Abstract:
In a method of managing information, information is stored associated with at least one wallet card in an electronic device. An establishment is entered with the electronic device. The location of the establishment is determined. A determination of whether at least one wallet card is associated with the location. Information from the at least one wallet card is outputted in response to the determination of the location is associated with the at least one wallet card.

Description:
FIELD  
       [0001]     This invention relates generally to managing cards in a wallet. More particularly, embodiments relate to electronic management of wallet cards that a user may carry in her wallet with a mobile device.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002]     A typical consumer carries many cards in her wallet, i.e., wallet cards. For example, the consumer may carry a grocery card in order to capitalize on the savings associated with the grocery card. More particularly, the grocery associated with the grocery card may allow the consumer to take a sale price for an item as long as the grocery card is scanned prior to checkout. Consumers typically have more than one grocery card.  
         [0003]     Along with grocery cards, the consumer may also carry rewards cards. A retail establishment may issue a reward card that provides incentives for continued patronage of the establishment. For example, Blockbuster™ may issue a reward card where the consumer may get a free video rental after five paid rentals. Again, the consumer may have multiple reward cards (dry cleaner, retail food establishments and the like).  
         [0004]     As a result, the typical consumer has a wallet that would be rather large and unwieldy if the consumer were to carry every wallet card. Some consumers do carry all their wallet cards but this leads to delays at checkout waiting for the consumer to search for the appropriate wallet card.  
         [0005]     The consumer may pare down the wallet cards so as to minimize the thickness and weight of the wallet. However, the consumer may omit a necessary wallet card in the event he walks into an establishment that he is a member thereof. Thus, the consumer may lose incentives and/or discounts from the establishment.  
         [0006]     This omission of the wallet card also applies to gift cards. As another wallet card, the gift card may be carried in the wallet. However, most consumers leave the gift card out of their wallets because of the added size, weight and the additional inconvenience of carrying an additional wallet card.  
         [0007]     Another problem with gift cards for consumers is that the consumer may forget that she is carrying the gift card. The consumer typically carries many wallet cards and if a large enough lapse in time as occurred, the consumer may forget that the gift card is in her wallet. As the consumer keeps forgetting, the balance on the gift card begins to decrease for some gift cards. A related problem with gift cards is that the consumer may forget the balance on the gift card. More specifically, there may be a long period of time between purchases using the gift card.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     An embodiment generally relates to a method of managing information. The method includes storing information associated with at least one wallet card in an electronic device and entering a location with the electronic device. The method also includes determining whether at least one wallet card is associated with the location and outputting information from the at least one wallet card in response to the determination of the location is associated with the at least one wallet card.  
         [0009]     Another embodiment generally pertains to a method of managing information. The method includes storing information associated with at least one wallet card in a wireless device and receiving at least one message with an establishment. The method also includes determining whether at least one wallet card is associated with the establishment and outputting information from the at least one wallet card in response to the determination that the establishment is associated with the at least one wallet card.  
         [0010]     Yet another embodiment generally relates to an apparatus for managing information. The apparatus includes a wireless communication device that includes a controller, a location determination module, a memory and a scanner module. The controller is configured to interface with the location determination module, the memory and the scanner module. The controller is configured to store information related to a wallet card being scanned by the scanner module in the memory, determine a location with the location determination module in response to a user entering an establishment, and output information related to a wallet card in response to the determination of the location is associated with the wallet card.  
         [0011]     Accordingly, embodiments generally assist users in managing their wallet cards by maintaining the related information in the wireless communication device which automatically notifies them of the relevant wallet card when entering an establishment. Thus, the user does not have to carry his wallet cards and leaves his wallet a manageable size and weight. Moreover, the user can ensure that the gift cards are being used within a timely manner because the wireless communication device is configured to display the relevant gift card when the user enters the appropriate establishment.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     Various features of the embodiments can be more fully appreciated, as the same become better understood with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying figures, in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device (“WCD”) where an embodiment may be practiced;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system where another embodiment may be practiced;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flow diagram implemented by yet another embodiment;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flow diagram implemented by yet another embodiment;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flow diagram implemented by yet another embodiment;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates a flow diagram implemented by yet another embodiment; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates a flow diagram implemented by yet another embodiment.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the present invention are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can be implemented in, all types of wireless communication systems, and that any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, in the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specific embodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.  
         [0021]     Embodiments generally relate to a method and apparatus for managing wallet cards with a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, laptop, and the like. More specifically, a wireless communication device may be configured to receive the scanned image of a wallet card from a user. A wallet card may be a membership card, a rewards card, a gift card or other similar card. The wireless communication device stores information from the wallet card such as address of an establishment, membership information, customer number, account balance, etc. When a user enters an establishment, the wireless communication device may be configured to alert the user that a stored wallet card is may be used in the establishment. In some embodiments, if the card is a reward card, the wireless communication device may display the status of the reward card, e.g., how many more points to the next reward. In other embodiments, the wireless communication device may display a gift card for the location. In yet other embodiments, the wireless communication device may be used in transactions at a location. More specifically, the wireless communication device may display the membership number, a customer number or transmit the appropriate code for a gift card to the cash register.  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device (“WCD”)  100  where an embodiment may be practiced. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the WCD  100  depicted in  FIG. 1  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified. Moreover, the WCD  100  may be implemented using software components, hardware components, or combinations thereof.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the WCD  100  includes a controller  105 , an antenna  110  (labeled as “ANT”), a transceiver  115  (labeled as “TX/RCV”), a user interface module  120 , a memory  125 , a display module  130 . In some embodiments, the WCD  100  also includes a global positioning system (“GPS”) module  135 , a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) module  140 , a camera module  145 , and an optical recognition system (“OCR”) module  150 .  
         [0024]     Although  FIG. 1  depicts a WCD as a specific device, it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the WCD may be any device that can communicate with other devices using wireless communication such as radio frequency, infrared, wireless signals over a network or other similar techniques. In certain embodiments, the WCD may be implemented a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), laptop computers and other similar portable computing devices.  
         [0025]     Returning to  FIG. 1 , the controller  105  may be configured to provide the functionality of the WCD  100 . More particularly, the controller  105  may execute an operating system and/or software programs that provide the functionality for the WCD  100 . The controller  105  may be implemented using a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit or other similar computing platform.  
         [0026]     The controller  105  may also be configured to interface with the transceiver  115 . The transceiver  115  may be configured to convert data (e.g., voice, video, audio, etc) between a wireless protocol and the native format of the controller  105 . The wireless protocol may be implemented using Wireless Personal Area Networks (e.g., Bluetooth, HomeRF, IEEE 802.15.3 protocols or other similar protocols), Wireless Local Area Networks (e.g., Hiperlan 2, IEEE 802.11x, or other similar protocols), WiFi, Cellular Digital Packet Data, Mobitex, Wireless Application Protocol, Global System for Mobiles, or other similar wireless protocol for communicating audio, voice, data and/or video.  
         [0027]     The transceiver  115  may be configured to interface with the antenna  110 . The antenna  110  may be configured to provide a communication channel between the WCD  100  and a service provider. The service provider may be a cellular telephone provider, a WIFI hotspot, an ad hoc network or other similar network.  
         [0028]     The controller  105  may be further configured to interface with the user interface  120 . The user interface  120  may be configured to provide a mechanism for a user of the WCD  100  to interact thereof. In some embodiments, the user interface  120  may be Bell keypad or a QWERTY keyboard. In other embodiments, the user interface  120  may be integrated with the display  120 . More particularly, the display  120  may be a touch screen where the controller  105  executes software that permits a user to interact with the WCD  100  using a stylus or other similar device.  
         [0029]     The controller  105  may be further configured to interface the memory  125 . The memory  125  may be configured to store the operating system, application software programs and data entered by the user. The memory  125  may be implemented using persistent memory (e.g., flash memory, EEPROM, etc), non-persistent memory (e.g., RAM) or combinations thereof.  
         [0030]     The display  130  may be configured to interface with the controller  105 . The display  130  may also be configured to provide a visual interface for the operation of the WCD  100 . The display  130  may be implemented using a liquid crystal display matrix or a thin film transistor array.  
         [0031]     The controller  105  may be further configured to interface with the GPS module  135 . The GPS module  135  may be configured to provide longitude and latitude coordinates for the WCD  100 , thus allowing the controller  105  to determine the location for the WCD  100 .  
         [0032]     The RFID module  140  may be configured to interface with the controller  105 . The RFID module  140  may be configured to process RFID data for transmission and/or receiving.  
         [0033]     The camera module  145  may be configured to interface with the controller  105 . The camera module  145  may provide the functionality of scanning documents for the WCD  100  as well as taking images. For example, the camera module  145  provides a mechanism for the user to scan information from a wallet card through the selection of a menu option displayed on the display module  130 . The information may include, for example, addresses, names, barcodes, logos. The controller  105  may forward the scanned information (image data) to or the scanning module  145  may directly forward the image data to the OCR module  150 . The OCR module  150  may be configured to convert the image data into a document or text data. Subsequently, the controller  105  may store the converted document/text data in the memory  125 .  
         [0034]     In certain embodiments, the user may scan in a wallet card using the camera module  145 . The scanned image may be converted into text data, which is then stored by the controller  105  in the memory  125 . When a user enters an establishment, the WCD  100  may determine the location of the establishment. In some embodiments, the establishment may have a WIFI spot or a wireless network available for access. The WCD  100  may determine from location from the network address broadcasted by the establishment. In other embodiments, the establishment may have a location broadcasting device that broadcasts location messages using Bluetooth and/or RFID protocols. The RFID module  140  may be configured to process the location information from the location messages and forward this information to the controller  105 . In yet other embodiments, the WCD  100  may take the coordinate information from the GPS module  135  and determine if the coordinate information matches any of the address data stored in the memory  125 .  
         [0035]     If the WCD  100  determines that the address data of a scanned wallet card matches the location of the establishment, the WCD  100  may inform the user that a stored wallet card is relevant by alerting the user. In some embodiments, if the card is a reward card, the wireless communication device may display the status of the reward card, e.g., how many more points to the next reward, on the display  130 . In other embodiments, the WCD  100  may display a gift card for the location. In yet other embodiments, the WCD  100  may be used in transactions at a location. More specifically, the WCD  100  may display the membership number for a membership club or transmit the appropriate code for a gift card to the cash register.  
         [0036]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system  200  where another embodiment may be practiced. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the system  200  depicted in  FIG. 2  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified. Moreover, the system  200  may be implemented using software components, hardware components, or combinations thereof.  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the system  200  includes a system controller  205 , a RF transceiver  210  (“labeled RF TRCVR”), antennas  215 , an information server  220 , and a network interface  225 . The system controller  205  may be configured to interface with the RF transceiver  210  to communicate with the WCD  100 . The system controller  205  may function utilizing any wireless RF channel, for example, a one- or two-way pager channel, a mobile cellular channel, or a mobile radio channel.  
         [0038]     The system controller  205  may include a subscriber database  230 . The subscriber database provides information related to the WCD  100  as the WCD  100  enters the cell site of the antenna  215 . The system controller  205  may also be configured to interface with a network interface  225 . The network interface  225  may be configured to provide a communication channel to the public switch telephone network.  
         [0039]     The system controller  205  may be further configured to interface with an information server  220 . The information server  220  may be configured to provide content and/or services for the WCD  100 . For example, the WCD may be an Internet capable device. As such, the information server  220  may be the information portal to the Internet for the WCD  100 .  
         [0040]     The information server  220  may include a location based services (“LBS”) module  230 . The LBS module  230  may be configured to provide location information and services for the WCD  100 . For example, the LBS module  230  may receive a message packet with the GPS coordinates of the WCD  100 . The LBS module  230  may be configured to return a street address to the WCD  100 . As another example, the LBS module  230  may receive a message packet with a street address and may return the GPS coordinates of the street address to the WCD  100 . These services are typically provided by Mapquest™ and/or MapPoint™.  
         [0041]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flow diagram  300  implemented by yet another embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram  300  depicted in  FIG. 3  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified.  
         [0042]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a user equipped with a WCD  100  may go shopping, in step  305 . As the user enters an establishment, the WCD  100  may determine the location of the establishment, in step  310 . The establishment may be retail store (e.g., clothing, a national coffee chain, grocery store, etc.), a club (e.g., health, membership store, etc.) or other similar type of store. From the location data, the WCD  100  may search the stored scanned wallet card, in step  315 . More particularly, the user previously inputted (by scanning, manual entry, or RFID entry) the wallet cards that the user typically carries. In step  320 , the WCD  100  may notify the user by sound, visually, vibration, or other means that a relevant card has been located. In some embodiments, the WCD  100  may display the information (e.g., membership number, account number, account balance, etc.) for the user to review and use during transactions. The information may also be presented to the customer audibly for instance over a Bluetooth headset.  
         [0043]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flow diagram  400  implemented by yet another embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram  400  depicted in  FIG. 4  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified.  
         [0044]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a user may enter a mode in the WCD  100  that allows entry of data from wallet card, in step  405 . For example, the user may scroll to a menu option that permits data entry of a wallet card.  
         [0045]     In step  410 , the user may be displayed a menu display that shows a menu selections. In one embodiment, the selection could be a retail card selection  415 , a gift card selection  420 , and other type of card selection  425 . The retail card selection  415  may be used to enter information related to cards issued by establishments such as grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants, health clubs, and other similar types. The information would include at least the name of the establishment, physical address, and the identifying number for the wallet card. The gift card selection  420  may be used to enter information related to gift cards. The information could include the account number, account balance, issuing establishment, and physical address. The other type of card selection  425  may be used to enter information related to wallet cards issued by insurance companies, libraries, and other similar lines of businesses.  
         [0046]     In step  430 , the user may be displayed another menu to select the data entry for a selected wallet card. The selected menu may then provide three options in entering the information an RFID mode, a scanning mode, and a manual entry mode.  
         [0047]     If the user selects the RFID mode, in step  435 , the WCD  100  may be configured to process the information regarding the wallet card through the RFID module  140 . More particularly, if the wallet card has an RFID chip, the information transmitted by the RFID chip may be processed by the RFID module  140 . After the RFID signal is processed, the information related to the wallet card is then forwarded to memory  125  for storage, in step  460 .  
         [0048]     If the user selects the scanning mode in step  440 , the WCD  100  may invoke the camera module  145  to scan the selected wallet card, in step  450 . In one embodiment, an infrared port (not shown) may be utilized to scan the wallet card. In another embodiment, the camera module  145  of the WCD  100  may be used to take a photograph of the wallet card.  
         [0049]     In step  455 , the image file of the wallet card generated by the scanning module  140  may then be forwarded to the OCR module  150  for processing. The OCR module  150  may then be configured to convert the image file into a text file. The text information may then be stored in the memory  125 , in step  460 . Barcodes may be optically identified, read, and the information stored in memory  125 , including the barcode protocol.  
         [0050]     If the user selects the manual entry in step  445 , the user may utilize the user interface module  120  to enter the information from the wallet card. In one embodiment using a Bell keypad, the user would use the keypad to manually enter the information. In other embodiments using a touch screen with handwriting recognition, the user may enter the information through the touch screen. It should be readily obvious that various methods of data entry are contemplated by embodiments of the invention.  
         [0051]     In step  460 , the information entered by the user may be then stored in the memory  125  of the WCD  100 .  
         [0052]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flow diagram  500  implemented by yet another embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram  500  depicted in  FIG. 5  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified.  
         [0053]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the WCD  100  may be configured to detect a location broadcast message from an establishment, in step  505 . More particularly, some establishments have WIFI hotspots or access to wireless networks. In other establishments, a Bluetooth device may broadcast location messages as customers/clients enter the establishment. Accordingly, the WCD  100  may be configured to search for these types of messages.  
         [0054]     In step  510 , if the WCD  100  does not detect any location broadcast messages, the WCD returns to the processing of step  505 . Otherwise, if the WCD  100  detects a location broadcast message, the WCD  100  may be configured to determine the location from the location broadcast message, in step  515 . More particularly, if the location broadcast message is from a WIFI hotspot or wireless network, the WCD  100  may be configured to translate the network address into a physical address for the establishment. If the location broadcast message is from a Bluetooth device, the message may contain the physical address.  
         [0055]     In step  520 , the WCD  100  may then be configured to search memory  125  for any matching locations from the stored wallet cards. If the WCD  100  determines (step  525 ) that none of the locations stored in memory  125  matches the current location, the WCD  100  may proceed to the processing of step  505 .  
         [0056]     Otherwise, if the WCD  100  determines that one of the locations in memory matches the current location, the WCD  100  may be configured to alert the user, in step  530 . In one embodiment, the WCD  100  may trigger an audio alert and display the information from the matching wallet card on the display  130 . This information may include the bar code information, account balance, account information, etc.  
         [0057]     It is also conceived that the Detected broadcast message in step  515  could be searched using the internet to determine if the location corresponds to a store. The store name retrieved can then be correlated with stored store names in step  520 .  
         [0058]      FIG. 6  illustrates a flow diagram  600  implemented by yet another embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram  600  depicted in  FIG. 6  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified.  
         [0059]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the WCD  100  may be configured to determine the location of an establishment using GPS data. More particularly, the WCD  100  may receive GPS data from the GPS module  135 , in step  605 . As a non-limiting example, many cellular telephones typically include a GPS module for emergency personnel to locate the user.  
         [0060]     In step  610 , the WCD  100  may be configured to determine the location from the GPS data. More particularly, the WCD  100  may extract the longitude and latitude coordinates from the GPS data. In one embodiment, the WCD  100  may use the coordinate information to search the memory  125  for matching locations. For this embodiment, the memory  125  may store the address information of the wallet cards in latitude/longitude format. In other embodiments, the WCD  100  may forward the received coordinate information to the LBS module  235  (See  FIG. 2 ) to return a physical address. The WCD  100  may then use the physical address to search memory  125 . It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other techniques or combinations of existing techniques may be used to determine the physical location.  
         [0061]     In step  615 , the WCD  100  may then be configured to search memory  125  for any matching locations from the stored wallet cards. If the WCD  100  determines that none of the locations stored in memory  125  matches the current location, the WCD  100  may proceed to the processing of step  605 .  
         [0062]     Otherwise, if the WCD  100  determines that one of the locations in memory matches the current location, the WCD  100  may be configured to alert the user, in step  625 . In one embodiment, the WCD  100  may trigger an audio alert and display the information from the matching wallet card on the display  130 . This information may include the bar code information, account balance, account information, etc.  
         [0063]      FIG. 7  illustrates a flow diagram  700  implemented by yet another embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram  700  depicted in  FIG. 7  represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified.  
         [0064]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the user may use the displayed information related to the relevant wallet card at checkout, in step  705 . More particularly, while entering the establishment, the processing related to  FIGS. 5-6  has determined that a relevant card has been found. The relevant card may be a grocery card, a membership card, a gift card (with account and account balance information) being available for the user to use.  
         [0065]     In step  710 , the user may use the information related to the selected wallet card during checkout. More particularly, the display module  130  may display a bar code of the selected wallet card for the checkout device to scan. In other embodiments, the RFID module  140  may broadcast the information (account number, account balance, etc.) to the checkout device. In yet other embodiments, a combination of these methods may be utilized to transfer the information to the checkout device.  
         [0066]     Certain embodiments may be performed as a computer program. The computer program may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive. For example, the computer program can exist as software program(s) comprised of program instructions in source code, object code, executable code or other formats; firmware program(s); or hardware description language (HDL) files. Any of the above can be embodied on a computer readable medium, which include storage devices and signals, in compressed or uncompressed form. Exemplary computer readable storage devices include conventional computer system RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM), and magnetic or optical disks or tapes. Exemplary computer readable signals, whether modulated using a carrier or not, are signals that a computer system hosting or running the present invention can be configured to access, including signals downloaded through the Internet or other networks. Concrete examples of the foregoing include distribution of executable software program(s) of the computer program on a CD-ROM or via Internet download. In a sense, the Internet itself, as an abstract entity, is a computer readable medium. The same is true of computer networks in general.  
         [0067]     While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the method has been described by examples, the steps of the method may be performed in a different order than illustrated or simultaneously. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims and their equivalents.