US 8,430,300 B2 · Using validity events to control the use of coupons containing barcodes in mobile devices that display the barcodes for reading by barcode readers

Abstract

Technique for ensuring that a device that contains coupons with barcodes will not output a barcode belonging to an invalid coupon to a barcode reading system. The technique avoids validation of the coupon at the time the barcode is provided to the barcode reading system. In the technique, the mobile device responds to a validity event that may affect the validity of a given coupon by inhibiting the provision of the given coupon's barcode to the barcode reading system until the coupon has been validated on the basis of validity information available in the device that is outputting the barcode, and then again permitting the given coupon's barcode to be output to the barcode reading system. In applications of the technique, the coupon may be used n times, the coupon may be shared, or the coupon may become valid after a set of actions have occurred.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A method employed in a device which outputs barcodes belonging to electronic coupons directly to a barcode reading device for reading by the barcode reading device of ensuring that a given electronic coupon is valid for a particular kind of use, the method comprising the steps performed in the device of:

responding, at a time other than upon user selection of a given electronic coupon, to a validity event which may affect the validity of the given electronic coupon for the particular kind of use by inhibiting output of the barcode belonging to the given electronic coupon for the particular kind of use;
determining, while the output of the barcode is inhibited, on the basis of validity information which is available in the device prior to the validity event whether the given electronic coupon is currently valid for the particular kind of use;
and
subsequent to the determination of whether the given electronic coupon is currently valid for the particular kind of use, ceasing to inhibit output of the given electronic coupon's barcode for the particular kind of use if the given electronic coupon is determined to be currently valid for the particular kind of use.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Using validity events to control the use of coupons containing barcodes in mobile devices that display the barcodes for reading by barcode readers

Life of this patent

Using validity events to control the use of coupons containing barcodes in mobile devices that display the barcodes for reading by barcode readers

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims33