System and method for membership vending
OwnerTe-Kai Liu, Paul Andrew Moskowitzinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method (and system) of issuing a membership card to a user from a vending machine, includes selecting from information displayed on a vending machine according to an interest of the user, contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account, customizing a membership token with chosen membership privileges, and issuing the membership token to the user.
Claims30
A method of issuing a membership token to a user from a vending machine, comprising:
- selecting from information displayed on a vending machine;
- contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account;
- customizing a membership token with chosen membership privileges;
- and p1 issuing the membership token to the user.
A method of issuing a membership token to a user from a vending machine, comprising:
- selecting from information displayed on the vending machine;
- contacting selected entities to set up the user's membership account;
- creating a membership token containing membership information;
- and
- transferring the membership token to the user's mobile device by a wireless connection.
A system for a consumer to select a membership grade and obtaining a membership token, said system comprising:
- a display for allowing a user to select from information displayed on the display, said information including names of entities providing at least one of goods and services;
- a communication device for contacting entities selected by the user to set up a membership account for the user;
- a customizing unit for customizing a token with chosen membership privileges based on an information item selected by said user;
- and
- a token issuing unit for issuing the token to the user.
A system for a consumer to customize the membership privileges and obtaining a membership token, said system comprising:
- means for selecting information displayed on a display according to an interest of the user;
- means for contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account;
- means for customizing a token with chosen membership privileges;
- and
- means for issuing the token to the user.
A system for merchants to dynamically update their membership offerings available to consumers, said system comprising:
- means for selecting from information displayed on a display;
- means for contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account;
- means for customizing a token with chosen membership privileges;
- and
- means for issuing the token to the user.
A system for a consumer to negotiate membership terms and obtain a membership token, said system comprising:
- means for selecting from information displayed on a display;
- means for contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account;
- means for customizing a token with chosen membership privileges;
- and
- means for issuing the token to the user.
A method of issuing a membership token to a user interacting with a membership vending machine, comprising:
- displaying available membership grades to a user, and selecting a desired membership grade;
- displaying a cost and privileges associated with the selected membership grade;
- confirming by said user the membership grade selected;
- customizing a token for the user, and issuing the customized token to the user;
- and
- notifying a membership vending server about the customized token having been issued.
A method of verifying a membership token of a consumer, comprising:
- reading, at a point-of-sale terminal, membership information from a membership token;
- forwarding the membership information to a merchant membership server for verification;
- checking validity of the membership token, and replying to the point-of-sale terminal with the privileges to which the user is entitled;
- and
- displaying the verification result.
A signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform a method of issuing a membership token to a user from a vending machine, comprising:
- selecting from information displayed on a vending machine;
- contacting entities selected by the user to set up the user's membership account;
- customizing a membership token with chosen membership privileges;
- and
- issuing the membership token to the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.