Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REDEMPTION OF CREDITS
IN A VARIABLE VALUE TRANSACTION
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This international application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No.
61/538,898, filed September 25, 2011, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REDEMPTION OF CREDITS IN A VARIABLE VALUE TRANSACTION", and is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0002] This application is being filed simultaneously with International
Application Serial
No. _________________________________________________________________________
, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PREDICTIVE ACCRUAL OF
CREDITS IN A VARIABLE VALUE TRANSACTION", Attorney Docket No. 19638.24W01;
International Patent Application Serial No. _________________________________
, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD
FOR OPTIMIZED REDEMPTION OF CREDITS IN A VARIABLE VALUE
TRANSACTION", Attorney Docket No. 19638.25W01; International Patent
Application Serial
No. ________________________________________________________________________
, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGEMENT OF CREDIT
SUBSCRIPTIONS", Attorney Docket No. 19638.26W01; International Patent
Application
Serial No. _________________________________________________________________
, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CURRENCY
CONVERSION RELATED TO CREDITS REDEEMABLE IN A VARIABLE VALUE
TRANSACTION, Attorney Docket No. 19638.27W01 all which are incorporated herein
by
reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] This invention relates to a system and method for redemption of credits
in a variable
value transaction. More particularly, the present invention provides a system
and method for
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processing a variable value transaction that has an initial balance and a
remaining balance with
credits and a payment card.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] While the present invention is often described herein with reference to
a digital video
disc, Blu-Ray disc, and video game distribution system, an application to
which the present
invention is advantageously suited, it will be readily apparent that the
present invention is not
limited to that application and can be employed in article dispensing systems
used to distribute a
wide variety of dispensable articles.
[0005] The digital video disc (DVD) player has been one of the most successful
consumer
electronics product launches in history. The market for DVD movie video, Blu-
Ray movie
video, and video game rentals is enormous and growing. Millions of households
have acquired
DVDs since they were introduced in 1997. In the first quarter of 2003 alone,
it was estimated
that well over three million DVD players were shipped to U.S. retailers.
[0006] In 2003, brick-and-mortar stores dominated the movie video and video
game rental
landscape in the U.S. Statistics showed that two brick-and-mortar companies
controlled nearly
sixty-five percent of the home video rental business. One element repeatedly
cited for success of
certain brick-and mortar store video rental franchises was perceived high
availability of new
video releases. Consumers want entertainment on demand, and through stocking
multiple units
of each new release, successful brick-and-mortar companies meet this consumer
demand.
[0007] The foregoing indicates that there is a significant market potential
for aligning regular
routines of consumers (e.g., shopping, getting coffee, gas, or going to a
convenience store) with
their DVD, Blu-Ray, and video game rental activities.
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[0008] One improved article dispensing machine is disclosed in commonly owned
U.S. Pat. No.
7,234,609, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The
invention of the U.S.
Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the present invention can function as an article
dispensing machine-based
distribution system that will typically have multiple units of each new
release per article
dispensing machine. The dispensing machines of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and
the present
invention can stock up to two thousand DVDs, Blu-Ray, video games, or other
discs (movies,
games or other entertainment content), making the system competitive with
existing brick-and-
mortar video rental superstores.
[0009] The dispensing machine and system of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and
the present
invention distinguishes itself from such stores by offering major benefits not
conventionally
offered by such stores, including additional cross-marketing programs (e.g.,
promotional rentals
for a certain amount of dollars spent at the retail location) and convenience
(e.g., open always).
[00010] The dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the
present invention
yields a competitive advantage in the DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game rental
marketplace by
offering consumers cross-marketing/promotional programs, convenience of
selection (e.g.,
computer-based searches for movies and recommendations based on consumer
profiles), and
potentially extended hours (e.g., 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The present
invention employs
a more cost-effective, convenient platform than brick-and-mortar stores. In
addition, with the
present invention, dispensing machines can be situated in retail locations
having high foot traffic,
such as at a popular grocery store, restaurant, drug store, and/or other
popular retail location.
[00011] The dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the
present invention
can be operated at a substantial savings over the costs associated with
traditional brick-and-
mortar video rental stores. For example, the present invention does not
require hourly employees
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manning the dispensing machines or restocking them with inventories, due to
the ability of the
article transport storage units to be delivered to/picked up from retail
locations by third-party
delivery services, such as traditional or contracted courier services.
[00012] Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the dispensing machine of the U.S.
Pat. No.
7,234,609 and the present invention does not require an on-site store manager
because all
operational decisions can be made at a centralized location by a management
team officed
remote from the retail locations. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the
dispensing machine of the
U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the present invention does not require significant
physical space.
Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No.
7,234,609 and the
present invention has low operating costs because heating or air conditioning
is not necessarily
required for the dispensing machines and they consume a relatively low level
of electrical
energy. In addition, the dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 has
low maintenance
costs and downtime.
[00013] The dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the
present invention
addresses the shortcomings of traditional brick-and-mortar stores in a
convenient and cost-
effective delivery vehicle having the added bonus of serving as an effective
promotional
platform that drives incremental sales to retail locations. In addition, the
dispensing machine of
the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the present invention overcomes these
disadvantages by at least
offering more new releases and older selections for any given time period, and
lower cost per
viewing with significantly more convenience than Internet-based and pay-per-
view services.
[00014] The dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the
present invention
is a fully automated, integrated DVD, Blu-Ray, and video game rental and/or
purchase systems.
It preferably incorporates robust, secure, scalable software that provides a
fully personalized user
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experience and real-time feedback to retail locations and advertisers,
scalable hardware that
leverages existing technologies such as touch screen, focused audio speakers
and video monitors,
technology utilizing the Internet through a system website or mobile/consumer
electronics device
application, and an article transport storage unit that facilitates the
exchange of new discs for old
discs in each machine with virtually no need for human intervention. These
technologies and
others fill long-felt needs in the art and give advantages over conventional
video distribution
options. The dispensing machine of the U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the present
invention
functions as much as a promotional platform as it does a rental kiosk.
[00015] By utilizing the dispensing machines and the fully-interactive,
real-time, linked
Internet website or mobile/consumer electronics device applications, consumers
can rent one or
more DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, video games, or other entertainment content directly
from
dispensing machines as well as indirectly by making a rental reservation
through the website or
application for later pickup at a conveniently located machine. These
dispensing machines are
preferably networked with each other, with the inventory control and/or supply
office and with
the system website or application by phone-line, DSL, wireless network, or
other Internet
connection at each retail location. Through this linked network, the rental
experience for each
consumer can be customized based on a profile for each consumer, such as via
personalized
home pages and rental screens.
[00016] The present invention allows for processing of a variable value
transaction
involving a piece of media content. The variable value transaction may include
an initial balance
that is satisfied at the initiation of the transaction, and a remaining
balance that is not satisfied
until the completion of the transaction. The variable value transaction may be
processed with
credits and/or a payment card. A credit can be redeemed for the initial
balance and another
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credit can be redeemed for the remaining balance, if another credit is
available. The payment
card may be processed for the remaining balance, if another credit is not
available. The payment
card may also be processed to satisfy a portion of the initial balance and/or
the remaining
balance, if credits are not available or if a customer wishes to not redeem
credits for the
transaction. The piece of media content involved in the variable value
transaction may be a
physical media article vended from an article dispensing machine or a digital
media selection at a
content provider. The piece of media content may be rented, purchased, and/or
reserved for later
pickup. The value of the first and second credits may vary depending on
parameters of the
variable value transaction, such as the type of the piece of media content,
taxes, the type of the
credits, and other parameters. Other features and advantages are provided by
the following
description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00017] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for communicating and
processing
information in a network of article dispensing machines and dispensing
apparatus.
[00018] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an article dispensing machine
constructed in
accordance with the principles of the present invention.
[00019] FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a networked
media content
system and connections including an article dispensing machine, a system
backend, a content
provider backend, an AN display interface, and an external partner system.
[00020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the system backend.
[00021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating connections from a credits
system to the
system backend, the article dispensing machine, the content provider backend,
and the external
partner system.
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[00022] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary data structure
related to credits.
[00023] FIG. 7 is a table of exemplary credit definitions.
[00024] FIG. 8 is a table of exemplary credit packages.
[00025] FIG. 9 is a table of exemplary vendor SKUs.
[00026] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating possible states of a credit.
[00027] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating operations for processing a
variable value
transaction with credits and a payment card.
[00028] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating operations for predicting
usage of credits for a
variable value transaction.
[00029] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating operations for redeeming
credits for an initial
balance of the variable value transaction.
[00030] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating operations for redeeming
credits for a
remaining balance of the variable value transaction.
[00031] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating operations for accruing
credits in a variable
value transaction.
[00032] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating operations for another
embodiment for accruing
credits in a variable value transaction.
[00033] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating operations for optimizing the
redemption of
credits in a variable value transaction.
[00034] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating operations for managing a
credit subscription.
[00035] FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating operations for creating a
credit subscription.
[00036] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating operations for converting
currency items to
credits.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[00037] While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many
different forms,
there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail
preferred embodiments of
the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be
considered as an
exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to
limit the broad aspect of
the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
[00038] FIGS. 1-2 illustrate an article dispensing machine designated 230.
Article
dispensing machine 230 is one of a plurality of article dispensing machines
included within an
article distribution system having a plurality of such machines situated at a
plurality of retail
locations. The article dispensing machines of a particular article
distribution system preferably
form a network. As such, those machines are preferably in electrical
communication with each
other and with a central server or central controller.
[00039] As shown in FIG. 1, each article dispensing machine 230 includes a
dispensing
machine processor 300, also referred to herein as a vending controller, which
is connected to a
first sensor 270 and a second sensor 370, a first motor 251 and a second motor
262 and a user
interface control system 234, collectively referred to as "the peripheral
devices." The processor
is capable of executing various programs to provide input to and/or receive
outputs from the
peripheral devices. Suitable processors for such use are known to those of
skill in the art. In
addition, the processor is operably connected to at least one memory storage
device 281, such as
a hard-drive or flash-drive or other suitable memory storage device.
[00040] Article dispensing machine memory storage device 281 can include
any one or a
combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such
as DRAM,
SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive,
tape,
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CDROM, etc.). Moreover, article dispensing machine memory storage device 281
may
incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage
media. Article dispensing
machine memory storage device 281 can have a distributed architecture where
various
components are situated remote from one another, but are still accessed by
processor. Article
dispensing machine memory storage device includes an article dispensing
machine database 282.
[00041] The article dispensing machines 230 preferably comprise a network
of machines
in communication with one another. As shown in FIG. 1, in the preferred
configuration, the
article dispensing machines 230 are networked with one another via a central
server or central
controller 302 in a hub-and-spoke system. However, optionally, the article
dispensing machines
may be connected and communicate directly with one another, and/or subsets of
article
dispensing machines may communicate with one another directly as well as with
the central
server 302.
[00042] Generally, in terms of hardware architecture, the central server
302 and the
content provider backend 308 shown in FIG. 3 include a central processor
and/or controller,
central memory, and one or more input and/or output (I/0) devices (or
peripherals) that are
communicatively coupled via a local interface. The architecture of the central
server 302 is set
forth in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609, the contents of which are
incorporated herein
by reference. Numerous variations of the architecture of the central server
302 and the content
provider backend 308 would be understood by one of skill in the art and are
encompassed within
the scope of the present invention.
[00043] The processor/controller is a hardware device for executing
software, particularly
software stored in memory. The processor can be any custom made or
commercially available
processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among
several processors
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associated with the server 302, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the
form of a
microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or generally any device for
executing software
instructions. Examples of suitable commercially available microprocessors are
as follows: a PA-
RISC series microprocessor from Hewlett-Packard Company, an 80x86 or Pentium
series
microprocessor from Intel Corporation, a PowerPC microprocessor from IBM, a
Sparc
microprocessor from Sun Microsystems, Inc., or a 68xxx series microprocessor
from Motorola
Corporation. The processor may also represent a distributed processing
architecture such as, but
not limited to, SQL, Smalltalk, APL, KLisp, Snobol, Developer 200,
MUMPS/Magic.
[00044] The software in memory may include one or more separate programs.
The
separate programs comprise ordered listings of executable instructions for
implementing logical
functions. The software in memory includes a suitable operating system (0/S).
A non-
exhaustive list of examples of suitable commercially available operating
systems is as follows:
(a) a Windows operating system available from Microsoft Corporation; (b) a
Netware operating
system available from Novell, Inc.; (c) a Macintosh operating system available
from Apple Inc.;
(d) a UNIX operating system, which is available for purchase from many
vendors, such as the
Hewlett-Packard Company, Sun Microsystems, Inc., and AT&T Corporation; (e) a
LINUX
operating system, which is freeware that is readily available on the Internet;
(f) a run time
Vxworks operating system from WindRiver Systems, Inc.; or (g) an appliance-
based operating
system, such as that implemented in handheld computers, smartphones, or
personal digital
assistants (PDAs) (e.g., PalmOS available from Palm Computing, Inc., Windows
CE or
Windows Phone available from Microsoft Corporation, iOS available from Apple
Inc, Android
available from Google Inc., BlackBerry OS available from Research in Motion
Limited,
Symbian available from Nokia Corp.). The operating system essentially controls
the execution
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of other computer programs and provides scheduling, input-output control, file
and data
management, memory management, and communication control and related services.
[00045] Steps and/or elements, and/or portions thereof of the present
invention may be
implemented using a source program, executable program (object code), script,
or any other
entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed. When a source
program, the program
needs to be translated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or the like,
which may or may not
be included within the memory, so as to operate properly in connection with
the operating
system (0/S). Furthermore, the software embodying the present invention can be
written as (a)
an object oriented programming language, which has classes of data and
methods, or (b) a
procedural programming language, which has routines, subroutines, and/or
functions, for
example but not limited to, C, C++, Pascal, Basic, Fortran, Cobol, Perl, Java,
Ada, and Lua.
[00046] When article dispensing machine 230 is in operation, the article
dispensing
machine processor is configured to execute software stored within article
dispensing machine
memory, to communicate data to and from the dispensing machine memory, and to
generally
control operations of article dispensing machine pursuant to the software. The
software aspects
of the present invention and the 0/S, in whole or in part, but typically the
latter, are read by
processor, perhaps buffered within the processor, and then executed.
[00047] When the present invention or aspects thereof are implemented in
software, it
should be noted that the software can be stored on any computer readable
medium for use by or
in connection with any computer related system or method. In the context of
this document, a
computer readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other
physical device or means
that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with
a computer related
system or method. The present invention can be embodied in any computer-
readable medium
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for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,
or device, such as a
computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can
fetch the
instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and
execute the
instructions. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium"
can be any means
that can store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or
in connection with
the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable
medium can be
for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,
electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific
examples (a
non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the
following: an electrical
connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette
(magnetic), a
random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM)
(electronic), an
erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory)
(electronic),
an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory
(CDROM) (optical).
Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable
medium upon
which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured,
via, for instance,
optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or
otherwise processed
in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
[00048] For communication with the central server 302, article dispensing
machine 230 is
equipped with network communication equipment and circuitry. In a preferred
embodiment, the
network communication equipment includes a network card such as an Ethernet
card. In a
preferred network environment, each of the plurality of article dispensing
machines 230 on the
network is configured to use the TCP/IP protocol to communicate via the
network 301. It will be
understood, however, that a variety of network protocols could also be
employed, such as
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IPX/SPX, Netware, PPP, and others. It will also be understood that while a
preferred
embodiment of the present invention is for article dispensing machine 230 to
have a "broadband"
connection to the network 301, the principles of the present invention are
also practicable with a
dialup connection using a standard modem.
Wireless network connections are also
contemplated, such as wireless Ethernet, satellite, infrared, radio frequency,
Bluetooth, near field
communication, and cellular networks.
[00049]
The central controller 302 communicates with the article dispensing machine
controllers 300 via the network 301. The central controller 302 is preferably
located at a central
station or office that is remote from the plurality of article dispensing
machines 230. The central
controller 302 can operate as the server for communicating over the network
301 between the
plurality of article dispensing machines 230.
The central controller 302 receives
communications and information from the article dispensing machines 230, and
also transmits
communications and information to the machines 230. For example, when a rental
transaction is
performed at the article dispensing machine 230, transaction data such as the
rented title is then
transmitted from the machine 230 to the central controller 302 via the network
301. It will be
understood that central servers in general, such as the central controller
302, are often
distributed. A plurality of central servers/controllers 302 may optionally be
arranged in "load
balanced" architecture to improve the speed and efficiency of the network. To
accomplish the
implementation of multiple controllers 302, the controllers 302 may be in
communication with a
router/distributor 303.
[00050]
The central controller 302 is also in communication with a central database
304.
The central database 304 stores information regarding the transaction network.
For example, the
central database 304 stores data regarding the vending inventory at each of
the plurality of article
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dispensing machines 230. The central database 304 also stores sales
information regarding the
sales quantities of the vending merchandise stored in the machines 230. For
example, the central
database 304 stores information regarding the sales totals for each title and
for each machine 230
vending location. Central database 304 also stores user information and rental
transaction
information, such as user IDs, the date on which discs are due to be returned,
the date on which
discs were rented from the machines 230 and a list of valid coupon codes and
restrictions
associated with those codes. In certain embodiments, central database 304 also
may be
configured to store user PINs. Some of this information is also preferably
stored in article
dispensing machine database 282.
[00051] Central database 304 and databases in the content provider backend
308, such as a
content provider customer profile database and other databases, are preferably
relational
databases, although other types of database architectures may be used without
departing from the
principles of the present invention. For example, the database 304 may be a
SQL database, an
Access database, or an Oracle database, and in any such embodiment have the
functionality
stored herein. Central database 304 is also preferably capable of being
shared, as illustrated,
between a plurality of central controllers 302 and its information is also
preferably capable of
being transmitted via network 301. It will be understood that a variety of
methods exist for
serving the information stored in central database 304. In one embodiment,
.net and Microsoft
Reporting Services are employed, however, other technologies such as ODBC,
MySQL, CFML,
and the like may be used.
[00052] The central controller 302, central database 304, and components
of the content
provider backend 308 are also accessible by an electronic device 306, which
may include a
personal computer 102, mobile device 104 (e.g., smartphone, personal digital
assistant, etc.),
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tablet computer 106, video game console 108, television 110, and Blu-Ray
player 112. The
electronic device 306 may be in direct or indirect communication with the
central controller 302,
central database 304, and/or the content provider backend 308 through a wired
and/or wireless
network connection, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular (3G, 4G, etc.), or other
type of connection.
As a personal computer 102, the electronic device 306 will be understood as
comprising
hardware and software consistent with marketable personal and laptop
computers, such as a
display monitor, a keyboard, and a microprocessor. The electronic device 306
may also
comprise Internet browser software such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome,
or Safari. Using
the browser software, a user of the electronic device 306 can access a web
interface through the
central controller 302. An application may also execute on the electronic
device 306 that
accesses the central controller 302. To that end, central controller 302
preferably comprises web
server software such as IIS or Apache. It will be understood that a variety of
web server
software and web browser software exists to implement the principles of the
present invention
without departing therefrom. Through the web browser software or application,
the electronic
device 306 communicates with the central controller 302 and allows the user to
login to a central
command functionality of the central controller 302 and to view and modify
data stored in the
central database 304. The browser interface or application also allows the
user to perform
certain system functions, which will affect the inventory and behavior of the
article dispensing
machines 230. The electronic device 306 may communicate with the central
controller 302,
central database 304, and components of the content provider backend 308 using
rules and
specifications of an application programming interface (API).
[00053] In a preferred embodiment, a financial server 305 is also in
communication with
the network 301. It will be understood that a variety of financial services
exist for processing
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financial information via the Internet and other networks 301. Those services
allow for the
processing of credit card and debit card information, so that users of the
services do not have to
interface directly with credit and debit card companies. In FIG. 1, the
financial server 305 is
illustrated as a single server, although the financial server 305 may comprise
an entire sub-
network of financial servers 305 responsible for processing financial
information.
[00054] As shown in FIG. 2, article dispensing machine 230 includes a
machine housing
232 with front, rear, top, bottom, and side panels. The machine housing 232 is
preferably a
combination molded fiberglass and sheet metal cabinet. However, those skilled
in the art will
appreciate that the housing can be constructed from a variety of other
suitable materials and with
a variety of other suitable manufacturing techniques.
[00055] As shown most clearly in FIG. 2, a user interface portion 234 of
housing 232
includes a card reader 240, a keypad and/or touch screen 242 and an article
transfer opening 244.
The card reader 240 is preferably designed in known fashion to read
magnetically encoded
membership and/or credit/debit cards for authorizing the distribution of
articles of inventory
through the article transfer opening 244. Keypad and/or touch screen 242
permits consumers
and/or inventory stocking personnel to communicate with the dispensing machine
230 and/or a
central office linked in electrical communication with the dispensing machine.
Keypad and/or
touch screen 242 also permits consumers and/or inventory stocking personnel to
enter
appropriate commands directed to carrying out specific machine tasks. It will
be appreciated that
the optional touch screen includes a monitor made with known technologies
making it capable of
being utilized as a user interface for entry of commands designed to carry out
machine tasks.
The touch screen 242 may also be capable of displaying a QR (Quick Response)
code to a
customer. The customer may read the QR code with a camera on a mobile device
or with a
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dedicated QR code reader. The QR code can represent a universal resource
locator (URL) to
access a digital media selection or can represent a reference number for use
by the customer
when contacting customer service, for example.
[00056] Furthermore, it will be appreciated that additional user interface
portions having
additional or even identical user interface components could be incorporated
within article
dispensing machine 230. For example, these components could be incorporated on
other panels
of the housing 232 of machine 230 so that the machine can be used
simultaneously by multiple
consumers, translating into more efficient distribution of articles in high
traffic areas.
Dispensing machine 230 also preferably includes speaker units. Known audio
technology may
be incorporated within dispensing machine 230 to broadcast focused audio
directed to relatively
small (e.g., three square feet) locations in front of the machines from
speaker units and/or in
other designated locations at a retail site.
[00057] FIG. 3 illustrates a networked media content system 310 including
an article
dispensing machine 230, a system backend 307, a content provider backend 308,
an audio/visual
(A/V) display interface 309, and an external partner system 350. The networked
media content
system 310 provides for a variety of processes involving management,
manipulation, searching,
presentation, and notification related to digital media content and vendible
physical media
articles, including processes related to the present invention. The networked
media content
system 310 allows for direct and indirect communication between the components
in the
networked media content system 310 via one or more networks. The components in
the
networked media content system 310 may be operated by one or more entities. In
one
embodiment, the article dispensing machine(s) 230 and the system backend 307
are operated by
a first entity, such as the operator of the article dispensing machines, while
the content provider
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backend 308, the A/V display interface 309, and the external partner system
350 are operated by
a second entity, such as a content provider. In another embodiment, all of the
components
shown in the networked media content system 310 of FIG. 3 are operated by the
same entity. In
a further embodiment, the article dispensing machine(s) 230 and the system
backend 307 are
operated by a first entity, the content provider 308 and the A/V display
interface 309 are
operated by a second entity, and the external partner system 350 is operated
by a third entity.
[00058] The physical media article may include at least a DVD, Blu-Ray
disc, video game
disc, or other media article including those that are out-of-stock or
otherwise unavailable for
rental. The digital media selections may include streaming video content,
video-on-demand
content, downloadable video content, streaming video games, downloadable video
games, or
other digital media content. Streaming or downloadable video games may include
content
related to video games, such as expansion packs and add-on packs. Although
FIG. 3 shows a
single content provider backend 308, a single A/V display interface 309, and a
single external
partner system 350, it is contemplated that more than one content provider
backend, A/V display
interface, and/or external partner system may be in communication with the
system backend 307.
[00059] The system backend 307 includes components that primarily
communicate
information, such as transaction and inventory data, to and from the article
dispensing machines
230. Components in the system backend 307 also communicate information to and
from the
content provider backend 308, the A/V display interface 309, and the external
partner system
350. The system backend 307 is detailed below with reference to FIG. 4. The
content provider
backend 308 includes components that primarily communicate information to and
from the A/V
display interface 309. Components in the content provider backend 308 also
communicate
information to and from the system backend 307, as detailed further below.
Data communicated
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between the article dispensing machines 230, the system backend 307, the
content provider
backend 308, the A/V display interface 309, and/or the external partner system
350 may utilize
the XML (Extensible Markup Language) format, JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
format, or a
proprietary format that may be agreed upon. The A/V display interface 309 and
the external
partner system 350 may communicate with the system backend 307 and/or the
content provider
backend 308 using rules and specifications of an application programming
interface (API).
[00060] The A/V display interface 309 can be a set-top box, a module of an
internet-ready
television, a Blu-Ray player with internet connectability, a software
application executing on a
mobile device, cable television converter box, satellite television set-top
box, IPTV (Internet
Protocol television) set-top box (including AT&T U-Verse), digital video
recorder, tablet
computer, video game console (including Microsoft Xbox family, Sony
PlayStation family,
Nintendo Wii, and similar devices), handheld gaming device (including Sony
PlayStation
Portable, Nintendo DS, and similar devices), laptop computer, desktop
computer, streaming
media box (including Apple TV, Google TV, Roku, Boxee, and similar devices),
or any other
device capable of receiving and displaying streaming, on-demand, and/or
downloadable
electronic media from a content provider. Moreover, applications may be
installed and executed
on the A/V display interface 309 that communicate with the system backend 307
and/or the
content provider backend 308 to provide media content and other information to
a user of the
A/V display interface 309.
[00061] The article dispensing machines 230 can communicate with the
system backend
307, including the central server and controller 302, via network
communication equipment and
circuitry, as detailed above. Furthermore, the system backend 307 can
communicate with the
content provider backend 308 and the A/V display interface 309 via the same or
different
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network communication equipment and circuitry. The external partner system 350
may also be
in communication with components of the system backend 307 via the same or
different network
communication equipment and circuitry. In particular, the system backend 307
can directly
communicate with the content provider backend 308, the A/V display interface
309, and/or the
external partner system 350 or in one embodiment, the system backend 307 can
communicate
with the A/V display interface 309 through the content provider backend 308.
It will also be
understood that while a preferred embodiment of the present invention is for
the components of
the system 310 to have a "broadband" connection with one another, the
principles of the present
invention are also practicable with a dialup connection using a standard
modem. Wireless
network connections are also contemplated, such as wireless Ethernet,
satellite, infrared, radio
frequency, Bluetooth, near field communication, and cellular networks.
[00062] Each of the article dispensing machines 230 may operate without
requiring
continuous connectivity and communication with the central controller 302. In
one embodiment,
the central controller 302 only transmits data in response to communication
from an article
dispensing machine 230. For example, an article dispensing machine 230 may
attempt to
communicate with the central controller 302 following completion of one or
more rental
transactions or one or more media article return transactions. In another
embodiment, the article
dispensing machine 230 continues normal operations and transactions even if
communication is
interrupted or cannot be established with the central controller 302.
Communication with the
central controller 302 may be interrupted if the load at the central
controller 302 is above a
certain threshold. For example, the central controller 302 may direct the
article dispensing
machine 230 to only transmit certain types of messages and/or transactions,
e.g., financial
authorizations, until the load has decreased. In these cases, transaction data
can be stored locally
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in the article dispensing machine 230, such as in the article dispensing
machine memory storage
device 281, until a predetermined time interval elapses, when a predetermined
number of
transactions is reached, until communication with the central controller 302
can be reestablished,
or the load at the central controller 302 has decreased. Once communication is
established with
the central controller 302, financial and inventory information can be
uploaded and the
appropriate servers and databases can be updated.
[00063] In one embodiment, the article dispensing machine 230 can display
only media
articles which are physically located at the article dispensing machine 230.
In this way, a
customer may browse on the user interface 234 only the media articles which
are in-stock and
available to rent at that article dispensing machine 230. Typically, the
article dispensing
machine 230 possesses media information for the media articles that are
currently located in the
article dispensing machine 230. The media information for a media article
includes title, actor,
director, studio, publisher, plot synopsis, format, description, parental
rating, individualized
ratings and reviews, popularity, article type, running time, genre, cover
artwork, or other
information. The article dispensing machine 230 can also store in memory the
media
information for recently-rented media articles that are no longer physically
stored in the article
dispensing machine 230. The article dispensing machine 230 can communicate
with the central
controller 302 when media information about a particular media article is
needed. For example,
when a particular media article is returned to an article dispensing machine
230 that does not
have the corresponding media information for that particular media article,
the article dispensing
machine 230 can query the central controller 302, metadata database 410,
and/or inventory
database 412 for the media information. Once the media information is
obtained, the article
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dispensing machine 230 may display that particular media article on the user
interface 234 as in-
stock and available to rent.
[00064] In another embodiment, the article dispensing machine 230 can
display media
articles that are both physically located and not physically located at the
article dispensing
machine 230. In this embodiment, media articles which are both available and
unavailable to
rent can be displayed. A media article may be unavailable to rent if it is not
in-stock or is in-
stock but has been reserved for rental. In one example, the entire catalog of
media articles stored
in the inventory database 412 can be displayed on the article dispensing
machine 230. In another
example, a subset of the entire catalog of media articles can be displayed on
the article
dispensing machine 230. The subset of media articles that can be displayed on
the article
dispensing machine 230 may be determined, for example, based on geographic
location, retailer
agreements, contractual obligations, customer rental habits, and other
criteria. The media articles
that can be displayed on the article dispensing machine 230 may include
recently-rented media
articles that are no longer physically stored in the article dispensing
machine 230 or media
articles that have never been physically in the article dispensing machine
230. For example,
media articles that have never been physically in the article dispensing
machine 230 may be
displayed because those media articles may be available at a nearby article
dispensing machine.
In this case, those media articles may be displayed to the customer so that
the customer has an
option to obtain those media articles from the nearby article dispensing
machine 230. In this
embodiment, if a customer attempts to rent a media article that is out-of-
stock, reserved for
another customer, or otherwise cannot be vended at the particular article
dispensing machine
230, then that media article can be deemed an unavailable media article.
Although a physical
unavailable media article cannot be rented from the particular article
dispensing machine 230, a
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digital alternative media selection may be available and substituted for the
unavailable media
article.
[00065] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the system backend 307 and
connections to
and from the system backend 307 to the article dispensing machines 230, the
content provider
backend 308, the AN display interface 309, and the external partner system
350. The system
backend 307 includes components that provide and receive data to and from the
article
dispensing machines 230 during DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game rental
transactions and
other transactions. Components in the system backend 307 are utilized in
relation to the present
invention, as described below. It will be understood that components 402, 404,
406, 408, 414,
416, and 418 in the system backend 307 may be implemented, for example, by the
central
controller 302 using instructions stored in a memory connected to the central
controller 302. It
will be further understood that the databases 404, 410, and 412 may be
implemented as part of
the central database 304 or as separate databases.
[00066] The identification and authentication controller 402 can receive a
unique customer
identifier that a customer provides to the article dispensing machines 230
during a transaction.
The customer can also provide the unique customer identifier through an API
508 (described
below) or on the website interface 418. The unique customer identifier can be
a payment card
(credit card or debit card) number, an opaque version of the payment card
number similar to a
hash or card alias provided by a payment gateway, or other unique identifier
used for payment
and/or identification purposes. The unique customer identifier may also be an
identifier that is
shared with an affiliate or external vendor and corresponds to an equivalent
account at the
affiliate or external vendor. In the case of hashing of a payment card number,
the hash function
applied to the payment card number may be implemented on the article
dispensing machines 230
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and may be, for example, a SHA-256 hashing algorithm. The identification and
authentication
controller 402 can validate the payment capability of a payment card by
communicating with the
financial server 305.
[00067] A customer may be authenticated to multiple customer profiles and
accounts at
the article dispensing machine 230 and/or at an affiliate or external vendor
by the identification
and authentication controller 402. In one embodiment, the unique customer
identifier provided
by the customer can authenticate the customer to an existing customer profile
and account for the
article dispensing machines 230. The existing customer profile and account can
be stored and
looked up using the unique customer identifier in the customer profile
database 404 that is
connected to the identification and authentication controller 402. The unique
customer identifier
can also liffl( the existing customer account to a content provider customer
account via a
connection or reference from the customer profile database 404 to a content
provider customer
profile database in the content provider backend 308. Zero, one, or more
content provider
customer accounts may be linked in the customer profile database 404 to the
existing customer
account for the article dispensing machines 230. A content provider may
include, but is not
limited to, a cable television operator, a satellite television service
provider, an IPTV (Internet
Protocol television) provider, an online gaming and digital media delivery
service (Xbox Live,
PlayStation Network, OnLive, etc.), a website (YouTube, Hulu, etc.), a movie
studio, a television
network, a game publisher, a retailer (Best Buy, Walmart, etc.), or an
offer/ticket seller (sports
teams, musical groups, entertainment venues, etc.). Media selections available
from a content
provider may include videos on demand, streaming videos, downloadable videos,
streaming
video games, or downloadable video games. The media selections may be
available through the
A/V display interface 309 that is in communication with the content provider
backend 308.
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[00068] The customer profile database 404 can contain information related
to customers
of the article dispensing machines 230, including name, mailing and billing
addresses, email
addresses, phone and mobile numbers, username, password, payment methods,
rental history,
purchase history, preferred article dispensing machines, movie and video game
genre
preferences, customizations, subscriptions, parental controls, linked content
provider accounts,
content provider subscriptions and entitlements, and other data. A transaction
can be
personalized using information from the customer profile database 404 at the
article dispensing
machines 230 and a website interface 418. For example, only certain genres and
titles of DVDs,
Blu-Ray discs, or video games could be shown if a customer sets particular
preferences that are
then stored in the customer profile database 404. Some of the information
stored in the customer
profile database 404 may also be stored in the article dispensing machine
database 282.
Customer information stored in the customer profile database 404 may be looked
up using a
unique customer identifier, customer number, or other identifier. The customer
profile database
404 may include a service which facilitates interfacing and communicating with
components of
the system backend 307, for example.
[00069] The website interface 418 can be interactive and accessible to a
customer using
web browser software at an electronic device 306. The website interface 418
may also include a
mobile application or consumer electronics device application. Rentable media
articles may be
searched, browsed, and reserved on the website interface 418 for receipt at
the article dispensing
machines 230. The location of and the inventory at article dispensing machines
230 can be
viewed at the website interface 418. Digital media selections from content
providers, such as
streaming, downloadable, and on-demand media, may also be searched, browsed,
and accessed
on the website interface 418. A customer can access their customer profile on
the website
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interface 418 for purposes of verifying and updating their personal
information in the customer
profile database 404. For example, a customer can link an account they have
with a content
provider on the website interface 418 by specifying their username, password,
account number,
and/or other identifying information for the content provider account. The
system backend 307
can utilize WS-Federation, SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language), 0Auth
(Open
Authentication), or other protocols to assert and authenticate the identity of
the customer at the
content provider via a connection from the website interface 418 to the
content provider
identification and authentication controller 506 in the content provider
backend 308, as shown in
FIG. 5. If the identifying information matches the content provider account,
the linkage to the
content provider account can be stored in the customer profile database 404.
[00070] An inventory database 412 may contain a catalog of physical media
articles that
may be rented at the article dispensing machines 230 and reserved at the
website interface 418
for later receipt at the article dispensing machines 230. The inventory
database 412 may also
include physical sell-through items, e.g., an empty case for replacement of a
lost case, and
digitally purchasable inventory items, e.g., event tickets, discounting
offers, marketing offers,
etc. A catalog of digital media selections available at the content provider
can be contained in
the metadata database 410. Metadata for the media articles and media
selections are stored in the
metadata database 410, including title, release date, running time, chapter
information, technical
details (resolution, audio options, languages, etc.), format, peripheral
device requirements,
number of players, online capability, actors, voice actors, director, studio,
publisher, developer,
platform, availability of downloadable content, episode information, genre,
critic ratings,
individualized ratings (reviews, recommendations, likes, etc.), parental
ratings (MPAA, ESRB,
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TV Parental Guidelines, etc.), description, related content, media artwork,
media stills, and other
information.
[00071] Physical media articles that may be rented at the article
dispensing machines 230
and digital media selections available at the content provider may be
synchronized and mapped
to one another by matching their respective metadata. A synchronization and
mapping engine
414 connected to the customer profile database 404, the metadata database 410,
and a content
provider asset management system in the content provider backend 308 may
compare the
metadata for the media articles and media selections to determine matches.
Metadata in the
content provider asset management system for media selections can be compared
to metadata in
the metadata database 410 to perform the matching. For example, a combination
of a title,
release date, running time, and/or actor information can be used to map a
media article to a
corresponding media selection. In one embodiment, proprietary identification
codes unique to a
media article and a media selection can be used to map the media article to
the corresponding
media selection. The proprietary identification codes for the media article
and the media
selection can be stored in the metadata database 410 and the content provider
asset management
system, respectively. Such proprietary identification codes can be assigned to
media articles and
media selections by third party providers such as Rovi, Baseline, and AMG. In
cases where
media article/media selection matching algorithms fail or are not trustworthy,
a media analyst
oriented workflow system may be utilized to arrive at a correct and validated
media mapping.
[00072] An inventory database 412 can be connected to the article
dispensing machine
230 and the metadata database 410 to provide information regarding the
availability of media
articles in the article dispensing machines 230. The inventory database 412
and the metadata
database 410 can provide inventory results for media articles and media
selections to an
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application on an A/V display interface 309. Such results may include the
availability of
physical media articles at the article dispensing machines 230 as well as
digital media selections
available at a content provider. The results may also be provided to the
website interface 418 or
other websites operated by a content provider, for example. The
synchronization and mapping
engine 414 can store the information from the content provider asset
management system
regarding media selections at the content provider in the metadata database
410. The inventory
database 412 can also supply the availability of media articles in the article
dispensing machines
230 to the website interface 418 or to other portals, such as an application
on a mobile device,
when queried. The metadata database 410 may also include information regarding
products that
a credits system 406 may utilize in order to provide at least parts of
applicability rules, as
described below.
[00073] A credits system 406 can be connected to the article dispensing
machine 230 and
external partner system 350 to control, manage, and provide credits which may
be redeemable
for variable value transactions at the article dispensing machine 230, the
website interface 418,
and/or the external partner system 350. The credits system 406 may also be
connected to the
identification and authentication controller 402, the customer profile
database 404, a customer
service system 408, and a business intelligence system 416. Components may
communicate
with the credits system 406 using rules and specifications of an application
programming
interface (API). Credits can be redeemed for the rental, reservation, or
purchase of one or more
products, such as a piece of media content, e.g., a DVD, Blu-Ray disc, video
game disc, digital
media selection, or other product. Credits may be obtained through a one-time
subscription, a
periodic subscription, or be issued, such as through marketing promotions or
from customer
service. Credits may also be obtained by purchasing the credits in a manner
similar to gift cards.
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Credits related to a periodic subscription may be deposited to a customer
account on a periodic
basis and may have an expiration date. For example, a customer may have a
subscription for a
particular number of credits that is deposited monthly and that expires
monthly. The credits
from a subscription may or may not rollover on a periodic basis. A customer
may opt in or opt
out of redeeming credits for products in a particular transaction. Customer
loyalty and retention
may be increased through the use of credits for variable value transactions
because credits may
be issued based on customer behavior, credits can be issued as incentives to
customers, and
credits may be used for products with different values.
[00074] Transactions involving the credits system 406 may include rentals,
reservations,
and/or purchases of physical media articles and digital media selections. For
example, a
customer may rent a media article from the article dispensing machine 230 by
redeeming one or
more credits for the transaction. As another example, a customer may redeem
one or more
credits to reserve a media article for later vending at the article dispensing
machine 230. Such
transactions may include two parts: an initial balance, such as the amount
owed for an initial
rental night, and a remaining balance, such as the amount owed for one or more
extra rental
nights. Both the initial balance and the remaining balance may be satisfied by
redeeming credits
and/or processing a payment card. The initial balance may vary, depending on
factors such as
taxes and the type of the piece of media content involved in the transaction.
The remaining
balance may also vary, depending on factors such as the type of the piece of
media content
involved in the transaction, taxes, and if and when the transaction is
completed. The remaining
balance may not be known until the transaction is closed, e.g., when a rented
media article is
returned, after a certain duration when the media article is assumed to be
purchased, or when
access to a media selection is relinquished.
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[00075] A state diagram 1000 of possible states of a credit in a variable
value transaction
is shown in FIG. 10. When initially created, a credit may be in an available
state 1002 that
specifies that the credit is available and can be redeemed as part of a
variable value transaction.
A credit in the available state 1002 may include a staging of the credit in an
available state 1002
for future availability and redemption. Staging a credit in an available state
1002 may assist with
calculations of credit accrual across recurrence boundaries, e.g., monthly.
The credit may
transition to a projected lock state 1004 from the available state 1002 when
accruing and
predicting the usage of credits for a remaining balance while a variable value
transaction remains
open. This may occur, for example, if a rented media article is kept for extra
nights beyond the
initial night. A credit would not be placed into the projected lock state
1004, however, when the
credit system 406 is only predicting a future usage of credits prior to the
initiation of a variable
value transaction. Once in the projected lock state 1004, the credit may
transition back to the
available state 1002 if the projected lock of the credit erroneously occurred.
This situation may
happen, for example, if an article dispensing machine 230 that receives a
return of a media article
is not in communication with the credits system 406 at the time of the return,
due to a network
interruption or other interruption in communication. The credits system 406
may erroneously
project a lock of a credit because it is believed that the media article had
not been returned.
[00076] The credit may transition from the projected lock state 1004 to a
redeemed state
1006 when a transaction is completed, e.g., the media article is returned, and
the projected lock
of the credit was performed correctly. A credit may also transition to the
redeemed state 1006
from the available state 1002. This may occur to satisfy for an initial
balance of the variable
value transaction, such as upon a rental, purchase, or reservation of a piece
of media content. A
credit may also be in an expired state 1008 or a deleted state 1010. In an
expired state 1008, a
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credit has been determined to be no longer valid because it has reached its
expiration date. A
credit may be in the deleted state 1010 when the credit was incorrectly
created and needs to be
deleted.
[00077] Referring back to FIG. 4, a customer service representative may
use the
functionality of the customer service system 408 to manage credits for
customers. The customer
service system 408 may allow for retrieving a customer's available credits,
credit subscriptions,
the origination of credits (e.g., what business event originated the credit),
credit usage history,
and other credit-related information. Credits may also be created and deleted
in the customer
service system 408. For example, if a customer rents a media article that is
unplayable, a credit
may be deposited or refunded to the customer's account through the customer
service system
408. In the case where a customer does not have an existing account, an
account may be created
to deposit the credits. As another example, a customer service representative
may use the
customer service system 408 to view credits for a customer that are in the
available state 1002
and projected lock state 1004. Credits that are in a projected lock state 1004
can include credits
that may be redeemed in the future for a remaining balance of an open
transaction, e.g., when a
media article has not yet been returned. The business intelligence system 416
can include a
database and functions for analyzing and mining data and trends related to
customer transactions,
including transactions involving the use of credits. Credit-related
information can be exported to
the business intelligence system 416 on a periodic basis or as part of the
orchestration of a
business event within an ESB (enterprise service bus), such as through an
extract, transform, and
load (ETL) process. In the context of credits, the business intelligence
system 416 can analyze
transactions, for example, to determine the usage and value of credits for a
particular customer.
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[00078] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the credits system 406 and
connections to
and from the credits system 406 to the article dispensing machines 230, the
external partner
system 350, the content provider backend 308, and components in the system
backend 307. The
credits system 406 includes components that control, manage, and provide
credits related to
transactions involving the article dispensing machines 230, website interface
418, and/or the
external partner system 350. Components in the credits system 406 are utilized
in relation to the
present invention. It will be understood that components 502, 504, 508, and
510 in the credits
system 406 may be implemented, for example, by the central controller 302
using instructions
stored in a memory connected to the central controller 302. It will be further
understood that the
credits database 506 may be implemented as part of the central database 304,
as a separate
database, or be split across any number of databases.
[00079] A credits service 502 can be accessed during variable value
transactions through
the article dispensing machine 230, website interface 418, or API 508 for
redeeming credits,
predicting an estimated usage of credits, and tracking the predicted accrual
of credits. The
credits service 502 can also be accessed by the customer service system 408,
as described above,
for customer service-related management of credits for customers. When credits
are redeemed,
the credits service 502 can optimize how credits are redeemed in balancing
revenue recognition
and value to the customer. Furthermore, the external partner system 350 can
interface with the
credits service 502 through the API 508 to manage credits subscriptions for
customers. The
credits service 502 may be implemented as a Windows Communication Foundation 4
SOAP-
based service, a REST (Representational State Transfer)-based service, a queue
endpoint, or
other type of service. A credits database 506 may contain information related
to credits for
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customers. Credits may be looked up in the credits database 506 by a customer
number
associated with a particular customer profile, for example.
[00080] Credits may be redeemed by the credits service 502 for the rental,
reservation, or
purchase of products in a transaction, including for pieces of media content
like media articles
such as DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and video game discs, and digital media
selections. In particular,
the credits service may redeem credits for some or all of the initial balance
and/or the remaining
balance of a variable value transaction. The credits service 502 can also
predict the usage of
credits for a particular transaction prior to redemption of the credits.
Predicting the usage of
credits may be useful in cases when a customer wants to use credits for a
transaction but does not
know their credit balance, or when a customer has an open transaction with an
unknown
remaining balance.
[00081] Tracking the predicted accrual of credits is performed by the
credits service 502
to monitor the usage of credits that might be redeemed when an open
transaction is closed. For
example, a transaction can be open when a product has been rented but not yet
returned. While
the initial balance has been satisfied (by a credit or a payment card), the
remaining balance is not
satisfied until the transaction is closed. The credits service 502 may also
include a credit job that
is a process that is scheduled to be executed on a periodic basis. The credit
job may be
responsible for executing tasks related to the creation of credits by customer
subscription,
expiring credits, removing records for closed transactions within the credits
database 506,
accruing credits, publishing credits-related data to the business intelligence
system 416, and
other tasks. The credit job may be a Windows service or SQL Server Integration
Services (SSIS)
ETL package, for example.
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[00082] Payment cards may be issued that are based on credits, which could
be used to
satisfy balances related to variable value transactions or for other
transactions. External
affiliates, vendors, and partners may buy credits so that they can re-sell the
credits or offer the
credits to customers as part of marketing initiatives. Credits may also be
provided as part of a
loyalty program, such as granting of credits for marketing purposes as
incentives or rewards for
certain customer behavior. Financial reporting of revenue, pending revenue,
taxes, and other
metrics may be affected by the sale, redemption, and/or granting of credits.
[00083] A credits business rules management system 504 may be accessed
when the
credits service 502 is called to redeem, predict usage of, and track the
predicted accrual of credits
involved in a variable value transaction. Credits may have a variable value
depending on factors
such as the product to which the credits are applied, taxes, the source of the
credits, and other
factors. Applicability rules within the credits business rules management
system 504 may
determine which credits are applied to and redeemed for particular products in
a transaction. The
applicability rules may be based on attributes of the credits, such as the
type of product the credit
may be applied to, the expiration date of the credit, an exclusivity of the
credit, the channel
where the credit is being redeemed (e.g., at an article dispensing machine
230, at the website
interface 418, etc.), and other attributes. The credits business rules
management system 504 may
also apply promotion codes or take into account the impact of promotion codes
to one or more
individual items in a transaction or to an entire transaction. Promotion codes
can be redeemed to
discount a transaction for a particular amount, and are not tracked by the
credits service 502.
The credits business rules management system 504 may be implemented using a
rules engine
from a provider of business rule management system (BRMS) technology, such as
Fair Isaac
Corporation, for example, and may be abstracted from the credits service 502
using a provider
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model pattern. Because credits may have a variable value, it is possible to
test variations in the
prices charged for transactions involving pieces of media content, as part of
future business
planning initiatives.
[00084] Credits in the credits database 506 may be stored in an
appropriate data structure
that may differ dependent on the state of the credit. In one embodiment,
detailed in FIG. 6, a
credit may be defined in a credit definition 602. One or more credit
definitions 602 can be
referred to in one or more credit packages 604, and one or more credit
packages 604 may be
referred to under one or more vendor SKUs (stock-keeping units) 606.
Accordingly, a vendor
SKU can translate into multiple credit definitions. The relationship between
the vendor SKU
606, credit packages 604, and credit definitions 602 is detailed further
below.
[00085] A credit definition 602 can include attributes that allow the
applicability rules in
the credits business rules management system 504 to determine whether a
particular credit may
be redeemed in a transaction. An exemplary list of credit definitions is shown
in the table of
FIG. 7. The attributes of a credit definition 602 may include a public name
that describes the
credit, an internal code for identifying the credit, a category for
classification, duration
information, whether a credit is renewable, how a credit may be used with
other credits
(exclusivity level), dates defining when the credit may be issued, applicable
product types,
applicable revenue streams, and applicable channels. A revenue stream may
include an initial
night (corresponding to an initial balance), an extra night (corresponding to
a remaining
balance), and a non-return (corresponding to when a product is assumed to be
purchased after a
predetermined duration). A channel may include an article dispensing machine
230 ("digital
night"), the website interface 418 ("web"), and/or the external partner system
350 ("open API").
The website interface 418 may also include a mobile application or consumer
electronics device
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application. Any number of applicability rules may be defined within the
credits business rules
management system 504 that can leverage incoming information (e.g., a shopping
cart),
customer information, product information, article dispensing machine 230
information, and
other internal and external sources. One example of an external source is a
source for weather
patterns so that a "rainy day Monday" credit will only work on Mondays that it
rains.
[00086] For example, in the table shown in FIG. 7, the credit definition
with the public
name "Movie Subscription Credit" has an internal code of "Dig-1M-Movie-Any-Any-
001".
This credit is categorized under Digital Subscription, has duration
information of monthly, and is
renewable because it may be part of a renewable monthly subscription. The
credit can be used
with other credits and can be issued as of June 22, 2011. The absence of an
expiration date
denotes that there is no end date for when the credit may no longer be issued.
This credit is
applicable to DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, can be used for initial nights, extra
nights, and non-
returns, and can be redeemed on the website interface 408, article dispensing
machine 230
(digital night), or through the external partner system 350 (open API). As
another example, the
credit definition with the public name "CSR Issued Game Credit ¨ 1st Night
Only" in FIG. 7 has
an internal code of "Dig-30D-GM-IN-Any-009". This credit is categorized as CSR
(Customer
Service Representative) because it may be issued by customer service if a
customer has an issue
with a transaction or product. The credit has a 30 day duration before it
expires and it is not
renewable. The credit may be used with other credits and can be issued as of
June 22, 2011.
This credit is only applicable for game discs for an initial night rental. The
credit can be
redeemed on the website interface 408, article dispensing machine 230, or
through the external
partner system 350.
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[00087] Each credit definition 602 can be referred to in one or more
credit packages 604.
An exemplary list of credit packages 604 is shown in the table of FIG. 8. A
credit package 604
can be a collection of various credits and the corresponding quantity of each
credit. The
attributes of a credit package 604 may include a name describing the credit
package 604, a
package code for identification, a general source for the credits, a category
for classification, and
the collection of credit definitions 602 in the credit package 604, including
a quantity for each
credit definition 602. For example, in the table shown in FIG. 8, the credit
package with the
name "4 Movie / 2 DVD Credit Subscription", has an internal code of "4M2D-Sub-
004", and is
categorized under Digital Subscription. This credit package contains four of
the credits referred
to as "Dig-1M-Movie-Any-Any-001" and two of the credits referred to as "Dig-1M-
DVD-Any-
Any-002". These credits can be seen in the table of FIG. 7.
[00088] Each credit package 604 may in turn be referred to under one or
more vendor
SKUs (stock-keeping units) 606. An exemplary list of vendor SKUs 606 is shown
in the table of
FIG. 9. A vendor SKU 606 may be referred to by the external partner system 350
or by the
customer service system 408 to refer to a particular set of credits and/or
credit packages. For
example, an external partner using the external partner system 350 may want to
initiate or
manage a subscription for a customer. The vendor SKU 606 can have attributes
including a
vendor code, a SKU name, a SKU code for identification, dates defining when
the SKU may be
used, references to external affiliate systems or external vendor systems, and
which credit
packages 604 are associated with the SKU. For example, in the table shown in
FIG. 9, a vendor
SKU 606 may have a vendor code of "Comcast", a SKU name of "Premium 1", and a
SKU code
of COMPRM0002. The external partner may designate and refer to the SKU using
the SKU
code. This vendor SKU can be used between June 22, 2011 and July 31, 2011, and
includes the
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credit package 4M-Sub-002. The credit package 4M-Sub-002 includes four
instances of the Dig-
1M-Movie-Any-Any-001 credit definition. This credit package can be seen in the
table of FIG.
8.
[00089] Returning to FIG. 5, an application program interface (API) 508
may be
connected to the credits service 502 to allow for an external partner system
350 to leverage
credits through their system 350. The API 508 may be accessed using an
application executing
on an electronic device 306, A/V display interface 309, or a website of the
external partner
system 350, for example. The functionality associated with the credits service
502 may be
accessed through the API 508 so that an external partner system 350 can
utilize credits in the
same way as the article dispensing machine 230 and website interface 418. An
identification of
the external partner system 350 may be required to use the API 508.
[00090] A subscription loader 510 can act as an intermediary between the
external partner
system 350 and the credits service 502 to allow for management of credit
subscriptions. The
external partner system 350 can transmit messages to the subscription loader
510 that contains
information about credits that should be created, renewed, modified, and/or
deleted for particular
customers. The messages can be in an XML file or other appropriate format.
Attributes in the
messages may include a customer shared key for identifying the customer, a
vendor SKU code
for identifying a particular set of credit packages and/or credits, and/or a
subscription lifetime.
Messages may also direct the upgrade, downgrade, cancellation, and/or
extension of credit
subscriptions, and may account for other parameters related to credit
subscriptions, such as a
grace period. In one embodiment, the subscription lifetime may be specified in
the attributes if
the subscription loader 510 is to perform refreshing of the credits on a
periodic basis. In another
embodiment, the external partner system 350 may periodically transmit a
message with the
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appropriate attributes in order to manually perform refreshing of the credits
on a periodic basis.
The subscription loader 510 may include a queue to efficiently manage incoming
messages.
[00091] The customer shared key in a message can be an identifier for a
particular
customer that is known to both the external partner system 350 and the
customer profile database
404. A customer may have more than one customer shared key, each of which is
known to a
different external partner but identifies the same customer. Accordingly, when
a message is
received, the credits service 502 can translate the received customer shared
key to a customer
number or other unique identifier. The credits service can subsequently manage
the credits in the
credits database 506 for the particular customer according to the received
message. The
connection between the subscription loader 510 and the external partner system
350 can be
through a virtual private network (VPN), other secured network, secured filed
transfer, or
secured web services.
[00092] The credits service 502 may include functions that can be called
by the article
dispensing machine 230, the external partner system 350 (through the API 508
and the
subscription loader 510), the website interface 418, and the customer service
system 408. The
functions can be categorized into runtime, management, subscription, batch
subscription, and
maintenance namespaces. Functions may be called by transmitting request
messages with
parameters, and functions may respond to a request message with a response
message. An
incoming request message may include an optional IncludeStatusInResponse flag
that indicates
to the credits service 502 whether a response message should include
informational messages. A
request message may also include information regarding the channel (e.g.,
article dispensing
machine 230, website interface 418, etc.) calling the function. Accordingly, a
response message
may include one or more informational messages, if the IncludeStatusInResponse
flag was set in
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the incoming request message. Informational messages may include descriptions
of why the
request message did not pass a validation check, such as "CustomerNumber
cannot be missing or
null" and "Price cannot be less than zero". In one embodiment, a response
message may not
return a status code reflecting the outcome of the function. In another
embodiment, a response
message may include status codes.
[00093] Furthermore, the credits service 502 may validate incoming request
messages to
check that the parameters of the request message conform to specifications. If
a request message
does not validate, then the credits service 502 may return a ValidationFault
error to the calling
entity. In addition, if the credits service 502 encounters any unexpected
exceptions or states in
the processing of a request message for a function, the credits service 502
may return a
GeneralFault error to the calling entity.
[00094] The runtime namespace may be used during variable value
transactions through
the article dispensing machine 230, the API 508, and the website interface
418. Such variable
value transactions may involve a credit cart structure that contains a list of
items involved in the
transaction, as well as any higher level information related to the
transaction, such as a
promotion code. The credit cart may be used in the credits service 502 to keep
track of items in
an open transaction, as described above. The credit cart may initially contain
the same items in a
"shopping cart" used by a customer at the article dispensing machine 230,
through the API 508,
or on the website interface 418. The items in the credit cart may be
considered open items while
the variable value transaction remains open. The open items in the credit cart
may subsequently
be closed as the items are returned. The items in the credit cart may include
media articles
and/or media selections involved in a rental, reservation, and/or purchase
transaction. In this
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way, the status of items involved in a variable value transaction can be
tracked using the credit
cart.
[00095] Functions in the runtime namespace include PredictCredits for
estimating the
usage of credits in a transaction, RedeemCredits for redeeming credits for a
transaction,
CloseCaratems for removing items from a cart in an open transaction, and
GetCredits for
obtaining a list of active credits for a customer. The PredictCredits function
can inspect a cart
passed into the function and attempt to estimate the assignment of credits to
items in the cart,
depending on the availability of credits for a customer and the applicability
of the credits to the
items. The PredictCredits function may access the credits business rules
management system
504 and the credits database 506 to perform the credit estimation, and may be
called prior to
vending of an item from an article dispensing machine 230 and/or prior to
reservation of an item
for later vending. The PredictCredits function may also be called prior to
obtaining access to a
media selection. Parameters passed into the PredictCredits function may
include a customer
number for identifying the customer involved in a transaction, and cart
information, such as a list
of items in the cart and a cart discount amount related to a promotion code.
The list of items can
include a product number identifying the item, a type of product (e.g., DVD,
Blu-Ray disc, video
game disc), the applicable revenue stream (e.g., initial night, extra night,
passive sale/non-
return), the original price of the item, date information, and an item
discount amount.
[00096] The PredictCredits function only estimates a usage of credits for
a transaction and
does not place any credits into a projected lock state 1004 or a redeemed
state 1006. The current
credits available for redemption by the customer are taken into consideration
when the
PredictCredits function is called. Credits that were available in the past or
will be available in
the future are not taken into consideration. Outputs returned by the
PredictCredits function can
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include the number of credits remaining for the customer and the predicted
allocation of credits,
if any, for zero, one, or more of the items in the cart. The predicted
allocation may include the
product number, the number of credits, and the credit amount for each of the
items in the cart. A
total monetary amount of the value of the predicted allocation of credits may
also be returned.
[00097] The RedeemCredits function can redeem credits for items in a
transaction,
depending on the availability of credits for a customer and the applicability
of the credits to the
items. The RedeemCredits function may be called to satisfy an initial balance
after the vending
of an item from an article dispensing machine 230, after the reservation of an
item for later
vending, or after obtaining access to a media selection. This function may
also be called to
satisfy a remaining balance after a return of the item including extra nights,
after a non-return
resulting in a passive sale of the item, or after relinquishing access to a
media selection. The
credits business rules management system 504 and the credits database 506 may
be accessed by
the RedeemCredits function to perform the credit redemption. The RedeemCredits
function and
the PredictCredits function may operate independently ¨ in other words, any
previous calls of the
PredictCredits function have no impact on a call to the RedeemCredits
function. Parameters
passed into the RedeemCredits function may include a customer number, a
transaction number,
and cart information, such as a list of items in the cart and a cart discount
amount related to a
promotion code. The list of items can include a product number identifying the
item, a type of
product, the applicable revenue stream, the original price of the item, date
information, and an
item discount amount.
[00098] The RedeemCredits function can transition credits from an
available state 1002 or
a projected lock state 1004 to the redeemed state 1006. Outputs returned by
the RedeemCredits
function can include the number of credits remaining for the customer and the
allocation of
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credits for zero, one, or more of the items in the cart. The allocation may
include the number of
credits and credit amount for each of the items in the cart, as well as the
product type, product
number, revenue stream, and date information for the redeemed credits. A total
monetary
amount of the value of the allocation of credits may also be returned. The
PredictCredits
function and/or the RedeemCredits function may be configured to provide no
transactional
locking, optimistic transactional locking, or pessimistic transactional
locking.
[00099] Applicability rules may be processed by the credits business rules
management
system 504 when the PredictCredits or RedeemCredits functions are called. The
applicability
rules may be based on attributes in the individual credit definitions, for
example, to determine
whether a credit can be applied to a particular item in a transaction.
Applicability rules may
define when and how a credit can be used. An example of an applicability rule
may include
particular products that a credit is eligible to be redeemed for, e.g., DVDs
only, or DVD and Blu-
Ray discs. Another example of an applicability rule may include defining that
a credit may only
be good on a certain day, e.g., St. Patrick's Day. A further example of an
applicability rule may
include specifying an order for which products may be discounted or allow
credit redemption.
Another example of an applicability rules may include the rule being used as a
generalized
discounting scheme, such as discounting certain products by a set amount. A
further example of
an applicability rule may include unique promotional and marketing events,
such as allowing
credits to be used on "old Harrison Ford movies on rainy Thursdays".
[000100] The CloseCartItems function may be called when an item is
returned, after non-
pickup of a reserved media article, after relinquishing access to a media
selection, or when there
is no remaining balance in the variable value transaction. The CloseCartItems
function may also
be called if the credits service 502 detects the occurrence of these events
(return of an item, non-
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pickup of a reserved media article, relinquishment of access to a media
selection, or no
remaining balance in the transaction) regardless of whether the events were
registered with the
credits service 502. This may occur, for example, when the item is returned on
time and there
are no extra nights that need to be charged for. An article dispensing machine
230 may call the
CloseCartItems function when a media article is returned, for example. Any
accrued credits that
are in a projected lock state 1004 for the products in the cart being closed
may be released by the
CloseCaratems function. Parameters to be passed into the CloseCaratems
function may include
a transaction number and the product number of the item being returned.
[000101] The active credits returned by the GetCredits function includes
credits that are in
an available state 1002 or projected lock state 1004, but not credits that are
in a redeemed state
1006, expired state 1008, or deleted state 1010. Parameters that may be passed
into the
GetCredits function include a customer number for the customer whose credits
are being
retrieved. The information returned about the active credits may include a
credit identification
number, the state of the credit, a modified date, an effective date, an
expiration date, the
corresponding credit definition, and information related to an allocation of
the credit for a
particular item (if the credit is in a projected lock state 1004). The
GetCredits function may also
be called by the customer service system 408.
[000102] The management namespace includes the CreateCredits,
DeleteCredits,
GetCreditUsage, GetCreditDefinitions, and UpdateAccrual functions. The
CreateCredits and
DeleteCredits functions may be called by the customer service system 408. In
particular, the
CreateCredits function can create for a customer a specific number of credits
corresponding to a
specified credit definition. The created credits will be stored in the credits
database 506 for the
customer. The date the CreateCredits function is called will be the effective
date of the created
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credits. Parameters passed into the CreateCredits function may include the
customer number,
credit definition code, and the quantity of credits to create. The
DeleteCredits function can
delete a particular credit for a customer. The deleted credits will be
transitioned to a deleted state
1010 as a result of the DeleteCredits function. Parameters passed into the
DeleteCredits function
may include the credit identification number of the credits to be deleted.
[000103] The GetCreditUsage and GetCreditDefinitions functions may be
called by the
customer service system 408, the website interface 418, and the API 508. The
GetCreditUsage
function may return the credit usage history for a customer for a particular
date range, or the
credit usage for a particular transaction. Parameters passed into the
GetCreditUsage function
may include a customer number and date range information, or a transaction
number. Credits
returned by the GetCreditUsage function include credits that are in a redeemed
state 1006,
expired state 1008, or deleted state 1010. The information returned about the
credit usage
history may include a credit identification number, the state of the credit, a
modified date, an
effective date, an expiration date, the corresponding credit definition, and
information related to
an allocation of the credit for a particular item (if the credit is in a
redeemed state 1006).
[000104] The GetCreditDefinitions function may return a list of credit
definitions and their
basic attributes. In one embodiment, the attributes for all of the credit
definitions may be
returned, such as if no parameters are passed into the call to the function.
The credit definitions
can be requested by category or particular credit definition code, or all
credit definitions can be
returned by the GetCreditDefinitions function. For example, a customer service
representative
may want to create a credit for a customer, but would like to look up the
credit definition in order
to get the correct credit definition code.
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[000105]
The UpdateAccruals function may be called to accrue credits in the case where
a
transaction remains open. The cart corresponding to the open transaction may
be updated by the
UpdateAccruals function and credits that may be used to satisfy the remaining
balance of an
open transaction may be transitioned to a projected lock state 1004, if
appropriate. Parameters
passed into the UpdateAccruals function may include a customer number and a
date range for
which to update the accrual of credits.
[000106] The subscription namespace includes
the CreateSubscription,
UpdateSubscriptionExpiration, Up gradeDowngrade Sub scription,
CancelSubscription,
GetSubscriptions, and GetSkus functions. These functions may be called by the
customer
service system 408, the web interface 418, and the API 508. The
CreateSubscription function
can create one or more new credit subscriptions for a customer. Credit
subscriptions that are
created can be one-time or recurring subscriptions. As described above, the
external partner
system 350 can use the subscription loader 510 to manage subscriptions for
customers.
Parameters to be passed into the CreateSubscription function include a
customer number, a
vendor-specific customer number, a vendor code, a SKU code, a start date, and
an end date. The
calling entity may also specify whether the created subscription is unique. In
one embodiment,
the vendor-specific customer number may be optional and the customer number
may be a
customer shared key, as described above. The CreateSubscription function may
be called in
response to a message received at the subscription loader 510 from the
external partner system
350, for example. After processing the CreateSubscription function call, the
credits service 502
may internally call the CreateCredits function to manage the credits that were
modified by the
CreateSubscription call. The internal call of the CreateCredits function may
be done
asynchronously and/or as a part of a daily executed job. In the case when a
subscription does not
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have an end date, the corresponding credits may be created for the customer
for a predetermined
amount of time in the future. This may occur when the subscription loader 510
is responsible for
generating credits on a periodic basis, in contrast to when the external
partner system 350
periodically transmits messages to the subscription loader 510 to renew a
subscription. A unique
subscription handle identifier for the newly created subscription may be
returned by the
CreateSubscription function.
[000107]
The UpdateSubscriptionExpiration function can update the expiration date of an
existing credit subscription. Parameters to be passed into the
UpdateSubscriptionExpiration
function include a unique subscription handle identifier, the new expiration
date, and/or whether
the subscription does or does not expire after the new expiration date.
The
UpgradeDowngradeSubscription function can change the characteristics of an
existing credit
subscription. For example, an existing subscription can be changed to reflect
the credits included
in a different vendor SKU, credit packages, and/or credit definitions.
When the
UpgradeDowngradeSubscription is called, the existing customer number and
vendor code may
be carried over from the existing subscription. Parameters that may be passed
into the
UpgradeDowngradeSubscription include a unique subscription handle identifier
and the changes
to the subscription, such as a new vendor SKU, date information, subscription
expiration
information, and subscription uniqueness information. The
UpgradeDowngradeSubscription
may return a new unique subscription handle identifier that identifies the
modified credit
subscription.
[000108]
The CancelSubscription function can cancel an existing credit subscription by
setting the expiration date of the subscription to the current date. Any
credits for a customer that
were pre-issued but not effective until a future date would be deleted as a
result of the
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CancelSubscription function. However, credits for a customer that have already
been issued and
are currently effective would remain in the available state 1002 for use until
the credits have
expired. The unique subscription handle identifier identifying the credit
subscription to be
cancelled may be passed into the CancelSubscription function. The
GetSubscriptions function
may return a list of subscriptions for a particular customer. The list of
subscriptions may be
requested by customer number, vendor code, SKU, or subscription handle.
Parameters passed
into the GetSubscriptions function may include a customer number, a vendor
code, a vendor
SKU, and/or
unique subscription handle identifier. The subscriptions returned by the
GetSubscriptions function may include a subscription identification number, a
SKU name, an
effective date, and an expiration date. The GetSkus function may be called to
obtain a list of all
vendor SKUs. As described above, a vendor SKU can correspond to one or more
credit
packages, which in turn correspond to one or more credit definitions. The
vendor code for a
particular vendor may be passed in as a parameter to the GetSkus function. If
no parameter is
specified, all SKUs for all vendors may be returned. The SKUs returned by the
GetSkus
function may include a SKU code, a SKU name, an effective date, an expiration
date, a vendor
code, and a vendor name. The GetSkus function may be called, for example, so
that the external
partner can obtain a list of the SKUs that can be assigned to a customer
subscription.
[000109]
The batch subscription namespace includes the CreateBatch, UpdateBatchStatus,
ProcessBatch, LoadSubscriptionRequest, Up date Sub scriptionRequest,
and
ProcessSubscriptionRequest functions. Many transactions related to the
management of credit
subscriptions may be performed and/or request simultaneously through the use
of functions in
the batch subscription namespace. For example, multiple credit subscriptions
for one or more
customers may be created through use of the batch subscription functions, such
as when a large
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number of users are migrated from a legacy system into the credits system 406.
In one
embodiment, the subscription loader 510 may receive messages from the external
partner system
350 that direct the management and processing of batch credit subscriptions.
[000110] The maintenance namespace includes scheduled periodic processes
related to the
credit job described above, such as ManageCredits, CleanOpenCarts, and
PublishJobs. The
ManageCredits job may update the deleted and expired credits for a customer in
the credits
database so that the credit usage history for a customer is up to date. The
CleanOpenCarts job
may delete any closed transactions and update redeemed credits for a customer
in the credits
database so that the customer's credit usage history is up to date. The
PublishJobs job may move
data to the business intelligence system 416.
[000111] An embodiment of a process 1100 for processing a variable value
transaction
using credits and/or a payment card is shown in FIG. 11. The process 1100 can
result in the
redemption of applicable credits and/or the processing of a payment card by
the credits system
406 and credits service 502 to satisfy an initial balance and/or a remaining
balance associated
with the variable value transaction. A piece of media content can be involved
in the variable
value transaction. In particular, the piece of media content may include a
physical media article,
such as a DVD, Blu-Ray disc, or video game disc, or a digital media selection,
such as streaming
video content, video-on-demand content, downloadable video content, streaming
video games,
downloadable video games, or other digital media content. The variable value
transaction can be
initiated upon the rental, reservation, or purchase of the piece of media
content. In the case of a
rental of a media article, the variable value transaction may begin upon
vending of the media
article from an article dispensing machine 230, and the initial balance may
correspond to the
price involved with renting the media article for an initial night. The
reservation of a media
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article for later pickup at an article dispensing machine 230 may also incur
an initial balance
corresponding to an initial night's rental, even if the media article is not
timely picked up.
Obtaining access to a media selection may initiate the variable value
transaction and incur an
initial balance.
[000112] The remaining balance may be unknown at the start of a variable
value
transaction and can be calculated upon completion of the variable value
transaction. The
variable value transaction may be completed, for example, when a rented media
article is
returned to an article dispensing machine 230. In this case, the remaining
balance may
correspond to the price involved with keeping the rented media article for one
or more extra
nights beyond the initial night prior to returning the media article. If the
variable value
transaction was initiated by a reservation of the media article for later
pickup and the media
article was not timely picked up, then the variable value transaction may be
complete with no
remaining balance. If the media article was timely picked up after a
reservation, then the
variable value transaction is completed when the rented media article is
returned to the article
dispensing machine 230. A passive sale of a rented media article may also
complete a variable
value transaction, indicating that the rented media article was not returned
by a predetermined
time period, such as 25 days for a DVD, 23 days for a Blu-Ray disc, or 30 days
for a video game
disc. The purchase price of the media article is charged when there is a
passive sale of the rented
media article. In the case of a media selection, the variable value
transaction may be completed
when access to the media selection is relinquished.
[000113] The process 1100 and the corresponding variable value transaction
may be
initiated when a customer desires to checkout and rent, reserve, or purchase
pieces of media
content in their "shopping cart". The "shopping cart" may have been created by
a customer at
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the article dispensing machine 230, through the API 508, or on the website
interface 418. At
step 1101, item information for the one or more pieces of media content
involved in the variable
value transaction may be received by the credits system 406. The item
information may be
derived from the "shopping cart" created by the customer. The item information
received from
the "shopping cart" may be handled in the credits system 406 in a credit cart,
as described above,
for tracking whether the items are open or closed in the variable value
transaction.
[000114] Payment card information may be received by the identification and
authentication controller 402 at step 1102 from the article dispensing machine
230, the API 508,
or the website interface 418. The payment card may include a credit card or
debit card, and the
information from the payment card may be a unique customer identifier, such as
the payment
card number or hashed version of the payment card number. Based on the payment
card
information, a customer number may be retrieved at step 1104. The customer
number may
correspond to a particular customer in the customer profile database 404 and
may be retrieved by
matching the payment card information to the customer. At step 1106, it is
determined whether
the customer passes a fraud check. The fraud check includes whether the
customer is eligible to
initiate the variable value transaction, based on unpaid debts, a history of
declined payment
cards, appearance on a customer blacklist, and other risk factors. If the
fraud check is not
passed, then the transaction is cancelled at step 1138 and the customer is not
allowed to rent,
reserve, or purchase the pieces of media content in the "shopping cart". In
one embodiment, if
the fraud check is not passed based on a predetermined item limit for a
customer, the customer
may be given an opportunity to reduce the number of items involved in the
transaction. If the
fraud check is passed, then the process continues to step 1108.
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[000115] At step 1108, the predicted credits that may be available and
applicable to items
in the credit cart are determined. The credits service 502 may inspect the
items in the credit cart
and utilize the credits business rules management system 504 and the credits
database 506 to
estimate which credits may be assignable to the items. The PredictCredits
function in the credits
service 502 may be called to perform step 1108. An embodiment of step 1108 is
shown in more
detail with reference to FIG. 12. At step 1202, the customer number and the
credit cart may be
received by the credits service 502. The credit cart can include the items
involved in the variable
value transaction. If a cart discount amount related to a promotion code is
present in the credit
cart at step 1204, then the promotion code may be applied at step 1212. The
promotion code
may be a specific monetary amount, such as one dollar, two dollars, or five
dollars, and can be
applied to the entire credit cart. Promotion codes may be issued by a customer
service
representative or for marketing promotions. The promotion code may have been
entered by the
customer at the time of checkout. In one embodiment, a promotion code is
applied to media
articles in order of precedence of DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and video game discs.
In other
embodiments, the cart discount amount related to a promotion code is applied
to the item(s) in a
credit cart that are less than or equal to the cart discount amount. If an
item has a promotion
code applied to it, a credit may not be used towards the item. Following
application of the
promotion code, the process 1108 continues to step 1206. The process 1108 also
continues to
step 1206 if there is no promotion code present in the credit cart at step
1204.
[000116] At step 1206, the credits corresponding to the customer may be
retrieved from the
credits database 506. The credits may be looked up in the credits database 506
based on the
customer number received at step 1202. The credits corresponding to the
customer can be
assigned to the items in the credit cart, if applicable, at step 1208. The
applicability rules for a
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particular credit can be processed by the credits business rules management
system 504 to
determine whether to assign the credit to an item in the credit cart.
Specifically, the attributes in
the credit definition 602 of a particular credit will determine whether the
credit is applicable to
an item. A credit may be applied to the initial balance or remaining balance
of the variable value
transaction. In the case of a rental of a piece of media content, this may
correspond to the
revenue streams of an initial night or extra night, respectively. The credit
may also be applied to
a non-return/passive sale or a purchase.
[000117] The credit may be examined to determine whether the credit is
expired, whether
the credit is applicable to the particular item type, whether the credit can
be applied to the initial
balance and/or the remaining balance, and whether the credit may be used at
the particular
channel the customer is transacting at (e.g., the article dispensing machine
230, the website
interface 418, and/or the external partner system 350). For example, if an
item in the credit cart
is a DVD and an initial night rental, then a credit that is unexpired,
applicable to at least DVDs,
and that can be used for an initial balance can be assigned as applicable to
the item. However, an
unexpired credit that is applicable only to Blu-Ray discs or video game discs
would not be
assigned as applicable to the DVD item.
[000118] A credit, if appropriate, can be assigned to applicable items in
an order that is
beneficial to the customer (e.g., from highest value to lowest value),
beneficial to the operator of
the article dispensing machine 230, external partner, or content provider
(e.g., based on
contractual agreements and obligations), or other criteria. For example, a one
night rental of a
Blu-Ray disc is valued at $1.50, as compared to a one night rental of a DVD
valued at $1.00. If
the credit is applicable to DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, then the credit would be
first assigned as
applicable to a Blu-Ray disc in a credit cart. Furthermore, a credit can be
applied to applicable
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items in order of earlier expiration date to later expiration date. Also,
credits may not be applied
to an initial or remaining balance below a predetermined amount, such as below
$1.00, in the
interest of giving a customer the best value for a credit. Further examples of
applying credits to
items in a credit cart are described below. Credits that are assigned in the
process 1108 remain
in the available state 1002 because the process 1108 only predicts the usage
of credits to items in
the credit cart. The estimated assignment of credits to items in the credit
cart may be returned at
step 1210 in the form of a modified credit cart.
[000119] Returning to FIG. 11, it is determined whether credits are
available to be assigned
to items in the credit cart at step 1110. If it is the case that no credits
were predicted to be
available for assignment to items, then the process 1100 continues from step
1110 to step 1134.
Because no credits were predicted to be available, the payment card may be
processed to pay for
the initial balance of the variable value transaction. At step 1134, the
payment card is checked
for authorization of its payment capability, such as by communicating with the
financial server
305. If the payment card is not authorized at step 1134, then the transaction
is cancelled at step
1138. However, if the payment card is authorized at step 1134, then the
payment card is
processed at step 1136 to pay for the initial balance. In one embodiment,
processing of the
payment card may include charging or billing an account at the affiliate or
external vendor. In
another embodiment, processing of the payment card may include using
alternative methods of
payment, such as PayPal, American Express Serve, Facebook Credits, frequent
flyer mile
redemption, and the like. Following processing of the payment card at step
1136, an action is
taken at step 1118 such as vending of the piece of media content, reservation
of the piece of
media content for later pickup, or obtaining accessing to the piece of media
content. For
example, a media article (e.g., DVD, Blu-Ray disc, video game disc) may be
vended from an
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article dispensing machine 230 at step 1118. As another example, a media
article may be
reserved for later pickup from the article dispensing machine 230 at step
1118. As a further
example, access to view or download a media selection may be obtained by the
customer at step
1118.
[000120] If at least one credit was predicted to be available for
assignment to an item at
step 1110, then the process 1100 continues to step 1112 and queries as to
whether the customer
wishes to opt out of using credits for the transaction. A customer may wish to
opt out of using
credits if the customer is saving credits for a future transaction, for
example. If the customer
opts out of using credits for the transaction at step 1112, then the payment
card may be processed
to pay for the initial balance of the variable value transaction. As described
above, the payment
card may be authorized and processed at steps 1134 and 1136 followed by the
action at step
1118, or if the payment card is not authorized, the transaction can be
cancelled at step 1138. If a
customer opts out of using credits at step 1112, the action at step 1118 (as
described above) may
be taken following processing of the payment card at step 1136. In addition,
in one embodiment,
credits will not be accrued at step 1122 or redeemed at step 1128, as
described below. Instead, in
the case of a customer opt out in this embodiment, a remaining balance of the
variable value
transaction is satisfied by processing of the payment card at step 1132 since
no credits will have
been accrued or allocated. In another embodiment, credits may be redeemed for
a remaining
balance even if a customer opts out of redeeming credits for an initial
balance at the beginning of
the variable value transaction.
[000121] Returning to step 1112, if the customer does not opt out of using
credits for the
transaction, then the process 1100 continues to step 1114. At step 1114,
credits corresponding to
the customer may be redeemed for the initial balance of the variable value
transaction. The
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credits service 502 may inspect the items in the credit cart and utilize the
credits business rules
management system 504 and the credits database 506 to determine which credits
to redeem for
the items. The RedeemCredits function in the credits service 502 may be called
to perform step
1114. An embodiment of step 1114 is shown in more detail with reference to
FIG. 13. At step
1302, the customer number and the credit cart may be received by the credits
service 502. The
credit cart can include the items involved in the variable value transaction.
If a cart discount
amount related to a promotion code is present in the credit cart at step 1304,
then the promotion
code may be applied at step 1320 in the same way as described above with
reference to step 1212
in FIG. 12. Following application of the promotion code, the process 1114
continues to step
1306. The process 1114 also continues to step 1306 if there is no promotion
code present in the
credit cart at step 1304.
[000122] At step 1306, the credits corresponding to the customer may be
retrieved from the
credits database 506. The credits may be looked up in the credits database 506
based on the
customer number received at step 1302. At step 1308, it can be determined
whether the credits
corresponding to the customer can be allocated to the items in the credit
cart. The applicability
rules for a particular credit can be processed by the credits business rules
management system
504 at step 1308 to determine whether to allocate the credit to an item in the
credit cart.
Specifically, the attributes in the credit definition 602 of a particular
credit will determine
whether the credit is applicable to an item. A credit may be applied to the
initial balance or
remaining balance of the variable value transaction. In the case of a rental
of a piece of media
content, this may correspond to the revenue streams of an initial night or
extra night,
respectively. The credit may also be applied to a non-return/passive sale or a
purchase.
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[000123] The credit may be examined to determine whether the credit is
expired, whether
the credit is applicable to the particular item type, whether the credit can
be applied to the initial
balance and/or the remaining balance, and whether the credit may be used at
the particular
channel the customer is transacting at (e.g., the article dispensing machine
230, the website
interface 418, and/or the external partner system 350). For example, if an
item in the credit cart
is a video game disc and an initial night rental, then a credit that is
unexpired, applicable to at
least video game discs, and that can be used for an initial balance can be
allocated to the item.
However, an unexpired credit that is applicable only to Blu-Ray discs would
not be allocated to
the video game item.
[000124] At step 1310, it is determined whether a credit was allocated to
an item in the
credit cart at step 1308. If a credit was allocated to an item in the credit
cart, the particular credit
is transitioned from an available state 1002 to a redeemed state 1006 at step
1312. When the
credit is in the redeemed state 1006, the credit can no longer be used for
other items. An open
item is created in the credit cart at step 1314 so that the status of the item
can be tracked as long
as the variable value transaction remains uncompleted. Step 1314 to create an
open item in the
credit cart is also performed if it was determined that a credit was not
allocated to the item in the
credit cart at step 1310. In this case, no credits have been redeemed because
there were no
credits applicable to the item. In addition, the initial balance of the
variable value transaction
will have at least a remaining portion because the initial balance is not
fully satisfied by the
redemption of credits. If there are remaining items in the credit cart at step
1316, then the
process 1114 returns to step 1308 to determine applicable credits for the
remaining items. If
there are no remaining items in the credit cart at step 1316, then the
modified credit cart denoting
the allocation of credits to items in the credit cart is returned at step
1318.
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[000125] Returning to FIG. 11, it is determined at step 1116 whether there
is a remaining
portion of the initial balance after the redemption of credits at step 1114.
If there is a remaining
portion of the initial balance, then the payment card may be processed to pay
for the remaining
portion. As described above, the payment card may be authorized and processed
at steps 1134
and 1136 followed by the action at step 1118, or if the payment card is not
authorized, the
transaction can be cancelled at step 1138. Returning to step 1116, if there is
no remaining
portion of the initial balance that must be paid for, then the process 1100
continues to step 1118
to perform an action such as vending, reserving for later pickup, or obtaining
access to a piece of
media content.
[000126] It can be determined at step 1120 whether the variable value
transaction is
complete. Step 1120 may not occur for one or more hours, days, or other time
periods because
completion of the transaction may be based on customer decisions. Completion
of the variable
value transaction includes return of a media article to an article dispensing
machine 230, a non-
pickup of a reserved media article from the article dispensing machine 230, a
passive sale of a
media article after a predetermined time period, a relinquishing of access to
a media selection, or
if it is detected that one of these events has occurred but was not registered
with the credits
service 502. If the transaction is determined to not be completed at step
1120, then credits may
be accrued on a periodic basis for predicting usage of credits to pay for a
remaining balance of
the transaction at step 1122. One or more credits may be allocated to items in
the transaction and
placed in a projected lock state 1004 at step 1122. These credits, while
allocated to potentially
pay for the remaining balance of the transaction, would not be redeemed until
step 1128, if the
accrual is correct. Accrual of credits may take into account the local time
zones where the
variable value transaction originated and becomes completed. In particular, it
is assumed that the
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originating time zone will be the same as the completed time zone while
credits are accrued.
However, if the transaction is completed in a different time zone than the
originating time zone,
the credits service 502 can redeem or not redeem an accrued credit, according
to the time zone
differences. An embodiment of step 1122 is described in more detail below with
reference to
FIG. 15.
[000127] However, if the transaction is determined to be completed at step
1120, then the
process 1100 continues to step 1124 where it is determined whether there is a
remaining balance
of the variable value transaction. A remaining balance may occur, for example,
when a piece of
media content involved in the variable value transaction has been kept for
longer than the period
allowed by payment of the initial balance, such as one night. If there is no
remaining balance at
step 1124, then the open item in the credit cart corresponding to the piece of
media content in the
transaction may be closed at step 1140. However, if there is a remaining
balance at step 1124,
then the process 1100 continues to step 1126 where it is determined whether
any credits have
been allocated for the open items in the credit cart. As mentioned above,
credits may be accrued
and allocated at step 1122 to satisfy a remaining balance of the variable
value transaction. If
there are no credits allocated at step 1126, then the remaining balance may be
satisfied by
processing the payment card at step 1132. The open item in the credit cart may
then be closed at
step 1140.
[000128] However, if there are allocated credits at step 1126, then at step
1128, the
allocated credits may be redeemed to satisfy some or all of the remaining
balance of the variable
value transaction. The credits service 502 may inspect the open items in the
credit cart and
utilize the credits business rules management system 504 and the credits
database 506 to
determine which credits to redeem for the items. The RedeemCredits function in
the credits
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service 502 may be called to perform step 1128. An embodiment of step 1128 is
shown in more
detail with reference to FIG. 14. At step 1402, the customer number and the
credit cart may be
received by the credits service 502. The credit cart can include the items
involved in the variable
value transaction that have a remaining balance that needs to be satisfied. At
step 1404, the
credits corresponding to the customer may be retrieved from the credits
database 506. The
credits may be looked up in the credits database 506 based on the customer
number received at
step 1402.
[000129] At step 1406, the credits in a projected lock state 1004 that
correspond to the open
items in the credit cart may be determined from the credits for the customer
retrieved at step
1404. Credits may have been transitioned to a projected lock state 1004 at
step 1122 of the
process 1100 due to the accrual of credits when the variable value transaction
was not yet
complete. At step 1408, it is determined whether an item in the credit cart
matches a credit that
is in a projected lock state 1004. If there are no items that match a credit
that is in the projected
lock state 1004, then the credit is transitioned to an available state 1002 at
step 1410. In this
case, the credit was erroneously transitioned to the projected lock state 1004
and becomes
available again for future usage. The credit may have been erroneously
transitioned to the
projected lock state 1004 if, when accruing credits at step 1122, the credits
service 502 believes
that items in the variable value transaction are still open. This may occur,
for example, if an
article dispensing machine 230 that receives a return of a rented media
article is not in
communication with the credits service 502 at the time of the return, due to a
network
interruption or other interruption in communication. Following step 1410, the
process 1128
continues to step 1416 to determine if there are remaining items in the credit
cart.
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[000130] If there are items that match a credit in the projected lock state
1004 at step 1408,
then at step 1412, it is determined whether the credit in the projected lock
state 1004 corresponds
to a particular item and particular date. As discussed above, a credit may be
in the projected lock
state 1004 if the credit had been previously accrued and predicted to be used
to satisfy a
remaining balance of the variable value transaction. If there is a credit in
the projected lock state
1004 that corresponds to a particular item in the credit cart and a particular
date, then the credit
may be transitioned from the projected lock state 1004 to a redeemed state
1006 at step 1414.
However, if there is not a credit in the projected lock state 1004 that
corresponds to a particular
item in the credit cart and a particular date, then the process 1128 may
continue to step 1418.
[000131] At step 1418, it may be determined whether there is a credit in
the available state
1002 that may be applicable to the particular item in the credit cart for the
particular date. The
applicability rules for a credit can be processed by the credits business
rules management system
504 at step 1418 to determine whether to allocate the credit to the particular
item in the credit
cart for the particular date. Specifically, the attributes in the credit
definition 602 of a particular
credit will determine whether the credit is applicable to an item, as
described above in reference
to step 1308 of the process 1114. If there are no credits which are applicable
to the particular
item in the credit cart for the particular date at step 1418, then the process
1128 continues to step
1416 to determine if there are remaining items in the credit cart. In this
case, some or all of the
remaining balance of the variable value transaction may need to be satisfied
by processing a
payment card. However, if there is a credit that is applicable to the
particular item in the credit
cart for the particular date at step 1418, then that credit is transitioned
from an available state
1002 to a redeemed state 1006 at step 1414. Following step 1414, the process
1128 continues to
step 1416 to determine if there are remaining items in the credit cart. At
step 1416, if there are
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remaining items in the credit cart, then the process 1128 returns to step 1408
to determine
whether the remaining items match credits in a projected lock state 1004. If
there are no
remaining items in the credit cart at step 1416, then the modified credit cart
denoting the
allocation of credits to items in the credit cart is returned at step 1420.
[000132] Returning to FIG. 11, it is determined at step 1130 whether there
is a remaining
portion of the remaining balance of the variable value transaction after the
redemption of credits
at step 1128. There may be a remaining portion of the remaining balance if,
for example, an
insufficient number of credits were redeemed at step 1128 to satisfy the
remaining balance. If
there is a remaining portion of the remaining balance, then the payment card
may be processed to
pay for the remaining portion at step 1132. The open items in the credit cart
may be closed at
step 1140 following step 1132, or if there is not a remaining portion of the
remaining balance at
step 1130.
[000133] An embodiment of a process 1122 for accruing credits in a variable
value
transaction is shown in FIG. 15. The process 1122 corresponds to step 1122 of
the process 1100
shown in FIG. 11. Credits may be accrued on a periodic basis with the process
1122 for
predicting usage of credits to pay for a remaining balance of the variable
value transaction that is
uncompleted. One or more credits may be allocated to items in the transaction
and placed in a
projected lock state 1004 using the process 1122. These projected lock credits
may or may not
be redeemed to satisfy a remaining balance, such as at steps 1126 and 1128
described above in
FIG. 11. The UpdateAccruals function in the credits service 502 may be called
to perform the
process 1122. At step 1502, the customer number and the credit cart may be
received by the
credits service 502. The credit cart can include the items involved in the
variable value
transaction that is not yet completed. At step 1504, the credits corresponding
to the customer
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may be retrieved from the credits database 506. The credits may be looked up
in the credits
database 506 based on the customer number received at step 1502.
[000134] At step 1506, it can be determined whether the credits
corresponding to the
customer can be allocated to the items in the credit cart. The applicability
rules for a particular
credit can be processed by the credits business rules management system 504 at
step 1506 to
determine whether to allocate the credit to an item in the credit cart.
Specifically, the attributes
in the credit definition 602 of a particular credit will determine whether the
credit is applicable to
an item. In the context of the process 1122 related to accrual of credits,
even if a credit is
applicable to an item, it may or may not be redeemed to satisfy the remaining
balance of the
variable value transaction, but instead will be placed in a projected lock
state 1004. At step
1508, it is determined whether a credit was allocated to an item in the credit
cart at step 1506. If
a credit was allocated to an item in the credit cart, the particular credit is
transitioned from an
available state 1002 to a projected lock state 1004 at step 1510. When the
credit is in the
projected lock state 1004, the credit cannot be used for other items but it
may be redeemed in the
future to satisfy the remaining balance. A credit in the projected lock state
1004 may
alternatively be transitioned back to the available state 1002, such as at
steps 1408 and 1410 in
FIG. 14 described above.
[000135] Following step 1510, the process 1122 continues to step 1512 to
determine if
there are remaining items in the credit cart. The process 1122 also continues
to step 1512 if there
are no applicable credits allocated at step 1508. At step 1512, if there are
remaining items in the
credit cart, then the process 1122 returns to step 1506 to determine whether
there are applicable
credits for the remaining items in the credit cart. If there are no remaining
items in the credit cart
at step 1512, then the process 1122 is complete at step 1514 and returns to
the process 1100 of
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FIG. 11. In particular, following the process 1122, it is determined at step
1120 of FIG. 11
whether the variable value transaction is complete, as described above. The
process 1122 may
be executed periodically while the transaction is uncompleted, such as nightly
using the credit
job described above.
[000136] In another embodiment, a process 1600 for accruing credits in a
variable value
transaction is shown in FIG. 16. The process 1600 may correspond to step 1122
of the process
1100 shown in FIG. 11. Credits may be accrued on a periodic basis with the
process 1600 for
predicting usage of credits to pay for a remaining balance of the variable
value transaction that is
uncompleted. One or more credits may be allocated to items in the transaction
and placed in a
projected lock state 1004 using the process 1600. Accrual of credits in a
variable value
transaction, as in the process 1600, may also affect a pending revenue amount.
The pending
revenue amount is an estimated amount of revenue that is expected but not yet
recognized due to
the variable value transaction being uncompleted. The business intelligence
system 416, for
example, may need to have the total pending revenue amount related to all open
transactions on a
periodic basis so that financial information is as accurate as possible. The
UpdateAccruals
function in the credits service 502 may be called to perform the process 1600.
[000137] At step 1602, the customer number and the credit cart may be
received by the
credits service 502. The credit cart can include the items involved in the
variable value
transaction that is not yet completed. At step 1604, the credits corresponding
to the customer
may be retrieved from the credits database 506. The credits may be looked up
in the credits
database 506 based on the customer number received at step 1602. At step 1606,
it can be
determined whether the credits corresponding to the customer can be allocated
to the items in the
credit cart. The applicability rules for a particular credit can be processed
by the credits business
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rules management system 504 at step 1606 to determine whether to allocate the
credit to an item
in the credit cart. In the context of the process 1600 related to accrual of
credits, even if a credit
is applicable to an item, it may or may not be redeemed to satisfy the
remaining balance of the
variable value transaction, but instead will be placed in a projected lock
state 1004.
[000138] At step 1608, it is determined whether a credit was allocated to
an item in the
credit cart at step 1606. If a credit was allocated to an item in the credit
cart, it is determined
whether the transaction can be completed by a customer at step 1610. In some
cases, a customer
may not be able to complete a variable value transaction due to circumstances
beyond the
customer's control. The accrual of credits in the process 1600 for the
remaining balance of the
transaction, as well as the pending revenue amount, can be adjusted at step
1620 so that the
credits are not necessarily placed in a projected lock state 1004. For
example, if a customer only
has access to an article dispensing machine 230 in a location that is only
accessible Monday
through Friday, then the accrual of credits may be excluded at step 1620 for
Saturday and
Sunday for rentals from that particular article dispensing machine 230. In
effect, the remaining
balance of a variable value transaction would not increase on the days the
article dispensing
machine 230 is inaccessible to the customer. Also, credits that are not
accrued while the
transaction remains open would not be added to the pending revenue amount.
Accordingly, if it
is determined that the transaction cannot be completed by the customer at step
1610, then the
value of the credits that would have been placed in a projected lock state
1004 is excluded from
the pending revenue amount at step 1620. In addition, these credits remain in
an available state
1002.
[000139] However, if it is determined at step 1610 that the transaction can
be completed by
the customer, the credit is transitioned from an available state 1002 to a
projected lock state 1004
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at step 1612. When the credit is in the projected lock state 1004, the credit
cannot be used for
other items but it may be redeemed in the future to satisfy the remaining
balance. A credit in the
projected lock state 1004 may alternatively be transitioned back to the
available state 1002, such
as at steps 1408 and 1410 in FIG. 14 described above. Following step 1612, the
process 1600
continues to step 1614 where the value of the projected lock credit may be
added to the pending
revenue amount. Although a credit in the projected lock state 1004 is not yet
redeemed, the
value of the credit may be added to the pending revenue amount since the
credit is predicted to
be redeemed for some or all of the remaining balance of the variable value
transaction. When
the variable value transaction is completed and closed, then the pending
revenue amount may be
recognized as recognized revenue.
[000140] The value of a credit may vary depending on factors such as the
product to which
the credit is applied, taxes, the source of the credit, and other factors. For
example, a Blu-Ray
disc may be valued at $1.50 for one rental night, as compared to a DVD which
is valued at $1.00
for one rental night. A source of the credit may include an external partner
(e.g., a cable
television operator, a satellite television service provider, an IPTV
provider, an online gaming
and digital media delivery service, a website, a movie studio, a television
network, a game
publisher, a retailer), an internal marketing department, or other source. For
example, the
external partner may pay more for a credit provided to a customer than the
internal marketing
department pays for a credit. As another example, the external partner may
purchase credits in
bulk for resale or distribution to its customers at a discounted price per
credit as compared to the
value of the credit to the customer. Accordingly, while the value of a credit
from the perspective
of a customer relates to the product involved in a transaction, the value of a
credit from the
perspective of an external partner may differ, e.g., may be lower. With
regards to steps 1614 and
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1620 described above, this possible variance in the value of accrued credits
(and included or
excluded in pending revenue) should be accounted for when determining pending
revenue
amounts.
[000141] Following step 1614, the process 1600 continues to step 1616 to
determine if
there are remaining items in the credit cart. The process 1600 also continues
to step 1616 if there
are no applicable credits allocated at step 1608. At step 1616, if there are
remaining items in the
credit cart, then the process 1600 returns to step 1606 to determine whether
there are applicable
credits for the remaining items in the credit cart. If there are no remaining
items in the credit cart
at step 1616, then the process 1600 is complete at step 1618 and returns to
the process 1100 of
FIG. 11. In particular, following the process 1600, it is determined at step
1120 of FIG. 11
whether the variable value transaction is complete, as described above. The
process 1600 may
be executed periodically while the transaction is uncompleted, such as nightly
using the credit
job described above.
[000142] An embodiment of a process 1700 for optimizing the redemption of
credits in a
variable value transaction is shown in FIG. 17. The process 1700 may
correspond to the step of
determining applicable credits for items in a credit cart, as in step 1308 of
the process 1114
shown in FIG. 13, step 1418 of the process 1128 in FIG. 14, step 1506 of the
process 1122 in
FIG. 15, and step 1606 of the process 1600 in FIG. 16. The process 1700 may
result in the
allocation of credits for redemption in a particular order to satisfy an
initial balance or remaining
balance of a variable value transaction. The selection of which credits to
redeem and in which
order to redeem the credits may be based on the best value for the customer as
well as to
optimize the recognition of revenue. For example, a first external partner may
purchase credits
to offer as part of a credit subscription, while a second external partner may
purchase credits to
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offer as standalone promotional credits offered to customers. The first
external partner may pay
a lesser amount for each of the credits that will be part of a credit
subscription as opposed to the
promotional credits purchased by the second external partner because the first
external partner is
purchasing a greater quantity of credits. During a variable value transaction,
the promotional
credits may be optimized so that they are redeemed prior to the subscription
credits, resulting in
sooner recognition of a greater amount of revenue.
[000143] Credit redemption criteria including a redemption priority, a
product value, an
expiration date, and/or a redemption value of a credit can be utilized to
determine the order of
availability that denotes whether a particular credit should be redeemed prior
to or after another
credit. First, the redemption priority for a credit may be predetermined,
whether the credit
originated from a credit subscription or from another source. Certain credits
may be assigned a
higher redemption priority, for example, if those credits would result in the
recognition of a
greater amount of revenue. A credit with a higher redemption priority may be
assigned a higher
order of availability. The redemption priority for credits may be based on a
variety of factors,
including the revenue shares of the external partners involved (e.g., movie
studio, video game
developer, retailer, etc.), contractual agreements with the external partners
(e.g., the external
partner may or may not pay varying amounts for credits), strategic value
(e.g., if a credit is
related to a customer promotion for certain targeted attributes), customer
benefit (e.g., if the
credit could be used for a higher value item rather than a lower value item),
and other factors.
[000144] In one embodiment, the redemption priority of credits may be in
the order of: (1)
if a credit has a subscription identification number, so that credits created
with a subscription are
redeemed prior to manually created credits, e.g., customer service credits;
(2) effective date of a
credit, so that older effective dates are redeemed first; (3) expiration date
of a credit, so that
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credits expiring sooner are redeemed first; (4) revenue stream priority, e.g.,
initial night-
applicable credits before extra night-applicable credits; and (5) product type
priority, e.g., Blu-
Ray-applicable credits before DVD-applicable credits. The order of redemption
priority may be
configurable and changed to a different order at any time.
[000145] Second, the product value of a particular piece of media content
may be based on
the price that a customer would pay during a transaction involving that piece
of media content.
For example, the price of a rental night for a DVD may be $1.00, the price of
a rental night for a
Blu-Ray disc may be $1.50, and the price of a rental night for a video game
disc may be $2.00.
A credit that can be applied to a higher product value may be assigned a
higher order of
availability so that a customer receives a greater value for the credit when
the credit is redeemed.
Third, the expiration date of a credit may play a role in a credit's order of
availability. If a first
credit will expire sooner than a second credit, then the first credit may be
assigned a higher order
of availability so that the first credit can be redeemed before it expires and
so that the customer
does not lose the credit without using it. Finally, the redemption value of a
credit may be used to
determine the order of availability of a credit. The redemption value can be
the amount an
external partner pays for the credit. If the redemption value of a first
credit is higher than the
redemption value of another credit, the first credit may be assigned a higher
order of availability.
In one embodiment, the redemption value, e.g., the amount received for
reimbursement from an
external partner for the user of credit, may be involved with the optimization
of the redemption
of credits. The redemption value may be calculated when the credit is
redeemed.
[000146] An advantage of optimizing the redemption of credits is that the
various factors
and their weighting, as described above, may be adjusted according to business
needs and goals.
In one embodiment, the redemption priority of a credit and the product value
of a particular piece
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may be the primary factors that are weighted more heavily to ensure an optimal
user experience.
In other embodiment, the factors may be weighted more equally.
[000147] At step 1702, the applicability rules for the credits
corresponding to a customer
may be retrieved from the credits database 506. The applicability rules may be
processed by the
credits business rules management system 504 to determine the order of
availability of credits
and whether to allocate a particular credit to an item in the credit cart. The
applicability of the
credits to a particular item in a credit cart may be determined at step 1704
based on the retrieved
applicability rules. Specifically, the attributes in the credit definition 602
of a particular credit
will determine whether the credit is applicable to the particular item type,
e.g., DVD, Blu-Ray
disc, video game disc, media selection, etc. At step 1706, it is determined
whether any credits
are available for the particular item in the credit cart. If there are no
credits available for the
particular item at step 1706, then the process 1700 is complete at step 1738
and returns to the
parent flow from where the process 1700 was entered, e.g., the process 1114
shown in FIG. 13,
the process 1128 in FIG. 14, the process 1122 in FIG. 15, or the process 1600
in FIG. 16. If
there are credits available at step 1706, then the process 1700 continues to
step 1708 and
examines the credit redemption criteria of the applicable credits that were
determined at step
1704.
[000148] At step 1708, if the redemption priority of the applicable credit
being examined is
higher than the redemption priority of the other applicable credits, then the
order of availability
for that applicable credit can be increased at step 1710. If the redemption
priority of the
applicable credit being examined is the same or lower than the redemption
priority of the other
applicable credits, then the order of availability for that applicable credit
can be decreased at step
1712. The process 1700 continues to step 1714 following step 1710 or step
1712. At step 1714,
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if the product value of the applicable credit being examined is higher than
the product value of
the other applicable credits, then the order of availability for that
applicable credit can be
increased at step 1716. However, if the product value of the applicable credit
being examined is
the same or lower than the product value of the other applicable credits, then
the order of
availability for that applicable can be decreased at step 1718. The process
1700 continues to step
1720 following step 1716 or step 1718.
[000149] At step 1720, if the expiration date of the applicable credit
being examined is
sooner than the expiration dates of the other applicable credits, then the
order of availability for
that applicable credit can be increased at step 1722. If the expiration date
of the applicable credit
being examined is the same or later than the expiration date of the other
applicable credits, then
the order of availability for that applicable credit can be decreased at step
1724. The process
1700 continues to step 1726 following step 1722 or step 1724. At step 1726, if
the redemption
value of the applicable credit being examined is higher than the redemption
value of the other
applicable credits, then the order of availability for that applicable credit
can be increased at step
1728. However, if the redemption value of the applicable credit being examined
is the same or
lower than the redemption value of the other applicable credits, then the
order of availability for
that applicable credit can be decreased at step 1730. The process 1700
continues to step 1732
following step 1728 or step 1730.
[000150] The order of availability determined by steps 1708 through 1730
may be assigned
at step 1732. The order of availability may be a numerical or other denotation
of the preferred
redemption sequence for a credit as compared to other credits in order to
optimize revenue
recognition and value to the customer, as described above. If there are
remaining applicable
credits at step 1734 that should be assigned an order of availability, then
the process 1700 returns
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to step 1708 and examines the next applicable credit. If there are no
remaining applicable credits
at step 1734, then at step 1736, the credit with the highest assigned order of
availability is
allocated to the item in the credit cart. If the process 1700 is executed for
step 1308 of FIG. 13
or step 1418 of FIG. 14, the allocated credit may later be redeemed for the
initial balance or
remaining balance, respectively, in the variable value transaction. If the
process 1700 is
executed for step 1506 of FIG. 15 or step 1606 of FIG. 16, the allocated
credit may later be
accrued and placed in a projected lock state 1004 at step 1510 or step 1612,
respectively. The
credit may be subsequently redeemed in the process 1128 for the remaining
balance when a
variable value transaction has been completed. When a credit is redeemed for
an item in a
variable value transaction, the items in the credit cart may also be sorted by
a particular priority
in order to optimize the redemption of credits. In one embodiment, the items
may be sorted in
the order of: (1) date the item was placed in the credit cart; (2) revenue
stream; (3) item discount
amount; (4) product type; and (5) item identification number. This order may
be configurable
and changed to a different order at any time.
[000151] An embodiment of a process 1800 for managing credit subscriptions
is shown in
FIG. 18. The process 1800 can result in the creation, renewal, modification,
or deletion of credit
subscriptions corresponding to a customer. A credit subscription can be a one-
time or recurring
issuance of a quantity of one or more credits to a customer. The credits may
be redeemed and/or
accrued to satisfy some or all of an initial balance or remaining balance of a
variable value
transaction, as described above. The variable value transaction may involve a
piece of media
content. Each of the credits in a credit subscription may have a predetermined
validity duration
specifying when the credits may be redeemed and/or accrued. The length of the
predetermined
validity duration may be defined in a credit definition.
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[000152]
A credit subscription can be managed through the subscription loader 510
internally or by an external partner of the external partner system 350.
Subscription management
messages can be received by the subscription loader 510 that contain
attributes related to the
management of credit subscriptions for customers. A credit subscription may be
created,
renewed, modified, or deleted based on the attributes contained in a
subscription management
message. The CreateSubscription,
Up date Sub scriptionExpiration,
UpgradeDowngradeSubscription, and/or CancelSubscription functions in the
credits service 502
may be called by the subscription loader 510 to perform all or part of the
process 1800. The
functions of the batch subscription namespace may also be called to perform
all or part of the
process 1800. Billing and refunds related to the creation, renewal,
modification, or deletion of a
credit subscription may be handled by the credits service 502 in conjunction
with the external
partner system 350 (e.g., in the case where an account at the external partner
is charged) and/or
the financial server 305.
[000153]
Credits in a credit subscription can be created so that the credits are issued
once
and expire when the expiration dates of the credits are reached. For example,
an external partner
system 350 may transmit a subscription management message to the subscription
loader 510 to
create a credit subscription for a customer that includes a one-time issuance
of credits. Credits
may also be created in a credit subscription so that the credits are issued
and automatically renew
on a periodic basis when the previously issued credits expire. For example, a
single subscription
management message from an external partner system 350 may contain attributes
that instruct
the subscription loader 510 to generate credits for the customer on a periodic
basis. In another
embodiment, subscription management messages may be periodically transmitted
to the
subscription loader 510 that instruct the renewal of an existing credit
subscription. In this way,
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varying business types, models, workflows, and processes can be accommodated.
An advantage
of this scheme is that a new external partner system 350 can be added to or
replace an existing
external partner system 350 without any disruption to customers and the
credits service 502.
[000154] As an example, an external partner may directly bill a customer
for a credit
subscription, and may wish to delay creation of the credit subscription until
the customer is
successfully billed. In this case, once payment is collected from the
customer, the external
partner can transmit a subscription management message to create and/or renew
the credit
subscription for the customer. The external partner may also periodically
transmit such a
subscription management message in order to perform manual renewals of the
credit
subscription. As another example, an external partner may have a customer
program with
loyalty tiers that grant varying amounts of credits to customers. If a
customer in a first tier is
granted three credits per month, the external partner may transmit a
subscription management
message that instructs the subscription loader 510 to create and renew the
credits for the
customer on a periodic basis until another subscription management message
instructs the
modification or deletion of the credit subscription. In this example,
modification of the credit
subscription may occur if the customer changes to another loyalty tier and
deletion of the credit
subscription may occur if the customer leaves the customer program.
[000155] At step 1802 of the process 1800, a subscription management
message may be
received by the subscription loader 510. The external partner system 350 may
transmit the
subscription management message to the subscription loader 510 or the
subscription
management message may be created internally in the subscription loader 510.
The subscription
management message may include a customer number, a subscription package code,
and a
subscription lifetime specification. The customer number may uniquely identify
the customer
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and can include a customer shared key that is known to both the external
partner system 350 and
the customer profile database 404. Other unique identifiers of the customer
may also be used as
the customer number. The subscription package code may identify a particular
credit
subscription package, credit packages, and/or credit definitions, and can
include a vendor SKU
code or other identifier. Examples of vendor SKU codes, credit packages, and
credit definitions
are described above with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9. The subscription
lifetime
specification may include a start date and/or an end date that denote when a
credit subscription is
to begin and/or end, respectively. The subscription management message may be
an XML file
or other suitable format.
[000156] The customer number that uniquely identifies the customer may be
retrieved at
step 1804. If the customer number can directly identify a customer in the
customer profile
database 404, the customer number may be retrieved from the subscription
management message
itself However, the customer number in the subscription management message may
be a
customer shared key or other identifier that cannot directly identify a
customer in the customer
profile database 404. In this case, the credits service 502 can look up the
customer number in the
customer profile database 404 based on the customer shared key. Once the
customer number is
looked up, the customer number may be transmitted back to the credits service
502 and the
subscription loader 510 and the process 1800 can continue.
[000157] The subscription package code may be translated to a particular
quantity of credits
for the credit subscription at step 1806. As described above, the subscription
package code, e.g.,
vendor SKU code, may refer to one or more credit packages, and the credit
packages may refer
to one or more quantities of one or more credit definitions. The subscription
management
message specifies the subscription package code when creating, updating,
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more credits involved in a credit subscription corresponding to a customer.
The subscription
package code may be known and used by more than one external partner and/or
external partner
system 350. In performing step 1806, the subscription loader 510 may request
that the credits
service 502 look up the credit packages and/or credit definitions that
correspond to the
subscription package code. Once the credits service 502 knows the quantity of
particular credits
related to the subscription management message, the process 1800 may continue
to step 1808.
[000158] At step 1808, the credits service 502 may determine if the
customer number and
the credit subscription referred to in the subscription management message
already exist in the
credits database 506 for the customer. If the customer number and the credit
subscription do not
exist in the credits database 506 for the customer, then the credit
subscription may be created at
step 1814, such as by calling the CreateSubscription function. An embodiment
of step 1814 is
shown in more detail with reference to FIG. 19. At step 1902, a credit
subscription record may
be created in the credits database that corresponds to the customer.
Attributes of the created
credit subscription may be stored in the credit subscription record later in
the process 1814. At
step 1904, it is determined whether the subscription lifetime specification
specifies an end date to
the credit subscription. An end date may be specified when requesting a
specific duration of the
credit subscription, for example. In contrast, an end date may not be
specified when requesting
renewal of credits in the credit subscription for an indefinite period of time
or until a maximum
default subscription duration is reached.
[000159] If an end date is specified in the subscription lifetime
specification at step 1904,
then at step 1906, it is determined whether the specified end date is later
than the predetermined
validity duration of the credits added to the start date. If the specified end
date is not later than
the predetermined validity duration of the credits added to the start date,
then at step 1920, the
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credits service 502 may issue the quantity of credits so that the credits are
valid starting from the
specified start date of the credit subscription to the specified end date of
the credit subscription.
For example, if the start date is June 30, 2011, a credit has a predetermined
validity duration of
one month, and the specified end date is July 31, 2011, then the credit in the
credit subscription
will be issued on the start date of June 30, 2011 and will be valid until the
end date of July 31,
2011.
[000160] However, if the specified end date is later than the predetermined
validity
duration of the credits added to the start date at step 1906, then at step
1908, the credits service
502 may issue the quantity of credits so that the credits are valid starting
from the specified start
date until the predetermined validity duration of the credits expires. When
the predetermined
validity duration of the credits expires, then at step 1910, the credits
service 502 may reissue the
quantity of credits on a periodic basis until the specified end date is
reached. The periodic basis
may be based on the predetermined validity duration of the credits involved in
the credit
subscription. The quantity of credits can be reissued each time the
predetermined validity
duration of the credits expires. For example, if the start date is June 30,
2011, a credit has a
predetermined validity duration of one month, and the specified end date is
December 31, 2011,
then the credit in the credit subscription will be issued on the start date of
June 30, 2011 and
every month until the end date of December 31, 2011 is reached.
[000161] Returning to step 1904, if an end date is not specified in the
subscription lifetime
specification, then at step 1912, the quantity of credits may be issued by the
credits service 502
so that the credits are valid starting from the specified start date. At step
1914, it is determined
whether a default subscription duration has been set. A default subscription
duration may denote
a specific length of time that a credit subscription may last for when an end
date has not been
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specified in the subscription lifetime specification. If a default
subscription duration has been
set, then at step 1916, the credits service 502 may reissue the quantity of
credits on a periodic
basis until the default subscription duration is reached. The periodic basis
may be based on the
predetermined validity duration of the credits involved in the credit
subscription. Accordingly,
the quantity of credits can be reissued each time the predetermined validity
duration of the
credits expires. For example, if the specified start date is May 1, 2011, no
end date has been
specified, a credit has a predetermined validity duration of one month, and a
default subscription
duration of six months has been set, then the credit in the credit
subscription will be issued on the
start date of May 1, 2011 and every month until November 1, 2011, six months
later.
[000162] However, if a default subscription duration has not been set at
step 1914, then at
step 1918, the credits service 502 may reissue the quantity of credits on a
periodic basis for an
indefinite period of time. As in the case of step 1916, the periodic basis may
be based on the
predetermined validity duration of the credits involved in the credit
subscription. The credits
may be reissued on the periodic basis until another subscription management
message is received
that modifies or deletes the credit subscription. The quantity of credits can
be reissued each time
the predetermined validity duration of the credits expires. For example, if
the specified start date
is March 1, 2011, no end date has been specified, a credit has a predetermined
validity duration
of one month, and no default subscription duration has been set, then the
credit in the credit
subscription will be issued on the start date of March 1, 2011 and every month
for an indefinite
period of time. In the above description relating to FIG. 19, when credits are
issued by the
credits service 502, such as at steps 1908, 1910, 1912, 1916, 1918, and 1920,
the credits service
may store the credits in the credit subscription record for the customer that
is stored in the credits
database 506.
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[000163] Returning to FIG. 18, if the customer number and the credit
subscription
corresponding to the customer exist in the credits database 506 for the
customer at step 1808,
then the process 1800 continues to step 1810. At step 1810, it is determined
whether the
subscription lifetime specification denotes a deletion of the credit
subscription. A deletion of the
credit subscription may be denoted in the subscription lifetime specification
by specifying an end
date that is before the current date. If the subscription lifetime
specification denotes a deletion of
the credit subscription, then the credit subscription corresponding to the
customer may be deleted
at step 1816, such as by calling the CancelSubscription of
UpdateSubscriptionExpiration
functions. The credit subscription record for the credit subscription
corresponding to the
customer may be deleted from the credits database 506 to perform the deletion
of the credit
subscription at step 1816.
[000164] If the subscription lifetime specification does not denote a
deletion of the credit
subscription at step 1810, then at step 1812, it is determined whether the
subscription lifetime
specification denotes a renewal of the credit subscription. A renewal of the
credit subscription
may be denoted in the subscription lifetime specification by specifying a
start date and/or an end
date that is later than the current date. If the subscription lifetime
specification denotes a renewal
of an existing credit subscription, then the credits service 502 can renew the
credit subscription at
step 1818 by issuing the quantity of credits in the credit subscription record
corresponding to the
customer. Step 1818 may be performed by calling the
UpdateSubscriptionExpiration function.
The credit can be issued starting on the specified start date. If an end date
is specified, then the
credit in the credit subscription can be valid until the specified end date.
[000165] If the subscription lifetime specification does not denote a
renewal of the credit
subscription at step 1812, then at step 1820, the credit subscription may be
modified based on the
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subscription management message. Modification of the credit subscription may
be performed by
calling the UpgradeDowngradeSubscription or UpdateSubscriptionExpiration
functions. In this
case, the subscription package code specified in the subscription management
message may
differ from an existing subscription code for the customer in the credits
database 506.
Modification of the credit subscription can include changing the quantity
and/or type of credits
involved in the credit subscription for the customer. At step 1820, the credit
subscription record
may be modified by the credits service 502 to issue the quantity of credits as
specified by the
subscription package code.
[000166] An embodiment of a process 2000 for converting currency items to
credits is
shown in FIG. 20. The process 2000 can result in the issuance to a customer of
a quantity of
credits that have been converted from currency items, based on a conversion
ratio. The currency
items may include coupons, tokens, tickets, points, airline miles, frequent
usage incentives, etc.
that are issued by an external partner, for example. The credits may be
redeemed and/or accrued
to satisfy some or all of an initial balance or remaining balance of a
variable value transaction, as
described above. The variable value transaction may involve a piece of media
content. The
credits service 502 may perform all or part of the process 2000.
[000167] At step 2002, a unique customer identifier may be received from
the article
dispensing machine 230, the website interface 418, or the A/V display
interface 309. The unique
customer identifier may include payment card information received at the
identification and
authentication controller 402, or a customer number corresponding to a
particular customer in the
customer profile database 404, for example. The customer number may be
retrieved from the
customer profile database 404 by matching the payment card information to the
customer profile,
if necessary. At step 2004, unique identifiers of one or more currency items
may be received
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from the article dispensing machine 230, the website interface 418, or the A/V
display interface
309. The unique identifiers may be a serial number or other unique numeric,
alphabetic,
alphanumeric, and/or symbolic identifier of the currency item. In one
embodiment, the unique
identifiers may be entered through manual input, such as by typing the unique
identifiers into the
article dispensing machine 230, the website interface 418, or the A/V display
interface 309. In
other embodiments, the unique identifier may be received by scanning a
Universal Product Code
or QR code, utilizing near field communication or radio-frequency
identification (RFID) tags, or
other methodologies. Suitable scanners or readers for receiving the unique
identifier may be in
communication with the article dispensing machine 230, the website interface
418, or the A/V
display interface 309.
[000168] The validity of the currency items may be determined at step 2006
based on the
received unique identifiers of the currency items. Currency items may be
designated as valid if
the currency items have not yet been converted into credits. In some
embodiments, there may be
rules associated with the conversion of currency items, such as a limit on the
number of currency
items that may be converted into credits, or a restriction on certain types of
currency items that
may be converted into credits. Conversely, currency items may be designated as
invalid if the
currency items have already been converted into credits. A mapping file may
contain
information related to whether a currency item, cataloged by the unique
identifier, has already
been converted to a credit. The mapping file may be stored in the credits
database 506 and
processed by the credits service 502 to determine the validity of currency
items. In another
embodiment, copies of the mapping file may be stored at the article dispensing
machines 230,
the website interface 418, and/or the A/V display interface 309 so that the
validity of currency
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items can be determined locally, such as when communication with the system
backend 307 and
credits service 502 is interrupted or cannot be established.
[000169] At step 2008, if the currency item is determined as invalid, then
the currency item
may be rejected for conversion to the credit at step 2018 and the process 2000
is complete. A
message may be displayed on the article dispensing machine 230, the website
interface 418, or
the A/V display interface 309 so that a customer is informed that the currency
item is invalid.
However, if the currency item is determined as valid at step 2008, then the
process 2000
continues to step 2010. At step 2010, a conversion ratio of the currency item
to the credit may
be retrieved from the credits database 506 or another database. The conversion
ratio may dictate
the rate at which currency items are converted to credits. For example, the
conversion ratio may
be one currency unit equal to one credit (1 to 1), fifty currency units equal
to one credit (50 to 1),
one currency unit equal to ten credits (1 to 10), or any other ratio. At step
2012, the quantity of
credits to be issued may be calculated from the number of valid currency
items, based on the
retrieved conversion ratio. For example, if the conversion ratio is 25 to 1,
then 200 valid
currency units can be calculated to convert to a quantity of eight credits. As
another example, if
the conversion ratio is 1 to 5, then five valid currency units can be
calculated to convert to a
quantity of 25 credits.
[000170] The quantity of credits calculated at step 2012 may be issued to
the customer at
step 2014. The issued credits may be stored in the credits database 506 in an
available state 1002
so that the customer may redeem the credits to satisfy an initial balance or
remaining balance in a
variable value transaction, as described above. The credits may be issued to
the customer
corresponding to the unique customer identifier received at step 2002, or to
the customer number
derived from the unique customer identifier. In one embodiment, the issued
credits may be
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designated as conforming to one or more default credit definitions that define
the attributes of the
credits (e.g., duration, applicable product types, etc.). In another
embodiment, the customer may
designate one or more credit definitions that the customer wants the issued
credits to conform to.
In one embodiment, the converted currency items may be deducted from the
balance in an
account of those currency items that corresponds to the customer. The currency
items that have
been converted are specified as converted in the mapping file at step 2016. In
one embodiment,
the unique identifier of the converted currency items may be specified as
converted in the
mapping file. As described above with reference to steps 2006 and 2008, if
currency items have
been converted, then the currency items are designated as invalid and cannot
later be converted
into credits.
[000171] To further illustrate the present invention, exemplary
implementations of the
process 1100 using the credits system 406 for processing a variable value
transaction using
credits and/or a payment card are described as follows. In the examples, the
cutoff time is
defined as a predetermined time on a given day by when a customer may return
or relinquish
access to a rented piece of media content without incurring another rental
charge.
[000172] In a first example, a customer has four credits applicable to DVDs
and Blu-Ray
discs and initiates a variable value transaction by renting two Blu-Ray discs
at an article
dispensing machine 230 on a Monday. Two of the credits can be redeemed for the
initial balance
of the transaction, corresponding to the rental of the two Blu-Ray discs for
Monday night. The
initial balance may be $3.00 because the redeemed credits are valued at $1.50
each, for example,
since they were used to rent Blu-Ray discs. If the customer returns the two
Blu-Ray discs to the
article dispensing machine 230 by a cutoff time on Tuesday, then there is no
remaining balance
and the variable value transaction is complete. However, if the customer does
not return the two
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Blu-Ray discs until Wednesday, then there is a remaining balance for the two
Blu-Ray discs for
the one extra night of Tuesday night. The two remaining credits may be
redeemed for the
remaining balance and the payment card does not need to be processed. The
remaining balance
may be $3.00 because the redeemed credits are valued at $1.50 each. In
addition, following the
cutoff time on Tuesday, two credits may be accrued and placed in a projected
lock state 1004 as
predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance. After the variable value
transaction is
complete, the customer has no remaining credits in this example.
[000173] In a second example, a customer has four credits applicable to
DVDs and Blu-Ray
discs and initiates a variable value transaction by renting two Blu-Ray discs
at an article
dispensing machine 230 on a Monday. As in the first example, two of the
customer's credits can
be redeemed for the initial balance of the transaction, corresponding to the
rental of the two Blu-
Ray discs for Monday night. The initial balance may be valued at $3.00 because
the redeemed
credits are valued at $1.50 each, for example, since they were used to rent
Blu-Ray discs. In this
example, the customer returns one of the Blu-Ray discs to the article
dispensing machine 230 by
a cutoff time on Tuesday, but keeps the other Blu-Ray disc and also rents two
DVDs on
Tuesday. The two remaining credits may be redeemed for another initial balance
with respect to
the two rented DVDs on Tuesday. This initial balance may be $2.00 because the
redeemed
credits are valued at $1.00 each, for example, since they were used to rent
DVDs. The two
remaining credits may be applied to the DVDs because the credits system 406
may not yet be
aware that a Blu-Ray disc has been returned, and the initial night rental of
the DVDs is given
priority. At this point, the customer has no credits, so when the second Blu-
Ray disc and DVDs
are returned to complete the transaction on a future date, the payment card
will need to be
processed to satisfy the remaining balance.
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[000174] In a third example, a customer has four credits applicable to DVDs
and Blu-Ray
discs and initiates a variable value transaction by renting one DVD, one Blu-
Ray disc, and one
video game disc at an article dispensing machine 230 on a Monday. Two of the
credits can be
redeemed for the initial balance of the transaction, corresponding to the
rental of the DVD and
the Blu-Ray disc. The initial balance may be $2.50 because the credit redeemed
for the DVD is
valued at $1.00 and the credit redeemed for the Blu-Ray disc is valued at
$1.50. The payment
card can be processed for $2.00 to pay for the initial balance with respect to
the video game disc
because the customer's credits are not applicable to video game discs. In this
example, the
customer returns the DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game disc by the cutoff time
on Thursday.
On Tuesday night, two credits may be accrued and placed in a projected lock
state 1004 as
predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance for the DVD and Blu-Ray
discs. When the
transaction is completed on Thursday, the two credits may be redeemed to
satisfy the portion of
the remaining balance for Tuesday night. However, the payment card will be
processed to
satisfy the remaining portion of the remaining balance for the video game disc
for Tuesday and
Wednesday ($2.00 each night), and for the DVD and Blu-Ray disc for Wednesday
($1.00 and
$1.50, respectively). The remaining portion satisfied by the payment card will
total $6.50 in this
example.
[000175] In a fourth example, a customer has a $1.00 promotion code and
four credits
applicable to DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. A variable value transaction is
initiated by renting one
DVD and two Blu-Ray discs at an article dispensing machine 230 on a Wednesday.
The
promotion code may be applied to the initial balance prior to redemption of
credits. If a rental
night for a DVD is valued at $1.00, then the promotion code satisfies the
portion of the initial
balance with respect to the DVD. Two of the credits may be redeemed for the
portion of the
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initial balance with respect to the two Blu-Ray discs. These credits may be
valued at $1.50 each.
In this example, the customer returns the DVD and two Blu-Ray discs by the
cutoff time on
Friday. On Thursday night, two credits may be accrued and placed in a
projected lock state 1004
as predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance for the two Blu-Ray
discs. The Blu-Ray
discs are given a higher priority because of their higher rental value. When
the transaction is
completed on Friday, the two credits may be redeemed to satisfy the portion of
the remaining
balance for the Blu-Ray discs for Thursday night. However, the payment card
will be processed
to satisfy the remaining portion of $1.00 of the remaining balance for the DVD
for Thursday.
[000176] In a fifth example, a customer has a $1.00 promotion code and one
credit
applicable to DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. The customer initiates a variable value
transaction by
renting one Blu-Ray disc from an article dispensing machine 230 on Saturday.
First, the
promotion code is applied to the initial balance of $1.50 (the value of a Blu-
Ray rental) so that
the remaining portion of the initial balance is $0.50. Although the customer
has one credit, the
credit may not be applied to a balance of less than $1.00, so that the
customer retains the credit
for later use at a better value. The payment card will be processed for the
remaining portion of
$0.50 of the initial balance. In this example, the customer returns the Blu-
Ray disc by the cutoff
time on Tuesday. On Sunday night, one credit may be accrued and placed in a
projected lock
state 1004 as predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance for the Blu-
Ray disc. When the
transaction is completed on Tuesday, the one credit may be redeemed to satisfy
the portion of the
remaining balance for Sunday night. However, the payment card will be
processed to satisfy the
remaining portion of $1.50 of the remaining balance for the Blu-Ray disc for
Monday.
[000177] In a sixth example, a customer initially has two credits
applicable to DVDs and
Blu-Ray discs, but has a recurring subscription that issues four credits on
the first day of every
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month. The variable value transaction is initiated by renting two DVDs from an
article
dispensing machine 230 on March 30. The initial balance of $2.00 ($1.00 for
each DVD) of the
transaction may be satisfied by redeeming the two credits. At this point, the
customer has no
available credits remaining. In this example, the customer returns the DVDs by
the cutoff time
on April 4. On March 31, a charge of $1.00 for each of the rented DVDs will be
incurred but not
yet charged because the transaction is still open. On April 1, four credits
are issued to the
customer's account. Two of these credits may be accrued and placed in a
projected lock state
1004 as predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance for the DVDs for
April 1. On April
2, the remaining two credits may be accrued and placed in a projected lock
state 1004 as
predicted to be redeemed for the remaining balance for the DVDs for April 2.
The customer
again has no available credits remaining. When the transaction is completed on
April 4, the four
credits may be redeemed to satisfy the portion of the remaining balance for
April 1 and April 2.
The payment card will be processed to satisfy the remaining portion of $4.00
of the remaining
balance for March 31 ($2.00) and April 3 ($2.00).
[000178] In a seventh example, a customer has a $1.00 promotion code and
one credit
applicable only to DVDs. A variable value transaction is initiated by renting
one DVD and one
Blu-Ray disc from an article dispensing machine 230 on Monday. The promotion
code is
applied to the initial balance of $2.50 ($1.00 for the DVD and $1.50 for the
Blu-Ray disc) so that
the remaining portion of the initial balance is $1.50, since the $1.00 portion
of the initial balance
for the DVD is satisfied by the promotion code. The credit is not applicable
to Blu-Ray discs, so
the payment card will be processed for the remaining portion of $1.50 of the
initial balance. If
the customer returns the DVD and Blu-Ray disc by the cutoff time on Tuesday,
there is no
remaining balance and the transaction is complete.
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[000179] In an eighth example, a customer has one credit applicable to DVDs
and one
credit applicable to digital media selections. A variable value transaction is
initiated by
reserving a DVD and obtaining access to a digital media selection on Monday.
The credit
applicable to DVDs may be redeemed for the portion of the initial balance with
respect to the
DVD, and the credit applicable to digital media selections may be redeemed for
the other portion
of the initial balance with respect to the media selection. The initial
balance may be valued at
$4.00 because the credits are valued at $1.00 and $3.00, respectively, for the
DVD and media
selection. If the customer does not pick up the reserved DVD from an article
dispensing
machine 230, then there is no remaining balance with respect to the DVD. If
the customer then
relinquishes access to the media selection by the cutoff time on Wednesday,
then the remaining
balance of $3.00 (for Tuesday night) will be satisfied by processing the
payment card.
[000180] In a ninth example, a customer has four credits applicable to DVDs
and Blu-Ray
discs and initiates a variable value transaction by renting one DVD from an
article dispensing
machine 230 on June 1. The initial balance of $1.00 of the transaction may be
satisfied by
redeeming one credit, and the customer has three remaining credits at this
point. In this example,
the customer does not return the DVD and triggers a passive sale of the DVD
after a
predetermined time period, such as 25 days. Therefore, on June 26, the
transaction will be
deemed completed. Each of the three remaining credits may be accrued and
placed in a
projected lock state 1004 as predicted to be redeemed for the remaining
balance for the DVD on
June 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The three credits may be redeemed on June 26
to satisfy the
portion of the remaining balance for June 2, 3, and 4. The payment card will
be processed on
June 26 for the remaining portion of $21.00 of the remaining balance for June
5-26.
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[000181] Any process descriptions or blocks in figures should be understood
as
representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more
executable
instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the
process, and alternate
implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments of the
present invention in
which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed,
including
substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality
involved, as would
be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.
[000182] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of
the present
invention, particularly, any "preferred" embodiments, are possible examples of
implementations,
merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention.
Many variations and
modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the
invention without
substantially departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. All
such modifications are
intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the
present invention and
protected by the following claims.
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