computer.

38. The method of claim 25, wherein the first computer hosts item level receipt data, the item level receipt data being searchable by the consumer with the receipt program.

39. The method of claim 38, the item level receipt data comprising a name, a model or a description of the good or service.

40. The method of claim 25, further comprising

searching receipt data at the first computer;

selecting receipt data; and

transmitting selected receipt data from the first computer, through a network, to a mobile communication device.

41. The method of claim 40, the selected receipt data being related to a return period, a warranty period or a recall of the good or service.

42. The method of claim 25, further comprising receiving, at the first computer, a request from the mobile communication device for data related to the good or service purchased by the consumer, wherein receipt data is selected and sent from the first computer to the mobile communication device in response to the request.

43. The method of claim 42, the request comprising a request for item level receipt data, and the response comprising the requested item level receipt data.

44. The method of claim 43, the item level receipt data relating to a model number or a purchase date of the good or service, and the response comprising the requested model number or the purchase date.

45. The method of claim 25, at least one discrete object comprising multiple category indicators while not identifying a particular good or service.