Products and processes for promoting multiple transactions at a retail establishment

• US 8,762,209 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Inventor Holdings LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Inventor Holdings LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Inventors: Walker, Jay S., Otto, Jonathan, Tedesco, Daniel E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Haider, Fawaad
• Application Number:
  US11/948,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071628A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,398 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• 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

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the invention, products and processes are disclosed for receiving, via a point-of-sale terminal that is not a vending machine, an indication of a set of products which a customer desires to purchase. At least one product is offered to the customer via the point-of-sale terminal, and an acceptance of the offer is received.

Thereafter a request to receive the product is received. A unit of the product is dispensed via the vending machine.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

facilitating, at a point-of-sale terminal that is not a vending machine, a purchase of a first product by a customer;

providing, in response to the purchase of the first product by the customer and via the point-of-sale terminal, a game piece;

receiving the game piece at the vending machine;

determining, after the receiving and by the vending machine, an outcome of a game associated with the game piece;

determining, by the vending machine, a prize associated with the determined outcome of the game; and

dispensing, by the vending machine, the determined prize to the customer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prize comprises a free unit of a second product that is normally offered for sale via the vending machine.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the prize comprises a randomly selected prize.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the game piece comprises a scratch-off portion that is operable to be scratched to reveal an indicia of at least one of the game outcome and the prize.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the game piece comprises one or more alterable areas operable to be alterable by the customer to define a score associated with the game, wherein the determining of the outcome of the game comprises:

determining the score; and

determining an outcome of the game associated with the score.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispensing comprises revealing an identity of the prize to the customer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispensed prize comprises a food item.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the point-of-sale terminal is located in a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), the first product comprises a food menu item, and the prize comprises a desert item stocked by the vending machine.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the game piece by the vending machine, comprises:

reading, by the vending machine, a machine-readable indicia of the game piece.