Patent Publication Number: US-2007114275-A1

Title: Novel enhanced quasi-personalized data set products and processes

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the priority benefit of, and full Paris convention Priority rights from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/723,670. Said application was filed by the present inventor on Oct. 4, 2005, and is expressly incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to processes and business methods for enabling consumers to more readily make purchases of pre-selected menu items at point-of-purchase or retail establishments, for example, at stores of their choice. In particular, the present invention teaches processes and methods for leveraging technological efficiencies for consumer convenience. The present disclosure relates to the arraying of quasi-personalized data on “store” or retail, gift, debit, and credit-types of cards, key-chains, fobs and related apparatus capable of storing machine readable data. In particular the instant disclosure improves extant systems for retail purchasing convenience by including a user&#39;s preference, or preferred order on a gift card, or any other product used at the point-of-purchase for a user&#39;s stored crediting, or debiting ability, to facilitate acquisition or purchase of goods and services.  
      The present invention provides another tool to allow an average consumer to use existing technology for rapid processing of payments and time savings, which addresses and overcomes longstanding needs.  
      2 General Background  
      Within the last decade, the generation of consumer-driven retail convenience has reached unprecedented levels. Among the purveyors of customer incentive awards and gift cards, a new species has arisen—the privately-labeled “store” type of card. These cards generally sport logos or related indicia which serve to identify the purveyors of goods or services and serve to promote brands and brand imagery. Since the cards generally can be loaded with at least one of cash and credit balances, they function as quasi-credit cards, often requiring re-loading with such balances.  
      These quasi-credit cards generally enable consumers to purchase, for themselves or others, small dollar amounts to store on the cards to use at retail establishments. By way of example each of the STARBUCKS®, BORDERS® and DIEDRICHS® brands of “store” types of cards may be found in Orange County, Calif. 92626. (See  FIG. 2 ).  
      Needless to say, those who are engaged in other activities generally require both efficiency and convenience in the point-of-purchase type of transactions. A serious limitation of the extant systems has to do with their lack of capacity to store more personalized pieces of information, or data sets, pieces, bits, bites, arrays, typical or standardized order selections or other agglomerations known to those skilled in the art.  
      For example, as one joins a line of consumers at major, en-franchised coffee shops, if one-half of a dozen customers are ordering, each one must specifically recite their order, and the private-label cards they often use provide no relief from this conundrum. Time and other losses result from the delays, not to mention tensions and frustrations.  
      Accordingly, there is a longstanding need for a way to improve the efficiency of such “store” type or “gift-card” type apparatus or related systems to take a consumer&#39;s desired, or usual purchase or standard orders, for which such items are used often on a daily basis. Likewise, a “gift-card” type of device with a pre-ordained item, value or set of items is expressly contemplated to be within the scope of the instant teachings.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      According to a feature of the present invention there is provided, in a private-label gift or credit card for retail use, a stored ordering preference for selections chosen from a menu, inventory and array of store pricing or store inventory data.  
      According to another feature of the present disclosure there is provided a process for using quasi-personalized or quasi-custom data for point-of-purchase activities, which comprises, in combination, providing at least one of an article, product, card or related apparatus which can hold data, further comprising at least credit/cash/or related media of exchange information comprising a supplemental data set, loading the supplemental data set, including at least a personalized data set onto the same, such as a preferred order, the cost of the same or related information, presenting a resulting loaded article for purchase or other related activities at an established site for the same, for example a retail establishment, reading the data, having the data accessed, including the medium of exchange data as needed, subtracting or debiting or otherwise removing a desired amount from the stored medium of exchange data, based upon the supplemental data set and, repeating the process as needed, or any steps of the same.  
      According to another feature, there is provided a method for promoting a private label (either retail or wholesale) sales point by providing a data receptacle for acquiring such data. The data will then be readily portable to load data specific to a user on the data receptacle and then to present the data receptacle at a sales point, reading the data and debiting a desired balance from the data receptacle.  
      Briefly stated, a card or related mechanism is provided whereby a user can store a specific data set or predetermined order which is then scanned, read or otherwise interpreted at a point of purchase location and debited off of the stored balance on the device. Gift-cards housing pre-ordained selections of goods, services or a particular type of item (eg. shoes) is likewise contemplated.  
    
    
     DRAWINGS  
      The above-mentioned features and objects of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a flow-chart showing steps which are used according to an embodiment of the teachings of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  shows an exemplary manifestation of a typical device which is enhanced to hold a specific item of personal data for a user according to the teachings of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  shows Internet-type and web portal based interfacing according to teachings of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present inventor has discovered that a longstanding need can be solved by emplacing customer data on any storage medium presentable at a point-of-purchase, such as a private label retail story type of card.  
      For the purposes of this specification, “quasi-customized”, “quasi-personalized” and “quasi-custom” are defined by a stored memory document housing at least one selection chosen from a menu or listing of prices or item sub-components or choices for a consumer to make. The present inventor has discovered that novel enhanced systems can incorporate enough personal data to heighten the efficiency of private-label and other retail-specific cards, among other things.  
      Turning now to  FIG. 1  there is shown a progression of steps whereby embodiment of the present disclosure are defined. A first step S 1  involves loading a personalized data set, for example in keeping with the coffee-shop discussions, a particularized order for a selection which is available on a retail basis (e.g., a cappuccino-type of coffee without foam), or one&#39;s usual preference or order.  
      A second step S 2 , includes presenting the card or related device at an establishment, as discussed above, generally a point-of-purchase type of interaction. For example, one enters the coffee-shop and presents the card, having a large strong coffee of the day, stored thereupon, or enter, stores and uses any desired item.  
      Those having a modicum of skill in the art understand readily that this includes any device, product, or other tangible manifestation upon which quasi-customized or quasi-personalized data may be stored, such as a key chain, fob or other article which it is convenient to carry around, sprayed, scanned, etched, finished or other after developed generations of readable or machine readable indicia.  
      Step S 3  involves having the data read, or having the retail/point-of-purchase site access the personal data information, for example, that the user once again wishes to order a certain beverage or food item from the coffee shop. Those skilled in the art will readily understand linkages to network computers, the Internet, other web-based portals and wired and wireless hook-ups or expressly customized by the teachings of the present invention.  
      Step S 4  involves debiting/subtracting cash, credit or any manner of value points from the product, device or article appropriately to reflect the acquisition or purchase of the desired pre-programmed item. This could be done on a credit/cash or any other basis known the those skilled in the art for such transactions. ATM, and other machines also work with the instant invention.  
      An additional or optional step involves operating of at least one of S 1 -S 4 , as many times as needed, likewise other predetermined programs and settings may be imported to govern this. Computers may be used to re-load, adjust, add, subtract or reconcile balances.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , exemplary and illustrative embodiment of a quasi-personalized card  105 A (front) and  105 B (back) is shown in schematic fashion. Such a card may, for example, be purchased at any known retail establishment. For example, DIEDRICHS® Coffee House, Laguna Hills, Calif. 92691.  
      One example according to the teachings of the present invention would be a card purchased on a “gift-card” basis from a coffee shop. According to this example, one could purchase a predetermined number of selections linked to one&#39;s preferred order. So, if one wished to purchase—for example 30 of one&#39;s preferred coffee-drinks at $1.50 per drink, one could load this card with $45.00.  
      Likewise, this could be done for others. Upon scanning or otherwise reading the card the coffee shop would know what the desired order was, and debit or subtract the appropriate amount from the card.  
      Those skilled in the art generally understand that conventional electronic payment and debit systems are expressly incorporated herein by reference as if set forth fully herein.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , those skilled in the art readily comprehend how using appropriate reading and interfacing equipment quasi-personalized card  105  can be linked to any general purpose computer  107  through a home-based interface unit  103 , which may link directly to the Internet  111 , or the world-wide-web®  113 . Likewise, personal data sets may be stored on computer  109  and delivered or updated via Internet  111  or the world-wide-web®  113 .  
       FIG. 3  also shows operator computer  301 , linked through database server  22  by direct interface or alternate router  38  to access quasi-personalized card  105 . Gateway connection  56  links with information system  44  and gateway  54  or ISP  42 , high speed modem  50 , or conventional modem  48  each may provide a way to load quasi-custom card  105 , using office computer  199  or home computer  99  and have interface  120 . Those skilled understand readily how electronic transactions function, so further description is omitted. Point-of-purchase, or any retail establishment may be represented by operator computer  301 , as many and interchangeable devices known to artisans.  
      According to the instant teachings electronic and Internet, and web-based protocols may link users and consumers to the status of their accounts, allow for payment, adjustments and additional transaction records and confirmatory.  
      As illustrated, the teachings of the present invention provide for unprecedented consumer convenience and comfort and accordingly constitutes progress in the science and the useful arts.  
      While the apparatus and method have been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. The present disclosure includes any and all embodiments of the following claims.