IES60397B2 - A method of making forms - Google Patents

Description

A_METHOD Qy..M&KIgG^Sag This invention relates to a method of making forms for distributing cards for use in a retail credit scheme., banking promotional, government schemes or any system which relates to the distribution of cards on a carrier» According to the present invention there is provided a method of making forms for distributing cards for use in a retail credit scheme, comprising providing a stock of forms, releasably mounting on each form a card which bears machine readable coded data unique to that form, and feeding the form through an apparatus comprising a code reader and a printing mechanism such that as the form passes through the. apparatus the code reader reads th© coded data on the card and in response thereto the printing mechanism prints onto the form second data uniquely related to the coded first data.

The invention also provides a form made by the above method..

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a for» used for distributing cards to participants in a retail credit scheme, Figure 2 shows apparatus used in manufacturing such formse and Figure 3 is a detailed view of a card distributed on the forms.

The present invention is useful in a so-called spend and save retail credit scheme wherein purchasers at participating retail outlets may earn credits in proportion to the amount spent which can be redeemed later, either in the form of cash back or goods, at the same or a different retail outlet. The embodiment of ζ the invention relates to the construction of such cards and the manufacture of business forms which can be used for the initial distribution of cards to be used at the participating retail outlets. 10 Referring first to Figure Ί, the cards for use in such a scheme are initially distributed to potential users mounted on a printed business form 10. The form 10 has a main portion 11 and a detachable portion 12. A line 15 of weakening such as a line of perforations 13 may be provided between the main and detachable portions 11 and 12. Alternatively, there may be just a dashed line printed on the form with instructions to cut along it to detach the portion 12. 20 The main portion 11 of the form 10 has a card 14 fox* use in the scheme releasably mounted thereon by, for example, a dry peel adhesive or double-sided adhesive tape. The card 14, which will be described in more detail in relation to figure 2, bears machine-readable 25 data in the form of a bar code 15. The main portion 11 of the form 10 also carries printed text 16 inviting the recipient of the form to enter the scheme. 30 The detachable portion 12 of the form is intended to be returned by those recipients wishing to partake of the scheme, and accordingly has an area 17 where the r recipient's address can be entered. The detachable portion of the form also bears, in human readable form 18, the same datu as that coded in the bar code 15 on 35 the card 14.

In order to establish a set of purchasers using such cards 14, a large number of forms as described above are manufactured, in a manner to be described below, and these are distributed through the mail or otherwise to potential users of the cards by the organisation wishing 5 to establish the scheme. On each such form 10 the data bar-coded on the card 14 (hereinafter referred to as an account number) is unique to that form. Thus each potential user receives a form 10 bearing a card 14 with a unique account number.

At this point the recipient of the card is not committed to use it, and may throw it away with no obligation on himself. However, if he wishes to enter the scheme, he fills in his name and address on the detachable portion 15 12 and returns it to the issuing organisation.

When a filled-in portion 12 is received by the issuing organisation, the account number together with the name and address of the corresponding participant are entered 20 into a database at a central host computer which is linked to all the retail outlets in the scheme. This validates the card, which is to say it identifies the related account number as active and also identifies the particular person having that account number.

Now, when the person having the card 14 makes a purchase at a participating retail outlet, the bar code 15 on card is scanned by a bar code reader to read the account number, which uniquely identifies that person. Then the 30 account number ano the amount of the purchase, or the related credits, are sent to the host computer where the person is credited with the credits earned.

It will be appreciated that it is important that the account number printed in human readable form on the detachable portion 12 of the form is identical to that encoded in the b.xr code 15 of the card 14 on the main portion 11 of the form. To ensure this, the forms 10 are manufactured by the method now to be described with reference to the apparatus shown in Figure 2.

A stock of forms 10 is provided as continuous fanfold stationery 19 with sprocket holes 20 along each edge (Figure 1). At this stage the cards 14 have already been affixed to the forms, each card having a unique account number bar-coded thereon, but the human readable account number 18 has not yet been printed. The fanfold forms 19 are drawn by a sprocket feed mechanism 21 past a bar code scanner 22 and an ink jet printing mechanism 23, in that order. Instead of a sprocket feed mechanism a friction feed mechanism may be used/. in which case the sprocket holes 20 are not required.

The bar code scanner 22 is positioned so as to read th® bar code 15 on each card 14 passing under it. The coded account number read by the bar code scanner 22 is processed by a personal computer 24, which in turn sends the data to be printed on the detachable portion 12 of the form, i.e. the human readable form 18 of the account number, to the ink jet printer 23 via & code box print and data control unit 25.

The apparatus is controlled so that the printer 23 prints the account number 18 on the detachable portion 12 of the same form as the card from which the information was read. By this means it is guaranteed that the account number printed in human readable form 18 on the detachable portion 12 of the form 10 is the same as that coded on the bar code 15 on the card 14 on the main portion 11 of the form.

A more detailed view of the card 14 which is attached to the form 10 is shown in Figure 3. It comprises a flat carrier 29 typically made of a rigid synthetic plastics - 5 sheet material, and has a main portion 30 of the same size and shape as a so-called credit or charge card, and a number, in this case three, of snap-off portions 31. All the portions 30 and 31 are integrally connected, but a line of weakening such as a score line 32 separates the portions 31 ’.ne from another and from the main portion 30 so as to permit the portions 31 to be snapped off as stated.

Each snap-off portion 31 bears the identical bar code 15 as that on the main portion 30. These snap-off portions 31 may be given, for example, to members of the users' family, so that purchases by all the family members contribute to the credits given on the single associated account. Each snap-off portion 31 may be provided with a hole 33 for mounting on a key ring.

Modifications of the foregoing are possible. For example, the data on the card 14 may be coded in other ways than a bar code. It may be provided on the card in a magnetic strip or as OCR characters, or any other optical, magnetic or electronic recording technique may be used provided it is machine readable. Where a bar code is used, it Ziay be applied to the card 14 by thermal, laser or dot matrix printing, by thermal transfer or by etching techniques.

The card itself can be made of PVC, plastics-covered paper or any other material which can accept the desired form (bar code or otherwise) of the coded data 15 and which can be manufactured with snap-off or tear-off elements 31.

Furthermore, while the data 10 printed by the printer 23 on tne detachable portion 12 or the zorm 10 is in tne above embodiment ilenticel to that coded in the bar code , this is not necessary. It is sufficient only that the data 18 be uniquely related to the data coded in the bar code 15, so that the data 18 returned on the detachable portion 12 to the issuing organisation uniquely identifies the person holding the card 14 from the same form 10.

Further,” where the data 15 is coded on the cards 14 by other than a bar code the bar code scanner 22 would be replaced by a code reader of the appropriate type.

Claims (5)

1. CLAIMS;

1. A method of making forms for distributing cards for use in a retail credit scheme, comprising providing a stock of forms, releasably mounting on each form a card which bears machine readable coded data unique to that form, and feeding the form through an apparatus comprising a code reader and a printing mechanism such that as the form passes through the apparatus the code reader reads the coded data on the card and in response thereto the printing mechanism prints onto the form second data uniquely related to the coded first data»

2. » A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each form comprises a main portion and a detachable portion, and the card is mounted on the main portion and the second data is printed on the detachable portion.

3. » A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the second data is a human readable form of the data coded on the card.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the data is coded on the card in the form of a bar code.

5... A form made by the method claimed in any preceding claim-