Electronic coupon system

• US 6,862,575 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2000
• Issued: 03/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Anttila, Akseli, Chande, Suresh, Makipaa, Mikko, Mannisto, Isto
• Primary Examiner(s): Carlson, Jeffrey D.
• Application Number:
  US09/640,011
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/14.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system for issuing electronic coupons. A master coupon is provided by a service which may be copied by customers and placed into their individual electronic wallets. The coupons may have a variable benefit or value which may be established by a variety of parameters. The parameters include a set time period, certain action by the customer, the purchase of specific items, the purchase of specific dollar values, or external parameters such as the score in a baseball game. The coupons may be transferred or recopied by the customer as desired. The customer may gain additional benefits by recopying the coupons to others.

Claims

1. A data processing system for issuing coupons, comprising:

a server for generating master coupons at locations attributable to different merchants and for establishing locations attributable to customers for receiving coupons;

a network connection allowing customers to access master coupons at said merchant locations and for the copying of master coupons at locations as customer coupons;

a server for copying the customer coupon as a child coupon for another customer to provide a shared benefit of the customer coupon to the another customer with the child coupon; and

wherein

said customer coupons have a benefit which varies in accordance with properties defined by the master coupon; and

the data processing system modifies the benefit of the customer coupon in response to sharing a benefit of the copied customer coupon with the child coupon.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network connection is an Internet connection.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the network connection is a wireless network connection.

4. A method of issuing electronic coupons comprising:

making a master coupon available at an accessible electronic site;

accessing said master coupon;

providing a customer coupon for a customer;

establishing a benefit associated with said customer coupon wherein the benefit is based on properties defined by said master coupon;

sharing the benefit of said customer coupon with another customer by copying said customer coupon as a child coupon for said another customer, with said child coupon inheriting the benefit associated with said customer coupon; and

modifying the benefit of said customer coupon in response to the sharing of the benefit of the customer coupon with the child coupon.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said master coupon includes rules for modifying the benefit of said customer coupon in response for said benefit sharing.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the rules for modifying the benefit of said customer coupon include increasing the benefit of said shared customer coupon in response to said benefit sharing.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the rules for modifying the benefit of said customer coupon include providing an additional benefit to said shared customer coupon in response for said benefit sharing.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein said sharing the benefit of said customer coupon with said another customer includes:

making a sharing request including at least identification information of said another customer to whom the benefit of said customer coupon is to be shared with;

determining whether said another customer is eligible for receiving the benefit of said customer coupon based on the identification information; and

generating the child coupon if said another customer is eligible for the benefit of said customer coupon.

9. The method according to claim 4, wherein the benefit is shared for a time period.

10. The method according to claim 4, wherein the benefit is variable according to occurrences beyond control of the customer holding the customer coupon.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein the benefit is variable according to specific acts of the customer holding the customer coupon.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said acts include the location of the customer holding the customer coupon.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein said acts include purchase of a specific item.

14. The method according to claim 4, wherein the customer coupon can be copied as the child coupon into another customer site electronically while retaining the customer coupon.

15. A coupon system comprising:

a data processing system which issues a master coupon, a customer coupon and a child coupon, and wherein;

the master coupon comprises a first indicator describing at least one business at which the master coupon can be redeemed, a second indicator describing a time period during which the master coupon is valid, a third indicator describing at least one additional parameter which effects validity of the master coupon, and a fourth indicator describing a benefit of the master coupon to a redeemer, with the benefit being variable and depending on at least one event occurring after issuance of the master coupon; and

the customer coupon comprises a copy of the master coupon reserved for another customer at a reserved site; and

wherein

the data processing system enables the child coupon to be copied from the customer coupon and to share a benefit between the customer coupon and the child coupon; and

the customer coupon has a benefit which the data processing system modifies by sharing the benefit with the child coupon.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the sharing of the benefit is variable according to occurrences beyond control of the customer holding the customer coupon.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein the benefit is variable according to acts of the customer holding the customer coupon.

18. A method of issuing and redeeming coupons, comprising the steps of:

making a master coupon available at an electronic site;

copying said master coupon for a customer as a customer coupon in a wireless terminal;

establishing a benefit associated with said customer coupon wherein the benefit is based on properties defined by said master coupon;

sharing the benefit of said customer coupon with another customer by copying said customer coupon as a child coupon for said another customer with the child coupon inheriting the benefit associated with the customer coupon;

modifying the benefit of the customer coupon in response for the benefit sharing with the child coupon;

presenting said wireless terminal at a business for redeeming said customer coupon with the modified benefit; and

connecting said wireless terminal with a point of sale device at said business to redeem said coupon with the modified benefit.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the wireless terminal and point of sale device are connected by a short range radio link.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the wireless terminal and point of sale device are connected by an infrared link.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein the wireless terminal has a bar code and the point of sale device has a scanner and the wireless terminal is connected to the point of sale device by displaying bar codes on said wireless device and scanning the displayed bar codes by said scanner of the point of sale device.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein the modified benefit provides a benefit which is additional to the benefit defined by said master coupon to credit said customer for the benefit sharing.