MXPA97006941A

MXPA97006941A - Cupo delivery system

Info

Publication number: MXPA97006941A
Application number: MXPA/A/1997/006941A
Authority: MX
Inventors: P Delapa James; W Willman James
Original assignee: Ad Response Micromarketing Corporation
Priority date: 1996-09-12
Filing date: 1997-09-11
Publication date: 1998-11-12

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus implemented by computer, to generate coupons to provide discounts for purchases, which includes the provision of a computer-based kiosk in a retail establishment such as a grocery store. A user identification of a "housekeeper" is received at the kiosk. The kiosk issues a series of coupons destined which have been assigned to the individual "housekeeper" based on at least one attribute of that housekeeper. The images of the coupons on the fly are formatted based on parameters summarized in a record of the coupon

Description

COUPON DELIVERY SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to computer methods and systems for generating coupons to provide purchase discounts and in particular with coupon delivery techniques, to deliver coupons assigned to a housekeeper particular. The invention is particularly adapted to deliver coupons intended for a particular housekeeper (or housekeeper). The coupons intended (or specific coupons) are coupons which are assigned to a housekeeper based on the attributes of that housekeeper. Retail establishments, particularly grocery stores, have tried to use various technologies to help increase sales in their stores or retail outlets. One technique is to provide rewards in the form of discounts to regular customers who buy significant quantities of that chain. This leads to a frequent buyer system, in which point of sale or verification systems are used, in conjunction with frequent buyer cards in order to provide instant discounts to customers who present a frequent buyer card to the cashier. Such a frequent buyer card can be elaborated with a bar code, where the identity of the housekeeper who owns the card can be explored with the scanning device of the bar code used to introduce sales to the point system of sale. One difficulty with such present discounts is that each user who presents a frequent buyer card to the cashier is provided. This invites selective purchases, in REF: 25606 which certain customers obtain frequent buyer cards from multiple chains and plan purchases in order to buy items from each chain in which they are discounted. Such "selective purchases" reduce the profit margin of the retail establishment, which, particularly for grocery stores, tends to be low. In order to discourage such "selective purchases", computer-based systems have been developed, which eliminate the discount function of the point-of-sale system, which is inflexible and must provide discounts to all parties that have a card Frequent buyer and instead use the information obtained through the point of sale system in order to allocate the coupons to the private keys. In one such system, housekeepers are divided into groups, such as deciles, according to the amount of purchases made by each housekeeper in a given period of time. Thus, non-frequent buyers would fall in the first decile, the most frequent buyers in the second decile and the like, the buyers who make the largest purchase fall in the tenth decile. The destination system then assigns the coupons to the private housekeepers based on the group or deciles, in which that particular housekeeper is located. In this way, all the housekeepers in a particular group or decile are assigned the same coupons. However, housekeepers in a decile can be assigned different coupons from housekeepers who are in a different decile. Each coupon assigned to a housekeeper represents a negative price or value of "discount cents". A print file is generated by the destination system and is sent through the retail outlet to a commercial printer. The commercial printer prints, doubles and mails to each housekeeper the coupons assigned to that housekeeper based on the output printing file of the destination system. Each of the coupons usually includes a barcode or other coding technique, which is scanned (or scanned) into the point-of-sale system and provides an indicator to a site in a product look-up table (PLU). The PLU table contains a list of negative prices or discounts, which apply to the total purchase when the coupon is paid. The intended coupon usually includes a text field composed of, for example, three lines of text, which describe a bid statement for that coupon. The offer statement can be for example a penny discount number for a particular item, buy one and get one for free, buy $ 5 discount of $ 50 purchase and the like. In addition to the offer statement, the text field includes any information regarding an expiration date of the coupon. As a result, substantially all of the text is dedicated to the description of the offer statement and the expiration date information. Any additional information must be compressed to any remaining portion of the text field that is not used by the offer statement and expiration date information. The print file of the destination (or specific) coupon is normally sent by the retail outlet to the commercial printer periodically, such as every month, every two months or the like. All assigned coupons assigned to a housekeeper are printed on sheets, with multiple coupons on a sheet. Therefore, the number of coupons assigned to each housekeeper is fixed. Once the coupons are printed, folded and inserted into an envelope, the coupons are sent by mail normally when using bulk mail rates. The process of printing and mailing is relatively expensive. Therefore, it is common for the retail establishment to exclude almost all groups or deciles at the highest level of the system. As a result, non-frequent coupons are not sent to them, and housekeepers who receive coupons can receive them until approximately two (2) weeks after printing due to the inherent delays in the volume fees. Such a coupon system destined by correspondence has many disadvantages. In addition to the high costs, which limit the number of frequent buyers who receive the coupons, the delay in the cycle between the allocation of coupons to the housekeepers and the reception of those coupons in the mail by the housekeepers, frequently The result is that the coupons have either expired when they arrive or that the merchandise discounted by the coupons is no longer available from the manufacturer, to result in the need to distribute valid tickets for another occasion. Coupons are often given to housekeepers during vacations and to those who have changed their address, to result in wasted production and mailing costs, as well as the creation of additional junk mail which must be discarded. The long planning cycle of the allocation of vouchers to housekeepers and the printing and mailing of vouchers to housekeepers makes it impossible to respond to rapid changes in market conditions. In addition, receipt of coupons in the mail greatly decreases any purchase impulse due to the delay between the time the housekeeper receives the coupons and the next shopping trip to the retail establishment that issues the coupons. Although mailing specific or targeted coupons to a housekeeper may provide the opportunity to direct specific information to the housekeeper, packages of mail-in coupons are not used for that purpose. Due to the excessively long planning cycle, it is not feasible to use coupons packages sent by mail to inform housekeepers about information which changes frequently. Additionally, they do not provide an opportunity for dialogue with customers of the retail establishment. In addition, customers get coupons without requiring them, which can also reduce the impact that coupons have on the housekeeper's purchasing habits. Retail establishments, such as grocery stores, often develop promotional campaigns designed to encourage increased purchases among their frequent buyer members. An example of such a campaign is a program which gives a valuable item, such as a turkey or ham, to a frequently buying member, who buys a given quantity of merchandise within a predefined period of time. While such a campaign has proven successful in increasing purchases by frequent buyers, it can create administrative difficulties. One difficulty is that members want to keep track of their qualified accumulated purchases in order to determine how many additional purchases they must make to qualify for the prize. This desire for information increases as the cutoff date for the qualification period approaches. In order to know their accumulated purchase value, housekeepers tend to approach the customer service counter, which results in an increased distraction for the customer service staff, especially as the end of the day approaches. term of the campaign.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a computer system and method which generates coupons to provide discounts for purchases, which is efficient, flexible and dynamic and which is capable of increasing the profit margins of the retail establishment. competitor. Such a computer system not only generates and produces destined coupons, which are assigned to the private keymasters based on at least one attribute of that housekeeper, it also has the ability to improve a dialogue between a retail establishment retail and its customers. A computer-implemented method for generating coupons to provide discounts for purchases, according to one aspect of the invention, includes the provision of a computer-based kiosk in a retail establishment. A user identification of a housekeeper (or house keeper) is received at the kiosk. The kiosk issues a series of designated coupons, which have been assigned to the individual housekeeper based on at least one attribute of that housekeeper. Because coupons are supplied by a kiosk in the retail establishment, a very short planning cycle is provided, between the allocation of coupons to private housekeepers and the availability of coupons to housekeepers . These short planning cycles make the kiosk coupons more sensitive to market conditions. For example, you can quickly respond to a notification by the manufacturer that a promotional discount program is about to end as a result of the lack of merchandise availability immediately upon disabling associated coupon offers. Additionally, items which are subject to rapidly changing market conditions, such as recent plant products and direct warehouse delivery items, may be discounted, according to the invention, because bids may be created or changed frequently. of coupons, even daily if desired. Advantageously, coupons are provided to a housekeeper, by the kiosk, only by the domestic user who obtains the coupons assigned to that housekeeper, by entering a user identification in the kiosk, such as by passing a buyer's card frequent beyond a scanning device (scanner) or the like. This avoids the problem of coupons being sent by mail to an incorrect address or to a housekeeper on vacation. The coupons can be made available to users based on the frequency of the users in their purchases, instead of a fixed correspondence cycle. Certainly, coupon allocations can be "stacked" for housekeepers, so that a coupon assignment is always ready even for housekeepers who make frequent shopping trips. In addition, the shorter planning cycle ensures that coupons will not be delivered to housekeepers, on or after the expiration date. If the coupons in a voucher assignment are on or near the expiration date when the user requests coupons from the kiosk, the coupons with an expiration date or about to expire can be canceled. According to a more detailed aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method for generating coupons to provide discounts for purchases includes the provision of a computer-based coupon database and a database of the computer-based housekeeper . The coupon database includes a plurality of coupon records, each providing a definition of a coupon offer. The housekeeper database includes a plurality of housekeeper records, each providing at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper. A record for a particular housekeeper is retrieved from the housekeeper's database and at least one intended coupon is assigned to the particular housekeeper. The coupon intended is selected from the coupon database as a function of an attribute of that housekeeper in the housekeeper's registry for that housekeeper. The allocation of coupons for housekeepers can be presented remotely from the kiosk or kiosks, with a communication link, such as a local area network (LAN: local area network) or a wide area network used to link the kiosk or kiosks, with the computer that assigns the coupons destined, which may be for example a network server. When a housekeeper is identified in one of the kiosks, any coupon assigned to the identified housekeeper obtains its format and is issued by the kiosk. This process of formatting the coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper in response to the reception of the identification of the particular housekeeper user can be carried out, according to another aspect of the invention, by including in each coupon registration an identification of a type of offer and at least one offer value. An image of an offer statement gets its form for each of the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified as a function of the type of offer and the at least one offer value. Advantageously, such a declaration of offer, such as a given number of cents of discount of a particular product, two for the price of one, or the like, may be placed in a prominent place on the coupon, separated from the text field. This allows the text field to be used for additional information regarding the particular offer. For example, a particular item can be identified in the text field to which an offer of buy one is applied and get one free. The formatted coupon may additionally include a statement of the expiration date separate from the test field. The image of the declaration of the expiration date obtains its format from the information contained in a field of validity date on the registration of the coupon. Also, any text to be applied to the coupon is in a separate text field. By formatting the coupon images on the fly from the parameters summarized in a coupon record, coupon offers can be created and easily modified without a mass storage requirement of a coupon image. According to another aspect of the invention, at least one activated coupon can be assigned to a particular housekeeper. The activated coupon is selected by the computer from the coupon database, based on an attribute of that housekeeper and assigned to that housekeeper. When the user is identified at the kiosk, the user is asked to select whether to receive the activated coupon or not. If the user indicates their desire to obtain the activated coupon, the activated coupon obtains its format and is issued by the kiosk. This aspect of the invention is especially useful with promotional programs that reward coupons for large items to the user. The activated coupon is only generated when the user qualifies for the item. However, the coupon is not generated automatically in response to the identification of the user at the kiosk. Rather, the user is allowed to refuse reception of the activated coupon at that time. When the user again has access to the kiosk or other kiosk at a later date, the consumer will be notified again that an activated coupon is available and he is allowed to determine without wishing to receive or not the activated coupon at that time. According to another aspect of the invention, the kiosk has the ability to format the messages which incorporate keywords. The keywords are derived from an attribute of the housekeeper of the housekeeper file for the user identified in the kiosk. This not only allows messages to be personalized to the particular user, but also allows specialized communication with the user. For example, the user may be notified of cumulative purchases made by that user for the purposes of a reward program. This allows the user to appreciate the amount of purchases needed in order to receive the reward without the need to obtain service at the customer service desk. This severely improves the productivity of the customer service staff. Messages can be displayed on a visual representation device, such as a TV monitor or they can be printed and stocked with coupons. Other messages can be shown to the user, such as a greetings message, a scrutiny that asks a series of questions and the like.

According to another aspect of the invention, a number of coupons assorted to private housekeepers may be established in a particular number which may vary from housekeeper to housekeeper. This allows the system to vary the number of coupons assigned to a housekeeper, as a function of the attributes of the housekeeper, such as the cumulative purchases by that housekeeper. In this way, buyers who buy more can be rewarded with more coupons than less frequent buyers. The coupons assigned to each housekeeper can include not only the coupons intended, but also the obligatory coupons which are assigned to all housekeepers. Mandatory coupons are commonly provided by the manufacturers and assigned to the housekeepers before the allocation of any designated coupon. If the required coupons and the coupons intended do not satisfy the coupon number assigned to that housekeeper, the predetermined coupons can be assigned to that housekeeper until the assigned number is reached. A coupon generation system, according to one aspect of the invention, includes a computer system that defines a computer database and a database of the housekeeper. The coupon database includes a plurality of coupon records, each providing a definition of a coupon offer. The housekeeper database includes a plurality of housekeeper records, each providing at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper. The computer system is programmed to assign at least one coupon from the database to a particular housekeeper as a function of at least one attribute of that housekeeper. One or more computer-based kiosks are provided, each one has a user identification device, a visual representation device and a printer and all are controlled by a computer. Each kiosk computer is programmed to format the images of the coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper and to issue the coupon images in response to a user identification device that receives a user identification from a particular housekeeper . The computer system is preferably a network server interconnected with a plurality of kiosks either through a local area network or a wide area network. If the communication link between one or more of the kiosks and the computer system is not functional, the kiosk computer is programmed to format the images of a set of predetermined coupons. This allows users to receive coupons from the kiosk even if the network or network server is not functional, in order to avoid user frustration. The system that generates the coupons may additionally include at least one point-of-sale system that has a scanning device (or scanner) and a point-of-sale computer. The point-of-sale computer is sensitive to the codes scanned by the scanning device in order to provide data which is fed into the computer system in order to determine at least in part the attribute or attributes of the housekeeper identified in the point-of-sale computer. The scanner also preferably provides for the scanning of printed coupons through the kiosk. The system also has the ability to provide coupons to new members who can be added to the system by answering the questions asked at the kiosk, followed by the assortment of a predetermined selection of coupons to that user. This provides an instant reward for becoming a frequent buyer member of the retail establishment. These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification, in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram of the physical elements of a computer-based generation system, useful with the invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer generation system according to the invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a computer-based implementation method for generating coupons according to the mode of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a call selection program; Figure 5 is a flow diagram of an import file definition program; Figure 6a is a flow chart of an import offer file program; Figure 6b is a flowchart of a program of miscellaneous import files; Figure 7 is a flow chart of a bid installation program; Figure 8 is a flow diagram of a bid maintenance program; Figure 9 is a flowchart of a bidding enable / disable program; Figure 10 is a flow chart of a printed message maintenance program; Figure 11 is a flow diagram of a printed message release program; Figure 12 is a flowchart of a print message enable / disable program; Fig. 13 is a flowchart of an on-screen message maintenance program; Fig. 14 is a flowchart of an on-screen message release program; Figure 15 is a diagram of enabling / disabling the message on the screen; Figure 16 is a flow chart of a feature maintenance program; Figure 17 is a flow diagram of a keyword maintenance program; Figures 18a-18h are a flow chart of a kiosk coupon delivery program; Figure 19 is an illustration of an image format of the coupon according to the invention; and Figure 20 is an illustration of the coupons generated according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference now specifically to the drawings and illustrative embodiments shown therein, a coupon generation system 10 can be organized around a computer or host computer 12, which maintains a database of voucher coupons. the voucher offer registers, a housekeeper database of the associated housekeepers and programming elements that carry out numerous functions in which the allocation of vouchers to the private keymasters is included (figure 1). The computer or computer 12 can be located in the installation of one of the retail stores of the chain of retail stores that use the coupon generation system or can be located in the central offices of operation or in another far site. The coupon generation system 10 includes a computer or voucher management computer 14, which computer is used by a system operator of the chain of retail stores, to introduce the system to various system parameters, as will be described in greater detail later. The data files on the computer 14 can communicate over any link 15 of the convenient communication system to the main computer 12. A network server 18, normally located in the same facilities as the main computer 12, receives records of coupon offers and communicates the registers over a communication link, such as the public telephone network 16 or a rented line or those similar to a store entrance processor 30. The store entrance processor 30 communicates with a main terminal 32 of the point of sale, which in turn communicates with a plurality of terminals 34 of the point of sale. The main computer 12 downloads (or downloads) the store entry processor 30, the files of valid coupon records, which include a coupon identification code assigned to each coupon record. Each terminal 34 of the point of sale supports a scanning apparatus (scanner) (not shown), such as a bar code reader, for the purpose of scanning codes, such as a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode. , about the packages of merchandise and about the coupons. The main terminal 32 of the point of sale maintains a database of the coupon records and product codes in order to decode the scanned data through each terminal 34 and thereby build a transaction set. Each transaction set can include products purchased by a consumer, the total value of a transaction and each coupon paid to a consumer. Each transaction set is associated with a particular purchasing entity, such as a user housekeeper and is loaded or entered through the store entry processor 30 to the main computer 12. The transaction set can be associated with a purchasing entity in particular by any means for introducing the identity of the purchasing entity in the POS terminal 34, such as by scanning a user identification code, which can be read by the machine, provided on a frequent buyer card. Alternatively, terminal 34 of the POS can identify the purchasing identity by scanning a coupon identification and a bar code identification of the housekeeper, combined, on a coupon, as described in U.S. Patent 5,353218 issued to James P. DeLapa et al for a FOCUSED COUPON SYSTEM, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Alternatively, the POS terminal 34 can identify the purchasing entity by scanning a user identification code, which can be read by the machine, provided on a personalized shopping list, of the type described in the co-pending US patent application, assigned in common, Serial No. 08 / 470,224, filed on June 6, 1995, by DeLapa et al. for a COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IDENTIFYING PRODUCTS THAT ARE OF LIKELY INTEREST TO PURCHASERS IN A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Another network server 10, physically located with the main computer 12, receives the files or files containing the destined coupons generated by the main computer 12. The network server 20 passes the allocated coupon registers through a communication link , such as the public telephone system 16 or a rented line or those similar to a controller within the store, such as a network server 22, located in a retail store of the chain of retail stores. The controller 22 within the store can be a network server which provides communication with a plurality of kiosks 24 located within the retail store. The network servers 18 and 20 may be separate units or may be combined into a single unit and may be combined with the main computer 12. Each kiosk 24 includes a kiosk computer 25, a display device, such as a monitor 26 contact screen, which is capable of displaying messages to the user and of receiving selections entered from a user, a printer 28, which prints coupons and a user identification device, such as a scanning device (or scanner) 29 , which identifies users. In the illustrated embodiment, the scanning apparatus 29 explores the barcode on a frequent buyer card, the barcode is unique to a particular housekeeper to whom the card has been issued. However, alternative means may be provided to identify the user / housekeeper, such as by receiving an identification number, such as a telephone number through the contact screen 26, a magnetic strip reader, an optical character recognition reader, a smart card reader, a speech recognition device, a fingerprint recognition device, a mechanical keyboard or any such device having the ability to provide user identification. In the illustrated embodiment, the kiosk 24 is a commercially available kiosk, marketed by Kiosk Information Systems, Inc., located in Broomfield, Colorado, The scanner apparatus 29 is a commercial scanning apparatus marketed by Symbol Technology, Inc., the printer 28 is a commercially available printer , marketed by Magnateck and contact screen 26 is a monitor commercially available, marketed by Magnavox. However, as will be described in more detail below, the kiosk computer 25 is programmed with additional programming elements that format the coupon images, as well as formatting various messages and the like for communication with the user. Computer 25 of the kiosk - 3 is programmed with programming elements supplied with the kiosk 24 in order to control the components of the kiosk in a coordinated manner. The programming elements are provided with the kiosk and are the property of Kiosk Information Systems, Inc. The kiosk computer 25 is an IBM PC compatible computer, supplied by Gateway Computer Corporation, which has a Pentium processor marketed by Intel Corporation. Although in the illustrated embodiment, the main computer 12 is illustrated in communication with the network server in each retail store through the public telephone system, a wide area network or other specialized communication link can be used. Additionally, especially in a single retail establishment, the functions of the main computer 12 can be carried out in the network server 22 for that establishment. The configuration of the particular physical elements are outside the scope of the present invention and can be selected by one skilled in the art according to the particular application. A system 36 for generating coupons according to the invention, in the illustrated embodiment, uses a destination system 38, of the type marketed by RMS Corporation, located in Stamford, Connecticut (figures 2 and 3). The host destination system resides on the main computer 12 and receives inputs from a processor 30 to the interior of the warehouse and the administration computer 14 in order to establish a database 55 for definition of coupon offers, a database 57 domestic of the frequent buyer members and the particular attributes with respect to that housekeeper. Such attributes pursued in the guest search system may include cumulative purchases by that housekeeper within a particular time period, without the housekeeper being a member of a particular promotional campaign and the like. A database of coupon offers and database of the housekeeper are established in the database programming elements marketed by Microsoft, Inc., located in Redmond, Washington under the trade name SQL Server. The host destination system is programmed to assign coupon offers to the private keymasters based on an attribute of the housekeeper. In the illustrated mode, the attribute used to assign coupons is the decile of the cumulative purchases by the housekeeper within a given period of time. The coupons are assigned to the housekeepers based on the decile of housekeepers and coupon allocation parameters are entered through the administering computer 14. The coupons are assigned using specific techniques for the destination system, but may be assigned by using the method described in the co-pending patent application of DeLapa et al., Serial No. 08 / 470,224, filed June 6, 1995. The host destination system 38 produces a file 51 of print that contains information regarding the coupons assigned to each housekeeper, which includes details about the coupon offer. The file or print file produced by the destination system 38 is conventionally supplied by the establishment or chain of retail establishments to a commercial printer for the purpose of printing, folding and sending the coupons to the key-holders. According to the present invention, the print file of the guest destination system 38 is provided to a destination promotion delivery system 40, which transcribes the print file to 53 in order to arrange the data in a format which facilitates further processing in a manner which will be described below. The coupon generation process 36 includes an improvement module 42, which receives, via data entry screens, various adjustment information, to increase that produced by the destination system 38 to the guest. This includes a database 59 of the types of coupons. The coupons are formatted in a kiosk 24 on the fly, a dynamic coupon creation process 61 is used, in a manner which will be described in more detail below. The kiosk prints the coupons 63 that obtained their format dynamically at 63 when using the definition data of the coupon page in a database 65. The database 59 of definition of the coupon and the database 65 of definition of the Coupons page are set in database programming elements marketed by Microsoft Corporation located in Redmond, Washington under the trade name Access. The benefit of the coupon generation method, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, is that it uses the existing host focus system installed in the main computer of the chain of retail stores. Alternatively, the function of the guest destination system 38 and the improvement system 42 can be provided according to the principles described in U.S. Patent 5,353,218 issued to DeLapa et al., For a FOCUSED COUPON SYSTEM and the co-pending US patent application No. of Series 08 / 470,224, filed on June 6, 1995 by DeLapa et al., for a COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IDENTIFYING PRODUCTS THAT ARE OF LIKELY INTEREST TO PURCHASERS IN A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT, the descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference (hereinafter referred to herein in common as the focused coupon system). The focused coupon system can allocate the coupons for the housekeepers based on the attributes of the housekeeper which are dynamically developed and maintained by the focused coupon system. Such attributes can be determined initially by a consumer scrutiny in order to obtain basic information regarding the housekeeper. After this, the housekeeper's attributes are updated dynamically by verifying which coupons were paid to the housekeeper and which coupons were not paid to the housekeeper. The system of focused coupons can additionally take into account other data in the update of the attributes of the housekeeper, such as cumulative purchases, purchases of particular items, product categories and the like. It should be understood that the term coupon intended applies to any technique which assigns a coupon to a housekeeper or housekeeper based on any attribute of that housekeeper or housekeeper. Because the host destination system 38 is commercially available, will not be described in detail in the present. It is sufficient to say that the system 38 destined to the guest produces for each offer a description of the basic offer, text, bar code and a single value that expresses the number of cents in which the offer is valued. The improvement system 42 provides the ability to define each offer of the coupon as a designated coupon, a predetermined coupon or a mandatory coupon, as will be described in greater detail below. The improvement system 42 additionally provides the ability to enable and disable coupon offers individually. The improvement system 42 additionally provides the ability to create messages that can be printed, destined to private housekeepers, which include keywords which are generated as a function of the particular attributes of the housekeeper, such as will explain in more detail below. The improvement system 42 additionally creates messages on the screen to greet, inform, thank and scrutinize the clients. The improvement system 42 additionally controls, for each particular housekeeper, the number of coupons that can be received by that housekeeper for each visit. In the illustrated mode, the number of coupons that can be received by each housekeeper with each visit is preferably a function of the cumulative purchases by the housekeeper within a particular time period. However, other factors may be included in the establishment of the number of coupons that housekeepers can receive with each visit, which include the frequency of visits by that housekeeper, the time since the last visit and the similar. Other functions carried out by the improvement module 42 include the development and annexation of a type of offer and its parameters that constitute it, as will be described in more detail below and a valid range of data. The improvement system 42 additionally provides the ability to define an offer as a coupon offer intended, which provides the user with the ability to choose whether to receive the offer at that time or not. The improvement system can additionally provide the ability to limit the number of times a housekeeper can receive a given offer. Additionally, the improvement system 42 can provide various administrative reporting functions, such as the report of what offers were given to which housekeepers, as well as the answers of the housekeepers to the scrutiny questions and the like.

The improvement system 42 provides a resource for transcribing the data extracted from the offer approach system 38 to a form where it can be supplemented with data to allocate and additionally deliver the coupon through a kiosk 24. In order to carry out this function, the improvement system 42 includes a program 44 of menu selection scales, which shows on a management computer 14, a menu of system administration functions which can be selected by the system operator (figure 4) ). The menu selection program 44 provides a selection 46 for defining the import file, which scales in a program 48 for defining the import file; a selection 50 of the intended / predetermined / mandatory import offer file, which scales in a program 52 of import offers file; a selection 54 of the miscellaneous import file, which scans in an import file program 56; a selection 58 of destined / predetermined / mandatory offers, which scales in a bid adjustment program 60; a selection 62 of maintenance of mandatory predetermined destined offers, which makes a stop in a program 64 of maintenance of offers; a selection 66 of enabling disablement of destined / predepminated / obligatory offers, which scales in a program 68 of enabling / disabling offers; a print message maintenance selection 70, which scales in a print message maintenance program 72; a print message release selection 74, which scales in a program 76 for release of printed messages; a selection 78 of enabling / disabling printed messages, which scales in a program 80 of enabling / disabling printed messages; an on-screen message maintenance selection 82, which scales in an on-screen message maintenance program 84; an on-screen message release selection 86, which scales in an on-screen message release program 88; a program 90 of enabling / disabling messages on the screen, which scales in a program 92 of enabling / disabling messages on the screen; a feature maintenance selection 94, which scales in a feature maintenance program 96; and a keyword maintenance selection 98, which scales in a keyword maintenance program 100. After scaling in a program of program 44 of the menu selection scales, the control returns to the selection of the menu, after the completion of the function by the system operator. The definition function 48 of the import file, which is used by selecting 46 of the definition of the import file, allows the operator to adjust the improvement system, in such a way that the system knows how to interpret the files imported from the host destination system and organize the file definitions in a manner appropriate for the operator (figure 5). The definition function of the import file determines which fields go in each record in the improvement system. When selected, the import file definition program 48 asks the user to select an import type and the name of the file to be imported into 102. The import type is selected from: (a) a card number to the affiliate files of the housekeeper, (b) coupon files, (c) coupon files of the destination housekeeper, (d) housekeeper characteristic files, (e) word value files Key to the housekeeper and (f) Coupon assortment limit files. If only one type of import is selected, the program asks the user at 104 to enter the start and length of each column in the incoming record and a corresponding column to which the data will be applied in a table constructed by the operator. Some files have multiple records. If multiple record types are selected in 102, the operator is instructed in 106 to match a table with each type of record and to enter a value for each type of record that defines the type of record. For the first file, the format is edited at 108 by entering the start and length of each column in the incoming record and the corresponding column in the table that is constructed by the operator in which the data will be placed. After the operator is satisfied, the program then returns to 106 for the selection of the next file to be processed. After the operator has imported and formatted all the desired import files, the program returns to the scales menu 44 in 110. When the program of the import offer file is selected by the operator that chooses the file selection of destination offer / default / obligatory, the operator is provided with the tools to import coupon offer files ai enter or select a file name 112 (figure 6a). The operator is further requested to identify the coupons per batch and assign a name to the batch at 116. The batches allow the operator to subsequently process bids in batches which are adjusted for the convenience of the operator, such as by assigning the batch. warehouse or the like. When the operator finishes importing the voucher offer files, the control returns to the scales menu 44 at 114. When the operator selects the import miscellaneous file selection 54, a function is selected, which allows the operator to import other files by entering a file name or batch name at 116 (figure 6b). When the operator has imported all the desired files, the control returns to the calling program 44 at 118. After the operator has defined and imported all the necessary files from the guest's destination system, the operator can choose functions which allow the operator to Operator adjust offers. This can be done by choosing the bid adjustment function 60 when using the mandatory target / default bid adjustment selection 58, which asks the operator to select between processing a bid destined for 120 or processing the bid. predetermined or compulsory offers in 122 (figure 7). The offers are coupons which are assigned to a housekeeper based on an attribute of the housekeeper. In a guest destination system supplied by RMS, the housekeeper's attribute consists of the cumulative purchases by that housekeeper in the retail establishment. In a customer destination system provided according to the teachings of the North American patent of DeLapa et al., The attribute of the housekeeper may be related to the composition and ages of the family, the presence or absence of particular types. of pets and the like. Such attributes can be determined initially from a housekeeper's scrutiny and updated as a result of the coupons issued to that housekeeper to whom they are paid or not paid. However, other attributes can be used. These may include, for example, the particular items which are purchased by the housekeeper, or categories of items purchased by the housekeeper, such as laundry soap, ketchup and the like, regardless of the particular brand, the size or the like, as described in the co-pending US patent application of DeLapa et al., for a COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IDENTIFYING PRODUCTS THAT ARE OF LIKELY INTEREST TO PURCHASERS. Other targeting schemes will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. The default offers are coupons which are assigned to all customers of a particular store or store. Default offers can include additionally vouchers issued by the kiosk when the communication between the main computer 12 and the kiosks 24 are malfunctioning. Default offers may additionally provide coupons to newly added members who have not yet established an attribute in their registry of housekeepers. Additionally, predetermined offers can be provided to compensate the difference between the number of coupons assigned to a housekeeper and the total number allowed for that housekeeper after the mandatory and destined offers are assigned. Mandatory offers are coupons that are assigned to all recognized housekeepers or all housekeepers in a particular retail store. If the destined offers are going to be processed in 120, the operator is asked to determine which action is desired from a group of possible actions that include: (a) selection of a type of offer, (b) introduction of bid values, (c) introduction of validity dates, ( d) limitation of the number of times a coupon can be filled by a housekeeper and (e) designation of the coupon as the destination coupon. The operator is also asked to select a batch of coupons and an offer of the selected batch. If the operator selects a batch to process, the operator is asked to identify the batch at 124, which brings the program back to 120, in order to select the first bid to the process. The offer is selected at 126 and the parameters for the selected action are entered at 128. If the bids or additional lots require processing, the control returns to the bid adjustment menu at 60 for further processing. If all offers are processed, then the control returns to the call menu 44 in 130. An activated offer is an offer that is intended for a housekeeper based on an attribute of a housekeeper. However, when the kiosk receives an identification from that housekeeper, the kiosk will display a message on the screen with a YES / NO button in order to allow the user to choose whether to receive the offer or not. If the user chooses to receive the offer, the coupon will be filled at that time. If the user chooses not to receive the offer, the offer will remain destined to that housekeeper and the housekeeper will be asked the next time that housekeeper identifies in a kiosk as to whether the user wants to receive or not the intended offer. If the selected action is to designate a coupon as an activated coupon, the operator is asked to enter in 132 a message text on the screen that is visible to the client. Then the message on the screen can be previewed at 134 by the operator. The control returns to the calling program at 130. If the operator chooses to adjust the mandatory predetermined bids at 122, the operator is asked to identify a batch at 138 and an offer within the selected batch at 140. For the selected bid, it is asks the operator to enter a bid type, bid values and validity dates at 142. The bid type would be selected from a field of bid types, such as pennies with this coupon, pennies off for a level of private minimum purchase, a number of free items with the purchase of another number of the same items and the like. After the operator has selected the offer type, bid values and validity dates at 142, the operator is asked to select stores or stores in the chain in which the selected bids will be made available at 144. Then the operator can return to the main menu 60 for the bid adjustment or the call menu at 130. At any time after the mandatory destined / predetermined offers have been adjusted, the operator can choose the selection 62 of maintenance of the offer. mandatory / predetermined, in order to carry out a function 64 of maintenance of the offer, which allows an operator to modify any of the parameters of any offer destined / predetermined / obligatory (figure 8). The function 64 of maintaining the offer allows the operator to choose that the offered offer is maintained at 148, which indicates to the operator that he selects the offer at 150 and that he selects again any of the parameters of that offer at 152, at the This includes the type of offer, the offer values, the validity dates, the selection limit for the housekeeper and the selection of the activated coupon. If the selection of the activated coupon is chosen, the operator is asked at 154 to enter or edit a message text on the screen which will be displayed by the client. Then the operator can preview the message on the screen at 156. If the operator chooses to keep the predetermined / mandatory offers at 158, the operator is asked to select the offer to be maintained at 160 and to edit the offer type, offer values or validity dates at 162. The operator can also edit the stores or stores for which the coupon will be available at 164. By choosing selection 66 of enabling / disabling of destined / predetermined / mandatory offer, the operator is provided with a program which allows the operator to have the ability to enable or disable any coupon offer (figure 9). ). This can be useful, for example, when you notify the retail establishment, by the manufacturer, that an offer must be withdrawn due to the non-availability of merchandise. Without having to cancel the system offer, the operator can disable the offer. Also, offers can be adjusted in advance and enabled at a later date, if desired. When the offer 68 enable / disable function is selected, the operator is asked to select whether a bid destined will be enabled / disabled at 166 or a mandatory default bid will be enabled / disabled at 168. If a offer, the user is asked to select if the offer or offers are going to be enabled or disabled in 170. If the action is to enable the offers, the operator chooses from a list of disabled coupons those to be enabled in 172. If the action is to disable the offers, then the operator in 174 is asked to select from a list of enabled coupons those which are going to be disabled. A similar process occurs if the mandatory default offers are to be enabled or disabled (168). The operator chooses at 176 if the action is to enable or disable offers. If it is to enable the offers, the operator is asked in 178 to select from a list of disabled offers, those which are going to be enabled and which he selects in 180 in which stores the offers are going to be enabled. If the operator chooses to disable the bids, the operator is asked to select from a list of enabled bids those which are to be disabled and he chooses at 184 in which bins the bids will be disabled. Where the operator has enabled and disabled all the desired offers, the control returns to the program of scales in 186. The messages that can be printed are messages which are intended for a particular housekeeper, based on an attribute of the housekeeper. of keys that designates an activation characteristic. For example, the activation feature may be one that the user has accumulated enough purchases to qualify for a prize. The messages that can be printed include text, some of which are standard and others of which are values that are specific to that housekeeper. Such specific values of the housekeeper are called keyword values. Keyword values relate to a specific attribute of the housekeeper for a particular text, in order to allow a specific value for the housekeeper to be inserted into a printed message. Printed messages can be created or maintained by choosing the maintenance selection 70 of the printed message. This is done using program 72, which asks the user to select a printed message to maintain or enter a new message in 188 (figure 10). If a new message is to be entered, the message is entered into 198, which includes a description of the message and an activation feature. You can also enter a life extension for the message printed in 198. After the text is entered in 198, the keyword to be selected in response to the presence of the activation feature is inserted in 200. If a printed message selected will be edited, the operator is asked to select 202, from a list of previous message descriptions. The operator can cancel the message in 204 or edit the message in 206. The message description, activation feature and / or message life extension can be edited. After the text is edited at 206, the keywords to be inserted into the message are selected at 208. The release function 76 of the printed message which is invoked by the selection 74 of release of printed messages allows the user to select messages in 210 which will be added to the list of messages selected for release (figure 11). This function allows the operator in 212 to select messages from the list of messages produced to be removed from messages ready for production. After the function is complete, the control returns to the call menu at 214. The function 80 of enabling / disabling printed messages, which is invoked by the selection 78 of enabling / disabling printed messages allows the operator to select at 216 if the operator wishes to enable printed messages or disable printed messages (figure 12). If the operator chooses to enable printed messages, then the operator is asked to select 218 from a list of disabled messages those that will be enabled. If the operator chooses to disable the messages, the operator is asked at 220 to select from a list of enabled functions those which will be disabled. The messages on the screen are messages which are displayed while the kiosk is not in use or when a user of the housekeeper identifies or while the coupons are printed. The messages on the screen can also indicate to the user that they provide a YES / NO response to a question shown on the screen. On-screen messages may vary between stores in the chain of retail stores. When the function 84 of adjusting and maintaining the message on the screen is used, by means of the maintenance selection 82 of the on-screen message, the operator is asked at 222 if he is going to adjust new messages or to keep maintaining the existing messages (figure 13). ). If new messages are to be set, the user at 224 is asked to enter a description of the message to select the message type and select a lifetime for the message. The type of message includes greetings, acknowledgments and scrutiny questions, cyclical. After the user has entered the message, the user at 226 is asked to enter the message text. The operator is then asked to select from the available stores if the newly created message is to be added to those stores in 228. The operator is also asked to select 230 of the previously selected stores for the reception of the message, those for which the message will be removed. If the operator chooses to edit an existing message, the operator at 232 is asked to select from a list of previous message descriptions and select whether to cancel the message at 234. If it is not canceled, the operator at 236 is asked to edit the description of the message, the type of message or the duration of the message. Then the operator can edit the text at 238. After the message has been edited, it can be added to the selected stores at 240 or removed from the selected stores at 242.

If the function 88 for releasing the message on the screen is used, by selecting 86 to release the message on the screen, the operator can select in 244 the messages to be added to a release list or the operator can choose in 246 to select the messages. messages to be removed from the list of messages ready for release (figure 14). If the function 92 of enabling / disabling the message on the screen is used, by selecting 90 to enable / disable the message on the screen, the operator chooses at 248 whether to enable or disable a message (figure 15). If the operator chooses to enable a message, the operator is asked at 250 to select from a list of disabling messages those to be enabled and to select at 252 in which stores the message will be enabled. If the operator chooses to disable the messages, then the operator at 254 is asked to select from a list of enabled messages those to be disabled and to select at 256 in which stores the messages are to be disabled. Feature maintenance function 96 is invoked from feature maintenance selection 94, when the user wishes to adjust or edit a feature, such as a recent club member (Figure 16). When selected, the operator is asked at 258 if a new feature is to be established or an existing feature is to be edited. If a new feature is to be entered, the operator is asked at 260 to enter the new feature. If an existing feature is to be canceled, the user at 262 is asked to select from a list of previously introduced features those that are to be canceled. The keyword maintenance function 100 is used from keyword maintenance 98, when the user wishes to add or cancel keywords (figure 17). The operator is asked at 264 if the operator wants to add keywords or cancel keywords. If the operator chooses to add keywords, the operator at 266 is asked to enter the new keyword to select the type of keyword and enter a maximum width of the keyword. If the operator chooses to cancel keywords, the operator in 268 is asked to select from a list of previously entered keywords, which will be canceled. The routines previously described are used by the system operator, which uses the administration computer 14 in combination with the data generated by the host 38 system. The result is a series of coupons assigned to each participating housekeeper, which are enabled and for which the assortment count is less than the assortment limit for the housekeeper. This set of coupons is retrieved by the kiosk computer in response to the identification of that user housekeeper at the kiosk. When using a kiosk program 70, the images of the coupons are formatted in the set of coupons on the fly and the coupons are supplied through the kiosk to the identified user. With reference to Figures 18a-18h, the kiosk 270 program initializes the kiosk by retrieving the adjustments for the mandatory coupons included in the coupons limit at 271. This adjustment determines whether the mandatory coupons are included in the coupon limit or They can provide above the coupon limit. The program then retrieves the adjustment for the block with default coupons in 272 and retrieves the coupon limit for the default coupons in 274. The default coupons are issued after a communication system failure, during which assigned coupons can not be issued. recover by housekeepers or after the initiation of new members. Then the program recovers in 276 the set of cyclic screen messages which are enabled and within the valid date range in the current store. It is determined at 278 if there are such messages. If so, cyclic messages are classified at 280 when the date range starts. If it is determined at 278 that there are no cyclic messages, a predetermined set of cyclic messages are retrieved at 282. Cyclic screen messages are urged to a cyclic message array reservation at 284. The set of messages on the greeting screen, the which are enabled and within a valid date range in the current store, are retrieved in 286. It is determined in 288 if there are such messages. If there are messages on the greeting screen, messages are sorted when the date range starts at 290. If there are no messages on the greeting screen, a set of default on-screen messages is retrieved in 292. The first message on the greeting screen is prompts to save the message on the greeting screen at 294. Only one message on the greeting screen is used at the same time. That message is replaced with a subsequent message when the date range of the first message is exceeded. Then the program retrieves the set of thank-you messages on screen at 296 and determines at 298 if there are such messages. If there are thank-you messages on the screen, messages are sorted at the beginning of the date range by 299. If there are no such thank-you messages on the screen, a default on-screen thank-you message is retrieved by 300. The first on-screen thank-you message it is impelled in 302 to reserve the message of gratitude on the screen. Once this first thank-you message on the screen expires, the thank-you message on the screen that has a next departure date will replace it. Then the program retrieves the set of on-screen question messages which are enabled and within a valid date range for the current store at 304. If 306 is determined that there are such messages, the messages on the questions screen are classified into 308 at the start of the range of departure date and are taken to the reservation of the message question on screen display in 310. Default message messages are not provided on the screen. After the kiosk is initialized, the kiosk program 270 waits for a user to identify itself, such as by passing a frequent buyer card, encoded with a bar code, in front of a scanning (29) scanner or any other device. of the previously described methods of identifying the housekeeper (figure 18b). The program repeatedly tests in 312 if a user tries to identify himself. If it is not, the program moves to a first cyclic message in 314 and displays the message for a predetermined length of time in 316. Then the program determines in 318 whether the last cyclic message has been displayed. If it is determined at 318 that the last cyclic message was displayed, the program returns to 314, in order to move to the first cyclic message and begin the cycle. If it is determined at 318 that the last cyclic message has not been displayed, then the program tests again at 320 if a user attempts to identify himself. If a user does not attempt to identify himself, the program moves to the next cyclic message at 322 and displays that message for a given period of time at 316. If it is determined at 312 or 320 that a user is trying to identify himself, the program tests a correspondence from validity between the identification number of the housekeeper scanned and the identification numbers of the housekeeper in your database at 324. If it is determined at 326 that there is a correspondence with an existing housekeeper, the greeting message shown in 328. If it is determined in 326 that there is no correspondence with a housekeeper in the housekeeper's database, then the program sets the coupon limit parameter to a default value of 330. Then the program retrieves a set of predetermined coupons at 332 (figure 18g) and determines at 334 if a predetermined coupon was recovered. If it is determined in 334 that there are no predetermined coupons, the program will determine at 336 (figure 18e) that there are no coupons in the selected set of coupons and proceed to 441 (figure 18f) to retrieve and print messages in a manner which will be described in more detail below. If it is determined at 334 that there are predetermined coupons to be assorted, the program moves to the first predetermined coupon at 340 and brings the current default coupon to the set of coupons selected at 342. The coupon limit parameter is indexed at 344 and determined at 346 if the coupon limit is reached or the last predetermined coupon has been assigned. If not, the program moves to the next default coupon at 348 and repeats the cycle of assigning the next predetermined coupon to the set of selected coupons and indexing the coupon limit parameter. When it is determined at 346 whether the coupon limit has been reached or the last predetermined coupon has been assigned, the program determines at 336 (figure 18e) whether there is a coupon on the selected coupon set. Because there should now be coupons in the set of selected coupons, the program moves to 350 to format the image of the coupons in the set of selected coupons and print the coupons, which will be described in detail later. If it is determined in 326 (Figure 18b) that a member in the system has been identified, the greeting message is displayed in 328 and the housekeeper identifier is retrieved in 352 (Figure 18c) for the corresponding housekeeper with the card scanned. Then the name of the housekeeper is recovered, based on the identification of the housekeeper in 354. The set of coupons which are assigned to that housekeeper and marked as enabled and have a smaller assortment count than the assortment limit, are retrieved at 356. The assortment count limit allows the operator to limit the number of times each coupon offer can be provided to a housekeeper. The recovered coupons are classified in 358 in activated and unactivated coupons and then by expiration date, priority and number of assorted times. The coupons that have the closest completion date are assigned first and the coupons that have a higher priority and a lower number of assorted times are placed in a higher position in the ranking on the coupons that have lower priority and a greater number of times assorted. Then the program recovers any coupon activated in 360 and determines in 362 if an activated coupon was located. If no activated coupon was placed, the program retrieves the set of mandatory coupons assigned to the current reservation at 364 (figure 18d). Then it is determined at 366 if mandatory coupons were retrieved. If so, the first coupon in the set of mandatory coupons is retrieved at 368 and the set of coupons selected at 370 is taken. Then it is determined at 372 if the last mandatory coupon has been recovered. If not, the next coupon in the set of mandatory coupons is processed at 374 and 370. When it is determined at 372 that the last coupon on the mandatory coupon set has been taken to the set of coupons selected, it is determined at 376 if it had been previously chosen that the mandatory coupons be included in the coupon limit. If so, the number of mandatory coupons is subtracted from the coupon limit at 378 and the program determines at 380 if any coupon is on the set of coupons. If there are no coupons in the coupon set, it is determined at 382 if the coupon limit is greater than zero. If not, it will be determined at 366 that the number of coupons in the set of coupons selected is not greater than zero and the program will enter the message routine printed at 441 (Figure 18f). If it is determined at 382 that the coupon limit is not greater than zero, it will be determined at 384 if the block with the predetermined coupon is true. If so, the default coupons are retrieved at 332 (figure 18g). If it is determined at 384 that the block with the predetermined coupons is not true, then the program proceeds to retrieve the printed messages in 441. If it is determined in 380 that there are coupons in the set of coupons, the first coupon in the set of coupons of the housekeeper is taken to the set of coupons selected in 385, 386 and the coupon limit is indexed at 387. Then it is determined at 388 if the coupon limit has been reached or the last coupon on the set of coupons the housekeeper has been attracted, If not, the next coupon on the The coupon set of the housekeeper is attracted to the selected coupon at 390 and 386. When it is determined at 388 that the coupon limit or the last coupon on the set of coupons of the housekeeper has been reached, the program determines on 382 if the coupon limit is greater than zero. If the coupon limit is not greater than zero, then the housekeeper will not receive predetermined coupons and the control goes to 336 where it will be determined that the number of coupons in the selected coupon is greater than zero. Then the program will move to the first coupon in the set of coupons selected in 350 and will begin to format the image of the selected coupons, in a way which will be described in more detail below. If it is determined at 382 that the coupon limit has not been reached, the housekeeper will receive predetermined coupons if it is determined at 384 that the block with predetermined coupons is true. If so, the control goes to 332 (figure 18g) for the recovery of the predetermined coupons in a previously described manner. If it is determined at 362 (Fig. 18c) that there are activated coupons present, the program moves to the first activated coupon at 392 and displays (394) the text associated with the activated coupon along with contact buttons of Sl and NO on the monitor 26 Then the program checks the monitor at 396 regarding the reception of a response from Si. If, instead, a NO response is received, the activated coupon is removed from the housekeeper coupon set at 398. The activated coupon, however, will still be assigned to the housekeeper and the next one will be recovered. Once the housekeeper is identified at the kiosk. If the user answers Sl at 396, it is then determined at 399 if the last activated coupon has been presented to the user. If not, the next activated coupon is presented to the user at 400 and 394. When it is determined at 399 that the user indicated a desire to obtain the activated coupon and the last activated coupon has been processed, the control goes to 364 (figure 18d) to attract the rest of the mandatory coupons, destined and predetermined to the set of coupons selected for that housekeeper. Once the set of selected coupons has been completed for the housekeeper identified at 350 (figure 18e), the program retrieves (402) the coupon's offer definition for the first coupon in the selected coupon set. The record of the offer definition includes: (a) range of validity date, (b) supply parameters, (c) text and (d) type of offer. Then the program inserts the name of the housekeeper, the validity date and the text on the coupon in 404. Because individual fields are provided on the coupon for the name of the housekeeper, the date of validity and the text, no additional formatting is required, to insert this information on the image of the coupon. Then the program retrieves the records of the offer type for the current coupon offer type in 406. The records of the offer type and the offer parameters allow the program to integrate the 408 declaration of the offer (figure 19) of an image 407 of the coupon. With reference to Figure 19, a field 410 of text and field 412 of validity date are set forth in the image 407 of the coupon of a size that allows the text of the coupon and the validity dates to be inserted therein. Likewise, a field 416 of the name of the housekeeper receives the information of the name of the housekeeper and directly generates the image thereof. In order to integrate the 408 declaration of the offer, the offer statement is broken into a plurality of fields 418a-418d of variable-sized offer statements. The program formats the images of the 408 declaration of the offer, field by field, by combining the data in each element of the offer with a parameter of the offer or with text contained in the offer element. In the illustrated embodiment, the first field 418a of the supply declaration, starting from the left as seen in figure 19, is a numerical value determined from the parameter of the offer. This numerical value can be a number of pennies of discount or it can be the 1 in a declaration of the offer buy one, obtain one free. Normally, if the coupon is a number of cents off a particular item, the description of the item will appear in the text field 410 and the only value in the offer parameters will be the number of the discount cents. The second field 418b of the offer statement, starting from the left as shown in figure 19, will normally contain text which is included with the offer element. Such text can be discounted with this coupon or obtain, from the offer statement buy one, get one free. The third field 418c of the offer statement, starting from the left as seen in figure 19, if present, will normally include a second numerical value obtained from a second offer parameter included with the offer. For example, the third field of the offer statement may include a dollar amount, such as $ 50. Accordingly, with 300 as the first offer parameter and 5,000 as the second offer parameter, the program can construct the image of the offer declaration 408 by means of offer elements which are applied to the first offer parameter to the first field 418a, of the offer statement, a second offer element applies to the discount text to the second field 418b of the offer declaration and a third offer element is applied to the second parameter of the offer, to create the numerical value of $ 50 in the third field 418c of the offer statement. Through this process of integrating a field of the offer declaration from the supply parameters contained in a record of the coupon's offer definition and from the offer elements contained in the offer-type records associated with an offer type , the program has the ability to create coupon images on the fly. Each offer element, in addition to establishing the content of each field of the offer declaration, additionally establishes the area and the position of the field of the offer declaration together with the type of source and the similar ones, in order to provide a declaration of offer which is pleasant in appearance and is easily understood. Although four fields 418a-418d of the offer statement are illustrated, the number used may be selected by those skilled in the art. Reference is made to Figure 20, in which different offer fields 408 are generated by the on-the-fly program and combined with text fields 410 and fields 412 of the validity date in order to provide a complete picture of the coupon 407. A field 416 of the name of the optional housekeeper can be generated, if desired. Each coupon additionally includes a bar code 420 which, when read by the scanning apparatus (scanner) of a terminal 34 of the point of sale, produces a product inquiry number (PLU) which is applied via the terminal of the product. point of sales to a PLU query table in order to determine a price. Because the coupon is in order to provide a discount to the user, the price in the PLU query table will be a negative price corresponding to the coupon discount. In the illustrated modality, there is no validity inspection and the cashier must determine that the customer that bought a product receives a discount or cumulative purchases greater than an amount established in the offer. Nevertheless, the invention can be further used to code bar code 420 with a more complex coupon definition, in order to allow a validity inspection by including in the bar code a definition of the item having a discount or other event which must be submitted to obtain the discount. In order to integrate the image of the offer statement from the records of the offer type and the parameters of the offer, the program determines in 422 if there is any record of the type of offer (figure 18e). If so, the program searches in the first record of the offer type in 424 and determines in 426 whether the type of offer in the record is a value. If not, the text included in the record of the offer type is retrieved at 430 and inserted into the field of the offer declaration defined in the record of the offer type. If it is determined at 426 that the offer type is a value, the quantity of the value is retrieved from the parameters of the offer and inserted into the field of the corresponding offer declaration at 428. Then the program determines at 432 if the last record The type of offer has been processed. If not, the next record of the offer type is processed at 434 and 426. When it is determined at 432 that the last record of the offer type has been processed, the image of the formatted coupon is sent to the printer at 436. Then it is determine at 438 if the last coupon in the selected set of coupons has been formatted. If not, the next coupon in the selected coupon set is processed at 440. If it is determined at 422 that no record of the offer type is retrieved for a coupon offer, then the program proceeds to 440 in order to process the next coupon. This provides a fail-safe exit from the process of formatting the coupon, if an incomplete coupon definition is presented.

After the coupons have been selected, formatted and printed, the program retrieves (441) the printed messages, which have a status enabled and determines in 422 if any printed message was retrieved (figure 18f). If so, the first record is tested at 444, 446 in order to determine whether the activation characteristic corresponds to the corresponding characteristic for the identified housekeeper. If it is determined at 448 that the activation characteristic matches and there is a value associated with the printed message, the program retrieves all the keywords from message 450 and replaces each keyword with a value of the keyword of the given housekeeper. The message is then formatted and printed on 452 according to the specifications of the format. Then it is determined at 454 if this was the last message. If it is determined at 454 that this was not the last message, then the next printed message is retrieved at 456 and tested at 446. When it is determined at 454 that the last printed message has been processed, then the program determines whether there are valid scrutiny available at 458 (figure 18h). Otherwise, the kiosk displays the screen thanks until the entire print is complete at 460. If there is a valid scrutiny screen available, the program moves to the first scrutiny screen at 460 and displays the message with answer buttons Sl and NO 462. Then the program stores a user response on 464. If a response is not received within a predetermined period, it is determined at 466 that the response has elapsed and the program is exited. If a response is received before the response elapses, then it is determined at 468 if the last scrutiny screen has been processed. If so, you exit the program. If not, the program moves to the next scrolling screen at 470 and displays the message at 472. Although the kiosk program 270 functionally operates a kiosk 24, it may reside on the kiosk computer or another computer. Thus, it is seen that the present invention provides a unique coupon delivery system, which allows coupons destined for flight to be generated and assorted in a kiosk on demand by a domestic user, after the identification of the user in charge of the home. Because the coupons are supplied at the retail establishment, they create a higher impulse purchase effect. In addition, consumers get coupons when they want, instead of when the coupons are printed and mailed by the commercial printer. Due to the fast cycle time available with the present invention, coupon offers can be created to respond to rapidly changing market conditions, such as direct purchases in storage, as well as the notification of a manufacturer that a promotional program is ending prematurely. The present invention also provides many unique features, which take advantage of the kiosk technology, in order to improve the dialogue with the customers of the retail establishment and to implement, in an efficient manner, numerous promotional programs, the variations of which are limited only by the imagination of the system operator and administration of the retail establishment. This is done entirely in an effective manner in cost, because the cost of mailing coupons is eliminated. Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention, which will be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, as interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent laws, which includes the doctrine of equivalents. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, the content of the following is claimed as property.

Claims

Claims 1. A computer-implemented method for generating coupons to provide shopping discounts, characterized in that it includes: providing a computer-based kiosk in a retail establishment; receive an identification of the user of a housekeeper at the kiosk; and issue with the kiosk a series of coupons destined, assigned to the housekeeper identified on the basis of at least one attribute of that housekeeper.
2. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that it also includes formatting the images of the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified with a computer of the coupon records.
3. The method for generating coupons according to claim 2, characterized in that each of the computer records includes an indication of a type of offer and at least one offer value and wherein the step of formatting the coupons includes the generation of an image of an offer declaration for the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified as a function of the type of offer and the at least one offer value.
4. The method for generating coupons according to claim 3, characterized in that each of the coupon records includes a field of the validity period and wherein the step of formatting the coupons includes formatting an image of an expiration date of the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified as a function of the content of the validity period field.
5. The method for generating coupons according to claim 3, characterized in that the offer type defines a plurality of elements, each of the elements defines a portion of the image of the offer declaration.
6. The method for generating coupons according to claim 5, characterized in that each of the elements defines one, a monetary declaration and a text declaration.
7. The method for generating coupons according to claim 6, characterized in that it includes incorporating one of the bid values in each element that defines a monetary declaration.
8. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that the assignment of at least one coupon intended includes assigning mandatory coupons to that particular housekeeper regardless of the attributes of that particular housekeeper.
9. The method for generating coupons according to claim 8, characterized in that it includes assigning predetermined coupons to that particular housekeeper if the number of required coupons and destined coupons assigned to that particular housekeeper is less than a particular number of coupons.
10. The method for generating coupons according to claim 9, characterized in that the particular number of coupons is determined as a function of at least one attribute of that housekeeper.
11. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes assigning a particular set of predetermined coupons to the new associated housekeepers, who have not established at least one attribute in the housekeeper registry for that housekeeper of private keys.
12. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes assigning a particular set of predetermined coupons to the housekeepers when the allocated assigned coupons are not accessible to the kiosk.
13. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that the attribute of that housekeeper is obtained at least in part from the data obtained in a computer-based point-of-sale system.
14. The method for generating coupons according to claim 13, characterized in that the data includes the purchases accumulated by the particular housekeeper.
15. The method for generating coupons in accordance with claim 13, characterized in that the data includes the particular purchases by the particular housekeeper.
16. The method for generating coupons according to claim 13, characterized in that the data includes at least one of which coupons previously destined to the private housekeeper that are paid and which coupons previously destined to the private housekeeper that are not paid.
17. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that the issuing step includes the printing of the coupons assigned to the particular housekeeper with a printer.
18. The method for generating coupons according to claim 17, characterized in that the printing step includes printing on rolled paper and the step of dividing the paper.
19. The method for generating coupons according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of receiving a user identification includes at least one of the scanning of a membership card, a voiceprint, the receipt of a hand print and the reception of the user's telephone number.
20. A computer-implemented method for generating coupons to provide shopping discounts, characterized in that it includes: providing a computerized coupon database and a computerized housekeeper database, the coupon database includes a plurality of coupon registers, each providing a definition of a coupon, the database includes a plurality of records of the housekeeper, each providing at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper; retrieve a record for a particular housekeeper from the housekeeper's database and assign at least one activated coupon to the particular housekeeper, the at least one assigned coupon is selected by a computer from the database of coupons based on an attribute of that housekeeper, contained in the registry of the housekeeper for that housekeeper; receive a user identification from a housekeeper at a computer-based kiosk; ask for the selection of the user, if the user wishes to receive the at least one activated coupon in response to the reception of the identification of the user of the private home; and format the at least one coupon activated with a computer and issue the at least one coupon activated with the kiosk, in response to the user indicating a desire to receive the activated coupon.
21. The method for generating coupons according to claim 20, characterized in that the attribute of that particular housekeeper includes accumulated purchases that exceed a particular value.
22. The method for generating coupons in accordance with claim 20, characterized in that it includes providing messages to the kiosk, which incorporates keywords derived from the at least one attribute of that particular housekeeper.
23. The method for generating coupons according to claim 22, characterized in that the step of providing messages includes displaying the messages in a visual representation device.
The method for generating coupons according to claim 22, characterized in that the message provision step includes printing the messages with a printer.
25. A method implemented by computer to generate coupons, to provide shopping discounts, characterized because it includes: providing a database of coupons by computer and a database of the housekeeper by computer, the database of coupons includes a plurality of coupon records, each providing a definition of a coupon, the housekeeper's database includes a plurality of housekeeper records, each providing at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper; retrieve a record for a particular housekeeper from the housekeeper database and assign at least one coupon intended for the particular housekeeper, the at least one coupon intended is selected by a computer from from the coupon database as a function of an attribute of that housekeeper in the housekeeper's registry for that housekeeper; receive a user identification from a housekeeper at a computer-based kiosk; and format any coupon assigned to the housekeeper identified with a computer and issue with the kiosk any coupon assigned to the identified housekeeper, the stage of formatting and issuing is in response to the receipt of the user's identification of the private housekeeper.
26. The method for generating coupons according to claim 25, characterized in that each of the coupon records includes the identification of a type of offer and at least one offer value and wherein the step of formatting the coupons includes giving format to an image of an offer declaration for each of the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified as a function of the type of offer and the at least one offer value.
27. The method for generating coupons in accordance with claim 26, characterized in that each of the coupon records includes a text field and wherein the step of formatting the coupons includes formatting an image of a text section of each one of the coupons assigned to the housekeeper identified as a function of the content of the text field.
28. The method for generating coupons according to claim 25, characterized in that it includes assigning at least one activated coupon to the particular housekeeper, the at least one activated coupon is selected by a computer from the coupon database , based on another attribute of that housekeeper, contained in the registry of the housekeeper for that housekeeper and ask for a selection of the user if the user wishes to receive the at least one activated coupon in response to the reception of the identification of the user of the particular housekeeper.
29. The method for generating coupons according to claim 28, characterized in that it also includes the step of formatting the at least one activated coupon with a computer and issuing the at least one coupon activated with the kiosk, in response to the user indicating a desire to receive the activated coupon.
30. The method for generating coupons according to claim 28, characterized in that the other attribute of that particular housekeeper includes accumulated purchases that exceed a particular value.
31. The method for generating coupons according to claim 25, characterized in that it includes the provision of messages with the kiosk, which incorporates keywords derived from the at least one attribute of that particular housekeeper.
32. The method for generating coupons according to claim 31, characterized in that the provision of messages includes visually representing the messages on a visual representation device.
33. The method for generating coupons according to claim 31, characterized in that the provision of messages includes the printing of the messages with a printer.
34. A method implemented by computer to generate coupons to provide sales discounts, characterized in that it includes: providing a computer database of coupons composed of a plurality of coupon records, each record indicating a type of offer that has a plurality of elements , each record also indicates at least one value field, a text information field and a validity date field; assign a plurality of coupons to a particular housekeeper; and formatting the plurality of coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper by using the elements of the type of offer applied to at least one field of the value, in order to format a bid statement and any content of the field of text information and date of validity field in order to generate an image of the plurality of coupons assigned to the particular housekeeper; and issue the image coupons.
35. The method for generating coupons according to claim 34, characterized in that it includes receiving an identification of the user of a housekeeper in a computer-based kiosk and formatting and issuing the plurality of coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper in response upon receipt of the identification of the user of the particular housekeeper.
36. The method for generating coupons according to claim 34, characterized in that each of the elements defines one, a monetary declaration and a text declaration.
37. The method for generating confoppity coupons with claim 36, characterized in that it includes incorporating one of the offer values in each element that defines a monetary declaration.
38. The method for generating coupons according to claim 34, characterized in that each of the elements defines an area of a portion of the offer declaration and a content of the area.
39. The method for generating coupons according to claim 34, characterized in that the at least one value includes at least two value fields and includes at least three offer type elements.
40. The method for generating coupons according to claim 39, characterized in that two offer type elements are applied to the content of the value fields in order to define the beginning and end of the offer declaration and where the offer type element includes text which defines the middle part of the offer statement.
41. A system for generating coupons to generate coupons to provide discounts for purchases, characterized in that it comprises: a computer system that defines a database of coupons and a database of housekeepers, the coupon database includes a plurality of coupon records, each provides a definition of a coupon, the database of the housekeeper includes a plurality of records of the housekeeper, each providing at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper, the computer system is programmed to assign at least one coupon from the coupon database to a particular housekeeper, as a function of at least one attribute of that housekeeper; a computer-based kiosk, which has a user identification device, a visual representation device and a computer-controlled printer; and the kiosk computer is programmed to format the coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper by the means of allocation and to issue the images of the coupons in response to the identification device of the user who receives an identification of the user of that housekeeper. of private keys.
42. The coupon generation system according to claim 41, characterized in that it includes a communication link between the kiosk computer and the computer system, which communicates the coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper from the computer system to the computer from the kiosk, where the kiosk computer is programmed to format the images of a set of predetermined coupons when the communication link is not functional.
43. The coupon generation system according to claim 42, characterized in that the communication link comprises one of a local area network and a wide area network.
44. The coupon generation system according to claim 41, characterized in that it includes at least one point-of-sale system having a scanning device and a point-of-sale computer, which is sensitive to the codes scanned by the device of scanning, wherein the computer system is responsive to the at least one point-of-sale computer, in order to determine at least in part the at least one attribute.
45. The coupon generation system according to claim 44, characterized in that the at least one attribute consists of the accumulated purchases for a particular housekeeper.
46. The coupon generation system according to claim 45, characterized in that the at least one attribute is determined at least in part by at least one of which coupons issued have been paid to the particular housekeeper and which coupons previously issued not paid to the particular housekeeper.
47. The coupon generation system according to claim 41, characterized in that the kiosk computer is programmed to issue a coupon designated as an activated coupon only after receipt of an indication from the user that he wishes to receive the activated coupon.
48. The coupon generating system according to claim 47, characterized in that the kiosk is programmed to display a question about the visual display device, in response to an activated coupon and includes an input device to receive an indication from the user that you want to receive the activated coupon.
49. The coupon generation system according to claim 41, characterized in that the kiosk computer is programmed to format the messages that include keywords, the keywords are derived from the at least one attribute of a particular housekeeper identified by means of the identification device.
50. The coupon generation system according to claim 49, characterized in that the kiosk issues the formatted messages by means of the printer.
51. The coupon generation system according to claim 49, characterized in that the kiosk issues the messages in format with the visual representation device.
52. The coupon generating system according to claim 41, characterized in that the coupon database is composed of a plurality of coupon registers, each coupon register indicating a type of offer having a plurality of elements, each record of coupon further indicates at least one value field, a text information field and a validity date field and wherein the kiosk computer is programmed to format the plurality of coupons assigned to a particular housekeeper that uses the offer type elements applied to at least one value field, in order to format an offer declaration and any content of the text information field and the validity date field in order to generate an image of the plurality of coupons assigned to the particular housekeeper.
53. The coupon generating system according to claim 41, characterized in that the computer system is programmed to assign mandatory coupons to a housekeeper regardless of the attributes of that particular housekeeper.
54. The coupon generating system according to claim 53, characterized in that the computer system is programmed to assign predetermined coupons to a particular housekeeper if the sum of mandatory coupons and the assigned coupons assigned to that housekeeper is less than a particular number
55. The coupon generating system according to claim 54, characterized in that the computer system is programmed to determine the particular number from an attribute of the particular housekeeper.
56. A method implemented by computer to generate coupons to provide discounts for purchases, characterized because it includes: providing a computer-based kiosk in a retail establishment; receive an identification of the user of a housekeeper at the kiosk; issue with the kiosks a series of coupons assigned to the identified housekeeper; and issue with the kiosk messages that incorporate keywords selected based on at least one attribute of that housekeeper.
57. The method for generating coupons according to claim 56, characterized in that the step of issuing messages includes visually representing the messages in a visual representation device.
58. The method for generating coupons according to claim 56, characterized in that the issuing of messages includes printing the messages with a printer.
59. A method implemented by computer to generate coupons to provide shopping discounts, characterized because it includes: assigning sets of coupons to housekeepers; provide a computer-based kiosk in a retail establishment; receive an identification of the user of a housekeeper at the kiosk; and issuing with the kiosk a plurality of the set of coupons assigned to the identified housekeeper, wherein the issue includes limiting the number of coupons issued to a particular number.
60. The method for generating coupons according to claim 59, characterized in that the particular number is based on at least one attribute of that housekeeper.
61. The method for generating coupons according to claim 59, characterized in that it includes assigning predetermined coupons to the housekeeper if the number of coupons assigned to that housekeeper is less than the particular number.