Patents Examined by Matthew L Hamilton
  • Patent number: 10373189
    Abstract: Systems and methods for using wireless beacons in point of purchase (“POP”) displays to facilitate the delivery of consumer oriented content to mobile devices is disclosed herein. A processor coupled to a wireless beacon may record information obtained from sensors coupled to a POP display. The sensors may assess environmental activity and/or user activity around the POP display. A mobile device may record information about interactions between the mobile device and the wireless beacon and store the information in a memory cache on the mobile device. The information from the processor and the mobile device may be transmitted to a remote server via wireless communication from both the processor and the mobile device at selected times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Shelfbucks, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles Walden
  • Patent number: 10373190
    Abstract: Systems and methods for using wireless beacons in point of purchase (“POP”) displays to facilitate the delivery of consumer oriented content to mobile devices is disclosed herein. Wireless beacons may be used to broadcast wireless signals from POP displays, where the wireless signals include data packets with unique identifiers for the wireless beacons. A wireless signal from a POP display may be received by a mobile device. The mobile device may provide the unique identifier in the wireless signal and a geographic location of the mobile device to a remote server. The remote server may assess the location of the POP display based on the unique identifier for the wireless beacon and the provided geographic location of the mobile device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Shelfbucks, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles Walden
  • Patent number: 10373174
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods for online content delivery are disclosed that operate to present an advertisement to a plurality of users, the advertisement associated with an advertiser and comprising a plurality of software components where at least one software component of the plurality of software components is an interactive software component; track use of the interactive software component by the plurality of users; calculate an aggregate value based on a value associated with each use of the interactive software component; and charge the advertiser an advertising fee corresponding to the aggregate value. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: LocalScene LLC
    Inventor: Andrew Eklund
  • Patent number: 10366441
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for conducting sales. A system configured to practice the method receives an inquiry with at least one parameter from a user associated with a sale of an item. The system identifies one or more discount items that satisfy the inquiry and filters the one or more discount items based on a time-sensitive sales opacity scale. The system identifies comparable items for each discount item at nondiscount rates dynamically using real-time data and presents one or more comparable groups to the user, each comparable group including one filtered discount item and respective comparable items. Then the system advances the sale of the discount item based on user acceptance of one of the presented one or more comparable groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Inventor: Joseph Bous
  • Patent number: 10354474
    Abstract: An incentive-based waste reduction system and method thereof are disclosed herein. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an incentive-based waste reduction system comprises a collection means comprising at least a load-determining device, the collection means for obtaining a quantifiable measure of waste material from an entity, a value associated with the quantifiable measure of waste material, an adjustment factor for adjusting the value associated with the quantifiable measure of waste material, determined from an algorithm, the algorithm taking as an input at least a predetermined factor, a credit value associated with at least a quantifiable measure of deposited waste material, and a reward value associated with the credit value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: RECYCLEBANK LLC
    Inventors: Ron Gonen, Morley Ivers, David Wigder
  • Patent number: 10354278
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing promotional materials to potential customers are described. In some cases, the described methods include obtaining GPS coordinates of a merchant's location. In some cases, the methods further include providing a map showing the locations of customers in a promotion area, wherein a merchant is able to resize the promotion area to increase or decrease how many customers are in the promotion area. In some cases, the merchant further produces a text or other electronic promotion, optionally sets a time period in which such promotion is effective, and provides the promotion to customers within the promotion area. In some cases, as customers enter the merchant's location with their electronic devices that received the promotion, and during the promotion's effective period, the described systems match such devices' GPS coordinates with the GPS coordinates of the merchant's location to register conversions on the promotion. Other implementations are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: MYSTIC MEDIA LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Silvestro, Gregory Charles Chotkowski
  • Patent number: 10346867
    Abstract: Provided is a process of identifying an offers engine configured to provide information about offers to users, the method including: receiving, at an offers engine, a request for an offers interface website from a mobile computing device; and in response to the request, transmitting to the mobile computing device a website configured to cause a browser of the mobile computing device to perform steps, including: detecting an offers intent in the transmitted website; retrieving from memory of the mobile computing device an identifier of a native application offers interface mapped to the offers intent; and in response to retrieving the identifier of the offers engine, launching the native application, the native application being stored in memory of the mobile computing device and configured to provide an offers interface to the offers engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: RetailMeNot, Inc.
    Inventors: John Newman Faith, Matthew Alan Howitt, Eithan Zilkha
  • Patent number: 10346866
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for semi-opaque sales with bundles of items. An example bundle can include hotel lodging and a bonus service, status, or item associated with that hotel. An system can identify a first bundle of a first base and bonus item, and a second bundle of a second base and bonus item. The system can present a semi-opaque offer comprising the first bundle, the second bundle, and a discount price, wherein the semi-opaque offer does not identify which of the first bundle and the second bundle will be sold at the discount price to the user upon acceptance of the semi-opaque offer, and wherein the discount price is a full price of the first base item. After receiving acceptance of the semi-opaque offer from the user, the system can disclose that the user has purchased the first bundle at the discount price.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Inventor: Joseph Bous
  • Patent number: 10346855
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an electric power related information obtaining unit mounted on or connected to equipment and configured to obtain electric power related information with regard to the equipment and a communication unit configured to transmit the electric power related information obtained by the electric power related information obtaining unit to a rebate processing apparatus connected via a network. A rebate processing apparatus includes a communication unit configured to receive electric power related information transmitted from an information processing apparatus mounted on or connected to equipment via the network, a rebate reference calculation unit configured to calculate a rebate reference functioning as a reference for a rebate processing on the basis of the electric power related information, and a rebate processing unit configured to perform a predetermined rebate processing on the basis of the rebate reference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohtaro Sabe, Takashi Iwama, Hiroshi Kamitani, Osamu Shimizu, Masashi Takiguchi
  • Patent number: 10332143
    Abstract: Product offering systems are provided. Product offering systems may include sending an offer to a customer that possesses a mobile computing device and has agreed to receive offers for products via the mobile computing device. Agreeing to receive offers would result in the unique data about the customer being available to offer provider. Unique customer data may include data related to the customers wireless service provider or from a financial account in a financial institution, and collecting customer data about the customer, wherein the customer data comprises financial data and personal data. Product offering systems may further include registering a wireless computing device of the customer to able the device to receive the offer, and determining opportunities to send the offer to the customer by monitoring the customer and the customer data. Product offering systems may also include sending the offer to the customer's registered device based on the determination of opportunities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: CAPITAL ONE SERVICES, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Comerford, Joseph M. DeFilippo
  • Patent number: 10318967
    Abstract: Providing an end-to-end citizen engagement, in one aspect, may comprise obtaining data of multiple disintegrated sources from one or more of communication and social computing channels via one or more adapters. Data refactoring and management, integration and process orchestration of the data according to a data model as data attributes of the data model may be provided. One or more analytics may be performed based on the data attributes stored according to the data model and input specified to the one or more analytics. One or more results computed by performing the one or more analytics may be provided. One or more application logics supporting one or more front-end applications may be produced. One or more front-end applications for automated sensing of user activities and sensor-based personal assistant capability may be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Tian-Jy Chao, Younghun Kim, Stephen E. Levy, Ming Li, Milind R. Naphade, Sambit Sahu
  • Patent number: 10318981
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for semi-opaque sales with bundles of items. An example bundle can include hotel lodging and a bonus service, status, or item associated with that hotel. An system can identify a first bundle of a first base and bonus item, and a second bundle of a second base and bonus item. The system can present a semi-opaque offer comprising the first bundle, the second bundle, and a discount price, wherein the semi-opaque offer does not identify which of the first bundle and the second bundle will be sold at the discount price to the user upon acceptance of the semi-opaque offer, and wherein the discount price is a full price of the first base item. After receiving acceptance of the semi-opaque offer from the user, the system can disclose that the user has purchased the first bundle at the discount price.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Inventor: Joseph Bous
  • Patent number: 10318960
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for improving recycling and participation rates by providing financial incentives to households engaged in recycling. Certain embodiments of the invention relate to reduction of costs associated with waste collection and the enhancement of collection efficiency. Other embodiments of the invention relate to opening a marketing channel for participating retailers to build value from responsible corporate citizenship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: RECYCLEBANK, LLC
    Inventors: Patrick K. FitzGerald, Ron Gonen
  • Patent number: 10275787
    Abstract: Product offering systems are provided. Product offering systems may include sending an offer to a customer that possesses a mobile computing device and has agreed to receive offers for products via the mobile computing device. Agreeing to receive offers would result in the unique data about the customer being available to offer provider. Unique customer data may include data related to the customers wireless service provider or from a financial account in a financial institution, and collecting customer data about the customer, wherein the customer data comprises financial data and personal data. Product offering systems may further include registering a wireless computing device of the customer to able the device to receive the offer, and determining opportunities to send the offer to the customer by monitoring the customer and the customer data. Product offering systems may also include sending the offer to the customer's registered device based on the determination of opportunities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: CAPITAL ONE SERVICES, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Comerford, Joseph M. DeFilippo
  • Patent number: 10217135
    Abstract: A technique for providing advertisement information is disclosed. The technique includes, in part sending, from a device built into a vehicle, a first set of data to a server, the first set of data corresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors, receiving a first set of elements from the server in response to the first set of data, presenting one or more elements from the first set of elements to a user of the vehicle on a display in the vehicle, and receiving at least one input corresponding to at least one selected element among the one or more elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Pacific Wave Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Wendell Brown, Evan Tann
  • Patent number: 10210537
    Abstract: A system and method for providing a loyalty program by utilizing a pre-existing association network. When a consumer is registered with the program, the consumer's personal information is stored in a database and associated with a token ID. The token is capable of initiating a transaction message request over an association network when used in conjunction with a merchant transaction system. A program manager is provided that includes an association network interface for receiving over the association network the transaction request message initiated by the token at a merchant, where the transaction request message includes a first set of transaction information regarding a consumer-initiated product purchase transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: LOYAL-T SYSTEMS LLC
    Inventors: Jan Allan Steinart, Richard M. Elkus
  • Patent number: 10210542
    Abstract: A system to improve end-user monetization in a captive audience environment is disclosed. Mobile and wearable users may be engaged by way of contextual and perishable messaging. Such messaging is dynamically updated and maintained to provide a unique messaging experience which increases monetization opportunities, which may utilize location based technologies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Blazer and Flip Flops, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua David Bass, Benjamin Harry Ziskind, Scott Sebastian Sahadi
  • Patent number: 10176488
    Abstract: Sensitivity to incentive changes of survey participant may be computed and analyzed. Participants and one or more attributes associated with the participants may be identified. The participants may be clustered into one or more clusters according to the one or more attributes. An incentive amount to be given to a participant in a cluster of said one or more clusters may be perturbed by performing random perturbation computation. The incentive may be distributed to the participant. One or more responses of the participant may be monitored. Individual incentive sensitivity representing incentive sensitivity of responsiveness of the participant per incentive change may be computed based on the monitoring. Incentive amount computation may be dynamically adjusted responsive to determining that the individual incentive sensitivity changed by a predefined criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Tian-Jy Chao, Younghun Kim
  • Patent number: 10176494
    Abstract: A method and system for using individualized customer models when operating a retail establishment is provided. The individualized customer models may be generated using statistical analysis of transaction data for the customer, thereby generating sub-models and attributes tailored to customer. The individualized customer models may be used in any aspect of a retail establishment's operations, ranging from supply chain management issues, inventory control, promotion planning (such as selecting parameters for a promotion or simulating results of a promotion), to customer interaction (such as providing a shopping list or providing individualized promotions).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: Andrew E. Fano, Chad M. Cumby, Rayid Ghani, Marko Krema
  • Patent number: 10157400
    Abstract: An interoperable reward currency apparatus, system, and method comprising a proprietary general interoperable reward currency comprising voucher-tag-objects; a network of reward systems that generate and use the interoperable reward currency; reward system members; a network processor; physical tags, tag-objects and apparatuses including modules configured for identification, qualification, generation, aggregation, detection, and redemption of elements including the interoperable reward currency in accordance with interoperability rules; a process to identify transactions instead of consumers for qualifying for and using the interoperable reward currency; reward providers configured to redeem the interoperable reward currency; consumers that receive and redeem the interoperable reward currency in exchange for a reward; a process to collect value to pay for the interoperable reward currency generated; and a process to disburse value to reward providers that redeem the interoperable reward currency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Inventor: Randolph Georgi