Retail store configured for bidirectional communication between a plurality ...

(54) RETAIL STORE CONFIGURED FOR
BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN A PLURALITY OF PRODUCT
SHELF AREAS AND A PLURALITY OF
PORTABLE CARDS

(75) Inventor: Ken R. Powell, Centerville, VA (US)

(73) Assignee: SoftCard Systems, Inc., Watkinsville, GA (US)

( * ) Notice: Under 35 U.S.C. 154(b), the term of this patent shall be extended for 0 days.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

(21) Appl. No.: 09/518,095

(22) Filed: Mar. 3, 2000

Related U.S. Application Data

(60) Continuation of application No. 09/032,001, filed on Feb. 27, 1998, which is a division of application No. 08/468,820, filed on Jun. 6, 1995, now Pat. No. 5,727,153.

(51) Int. C I. G06K 15/00

(52) U.S. CI 235/383; 235/381

(58) Field of Search 235/383, 381

(56) References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4,674,041 6/1987 Lemon et al. .

4,709,136 11/1987 Watanabe .

4,746,787 5/1988 Suto et al. .

4,866,661 9/1989 de Prins .

4,882,675 11/1989 Nichtberger et al. .

4,932,485 6/1990 Mori .

(List continued on next page.)

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

299 355A 1/1989 (EP) . WO 86/03310 6/1986 (WO) .

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Booker, Ellis, Computerworld, May 21, 1990, p. 47. Maurer, Michael, Grain's Detroit Business, Jul. 25,1994, p. 3.

Bachman,Katy, Direct, v6, n.10, p. 32, Oct. 1994. Welcome Real-Time: Loyalty Software for Smart Cards Feb. 1, 1996: http://www.welcome-rt.com/pres/02-96.ht. IS07816-2: 1988(E), Identification cards —Integrated circuit (s) cards wirh contact —Part 2, International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO/IEC 7816-3: 1989(E), Identification cards—Integrated circuits(s) cards with contacts —Part 3: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO/IEC 7816-3: 1989/Amd.l: 1992 (E), Part 3: Amendment 1: Protocol type T=l, asyncronous half duplex block transmission protocol., International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

P. Masterson, Targeted Discounts Scrap Paper Coupons, Jun. 13, 1994, Advertising Age, p. 40.

(List continued on next page.)

Primary Examiner—Harold I. Pitts

(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Jerome D. Jackson

A system for creating, dispensing, and redeeming electronic discount coupons in a store. The system includes a "smart card", product stations adjacent to selected products in the store, and a checkout station in the checkout area. To create an electronic coupon, the customer inserts the card into the product station adjacent to an product the customer wishes to purchase, and the product station then writes an electronic coupon onto the card. The customer thus shops throughout the store collecting electronic coupons for products of interest. Upon completion of shopping, the customer redeems the electronic coupons at the checkout area, by inserting the card into the checkout station. During checkout, when UPC data matches data stored on the card, the customer is credited with the value of the corresponding coupon. Periodically, the electronic coupon data is transferred to a remote clearing house.

64 Claims, 20 Drawing Sheets