Method and System for Reserving and Controlling Access to Products and Services at a Remote Location Via a Communications Network

Abstract

This invention is a method and system for reserving and controlling access to products and services at a remote location via a communications network. In one or more embodiment, a user uses a client computer to select desired products and services. The system returns a price offer for the packaged products and services. Upon acceptance of the price offer, the selection of products and services is forwarded to an operations center for the building of an event regarding the redemption of the products and services. The system allocates a time frame for the redemption of each of the products and services as well as determining the order of redemption, based on polling a plurality of users desiring the same products and services in an event. The information generated by the operation center is then forwarded to a location for the redemption of the products and services. Access to the goods and services is then controlled by using machine readable labels coupled with interrogation devices for the relating of users to information regarding the user's reservation.

1 . A system for generating a priced package offer comprising: 
 (a) a client computer, said client computer comprising an interface for accessing data from a web server by a user; said client allowing for a login to a web based account by said user; said client allowing for the submission of a selection of products and services by said user; said client allowing for submission of payment information by said user,    (b) a plurality of servers; said servers comprising of a plurality of databases for storage of a plurality of users data, for storage of information regarding a plurality of products and services, and for storage of a plurality of transactions data,    (c) a computer mediated communications network, said computer mediated communications network comprising of said client and said servers, said computer mediated communications network used for sending and receiving information between said client and said servers,    (d) said client displaying various services and products, said client displaying a price offer for a package of products and services selected by said user,    (e) a plurality of selections by said user from the group consisting of said products and said services, said user having a stored profile and an account, said selected products and said selected services packaged together by the system and offered by the system at a generated price,    (f) a package building means for receiving said user's selections, combining said user's selections with information about the user, said selected products, said selected services, said information about said products and said services, said transactions data, and generating a price offer resulting from the combination, and    (g) a package managing means for receiving said price offer and for sending said price offer to the computer mediated communications network in real-time,    (h) wherein the price offer is generated by means of incrementally discounting a percentage of the price according to the increase in quantity of products and services selected and according to information regarding past redemptions selected from the group consisting of products and services,    (i) wherein the package building means is provided with user selected products and services and information regarding past redemptions which create definitions by building database selection criteria for pricing products and services to a user package, and    (j) wherein the package builder accesses a disk storage that stores database groups selected from the groups consisting of products, services, users, and transactions for generating the price offer.    
     
     
         2 . A system according to  claim 1 , wherein the package manager comprises a price offer storage for receiving the price offer output from the package builder generator, the price offer storage being connected to the computer mediated communications network.  
     
     
         3 . A system according to  claim 1 , wherein the computer mediated communications network comprises an application server connected between a plurality of users and the package manager.  
     
     
         4 . A system for generating an event program comprising: 
 (a) a client computer, said client computer comprising an interface for sending and receiving data between a web server;    (b) a plurality of servers; said servers comprising of a plurality of databases for storage of a plurality of users data, a plurality of information regarding services and goods, and a plurality of transactions data;    (c) a computer mediated communications network, said computer mediated communications network comprising of said client and said servers, said computer mediated communications network used for sending and receiving information between said client and said servers;    (d) said client sending a confirmation of acceptance of a priced package offer by a user, said user having a stored profile and account;    (e) event building means for gathering event detail information from a priced package, using information about users, products, and services, combining the information gathered with predefined rules, and outputting event queues resulting from the combinations; and    (f) queue managing means for receiving said event queues and outputting the queues to the computer mediated communications network in real-time;    (g) wherein the event building means is provided with priced packages which create definitions by building database selection criteria for allocating products and services to users in an event, and    (h) wherein the event builder accesses a disk storage from the databases group consisting of products, services, users data, and transactions data.    
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the queue managing means comprises of queue storage for receiving the queues outputted from the event building means, the queue storage being connected to the computer mediated communications network.  
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the event building means and the queue managing means are used to create an itinerary to ensure products and services are offered in a specific sequence to a specific user.  
     
     
         7 . The system according  claim 4 , wherein said event queues consist of at least one from the group of goods, services, users data, and transactions data relating to said event, and said event queues are forwarded to a remote location as a component towards user redemption so that said queues prepare a remote location for user redemption.  
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7  wherein said group further includes content, software commands, hardware commands, media playback instructions, software and hardware polling instructions, auditing instructions, recording and logging instructions, instructions for moving onsite, goods, services, and data, instructions for employees, and instructions for the users.  
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the event building means has a means for polling a plurality of users and their selections from the priced packages, and outputs queues based on the poll.  
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 9 , wherein the queues are an itinerary of the selections and the order for redemption of selected products and services.  
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein the queues allocate a plurality of users to different locations within the remote location for efficient redemptions of said products and services.  
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 9 , wherein the queues are a component for information or media playback on a display device.  
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein the queues are generated by a polling means allowing for a plurality of users to dictate the selection and order for a play list for a live concert, for content regarding product information, for content regarding educational programming, for music videos, for video gaming, for movie viewing including a collection of short films, for karaoke, for a sporting event or for access to a plurality of computers with said services.  
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein the queues generated trigger the corresponding content, software commands, hardware commands, media playback instructions, software and hardware polling instructions, auditing instructions, logging and recording instructions, instructions for moving onsite goods, services, and data, instructions for employees, and instructions for the users to be forwarded to a remote location.  
     
     
         15 . A system for the managing of an event comprising: 
 (a) a plurality of clients and servers, said clients and said servers comprising an interface for accessing data from a managing server; said clients and said servers allowing for the receiving and storage of a plurality of queues with information regarding a plurality of users' event detail;    (b) a computer mediated communications network, said computer mediated communications network comprising of said clients and said servers; said computer mediated communications network used for sending and receiving information between said clients and said servers;    (c) a plurality of users with portable devices, said portable devices comprising machine-readable labels, said machine-readable labels storing an identifier relating to the user's account;    (d) a plurality of interrogation devices for interrogations of said machine-readable labels; and    (e) a plurality of queues, said queues being forwarded to a site from a remote location, said queues containing information regarding fulfillment of products and services reserved by users.    
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15 , further comprising at least one managing server, a plurality of point of sales clients, and a plurality of media playback systems, wherein 
 (a) said media playback system includes a media playback server, public display device, automation systems, and an audio processor for providing services or access to products and services to a plurality of users,    (b) said point of sales clients and media playback servers are connected to a machine-readable label interrogator, receive data from said interrogator, are configured to associate and record event data with an identifier from the machine readable label through use of queues, and output data regarding the transaction, said clients and servers being configured to permit a user to complete transactions involving said event data using said identifier on said machine-readable label; and    (c) said managing server receives event queues and distributes said event queues to a local respective computer as a component towards user redemption and user redemption confirmation.    
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the portable device comprises jewelry, a watch, a necklace, a ring, a bracelet, a mobile telephone, a PDA, a portable game system, a smart card, or other swipe-able or insertable articles.  
     
     
         18 . A method for product and service redemption comprising the steps of: 
 (a) under control of an interrogation system, providing a portable device with a machine-readable label to a user;    (b) storing an association between user event queues and an identifier stored in said machine-readable label, said identifier containing a unique identifier previously assigned by the system;    (c) interrogating said machine readable label;    (d) associating said identifier data with information in queues regarding an event;    (e) presenting the services and goods relating to the event information to said user with the machine-readable label; and    (f) receiving data as confirmation of reservation fulfillment.    
     
     
         19 . The method as in  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of associating a time/date stamp of the interrogation of said machine readable label as confirmation of redemption.  
     
     
         20 . The method as in  claim 18 , further comprising affecting the event queue after interrogation as confirmation of redemption.  
     
     
         21 . The method as in  claim 18 , wherein an association between said event data and said identifier on said machine-readable label is effective only during a predefined time interval.