Abstract:
In one embodiment, the disclosed systems and methods include a computerized method for managing consumer data which includes providing a database coupled to a central terminal, storing in the database a plurality of records comprising nutritional information related to products available for purchase using a loyalty profile, associating in the database the nutritional information with products purchased using a loyalty profile, and displaying nutritional information associated with the loyalty profile.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/828,495 entitled “Nutrition Management and Meal Planning Program”, filed on Oct. 6, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
     
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention relates to the creation of customized nutritional purchase information, and more specifically to the creation of nutritional reports based upon purchases at a local store or online store made while using a loyalty card. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0005]    Loyalty cards are one way to offer incentives for customers to return to a particular company. For instance, a store may reward its customers with financial bonuses or discounts which may be applied to purchases. In addition to the enhanced customer loyalty, the company obtains information on customers&#39; purchasing behavior. 
         [0006]    While the information obtained on the customers purchasing behavior is useful by the company, there has not been a way to provide the consumer with useful information based upon information that has been obtained. This problem is perhaps most evident in grocery stores, where nutrition information is freely available for individual products, but is not aggregated in a way that is useful to a consumer. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In one embodiment, the disclosed systems and methods include a computerized method for managing customer data which includes providing a database coupled to a central terminal, storing in the database a plurality of records comprising nutritional information related to products available for purchase using a loyalty card profile, associating in the database the nutritional information with products purchased using a loyalty profile, and displaying nutritional information associated with the loyalty profile. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, a computer-readable medium encoded with computer program code for managing loyalty card data is disclosed which includes controlling a first database and a second database with a central processor, storing in the first database a plurality of records comprising loyalty card data for each loyalty card profile, and storing in the second database a plurality of records comprising product information purchased using a loyalty card profile. This method also includes receiving at the central processor a request to display information which relates to the loyalty card profile and product information and generating a report by aggregating data from the second database which includes common products with the loyalty card profile found in the first database. 
         [0009]    In yet another embodiment, a system for managing loyalty card data is also disclosed which comprises a database coupled to a central processor, a storage module configured to store in the database a plurality of records comprising loyalty card data for products purchased with a loyalty card and nutritional information for products available for purchase with a loyalty card, and an output module for transmitting results, wherein the central processor is configured to receive a request for nutritional information regarding products purchased with a loyalty card and generates results based upon the nutritional information found in the database of the products purchased with the loyalty card. 
         [0010]    These and other features and advantages will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is an overview of one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the creation of a customer profile. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the creation of a report based upon a customer profile. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the creation of a customized report preference by a consumer. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a chart illustrating nutritional purchase and consumption information. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a chart illustrating nutritional details. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a screen shot of one embodiment of the present disclosure showing report results. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a screen shot of one embodiment of the present disclosure illustrating a trend chart. 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary general purpose computer system suitable for implementing the several embodiments of the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    In an embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the nutrition management and meal planning program  10  contains a consumer  12 , a loyalty card  14 , a network connection  16 , a store  18 , an informational computer  20 , and a nutritional database  22 . Consumer  12  registers a first loyalty card  14  using network connection  16  with informational computer  20  and creating loyalty profile  24 . Customer  12  uses loyalty card  14  at store  18  while making purchases. Informational computer  20  records the purchases of consumer  12 . When consumer  12  accesses informational computer  20  and requests information regarding loyalty profile  24 , informational computer  20  matches products sold at store  18  with information from nutritional database  22  and generates a report based upon the purchases of consumer  12 . The report created by informational computer  20  is then transmitted through network connection  16  to consumer  12 . This report may contain information including, but not limited to, nutritional management information (e.g., nutrition information on household purchases which can be used to benchmark product nutrition information against daily recommended intake for various nutrients), product alternative information (e.g., suggestions for alternative products that can be based on nutritional goals, health information, or for other reasons disclosed herein), and meal planning (e.g., recipes that align with food preferences and nutritional goals). Network connection  16  may be any network capable of transmitting and receiving data including, but not limited to, internet, postal, and telephone networks. It should be understood that the registration of loyalty profile  24  and the purchasing of products may be performed in any order or concurrently. It should also be understood that store  18  may be a local store, such as a grocery store which is intended to refer to any location physically visited by consumer  12 , or an online store visited by consumer  12  through a computer terminal or other electronic device. 
         [0023]    While  FIG. 1  illustrates a single consumer  12 , loyalty card  14 , and store  18  it is envisioned that a plurality of customers may use a plurality of loyalty cards at a plurality of stores linked to a single loyalty profile  24 . It is further envisioned that any number of stores could be used by informational computer  20  to collect information about the purchases of consumer  12 . The examples of consumer  12 , loyalty card  14 , and store  18  are therefore intended to be illustrative and not limiting. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is an example of one embodiment of the process by which consumer  12  may register one or more loyalty cards with informational computer  20  (Block  30 ). Consumer  12  communicates directly or indirectly with informational computer  20  and creates loyalty profile  24  through network connection  16 . Loyalty profile  24  may include, but is not limited to the following information about individuals using loyalty profile  24 : gender, name, age, and activity level. Using the gender, name, age, activity level, informational server  20  is capable of determining the recommended daily intake for nutrients including, but not limited to, calories using industry accepted guidelines and other methods known to one skilled in the art. Two examples of industry accepted guidelines are the daily recommended intake of calories as set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines. Consumer profile  24  also contains information regarding the identity and quantity of products purchased using loyalty card  14 . 
         [0025]    Consumer  12  can add a loyalty card  14  to the loyalty profile  24  (Block  32 ). In the example shown in  FIG. 2 , loyalty card  14  is registered using network connection  16 . However, it is explicitly understood that loyalty card  14  could be registered in any number of other ways, including, but not limited to, filling out a registration form at store  18 . It is further understood that store  18  may, in some alternative embodiments, directly input loyalty profile  24  into informational computer  20 . 
         [0026]    When consumer  12  purchases products from store  18  using loyalty card  14  linked to loyalty profile  24 , informational computer  20  automatically updates loyalty profile  24  with purchases made with loyalty card  14  (Block  34 ). Consumer  12  can access informational computer  20  and request information about the products purchased through network  16  (Block  36 ). The consumer  12  can also receive information regarding the products purchased with loyalty card  14  (Block  38 ). The information received by consumer  12  may include, but is not limited to, information regarding nutritional information of products purchased, alternatives to products purchased, methods of preparation of products purchased, and other promotional or informational material. The information that consumer  12  receives may be transmitted via email, displayed on a local web browser, transmitted through telephonic communication (e.g., facsimile transmission), presented at a point of sale or purchase, or in other ways known to one skilled in the art. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of one embodiment where informational computer  20  creates nutritional database  22  and creates a report for consumer  12 . Informational computer  20  populates nutritional database  22  with product information regarding products sold at store  18  (Block  40 ). This information may be provided by manufactures, distributors, the USDA, the FDA, or any other source known to one skilled in the art. Consumer  12  creates loyalty profile  24  which is stored in informational computer  20  and is linked to at least one loyalty card  14  (Block  42 ). Loyalty profile  24  may be created in any manner discussed above, and may be created prior, concurrent, or subsequent to the population of nutritional database  22 . Informational computer  20  receives notification of items purchased by customer  12  using loyalty card  14  (Block  44 ). Such notification may be made in any way known to one skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, point of sale data. This data could, in one embodiment, be obtained through collecting data from the scanning of items sold, capturing this data, and transmitting this data to informational computer  20 . Informational computer  20  looks up the loyalty profile  24  linked to loyalty card  14 , and updates loyalty profile  24  with information related to the purchases made by customer  12  (Block  46 ). This purchasing information may include, but is not limited to, the type and quantity of products purchased, information identifying loyalty card  14 , and other sales information. Informational computer  20  generates a report on purchases made by consumer  12  using the loyalty profile  24  (Block  48 ). It is expressly contemplated that consumer  12  may modify consumer profile  24  with additional products purchase, or by removing items listed in loyalty profile  24 . In this embodiment, the informational computer  20  automatically generates a report upon the receipt of information by store  18 ; however, it is contemplated that the report may be generated at any time as discussed above. When informational computer  20  receives a request from consumer  12  linked to loyalty profile  24 , it transmits the report based on loyalty profile  24  to consumer  12  (Block  50 ). 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment where a consumer can create a customized report. First, the consumer requests a customized report to be generated based on consumer profile information, and selects parameters for the report (Block  54 ). Parameters for the report include, but are not limited to, the purchased products consumer  12  is interested in (e.g. breads, fruits, and candy), and the nutritional content of purchased products (e.g. calcium, protein, and fat). Informational computer  20  creates a report based upon the loyalty profile  24  and report parameters (Block  56 ). Informational computer  20  transmits the report to consumer  12  (Block  58 ). 
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram  60  of one embodiment where informational computer  20  takes information from a sales log  62  and consumer profile  24 , looks up information in nutritional database  22 , and creates a preliminary report  114 . Informational computer  20  also looks up information related to loyalty profile  24  in usage database  112 , combines the information from usage database  112  with information from loyalty profile  24  in tabulation unit  84  and creates report  86 . It should be understood that the products shown in this figure are for illustrative purposes only. For instance, any number of products may be purchased by consumer  12  and recorded in sales log  62 , loyalty profile  24  may contain any number of customized settings, and nutritional database  22  may contain any number of products and any number of elements pertaining to each item. It is further contemplated that informational computer  20  may combine one or more products, such as combining nutritional database  22 , usage database  112 , and tabulation unit  84  into a single unit. 
         [0030]    Sales log  62  shows that consumer  12  purchased two units  68  of bread  64  and four units  70  of candy  66 . Sales log  62  may also include other information, such as the date of purchase, the method of payment, and identifying the loyalty card used during the transaction in which sales log  62  was created. Sales log  62  may identify products sold in any number of different ways, including, but not limited to, recording the UPC of each item, a serial number for each item, or in any number of ways known to one skilled in the art. Sales log  62  may be created through any method known to one skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, recording items scanned at the point of sale, and listing these items in sales log  62 . 
         [0031]    Consumer profile  24  indicates that consumer  12  is interested in tracking carbohydrates  72  and saturated fat  74 . It is contemplated that loyalty profile  24  contains records of all sales, including those recorded by sales log  62 , where loyalty card  14  was used to make a purchase as well as any other information entered into customer profile  24  by consumer  12 . While two elements, carbohydrates  72  and saturated fat  74  are shown, it is understood that any number of elements may be designated by the consumer, a predestinated set of elements may be selected by store  18  or consumer  12 , or that all available entries in nutritional database  22  may be used. It is further contemplated that settings  76  include, but are not limited to, information regarding nutritional information of products purchased, methods of preparation of products purchased, and possible alternatives to products purchased. For exemplary purposes only, it will be assumed that loyalty profile information contains information relating to two individuals in this illustrative example. 
         [0032]    In this embodiment, nutritional database  22  contains information about the following products: bread  64 , candy  66 , and juice  67 . For each of these products, nutritional database  22  contains information about the elements carbohydrates  72 , protein  154 , total fat  156 , saturated fat  74 , cholesterol  160 , sodium  162  and vitamin C  164 . For the purpose of clarity, the term products is intended to refer to any item which is sold and may appear in sales log  62 , and the term element is to refer a property of a product. Nutritional database  22  is intended to be illustrative only, as it is contemplated that any number of products may be present within the database, and any number of elements may describe the products. 
         [0033]    Informational computer  20  aggregates information from sales log  62  and loyalty profile  24  to create preliminary report  114 . Preliminary report  114  contains information about carbohydrates total 80 and saturated fat total 82. In this example, there are a total of four units  80  of carbohydrates  72 , and sixteen units  82  of saturated fats  74 . It is understood that preliminary report  114  may also contain information regarding the number of individuals, activity levels, or other items listed in loyalty profile  24 , as well as the time period in which it is expected that the products purchased in sales log  62  will be consumed. This preliminary report may also take into consideration other items, including, but not limited to, the number of meals that an individual in loyalty profile  24  is scheduled to eat, and pass this information to usage database  112 . 
         [0034]    Usage database  112  may contain information including, but not limited to, the recommended daily allowance of elements, information about certain foods, and other information which may be available. The usage database  112  may be populated from the USDA, FDA, or other sources of information. It is contemplated that usage database  112  may also contain additional information about foods, such as possible health warnings. 
         [0035]    Tabulation unit  84  uses information from preliminary report  114  and usage database  112  to create report  86 . Tabulation unit  84  is also capable of adding other additional information including, but not limited to, promotional information, methods of preparation of products purchased, alternatives to products purchased, as well other forms of information. Tabulation unit  84  may also perform other functions, such as examining all products purchased as reflected by loyalty profile  24 , matching those products against usage database  112 , and adding possible nutrient deficiencies to report  86 . For instance, if the FDA recommends a particular amount of vitamin C, and none is found within loyalty profile  24 , it could alert consumer  12  to the deficiency. In addition, if consumer  12  had an unsafe amount of sodium  162 , tabulation unit  84  could pass a message listed in the FDA into report  86 . It is contemplated that other sources of information, including, but not limited to, the American Medical Association could be made part of usage database  112 . 
         [0036]    Report  86  shows the results of the information gathered by tabulation unit  84 . Since consumer  12 , in this embodiment, has indicated a desire to track usage of carbohydrates  72  and saturated fat  74 , report  86  will list these items. As previously indicated, loyalty profile  24  has shown that there are two individuals who are using loyalty profile  24 . The generated report shows that there are four units  80  of total carbohydrates  88 , two units  94  of which are consumed per person  92 , and the USDA recommended daily allowance  96  is two units  98 . The generated report also shows that there are sixteen units  82  of saturated fat  74 , eight units  106  of which are consumed per person  104 , and the USDA recommended daily allowance  108  is two units  110 . One of the advantages of the disclosed innovations is the ability to tabulate sales log  62  into the loyalty profile  24 , compare this information with third party recommendations, and providing consumer  12  with nutritional information. Tabulation unit  84  is further capable of performing comparative analysis. Comparative analysis is intended to include, but not be limited to, the process by which tabulation unit  84  compares the amount of each element purchased divided by a factor, such as the USDA recommended daily allowance. This provides consumer  12  with a result that illustrates the proportion of items purchased (e.g. a first number of days of a first food element and a second number of days of a second food element.). This comparative analysis may be customized by consumer  12  using loyalty profile  24 . This customization includes, but is not limited to, indicating consumption habits using loyalty profile  24 . Comparative analysis allows the consumer to determine the relative amount of each element purchased as adjusted by dietary guidelines. 
         [0037]    Another innovative feature of the present disclosure is the ability to refresh report  86  and allow consumer  12 , loyalty profile  24 , or other entity to create alert thresholds. For instance, the consumer  12  may want to be alerted when saturated fat  82  is consumed in an unhealthy amount. Another example of an alert would be if store  18  becomes aware of a problem with an item purchased by consumer  12 , a warning may be sent to consumer  12 . 
         [0038]    Another innovative feature of the present embodiments is the ability for a report to be created over an extended period of time, taking into account changes in diet, age, and activity level. For instance, consumer  12  requirements for carbohydrates  72  can change as activity level, age, and diet changes. This embodiment, by using the aforementioned method of calculating percentages, may create a report wherein the consumer is able to see a long term carbohydrates  72 , or any other item, intake trend while taking into account these changing factors. Consumer  12  can customize a report to be generated over any period of time, taking into account any number of factors part of loyalty profile  24 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  is an example of nutritional spreadsheet  130  that may be created by informational computer  20 . Nutritional spreadsheet  130  contains information including, but not limited to, the carbohydrates  72 , protein  154 , total fat  156 , total saturated fat  74 , cholesterol  160 , sodium  162 , and vitamin C  164 . The examples of contents of nutritional spreadsheet  130  are given for exemplary purposes only, and this information should not be construed to limit what products may be listed in nutritional spreadsheet  130 . This information may include, but is not limited to, columns for an identifier for the nutrient  132 , the household aggregate purchase  134 , the total daily recommended intake  136 , the number of days for which the nutrient was purchased  138 , and an index number  140 . It is understood that index number  140  may correspond to FDA, USDA, or other third party recommendations. 
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is an example of a nutritional chart  150  created from nutritional spreadsheet  130  which contains information including, but not limited to, the carbohydrates  72 , protein  154 , total fat  156 , total saturated fat  74 , cholesterol  160 , sodium  162 , and vitamin C  164 . In this example, the index value is plotted and a visual line at the recommended index line  166  is shown. This chart may create a way to graphically represent aggregate nutritional data to consumer  12 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 8  is a first screen shot  170  which may be displayed on a personal computer used by consumer  12  that could be used in one of the disclosed embodiments. In this embodiment, nutritional spreadsheet  130 , nutritional chart  150  and displayed profile information  172  related to loyalty profile  24  is displayed. This screenshot illustrates how nutritional management and meal planning program  10  is capable of aggregating data from loyalty profile  24  into a user accessible format. 
         [0042]      FIG. 9  is a second screen shot  180  which displays a customized report. In this example, nutritional chart  150 , displayed profile information  172 , and trend graph  182  are displayed. Trend graph  182  is an example of a customized report, where consumer  12  has requested information regarding total fat  156  consumption. Using this chart, consumer  12  can compare the recommended intake of total fat  156  with the level recommended by the FDA, USDA, or other sources over a period of time. This example is given for illustrative purposes, as any number of items may be charted over any length of time. 
         [0043]    The informational computer  20  described above may be implemented on any general-purpose computer  190  with sufficient processing power, memory resources, and network throughput capability to handle the necessary workload placed upon it. A user home personal computer, networked to a central informational computer  20  through a wide area network, such as the Internet, may be used in conjunction with the disclosed embodiments. The user home personal computer may share some, or all, of the elements of informational computer  20 .  FIG. 10  illustrates a typical, general-purpose computer system suitable for implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The general-purpose computer  190  includes a processor  202  (which may be referred to as a central processor unit or CPU) that is in communication with memory devices including secondary storage  192 , read only memory (ROM)  194 , random access memory (RAM)  196 , input/output (I/O)  198  devices, and network connectivity devices  200 . The processor may be implemented as one or more CPU chips. 
         [0044]    The secondary storage  192  is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data and as an over-flow data storage device if RAM  196  is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage  192  may be used to store programs which are loaded into RAM  196  when such programs are selected for execution. The ROM  194  is used to store instructions and perhaps data which are read during program execution. ROM  194  is a non-volatile memory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memory capacity of secondary storage. The RAM  196  is used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to both ROM  194  and RAM  196  is typically faster than to secondary storage  192 . 
         [0045]    I/O  198  devices may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, or other well-known input devices. The network connectivity devices  392  may take the form of modems, modem banks, ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards, serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radio transceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA) and/or global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiver cards, and other well-known network devices. These network connectivity  200  devices may enable the processor  202  to communicate with an Internet or one or more intranets. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor  202  might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps. Such information, which is often represented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor  202 , may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, in the form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave. 
         [0046]    Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executed using processor  202  for example, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signal embodied in the carrier wave generated by the network connectivity devices  200  may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors, in coaxial cables, in waveguides, in optical media, for example optical fiber, or in the air or free space. The information contained in the baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave may be ordered according to different sequences, as may be desirable for either processing or generating the information or transmitting or receiving the information. The baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed, referred to herein as the transmission medium, may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilled in the art. 
         [0047]    The processor  202  executes instructions, codes, computer programs, scripts which it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk (these various disk based systems may all be considered secondary storage  192 ), ROM  194 , RAM  196 , or the network connectivity devices  200 . 
         [0048]    While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented. 
         [0049]    Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other products shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be coupled through some interface or device, such that the products may no longer be considered directly coupled to each other but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication, whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise with one another. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein. 
         [0050]    It should be understood that although an exemplary implementation of one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated above, the present system may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated above, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.