Method and apparatus for performing a transaction without the use of spoken communication between the transaction parties

• US 7,238,024 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2004
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Andres Fehr, Jürg Rehbein, Leah Demchick, Maki Oshima-Fehr
• Original Assignee: Andres Fehr, Jürg Rehbein, Leah Demchick, Maki Oshima-Fehr
• Inventors: Demchick, Leah, Fehr, Andres, Oshima-Fehr, Maki, Rehbein, Jürg
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng; Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US10/770,636
• Publication Number:
  US 20050017453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,247 Days
• Field of Search: 434/118, 434/156, 434/157, 434/169, 434/185, 434/307.R, 434/308, 434/365, 704/2, 704/8, 704/260, 705/1, 705/26, 719/246, 715/752, 715/839, 273/298, 273/299
• US Class Current: 434/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/06 Foreign languages with audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/18 Book-keeping or economics
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/22 Games, e.g. card games
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/06 with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied

Abstract

An electronic device capable of displaying a computer application that allows the use of a method for performing a transaction without the use of spoken communication is disclosed. The method consists of providing at least one digital, transactional flash card displayed on the electronic device having information about the transaction and the transaction goal displayed on it, in text understandable to the user and different text understandable to the party from whom the user wishes to purchase goods or services. The digital, transactional flash cards can have inquiries about price, payment methods, or shipping terms. Also disclosed are the navigational interface for the software application and different display methods.

Claims

1. A method for enabling communication between first and second parties comprising the steps of:

providing an electronic device adapted to display at least one digital transactional flash card from a plurality of transactional flash cards stored in a memory comprising a first text understandable to the first party and a second text understandable to the second party and an image, wherein both texts describe the image;

selecting at least one digital transactional flash card from the memory;

displaying the at least one digital transactional flash card; and

communicating, by the first party, the at least one transactional flash card to the second party,

wherein a user profile including digital transactional flash card data created by the first party is stored in the memory, and

wherein the electronic device further comprises a navigational system comprising a plurality of cross-linked pages that allow the first party to select the stored flash cards from a plurality of cross-referenced groups.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the user profile comprises a list of the first party'"'"'s favorite digital transactional flash cards.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the user profile comprises a list of the first party'"'"'s picks of digital transactional flash cards.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the user profile contains comments entered by the first party.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the user profile comprises at least one note entered by the first party.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the electronic device is further adapted to send and retrieve other first party user profiles from the Internet.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of digital transactional flash cards may be sorted into groups.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the navigation system further has several programmed actions that assist the first party in moving through the selection process.

9. A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of

enabling the first party to communicate with another first party user of a second electronic device adapted to store a plurality of transactional flash cards in a memory by exchanging stored digital transactional flash cards between the first and second electronic devices.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein at least two first parties have stored user profiles in the memories of the first and a second electronic devices, and the enabling step further comprising exchanging user profiles between the first and second electronic devices.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the user profiles of the at least two first parties are sent by the at least two electronic devices to an exchange facility on the internet from which they can be retrieved or viewed by other first parties.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein at least one first party has stored user profiles of other first parties in the memory of at least one electronic device.

13. A method according to claim 9, wherein at least one electronic device comprises a camera.

14. A method according to claim 9, wherein first party users can exchange notes in form of images taken by the camera.

15. A method of enabling communication between first and second parties, comprising the steps of:

providing a first electronic device having a display, the device adapted to store a plurality of digital transactional flash cards in a memory so that at least one flash card may be viewed on the display;

selecting at least one digital transactional flash card from the memory;

displaying the at least one digital transactional flash card comprising a first text understandable to the first party and a second text understandable to the second party and an image, wherein both texts describe the image; and

providing the second party with a second electronic device having a display, the device adapted to receive through wireless or wired transmission from the first party a list comprising at least one digital transactional flash card that may be viewed on the display of the second electronic device,

wherein at least one of the first and second electronic devices has a user profile which includes digital transactional flash card data stored in the memory, and

wherein the electronic device further comprises a navigational system comprising a plurality of cross-linked pages that allow the first party to select the stored flash cards from a plurality of cross-referenced groups.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein first party can transmit price inquiries to the second party.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the second party can beam to the first party an itemized bill with a total for the list of the items requested by at least one first party.