US6076068A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Coupon delivery system
Assignee: Catalina Marketing Corp
•
Filing: 1996-09-12
•
Granted: 2000-06-13
•
Expires: 2016-09-12
Abstract
Abstract A computer-implemented method and apparatus for generating coupons to provide discounts for purchases includes providing a computer-based kiosk at a retail establishment such as a grocery store. A user identification of a household is received at the kiosk. The kiosk outputs a series of targeted coupons which have been assigned to the individual household on the basis of at least one attribute of that household. Images of coupons may be formatted "on the fly" from parameters set forth in a coupon record. The system may further include an enhancement system which provides tools for enhancing the coupon offer data by designating particular offers as either a targeted coupon offer assigned to individual households as a function of purchases by that household or a mandatory coupon which is assigned to substantially all households. The kiosk may additionally print personalized messages by substituting for a keyword a value derived from an attribute of the identified household and outputting the graphic image of the personalized message.
Inventors
- 👤 James P. DeLapa
- 👤 James W. Willman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 06:35
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/38; G06Q20/387; G06Q30/0207; G06Q30/0225; G06Q30/0236; G06Q30/0237; G07; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/42
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
211 words
A retail establishment discount coupon generating system, comprising: a targeting system which assigns coupons to individual households as a function of purchases by each household and generates extract file containing coupon offer definition for substantially all assigned coupons, wherein said coupon offer definition includes an offer description, texts, bar code data and a discount value; a delivery system which processes the extract file from said targeting system into coupon offer data for particular household which is retrievable by a remote device and stores the coupon offer data for a plurality of households on a particular storage device; and a kiosk positioned at an entry area of a retail establishment including at least a user identification device and an output device wherein said kiosk retrieves data from said delivery system coupon offer data for coupons assigned to the household identified with said identification device and outputs coupons assigned to identified household solely in response to identification of a user; and wherein said delivery system includes an enhancement system which provides tools for enhancing the coupon offer data by designating particular coupon offers as one of a targeted coupon offer assigned to individual households as a function of purchases by that household and a mandatory coupon which is assigned to substantially all households.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
211 words
A retail establishment discount coupon generating system, comprising: a targeting system which assigns coupons to individual households as a function of purchases by each household and generates extract file containing coupon offer definition for substantially all assigned coupons, wherein said coupon offer definition includes an offer description, texts, bar code data and a discount value; a delivery system which processes the extract file from said targeting system into coupon offer data for particular household which is retrievable by a remote device and stores the coupon offer data for a plurality of households on a particular storage device; and a kiosk positioned at an entry area of a retail establishment including at least a user identification device and an output device wherein said kiosk retrieves data from said delivery system coupon offer data for coupons assigned to the household identified with said identification device and outputs coupons assigned to identified household solely in response to identification of a user; and wherein said delivery system includes an enhancement system which provides tools for enhancing the coupon offer data by designating particular coupon offers as one of a targeted coupon offer assigned to individual households as a function of purchases by that household and a mandatory coupon which is assigned to substantially all households.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said delivery system includes a coupon offer database and a household identification database.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow particular coupon offers to be designated default coupons which are assigned to households when the number of targeted coupons is fewer than a particular level.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow default coupons to be assigned to households that do not have targeted coupons assigned to them.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow an operator to enable and disable coupon offers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow an operator to compose a plurality of printable messages.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 6 wherein particular messages are provided to particular households as a function of household attributes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow particular coupon offers to be designated mandatory coupons which are assigned to all households.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to designate particular coupon offers as triggered offers which are deliverable to a household only if the household indicates a wish to received the triggered coupon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to provide a valid date range to each coupon offer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to enable and disable individual coupon offers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said targeting system assigns coupons as a function of accumulated purchases of each household.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The coupon generating system in claim 12 wherein said targeting system assigns coupons as a function of which decile a household's accumulated purchases falls.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said targeting system is an RMS system.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
35 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein the delivery system encodes each coupon offer in a manner that a coupon image can be formatted for printing with a printer at the retail establishment.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 15 wherein said delivery system encodes each coupon offer with a plurality of variable-size offer statement fields.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 1 wherein said extract file is a printable file.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
209 words
A retail establishment discount coupon generating system, comprising: a targeting and delivery system which assigns coupons to individual households as a function of purchases by each household including coupon offer definition for substantially all assigned coupons, wherein said coupon offer definition includes an offer description, text, bar code data and a discount value; said targeting and delivery system processes the assigned coupons into coupon offer data for particular households which is retrievable by a remote device and stores the coupon offer data for a plurality of households on a particular storage device; a kiosk positioned at an entry area of a retail establishment including at least a user identification device and an output device wherein said kiosk retrieves data from said targeting and delivery system coupon offer data for coupons assigned to the household identified with said identification device and outputs coupons assigned to the identified household in response to identification of a user; and wherein said targeting and delivery system includes an enhancement system which provides tools for enhancing the coupon offer data by designating particular coupon offers as one of a targeted coupon offer assigned to individual households as a function of purchases by that household and a mandatory coupon which is assigned to substantially all households.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
209 words
A retail establishment discount coupon generating system, comprising: a targeting and delivery system which assigns coupons to individual households as a function of purchases by each household including coupon offer definition for substantially all assigned coupons, wherein said coupon offer definition includes an offer description, text, bar code data and a discount value; said targeting and delivery system processes the assigned coupons into coupon offer data for particular households which is retrievable by a remote device and stores the coupon offer data for a plurality of households on a particular storage device; a kiosk positioned at an entry area of a retail establishment including at least a user identification device and an output device wherein said kiosk retrieves data from said targeting and delivery system coupon offer data for coupons assigned to the household identified with said identification device and outputs coupons assigned to the identified household in response to identification of a user; and wherein said targeting and delivery system includes an enhancement system which provides tools for enhancing the coupon offer data by designating particular coupon offers as one of a targeted coupon offer assigned to individual households as a function of purchases by that household and a mandatory coupon which is assigned to substantially all households.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
41 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow particular coupon offers to be designated default coupons which are assigned to households when the number of targeted coupons is fewer than a particular level.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
25 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow an operator to compose a plurality of printable messages.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 20 wherein particular messages are provided to particular households as a function of household attributes.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to designate particular coupon offers as triggered offers which are deliverable to a household only if the household indicates a wish to received the triggered coupon.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said targeting and delivery system assigns coupons as a function of accumulated purchases of each household.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
32 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow default coupons to be assigned to households that do not have targeted coupons assigned to them.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
24 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to allow an operator to enable and disable coupon offers.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to provide a valid date range to each coupon offer.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
21 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said enhancement system provides tools to enable and disable individual coupon offers.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
25 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said targeting and delivery system assigns coupons as a function of accumulated purchases of each household.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
27 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 28 wherein said targeting and delivery system assigns coupons as a function of which decile a household's accumulated purchases falls.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
18 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said targeting and delivery system is an RMS system.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
37 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said targeting and delivery system encodes each coupon offer in a manner that a coupon image can be formatted for printing with a printer at the retail establishment.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 31 wherein said targeting and delivery system encodes each coupon offer with a plurality of variable-size offer statement fields.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
24 words
The discount coupon generating system in claim 18 wherein said targeting and delivery system includes a coupon offer database and a household identification database.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US34915A
Cited
US3211470A
Cited
US4674041A
Cited
US4554446A
Cited
US4634147A
Cited
US4910672A
Cited
US4723212A
Cited
US5173851A
Cited
USRE34915E
Cited
US4882675A
Cited
US4752675A
Cited
US4853852A
Cited
US4833308A
Cited
US4791281A
Cited
US4896791A
Cited
US4862386A
Cited
US4957311A
Cited
US4973952A
Cited
US4964053A
Cited
US4949256A
Cited
US4908761A
Cited
US4982346A
Cited
US5053955A
Cited
US5644723A
Cited
US5649114A
Cited
US5201010A
Cited
US5642485A
Cited
US5638457A
Cited
US5621812A
Cited
US5448471A
Cited
US5430644A
Cited
US5128520A
Cited
US5056019A
Cited
US5176224A
Cited
US5195133A
Cited
US5832457A
Cited
US5515270A
Cited
US5250789A
Cited
US5256863A
Cited
US5502636A
Cited
US5249044A
Cited
US5353218A
Cited
US5305197A
Cited
US5481094A
Cited
US5380991A
Cited
US5483049A
Cited
US5459306A
Cited
US5710886A
Cited
US5857175A
Cited
US5892827A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-06-13 | 2003-12-13 | 2004-06-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-06-13 | 2007-12-13 | 2008-06-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-06-13 | 2011-12-13 | 2012-06-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |