| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 7415425 |
Systems and methods wherein a security deposit facilitates a transaction in which a benefit is a |
August 19, 2008 |
| Systems and methods are provided wherein a security deposit is used to facilitate a transaction with a customer. It is arranged for a benefit to be applied to the transaction in exchange for a future performance of a task by the customer. For example, a subsidy provider may offer to appl |
| 7389919 |
Products and processes for promoting multiple transactions at a retail establishment |
June 24, 2008 |
| Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for promoting multiple transactions at a retail establishment are provided. According to an aspect of the invention, products and processes are disclosed for receiving, via a point-of-sale terminal that is not a vending machine, an indica |
| 7387571 |
Method and apparatus for linked play gaming |
June 17, 2008 |
| The invention includes a system and method for providing linked play via gaming and other devices. In some embodiments, a casino server registers a group for linked play and a group objective and format are established. The linked play commences according to the group format on the gamin |
| 7386508 |
Method and apparatus for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and one seller |
June 10, 2008 |
| A seller server receives an offer which specifies a type of product (e.g. a seat on a flight), at least one condition (e.g. destination and date of departure), and an offer price specified by a buyer. The seller server also receives an associated payment identifier that specifies a finan |
| 7383200 |
Method and apparatus for collecting and categorizing data at a terminal |
June 3, 2008 |
| A method and system for collecting and categorizing survey data includes receiving customer information from a customer. A query is identified based at least in part on the customer information. The query is output for presentation to the customer. In one embodiment, the query is pre |
| 7353080 |
Products and processes for controlling access to vending machine products |
April 1, 2008 |
| An embodiment of the invention includes receiving a request to purchase a product from a vending machine. At least one question to be output is determined, and the determined question is output.An interface is provided which that permits at least one answer to the at least one questi |
| 7347364 |
Method and apparatus for managing vending machine offers |
March 25, 2008 |
| In accordance with one or more embodiments, a promotion redeemable at a vending machine is determined. The promotion comprises an offer distinct from a general offer to sell products from the vending machine at posted prices. The promotion is output (e.g., via an output device of a vendi |
| 7343319 |
Multi-tier pricing of individual products based on volume discounts |
March 11, 2008 |
| A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given product has an associate |
| 7318041 |
Multiple party reward system utilizing single account |
January 8, 2008 |
| A method enabling a frequent shopper reward system capable of tracking performance data of a plurality of members or account holders linked to a single frequent shopper account. |
| 7292723 |
System for image analysis in a network that is structured with multiple layers and differentiall |
November 6, 2007 |
| Disclosed herein are systems and methods for facilitating the usage of an online workforce to remotely monitor security-sensitive sites and report potential security breaches.In some embodiments, cameras are configured to monitor critical civilian infrastructure, such as water supplies a |
| 7249050 |
Vending machine system and method for encouraging the purchase of profitable items |
July 24, 2007 |
| This invention relates generally to systems and methods for delivering products-on-demand to individuals and, more particularly, to delivery via vending machines. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the method of the instant invention is initiated when a customer makes an initial |
| 7246072 |
System and method for reselling a previously sold product |
July 17, 2007 |
| A seller, having previously sold a product to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision condition, determines if the buyout-provision condition is satisfied. If the buy-out provision condition is satisfied, the seller retakes the product from the original purchaser and rese |
| 7236942 |
Pre-sale data broadcast system and method |
June 26, 2007 |
| A method for promoting the sale of a substitute product at the point of sale (POS). At least one POS terminal communicates with a POS server which in turn communicates with various manufacturer servers to transmit information therebetween. Upon the presentation of an original product |
| 7233912 |
Method and apparatus for vending a combination of products |
June 19, 2007 |
| A method and apparatus for delivering a plurality of products from a vending machine is disclosed. The method generally allows an offer for a package to be output, in which the package defines a plurality of products, including a selected product. An apparatus is also disclosed to ca |
| 7218991 |
System for vending physical and information items |
May 15, 2007 |
| A vending machine handles a purchase transaction by receiving a payment, receiving a product selection from the customer, and dispensing the product indicated by the product selection. As part of the same transaction, the vending machine offers an information item such as an audio re |
| 7216754 |
Apparatus, systems and methods for accepting payment at a sales device |
May 15, 2007 |
| One embodiment of the present invention provides for a method comprising determining sales data associated with a sales device (e.g., a vending machine) and adjusting a level of sensitivity of a currency validator based on the sales data. |
| 7184990 |
Method and apparatus for selling an aging food product |
February 27, 2007 |
| An automated kitchen apparatus determines a time until expiration of a food product. In one embodiment, the kitchen apparatus determines the time until expiration by receiving a start signal indicating that a food product is available to sell. Such a start signal may be generated by a |
| 7177835 |
Method and device for generating a single-use financial account number |
February 13, 2007 |
| A device for facilitating financial account transactions is described which includes a processing unit including a cryptographic processor. The device also includes an input unit, a display unit and a memory device connected to the processing unit. The memory device contains a private |
| 7156734 |
Systems and methods for resolving a hand of blackjack that results in a push |
January 2, 2007 |
| Systems and methods are provided for resolving a hand of blackjack played by a player. If it is determined that the hand of blackjack has resulted in a push, then it is determined if the player has won the hand of blackjack based on a random outcome. For example, a dealer may receive |
| 7099832 |
Method and apparatus for defining routing of customers between merchants |
August 29, 2006 |
| A server or Internet service provider computer selects a soliciting merchant and an outputting merchant based on various factors. In one embodiment, the soliciting merchant is selected if its activity rate (e.g. sales rate) is low. The outputting merchant provides offers for bonuses |
| 7092006 |
Internet surveillance system and method |
August 15, 2006 |
| A system and method are disclosed for a central server to manage remote monitoring tasks performed by users of a data network. An exemplary method comprises: receiving a request from a user of a user device to monitor a remote location; determining a remote location to be monitored; |
| 7056207 |
Method and system for video poker |
June 6, 2006 |
| One embodiment of the present invention comprises a method including steps of populating a primary set of card positions with a first set of initial cards, determining at least one discarded card from the first set of initial cards, replacing the at least one discarded card from the firs |
| 7052394 |
System and method for conducting and playing a supplemental lottery game |
May 30, 2006 |
| System and methods are provided for conducting and for playing a supplemental lottery game. In accordance with some embodiments, a system and method are provided for performing a meta-game award analysis, upon completion of a primary lottery drawing, by comparing each of the primary |
| 7039603 |
Settlement systems and methods wherein a buyer takes possession at a retailer of a product purch |
May 2, 2006 |
| Settlement systems and methods are provided wherein a buyer takes possession of a product at a retailer. In one embodiment, a purchasing system arranges through a communication network for a buyer to purchase a product from a seller at a first price. The purchasing system also arrang |
| 7006983 |
Method and system for processing a rebate |
February 28, 2006 |
| A point of sale (POS) rebate method and system allows a consumer purchasing a product having an associated manufacturer's mail-in rebate to redeem the rebate at the POS. Products that have associated manufacturer rebates are recognized when the products are purchased, e.g., based on |
| 7004834 |
System and method for facilitating play of a game with user-selected elements |
February 28, 2006 |
| Systems and methods are provided for facilitating play of a game with user-selected elements. According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a set of all possible elements of a game is determined. Each of the elements of the set is associated with at least one of a pl |
| 6985879 |
Systems and methods for facilitating group rewards |
January 10, 2006 |
| In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention a retailer may receive a request from a group of customers for a reward the group desires to earn by making purchases at the retailer. In response to such a request the retailer determines purchasing conditions the group |
| 6978248 |
System and method for mailing list testing service |
December 20, 2005 |
| A mailing list test service is disclosed that involves a plurality of mailing lists, each mailing list including information about a plurality of list members. The service includes sending an e-mail message to each of a subset of list members. At least one response is received, and one o |
| 6969318 |
System and method for applying lottery multipliers |
November 29, 2005 |
| A system, method, and ticket for a lottery player to increase a payout received for winning a lottery game is disclosed. A request to purchase a set of play indicia (e.g. lottery numbers) and to associate the play indicia with a multiplier is received from a player. Data relating to the |
| 6898570 |
Billing statement customer acquistion system |
May 24, 2005 |
| A customer acquisition system is disclosed that allows an offeror service provider to acquire new customers by making acquisition offers to customers through the billing statements of other businesses ("billing statement issuers"). An "acquisition offer" is an offer by the offeror se |
| 6871185 |
Method and apparatus for determining whether a verbal message was spoken during a transaction at |
March 22, 2005 |
| A point-of-sale terminal initiates a transaction and provides a prompt to be spoken to an operator (e.g. a cashier) of the POS terminal. The prompt indicates a verbal message that is to be spoken by the operator. The POS terminal then receives an audio signal via a microphone or similar |
| 6754636 |
Purchasing systems and methods wherein a buyer takes possession at a retailer of a product purch |
June 22, 2004 |
| Purchasing systems and methods are provided wherein a buyer takes possession of a product at a retailer. A purchasing system may communicate with a buyer through a communication network to establish a first price for a product between the buyer and a seller. The purchasing system may |
| 6720990 |
Internet surveillance system and method |
April 13, 2004 |
| A system and method are disclosed for a central server to manage remote monitoring tasks performed by users of a data network. An exemplary method comprises: receiving a request from a user of a user device to monitor a remote location; determining a remote location to be monitored; enab |
| 6694300 |
Method and apparatus for providing supplementary product sales to a customer at a customer termi |
February 17, 2004 |
| A system for providing supplementary product sales is provided in which a central controller, which may be operated by a credit card issuer, receives a purchase from a card authorization terminal. The purchase includes at least one purchase parameter, such as a customer account ident |
| 6676126 |
Lottery game card and method for conducting a lottery game |
January 13, 2004 |
| A lottery game card incorporates player direction in determining the outcome of the game and allows a player to reveal one or more elements on the card according to rules associated with the lottery game. According to one embodiment of the invention, all of the possible combinations of |
| 6672507 |
Method and apparatus for printing a billing statement to provide supplementary product sales |
January 6, 2004 |
| A central controller such as one operating for a credit card account issuer receives one or more billing items which are to be printed on an account holder's billing statement. The central controller determines if the billing items, which typically specify purchases, satisfy any merc |
| 6658390 |
System and method for reselling a previously sold product |
December 2, 2003 |
| A seller, having previously sold a product to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision condition, determines if the buyout-provision condition is satisfied. If the buy-out provision condition is satisfied, the seller retakes the product from the original purchaser and resells |
| 6658323 |
Vending machine apparatus for encouraging participation in a marketing effort |
December 2, 2003 |
| A vending machine method and apparatus are disclosed for encouraging vending machine customers to review a marketing promotion or to participate in a survey while making a purchase. Customers are immediately rewarded for providing responses about the marketing promotion that was prev |
| 6601036 |
System and method for dynamic assembly of packages in retail environments |
July 29, 2003 |
| A system and method for managing the sale of a group of products at a single price based on sales performance data of the products is presented. The method and apparatus include offering a plurality of products by identifying products that are complementary, verifying acceptable sales |
| 6597770 |
Method and system for authorization of account-based transactions |
July 22, 2003 |
| One embodiment of the present invention comprises receiving an indication of a first person; associating the first person with an account; receiving an indication of a second person; associating the second person with the account; receiving a request to authorize a transaction between th |
| 6567787 |
Method and apparatus for determining whether a verbal message was spoken during a transaction at |
May 20, 2003 |
| A point-of-sale terminal initiates a transaction and provides a prompt to be spoken to an operator (e.g. a cashier) of the POS terminal. The prompt indicates a verbal message that is to be spoken by the operator. The POS terminal then receives an audio signal via a microphone or similar |
| 6553346 |
Conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system for packages |
April 22, 2003 |
| A conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system for receiving and processing CPOs for packages of component goods or services. The package CPO management system preferably deconstructs an overall package CPO into component CPOs which are individually offered to sellers. If each |
| 6510418 |
Method and apparatus for detecting and deterring the submission of similar offers in a commerce |
January 21, 2003 |
| A system and method for processing buyer offers of products, to diminish the occurrence of similar, repetitive offers whereby buyers "ping" to determine a confidential floor price for the products. In one embodiment, a first offer is received from a buyer, the first offer including a |
| 6497408 |
System and method for conducting and playing a supplemental lottery game |
December 24, 2002 |
| A system and method is provided by which players participating in a primary lottery drawing may elect to participate in a second, or derivative lottery drawing (a "meta-game"). In one embodiment, a meta-game is conducted by first registering a plurality of lottery entries to define a |
| 6466919 |
System and method for aggregating multiple buyers utilizing conditional purchase offers (CPOS) |
October 15, 2002 |
| An aggregate conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system for receiving and processing CPOs from buyers for one or more goods or services is disclosed. Received CPOs are processed to determine whether the CPO should be provided to sellers individually and/or collectively as par |
| 6430537 |
Method and apparatus for priority-based jukebox queuing |
August 6, 2002 |
| A method and apparatus are described for managing a request queue for a jukebox system. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed for managing a queue of a jukebox. The method includes the step of arranging a set of service identifiers in a queue based upon |
| 6421651 |
Method and apparatus for priority-based jukebox queuing |
July 16, 2002 |
| A method and apparatus are described for managing a request queue for a jukebox system. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed for managing a queue of a jukebox. The method includes the step of arranging a set of service identifiers in a queue based upon |
| 6418415 |
System and method for aggregating multiple buyers utilizing conditional purchase offers (CPOS) |
July 9, 2002 |
| An aggregate conditional purchase offer (CPO) management system for receiving and processing CPOs from buyers for one or more goods or services is disclosed. Received CPOs are processed to determine whether the CPO should be provided to sellers individually and/or collectively as par |
| 6405174 |
Method and apparatus for defining routing of customers between merchants |
June 11, 2002 |
| A server or Internet service provider computer selects a soliciting merchant and an outputting merchant based on various factors. In one embodiment, the soliciting merchant is selected if its activity rate (e.g. sales rate) is low. The outputting merchant provides offers for bonuses to |
| 6397193 |
Method and apparatus for automatically vending a combination of products |
May 28, 2002 |
| The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically delivering a combination of products from a vending machine at a package price. The method of the present invention includes the step of receiving a package identifier. The method also includes the steps of identif |
