Network of tags

• US 9,177,325 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2014
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motedata Corporation
• Original Assignee: Motedata Incorporated
• Inventors: Lupoli, Peter, Kesan, Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORTELL, JOHN F
• Application Number:
  US14/585,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20150112784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1413 1D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for communicating product or service information to a potential purchaser. A product or item describing a service are scanned to obtain both a product or service code and an advertisement promotion code provided by a vendor/retailer or manufacturer of the product or service using a smartphone of a first user. A barcode is generated on the smartphone by combining the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code with information from the smartphone associated with the product or service and with an advertiser code that uniquely identifies the first user. The barcode is communicated to a communication device of a second user that is the potential purchaser of the product or service. When the communication device is presented to a point of sale (POS) terminal, the terminal scans the barcode, decodes the barcode, and compensates the first user according to the advertisement promotion code.

Claims

1. A method for communicating product or service information to a potential purchaser through one or more smartphones, comprising:

downloading a first application from a server to a first smartphone of a first user, wherein the first application allows the first smartphone of the first user to scan a product or an item describing a service to obtain both a product or service code that provides product or service information of a product or a service and an advertisement promotion code provided by a vendor/retailer or manufacturer of the product or service that provides a monetary incentive for a first user to communicate information about the product or service, wherein the first application registers the first user with a first advertiser code that uniquely identifies the first user;

generating a first barcode, using the first application, by combining the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code with information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service and with the first advertiser code, wherein the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, and the first advertiser code are encoded in the first barcode, using the first smartphone of the first user; and

communicating the first barcode to a second smartphone of a second user that is the potential purchaser of the product or service using a network, using the first application on the first smartphone of the first user,

wherein the second smartphone of the second user downloads a second application that registers the second user with a second advertiser code that uniquely identifies the second user, and, using the second application, encodes the first barcode and the second advertiser code into a second barcode and sends the second barcode to a third smartphone of a third user that is a second potential purchaser of the product or service using the network,

wherein when the third smartphone of the third user is presented to a point of sale (POS) terminal, the POS terminal

scans the second barcode,

decodes the second barcode into the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, the first advertiser code and the second advertiser code, and

compensates the first user identified by the first advertiser code and compensates the second user by the second advertiser code according to the incentive described in the advertisement promotion code, after the third user purchases the product or service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning step comprises scanning a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the scanning step further comprises using an near field communication (NFC) interface on the first smartphone to access information on the product or service.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising filtering, using a filtering mechanism, unselecting products or services by the first user so that the first user is only notified when selected products or services are nearby.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the filtering step includes blocking transmissions from RFID tags of products or services the first user has not selected.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising showing messages from the unselected products or services in a different color or shade until the first user actively selects the messages from the unselected products or services.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning step comprises scanning a barcode or QR code.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising capturing a photo or digital image of the product or service, using an imaging device on the first smartphone.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information from the first smartphone includes one or more of the time the product or service was seen, the location of the product or service, and the digital image of the product or service.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating step comprises posting the first barcode and the second barcode on a social networking website.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating step comprises sending the first barcode and the second barcode using communication channels including one or more of an email, voice, text, and chat.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the product or service code provides the product or service information by including one or more universal resource locator (URL) links that provide the product or service information.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the product or service code is a product code, and wherein the product or service information includes one or more of a price, manufacturer, date of manufacture, technical information, marketing information, vendor information, vendor return policies, technical support phone numbers and/or websites, vendor price comparisons, and comparable products comparisons.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the product or service code is a service code that provides information on services available and includes one or more of menu items of a restaurant, cost of the menu items, food preparation information, nutrition information for each item on the menu, reservation information, seating information, hours of operation, and directions to the restaurant.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the compensating step includes sending each of the first user and the second user an email attaching one or more credit vouchers or coupons for future purchases.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the compensating step includes storing a credit for each of the first user and the second user in a database of the vendor/retailer or manufacturer for future purchases.

17. A system for communicating product or service information to a potential purchaser through three or more smartphones, comprising:

a first smartphone of a first user that

downloads a first application from a server, wherein the first application allows the first smartphone of the first user to scan a product or item describing a service a product to obtain both a product or service code that provides product or service information of a product or service and an advertisement promotion code provided by a vendor/retailer or manufacturer of the product or service that provides a monetary incentive for a first user to communicate information about the product or service,

generates a first barcode, using the first application, by combining the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code with information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service and with a first advertiser code that uniquely identifies the first user, wherein the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, and the first advertiser code are encoded in the first barcode,

communicates the first barcode to a second smartphone of a second user that is the potential purchaser of the product or service using a network, using the first application on the first smartphone of the first user, where the second smartphone of the second user downloads a second application that registers the second user with a second advertiser code that uniquely identifies the second user, and, using the second application, encodes the first barcode and the second advertiser code into a second barcode and sends the second barcode to a third smartphone of a third user that is a second potential purchaser of the product or service using the network, wherein when the third smartphone of the third user is presented to a point of sale (POS) terminal, the POS terminal

scans the second barcode on the third smartphone of the third user,

decodes the second barcode into the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, the first advertiser code and the second advertiser code, and

compensates the first user identified by the first advertiser code and compensates the second user identified by the second advertiser code according to the incentive described in the advertisement promotion code, after the third user purchases the product or service.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the compensating step includes storing a credit for each of the first user and the second user in a database of the vendor/retailer or manufacturer for future purchases.

19. An advertising system to providing incentives and compensation to a users of three or more smartphones to communicate product or service information to a potential purchaser, the method comprising:

an advertising system computer server that

generates a product or service code for identifying a product or service and an advertisement promotion code that provides a provides a monetary incentive for a first user to communicate information about the product or service,

sends the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code to a vendor/retailer or manufacturer of the product or service that places the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code in an RFID or a QR code on the product or an item describing the service,

sends a first application to a first smartphone of a first user, wherein the first application that is downloaded on the first smartphone registers the first user with a first advertiser code that uniquely identifies the first user, wherein the first user uses the first application that is downloaded on the first smartphone of the first user to scan the RFID or a QR code on the product or an item describing the service and wherein the first smartphone

generates a first barcode, using the first application, by combining the product or service code and the advertisement promotion code with information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service and with the first advertiser code, wherein the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, and the first advertiser code are encoded in the barcode, and

communicates the first barcode to a second smartphone of a second user that is the potential purchaser of the product or service using a network, using the first application on the first smartphone of the first user, wherein the second smartphone of the second user downloads a second application that registers the second user with a second advertiser code that uniquely identifies the second user, and, using the second application, encodes the first barcode and the second advertiser code into a second barcode and sends the second barcode to a third smartphone of a third user that is a second potential purchase of the product or service using the network, wherein when the third smartphone of the third user is presented to a point of sale (POS) terminal and the POS terminal scans the second barcode on the third smartphone of the third user and decodes the second barcode into the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the information from the first smartphone associated with the product or service, the first advertiser code and the second advertiser code, after the third user purchases the product or service,

receives the product or service code, the advertisement promotion code, the first advertiser code, and the second advertiser code from a point of sale terminal, and

compensates the first user identified by the first advertiser code and compensates the second user identified by the second advertiser code according to the incentive described in the advertisement promotion code for the third user'"'"'s purchase of the product or service identified by the product or service code.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the compensating step includes sending each of the first user and the second user an email attaching one or more credit vouchers or coupons for future purchases.