WO1993023955A1 - Systeme electronique de production de bons remboursables - Google Patents

Systeme electronique de production de bons remboursables Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1993023955A1
WO1993023955A1 PCT/US1993/004428 US9304428W WO9323955A1 WO 1993023955 A1 WO1993023955 A1 WO 1993023955A1 US 9304428 W US9304428 W US 9304428W WO 9323955 A1 WO9323955 A1 WO 9323955A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
coupon
message
related data
television
video
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1993/004428
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Michael J. Holman
Original Assignee
Holman Michael J
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US07/887,450 external-priority patent/US5285278A/en
Priority claimed from US07/932,799 external-priority patent/US5287181A/en
Application filed by Holman Michael J filed Critical Holman Michael J
Publication of WO1993023955A1 publication Critical patent/WO1993023955A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
    • G07F7/02—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by keys or other credit registering devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/30—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks
    • G06Q20/34—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols characterised by the use of specific devices or networks using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
    • G06Q20/343—Cards including a counter
    • G06Q20/3437—Cards including a counter the counter having non-monetary units, e.g. trips
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/38—Payment protocols; Details thereof
    • G06Q20/387—Payment using discounts or coupons
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
    • G07F9/02—Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
    • H04N21/235—Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/254—Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server
    • H04N21/2543—Billing, e.g. for subscription services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
    • H04N21/4117—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices for generating hard copies of the content, e.g. printer, electronic paper
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/418—External card to be used in combination with the client device, e.g. for conditional access
    • H04N21/4184—External card to be used in combination with the client device, e.g. for conditional access providing storage capabilities, e.g. memory stick
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/435—Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
    • H04N21/4784—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application receiving rewards
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/08—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division
    • H04N7/087—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division with signal insertion during the vertical blanking interval only
    • H04N7/088—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division with signal insertion during the vertical blanking interval only the inserted signal being digital
    • H04N7/0884—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division with signal insertion during the vertical blanking interval only the inserted signal being digital for the transmission of additional display-information, e.g. menu for programme or channel selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/08—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/08—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division
    • H04N7/087—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division with signal insertion during the vertical blanking interval only
    • H04N7/088—Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band, e.g. by time division with signal insertion during the vertical blanking interval only the inserted signal being digital

Definitions

  • This invention relates to redeemable coupons, and more particularly to a system for generating electronic redeemable coupons.
  • Coupon-related data is encoded in a television signal transmission and decoded in a home unit for later redemption by the user.
  • redeemable coupons are very old. For decades advertisers have issued or published printed coupons which can be taken to a redemption center, such as a retail store, and redeemed for some value or as a discount toward the purchase of some item. While this method has proven to be effective, there are many disadvantages to the process for the user, for the redemption center or retail store, as well as for the advertisers themselves.
  • the problems associated with clipping coupons by a user are manifold.
  • a user must purchase or otherwise obtain a publication and search through such publication for coupons which would be meaningful or useful to the user.
  • the user then must cut out such coupons, being of various physical sizes, leaving a pile of scrap paper and holes in the pages of the publication.
  • Some advertisers use handouts or flyers which make the searching job easier, but there is still the problem of cutting out the coupons which is annoying and a waste of valuable time.
  • the user Being of different sizes and pertaining to different types of products, the user must separate the coupons into product categories and band the coupons together as best as he or she can. The user then stuffs these sorted coupons into a pocket or purse and is off to the market.
  • the user Upon arrival at a particular retail outlet at which at least some of the coupons are redeemable, the user usually fumbles through the groups of coupons and attempts to find the products in the store, and if they are not familiar with the layout of the store, this could again constitute a gross misuse of valuable time. Furthermore, since each store lays out their products differently, in order to redeem some coupons, the user may find it necessary to search out the desirable item in a number of stores. Finally, upon gathering the product into the pushcart, the user has yet another manipulation to make, i.e. he or she must select the coupons for which the products have been purchased from a number of coupons the user brought to the store initially.
  • the television industry contrasted to the printed media industry, is unable to offer its viewers (potential customers) any coupons which can be taken to the retail store for redemption.
  • the best that an advertiser can do in television is to simply make the public aware of a sale on a particular item or line of items produced by a certain manufacturer. In some instances, telephone numbers and/or addresses are given to the viewing public, and if the viewer wishes to use up a lot of valuable time, he or she can make the telephone call and/or write the letter to gain access to additional information and perhaps coupons which can be redeemed for products or discounts on products.
  • the present invention overcomes the deficiencies and disadvantages of current coupon redemption programs outlined above by providing an electronic redeemable coupon generating system which comprises an encoding means for encoding coupon-related data in a television signal transmission, the transmission including picture information for display on a television monitor screen; decoding means for receiving the television signal transmission including means for extracting the coupon- related data therefrom; and recording means for recording the extracted coupon-related data on a recording medium for subsequent readout and redemption.
  • the decoding means includes means for displaying indicia on a television monitor screen responsive to coupon-related data being encoded in the television signal transmission. Upon observing the indicia on the television monitor screen, the user can manually and selectively enable and disable extraction of the coupon-related data from the television signal transmission.
  • the selectively extracted coupon-related data is then accumulated in a memory means within the decoding means, and after an optional editing function, the extracted coupon-related data is stored on a recording medium.
  • the recording means is a magnetic card writer/reader or smart card input/output device
  • the medium is a magnetically striped card or smart card (which may be referred to as a "Q-cardTM" medium.
  • a decoding unit for receiving a television signal transmission containing picture information for display on a television monitor screen and also containing encoded coupon-related data, the decoding unit comprising means for extracting the coupon-related data from the television signal transmission, and recording means for recording the extracted coupon-related data on a recording medium for subsequent readout and redemption.
  • the decoding unit may be a stand-alone unit or incorporated within the electronics of a "cable box".
  • the basic decoding means is the closed-caption chip within the closed-caption modified TV set. This reduces the amount of hardware necessary for implementing the electronic coupon apparatus according to the present invention but will require interfacing certain signals between the modified TV set and an electronic coupon subsystem of this invention.
  • the present invention therefore encompasses an electronic coupon system as described earlier in this specification except that the decoding portion of the system is contained within the closed-caption circuitry in the modified TV set.
  • Closed-caption information is typically encoded during horizontal line 21 of the vertical blanking interval of the television transmission signal. Coupon-related information can be substituted for the closed-caption information in line 21, or it can be carried in other available lines in the vertical interval, e.g. line 18.
  • the invention further relates to a closed-caption modified TV set adapted for use with an electronic coupon subsystem, and, finally, to the combination of the closed- caption modified TV set and the electronic coupon subsystem.
  • additional apparatus at the redemption center is configured to assemble and printout reports of coupon redemption activity for each manufacturer.
  • the information is sorted and reports are generated automatically by the operation of the redemption center's computer.
  • the operation of the computer apparatus at the redemption center is not unlike the configuration and functioning of any other data base computer system, the only difference being the type of information being manipulated.
  • means can be provided for reading the stored electronic coupon data from the user's Q-CardTM by having the user wipe (or insert) the card through a magnetic (or other appropriate) card reader at the cash register, and the discounts would be applied automatically to the products being purchased.
  • the sales slip would reflect the original price, the discount, and the net amount owed by the customer in an almost instantaneous fashion.
  • the redemption center can have an electronic coupon desk where a user can wipe, or insert, his or her card in a card reader and have a display or printout of the availability and location in the store of the product of interest. If printed out, the coupons or coupon list can be presorted so that the purchaser will be guided through the store aisles in an orderly fashion as the different items are gathered in.
  • FIGURE 1 shows the front face of a home unit which functions as a decoder for extracting coupon-related data from a television signal transmission;
  • FIGURE 2 illustrates possible interconnections of the home unit as it would be connected, depending upon desire of the user, with a cable box, VCR, television monitor, printer, and remote control device;
  • FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of the internal functions of the home unit
  • FIGURE 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the control circuit shown in Figure 3;
  • FIGURE 5 is a representation of the arrangement of bytes comprising the separate fields of the encoded coupon message
  • FIGURE 6 is a more detailed block diagram of the authorization controller shown in Figure 4;
  • FIGURE 7 is a detailed block diagram of the "authorized after X days" interval timer of Figure 6;
  • FIGURE 8 is one arrangement of the apparatus in a redemption center for receiving and manipulating data from redeemed electronic coupon data string;
  • FIGURE 9 illustrates a basic arrangement for crediting electronic coupon discounts directly on the sales slip of a cash register at a redemption center
  • FIGURE 10 illustrates the interconnections of the home subsystem unit as it would be connected with a closed- caption modified TV set
  • FIGURE 11 is a block diagram of the internal functions of the home unit subsystem.
  • FIGURE 12 is a more detailed block diagram of the control circuit shown in the block diagram of Figure 11.
  • a home unit 1 is shown in Figure 1 in the form of a small box which could be placed on the top of a television receiver or other convenient location.
  • the home unit 1 can optionally have a display screen 3 and a series of operating buttons 5.
  • a magnetic card or smart card (hereinafter referred to as Q-card) slot 7 receives a card (not shown) for writing or reading purposes. It is to be understood that other mediums could be used, such as optical cards and microelectronic (microchip) circuit cards, or a combination of both.
  • Figure 1 is only one example of a home unit, and many variations are possible.
  • all of the electronics of the home unit can be hidden from view with the exception of an infrared sensor to receive a command from a remote control device.
  • the Q-CardTM writer/reader with slot 7 can be a totally separate unit so as to occupy as little space as possible on the top of a television set.
  • the Q-CardTM writer/reader could be stuck to the side of a television receiver by means of doublebacked foam tape or hook and loop fasteners sold under the trademark "VELCRO".
  • Some functions might be more user friendly with a home unit such as that shown in Figure 1 which could duplicate any of the functions controllable by the remote control device.
  • FIG. 2 shows a basic overall arrangement of the home unit 1 having various coupling arrangements with a cable box 33, a VCR 35, a television receiver/monitor 39, a printer 41, and a remote control device 43.
  • a logo or emblem 40 is seem in the upper right hand corner of the TV screen 38. If the viewer is interested in the product that is the subject of the commercial, the user pushes the VIEW button 9, and a message (a portion of the data from the data string) 8 is instantly decoded from the television signal transmission and displayed along the bottom of screen 38.
  • the data string comprising the message information signal is made up of many parts, one part of which is the message itself which is displayed on the screen. The balance of the data string is temporarily ignored by the system until and unless the user requests that the electronic coupon be retained, and in such a case the entire data string will be stored in a memory inside of the electronic coupon home unit 1.
  • the message can inform the viewer that the manufacturer or sponsor of the commercial has available an electronic coupon to be redeemed.
  • the message 8 might read "$1 discount on 6-pack of Coke ® ".
  • the COUPON button 11 is pressed, and coupon-related data is entered into an internal memory of the home unit 1.
  • a confirmation signal is generated upon successful memorization of a selected electronic coupon which alters an attribute of the logo as a visual indicator of the confirmation. For example, a color in the logo will change upon confirmation.
  • the viewer continues to push the VIEW button 9 each time a logo or emblem 40 is observed and the viewer is interested in the commercial product.
  • the COUPON button 11 is pressed to store all selected coupon-related data for each commercial in the internal memory of home unit 1.
  • the DISPLAY LIST button 13 When the viewer wishes to redeem the electronically stored coupons, the DISPLAY LIST button 13 is depressed. This immediately puts onto the screen 38 or to the local display 3 of the home unit 1 itself, a coupon list which shows all of the accumulated electronic coupons selected by the viewer by the procedure just described. Since the list may be long and include items which the viewer may no longer interested in, an editing function is provided.
  • the UP ARROW button 15 and DOWN ARROW button 17 are used, as with any computer keyboard, to move a cursor through and scroll the coupon list. For any listed coupons in which the viewer is no longer interested, the "DELETE" button 4 is pressed. This will instantly delete the coupon at the cursor position from the list (or from the item category discussed below) .
  • the viewer then pushes the MARK button 6 for each coupon of current interest in the list.
  • the LOAD COUPON button 19 is pressed while a magcard (not shown) is wiped through slot 7. This will transfer the marked coupons to the magcard for redemption.
  • all sections could be loaded at once in separate subfile categories to match the type of retail industry, i.e., apparel, grocery, major appliances, entertainment, etc.
  • Figure 5 shows a one character code byte 260 which is part of the retail coupon purchase information identifying the product.
  • Each product type will have a different code number.
  • grocery items may be code 1, hardware items code 2, automobile items code 3, home improvement items code 4, and so on.
  • One of the convenient features of the present invention is the automatic sorting of inputted coupon- related data, similar to the operation of a pocket telephone number data base wherein the names associated with each telephone number are sorted in alphabetical order automatically upon entry. When the viewer is thus presented with the list of redeemable electronic coupons, the coupons will be presorted automatically into separate categories of items, with grocery items being listed first, hardware items second, etc.
  • the viewer can further assist in the convenient use of electronic coupons by uniquely marking individual Q- CardTMs, or choosing different colors for them so that each marked card will be used to store the same type coupon.
  • the card for grocery items may be colored blue, hardware items green, automobile items red, and so on. Since the items on the TV screen will already be grouped in categories, it will be relatively easy to place a mark beside the selected items, or group of items, in any particular category and, using the LOAD COUPON button 19, record on the respective colored card only the items in that category.
  • next colored card is then selected and the user scrolls through the next grouping on the list of redeemable coupons and makes the choices as before for this new category. Since most television sets have color screens, it is a relatively simple matter to go one step further in the presentation of the list of electronic coupons by presenting the particular category of coupons on the screen in colors corresponding to colored cards to be used to store the coupons selected from that category. The electronics for carrying out this function are not described in this specification.
  • an ERASE button.21 is provided. The viewer merely holds the ERASE button 21 down while wiping the card through slot 7, and the appropriate magnetic strip on the card is erased. Both the ERASE button 21 and LOAD COUPON button 19 must be held down while wiping the card through slot 7. This is a safety feature which will eliminate the possibility of accidentally recording over or erasing a card if either of these two functions were to remain active upon pushing and releasing their respective buttons.
  • buttons 19 or 21 When either the LOAD COUPON or ERASE buttons 19 or 21 are pressed, it is important for the user to know whether or not the information has been successfully transferred to the Q-CardTM.
  • a green "standby" light 2a When either button 19 or 21 is pressed, a green "standby" light 2a will illuminate.
  • a red “confirm” light 2b When the card is wiped through slot 7, if it has been read correctly and verified by known digital comparison techniques, a red “confirm” light 2b will be lit.
  • the indicators 2a and 2b are LED indicators.
  • the viewer/user may redeem certain electronic coupons at a retail store and not others. He or she thus returns home with some unused electronic coupons on the Q-CardTM. Provisions are thus made to retrieve unused electronic coupons back into the memory of the home unit 1 by pushing the READ IN button 23 and wiping the Q-CardTM through slot 7, to eliminate the accu ulation of numerous cards, or, in the case of smart card, unwarranted data (excessive data) on the card of similar categories with only remnant coupons remaining.
  • a cable box 33 receives the television signal from a cable system and outputs the cable-converted signal to one of the unused air-transmitted television channels as input to VCR 35.
  • an antenna 10 may be routed, as shown in dotted lines to the input to VCR 35 or directly to the television receiver 39.
  • the cable box 33 can output its rf signal to an rf input terminal 61 of home unit 1.
  • the rf output on line 51 can be substituted into the rf input terminal 61 of home unit 1.
  • the rf input to terminal 61 is a television signal transmission on channel 3.
  • home unit 1 must have an rf-to-video converter, as will be explained in connection with Figure 3.
  • home unit 1 receives a video input on terminal 63 from line 53 of VCR 35.
  • any other video source is equally acceptable, such as that on line 55 directly from the television receiver/monitor 39.
  • Video in and video out terminals on television sets are becoming more popular but are not available on certain sets, especially older ones.
  • Figure 2 in addition to showing a Q-CardTM writer/reader 45 (having a slot 7 as shown in Figure 1) , also shows an optional local printer 42 for direct printing of coupons to be redeemed by the viewer/user.
  • An auxiliary output from terminal 69 is available for an external printer 41 or any other use, such as an optical stripe writer/reader or smart card writer/reader instead of the magcard writer/reader 45.
  • a remote control device 43 sending its commands along an infrared path 44, will be received by home unit 1, and all functions of home unit 1 will respond to such commands.
  • Various methods and devices are available for programming remote control devices for new functions, and therefore such discussion in this description is not necessary. It is sufficient to state, however, that any mechanical button operation on the front panel of home unit 1 shown in Figure 1 can be easily duplicated on the remote control device.
  • Two possible exceptions are the ERASE (or UNLOAD) and LOAD COUPON functions described earlier whose functions are preferably carried out only when the respective buttons 21 and 19 are held down during the wiping of the card through slot 7.
  • Figure 3 is a block diagram of the home unit 1 depicting the circuit blocks necessary to carry out the desired functions.
  • Each of the blocks will be described as to their specific function, and all such blocks in Figure 3, when fully detailed in accordance with Figures 4, 6, and 7 and the associated description, will enable the person skilled in the art to make and use the invention by interconnecting available components to implement the functions to be described and in a manner which would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without undue experimentation.
  • the television signal transmission will contain coupon-related data encoded in the transmission.
  • coupon-related data encoded in the transmission.
  • certain message information can be carried in the vertical interval between horizontal sync pulses of a television signal, similar to the manner in which close-captioned message information is transmitted.
  • the function of Figure 3 is to decode the message information from the television signal transmission, indicate the existence of the coupon-related data being transmitted to the viewer, mix the decoded coupon-related data with the normal television picture signal so as to present a superimposition of the two signals on the television screen of the viewer, and to provide various functions for manipulating the electronic coupon information, e.g. for coupon redemption.
  • the input to home unit 1 is video, it is applied to terminal 61 and sent along line 105 to an automatic signal input selector 103. If the input is rf, it will be inputted into terminal 63, applied along line 100 to a conventional rf-to-video converter 101, the output of which is again a video signal also routed to selector 103.
  • Both the video (picture) input on line 109 and message input on line 113 are operated on in control circuit 117 in a manner to be discussed later, with the result that video (picture) information outputted on line 119 and message information (coupon-related data) on line 123 is mixed in video mixer 121, sent to display driver 139 over line 137, and made available at video output terminal 67 or, through a video- to-rf converter 143 to an rf output terminal 65 over line 145.
  • a TV monitor will receive either output 65 or 67, depending upon whether an rf or video input to the TV monitor is selected.
  • This basic signal path through message controller 115 results in a display of the message in the picture presented to the viewer, preferably superimposed at the bottom of the screen so as to permit the viewer to continue to watch the program or commercial in progress without significant distraction and to avoid, or to reposition away from, any standard closed-caption message being viewed.
  • a logo or emblem is to appear on the TV screen when a valid message is being transmitted, and toward that end, an output of decoder 111 is applied on line 112, to message sensor 114.
  • Sensor 114 is therefore simply a threshold detector which disables logo generator 118 by a control line 116 in the absence of a message signal.
  • the threshold of sensor 114 is exceeded, and the output on line 116 is an enabling control signal (logical 1) to permit logo generator 118 to generate an electronic coupon logo or simple emblem with timing and synchronization so that the logo will appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
  • a suggested logo for example, would be a thin circle.
  • the logo signal on line 120 is fed to video mixer 121 and mixed with the video picture information and message information as previously described. Thus, if a message is present in the television signal transmission that is valid to that particular home unit, depending on whether or not certain security and usage flags if any exist, the logo will appear on the TV screen, and if not, the logo will not be visible.
  • a keyboard 150 represents either the buttons 5 ( Figure 1) on the home unit 1 itself, or the functions controlled by buttons on a remote control device 43.
  • the infrared light beam 44 is sensed by infrared sensor 153 and sent as digital commands on line 155 to remote command converter
  • Converter 151 merely converts the digitized remote control button pushes to a specific "1" and "0" control signal for operating in parallel with or in substitution for the ON/OFF mechanical buttons of the keyboard 150.
  • messages are selectively stored by command of the control circuit 117 passing the extracted message on line 125 to coupon message memory 128.
  • control unit 117 sends a confirm signal back to logo generator 118 on line 116a which changes an attribute of the logo, e.g. it may change to a solid filled circle, or it may change color.
  • An editing function in control circuit 117 can erase any stored coupon by action on line 127 and can retrieve stored messages from memory 128 on line 129.
  • coupon message memory 128 After the accumulated messages in coupon message memory 128 are properly edited, they are outputted over line 131 to a Q-CardTM writer/reader 133 and printer driver 132.
  • the output of driver 132 is available as an auxiliary output at terminal 69, or is sent along line 134 to a local coupon printer 42 which is physical located on the home unit 1, similar to the manner in which the tape printer in a hand-held calculator is mounted.
  • the selected coupon messages can be printed out for redemption at a retail outlet similar to the way cut-out coupons are redeemed prior to the present invention.
  • One advantage is that, along with the stated amount of discount for a particular product, the standard bar code for that product is also printed on the coupon.
  • an optical reader at the store will scan the bar code and make available valuable information to the customer, such as whether or not the product is in stock and the aisle location in the store.
  • cut-out coupons have bar codes, there is an opportunity to include other information useful to the store owner and/or product manufacturer, such as personal data on the coupon user and the details of the television program being viewed when the coupon offer was selected.
  • the accumulated coupon messages in memory 128, upon command by the viewer/user will be outputted over line 131 to a Q- CardTM writer/reader 133 and written onto a Q-CardTM wiped through slot 7 receiving its input from writer/reader 133 on line 135.
  • FIG 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the control circuit 117 shown in Figure 3. Recalling the need for passing the video signal through the home unit 1 for insertion of the logo and message, the video input on line 107 is passed through a video amplifier 201 and onto mixer 121 into which the logo signal on line 120 and the message on line 123 are inputted. The mixed output is sent to display driver 137 for ultimate display on TV monitor 39.
  • control circuit 117 is by way of the remote control device 43 which produces a number of commands from converter 151 and decoded into separate command lines in remote command decoder 205 in a conventional manner.
  • This decoder 205 simply creates a digital "1" or "0" signal on the appropriate output line in correspondence with the unique digital code generated by pushing corresponding buttons on the remote control device
  • the "VIEW" command on line 207 will always pass the message through to be observed on the TV screen. However, in the absence of a "VIEW" command, video switch 209 will be turned off and no message transmitted through to the TV monitor. Thus, while the logo will appear for each and every electronic coupon message being transmitted (preferred embodiment option, only if approved or authorized) , the message at the bottom of the screen will appear only at the user's discretion, i.e. if the "VIEW" command is given. The logo will intentionally be small enough so as to not disturb the viewer from enjoying the picture presentation. It should be realized moreover, that such logo will appear only during commercial presentations in any event.
  • DISPLAY LIST This command has two basic functions. First, over line 217, it is inverted logically by NAND gate 219 so that a "DISPLAY LIST” command turns off video amplifier 201 by control line 203. The picture content of the video program is thus interrupted and a blank screen, or solid colored screen, would appear on the TV monitor. At the same time, the "DISPLAY LIST" command switches to the output of video switch 209 the input on line 288 from a message list editor 227 which continually sorts and monitors all of the messages in memory 128 on retrieval line 129.
  • the entire list of messages in memory 128 will be presented on the TV screen sorted by a code and product manufacturer identification using fields 260 and 262 in the message data bytes of each electronic coupon, as will be discussed in connection with Figure 5.
  • the entire screen not just the bottom thereof, will contain information, being the entire list of electronic coupons stored in memory 128.
  • the reason for interrupting the video programming picture by disabling amplifier 201 is to permit easy viewing and editing of the electronic coupon listing without a disturbing moving picture in the background. The viewer would obviously want to concentrate on the electronic coupon listing without distraction, and would do so when the viewer is not interested in the picture presentation (e.g. late at night, just before going on a shopping trip, etc.).
  • control circuit 117 Since the accumulated electronic coupons may be more than the TV screen can display at one time, the viewer can issue an "UP ARROW” or “DOWN ARROW” command on lines 225 and 223 respectively to scroll through the stored electronic coupon menu. Since it is also desirable to discard electronic coupons no longer of interest, expired, or which were tentative in the first place, an editing function is provided in control circuit 117.
  • the viewer can scroll through the coupon menu and issue a "DELETE” command on line 238 which immediately removes the identified coupon message from memory. Whether or not a "DELETE” command is issued, the viewer may issue a "MARK” command on line 236 which inserts a flag into those messages on the menu which the user wishes to keep while the cursor is scrolling through the coupon menu.
  • a "MARK” command on line 236 which inserts a flag into those messages on the menu which the user wishes to keep while the cursor is scrolling through the coupon menu.
  • This is a convenience feature whereby the user may not want to write all of the coupons to the card, for example if the user wants to shop at one grocery store for some items now and at another grocery store for other items later.
  • a coupon may not pertain to that individual's desires, but may to another.
  • the "LOAD COUPON" command is issued on line 221.
  • AND gate 229 as disabled by the low logic level of line 221.
  • the continually recycled messages in memory 128, available on line 228 does not pass through AND gate 229.
  • the "LOAD COUPON” command erases all of the flagged messages in memory 128 over erase line 127 by action of the message list editor 227 responding thereto, and enables gate 229, passing the edited electronic coupon listing over line 230 to a message assembler 231 which serves as a holding register for the edited coupon list.
  • the coupon list is passed through authorization controller 243 and on to data driver 245 for outputting on line 131 to either a printer driver 132 or the Q-CardTM writer 133.
  • the Q-CardTM only contains those electronic coupons which the viewer wishes to redeem.
  • Another feature of the invention involves an automatic validation function which checks to see if any given message which the viewer wishes to store is valid and "authorized", before the user issues the "LOAD COUPON" command.
  • an automatic validation function which checks to see if any given message which the viewer wishes to store is valid and "authorized", before the user issues the "LOAD COUPON" command.
  • certain coupons are intended to expire after a certain date.
  • One of the functions of the home unit 1 is to automatically delete those coupons which have expired from the coupon menu listing.
  • Another reason for limiting the contents of memory 128 is that a manufacturer may wish to honor a discount coupon only a limited number of times per family, or a single discount now and a predetermined time to pass before the discount would be good by the same user. Otherwise, the manufacturer may have a flood of discount coupons generated by a single user who distributes the coupons in printed form or on Q-CardTMs to all of his friends or neighbors at will.
  • a user of the electronic coupon system may be required to reinitialize or update the system by means of a simple regular, perhaps yearly, maintenance procedure.
  • Each user for example, may be considered a subscriber to the electronic coupon service, and if there is reason to discontinue a user's subscription, such user should be precluded from using the system.
  • the updating will ensure that the household information retained in the system is kept current.
  • Authorization controller 243 is provided to serve those functions. It receives the message list from message assembler 231 and enters information from a subscription card (to be discussed later) on line 247 from the Q-CardTM reader 133. Controller 243 then automatically permits passage of, or not, the contents of register 231 in accordance with the block diagram of Figure 6.
  • the object of the authorization controller 243 is to selectively restrict electronic coupons from being recorded on a Q-CardTM by Q- CardTM writer/reader 133 under certain conditions, and to add or update household information which identifies the user/owner of the Q-CardTM.
  • the output from message assembler 231, representing the digital form of the assembled (edited) list of electronic coupons, is passed over line 244 to authorization controller 243.
  • Household information is received by controller 243 over line 247 from the Q-CardTM reader. If there are no restrictions on the use of any particular electronic coupon, controller 243 passes the digitized electronic coupon over line 251 to data driver 245.
  • Driver 245 is simply a buffer to send data to printer driver 132 and Q- CardTM writer 133. It should be noted that it may be of value to pre-clear these authorizations prior to the displaying of the logo so as to not frustrate the home user. That is, for example, if a user's subscription has expired, or the use is otherwise not authorized to record and use electronic coupons, instead of preventing information to be written to the Q-CardTM, similarly designed circuitry will restrict viewing of the logo in the first instance.
  • Figure 5 shows one arrangement of data bytes in a complete message representing an electronic coupon.
  • the complete message is shown at 250 comprising four sections: a RETAIL COUPON PURCHASE INFORMATION portion 252; a RETAILER PROCESSING INFORMATION portion 254; a SECURED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE portion 256; and a FUTURE EXPANSION portion 258. These four portions are also shown broken down into their smaller components in Figure 5. For the purposes of disclosing the basic invention, only the first three sections are discussed in detail herein and implemented by specific circuit blocks in the drawing.
  • portion 252 contains information about the product being purchased or upon which the discount is to be applied, and has the following sections: CODE 260 (1 byte) , PRODUCT MANUFACTURER 262 (5 bytes) , CHECK DIGIT 264 (1 byte) , PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION 266 (5 bytes) , COUPON DISCOUNT AMOUNT 268 (6 bytes) , EXPIRATION DATE 270 (6 bytes) , VALIDITY TIME INTERVAL 272 (6 bytes) and LIMIT CODE 274 (1 byte) .
  • the number of tracks per strip can be modified, and this may involve the use of non-ADA standards in order to accommodate a sufficient quantity of coupons without the requirement of four strips per card.
  • the format is based on current smart card input/output standards.
  • the RETAILER PROCESSING INFORMATION portion 254 has the following fields: RETAILER REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT 276 (4 bytes) ; ANNUAL UPDATE CODE 254 (3 bytes) ; and REQUIRED MERGE LINES 280 (1 yte) .
  • the reimbursement amount in field 276 is the retailer's reimbursement expressed in cents.
  • Field 254 is the annual (or possibly every two year) update code for establishing a renewal deadline date. The current date must be prior to this date for the coupons on the user's Q-CardTM to be valid.
  • Field 280 is reserved for use by the subscription service company and comprises one numeric byte. It may be used by the service company to gather information about the marketing of the product or about the customer household more intelligently. For example, a "0" in the field might indicate that the advertiser is not interested in household information, but rather quantities and geographical marketing data. A "1" may indicate that an advertiser wishes to receive a report from the subscription service organized by consumer zip code. A "2" could indicate the desire on the part of the advertiser to know the age grouping in the household that purchased the product. Thus, the advertiser has an opportunity to insert a code in the message being transmitted (and to change it periodically) which automatically will be understood and acted upon by the subscription service company to give instant marketing results to the advertisers in exactly the way the advertisers want it.
  • the SECURED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 256 portion of the message 250 is broken down into the following fields: SOURCE: PUBLICATION/BROADCAST LOG 282 (11 bytes) ; HOUSEHOLD NAME 285 (15 bytes) ; ADDRESS 286 (20 bytes) ; and ZIP CODE 288 (5 bytes) .
  • SOURCE PUBLICATION/BROADCAST LOG 282 (11 bytes)
  • HOUSEHOLD NAME 285 (15 bytes)
  • ADDRESS 286 (20 bytes)
  • ZIP CODE 288 5 bytes
  • Authorization controller 243 thus monitors all messages intended to be stored on the user's Q-Card, i.e. the assembled messages on line 244, and selectively passes this data through AND gate 305 if the other inputs to AND gate 305 are logical "l"s.
  • Interval timer 313 is configured to output a logical 1 on line 315 if an electronic coupon is intended to be used only once and then again only after the passage of a predetermined time interval. That function is discussed in connection with Figure 7.
  • an expiration date register 303 which decodes the 6 byte section 270 from the retail purchase information 252 in the character string comprising the electronic coupon message.
  • Register 303 thus is simply a comparator comparing the expiration date of the electronic coupon to be recorded on the user's Q-CardTM with the real time on line 312 from an internal real time clock generator 311. If the expiration date has not yet passed, the output of register 303 will be a logical 1. Otherwise, it is a logical 0 and turns off date 305 to restrict passage of the message attempting to be passed to data driver 305 from the message assembler 231.
  • a subscription data card (or other means of inputting information to the electronic coupon system) will be issued to each viewer/user and contains, already recorded on the card, an approval code or household information which was taken from an information sheet prepared by the viewer/user when applying for the subscription.
  • the subscription card (not shown) is read into the system by wiping it through slot 7 of the magcard reader 133 ( Figure 4) , and the data reaches authorization controller 243 via line 247.
  • the information read into controller 243 from the subscription data card includes household date information, i.e.
  • the updated household data base includes the new subscription expiration date which is inserted in field 254 when the user downloads electronic coupons to a Q-CardTM. In this way, the retailer can verify the fact that a user is an updated and valid subscriber.
  • subscription card decoder 301 Upon receiving a new subscription data card extending the user's subscription service through another annual period (or other convenient time period) , subscription card decoder 301 decodes a new "VALID UNTIL" date from the subscription Q-CardTM and updates the expiration date register 303.
  • Register 303 thus has two functions, it compares the real time clock on line 312 with both the expiration date bytes 270 in the electronic coupon message and also makes a similar comparison with the "VALID UNTIL" date read in by the subscription Q-CardTM. For so long as the subscription is valid and the expiration date of the electronic coupon has not yet passed, gate 305 will be enabled to pass the electronic coupon information from line 244 and the household identification information on line 306 to its output 351.
  • Expiration date register 303 is implemented primarily by a pair of logic comparators commonly used in the art.
  • Interval hold memory 419 contains all stored electronic coupons having a timed interval restriction. Since the first time an electronic coupon is to be used, memory 419 does not contain that electronic coupon in its memory, the memory interface 417 being scanned by scanner 420 does not contain an equivalent electronic coupon message on line 425 to be compared in comparator 401. Thus, there would be no match in the two electronic coupon messages, and line 403 would be a logical 0.
  • This control signal on line 403 is inverted in NAND gate 405 to produce a logical 1 on line 315 enabling the electronic coupon to pass through AND gate 305 in Figure 6 and be recorded on user's Q-Card.
  • the logical 1 at the output of gate 405 enables AND gate 407 which passes the electronic coupon message over line 409 to a combiner 415 and an interval time detector 411.
  • Detector 411 strips from the electronic coupon message the validity time interval bytes in field 272 (e.g. representing a 6 month interval) and sends that data to partial adder 413.
  • the real time clock on line 312 is also sent to adder 413, so that the output is a time equal to the current time plus the interval time (in this example, 6 months) .
  • the electronic coupon signal from line 409 is thus combined with the new advanced time (current time plus 6 months) in combiner 415 and is sent to memory interface 417 over line 431 to be written into memory 419 over line 423 in a conventional manner.
  • scanner 420 scans through the contents of memory 419 by means of the memory interface 417 continually retrieving memory data over line 421 and outputting the same over line 425, the next time the same electronic coupon message is received on line 244, a comparison is positive in comparator 401, and line 403 becomes a logical 1 and line 315 becomes a logical 0, turning off the AND gate 305 ( Figure 6) and preventing the message from being recorded onto the user's Q-CardTM. This condition will continue until the time interval has passed i.e.
  • a date comparator 428 thus receives just the date field from the messages being scanned through interface 417 on line 427.
  • comparator 428 outputs a logical 1 on line 429 which is sent to memory interface 417 so as to erase the contents of memory 419 for that particular electronic coupon.
  • the limit code byte in field 274 ( Figure 5) in the retail coupon purchase information section 252 operates in a manner similar to that just described with respect to the interval timer. That is, instead of comparing dates and updating dates within the interval timer 313, a quantity comparator and quantity update function is carried out in a similar functional block (not shown) . For example, upon first usage, there is no limit involved, and the output (corresponding to line 315) will be a logical 1 enabling recording of the electronic coupon on the user's Q-CardTM.
  • a counter is set to the number in the limit code field 274, and the comparison at a comparator (similar to that of comparator 401) will again pass the electronic coupon to the Q-CardTM until such time as the counter reaches 0, at which time a comparison will be sensed, and the output of the limit code detector will inhibit further recording of the electronic coupon on the user's Q-Card.
  • the electronic coupon information being transmitted by the TV station includes an alpha-numeric description of the product and discount amount to be displayed on the TV screen.
  • This alpha ⁇ numeric information is stored in memory 128 along with other information fields ( Figure 5) and is also available to the user in the edit mode.
  • Figure 5 when recorded on the Q-CardTM for redemption, only the fields discussed in connection with Figure 5 are transferred to the card, since such alpha-numeric descriptive data is not needed by the redemption center.
  • Figure 8 shows one way.
  • a user will enter the retail store and find the coupon redemption desk upon which a Q-CardTM writer/reader is conveniently located.
  • a user wipes his or her Q-CardTM through the slot of writer/reader 501, and the information is interpreted by coupon ID decoder 507 and sent to a customer information reader 509 and coupon memory 511.
  • the information sent to reader 509 records significant information from the Q-Card, such as the user's name, address, zip code, product being purchased, limit on number of purchases per visit, etc. This information can later be used by the retail outlet or the manufacturer to intelligently make adjustments to its marketing efforts.
  • the limit on purchases is obtained from the LIMIT CODE field 274 ( Figure 5) in the coupon message, as an alternate use for field 274 discussed earlier.
  • the coupon memory will contain information inputted by a modem or floppy disk from the manufacturer, and/or through a keyboard 518 by an operator of the retail establishment so that a comparison can be made with the information being decoded from the user's Q-CardTM.
  • the printer driver interface 515 sends the electronic coupon information to a printer 517 which may print a hard copy of the electronic coupon containing not only the product and discount information but also directions as to which aisle or other location in the store the product can be found, and, optionally, dependent upon application, a bar code for use at the cash register.
  • Figure 9 indicates that, instead of a dedicated stand ⁇ alone retail store unit, the Q-CardTM writer/reader 601 can be interfaced with the retail's mainframe computer 607 via write and read lines 603 and 605, respectively.
  • Writer/reader 601 may be of the type which draws a users card in and holds it in the machine until the transaction is completed. The card is then released.
  • a cash register/sales slip printer 609 can be configured to receive (via the computer 607) the user's Q-CardTM data directly without having to print a paper coupon to be read by an optical scanner which would slow down the checkout process.
  • a memory matching file 611 is provided which receives all of the electronic coupons from the user's card at the beginning of checkout. At the end of checkout, all of the products for which electronic coupons existed on the card are compared with the full list in memory matching file 611, and any unused coupons will automatically be written back to the card.
  • the television set is a closed-caption modified TV set having built-in closed-caption circuitry hereinafter referred to as a closed-caption chip. Since the invention does not require a decoder chip when used with such a TV set, the external (to the TV set) circuitry comprising the invention will be referred to hereinafter as an electronic coupon home unit subsystem, or simply subsystem. Also, hereinafter, the term "modified TV set” refers to a TV set having internal closed-caption circuitry, i.e. the TV set is manufactured or serviced to be "closed-caption ready".
  • the input to the TV set can be either baseband video or antenna or cable box rf output. If the input is video, it is shown to be inputted to the modified TV set 700 on line 49, and if rf, the input on line 47 is converted to video in the rf-to-video converter 701.
  • An electronic video switch 703 (or mechanical switch - not shown) selects one of the video inputs for output to be ultimately fed to closed-caption decoder chip 707.
  • Decoder chip 707 extracts the digitally encoded closed-caption information in horizontal line 21 of the vertical blanking interval which is reserved on a first priority basis for the hearing impaired.
  • decoder chip 707 The output of decoder chip 707 is the alpha-numeric data which is ultimately routed to a video mixer 711 which has the appropriate circuitry for mixing (for visual presentation) the alpha-numeric information on line 710 with the selected video information on line 706 and outputting the mixed signal to the TV monitor 713 which displays the closed-caption information superimposed over the picture on the TV screen for reading by hearing impaired.
  • additional circuitry not described herein is necessary to accomplish the display of closed-caption information on the picture, such as circuitry for synchronization, circuitry for giving priority to the closed-caption information so as not to be obscured with picture details, etc.
  • the block diagram of Figure 10 is merely representative of one scheme for displaying closed-caption information on a video screen, and there are many other functional diagrams which could be drawn to get the same results. It is sufficient for this description, however, to indicate that, within the modified TV set, there is a routing of baseband video to the closed- caption decoder chip 707, there is a means for combining the video picture information with the decoded closed- caption message, and there is a means for displaying the information on a TV monitor screen. All of these functions and signal paths will be standard in future modified TV set production.
  • the modified TV set must be further modified or "adapted" to interface with the electronic coupon subsystem la. The manufacturer of the modified TV set must make the following changes for such compatible interfacing.
  • switch 705 in Figure 10, which may be an electronic or mechanical switch having an internal position and an external position.
  • switch 705 is shown to be a double pole/double throw switch which, in the internal position (solid arrows) passes the video signal directly to the decoder chip 707 and video mixer 711.
  • the video out of electronic video switch 703 is routed to a connector 725 on the modified TV set, preferably on the back panel thereof.
  • the video signal passes through a multi-wire cable 727 to the subsystem la which passes the video signal on line 109a to the video input of message controller 115 described earlier in connection with Figure 3.
  • Message controller 115 adds the coupon logo on line 120 to the video signal on line 109a and outputs the mixed video signal on line 137a and routes it back through the switch 705 to then be distributed to the closed-caption chip 707 and video mixer 711 on line 706 in the modified TV set 700.
  • the purpose for the path out of and into the modified TV set as just described is for adding the coupon logo to be visible on the TV monitor 713 when a coupon message is being decoded by closed-caption decoder chip 707.
  • the logo is generated by logo generator 118 only upon detection of an electronic coupon message being contained within the television transmitter signal, also as earlier described.
  • the determination as to whether or not a coupon logo is to be displayed is made by message sensor 114 which, as described in connection with Figure 3, analyzes the decoded message data, and if an electronic coupon message is being transmitted, the message sensor 114 outputs an enable signal on line 116 to cause logo generator 118 to output the logo signal on line 120 to message controller 115.
  • message sensor 114 receives the decoded alpha- numeric data from message decoder 111.
  • control circuit 117 ( Figures 3 and 11) sends a confirmation signal back to logo generator 118 on line 116a which changes an attribute of the logo, e.g. it may change to a solid field circle, or it may change the color of a part of the logo. That same analysis applies to the subsystem la.
  • each modified TV set 700 will be provided with an on/off button
  • FIG. 10 shows the addition of some logic gates, an i.e. OR gate 717, and an AND gate 709.
  • Figure 10 shows a direct output of subsystem la on line 207 which is the "VIEW" signal referred to earlier.
  • the "VIEW” signal is therefore identified as a "MESSAGE PRESENT AND SELECTED” signal on line 207 which is routed through cable 727 to the modified TV set 700.
  • the "VIEW” signal is inputted to a second input of OR gate 717. Due to the OR function, gate 717 passes the "VIEW" command onto line 714 as an alternate enablement signal to AND gate 709.
  • either the on/off button 719, or the "VIEW" enablement signal on line 207 from subsystem la, will permit the decoded closed-caption signal to pass through AND gate 709 and be mixed with the picture video in video mixer 711.
  • the closed-caption on/off button is in the "OFF” position, the user is not presented with any closed-caption information on the monitor 713 until and unless the "VIEW" instruction is given.
  • a remote control device 43 was described. The control from such device affected the electronic coupon system home unit 1 in order to give the user flexibility in displaying, storing, and editing electronic coupon data. Since the modified TV set 700 will have to be adapted to operate with the electronic coupon subsystem la shown in Figure 10, a further, minor, adaptation of TV set 700 will serve to reduce the hardware requirements of subsystem la by simply tapping off of the infrared sensor 715 which normally controls TV functions within TV set 700 and sending the output of the sensor 715 through cable 727, along line 155a, as the remote control signal entering message controller 115, the operation of which is then carried out similar to that described in connection with Figures 2-4.
  • the remote control device 43a sends an infrared beam 44a to sensor 715 in the modified TV set 700, and the remote command conversion takes place in the infrared sensor 715 to output the commands along line 731.
  • remote control device 43a and infrared sensor 715 substitutes for the remote control device 43, infrared sensor 153 and remote command convertor 151 shown in Figure 3. Since the remote control devices have a large number of possible codes, much greater than the number of functions to be controlled in TV set 700, there are sufficient codes available for additional control of the electronic subsystem la.
  • the alpha-numeric information in Figure 3 is passed to control circuit 117 and message sensor 114 from decoder 111.
  • the alpha-numeric information is an input through connector 723 to line 112a which, again, serves as input to control circuit 117 and message sensor 114.
  • the video mixer 121 of Figure 3 combines the picture video, message data, and logo together to be sent to a TV monitor through display driver 139.
  • the video mixer 121 need only combine the picture video information on line 119 and the logo information on line 120, and this combined signal is sent out line 137a to connector 723 where it is inputted to video mixer 711 ( Figure 10) on line 706 with or without (selectively) the decoded information from decoder chip 707.
  • Line 123 from control circuit 117 is still necessary for the display of stored messages from memory 128 in the manner previously described with reference to Figures 3 and 4.
  • Figure 12 shows the changes to control circuit 117 for the electronic coupon subsystem la as compared to the complete electronic coupon system home unit 1.
  • the input to video switch 209 has been eliminated, since the real time (not stored) alpha-numeric coupon message will be video mixed in mixer 711 in the modified TV set 700 itself and not in the electronic coupon box.
  • the "VIEW" signal on line 207 enabled video switch 209 to pass the alpha-numeric message onto the monitor ultimately, again that function is provided for in TV set 700, and therefore the "VIEW" signal on line 207 in Figure 12 is routed out of control circuit 117 directly as described in connection with Figure 10.
  • the signal on line 137a is therefore a combination of video, stored message readout (R/0) , and logo signals.
  • the present invention is readily adaptable to accommodate inputting coupon information which is not electronically derived from a television signal.
  • ordinary paper coupons which a shopper would normally cut out of a magazine, newspaper, flyer, or the like can be electronically inputted to the electronic coupon system of this invention simply and conveniently and stored along with any other electronic coupon received by the television transmission channel, and redeemed in exactly the same manner.
  • the process of inputting the printed coupon information into the system or subsystem involves reading the bar code associated with the coupon or coupons. Bar codes are universally used by manufacturers and advertisers so that the amount of the coupon can be quickly deducted from the purchase price of an item by the electronic/laser reading devices at the checkout counter of most major retail outlets. A simple adaption of the present invention will permit entering the bar code into the system or subsystem 1 or la.
  • Figure 11 shows an alternate path for entering external data into the control circuit 117 over line 247.
  • control circuit 117 can receive its input from a wand base unit 800 which applies a data stream to line 247 by scanning a paper coupon bar code using a bar code wand 803.
  • Wand 803 uses an infrared reading tip to be scanned across the bar code of a printed coupon, and the wand base unit 800 converts the retrieved bar code information to the proper digital format for inputting to control circuit 117 over line 247.
  • Bar code readers of this type are known and so widely used as to make it unnecessary to describe in detail.
  • a typical wand unit would have a cable 804 connected between the wand 803 and the wand base unit 800.
  • This type of device is commonly known in the art and is used extensively in the field of small personal computers for inputting bar code information more conveniently than with a keyboard. Also, such technology is already in practice today having reference to such devices as Federal Expresse's hand held bar code and alpha-numeric input/output scanners. Such devices are also used for inventory, game/toy usages, and usages by transportation companies.
  • wands having a totally self-contained data accumulation function are also well known in the industry.
  • Such devices rather than having a physical connection (using a cable 804) has the ability to scan a bar code and register it within the self-contained remote unit, and when the data has been gathered, the wand (hardwired or by infrared transmission) couples the data stored in the wand to the subsystem la.
  • the wand is inserted into a slot, such as that shown at 801 in Figure 11, and by pushing an enter button, such as button 805 in Figure 11, the data stored in wand 803 is outputted from the base unit 800 to line 247 the same as the unit having a wired connection between the wand 803 and base unit 800. Also, since the output of base unit 800 and the output of Q-CardTM slot 7 (Figure 11) can be applied to the same bus line 247 for entering into control circuit 117, a schematic representation illustrating that possibility is shown in Figure 11 by the common connection at the output of base unit 800 and the output of Q-CardTM writer/reader 133.
  • the coupon home subsystem la accepts stored paper coupon information by scanning wand 803 across specially formatted paper coupons such as in newspapers, magazines, and mail inserts. By placing the coupon wand 803 in the input/output storage pocket 801, the wand will act in the same manner as reloading the magnetic or smart card coupons in the home unit as previously described.
  • an access control code number from the coupon wand 803, or base unit 800, matching the resident home unit subscription code number shall take place prior to acceptance of the paper coupon data into the home unit subsystem la.
  • the data string and flag requirements will have the same basic format as the data string and flag requirements previously described in connection with the complete home unit 1.
  • the process of handling the coupon wand data, once inputted to the home unit subsystem la, functions in accordance with the applicable description of the invention shown in Figures 1-7.
  • the limited total number of alpha-numeric characters in a standard bar code strip will typically be less than that required to generate an electronic coupon for full utilization in the home unit. Consequently, other reduced data reading formats can also be used, such as, but not limited to, two-dimensional bar coding and alpha-numeric character scanner/readers.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système électronique de production de bons remboursables qui comprend: un codeur qui code les données relatives au bon dans une émission de signaux de télévision, ladite émission contenant des informations d'image destinées à être visualisées sur un écran de télévision; un décodeur (1) qui reçoit l'émission de signaux de télévision et en extrait les données relatives au bon; un dispositif d'enregistrement (41) pour les données se rapportant au bon et un moyen d'enregistrement permettant ensuite l'acquisition de données et le remboursement. Dans un mode préféré de réalisation, le décodeur comprend une commande d'affichage (39) qui affiche des symboles (8) sur un écran de télévision en réponse aux données relatives au bon en cours de codage dans l'émission de signaux de télévision. Selon les symboles apparaissant sur l'écran de télévision, l'utilisateur peut extraire manuellement de manière sélective les données relatives au bon de l'émission de signaux de télévision. Après une fonction d'édition optique, les données extraites relatives au bon sont stockées sur un support d'enregistrement tel qu'une carte à pistes magnétiques. Le décodeur peut faire partie du circuit standard d'un téléviseur adapté ou décodage de sous-titrages codés ou modifiés en conséquence. Il est également possible d'entrer électroniquement dans le système des informations relatives à des bons en papier.
PCT/US1993/004428 1992-05-12 1993-05-11 Systeme electronique de production de bons remboursables WO1993023955A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US88221492A 1992-05-12 1992-05-12
US07/882,214 1992-05-12
US07/887,450 US5285278A (en) 1992-05-21 1992-05-21 Electronic redeemable coupon system via television
US07/887,450 1992-05-21
US07/932,799 US5287181A (en) 1992-08-20 1992-08-20 Electronic redeemable coupon system and television
US07/932,799 1992-08-20

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1993023955A1 true WO1993023955A1 (fr) 1993-11-25

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PCT/US1993/004428 WO1993023955A1 (fr) 1992-05-12 1993-05-11 Systeme electronique de production de bons remboursables

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WO (1) WO1993023955A1 (fr)

Cited By (9)

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WO2001050758A2 (fr) * 1999-12-30 2001-07-12 Microsoft Corporation Procede et systeme de telechargement, de stockage et d'affichage de donnees de bons de reduction utilisant la partie de surbalayage horizontal d'un signal video
WO2002042866A2 (fr) * 2000-11-22 2002-05-30 Advertising.Com Systeme et procede pour adresser a des clients des incitations par l'intermediaire d'un reseau informatique
US6556247B1 (en) 1999-12-30 2003-04-29 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for decoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US6704058B2 (en) 1999-12-30 2004-03-09 Microsoft Corporation System and method of adaptive timing estimation for horizontal overscan data
US6742188B1 (en) 1997-02-04 2004-05-25 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for encoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
EP1433098A2 (fr) * 2001-05-25 2004-06-30 ACTV, Inc. Systeme et procede de vente et de rachat de coupons electroniques a l'ecran
EP1545127A1 (fr) * 2001-07-16 2005-06-22 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Procede, systeme et programme d'impression de donnees radiodiffusees
US6937289B1 (en) 1999-12-30 2005-08-30 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for downloading and storing interactive device content using the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
GB2419450A (en) * 2004-11-29 2006-04-26 Measat Broadcast Network Syste Promotional coupon distribution

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US3848082A (en) * 1973-01-16 1974-11-12 Atlantic Res Corp System for transmitting and utilizing supplemental data via television systems
US5014125A (en) * 1989-05-05 1991-05-07 Cableshare, Inc. Television system for the interactive distribution of selectable video presentations
US5070404A (en) * 1990-05-15 1991-12-03 Bullock Communications, Inc. Method and apparatus for contemporaneous delivery of data
US5128752A (en) * 1986-03-10 1992-07-07 Kohorn H Von System and method for generating and redeeming tokens

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US3848082A (en) * 1973-01-16 1974-11-12 Atlantic Res Corp System for transmitting and utilizing supplemental data via television systems
US5128752A (en) * 1986-03-10 1992-07-07 Kohorn H Von System and method for generating and redeeming tokens
US5014125A (en) * 1989-05-05 1991-05-07 Cableshare, Inc. Television system for the interactive distribution of selectable video presentations
US5070404A (en) * 1990-05-15 1991-12-03 Bullock Communications, Inc. Method and apparatus for contemporaneous delivery of data

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6742188B1 (en) 1997-02-04 2004-05-25 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for encoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US7150028B1 (en) 1999-12-30 2006-12-12 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for downloading, storing and displaying coupon data using the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US6937289B1 (en) 1999-12-30 2005-08-30 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for downloading and storing interactive device content using the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US7477320B2 (en) 1999-12-30 2009-01-13 Buresift Data Ltd. Llc Method and system for downloading and storing interactive device content using the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US6556247B1 (en) 1999-12-30 2003-04-29 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for decoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US6704058B2 (en) 1999-12-30 2004-03-09 Microsoft Corporation System and method of adaptive timing estimation for horizontal overscan data
WO2001050758A3 (fr) * 1999-12-30 2002-01-03 Microsoft Corp Procede et systeme de telechargement, de stockage et d'affichage de donnees de bons de reduction utilisant la partie de surbalayage horizontal d'un signal video
WO2001050758A2 (fr) * 1999-12-30 2001-07-12 Microsoft Corporation Procede et systeme de telechargement, de stockage et d'affichage de donnees de bons de reduction utilisant la partie de surbalayage horizontal d'un signal video
WO2002042866A2 (fr) * 2000-11-22 2002-05-30 Advertising.Com Systeme et procede pour adresser a des clients des incitations par l'intermediaire d'un reseau informatique
WO2002042866A3 (fr) * 2000-11-22 2003-01-30 Advertising Com Systeme et procede pour adresser a des clients des incitations par l'intermediaire d'un reseau informatique
EP1433098A2 (fr) * 2001-05-25 2004-06-30 ACTV, Inc. Systeme et procede de vente et de rachat de coupons electroniques a l'ecran
EP1433098A4 (fr) * 2001-05-25 2010-02-10 Actv Inc Systeme et procede de vente et de rachat de coupons electroniques a l'ecran
EP1545127A1 (fr) * 2001-07-16 2005-06-22 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Procede, systeme et programme d'impression de donnees radiodiffusees
EP1545127A4 (fr) * 2001-07-16 2007-08-22 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Procede, systeme et programme d'impression de donnees radiodiffusees
GB2419450A (en) * 2004-11-29 2006-04-26 Measat Broadcast Network Syste Promotional coupon distribution
GB2419450B (en) * 2004-11-29 2006-10-04 Measat Broadcast Network Syste Promotional coupon distribution

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