JP2016513850A - System and method for automated mass media commerce - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for performing a purchase at the time of advertising uses a mass media issue 10 that is configured for or includes a vendor transmittable signal from a service, product, or radio frequency identification tag 11 or the like. Including. In a preferred configuration, a consumer who recognizes an advertisement for the mass media issue 10 activates the reader 24 in the portable communication device 4 such as a smart mobile phone or cellular phone to receive information from the radio frequency signal associated with the advertisement. The vendor, product or service associated with the radio frequency identification information can be identified. A consumer's smart mobile phone or communication device 4 communicates with one or more vendor systems 12 via a network 6 via a commerce data organization system 8 and uses information from the radio frequency identification information 11 to Products or product information can be ordered from the vendor's system 12 via the network 6. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present technology relates to a wireless commerce system. More specifically, the present technology relates to a point of advertising wireless commerce system that enables popular commerce with mass media publication.

[Cross-reference of related applications]
This application claims the benefit of US patent application Ser. No. 13 / 840,776, filed Mar. 15, 2013. This U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 840,776 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 673,424, filed on November 9, 2012. This U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 673,424 is filed on June 29, 2011 and issued as U.S. Patent No. 8,315,914 on November 20, 2012. This is a continuation application of No. 172,122. This U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 172,122 is filed on May 14, 2010 and issued as U.S. Patent No. 12,991,644 on August 2, 2011. This is a continuation application of 780,053. This U.S. Patent Application No. 12 / 780,053 is filed on Nov. 12, 2004 and issued as U.S. Patent No. 7,739,150 on Jun. 15, 2010. This is a continuation application of 987,823. This US patent application Ser. No. 10 / 987,823 claims the benefit of the filing date of US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 552,472, filed Mar. 12, 2004. The disclosure content of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

  Traditionally, service and product vendors advertise their products using mass media. For this reason, vendors place advertisements for displaying services or products in magazines, catalogs, billboards, newspapers, radio broadcasts or television broadcasts. Advertising is intended to attract potential consumer interest. However, much effort by the consumer is required to move forward from the advertising stage.

  When any interest in an advertised product or service is pursued by the consumer, the consumer typically must remember the advertised information. In situations where the advertisement includes contact information such as a phone number, the consumer can contact the vendor by dialing the telephone number from the information in the advertisement using a landline, wireless phone, or cellular phone. However, the amount of effort required by the consumer from the point of advertisement to the actual purchase from the vendor can be detrimental to the vendor. Consumers may easily forget phone numbers, URLs, or other calls to action over time after the consumer recognizes the advertisement, or the advertisement There is also the possibility of easily losing interest in a given product or service.

  The present technology relates to an automated system that improves the way a consumer responds to an advertisement or otherwise contacts a vendor from the point of recognition of the advertisement. In one form, a system for processing wireless orders from vendors over a network from mass media publications has mass media publications with advertisements. This mass media issue has a radio identification transmission signal representing advertisement information. In this system, a mobile ordering device with a reader receives a wireless identification transmission signal from a mass media issue. The mobile ordering device accepts input from the consumer, generates a request with information from the radio identification transmission signal, sends the request to the vendor system over the network and sends a response from the vendor system over the network. It is also configured to receive. The system also includes a vendor system that receives and processes a request for a mobile ordering device over a network and responds to the request by sending information to the mobile ordering device. The transmitted information is associated with a radio identification transmission signal from the mass media issue.

  The technology also includes a method of placing a wireless order from a consumer to a vendor from a mass media issue over a network. Consumers consider mass media publications with recognizable advertisements. The mass media issue includes a wireless transmission identification signal that represents information about the vendor or product associated with the advertisement. A consumer can initiate reception of the wireless transmission identification signal using a portable communication device configured to receive the wireless transmission identification signal. The consumer can then use the portable communication device to generate a request to obtain information from the vendor over the wireless link of the communication network such that the request includes information from the wireless transmission identification signal. it can. The consumer then receives a response to this consumer request from the vendor over the wireless link of the communication network at the portable communication device to obtain additional information about the product or confirm the purchase made in this request. .

  The technology can also include a handheld device that places a wireless order from a consumer to a vendor from a mass media issue over a network. This apparatus includes a transceiver that transmits and receives radio signals that communicate with a vendor system via a network. The apparatus also includes a reader device configured to read vendor information or product information transmitted from the mass media issue, including a radio frequency identifier along with the vendor or product. This radio frequency identifier is associated with the advertisement of the mass media issue. The control processor of the device connected to the transceiver and the reader device is configured to accept input by the user of the device to start reading the radio frequency identifier of the mass media issue using the reader device. The control processor further generates a request for information about the vendor or product having a radio frequency identifier and sends the request to the vendor system using a transceiver. The control processor also controls the receipt of responses with information from the vendor system.

  In another form, the technology includes a method by which a vendor takes a wireless order from a consumer from a mass media issue over a network. Vendors advertise products or services to mass media publications. The mass media issue is configured to have a radio frequency identifier having information associated with the advertised product or service. This radio frequency identifier is readable by a portable wireless communication device available to consumers. The vendor configures the vendor system to receive electronic orders from consumers over the network using portable wireless communication devices. This order is based on a request having information from the radio frequency identifier. The vendor system has further product information or service information associated with the radio frequency identifier. The vendor can then respond to the order from the consumer by providing this additional information to the consumer.

  In another form, the technology includes a method for dynamically and automatically generating a response to a consumer's wireless order. The commerce data organization system has access to supplemental condition data that adapts the response, thus allowing the response to the same request sent on behalf of different users to be modified. be able to. In addition, the response can be customized based on consumer benefit bidding or vendor benefit bidding, in which case the response is a consumer benefit value and / or vendor benefit bidding. May vary depending on the advertising fee paid by.

  In yet another form, the technology includes an automated method and system that responds to consumer wireless requests for services or products provided by a vendor. This wireless request is associated with a human-recognizable advertisement. This advertisement is associated with an RFID transmitter that transmits a wireless transmission identification signal that represents information about a service or product provided by the vendor.

  The system and method includes receiving an electronic consumer request from a wireless ordering device at a commerce data organization system. The commerce data organization system then generates a response that is associated with information about the product or service and that is further associated with the additional condition data. The additional condition data makes it possible to change the response to an electronic consumer request. As an example, the response may include multiple vendors proximate to the geographical location of the wireless ordering device.

  Additional condition data may be received in whole or in part from the wireless ordering device. Additional condition data includes vendor inventory data, vendor traffic data, delivery cost data, delivery time data, customer referral encouragement offer data, item popularity data, payment account identification data, consumer transaction history data, consumer affinity data , Vendor geographic proximity data, or wireless ordering device geographic location data. Additional condition data may also include data derived by tracking and maintaining customer information request dates and times, vendor locations, customer purchases, customer account information.

  The technology also includes generating a response based on selecting from a plurality of vendor bids. This selection can be based on the one with the lowest consumer value, the bid with the highest vendor fee, or the bid with the lowest consumer price and the highest vendor fee.

  In one form, the mass media issue is a printed issue with at least one radio frequency identification tag that identifies the vendor or product. However, many such identification information or tags can be used for different vendors or products. The mass media issue may be a billboard, periodic issue, magazine, mailing brochure or postcard, etc. having one or more radio frequency identifiers or RFID tags. In a preferred form, the mobile order communication device or consumer communication device is a mobile phone, a wireless phone, a cellular phone, and / or a “smart” phone with voice and data communication.

  Additional aspects of the technology will be apparent from consideration of the drawings, the following disclosure, and the claims.

FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a consumer having a preferred advertising point-of-sale wireless ordering device that receives a vendor product identification signal transmitted from a mass media issue on an advertising board. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a preferred advertisement point-in-time order application in a wireless ordering device. 1 is a network diagram of an example embodiment having preferred components of a wireless mass media commerce system with point-of-advertisement ordering devices. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of preferred steps for implementing a wireless mass media commerce system. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of exemplary steps for generating a response that includes geographically close vendors. 6 is a flowchart of example steps for generating a response including a time-constrained offer for a perishable item. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of exemplary steps for generating a response that includes overstocking. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of exemplary steps for generating a vendor priced response.

  Reference is made to the drawings. In the figures, like reference numerals indicate like features. An e-commerce point of advertising ordering system 2 is typically a laptop computer, handheld computer or palm computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or smart mobile phone, wireless phone or cellular phone, etc. It includes a wireless ordering device 4 that is preferably accessible to mobile consumers, such as other programmable input / output processing devices. The consumer point-of-advertisement ordering device 4 is connected to or networked with other systems or computers via one or more communication mechanisms for the purpose of ordering information or products and services from one or more vendors. It is configured to become. Such a communication link can be implemented in part as a physical connection, such as a telephone line, cable, or contact-based (eg cradle) hookup, but in a preferred embodiment the ordering device 4 is A communication mechanism is provided that allows the device to be linked to other systems via a wireless communication channel.

  For example, the device transmits data and / or voice for wireless fidelity (WiFi®) networking (wireless networking), for Bluetooth® networking (wireless networking), and / or using a transceiver. It can be configured for communication over a mobile telephone network (eg, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) or other wireless service network). Such networked communications include the transfer of signals or messages over one or more networks 6 including open networks such as the internet or the Internet, preferably Such a signal or message is encrypted. As described in more detail herein, the wireless ordering device 4 preferably also includes a reader mechanism that determines vendor information, product information, or service information from the mass media issue 4.

  The advertisement point order system 2 also includes a mass media issue 10. The mass media issue 10 transmits a product, service, and / or vendor information signal associated with the advertisement of the mass media issue 10. Preferably, the mass media issue transmits such information by radio frequency identification technology (RFID). For example, RFID technology such as an ultra-thin transponder tag 11 can be inserted, applied, or built into a mass media publication and associated with a human-recognizable advertisement from a vendor, product or service. The RFID includes information identifying the vendor, product, and / or service (ie, commerce information). Preferably, vendors, products, and / or services can also be included, presented, or described in the advertisement. In the example of an RFID tag, transmission of vendor information, product information, and / or service information or commerce signals can be active or passive.

  RFID transmission can be any low energy wireless communication such as active or passive tags, transmitters, or transceivers, or near field or near field communication. This transmission includes vendor name, e.g., vendor contact information including phone number, network address, email address, etc., quantity information, cost, price, product type, service type specific vendor information, product information, and Specific number or numbers that may be associated with service information may be included. For this reason, the number transmitted by the signal, when used to request or order information or be used to make purchases, accesses relevant information stored in a database, as described in more detail herein. Can be used to

  As shown in FIGS. 1-3, examples of mass media publications including RFID and other advertisements are transmitted in whole or in part via wireless transmission (eg, radio transmission or satellite) Magazines, newspapers, periodicals, mailing brochures, postcards, outdoor or home media, billboards, bus shelter poster boards, in-car advertisements, tents, regardless of whether they are sent via cable transmission It can be a card, a catalog, or a broadcast message such as radio communication or television communication. For example, a magazine can comprise one or more RFID tags, each RFID tag being associated with a particular product, service, or vendor. Each tag can be placed in a magazine near a human-recognizable advertisement. In another example, a radio or television connected by cable, satellite, or otherwise can include or be attached to a reprogrammable tag or device that includes the radio or television and the Depending on the content of the broadcast signal received by the tag or device, it can be modified to retransmit different RFIDs from the tag or device.

  A vendor can be any entity that provides consumer service or commercial communications. The vendor can be, for example, a manufacturer, an advertiser, a retailer, or all of these. In some cases, vendors benefit from automated media commerce as both advertisers and retailers.

  In general, the point-of-advertisement ordering system 2 may also include a commercial transaction related system such as one or more vendor systems 12. In general, the vendor system 12 is accessible by the network 6 and can be associated with advertisements contained in the mass media issue 10 and associated commercial signals activated by the mass media issue 10. Vendor system 12 is preferably capable of receiving or responding to and responding to requests for vendor / product / service information. Thus, in a normal configuration, the commerce system 12 electronically receives more information orders or actual purchase orders via the network 6 and uses the wireless ordering device 4 to send responses regarding these transactions. Reply in response to a transaction initiated by the consumer.

  Vendor systems typically include one or more servers connected to a network 6 by communication device (s) to access information in a database associated with a vendor product or service and through the network. It has application software that communicates with the system. One or more servers embody the vendor's information architecture and can include advertising media content servers, customer service databases, customer relationship management databases, or consumer loyalty and rewards systems. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the commerce system of the present technology may also include a commerce data organization system 14. The commerce data organization system serves to organize transactions over the network based on vendor / product / service signals from the mass media issue 10 or other commerce facilitating signals. be able to. In general, the commerce data organization system 14 can manage information associated with commerce signals. Thus, the database or other storage structure of one or more servers of the commerce data organization system 14 can include vendor information including detailed contact information for electronic access to the vendor system 12 over the network. . Similarly, such vendor information can be advertised to a wireless-enabled mass media issue 10 and in particular can be associated with a commercial signal that can be transmitted from or in the mass media issue 10 Or a description or details of products and services for the service. Similar to vendor servers, commerce data organization systems typically include communication devices that communicate with other systems and devices via the network 6.

  Such a commerce data organization system 14 is based on a request generated by the wireless ordering device 4 using a commerce signal originating from a wireless-capable mass media issue 10, and transaction details regarding a request or purchase of information (ie, It can also be used to store and organize order information. For this reason, the system will determine the availability of products from different vendors or different vendor locations, customer purchases or information requirements and purchasing habits, the date and time of such transactions, product / service options, payment methods, etc. Can be tracked or retained. Such a system maintains account information (e.g., credit card number or cash card number) for purchases by consumers, delivery address information, etc., and stores such data by consumers using the wireless ordering device 10. It can even be used to minimize repetitive input. The commerce data organization system 14 can include a user account, a vendor account, a wireless ordering device, and an authentication module that validates the vendor system. This allows the commerce data organization system to function as a trusted service manager (eg, a trusted intermediary). This can include operating as a neutral broker that provides end-to-end security. By authenticating the user and vendor separately, neither the user nor the vendor directly authenticate the other, but can trade with each other in a secure manner.

  User account or vendor account authentication may include a password, username / avatar, or biometric data. Device authentication can include managing security keys and probing the device so that software or hardware has been compromised (eg, payment software has been replaced with a malicious version) It may be necessary to confirm that there is not.

  The commerce data organization system 14 can operate electronically to prepare for purchase through the network 6 by communicating with another vendor system 12 when an electronic purchase order is received from the wireless ordering device 4. . Alternatively, such purchases can be made between the wireless ordering device 4 and the vendor system 12 while the commerce data organization system uses information received from either the vendor system 12 or the wireless ordering device 4. Based on the requests that it has or requests for this information, it serves to store data for such transactions and / or provide access to data for such transactions. Optionally, the commerce data organization system can also operate as the vendor system 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the commerce data organization system 14 may also include supplemental condition data 15. The commerce data organization system 14 can use the additional condition data 15 as input to automatically and intelligently generate dynamic responses to RFID-based transactions. The additional condition data 15 includes, for example, price data, delivery cost data, delivery time data, vendor traffic data, vendor price data, vendor inventory data, consumer interest data (eg, wish list), provision end and detailed data, Retail season data, item end data, item detail data, service description data, item popularity data, payment account data, coupon data, gift card data, brand / vendor credit card data, identification data, customer referral promotion offer data, consumer Transaction history data, or geographic proximity data, which may include wireless ordering device current and past geographic location data, vendor geographic location data, and RFID tag geographic location data.

  Additional condition data may also include vendor or consumer affinity data. Affinity data may relate to customers or vendors that are affiliated with social causes or socially responsible. This can be a charity or public interest group (eg breast cancer research fund), cause marketing (eg breast cancer awareness), public advertising, corporate social responsibility, social welfare encouragement (eg sustainability), or It may be related to community interest (eg support for locally produced products or products that are ethically traded).

  Affinity data may also relate to a consumer's previous relationship with a particular vendor. This may include data regarding payment accounts, point cards, past purchases, or the presence of partnerships. Alternatively, affinity data can be based on the similarity between one vendor and another vendor that already has an established relationship with the consumer.

  Additional terms data may also include consumer transaction history data that may include the type of product purchased or a favorite brand. This data may also include consumer behavior or inactivity in response to past advertisements, such as simply looking at details rather than actually purchasing a product or service. This data can also take into account whether the previous order was canceled or returned. The commerce data organization system 14 can generate a response based on the additional condition data using a bidding system. This pricing can be consumer benefit bidding or vendor benefit bidding or a combination of both. Consumer profit pricing generates a response that selects a bid based on value to the consumer. This value can be calculated by analyzing various additional condition data. For example, the system may take into account price data, vendor and consumer affinity data, and / or geographic location in assigning value to the vendor. Alternatively, the system can increase or decrease this value based on any additional data, or omit the vendor. For example, a vendor that reserves a portion of the purchase price for a customer supported social cause can have increased value. In addition, if the consumer has a gift card, a vendor credit card with a low interest rate, or a coupon, this may affect value. The flowchart of FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of consumer benefit pricing. In step 91, the commerce data organization system receives RFID-based information from the wireless ordering device. Next, in step 92, the system identifies a vendor that can satisfy the request, such as a consumer product. In step 93, the system accesses the vendor-added additional condition data. This additional condition data may be directly accessible by a commerce data organization system (eg, in a local database). Alternatively, accessing the additional condition data can include real-time contact or negotiation with the vendor system. Next, as shown in steps 94 and 95, the system can sort the vendor bids based on value, as described above, and selects the bid with the highest value. The system then includes these bids in the generated response, as shown in steps 96 and 97, which is sent to the wireless ordering device.

  Vendor profit pricing is different from consumer profit pricing. This is because the former selects a bid based on the vendor pays for the vendor's response to be sent to the wireless ordering device. This fee is not necessarily related to the price of the price the consumer pays for the item. Rather, this can be an advertising fee paid by the vendor to be placed in a better location when the vendor's advertisement is sent and / or sent to a potential customer. This fee can be a fixed fee for each response, or can depend on the size or time of the response, or the keyword or content of the request. When using vendor profit pricing, the commerce data organization system first determines the available vendors that can satisfy the request. The commerce data organization system can then sort the list of determined vendors based on the vendor fee and select the bid with the highest vendor fee. The selected bid is then included in the generated response, which is sent to the wireless ordering device.

  In some cases, the commerce data organization system may generate a response by selecting a bid based on a combination of consumer profit pricing and vendor profit pricing. This results in a bid with a high consumer value that benefits the consumer, but nevertheless a bid that maximizes the potential profit of the commerce data organization system by choosing a bid with a higher advertising fee. You can choose. When using this dual selection mechanism, the commerce data organization system first performs the consumer profit pricing discussed above to obtain a group of bids that have the same consumer value or that fall within a narrow value range. select. The commerce data organization system then sorts this group using the vendor profit pricing discussed above and selects the subset of this group that has the largest vendor fee. The commerce data organization system then includes this subset in the generated response, which is sent to the wireless ordering device.

  In other cases, the commerce data organization system 14 can generate a response taking into account the value as discussed above, but may focus on providing the product in the shortest time, for example. it can. For the person to visit and make a direct purchase or for in-store pickup, this may require generating a response with geographically close vendors. If the consumer wants to visit the product and purchase directly, the commerce data organization system 14 can access the geographic location of the wireless ordering device and compare this geographic location to the geographic location of a known vendor. This allows the system to calculate which vendor can be reached in the least amount of time. This calculation can be based solely on the distance between the current location of the wireless ordering device and the vendor location. Alternatively, this calculation may take into account the consumer's planned route and / or mode of transport (eg, walking, passenger car, subway, or ship) and select the vendor that is closest to the consumer's route. it can. The planned route and / or type of transport can be based on the geographical tracking of the mobile ordering device or can be assisted by the user.

  In an alternative embodiment, the system may use the geographic location of the advertisement (eg, RFID transponder) instead of the geographic location of the wireless ordering device. In this case, the location of this advertisement can serve as a proxy for the location of the wireless ordering device. This allows the response to include geographically close vendors without accessing the user or wireless ordering device geographic location data. It should be noted that access to the geographic location data of the user or wireless ordering device may be limited due to privacy issues.

  The geographic location of the advertisement can be maintained by the commerce data organization system. This can be done by providing each advertisement with an RFID tag or RFID information in the transmitter that can be associated with a particular geographic location. Thus, if there are many instances of the same advertisement (eg, multiple smart posters), those instances can be configured so that each instance of the advertisement has a unique RFID tag. The interrelationship between the RFID's unique ID and its geographic location may be known to the advertiser, vendor, or third party, and the commerce data organization system will push or pull as described below. Can be accessed.

  The flowchart in FIG. 5 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a method for detecting geographically close vendors. In step 60, the system (eg, a commerce data organization system) receives RFID information from the wireless ordering device. In step 61, the system accesses additional condition data for the geographical location of the wireless ordering device. In step 62, the system can access the vendor's additional condition data. This data includes the vendor's geographic location, its inventory, and vendor traffic (eg, checkout lines). The additional condition data can be attached to the request, or can be accessed by a push method or a pull method described below. In step 63, the system creates a list of vendors or vendor locations that can satisfy the request and are geographically close.

  In step 64, the system calculates the time required to satisfy the request for each vendor. The system can use other variables that affect time as well as geographic distance, such as additional condition data on vendor traffic (eg, a matrix at checkout). By taking this into account, the system can select a vendor location that is farther away and minimizes the total time required to satisfy the request if the checkout latency is shorter. . As shown in steps 65 and 66, the system then selects the vendor or vendors that require the shortest duration from the list and includes it in the generated response, which is then Sent to a wireless ordering device.

  If the consumer chooses to purchase online, the commerce data organization system 14 can rely on the different additional terms data to select a vendor that can provide the product in the least amount of time. For example, the commerce data organization system 14 can place importance on delivery time and weight the delivery time higher than price and geographic proximity. The delivery time can be based on the consumer's current geographic location, the consumer's home address, or an alternative address entered by the consumer. The system can also refer to existing inventory to see if the item is a purchase order. If the product is in stock, the system can rely on additional condition data to estimate how long it will take to package and prepare the item for delivery.

  In some cases, the commerce data organization system evaluates the value described above, but offers vendor-constrained offers (eg, while supplies last) or offers for perishable items or simply deadlines. A response that emphasizes the offer can be generated. This embodiment is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. In this situation, the wireless ordering device can send a request for information regarding the time-constrained offer, as shown in step 72. Next, as shown in step 74, the commerce data organization system can refer to additional condition data associated with the vendor to ascertain the inventory of goods and the duration of the offer. The system can also take into account the popularity of an item to see if the item is still in stock or is available at a later date. As shown in step 78, the commerce data organization system 14 may generate a response that highlights items that meet the requirements of a time-constrained offer or suggests others with similar value. it can. This response can then be sent to the wireless ordering device (79).

  In an alternative scenario, commerce data organization system 14 may generate a response that takes into account overstocking. This embodiment is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. The commerce data organization system can refer to additional condition data regarding the current retail season, inventory, or item popularity. First, as shown in steps 81-82, the commerce data organization system 14 can estimate the duration of an existing retail season and compare this duration to the current date. If the retail season is over, the system can either discount the price of the product, as shown in step 83, or list those products at the top of the list of returned products. You can also. If the season has not yet ended, the system can analyze the current inventory and item popularity as shown in step 84 to infer when the inventory is exhausted. If exhaustion is not expected to occur within the current retail season, the system will take appropriate steps to encourage consumers to purchase goods (eg, lower prices) as shown in step 83. be able to.

  In some cases, commerce data organization system 14 automatically generates a response that can be accessed and / or evaluated and / or evaluated to match the particular consumer that sent the request. be able to. For example, the advertisement may not display a particular product or local retail vendor, such as when the advertisement has a manufacturer's brand. In such cases, when the wireless ordering device sends a request related to the RFID associated with the advertisement, the request may not have a specific vendor (eg, local retailer) or product. Although there may be brands associated with it. In that case, adapting this response may be based in whole or in part on consumer affinity data, consumer transaction history data, or any other additional condition data discussed above. For example, in some cases, an advertisement can be associated with a brand that has many different products sold by multiple retail vendors. In such cases, the commerce data organization system evaluates the additional condition data and is most profitable for the customer (eg, consumers often visit, have an account, and / or store rewards In the case of a store or the like having a program), it is possible to select one or more vendors that have the highest value for consumers. In some cases, the commerce data organization system analyzes additional condition data and suggests specific products of the advertising brand that best suits the consumer, such as the specific product that can benefit the most for a particular customer. Select one or more products.

  The response generated by the commerce data organization system 14 can include multiple products or vendors as well as a single product or vendor. For example, the commerce data organization system 14 may identify a plurality of vendors that are proximate to the geographical location of the wireless ordering device. Alternatively, although the commerce data organization system may select a single vendor, it can enumerate multiple locations under that vendor for a single product. In some cases, the commerce data organization system can respond with multiple products from one vendor. Whether or not to respond with such multiple entries can be based on pre-configured settings, can be dynamically determined by the commerce data organization system 14, or selected by the consumer You can also.

  The additional condition data 15 can be transmitted from various sources. Some of the additional condition data can be passively tracked during the processing of previous requests, as discussed above. Alternatively, the additional condition data can be received from a vendor system or a wireless ordering device. In this case, the information can be retrieved by the commerce data organization system 14 or pushed by either the vendor system or the wireless ordering device. The commerce data organization system 14 can retrieve additional data by creating an external request to retrieve information. The vendor system or wireless ordering device then provides the requested information in response to the commerce data organization system. This information may be present in the local storage device of the wireless ordering device or vendor system, or the system or device may need to prompt the user to enter data. On the other hand, push requires either the vendor system or the wireless ordering device to initiate contact with the commerce data organization system 14 to provide additional additional data or update existing additional data. This latter push scheme can be configured to provide real-time updates of additional condition data.

  The additional condition data may be a parameter configured by a consumer, vendor, advertiser, or affiliate or partner. For example, a consumer can select or enter a favorite retailer and / or causes. This configurable data can also be partially included in the RFID of the advertisement. As a result, the vendor can disseminate additional condition data embedded with the advertisement. For example, once the advertisement's RFID is read, this data can be loaded onto the wireless ordering device. At that point, this data can either accompany the consumer request, or it can be in a cache or local storage for subsequent retrieval or push to a commerce data organization system.

  As shown in more detail in FIG. 2, the wireless ordering device 4 generally comprises a processor 20 and a memory 22 having processor control instructions, and / or other microcontrollers or other application specific electronic control circuitry. Yes. The ordering device also includes one or more radio transceiver circuits 24. Such circuit (s) can not only serve as a communication mechanism intended to order information or products and services from one or more vendors, but also from mass media issue 4 It can also serve as a reader mechanism for determining vendor information, product information, or service information. Such transceiver circuit (s) 24 can also be incorporated into the wireless ordering device 4, for example by coupling to or within a wireless phone, PDA, or laptop. It can also be attachable or insertable as an expansion module, card, or component of such a device. Preferably, such transceiver circuit (s) 24 are incorporated to allow the wireless ordering device 4 to contribute with a communication mechanism and a reader mechanism as a compact unit for handheld operation.

  In conjunction with the mass media issue 10 incorporating RFID information, the reader mechanism is capable of receiving and decrypting vendor identification information, service identification information, or product identification information from the mass media issue or At least a wireless reader configured to receive and decode. For this reason, the wireless ordering device 4 may include an RFID reader that receives a wireless signal from the mass media issue 10 using the RFID technology. Optionally, for passive RFID technology, the reader mechanism is configured to activate the transmission of RFID information from the mass media issue 10 by sending a signal to the RFID tag of the mass media issue 10. For example, it can be configured to supply power to the RFID tag to cause the reader mechanism to transmit RFID information.

  Preferably, such components of the wireless ordering device 4 are used in conjunction with implementing the functionality of the ad order order application 26 of the wireless ordering device 4. One such preferred methodology for such an application is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In general, a consumer having a wireless ordering device 4 can consider a magazine or periodic issue shown in FIG. 2 or a mass media issue 10 such as the billboard of FIG. As described above, the mass media issue 10 includes a mechanism for transmitting a business transaction related signal such as RFID information. As shown in FIG. 4, in reading step 30, RFID information is received from a mass media issue, preferably by wireless communication. This wireless communication can be initiated by a consumer input command on the wireless ordering device 4. Next, in processing step 32, the advertising point-of-order application 26 processes the read RFID information on the wireless ordering device 4 in response to consumer input. Thus, the consumer can input to the wireless ordering device 4 that more information about the vendor, product, or service recognized in the advertisement of the mass media issue 10 is required. Optionally, such input can indicate a request to purchase what is recognized by the consumer in the advertisement of the mass media issue.

  When the device reads the RFID information, in the generation step 34, the advertisement point-in-time ordering application controls the wireless ordering device 4 to generate a wireless request including the RFID information. This request is preferably sent from the wireless ordering device 4 to the vendor system 12 and / or the commerce data organization system 14 via the network (s) 6 as described above. The request so transmitted may include user identification information associated with a particular consumer or a particular wireless ordering device 4. The additional request information sent may include a password or passcode, a form of payment information, a media location, or a media description (eg, an identifier describing the mass media issue from which the commerce signal is received). This information can be encoded for recognition by the vendor system 12 and / or commerce data organization system 14 when accessing those databases or other data storage structures (eg, numbers are associated with names). ).

  As a reply from the vendor system 12 and / or the commerce data organization system 14, the wireless ordering device 4 is advertised to the mass media issue 10, vendor information associated with the commerce signal read by the wireless ordering device 4, Receive product information or service information. Thus, the consumer can know additional information about the advertised product, for example, by displaying information on the wireless ordering device 4, or can confirm purchase from the vendor. For example, the vendor system 12 and / or the commerce data organization system 14 can generate an email confirmation that can be received by the wireless ordering device 4.

  The above process is described by a single request and response between the wireless ordering device 10 and the vendor system 12 and / or commerce data organization system 14, but there are multiple electronic devices between these systems / devices. Requests and electronic responses can be implemented to conduct transactions intended by the system. Added, for example, to allow confirmation of purchase details such as shipping details, product quantities, prices, or other details that can be associated with such transactions prior to purchase by the consumer Request and / or response can be sent to confirm that the consumer proceeds to a particular purchase.

  US Patent Application No. 13 / 841,000 entitled “Systems and Methods For Automated RFID Based Commerce Rewards” filed on March 15, 2013, and Attorney Docket Thin 3.0-001 Con Con Con II CIP II The disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

  Although the technology herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the technology. Accordingly, numerous modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments and other configurations can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present technology as defined by the appended claims. It should be understood that it can be done.

Claims (26)

A method of responding over a network to a wireless request from a consumer to an advertiser, wherein the wireless request is associated with a human-recognizable advertisement for a service or product provided by a vendor, An advertisement is associated with at least one RFID transmitter and associated with a wireless transmission identification signal that represents information about the service or product provided by the vendor, the wireless transmission identification signal associated with the advertisement. Transmitted from the RFID transmitter being
A commerce data organization system receiving an electronic consumer request from a wireless ordering device via the network, wherein the electronic consumer request is received from the RFID transmitter associated with the advertisement; Having electronic information about the service or product provided by the vendor received by an RFID reader device of the wireless ordering device via an identification signal;
Generating a response from the commerce data organization system to the electronic consumer request, wherein the response is received at the wireless ordering device regarding the product or service provided by the vendor. And further associated with additional condition data of the commerce data organization system, wherein the additional condition data is a response to an electronic consumer request with the wireless transmission identification signal from the RFID transmitter. Steps that can be changed, and
Providing the wireless ordering device via the network with information associated with the service or product information provided by the vendor, read from the RFID transmitter, to the electronic consumer Sending the response to the request.   The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the additional condition data is received from the wireless ordering device.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes vendor inventory data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes vendor traffic data.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes delivery cost data.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes delivery time data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes customer referral incentive offer data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes item popularity data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes vendor geographic proximity data.   The method of claim 9, wherein the response includes identification information of a plurality of vendors proximate to a geographical location of the wireless ordering device.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes wireless ordering device geographic location data.   The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the additional condition data from the wireless ordering device.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes payment account identification data.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes consumer transaction history data.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes consumer affinity data.   The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking an information request based on the signal sent from an RFID transmitter, wherein the additional condition data includes data derived by the tracking step.   The method of claim 16, wherein the step of tracking includes maintaining a date and time of a customer information request.   The method of claim 16, wherein the step of tracking includes maintaining a vendor location.   The method of claim 16, wherein the step of tracking includes holding a customer purchase.   The method of claim 16, wherein the step of tracking includes maintaining customer account information.   The method of claim 16, wherein generating a response to the electronic consumer request includes selecting a vendor price having the lowest consumer value from a plurality of vendor prices.   The method of claim 16, wherein generating a response to the electronic consumer request includes selecting a vendor price having a highest vendor fee from a plurality of vendor prices.   The method of claim 16, wherein generating a response to the electronic consumer request comprises selecting from a plurality of vendor bids each having a lowest consumer value and a highest vendor fee. A system for responding over a network to a wireless request from a consumer to an advertiser, wherein the wireless request is associated with a human-recognizable advertisement for a service or product provided by a vendor, An advertisement is associated with at least one RFID transmitter and associated with a wireless transmission identification signal that represents information about the service or product provided by the vendor, the wireless transmission identification signal associated with the advertisement. Transmitted from the RFID transmitter being
A commerce data organization system that receives an electronic consumer request from a wireless ordering device over the network, the electronic consumer request including the wireless transmission identification signal from the RFID transmitter associated with the advertisement. Having electronic information about the service or the product provided by the vendor received by the RFID reader device of the wireless ordering device via
The commerce data organization system generates a response to the electronic consumer request, the response including the information received at the wireless ordering device regarding the product or service provided by the vendor. And further associated with additional condition data of the commerce data organization system, the additional condition data changing a response to an electronic consumer request with the wireless transmission identification signal from the RFID transmitter Is something that can be
The commerce data organization system provides the wireless ordering device via the network with information associated with the service or product information provided by the vendor, read from the RFID transmitter. To send the response to the electronic consumer request.   The method of claim 1, wherein the additional condition data includes RFID tag geographical location data.   The method according to claim 11, wherein the additional condition data includes data input by a user.

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