Apparatus, system and method for providing a signal to request goods and/or services

• US 8,548,856 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2006
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lauren Cilman
• Original Assignee: Lauren Cilman
• Inventors: Maruszak, Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Iwarere, Seye
• Application Number:
  US11/589,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20080103915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,528 Days
• Field of Search: 705/15, 705/22, 705/26, 705/28
• US Class Current: 705/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

An apparatus, a system and a method for displaying a visual signal that requests a good and/or service are provided. The system and the method have a communication device having a screen to display a signal that requests the good and/or the service. The signal may be, for example, a logo, a text, a picture, a color, and/or a shape. The signal may describe, characterize or otherwise relate to the good and/or the service requested by a user. Further, the communication device may access, connect to and/or be in communication with a database storing the signal. The communication device may input information into the database relating to a user of the communication device. The communication device may design, modify and/or transmit the visual using a server and/or a network. The communication device may have a memory for storing and/or accessing the signal. The screen of the communication device may emit the signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus for transmitting a signal wherein the signal is transmitted by a user to request a good or a service provided by a merchant wherein the user requests the good or the service by the transmission of the signal, the apparatus comprising:

a memory that stores a plurality of signals associated with a plurality of merchants wherein each of the plurality of signals is associated with a corresponding one of the good or the service provided by the plurality of merchants and further wherein each of the signals is associated with data provided by the plurality of merchants wherein the memory stores the data;

an input means connected to the memory; and

a screen that displays a request for information wherein the user provides the information using the input means and further wherein the information indicates a location of the user wherein the memory determines selected signals of the plurality of signals based on comparison of the information to the data and further wherein the data of the selected signals corresponds to the information and further wherein a portion of the data of the selected signals corresponds to the location wherein the memory transmits the selected signals to the screen and further wherein the screen displays the selected signals wherein the user selects the signal from the selected signals using the input means and further wherein the signal has a visual representation of the good or the service wherein the screen displays the visual representation associated with the signal in response to selection of the signal from the selected signals wherein the memory, the input means and the screen are provided by a cellular telephone.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the signal is based on comparison of the information provided by the user to data about other users who have selected signals from the plurality of signals and further wherein the memory stores the data about the other users.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a modified signal displayed by the screen wherein the modified signal is created using the signal and user input using the input means and further wherein the modified signal is different than the signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the input means is a microphone attached to the cellular telephone and further wherein the signal is based on user input using the microphone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the merchant is a restaurant.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a light emitting element connected to the memory wherein the light emitting element illuminates the signal.

7. A system for a user to display a symbol to request a good or a service provided by a merchant, the system comprising:

a cellular telephone having a screen to display the symbol wherein the symbol provides a graphic representation of the good or the service and further wherein the symbol is not text;

a server in communication with the cellular telephone;

a database connected to the server wherein the database is remote with respect to the cellular telephone and further wherein the database stores the symbol and information related to the merchant; and

a network in remote communication with the server wherein the server accesses the symbol in response to user input from using the cellular telephone and further wherein the user provides the user input usinq the cellular telephone wherein the server transfers the symbol to the cellular telephone from the database wherein the information related to the merchant associated with the symbol corresponds to the user input and further wherein the screen of the cellular telephone displays the symbol.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the information indicates preferences of the user and further wherein the information related to the merchant associated with the symbol corresponds to the preferences.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the symbol is displayed by the screen of the cellular telephone at a first time and further wherein the symbol is stored by the cellular telephone for display at a second time subsequent to the first time wherein the symbol is displayed at the second time without accessing the database.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the cellular telephone emits an audio message when displaying the symbol.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the user inputs a review of the good or the service using the cellular telephone and further wherein the review is transmitted to the merchant.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the user input indicates a category and further wherein the information related to the merchant associated with the symbol corresponds to the category.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein the merchant is selected from a plurality of merchants by the user input.

14. A method for displaying a visual representation of a good or a service to request the good or the service from a first user wherein a second user requests the good or the service, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a portable handheld device with a display means to display the visual representation;

accessing a server in communication with the portable handheld device wherein the server is remote with respect to the portable handheld device;

accessing a database in communication with the server wherein the database is remote with respect to the portable handheld device and further wherein the database stores a plurality of visual representations;

selecting the visual representation from the plurality of visual representations wherein the second user selects the visual representation using the portable handheld device;

transferring the visual representation from the database to the portable handheld device in response to selection of the visual representation from the plurality of visual representations by the second user;

modifying the visual representation based on user input using the portable handheld device wherein modifying the visual representation generates a modified visual representation that is different than the visual representation; and

displaying the modified visual representation via the display means to request a good or a service provided by the first user wherein the good or the service is requested by the second user.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the modified visual representation has a different color relative to the visual representation.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the modified visual representation has different text relative to the visual representation.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the server limits access to the database based on the identity of the second user.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the modified visual representation has animation that moves the modified visual representation relative to the screen.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of:

storing the modified visual representation in the database wherein a third user that is a different user than the first user and the second user accesses the modified visual representation from the database using an additional portable handheld device located remote from the portable handheld device and further wherein the additional portable handheld device displays the modified visual representation.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of:

displaying reviews by other users who have obtained the good or service wherein the reviews are displayed to the second user before modifying the visual representation.