DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTING CHARITY DONATION

Abstract: A coupon distribution device for collecting charity donation comprises a means (22) for receiving donation deposited by a customer, a customer interface (30) for associating the amount of the deposited donation with a charity organization, a means (32) for registering the amount in correspondance with the charity organization, a coupon issuing means (25) for delivering a coupon (10) having a nominal value greater than the registered amount and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with at least one sale outlet, and a means (35) for collecting the donation.

Description: Device and method for automatically collecting charity donation This invention relates to improving collection of charity donation, especially in the vicinity of stores. Much effort has been placed in encouraging shoppers to part with loose change to the benefit of charitable causes. When a customer at a supermarket, for example, pays for a basket of goods a sum exceeding 100 US$, it is surely a small matter to put a few coins aside for charity. Charity organizations exploit this confidence in human nature by placing charity boxes at supermarket checkout counters. However, this is only partially effective for a number of reasons. First, most large supermarket customers tend to pay on credit using credit or charge cards, and so never actually handle loose change. Secondly, confidence in human nature may be misplaced. Thirdly, even to the extent that loose change is handled, people tend to put only the smallest currency into the charity box. As a result, donations are always ad hoc and often derisory. Various attempts have been made in the art to address these shortcomings whilst, at the same time, inducing increased sales. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,555,497 to Helbling discloses a charitable contribution centralization system and apparatus wherein a multiplicity of charitable collec- tion stations are provided with selectors for choosing the charity to which a contribution is destined. Also provided are a change maker for issuing change if desired, a display for displaying information with respect to premiums available and contributions made, and a modem for two-way communi- cations with a central station. The central station communicates with the individual charitable institutions to provide information as to monies collected and signals the machines as to premiums available like food-service items, travel awards and the like. U.S. Patent 5,546,303 also to Helbling describes a system wherein a central office correlates charitable contributions made at vending stations in food service establishments which issue information carriers in return for charitable contributions which are receipts for the contribution and entitle the donor to a beverage dispensed from a machine responding to the information carrier. U.S. Patent No. 5,466,919 to Hovakimian et al discloses a credit or charge card system enabling purchasers to contribute to selected charities. Specifically, there is described a method which enables a credit cardholder to make a donation to a cardholder-selected charity any time he makes a purchase using the credit card. The method comprises a credit/charge card which identifies on its magnetic strip, charities to receive a donation, and a bank expedited system which processes the card user's purchase transaction, pays a previously decided amount to the charity or charities and also bills the cardholder. In this system, the donated amounts may be paid by the bank or card issuing organization, or the cardholder may add an amount which he pays to the selected charity. The proposed system may be described as being a bank expedited charity donation approach for credit/charge cardholders. U.S. Patent No. 5,621,640 to Burke discloses an automatic donation system for a sales establishment including an entry arrangement for entering the price of a product into a cash register and for entering the amount of cash being paid and a calculator for determining the excess cash payment. A card reader keypad receives a card number for accessing data including charity accounts concerning the card, and a computer apportions at least a part of the excess cash payment among said accounts, and then prints out the amounts entered. U.S. Patent No. 5,506,393 to Ziamo discloses a donation kettle and network accepting credit card, debit card, and cash donations. A donation kettle permits a contributor to make a donation and includes a display, keyboard, a surface for collecting a cash donation, a credit card and/or debit card donation processor. The donation kettle associates a donation with an account of a contributor, tallies information regarding a number of donations, and stores information regarding a donation, and a plurality of donations. The donation kettle is part of a donation kettle network which consists of a donation kettle, a terminal, and a communication link between the donation kettle and the terminal. The fact that these systems allows donations to be made to different charity organizations adds to the versatility of the device but also greatly increases its complexity and cost. Thus, all of these systems are fully integrated, requiring a large infrastructure in order donations be channeled to the charity for whom it is intended. Furthermore, once such flexibility is provided, there is little control for the end-user at to which charities are supported since this is controlled remote from the supermarket by whoever manages the system. It may occur that organizations might thus be supported which are not generally approved either by the shop owner or by the bulk of his clientele. Also, there is little inducement for any particular charitable organization to maintain or oversee the system. Incentives to donate to charity are also provided by some stores who offer to complement a customer's donation with an equal donation to a particular cause. Here, too, such a procedure must be managed at not insignificant cost and inconvenience to the store's management. Even apart from charity incentives, there are known inducements to customers to spend more during a shopping expedition. Such inducements includes coupons which may be given by the store or by one or more participating manufacturers. Typically, coupons of this kind are either specific to a particular store or are issued in respect of several manufacturers. U.S. Patent No. 5,564,546 to Molbak describes a coin counter/sorter and coupon/voucher dispensing machine and method for automatically dispensing cash vouchers based on the value of the counted coins, manufacturers' coupons and store coupons. Coins are placed in a hopper tray. When the hinged tray is lifted, the coins travel through a waste management system and into the coin sorting and counting apparatus . The value of the coins and the number of coins within each denomination are displayed as the coins are counted. After sorting, the coins fall into a temporary holding area. At this point the transaction can either be canceled or accepted. If the transaction is canceled, the coins are returned. If the transaction is accepted, the coins fall into a storage area and the user is issued a cash voucher and a series of store coupons . Manufacturers ' coupons are dispensed regardless of whether or not the tran- saction is accepted. This reference relates only to the provision of coupons but does not suggest the use of coupons for inducing customers to donate charity. It is an object of the invention to provide a method for collecting charity donations from a customer in the vicinity of or at a store which induces customers to give donations to charitable organization(s) and which further induces trade . According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method for collecting charity donations from a customer at a point of sale, the method comprising the steps of : (a) providing at least one point of sale on behalf of at least one charity organization, each point of sale compri- sing at least one chamber, (b) registering a donation, deposited by a customer in said point of sale, in correspondance with one of said charity organizations designated by said customer, (c) issuing a coupon having a nominal value greater than said registered donation and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with a sale outlet, (d) putting said deposited donation in the chamber, and (e ) collecting the deposited donations in the chamber for giving to the associated charity organization. According to an other aspect of the invention there is provided a coupon distribution device for collecting charity donation from a customer at a point of sale. This device comprises : - a means for receiving donation deposited by a customer, - a customer interface means for associating the amount of the deposited donation with a charity organization, - a means for registering this amount in correspondance with the charity organization, - a coupon issuing means for delivering, to the customer, a coupon having a nominal value greater than the registered amount and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with at least one sale outlet, - a means for collecting the donation. The invention differs from the known solutions in several respects. Firstly, substantially no infrastructure is required. The coupons are distributed by means of a coupon distribution device which may be maintained by, or on behalf of, preferably, a charitable organization. This avoids the problems inherent in apportioning donations to different organizations. But, several organizations may be concerned by one device. Secondly, and as a corollary of this, the system can effectively be managed by the charitable organization itself. That is to say, the collection of monies stored in each device, as well as the maintenance of this device can, if desired, be made the responsibility of the charitable organization. This is of great benefit to a store manager since it relieves him both of the maintenance of the coupon distribution device as well as the responsibility when, and if, it runs out of coupons or change to the chagrin of his customers. The device is preferably financed by the manufacturers of the products who offer discounts in return for coupons. Preferably, the coupon has discrete tear-off sections each in respect of a different product, and for example valid on a different day of the week. This encourages customers to come back the next day, at obvious benefit to the sale ou- tlet. The sale outlet may be a store or indeed any organization where a product or service is purchased. Its location may be the same as that of the point of sale or may be different. Thus, the invention contemplates, for example, the provision of charity coupons in a supermarket offering discounts against items sold at the same supermarket. Alternatively, the point of sale may be a gas station or other venue having no direct association with the sale outlet which honors the coupon, but typically being in close proximity thereto. In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with regard to a store operating a charity coupon distribution device, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing functionally a coupon distribution device; - Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing functionally a part of the coupon distribution device; - Fig. 3 is an example of pictorial representation of a coupon issued by a device according to the present invention; and - Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing partly an example of steps associated with a change mechanism according to the invention. Fig. 1 and 2 show functionally an example of coupon distri- bution device 20 for collecting charity donations from a customer in the vicinity of or at a store. In this example, the device comprises a closed body 43 of any kind of form or design. For example, it may represent a part of a human body, with legs and arms. Preferably, this body 43 comprises advertising and/or explanatory messages on its front. It also preferably comprises a monitor 31 for displaying information or allowing different selection by a customer. The selection may be carried out with a user (or customer) interface with selection keys or directly on the monitor screen in case it is a touch-sensitive screen 30. Such a selection allows the customer to associate his donation with a charity organization. So, the customer may select one organization between several displayed on the monitor screen 31. But these keys may also assist the customer for selecting the amount of his donation. For example, a customer may introduce 10 US$ for getting only one coupon with a 5 US$ value. But this customer may prefer to deposit 10 US$ for getting two coupons with a 5 US$ value. Preferably, the value of the coupon or the amount of a donation is predetermined. But, the keys or touches may offer the possibility to the customer to select himself the amount he wants to give. The keys or touches may also offer the possibility to the customer to select himself the product(s) on which he wants the coupon to product its effects. A frame may divide the monitor 31 in several parts, each part concerning, for example, one charity organization. The device comprises a means 23 for receiving the donation deposited by a customer. Preferably, this means comprises a cash entry slot 22, and more preferably a coin entry slot. The cash entry is preferably provided on the body front at a level accessible to the children. The device also comprises a control unit 32 for registering every amount in correspondence with the selected charity organization. The control unit 32, which is for example a customized microprocessor, or an ASIC, comprises a memory for storing the current total amount of the donations. Of course, when the device is intended for several organiza- tions, the memory comprises several registers, one for each organization. This control unit 32 manages a coupon issuing module (or coupon release module) 25, which is intended for delivering through a delivery slot 33, to the customer, a coupon 10 having a nominal value greater than the registered amount and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with at least one sale outlet. The coupons 10 are preferably stored in a magasin 21, in a stack or in a roll 34. Depending on the device release, the coupons are fully or partly pre-printed or completely blank. So, the issuance module 25 is preferably coupled with a printer 28 which is managed by the control unit 32, and intended for printing on the coupons 10, or else, every required information, code, stamp, or the like. It is clear that in case where the coupons 10 are preprinted and the device is intended for several organizations, the device will comprise as many magasins 21 as organizations . Moreover, the coupon 10 may be issued with an accompanying game card. In that case, the device comprises an other magasin for the card, and the issuing module 25 jointly manage the issuance of both coupon and game card. Also depending on the device release, the game card are fully or partly pre-printed or completely blank. In case where something as to be printed on the game card, it is preferable to make use of the printer 28. For example, a validity stamp may be printed on the accompanying game card. This validity stamp may be characteristic of a sale outlet, thereby increasing its nominal value. It is also possible that only someone of the game cards comprise a validity stamp, for example performed randomly so as to affect indeterminate cards only. Likewise, one game card may be issued automatically after a specified number of coupons has been issued. This introduces an element of surprise since the customer cannot know in advance whether her or his coupon will be a "winning" coupon that is accompanied by a game card. But the stamp may also attest the coupon has been issued by an authorized point of sale. As illustrated in Fig. 3 the coupon 10 has preferably two discrete tear-off sections 11 and 12 each in respect of a different product and valid on a different day of the week. More, each of the sections 11 and 12 is preferably color- coded with a different color for easy identification of a day of validity. For example, section 11 may be red and valid on mondays whilst section 12 may be green and valid on tuesdays. Alternatively, the two sections may be on alternate days of the week. This acts as an inducement for a customer to return to the store the following day also. One of the tear-off section may be a receipt intended to prove that the customer has effectively made a donation, in order he could benefit from an income tax abatment. But, the coupon does not necessary comprise tear-off section, nor color codes. The coupon 10 issued in response to the registered donation may also be redeemable against purchase of at least one product or service sold at a sale outlet and offer a discount on this product(s) or service(s) greater than the registered donation. The discount on the coupon may be pre- printed, but it also may be printed immediately prior to coupon issuing. Preferably, the discount is printed with a coding process in order the owner of the coupon cannot decoded it. For example, the discount may be printed in the form of a barcode for reading at a store checkout counter, either in addition to, or instead of, the regular user-readable format. In the case that only the barcode format is printed, this offers the element of surprise to the shopper who will not know, until checking out, what discount was received. Printing the discount as a barcode also allows the store to adjust the discounts even after the coupon has been issued. Obviously, it will be understood that the element of surprise can equally well be achieved by encoding the discount in any other way that cannot be decoded by the shopper. It will also be appreciated that such a coupon has broad application and is not dependent on how the coupon is distributed. The device comprises also a module 35 for collecting the donation after its registration. Preferably, this module comprises a chamber 35 provided with lock means in order only an authorized person may collect the stored cash. It is also possible to provide the chamber 35 with invalidation means, such as inks or the like in order the cash be invalidate when an unauthorized person try to steal the chamber. Advantageously, the chamber 35 is separated from the other elements. For example, it may be housed inside a protected compartment 36. In an advantageous embodiment, the control unit 32 manages the access to the chamber 35. For example, an authorized person has to provide a confidential code, known by the control unit, with the help of the user interface, for having access to the chamber. But a key may also permit such an access to the chamber. In an other embodiment, where the device comprises a smart card reader 29, the access to the chamber 35 may be managed by a specific smart card possessed by the authorized person in charge of the cash collection. In that case, it is possible to act as follows. The authorized person introduces his smart card in the card reader 29, which is managed by the control unit 32. The control unit 32 compares the information stored in the smart card with its own stored information. If the card is valid, the control unit 32 switches the device from a donation mode to a security mode, and the chamber alarm is disabled. The authorized person enters a security code with the user interface, which is preferably the number of the chamber, and he enters the number of the new empty chamber he will exchange. Then, he can exchange the chamber 35 with the new one, and a specific coupon is preferably issued, for example with tear-off sections. This coupon comprises information concerning the collection (time, amount, and the like). Preferably, these information are also stored in the smart card memory. When the device comprises communication means 26, 27, a report of the collection is transmited to a remote station via a modem 26. When the smart card is taken out from the card reader 29, the control unit 32 initializes the device and enables the chamber alarm. As exposed above, the device may also be provided with communications means, in order information about change, donations, coupons and more generally functionality of the coupon device, be transmitted to a remote station. Preferably, the communication means comprises a communication port 26 (or modem), such as an RS232 port, coupled to the coupon issuing module 25 and to the coupon magasin 21 and allowing communication with a remote monitoring unit (not shown) . Such communication may be via a RF transmitter 27 coupled to the RS 232 port 26. But it also may be a GSM modem, or an analog or "Numeris" modem. Also coupled to the RS 232 port 26, it is possible to have a printer 28. The printer 28 allows reports to be printed when required, for example by an authorized person, providing an inventory showing the number of coupons 10 supplied, cash deposited, the number of coupons remaining, every transaction time, and so on. Likewise, the printer 28 may be adapted to print on the coupon 10 the date of issue thereof before the coupon is issued (or released). The printer 28 may also be used to print the discount on the coupon 10 just before issue. By such means, the discount offered against different goods (or product or service) may be changed at will by the store management according to guidelines set by the product manufacturers or service providers or according to other criteria. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating the issuance of a coupon 10 in response to a cash donation by a customer. In this example, the cash is a coin, but it could be a banknote. The customer introduces his coin in the coin entry slot 22. The coin is at least equal in value to the cash value of the coupon. The means for receiving donation comprises a coin checker 23, which verifies if the inserted coin is valid. If the coin is not valid, it is given back to the customer. If the coin is valid, the coin checker 23 checks if its value is greater than or equal to the minimum donation value. If it is not the case, the coin is given back to the customer. If it is the case, a change mechanism 24, responsive to the value of an inserted coin, determines the change 37 in excess of the cash value of the coupon and refunds this change (as exposed hereafter, the change 37 may comprise a trolley coin 38). In this illustrated, but non-limiting, example, the change mechanism 24 refunds change in excess if the difference in value is smaller than the trolley coin value. In the opposite case, at least one trolley coin is given to the customer, with eventually some remaining change. Preferably, the change 37 and the trolley coins 38 are stored in a specific compartment 39 defining two chambers 40, 41. A delivery slot 42 is provided for delivering the change and the trolley coins. The coin checker 23 is coupled to the coupon issuing module 25 and managed by the control unit 32. As exposed before, these steps may comprise the selection by the customer, with the user interface keys or touches, of the amount or value of his donation in association with one charity organization. After these steps, the coupon 10 is issued, with eventually a game card, and the donation is put in the chamber 35, waiting for collection by an authorized person. In order to induce store customers to return their shopping trolleys to the store after use, many stores now stack their trolleys using a coin-operated clasp accepting coins of a specific denomination only. This is inconvenient both to the customers and to the store ' s management. To the customer, it is a nuisance to remember that a shopping spree must be contingent on taking the specified coin and, in any event, it is not always ready to hand. The customer must then obtain the necessary coin from the store's cashier in return for a coin or banknote of larger denomination. This typically results in a large queue forming at the store's cashier, increasing his or her workload and also increasing the time that the customer spends in the store. The store's cashier must also maintain a large stock of the right coin, for the sole purpose of financing the "hiring" of supermarket trolleys. All of this is a nuisance to both customers and to the store's management. The invention addresses this inconvenience in a simple manner which brings surprising benefit to the store's management as well as inducing customers to make charity donation. Thus, the change mechanism 24 may be adapted to provide change which includes a predetermined coin 38 for releasing a shopping trolley. Suppose, for example, that a 50 cts coin releases the shopping trolleys and that each donation is 1 US$. A customer inserting 5 US$ will receive 4 US$ change, since 1 US$ is retained for the charity organization. The 4 US$ change includes two 50 cts coins allowing the customer to release up to two shopping trolleys. By such means, the bonus of maintaining a stock of the 50 cts coin is passed to the charity organization on whose behalf the system is being managed. So, it relieves the store's cashier to attend to running the store and to address customers' more urgent needs. Moreover, it reduces the queue at the store's cashier. More, the very act of obtaining the required 50 cts coin provides a donation to the charity organization : thus all three parties benefit and the customer is given a good feeling that she or he has made a contribution to a worthy cause. The invention, as so far described, relates to the provision of coupons 10 in the vicinity of or at a sale outlet for use preferably at the same sale outlet. However, as noted above, this is not a requirement of the invention and the point of sale may be remote from, and even have no direct business connection with, the sale outlet. What is important is that the sale outlet have an agreement with the manufacturers or service providers who are discounting their products or services since, without such agreement, there can be no valid basis for offering the discount. However, the invention also contemplates that the product for sale is the coupon 10 itself. That is to say, the coupon may be in the form of a game card or stamp having value to a collector thereof. In this case, the game card or stamp may be issued upon payment of a predetermined charity donation somewhat lower in value than the cash value of the card or stamp. Thus, the game card or stamp is effectively issued at a subsidized price, equal to the charity donation, which means that the coupon is redeemable against purchase of the game card or stamp and is actually provided in the form of the game card or stamp against which it is redeemable. This aspect of the invention is particularly applicable for children's card and stamp collection games and induces children to give some of their pocket money to charitable causes. At the same time, of course, once in the store there is a high likelihood that they will then patronize the store to buy other goods or services sold there. This, then, is the incentive to the store manager to operate such a scheme on his premises . As exposed before, such a game card can, if desired, be combined with the regular coupon in various ways. Thus, the coupon can be printed on the reverse side of the game card. In this case, the customer has the option to redeem the card against purchase of goods or services or, alternatively, to add the game card to his or her card collection. Although the invention as described relates to redeeming the coupon against the purchase of goods or services at a store, the sale outlet may also be a distribution or handling center. In this case, the coupon or more usually a number of coupons may be redeemable against a gift by taking the coupons to the distribution or handling center and selecting a gift from amongst a choice of gifts having a value commensurate with the total nominal or gift value of the coupons. Typically, the gift may be selected from a gift catalogue. In such case, a stamp may be printed on the coupon prior to issue, in order to prove validity of the coupon so that it will be honored by the distribution or handling center. In similar manner, the store stamp or an equivalent thereof may be printed on a coupon which serves as a game card or collection stamp, thereby increasing its value. That is to say, the nominal value of the collection card or stamp may be increased when accompanied by the store stamp, which may be added randomly to a small number of coupons, prior to issue. It is also preferable that a key 44 or touch be provided for the children, near the cash entry 22, in order the coupons 10 be issued automatically without any selection. The body 43 may be provided with a tablet. Advantageously, the body 43 comprises air vents 45, preferably oriented towards the ground. It is also possible to provide the body 43 with rollers and/or handle to facilitate its transport. Also preferably, the coin checker 23 and the change mechanism 24 are programmable, for adapting the device to the local cash. Although it is not the main purpose of the invention, the smart card reader 29 may be used by the customers for donation of important values. The device may also comprise a vocoder 46 coupled with loudspeakers 47 for broadcasting message to the customers. Such messages may concern the deposited donation, or they may be directed to the potential customers walking around the device, for explaining what its purpose is. The device may also comprise a motion and/or shock alarm, eventually of the programmable type. It may also comprise a failure detector, which preferably transmits an alarm by telephone. Also preferably, when the device comprises a smart card reader, it is possible to use a specific smart card for disabling the alarms, excepted the chamber alarm, in order maintenance and/or reparation process be carried out. The invention also relates to a method for collecting charity donations from a customer in the vicinity of or at a store (or more generally a sale outlet).The method comprises at least the following steps. In a first step, it is provided at least one point of sale on behalf of at least one charity organization. Preferably, each point of sale is on behalf of only one charity organization. So, in that case, a point of sale comprises only one chamber for collecting donation. In a second step, when a customer deposits a donation addressed to a charity organization, this donation (or its amount) is registered in the point of sale, in correspondence with the charity organizations designated by the customer. Of course, if several charity organizations may be addressed, the customer will associate one of them with his donation. In a third step a coupon is issued with a nominal value greater than the registered donation. According to the invention, the issued coupon is at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in associa- tion with at least one sale outlet. Preferably, the concerned sale outlet is the one in the vicinity of which, or inside which, the point of sale is installed. In a fourth step, the deposited donation is put inside the chamber of the point of sale. Of course, if several charity organizations may be addressed, the point of sale will preferably comprise as many chambers as charity organizations, in order the donation may be stored in the chamber associated with the designated organization. In a fifth step, the deposited donations are collected in the chamber(s) for giving to the associated charity organization. The method according to the invention also comprises all the additional process steps or sub-steps disclosed in the part of the disclosure describing the coupon distribution device of the invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method for collecting charity donations from customers at a point of sale, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one point of sale on behalf of at least one charity organization, each point of sale comprising at least one chamber, (b) registering a donation, deposited by a customer in said point of sale, in correspondance with one of said charity organizations designated by said customer, (c) issuing a coupon having a nominal value greater than said registered donation and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with at least one sale outlet, (d) putting said deposited donation in the chamber, and (e) collecting the deposited donations in the chamber chamber for giving to the associated charity organization. 2. The method according to Claim 1, including the steps of (f) providing a distribution point in each sale outlet, provided with at least one kind of product, each associated with a product value, (g) giving at least one coupon to said distribution point and redeeming against a product with a product value equal to the nominal value of the given coupon. 3. The method according to Claim 2 , wherein the product is an at least partly subsidized entry to a lottery. 4. The method according to Claim 1, wherein in step (c) the issued coupon is accompanied with a game card. 5. The method according to Claim 1, wherein in step (c) the issued coupon is a game card. 6. The method according to one of Claims 4 and 5, wherein step (c) includes the sub-step of providing, on at least someone of the game card, a validity stamp characteristic of the sale outlet, thereby increasing its nominal value. 7. The method according to Claim 6, wherein the sub-step of providing the validity stamp is performed randomly so as to affect indeterminate cards only. 8. The method according to Claim 1, wherein in step (c) the coupon issued in response to the registered donation is redeemable against purchase of at least one product or service sold at a sale outlet and offers a discount on said product or service greater than said registered donation. 9. The method according to Claim 8, wherein the issued coupon is redeemable against purchase of two products on different days of a week. 10. The method according to Claim 9, wherein in step (c) the coupon is issued with at least two tear-off discrete sections each associated with a predetermined product. 11. The method according to Claim 10, wherein in step (c) said tear-off discrete sections have different colors each associated with a week day of purchase, for easy identification. 12. The method according to one of Claim 8 to 11, wherein step (c) includes the sub-step of printing the discount on the coupon immediately prior to coupon issuing. 13. The method according to Claim 9, wherein the discount is printed with a coding process in order the owner of the coupon cannot decoded the discount. 14. The method according to Claim 13, wherein the coding process is a barcode process. 15. The method according to Claim 1, wherein step (c) includes the sub-step of printing a validity stamp on the issued coupon attesting to its issue by an authorized point of sale. 16. The method according to Claim 1, wherein step (c) further includes the sub-step of issuing the coupon with change including a predetermined coin for releasing a shopping trolley. 17. A coupon distribution device for collecting charity donation from a customer at a point of sale, said device comprising : - a means for receiving donation deposited by a customer, - a customer interface means for associating the amount of the deposited donation with a charity organization, - a means for registering said amount in correspondance with said charity organization, - a coupon issuing means for delivering, to the customer, a coupon having a nominal value greater than said registered amount and being at least partly redeemable against a product and/or a service offered by or in association with at least one sale outlet, and - a means for collecting said donation. 18. The coupon distribution device according to Claim 17, wherein said means for receiving donation comprises a cash entry for accepting cash, and a release mechanism coupled to said cash entry and responsive to entry of a cash for issuing a coupon in return therefor. 19. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 and 18, wherein said cash entry is a slot. 20. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 to 19, further including a change mechanism responsive to the value of said cash for refunding change in excess of a predetermined donation. 21. The coupon distribution device according to Claim 20, wherein the change mechanism is aimed to return a coin of predetermined type suitable for releasing a shopping trolley. 22. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 to 21, further comprising a communication port for allowing communication with a remote monitoring unit for keeping track of change, donations, coupons and functionali- ty of the coupon device. 23. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 to 22, wherein said issuing means is arranged for issuing coupons having discrete tear-off sections each in respect of a different product. 24. The coupon distribution device according to Claim 23, wherein said discrete tear-off sections are valid on a different day of the week. 25. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 23 and 24, wherein said tear-off discrete sections have different colors each associated with a week day of purchase, for easy identification. 26. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 to 25, wherein said coupon is issued with a game card printed on a surface thereof. 27. The coupon distribution device according to one of Claims 17 to 26, wherein said coupon is redeemable against purchase of at least one product or service sold at a sale outlet, and is issued with a discount value, associated with said product or service, greater than said registered amount. 28. The coupon according to Claim 27, wherein said discount is printed with a coding process in order the owner of the coupon cannot decoded the discount. 29. The coupon distribution device according to Claim 28, wherein the coding process is a barcode process.

Inventors: COHEN HENRY, MADMONI AVICHAI, SHEMESH YAACOV, COHEN, HENRY, MADMONI, AVICHAI, SHEMESH, YAACOV
Applicants: CLEPHAN INVESTMENTS LTD, COHEN HENRY, MADMONI AVICHAI, SHEMESH YAACOV, CLEPHAN INVESTMENTS, LTD, COHEN, HENRY, MADMONI, AVICHAI, SHEMESH, YAACOV
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G07F7
IPC codes: G07F7, G07F17, G07F19