Patent · US Expired

System for management of common purchase operations for goods and services

US5544040A · kind A · utility

194Cited by
17References
10Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJun 30, 1994
Grant dateAug 6, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 30, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG07F7/00
  • WIPO fieldIT methods for management
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An interactive communications system for facilitating the management of purchases performed by individuals or certain businesses in repetitive manner, characterized in that the apparatuses making up the system comprise input means (10, 16), confirmation means (17), suggestion/selection means (18), memory means (13), and display means (11) for displaying the articles to be purchased, which articles may be selected from preceding lists and/or files without omission or repetition. The list of articles to be purchased is then printed on paper by means of a printer (14) or is transferred to other apparatuses of the system by interface means (15). By networking resident and portable apparatuses, freestanding terminals for giving assistance in decision-making and situated at the point of sale, and optionally information or transaction terminals in a temporary or permanent network, it is possible for the purchaser to obtain in real time all of the information and means required for managing the purchase function, and for the vendor to obtain better knowledge of customers and to satisfy customer requirements better.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.