US6283377B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
IC card for accumulating degree of interest and system for accumulating degree of interest using such card
Assignee: Rohm Co Ltd
•
Filing: 1998-02-04
•
Granted: 2001-09-04
•
Expires: 2018-02-04
Abstract
Abstract An IC card capable of accumulating the degree of shoppers' interest in a commodity is provided. For this purpose, the IC card has a front surface provided with a display for displaying information of the commodity. The displayed contrast thereof can be changed continuously or progressively in stages by shopper's touch to a sensor. The characters of the display are normally light, and therefore the shopper must touch the sensor to increase the contrast of the display in order to obtain more information of the commodity he/she is interested in. As a result, the shopper touches the sensor of the IC card attached to the commodity he/she is interested in. The number of times shoppers touch the commodity is counted by a counter, so that the degree of shoppers' interest in the commodity can be grasped quantitatively.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshinori Takuma
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 11:22
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/067; G06K19/07; G06K19/077; G06K19/07701; G06K19/07703
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
86 words
An IC card attached to a commodity for accumulating the degree of shoppers' interest in the commodity, comprising: a display unit for displaying prescribed commodity information, capable of changing a displayed contrast; a sensor for sensing a touch of the shopper and, if the touch is sensed, changing the displayed contrast of said display unit; and a counter for counting the number of times said sensor is touched; wherein the degree of shoppers' interest is accumulated as the number of times the shoppers touch said sensor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
86 words
An IC card attached to a commodity for accumulating the degree of shoppers' interest in the commodity, comprising: a display unit for displaying prescribed commodity information, capable of changing a displayed contrast; a sensor for sensing a touch of the shopper and, if the touch is sensed, changing the displayed contrast of said display unit; and a counter for counting the number of times said sensor is touched; wherein the degree of shoppers' interest is accumulated as the number of times the shoppers touch said sensor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 1 , further comprising: a transmission/reception unit for communicating with the outside world; a storage unit for storing prescribed data; and a control unit for controlling such operations; wherein contents of said storage and control units are changed based on a change signal received by said transmission/reception unit so as to change the use of said IC card.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 2 , wherein said control unit is formed by a reconfigurable FPGA, and said storage unit is formed by any one of a flash memory, a ferroelectric memory, and an SRAM.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 2 , wherein said change signal is transmitted through either wireless or wired communication.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 2 , wherein antenna wire is provided around a side surface of a body.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 2 , wherein a capacitor is provided at a rear surface of a body for supplying electric power during operation consuming a large amount of power.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of interest accumulated by the IC card is collected by a local control device provided at each sales area.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The IC card for accumulating the degree of interest according to claim 7 , wherein data concerning the degree of interest accumulated by the IC card is fed back to a supplier of the commodity.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4044860A
Cited
US4112419A
Cited
US4356387A
Cited
US4528679A
Cited
JPS61211788A
Cited
US4839631A
Cited
JPS6274189A
Cited
JPH03273377A
Cited
US5138638A
Cited
US5331312A
Cited
JPH0668320A
Cited
US5519669A
Cited
US5712830A
Cited
JPH07297291A
Cited
JPH09212445A
Cited
US5878401A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-09-03 | 2005-03-05 | 2005-09-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-09-03 | 2009-03-05 | 2009-09-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-09-03 | 2013-03-05 | 2013-09-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |