WO2002011022A2

WO2002011022A2 - Method and apparatus for providing consumers with electronic offers from a vendor

Info

Publication number: WO2002011022A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/023216
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrick L. Lapointe; William P. Pittman; Bradley G. Forsythe
Original assignee: Alliance Data Systems Corporation
Priority date: 2000-07-24
Filing date: 2001-07-24
Publication date: 2002-02-07
Also published as: MXPA03000812A; AU2001280724A1; WO2002011022A9; CA2417414A1

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING CONSUMERS WITH ELECTRONIC OFFERS FROM A VENDOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for providing a consumer with electronic offers from a vendor when the consumer is in a predetermined geographic location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless technology is providing a new wave of technological advancements. Moreover, hand-held computing devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital telephones, and the like, are now equipped with wireless communication systems such that electronic communication is becoming increasingly seamless and mobile. As consumers become more mobile, they will begin to demand technologies which automate time-consuming tasks, such as last minute gift purchases, bargain shopping, last minute reservations for events or dinner, and the like. And, correspondingly, vendors will seek solutions to reach and assist consumers with the expectation that the vendors will acquire the business of the consumers in this increasingly omnipresent electronic economy.

At the present time, the immediate geographic location of an individual consumer is not used in providing the consumer with promotional information from vendors. Rather, promotional information is delivered to the consumer through traditional media channels including email, regular mail, facsimile, television, radio, phone, billboards, and through face-to-face meetings.

Promotional information overloads the consumer since, by and large, the majority of the information is not of interest to the consumer. Accordingly, the promotional information is largely discarded by the consumer. Email alert services have somewhat alleviated the problem by peraiitting the consumer to receive only information that is of interest to the consumer. However, these services require the consumer to access his/her email account, and the services do not provide the consumer with useful information which corresponds to the consumer's current geographic location vis-a-vis a vendor's geographic location. Obtaining geographic information about a vendor while the consumer is in route is still cumbersome and largely a manual process.

In traditional wireless telecommunications systems, the consumer's actual geographic location is unknown. However, changes dictated by the Federal Communications Commission requiring improvements to the quality and reliability of 911 wireless services will soon give telecommunication providers the ability to determine a caller's position with reasonable accuracy. Telecommunication providers will be required to have the ability to identify the latitude and longitude of a wireless communication unit making a 911 call, within a radius of no more than 125 meters. Existing technology for determining a position of a wireless communications device generally uses a "Time Difference of Arrival" ("TDOA") calculation. In a TDOA calculation, the time of arrival of a signal from a wireless device at three or more receiving locations (e.g., cellular phone towers) is recorded, and the location of the wireless device is computed by comparing the arrival times. As is well known to those skilled in the art, once the precise locations of the receiving towers are lcnown, the difference in distance and projected arrival times of a signal can be used to form a hyperbola from which the location of the wireless device can be determined. For example, the formation of a hyperbola reduces the computation required to determine the geographic location of a communications device into a geometric formula by using the known locations of the towers and the direction of the signal received from the communications device (indicating a consumer's direction of travel) to form a geometric plane which intersects double right circular cones. Once the equation is properly established, the lcnown locations of the towers are substituted into the equation, and the equation is restructured to solve for the location of the communications device.

The "Global Positioning System" ("GPS") may also be used to determine a communications device's geographic location. Some 21 satellites are evenly spaced above the earth's atmosphere continuously recording their exact geographic location with respect to the earth' s surface and transmitting that geographic location back to the earth. A GPS uses a triangulation calculation to determine the precise location of a communications device which receives the geographic location transmitted from the satellites. By way of example, a communications device receives from at least 3 satellites the exact locations of the satellites above the earth's atmosphere. With the location of three satellites lcnown, a geometric triangle is formed with the communications device's location being a single point within that triangle. The communications device's single point within the triangle is determined by dropping a perpendicular from one of the sides of the lcnown triangle to form a second right triangle wherein the communications device's point is the only variable apex in the second right triangle. Once this is done, a simple equation is established to solve for the length of the hypotenuse of the right triangle using Pythagorean's Theorem. With the size of each side of the triangle lcnown, the apex which is indicative of the communication device's location is readily determined. As is well known to those skilled in the art, additional computations with GPS receivers may be used to provide more information such as altitude, velocity, and the like.

Moreover, alternatives to GPS using the same technology include Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, a number of systems and geometric equations can be combined to determine the geographic location of a communications device. For example, any defined area such as a mall or an amusement park could set up multiple transmitters and provide receivers to consumers, in this way a consumer's location could be readily calculated using standard geometric equations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide methods and apparatus by which information dependent on the consumers' geographic locations vis-a-vis a vendors' geographic locations can be provided to the consumer.

Additional objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows and, in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examining or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with of the present invention, methods and apparatus are provided for providing information to a consumer based on the consumer's geographic location.

One embodiment of the present invention is a computer-implemented method of transmitting vendor offer data to a consumer comprising the steps of: receiving and storing vendor offer data and data indicative of a vendor location; electronically receiving data indicative of a consumer location from a wireless communications device; and electronically transmitting to the consumer at least a portion of the vendor offer data dynamically when the consumer location substantially corresponds to the vendor location. The wireless communications device may comprise, for example, a wireless telephone, a handheld computer (such as a personal digital assistant or "PDA"), a laptop computer, or an automobile computer. This method may further comprise the steps of: receiving consumer profile data; and selecting the portion of the vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer on the basis of the consumer profile data. In addition, at least a portion of the consumer profile data may be electronically transmitted to a vendor, and additional vendor offer data may be electronically received from the vendor and transmitted to the consumer.

A system for performing this method is also provided, wherein the system comprises: a CPU; memory operatively associated with the CPU; a data store operatively associated with the CPU, the data store including vendor location data and vendor offer data for at least one vendor; and program instructions executable by the CPU for performing the method described above.

Still other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, incorporated in and forming part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with their descriptions, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is another schematic illustration of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 depicts one embodiment of a processing system according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is an alternative embodiment of a processing system according to the present invention; and

Figures 5A and 5B depict a flow diagram of a method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides methods and apparatus which permit a consumer to electronically receive information of potential interest ("vendor offer data") from a vendor located in the geographical vicinity of the consumer. The consumer provides "consumer profile data" which is indicative of, for example, personal shopping preferences and/or specific products or services the consumer is interested in purchasing. In one embodiment, consumer location data is electronically received and is used to identify vendors in the geographic vicinity of the customer location. In addition, the consumer profile data is compared to vendor offer data in order to select portions of the vendor offer data which are of potential interest to the consumer. In this manner, the vendor offer data sent to the consumer is chosen on the basis of both the consumer profile data and the consumer's geographic location.

If the consumer is interested in the vendor offer data, the consumer may request additional information (e.g., more specific or detailed vendor offer data) from either the data store of the processing system or directly from the vendor. Moreover, the vendor may be notified of the match in consumer location data and consumer profile data, and portions of the consumer profile data may be electronically transmitted to the vendor so that the vendor may respond to the consumer (e.g., by providing additional vendor offer data). In this manner, an electronic dialogue between the vendor and the consumer may take place. The methods and apparatus of the present invention are particularly useful in electronically providing information to a consumer via a wireless communication device (e.g., a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant or "PDA", a laptop computer, or an automobile computer) . One embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated in Figure 1 , wherein a consumer 2 and a vendor 4 interact with a processing system 6 of the present invention. As used herein, the term "consumer" is intended to include any person or entity interested in obtaining or utilizing the services and/or products of vendors. The term "vendor" is intended to include any person or entity which provides services and/or products to consumers. In this manner, vendors can also be consumers. It will also be understood that the term "vendor" includes the individual facilities of a single entity, such as the individual restaurants of a restaurant chain. Figure 2 is a more detailed schematic illustration of the embodiment of Fig. 1. As seen in Fig. 2, consumer 2 may interact with processing system 6 using a consumer communications device 3, while vendor 4 may interact with processing system 6 using a vendor communications device 5. It will be understood, however, that vendor 4 may also provide vendor offer data and vendor location data (further described herein) manually. For example, vendor 4 may provide vendor offer data and vendor location data in written form (e.g., mailing or faxing the information to the service provider), such that a service provider will then enter the vendor data into processing system 6. Thus, the methods and apparatus of the present invention do not require that the vendor have a vendor communications device 5 for interacting with processing system 6. However, one embodiment of the present invention provides for dynamic interaction between consumer 2 and vendor 4 through their respective communications devices 3 and 5, and other embodiments allow the vendor to update its vendor offer data at any time (e.g., on a daily or even more frequent basis).

It will also be understood that consumer 2 and vendor 4 may each use more than one communications device in order to interact with processing system 6. By way of example, consumer 2 may use both a stationary communications device (e.g., a desktop computer communicating with processing system 6 using a wired modem) as well as a mobile, wireless communications device (e.g., a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant or "PDA", a laptop computer, or an automobile computer). Consumer 2 may even provide portions of his or her consumer profile data manually, as described above for vendor 4. In particular, consumer 2 may first establish an "account" with the service provider by accessing the processing system from a personal computer (e.g., a desktop or notebook computer), such as through the Internet. The consumer will initially provide consumer profile data of a general nature (e.g., consumer shopping preferences, clothing sizes, etc.). Thereafter, the consumer may use a wireless communications device to access the processing system of the present invention in order to receive vendor offer data selected on the basis of the consumer profile data as well as the consumer's location.

Processing system 6 may comprise a single computer or one or more computer systems (such as networked or distributed computer systems). A computer generally includes any device capable of processing data in accordance with one or more instructions. Processing system 6 may therefore comprise any conventional or special purpose computer, such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tower computer, a micro-computer, a mini-computer, a server, a web server, a workstation, a mainframe, or the like. As seen in Fig. 2, in one embodiment, processing system 6 generally comprises a processor 7 (such as a CPU or a microprocessor), memory 8 (e.g., RAM, ROM and/or EPROM) operatively associated with processor 7, a data store 9 operatively associated with processor 7, and program instructions (not explicitly shown) executable by processor 7 for performing the methods of the present invention.

As is well-known to those skilled in the art, the program instructions may reside in various types of computer readable media, including memory 8. A computer readable medium stores information readable by a computer, such as programs, data files, etc. As one with ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, a computer readable medium can take a variety of forms, including magnetic storage (such as hard drives, floppy diskettes, tape, etc.), optical storage (such as laser disks, compact disks, digital versatile disks ("DVD"), etc.), electronic storage (such as random access memory ("RAM"), read only memory ("ROM"), programmable read only memory ("PROM"), erasable programmable read only memory ("EPROM"), flash memory, memory sticks, etc.), and the like. Certain types of computer readable media, which are sometimes described as being nonvolatile, can retain data in the absence of power so that the information is available when power is restored. The computer readable instructions of the present invention may be provided in any of a variety of programming languages lcnown in the art or hereafter developed (e.g.,C, C++, Java, etc.).

By way of example, processor 7 may be a Pentium Processor made by Intel Corporation. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to any one make of processor and the invention may be practiced using some other type of a processor such as a co-processor or an auxiliary processor. In addition, it will be understood that multiple processors 7, memories 8 and data stores 9 may be employed, such as a networked or distributed computer system. For example, processing system 6 may comprise multiple computers (e.g., servers, particularly web servers) which are operatively associated with one another. In this manner, and as further described below in conjunction with Fig. 4, one server may compare customer profile data to the vendor offer data, while another server is dedicated to determining a consumer's geographic location and comparing the consumer location to the vendor location data.

Figure 3 is a further schematic illustration of processing system 6 according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein a processing module 140, a location module 130 and an optional loyalty module 120 are depicted. These modules, for example, may each comprise a set of executable program instructions, such as in the form of software, routines, programs, algorithms, code and the like. As further described herein, the program instructions comprising these modules cause processing system 6 to carry out the methods of the present invention. For example, processing module 140 may compare consumer profile data to vendor offer data, while location module 130 determines the customer's location and compares that location to vendor location data. Processing module 140 is preferably provided in communication with data store 9, consumer communications device 3, and vendor communications device 5 by means of a variety of well-known means. For example, consumer communications device 3 and vendor communications device 5 may communicate with processing module 140 via a software interface and a suitable communications link (e.g., a wired or wireless modem connection). Both location module 130 as well as loyalty module 120 may also be in communication with data store 9. Alternatively, separate data stores may be provided for each module.

Consumer communications device 3 may also communicate directly with location module 130 such that data indicative of a consumer location may be received and processed by location module 130, and compared to vendor location data stored, for example, in data store 9. This comparison of location data may be performed by location module 130 and the results provided to processing module 140. Alternatively, location module 130 may merely process the location data received from consumer communications device 3 in order to determine the consumer's location, and communicate that location to processing module 140 whereat the comparison to the vendor location data will take place.

As mentioned previously, the processing system of the present invention may also comprise multiple servers (particularly, web servers) for carrying out the methods of the present invention. In many instances this may improve the performance of the processing system, since each server is dedicated to one or more discrete tasks. As shown schematically in Fig.4, a processing system 206 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a processing server 240, a location server 230, an optional loyalty server 220, and one or more data stores 209 in operative communication with the individual servers. Each server may have its own data store, or one or more common data stores may be employed. In the embodiment of Fig. 4, a single common data store 209 is employed. It will also be understood that each server may comprise one or more individual computers operatively linked to one another, wherein each computer includes at least a processor, memory operatively associated with the processor, and program instructions for performing the methods of the present invention. In the embodiment shown, the three servers (220, 230 and 240) are operatively linked to one another, thus providing a computer network for performing the methods of the present invention in a more efficient manner.

It will also be understood that the various components of processing system 6 or 206 may be physically remote from one another, but in operative communication with each other (e.g., through the Internet). In addition, in the case of processing system 206, data store 209 may even comprise one of the servers (e.g., processing server 240).

The methods of the present invention generally provide vendor offer data to a consumer based not only on the consumer's location, but also based on consumer profile data which is used to select vendor offer data of potential interest to the consumer. In general, consumer 2 will initially establish contact with processing system 6, such as by establishing a personal account. This contact may be via a software interface such as a web client, or browser, particularly when processing system 6 comprises one or more web servers. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, however, any electronic interface may be used, such as customized software designed to provide graphical user interface (GUI) screens and the like. Once contact is established, the consumer 2 may provide (e.g. , electronically submit) consumer profile data to processing system 6 which will receive and store consumer profile data in data store 9. Consumer profile data may include both public and private data, and the categorization of public and private data may even be a decision which the consumer 2 makes. Public consumer profile data may include, for example, the following information about the consumer: email address, post office address, name, phone number, age, sex, clothing sizes, color preferences, desired services, interests, desired products, expected prices to pay for services and products, and the like. Private data may include, for example, the customer's social security number, credit card numbers, account passwords, income level, and the like. Public and private data are modifiable by the consumer 2 as desired. The processing system 6 may store both public and private consumer profile data in data store 9. In general, however, public consumer profile data will be made available to vendors, while private consumer profile data will not.

After the consumer has established an account and submitted at least general consumer profile data, consumer 2 will then establish communication with processing system 6 through a wireless consumer communications device 3. Data indicative of a location of the consumer 2 is received and processed by processing system 6. Location data may be either automatically provided to processing system 6 (e.g., either directly from consumer communications device 3 or from a wireless telecommunications provider), or location data may be manually provided by the consumer 2 through the communications device (e.g., so that the consumer may inform processing system 6 of the consumer's future location). The processing system 6 will use the consumer profile data and the location data to identify and select vendor offer data of potential interest to the consumer 2. The selected vendor offer data will then be transmitted to the consumer and displayed on the consumer communications device. Vendor offer data may comprise, for example, product or service descriptions, price quotations, directions to the vendor, inventory information, contact information, promotional data and the like. Moreover, the consumer 2 and the vendor 4 may be linked electronically through processing system 6 such that an electronic dialogue is established, and this dialogue will permit personalized exchanges (e.g., negotiations) between the consumer 2 and the vendor 4.

By way of example, a consumer 2 is traveling along a highway at three o'clock in the morning and desires to locate an open restaurant located in the vicinity of his current location which serves sushi. Consumer 2 may have previously established an "account" by accessing processing system 6 via a stationary (i.e., wired) or wireless communications device (e.g., desktop computer, a conventional wired telephone, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant or "PDA", a laptop computer, or an automobile computer). The account may even have been established manually by the consumer (e.g., by manually completing a written form and submitting the completed form to the service provider for inputting into processing system 6). By establishing an account beforehand, consumer 2 will have previously submitted consumer profile data to processing system 6, and this previously submitted consumer profile data will thus be stored in data store 9. Data store 9 may therefore already contain data indicative of the consumer's preferences (e.g., the type of sushi consumer 2 prefers and the prices that consumer 2 is willing to pay).

Regardless of whether or not consumer 2 has previously established an account with the entity providing services in accordance with the present invention (i.e., the service provider), the consumer, traveling along a highway at 3 AM, will establish a connection with processing system 6 using a wireless communications device (e.g., a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant or "PDA" (such as a PalmPilot® PDA), a laptop computer, or an automobile computer). This connection may be established, for example, by connecting to an Internet service provider through a wireless telecommunications provider, and thereafter accessing a web site having one or more consumer interface web pages stored at or linked to processing system 6. For the sake of safety, it is obviously preferred that the consumer is only a passenger and not the driver of the vehicle! Of course the consumer may access processing system 6 by means of a voice recognition interface (i.e., software) or other hands-free interface which allows for reasonably safe communication with processing system 6 while operating a motor vehicle.

The consumer's wireless communication device will electronically transmit the consumer's interest in finding an open sushi restaurant as consumer profile data to processing system 6. In addition, data indicative of the consumer's location will also be transmitted to processing system 6. Processing system 6 receives the consumer profile data indicating an interest in an open sushi restaurant as well as the consumer location data. Processing system 6 compares the consumer profile data ("open sushi restaurant") to the vendor offer data stored in data store 9, and also compares the consumer's location to vendor location data stored in data store 9. If processing system 6 locates a vendor serving sushi which is not only open, but is also in the geographical vicinity of consumer 2, vendor offer data will be transmitted by processing system 6 to the consumer's wireless communications device. This vendor offer data may include, for example, the selected vendor' s location, directions to the vendor from the consumer' s current location, a list of sushi currently available, and the vendor's prices. This vendor offer data is then displayed or otherwise communicated to the consumer 2 via the consumer's communications device. The consumer may even communicate with the vendor, through processing system 6, in order to, for example, place an order so that his sushi will be ready upon his arrival.

Figures 5A and 5B (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Fig. 5") illustrate a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for providing selected vendor offer data to a consumer. The embodiment shown in Fig.2 permits a vendor to electronically provide offer data to a consumer. The flow diagram of Fig. 5 assumes that one or more vendors have previously established electronic communication to processing system 6 (e.g., via a vendor communications device), and that processing system has received from the vendor (and stored in data store 9) vendor location data and vendor offer data. As used herein, vendors include non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, government organizations, private organizations, and the like. Moreover, without intending to limit the scope of the present invention, vendors can include retail stores, restaurants, service shops (e.g., as automotive repair shops), and the like. In other words, a vendor can be any entity desiring to provide vendor offer data to a consumer.

Once the vendor has subscribed to the system (e.g., established an account with a service provider), the vendor establishes communication with the processing system which performs the steps shown in Fig. 5. For example, the vendor may establish communication using a personal computer or any other computing device. Once the vendor has logged into the system, the vendor may submit general vendor offer data which includes, for example, the geographic location(s) of the vendor, contact information, general product or service information (e.g., restaurant specializing seafood), email addresses, web links, and the like. Moreover, the vendor may submit specific vendor offer data which includes more specific product information (e.g., serves sushi, lobster, tuna, etc.), current price quotes, available specials or discounts (e.g., senior citizen discount), advertisements, inventory data, promotional data, special event information, and the like. The vendor offer data (both general and specific) are received by the processing system and stored in data store 9. The vendor may modify, delete or add vendor offer data as needed by accessing processing system 6 in the same manner. For example, the vendor may update its inventory, pricing and current specials on a daily (or more frequent) basis, as desired. For example, each morning, a seafood restaurant may submit additional vendor offer data which indicates its current inventory (e.g., the types of sushi currently available) and daily specials.

In the case of a retail vendor, the vendor may submit vendor offer data reflecting a current special (e.g., a sale on an overstocked item) which may only be available for a short period of time (e.g., a few days or less). Often in such instances the retail vendor has no other effective means of alerting consumers of the special offer due to the short duration of the offer. The processing system of the present invention will allow the vendor to broadcast the special offer to consumers potentially interested in the item (e.g., based on their consumer profile data). For example, a consumer may submit consumer profile data indicating their interest in golf. If a vendor has a special offer on an overstocked golf club, the processing system will identify a "match" between the consumer profile data (i.e., the consumer is a golfer) and the vendor offer data (i.e., the special offer on the overstocked golf club). In this manner, the special offer will be broadcast to the consumer in question if the consumer is (or plans to be) in a predetermined geographical vicinity of the vendor. The flow diagram of Fig. 5 also assumes that the consumer has previously registered with the service provider, although this is not required. Consumers include any person or entity interested in a service or a product of a vendor. By previously accessing ("logging into") the processing system of the present invention, the consumer will have submitted at least general consumer profile data which is then stored in data store 9. When the consumer first accesses the processing system, he/she will typically transmit to processing system 6 general consumer profile data, such as email address, post office address, name, phone number, age, sex, social security number, credit card numbers, account passwords, income level, clothing sizes, color preferences, desired services, interests, hobbies, desired products, expected prices to pay for certain services and products, and the like. It will be understood that this general consumer profile data may be entered from a stationary communications device (e.g., a home desktop computer or conventional wired telephone) via a wired connection. This general consumer profile data will be stored by processing system 6 in data store 9. The consumer may modify the general consumer profile data at any time, as desired. In addition, the consumer may also enter specific consumer profile data (also referred to as "consumer request data") by logging into the processing system of the present invention. This specific consumer profile data (i.e., request data) may include, for example, specific products or services which the consumer is interested in at that time (e.g., sushi at 3 AM).

Referring now to Fig. 5 in detail, the consumer will connect to the processing system (step 10) with a wireless communication device such as a hand-held computing device (e.g., a PDA), a digital phone, or automotive computer, although any wireless communication device will suffice. As discussed previously, however, By way of example, the consumer may directly connect to the system with a wireless communications device, and interface with the system through a web browser, accessing web pages designed to provide a software interface which permits bi-directional communication between the consumer and the processing system. Although as one skilled in the art will appreciate, other suitable software interface programs may be used. Alternatively, the consumer may connect to the Internet (such as by using an existing Internet access account) and then log into the processing system of the present invention (e.g., through the World Wide Web using a conventional web browser as an interface).

Once communication has been established, the consumer may submit consumer profile data, particularly consumer request data, as desired (step 20). Of course the consumer may also forego submitting additional consumer profile data, such that the processing system of the present invention will determine "matches" based on the consumer profile data previously submitted by the consumer. In this manner, the consumer may essentially utilize the processing system and methods of the present invention to "browse" the current vendor offers from vendors in the geographical vicinity of the consumer, with the processing system looking for vendor offers which are deemed to be of potential interest to the consumer. For example, a consumer golfer drivmg down the interstate may utilize the processing system of the present invention to alert him of any vendors located along the interstate that have special golf club offers (i.e., golf- related vendor offer data).

The processing system of the present invention will also determine and/or track the location of the consumer. Thus, the processing system will receive consumer location data (i.e., data indicative of a consumer location) in step 30. For example, when a mobile consumer logs into the processing system of the present invention using his/her wireless communications device, the processing system will determine and dynamically track the geographic position of the consumer. The geographic position of the consumer may be determined using a TDOA calculation, although other calculations are available to determine the geographic location of the consumer such as GPS, GLONASS, and the like may be used. The consumer communications device 3 may transmit raw data indicative of the consumer's location to the processing system 6 for further processing. Alternatively, the consumer communications device 3 may itself determine the consumer's location and transmit already processed data indicative of the consumer's location to processing system 6. In other words, processing system 6 (particularly location module 130 or location server 230) may receive location data which must be further processed in order to determine the current location of the consumer. In the alternative, the location data transmitted from consumer communications device 3 may be the precise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude and altitude) of the consumer's location, such as, for example, when consumer communications device includes its own GPS system.

It is also contemplated that if, for example, the consumer is accessing the processing system through a wireless telecommunications service provider (e.g., a wireless telephone service provider), the processing system of the present invention (particularly location module 130 or location server 220) may query the wireless provider in order to obtain the location data. The location module or server may connect to a web server or other computer operated by the wireless provider (e.g., through the Internet), and transmit an identifier (e.g., account number) associated with the consumer's wireless communications device. The wireless provider will then respond by transmitting location data to the location module 130 or server 230 of the present invention. The location data received from the wireless service provider may comprise raw, unprocessed location data (e.g., TDOA data indicating the time of arrival of a signal from the consumer communications device to three or more receivers). In this manner, the consumer location data received by the processing system of the present invention need not be transmitted directly from the consumer's communications device.

Next, the consumer's consumer profile data is compared to the vendor offer data in data store 9, and the consumer's location is compared to the vendor location data in data store 9 (step 40). If any portion of the consumer profile data substantially corresponds to a portion of a vendor's vendor offer data, and the consumer's location (as defined by, or determined from the consumer location data) substantially corresponds to that vendor's location, the processing system will confirm the "match" (step 50) by notifying the consumer (via the consumer's wireless communications device 3) of the corresponding vendor offer data (step 70). In other words, the substantial correspondence between the consumer profile data and the vendor offer data will indicate that the corresponding offer data is of potential interest to the consumer, and the substantial correspondence between consumer and vendor locations will indicate that the vendor is located an appropriate distance from the consumer. In this manner, the processing system of the present invention will essentially select which portions of vendor offer data should be transmitted to the consumer based not only on the consumer's location, but also based on potential consumer interest.

The substantial correspondence between data can be determined in a variety of manners which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, "substantial correspondence" between consumer and vendor locations may simply mean that the consumer's location is within a predetermined geographic vicinity of the vendor's location (e.g., a predetermined radial distance from the vendor, a predetermined number of city blocks from the vendor, on the same street as the vendor, in the same zip code as the vendor, a region of a mall or shopping center which is in the vicinity of the vendor, an aisle in a store, etc.). The predetermined geographic vicinity can even be defined by the vendor and/or the consumer as part of their respective vendor offer data or consumer profile data. For example, the consumer may limit "substantial correspondence" to a maximum distance (e.g., in miles) from a vendor. In one embodiment of the present invention, location module 130 (or location server 230) will merely compare the consumer's location to vendor location data stored in data store 9 and, if the location module or location server determines that there is substantial correspondence between the consumer's location and the location of one or more vendors, the identity of those vendors is communicated to processing module 140 (or processing server 240).

It should also be pointed out that the "vendor location" is not necessarily a storefront or other vendor retail establishment. Rather, the term "vendor location" is meant to include a location chosen by the vendor, such as an access point. For example, a "vendor location" can include an access point such as a bus stop from which the consumer may travel to another location designated by the vendor (e.g., abus stop which will take the consumer to the site of an event such as a concert or sporting event).

Substantial correspondence between consumer profile data and vendor offer data can likewise be determined by processing module 140 (or processing server 240) in a variety of manners. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, data store 9 comprises a relational database which utilizes relational techniques for storing and retrieving data in an efficient manner. Both vendor offer data as well as consumer profile data may be stored in the relational database, and compared to one another in order to determine "substantial correspondence" (or a "match") between portions of vendor offer data and consumer profile data (particularly consumer request data). For example, consumer profile data, and in particular consumer request data, may be used to formulate a database query designed to identify matching vendor offer data. A numerical value may be associated with each database record (the vendor offer data) contained in the answer set of the database query. A predetermined threshold value (e.g., 90 out of a possible 100) may be used to define which vendor offer data in the answer set is transmitted to the consumer. In other words, if any particular search hit (i.e., vendor offer data) within the answer set receives a value above the predetermined threshold, that particular vendor offer data will be deemed to be of potential interest to the consumer. The threshold value may be configured by the user, or may vary depending upon the topic of interest.

As yet another alternative, since the interface used by the consumer and the vendor to enter profile data and offer data, respectively, is defined via predetermined web interface pages, categories of interest can be electronically normalized eliminating errors associated with the multiple permutations used by individuals to identify the same concept. Moreover, items stored in the database records for searching may be stemmed, so that morphological roots associated with words do not prevent valid search hits during a database query. Additionally, hierarchies of interest may be provided via the web pages for selection by the consumer, this would provide for a controlled way in which vendor offer data is recorded and stored in the data store and the way in which consumers identify their consumer profile data. For example, a hierarchy four levels deep for the topic "clothes" might include clothes-dresses-red-size 9. By forcing a consumer to use this hierarchy as well as the vendor before entering variable information such as prices and inventory number, software can easily be constructed to find matches. Parameters may also be established by the vendor and/or consumer such that "substantial correspondence" does not require an exact match in each level of the hierarchy (e.g., vendor offer data concerning size 9 dresses in colors other than red is deemed a "match" due to substantial correspondence with the consumer profile data). Any of a variety of other software-implemented techniques may be used for locating matches (i.e., substantial correspondence) between consumer profile data and vendor offer data, such as various algorithms or decision trees.

If no matches are found, the consumer may be notified of this through tl eir consumer communications device (step 60). The processing system may continue to receive consumer location data (step 30) in an attempt to identify matches as the consumer moves from one location to another. In this manner, as long as the consumer remains in communication with the processing system, the processing system of the present invention will continue to compare consumer profile and location data to vendor offer and location data, respectively. This process will continue until either a match is found and transmitted to the consumer, or the consumer terminates communication with the processing system.

If a match is found and vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer (step 70), the vendor may also be notified of the vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer (step 80). In this manner, the vendor may chose to transmit additional vendor offer data to the processing system (step 90). The additional vendor data received by the processing system may then be transmitted to the consumer (step 100). The additional vendor offer data may include, for example, updates, modifications or corrections to the vendor offer data previously transmitted to the consumer (e.g., if the vendor has sold out of a particular product, or if the vendor's price has dropped).

Similarly, the consumer may chose to transmit additional consumer profile data to the processing system (step 110). The additional consumer profile data received by the processing system may then be transmitted to the vendor (step 120). The additional consumer profile data may include, for example, an order request from the consumer (e.g., placing an order for the goods or services which were the subject of the vendor offer data transmitted in step 70), payment data (e.g., credit card numbers), requests for additional vendor offer information (e.g., inventory, size or color information), or even a counteroffer from the consumer whereby the consumer may attempt to negotiate with the vendor (e.g., for a lower price). In fact, steps 90, 100, 110 and 120 may be repeated as many times as desired such that the consumer and vendor may even have an electronic dialogue (through the processing system of the present invention). For example, the consumer and vendor may even negotiate the price for particular goods or services included in the original vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer in step 70. Once the consumer has arrived at the vendor (step 130), the process may be terminated.

The consumer may request additional information about the vendor (such as directions to the vendor, i.e., "vendor direction data") or further details about the vendor offer data. In this manner, the vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer in step 70 may merely include summary information describing one or more vendor offers. If the consumer is interested in a particular vendor offer, he/she may request additional information about that vendor offer from the processing system. Alternatively, such additional information may be transmitted initially to the consumer along with the other vendor offer data. It is also contemplated that the consumer may designate which portions of his or her profile data should be used in performing the matching analysis (step 90). For example, the consumer may specify that only specific request data should be used, rather than the consumer's general consumer profile data (thereby reducing the amount of matching vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer). As yet another alternative, a consumer may even request all vendor offer data from vendors located within a certain geographical vicinity of the consumer, thereby overriding the requirement for substantial correspondence between consumer profile data and vendor offer data before the vendor offer data is transmitted to the consumer.

A consumer may also specifically request vendor offer data for a specified geographical location which is not the same as the consumer's current location. For example, the consumer may identify a geographic location which the consumer plans to be at in the future, and provide such information to the processing system of the present invention (as "consumer location data"). At the consumer's request, the system will use the geographic location submitted by the consumer, rather than data indicative of the consumer's current, actual location. This allows a consumer to acquire vendor offer data such as current events, sales, or activities at a geographic location at a specified point in time in the future, permitting the consumer to acquire valuable information before the consumer's physical arrival at the geographic location in question.

For example, a consumer residing in Cincinnati desires to take a weekend trip to Cleveland. The night before leaving for his/her trip, the consumer asks the processing system of the present invention for vendor offer data substantially corresponding to his/her consumer profile data from vendors located in Cleveland. The consumer may even limit the query to specified future dates, and/or request vendor offer data from vendors located along his/her planned travel route.

The consumer's web interface page, while comiected to the processing system of the present invention, may also display vendor advertisement data transmitted by the processing system. The advertisement data may change dynamically as the consumer's geographic location changes (not shown in Fig. 2). This could be achieved using electronic banners which display on a consumer's web interface pages. The electronic banners would change as the location of the consumer varies.

As mentioned previously, the processing system of the present invention may also include a loyalty module 120 (embodiment of Fig. 3) or a loyalty server 220 (embodiment of Fig. 4). In this manner, the methods of the present invention may include a loyalty marketing component whereby a consumer can earn awards based on the consumer's transactions with vendors participating in the loyalty marketing program. Thus, the loyalty marketing component of the present invention will monitor a consumer's transactions using the processing system of the present invention and award the consumer based upon those transactions. The loyalty marketing component of the present invention will include program instructions which record consumer transactions and provide awards to consumers according to a predetermined set of rules. As consumer 2 responds to vendor 4 offer data, processing system 6 will communicate pertinent information concerning the consumer/vendor interaction to the loyalty module or server. A data store (such as data store 9 or a dedicated loyalty marketing data store) will be used to track a customer's program value (e.g., in terms of "points"), and debit the vendor's program value in accordance with the loyalty marketing program rules. The consumer may also use the dynamic interaction capabilities of the processing system of the present invention to access his/her loyalty marketing program account maintained by the loyalty module or server. During such access the consumer 2 may perform one or more tasks such as reviewing account value, asking questions related to his/her account and converting accumulated value into specific awards (as is well known to those skilled in the art).

The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teaching. For example, although a web browser was used to describe the primary interface for a vendor and a consumer, any communication interface will suffice and would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the attached claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A computer-implemented method of transmitting vendor offer data to a consumer comprising the steps of: receiving and storing vendor offer data and data indicative of a vendor location; electronically receiving data indicative of a consumer location from a location specifying device; and electronically transmitting to the consumer at least a portion of the vendor offer data dynamically when the consumer location substantially corresponds to the vendor location.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: receiving consumer profile data; and selecting said portion of the vendor offer data transmitted to the consumer on the basis of said consumer profile data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of: electronically transmitting at least a portion of the consumer profile data to a vendor; electronically receiving additional vendor offer data from said vendor; and electronically transmitting said additional vendor offer data to said consumer.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of dynamically determining the consumer's location based on said consumer location data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of electronically receiving data indicative of a consumer location is performed at least periodically.

6. A computer- implemented method of providing vendor offer data to a consumer comprising the steps of: storing in at least one data store vendor offer data and vendor location data for a plurality of vendors; electronically receiving data indicative of a consumer location from a mobile communications device and electronically receiving consumer profile data; comparing said consumer profile data to said vendor offer data in order to determine if any portion of said vendor offer data is of potential interest to said consumer; comparing said consumer location data to said vendor location data in order to determine if said consumer location is within a predetermined vicinity of a vendor; and if said consumer location is within a predetermined vicinity of a vendor, and if at least a portion of said vendor's vendor offer data is of potential interest to said consumer, electronically transmitting to the consumer the portion of said vendor' s vendor offer data which is of potential interest.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of electronically transmitting to the consumer the portion of said vendor' s vendor offer data which is of potential interest comprises transmitting the data to a wireless communications device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of notifying the vendor that a portion of said vendor's vendor offer data has been transmitted to a consumer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of notifying said vendor comprises electronically transmitting at least a portion of the consumer profile data to said vendor.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: electronically receiving additional vendor offer data from said vendor; and electronically transmitting said additional vendor offer data to said consumer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: electronically receiving additional consumer profile data from said consumer; and electronically transmitting said additional consumer profile data to said vendor.

12. A system for providing offer information to a consumer, comprising: a CPU; memory operatively associated with said CPU; a data store operatively associated with said CPU, said data store including vendor location data and vendor offer data for at least one vendor; and program instructions executable by said CPU; wherein said system is operable to electronically receive data indicative of a consumer location from a location specifying device and to electronically receive consumer profile data; and further wherein said program instructions are operable to: compare said consumer profile data to said vendor offer data, and determine if any portion of said vendor offer data is of potential interest to said consumer; compare said consumer location data to said vendor location data, and determine if said consumer location is within a predetermined vicinity of said vendor; and if said consumer location is within a predetermined vicinity of said vendor, and if at least a portion of said vendor offer data is of potential interest to said consumer, dynamically providing to the consumer the portion of said vendor offer data which is of potential interest to the consumer.