Merchant-specific computer peripheral device and method of
Contents
1. 19 The method of claim 18 wherein the CPD Website functions as an access tracking device for tracking accessing of the second Website by the users of the computer periph eral devices 20 The method of claim 17 wherein the computer peripheral device is a computer mouse for use with a computer of the user 21 The method of claim 20 wherein the pre programmed switch of the computer mouse comprises a button formed on a side of the mouse 22 The method of claim 17 further comprising providing to the user a merchant specific computer pro gram product for use with the computer peripheral device wherein the product is capable of selectively enabling an operation of the pre programmed switch on the com puter peripheral device 23 The method of claim 22 wherein the computer peripheral device is configured to transmit a pre pro grammed signal to an associated computer when the pre programmed switch on the computer peripheral device is actuated 24 The method of claim 23 wherein the pre programmed signal contains predetermined Web address information associated with the predetermined site 25 The method of claim 23 wherein the pre programmed signal is a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a predetermined Web address associated with the predetermined site Sep 27 2001 26 The method of claim 23 wherein the computer peripheral device is without alphanumeric keys 27 The method o2. all operatively con nected Although not illustrated for the sake of clarity the host computer 50 may include other components typically found in a computer such as a keyboard a CD driver etc and can be in any type of computer well known in the art e g a desktop a laptop a workstation etc 0052 The operation of the computer mouse 10 in con nection with the host computer 50 according to one embodi ment of the present invention is as follows At an initial set up the user connects the computer mouse 10 having the pre programmed Web switch es 12 to the user s host com puter 50 In one embodiment the user may be provided with computer software which must be installed in the host computer 50 to activate the pre programmed Web switch 12 on the mouse 10 as discussed above This software enables the host computer 50 to recognize and process the Website data stored in association with the Web switch 12 Without the installation of such software the mouse 10 may merely function as a conventional mouse i e without the benefit of the Web switch 12 In another embodiment the computer mouse 10 itself may be installed with software which allows the host computer 50 to process the Website data from the mouse 10 This software pre stored in the mouse 10 may also be uploaded automatically to the host computer 50 when the mouse 10 is set up initially and connected to the host computer 50 so that the user does not need to install separa
3. The disclosure of U S Pat No 5 530 455 is herein fully incorporated by reference 0043 In accordance with the present invention the com puter mouse 10 further includes an area 17 for displaying certain text and or an image s associated with a merchant or a predetermined Website of the merchant accessible by actuating the switch 12 The area 17 can comprise a portion of the surface of the mouse 10 as shown in FIG 2 but is not limited to such and can cover portions of any surface of the mouse 10 or the entire surface of the mouse 10 The area 17 can be used as a display for advertising the Website infor mation or the Website sponsor information e g merchant information The company logo name brand Web address or any other information may be displayed on the area 17 so that the user can be aware of the Website or the sponsor thereof linked to the Web switch 12 In one instance the Sep 27 2001 advertising information can be printed on the area 17 In other instances the area 17 can be an LCD or other electronic optical display for displaying the advertising information 0044 In addition the mouse 10 can be configured to illuminate the area 17 when it is connected to the host computer 50 This may be accomplished under control of a processor interface in the mouse 10 For example the pro cessor interface can control the illumination of a light source in the area 17 when the processor interface detects a con nection be
4. addition the Website data may include user s personal data e g user s account informa tion user s PIN shipping address etc which may be associated with accessing the CPD Website or the main US 2001 0024189 A1 Website of a merchant In this embodiment when the user actuates the Web switch 12 the URL of the designated Website and the user s personal data may be transmitted to the host computer 50 The host computer 50 processes the URL as if the user had entered the URL in the Web browser user interface and transmits it to an appropriate server through the Internet or other networks The manner in which the host computer 50 processes and transmits the Web address such as the URL is well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail The host computer 50 may also transmit the user s personal data received from the computer mouse 10 to the server if appropriate For example in some applications the server may need the user s personal data e g user s PIN or password before it allows the user to access the designated Website In other applications the user s personal data e g shipping address may be used by the server as a substitute to the user s manual input 0040 In another embodiment the Website data pre programmed in the mouse 10 may be triggering data e g a fixed signal so that when the host computer 50 receives this data it automatically retrieves a particular pre stored URL e g URL
5. ated with the predetermined site 14 The method of claim 12 wherein the predetermined signal is a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a predetermined Web address associated with the predetermined site 15 The method of claim 1 wherein the computer periph eral devices are selected from the group consisting of computer mice computer keypads touch pads and styluses 16 A method of promoting a merchant the method comprising the step of providing at least one merchant specific computer periph eral device associated with a merchant to a user wherein the device includes at least one pre programmed switch for accessing automatically at least one prede termined site associated with the merchant on a com munications network and merchant specific informa tion fixedly provided on the device for viewing by the user and wherein the merchant specific information is associated with the merchant and is not associated with a manu facturer of the device 17 The method of claim 16 wherein the predetermined site is a computer peripheral device CPD Website dedi cated to users of switches on the computer peripheral devices 18 The method of claim 17 wherein the predetermined site further includes a second Website associated with the CPD Website wherein an actuation of the switch by the user results in an automatic connection to the CPD Website which redirects automatically to the second Website
6. computer peripheral devices for viewing by the customer 36 is not associated with a manu facturer of the computer peripheral device 0032 When the customer 36 actuates the pre pro grammed Website switch on the computer peripheral device assuming that the computer is loaded with an appropriate browser is connected to the Internet and is turned on a triggering signal or a prestored Web address of a CPD Website 37a is transmitted from the peripheral device to the PC Where the PC receives the triggering signal it responds to the triggering signal by retrieving the prestored Web address of the CPD Website 37a from its memory and processes it as a Web site request according to known techniques Where the PC receives the Web address of the CPD Website 37a from the peripheral device it processes it as a Web site request according to the known techniques 0033 In one embodiment the CPD Website 37a may function solely as a tracking site for the main Website 38a of the e merchant for maintaining data indicating the access frequency and times at which the main Website 38a is accessed using the merchant specific peripheral devices Thus in response to the Website request a server associated with the CPD Website 37a may return a redirect page to the customer s PC while it redirects the customer 36 to the page of the main Website 38a and increases the access count The page e g Home Page of the main Website 38a of the merchant
7. embodiments the computer peripheral device itself may be pre loaded with software and or data for instructing the user s computer to access automatically one or more Websites of the designated merchant This software may also be designed to upload automatically from the computer peripheral device to the user s computer when the computer peripheral device is initially set up and connected to the user s computer In this embodiment the user need not install separate software into the computer US 2001 0024189 A1 0031 The marketing agency 30 then delivers the mer chant specific computer peripheral devices and the com puter software if applicable to the appropriate e merchant 34a 34b The e merchant 34a 34b or any entity designated by the e merchant 34a 34b distributes these computer peripheral devices to preselected recipients e g current or potential customers 36 e g either at no cost or for a fee Each customer 36 installs the merchant specific computer peripheral device and the merchant specific computer soft ware if applicable on his or her personal computer PC As long as the computer peripheral device is located within the visual range of the customer 36 the customer 36 will view the e merchant information e g GE COM GEmouse COM GE etc provided on the surface of the peripheral device and be constantly reminded of the e mer chant and or e merchant Website s The e merchant infor mation provided on the
8. method of claim 2 further comprising providing a plurality of merchant specific computer pro gram products to the merchant for distribution to the users wherein each of the products is to be used with one of the devices of the merchant for selectively enabling an operation of the pre programmed switch on said one of the devices 8 The method of claim 7 wherein each of the computer peripheral devices is configured to transmit a pre pro grammed signal to an associated computer when the pre programmed switch on the computer peripheral device is actuated 9 The method of claim 8 wherein the pre programmed signal contains predetermined Web address information associated with the predetermined site 10 The method of claim 8 wherein the pre programmed signal is a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a predetermined Web address associated with the predetermined site 11 The method of claim 7 wherein each of the computer peripheral devices is without alphanumeric keys 12 The method of claim 1 wherein each of the computer peripheral devices is pre loaded with a computer program product for configuring an associated computer to process a predetermined signal transmitted from the device when the pre programmed switch on the computer peripheral device is actuated US 2001 0024189 A1 13 The method of claim 12 wherein the predetermined signal contains prestored Web address information associ
9. of the CPD Website 37a of the merchant from its memory and processes it as discussed above 0041 The pre programmed Web switch 12 i e the actu ating surface area thereof can be configured to emit light e g using an LED to attract the user s attention and or to indicate the operational status of the Web switch 12 Various examples for implementing such features are possible For instance the Web switch 12 can emit light continuously or alternatively until the user actuates the Web switch 12 at which time it may emit the light at a different emission frequency e g the light may flicker Different light colors e g green to red may be used to indicate the operational status of the Web switch 12 In the alternative the Web switch 12 may be illuminated only after the user actuates or presses the Web switch 12 0042 The mouse ball located underneath the mouse 10 if the mouse 10 is of such type allows the user to maneuver the cursor on the computer monitor by moving or rolling the ball on a surface The right and left switches 14a and 14b are typically used to select items displayed on the monitor using the cursor The scroller 16 which is optional is used to scroll down or up a page displayed on the monitor The operations of these switches 14a 14b the scroller 16 and the mouse ball are well known in the art e g see U S Pat No 5 530 455 to Gillick et al which discloses a computer having such features
10. providing a plurality of merchant specific computer peripheral devices to the merchant for distribution to users wherein each of the devices includes at least one pre programmed switch for accessing automatically at least one predetermined site associated with the merchant on a communications network and further includes mer chant specific information fixedly provided on each of the devices for viewing by a user and wherein the merchant specific information is associated with the merchant and is not associated with a manu facturer of the devices 2 The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined site is a computer peripheral device CPD Website dedicated to users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 3 The method of claim 2 wherein the predetermined site further includes a second Website associated with the CPD Website wherein an actuation of the switch by a user results in an automatic connection to the CPD Website which redirects automatically to the second Website 4 The method of claim 3 wherein the CPD Website functions as an access tracking device for tracking access ing of the second Website by the users of the computer peripheral devices 5 The method of claim 2 wherein the computer periph eral devices are computer mice for use with computers of the users 6 The method of claim 5 wherein the pre programmed switch of each computer mouse comprises a button formed on a side of the mouse 7 The
11. the merchant s Website s using the Web switch encourages more frequent access of the e mer chant s Website s by the recipient The operation of the Web switch is so simple in that anyone including children and seniors can now access easily the Website s of the merchant 0018 Other objects and advantages of the present inven tion will be set forth in part in the description and the drawings which follow and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the inven tion BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0019 FIG 1 is a block diagram for explaining business methods of the present invention 0020 FIG 2 is a pictorial representation of a computer mouse in accordance with the present invention 0021 FIG 3 is a block diagram of the computer mouse shown in FIG 2 coupled to a host computer according to the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0022 In the present specification a merchant can be an e merchant or any other sponsor of a Website such as ISPs ASPs etc The terms merchant and e merchant are also used herein interchangeably and are intended to include both for profit and non profit entities that maintain an Internet presence 0023 FIG 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the method of marketing a business in accordance with the present PATENT Docket No P 24 581 USA invention Referring to FIG 1 a marketing age
12. 34a will be displayed on the PC A redirect page may provide a notice to the customer 36 that he or she is being redirected to the main Website 38a It may also provide merchant specific information e g advertising or company information which can be viewed for a short time period during which the redirect page is displayed to the customer 36 0034 In accordance with another embodiment the CPD Website 37a can function as a promotional site for the merchant 38a for displaying ads sales and other informa tion and the system may not redirect the customer 36 automatically from the CPD Website 37a to another Website 38a This will give the customer 36 an opportunity to view the information provided by the CPD Website 37a and select hyperlinks displayed thereon Promotional schemes for pro moting the use of the computer peripheral devices can be incorporated into this embodiment For instance the mer chant 36a may select randomly or according to some predetermined criteria a prize winner from the customers who access the CPD Website 37a using the computer peripheral devices The announcement whether the current Sep 27 2001 customer 36 is a winner may be displayed on the page of the CPD Website 37a immediately after the customer 36 actu ates the Website switch on the peripheral device or may be delivered via other means e g email The server associated with the CPD Website 37a may also keep a count of number of times the CPD Web
13. any time thereafter to initiate the direct Website accessing process of the present invention In the alternative the software installed in the host computer 50 and or the mouse 10 for operating the Web switch 12 as discussed above may link the dial up functions of the Web browser to the operation of the Web switch 12 such that a single actuation of the Web switch 12 automatically commences the dial up procedures for connecting to the Internet 100 and results in the display of the Web page of the predetermined Website s on the display device 62 Accordingly by merely actuating the pre programmed Web switch 12 the user can easily and conveniently access the designated Website 0057 In accordance with another embodiment the con cept of utilizing the pre programmed Web switch es may be applied to other computer peripheral devices such as a keypad a keyboard a touch pad a stylus etc In one exemplary embodiment a keypad connected to the keyboard or mouse jack of the host computer may be provided The keypad may include at least one pre programmed Web switch for automatically accessing at least one predeter mined Website e g CPD Website of a merchant or CPD Website and main Website of the merchant according to the present invention In addition the keypad may include special keys or buttons which can assist the user in conduc ing online transactions once the user accesses the predeter mined Website For example if the predetermin
14. av United States a Patent Application Publication ao Pub No US 2001 0024189 A1 Michie S 20010024189A 43 Pub Date Sep 27 2001 54 76 21 22 63 51 MERCHANT SPECIFIC COMPUTER PERIPHERAL DEVICE AND METHOD OF PROMOTING BUSINESS Inventor David Michie Maple Glen PA US Correspondence Address Esther H Chong Esquire Synnestvedt amp Lechner LLP 2600 Aramark Tower 1101 Market Street Philadelphia PA 19107 2950 US Appl No 09 742 026 Filed Dec 21 2000 Related U S Application Data Non provisional of provisional 60 171 411 filed on Dec 21 1999 application No Publication Classification 52 US Cl ceeace 345 156 57 ABSTRACT A computer peripheral device such as a mouse and a method of promoting a merchant using the computer periph eral device A marketing service is provided to a plurality of merchants who are interested in promoting business The marketing service involves providing merchant specific computer peripheral devices to preselected recipients or directly to the merchant The devices are configured spe cifically for each merchant in that Website information associated with the merchant or a Website access triggering signal is programmed into the computer peripheral devices The company logo Web address or other merchant specific information is also provided on a surface of the computer peripheral device These merchant specific devices ar
15. ble 47 The computer peripheral device of claim 46 wherein each of the computer peripheral devices is pre loaded with a computer program product for configuring an associated computer to process a predetermined signal transmitted from the computer peripheral device when the pre programmed switch on the computer peripheral device is actuated 48 The method of claim 47 wherein the predetermined signal contains prestored Web address information associ ated with the predetermined site 49 The method of claim 47 wherein the predetermined signal is a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a pre deter mined Web address associated with the predetermined site Sep 27 2001 50 The method of claim 31 wherein an operation of the switch alone can be selectively enabled by a computer program product operating on the computer 51 A computer program product embodied on computer readable media readable by a computer the product com prising computer readable program code means for configuring the computer to access automatically at least one pre determined site of a merchant in response to a prede termined signal wherein the predetermined signal is transmitted to the computer from a merchant specific computer peripheral device in response to an actuation of a switch on the device wherein the predetermined site is associated with the merchant and is not associated with a manufacturer of the computer p
16. ch often is lengthy and difficult to remember or click on multiple icons to select one of the stored URLs From the perspective of electronic business merchants hereinafter e merchants the conventional process hinders potential customers from accessing the Websites of the e merchants easily which can result in a significant loss of profit for the e merchants 0007 Thus there is a need for a device and method which overcomes the problems involved with the conven tional method of accessing Websites Further a need exists for a device and business method which encourages access ing of e merchant Websites and conducting online transac tions through those Websites 0008 Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of promoting e business 0009 It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer peripheral device for promoting busi ness of an e merchant Sep 27 2001 0010 It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of tracking the accessing of a predeter mined site page of an e merchant on a communications network using merchant specific computer peripheral devices 0011 It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer mouse or other computer peripheral device having at least one pre programmed switch for automatically accessing at least one predetermined site page on a communications network 0012 It is a further object of
17. e dis tributed to the preselected recipients e g current or poten tial customers or vendors of the merchant The recipients can access automatically one or more Websites of the merchant by merely actuating the Web switch on the device US 2001 0024189 A1 Sep 27 2001 Sheet 1 of 3 Patent Application Publication VBE awns D FE ot s DNB 4A dig J and TD jo A DAO koeja WW ZE Patent Application Publication Sep 27 2001 Sheet 2 of 3 US 2001 0024189 A1 JA LO wre L 1 W Sep 27 2001 Sheet 3 of 3 US 2001 0024189 A1 Patent Application Publication SAJ Mn ges aM PWD UD mwen kI OA aa ME INA SR BWE Koidsiq ka AAA SIMA Aodsiq QS pwal da SO 22 Qa Za93s Poj U aaa i ee a fa 4504 pie N J JOR C 3 isa ary Pa wao yb e ul US 2001 0024189 A1 MERCHANT SPECIFIC COMPUTER PERIPHERAL DEVICE AND METHOD OF PROMOTING BUSINESS RELATED APPLICATION 0001 This patent application claims benefit of priority based on U S Provisional Patent Application No 60 171 411 Attorney Docket No 03227 P0001A GSW JBW filed on Dec 21 1999 invented by Dave Michie and entitled Branded Computer Mouse which is herein fully incorpo rated by reference 0002 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0003 1 Field of the Invention The invention pertains to business methods and computer peripheral dev
18. ed Website of WWW ETRADEcpd com is pre programmed into the computer mouse which is sponsored by E Trade Securities Inc the keypad may include keys or buttons designated to execute commands such as SELL BUY TRADE OPTIMIZE PORTFOLIO etc so that they can facilitate the online transaction processes Different command keys or buttons may be provided for different computer peripheral devices depending on the application and the Website acces sible by the peripheral devices 0058 In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention the system may be configured so that the customer is directly connected to the main Website of the e merchant without the redirecting process offered by the CPD Website of the merchant US 2001 0024189 A1 0059 In accordance with other embodiments the system can be confieured such that the user can register their personal information at the CPD Website Upon installation of the merchant specific peripheral device of the present invention and or actuating a pre programmed switch on the device connected to the PC the user may be able to enter user information e g name address phone number etc which may be subsequently transmitted to the CPD Website or any other designated registration site for registering user information The merchant can use the registered user infor mation to develop user specific tracking data for tracking Web access by each user and to p
19. ent invention other examples of other merchant specific computer periph eral devices include but are not limited to keypads sty luses or any other computer peripheral devices 0029 A method of promoting business is now described according to one embodiment of the present invention The marketing agency 30 enters into an agreement with each e merchant 34a 34b who is interested in receiving the marketing service offered by the marketing agency 30 In accordance with the agreement the marketing agency 30 instructs a manufacturer 32 to produce merchant specific computer peripheral devices e g computer mice config ured specifically for the e merchant 34a 34b For example if an e merchant 34a such as General Electric Inc GE agrees to receive the marketing service of the marketing agency 30 the marketing agency 30 instructs the manufac turer 32 to produce computer peripheral devices such as computer mice wherein each mouse has at least one pre determined Web address eg GE COM or GEmouse COM associated with GE or GE logo provided thereon and at least one pre programmed switch for access ing automatically one or more Websites associated with GE 0030 In one embodiment computer software for selec tively activating the pre programmed switch of the mer chant specific device may also be produced for use with the merchant specific device wherein the software is to be installed into a user s computer In other
20. f 0037 As shown in FIG 2 the computer mouse 10 of the present invention includes a pre programmed Web switch 12 right and left switches 14a and 14b a scroller 16 optional a mouse ball not specifically shown located underneath the mouse 10 for moving a cursor and a con nector 18 for connecting to a host computer 50 such as a desktop a laptop etc The host computer 50 is set up with appropriate applications such as the Web browser user interface programs operating systems etc for operating the computer and connecting to and accessing the Internet or other communications networks e g intranets 0038 The Web switch 12 encompasses an actuating surface e g a button as well as any circuitry associated with it The Web switch 12 is pre programmed with Website data that allows the user to access automatically at least one designated Website of a merchant e g CPD Website 37a or CPD Website 37a and main Website 384 by actuating the Web switch 12 That is the Web switch 12 is fixedly configured to transmit pre stored Website data when it is actuated If needed a small memory such as RAM may be provided in the mouse 10 to store the Website data The pre programming of the Website data in the mouse 10 is permanent and may not be altered or reprogrammed by the user 0039 In one embodiment the Website data may include a Web address or URL of the designated Website e g CPD Website of a merchant In
21. f claim 16 wherein the computer peripheral device is pre loaded with a computer program product for configuring an associated computer to process a predetermined signal transmitted from the computer periph eral device when the pre programmed switch on the com puter peripheral device is actuated 28 The method of claim 27 wherein the predetermined signal contains prestored Web address information associ ated with the predetermined site 29 The method of claim 27 wherein the predetermined signal is a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a predetermined Web address associated with the predetermined site 30 The method of claim 16 wherein the computer peripheral device is selected from the group consisting of a computer mouse a computer keypad and a stylus 31 A merchant specific computer peripheral device for promoting a merchant the device comprising data pre programmed in the device a switch for automatically accessing a predetermined site associated with the merchant by means of the data and an interface coupled to the switch for communicating the data to a computer wherein the device further includes means for fixedly displaying merchant specific information for viewing by a user and wherein the merchant specific information is associated with the predetermined site and is not associated with a manufacturer of the device 32 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 where
22. formation may identify a sponsor of the prede termined Website accessible by the Web switch of the merchant specific computer peripheral device but it does not identify a maker or a manufacturer of the merchant specific computer peripheral device 0026 In one embodiment upon actuation of the pre programmed switch the user is first connected to a Com puter Peripheral Device CPD Website which automati cally relays the user to another Website such as the home page of the e merchant In this embodiment the CPD Website can function as a tracking site for tracking the timing and frequency of Website access by the users using the pre programmed switches on the merchant specific peripheral devices The tracking information can be used in market studies and research to further improve the business of the e merchant 0027 In another embodiment the CPD Website may be used as a promotional page for displaying information tailored specifically for the merchant specific peripheral device users e g discounted products services or other information associated with the e merchant In this case the user may not be redirected automatically from the CPD Website to another Website of the e merchant but the user may access other e merchant Websites if desired by per forming a single act e g clicking a designated icon on the CPD Website 0028 While a computer mouse is a preferred merchant specific computer peripheral device of the pres
23. hin the visual range of the recipient the recipient will view the merchant information on the surface of the device and be constantly reminded of the merchant and or the merchant s Website Furthermore once a recipient s computer is con figured to accept commands from the peripheral device the recipient can press at least one pre configured switch a Web switch on the computer peripheral device and be connected automatically to a Website provided by the merchant This Website may be the home page of the merchant or a Computer Peripheral Device CPD Website dedicated exclusively to the recipients of the merchant specific periph eral devices that can function as a Web destination itself or as a redirect site for automatically redirecting the user to another Website e g the home page of the merchant In the latter embodiment the user may be connected automatically to the CPD Website and then the main Website of the merchant by actuating the Web switch on the computer peripheral device The CPD Website can also be used to track the timing and frequency of Website access using the Web switches of the merchant specific computer peripheral devices This tracking information can be used by the merchant or other interested parties in market studies or research to further improve business US 2001 0024189 A1 0017 The Web switch provides a simple and convenient means to access the Website s of the merchant The con venience of accessing
24. ices More particularly the invention pertains to methods of promoting business of an online merchant using a merchant specific computer peripheral device such as a computer mouse 0004 2 Discussion of the Related Art 0005 As Internet technologies continue to develop and new online services become available more users are accessing the Internet Typically if a user wishes to access a particular Website or Web page on the Internet the user runs a piece of software known as a Web browser installed on his or her computer which connects the computer to the Internet e g through a modem The user types in a Web address or an URL Uniform Resource Locator of the desired Website using the keyboard or clicks on screen icons provided by the Web browser to select one of the stored Website addresses The Web browser processes the Website request i e the URL request and transmits it to an appropriate server e g a proxy server or an application server over the Internet The server responds to the Website request and transmits to the Web browser a Web page e g in HyperText Markup Language or HTML files correspond ing to the requested Website The Web browser receives the Web page and displays it on the user s computer monitor whereby the user accesses the desired Website 0006 The above described conventional process of accessing a Website however is inconvenient to the user because the user must either type in the URL whi
25. in the data includes a Web address of the predetermined site wherein the predetermined site is a computer peripheral device CPD Website dedicated to users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 33 The computer peripheral device of claim 32 wherein the predetermined site further includes a second Website associated with the CPD Website wherein an actuation of the switch by a user results in an automatic connection to the CPD Website which redirects automatically to the second Website 34 The computer peripheral device of claim 33 wherein the CPD Website functions as an access tracking device for tracking accessing of the main Website by the users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 35 The computer peripheral device of claim 33 wherein the data further includes information pertaining to the user 36 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the data represents a triggering signal for triggering the computer to retrieve from its memory a predetermined Web address of the predetermined site 37 The computer peripheral device of claim 36 wherein the predetermined site is a computer peripheral device CPD Website dedicated to users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 38 The computer peripheral device of claim 37 wherein the predetermined site further includes a second Website associated with the CPD Website wherein an actuation of the switch by a user results in an automatic con
26. n in FIG 3 the computer mouse 10 can be plugged into the host computer 50 or be coupled to it wirelessly The host computer 50 is connected to a communications net work such as the Internet 100 extranets intranets etc Through the Internet 100 or other network the host com puter 50 can access any of servers 150 on the Internet 100 The servers 150 can be maintained by e merchants ISPs ASPs or other sponsors of Websites 0048 The computer mouse 10 includes the pre pro grammed Web switch 12 the right and left switches 14a and 14b and the optional scroller 16 as discussed above The computer mouse 10 further includes a light source or sources 19 for illuminating the Web switch 12 and or the area 17 a motion sensor 20 associated with the mouse ball if appli cable a processor interface 22 and a data port 24 all operatively connected The mouse 10 may further encom pass any other components or circuitry typically found in a conventional mouse 0049 The motion sensor 20 detects a position of the mouse ball if present as is well known in the art The processor interface 22 may control illumination of the light source s 19 to indicate the operational status of the Web switch 12 and or the data port 24 The light source s 19 may be powered through the host computer 50 or a power source US 2001 0024189 A1 which may be located in the mouse The processor interface 22 processes signals from the switches 12 14a 14b the sc
27. ncy 30 provides the unique marketing service of the present invention to a plurality of e merchants 34a 34b etc The marketing agency 30 may be any entity that provides this marketing service e g RCG International Inc located in Maple Glen Pa The e merchants 34 may be e business merchants having Websites e g General Electric Inc E trade Securities Inc Professional Golf Association etc as well as any other entity that sponsors Websites e g ISPs ASPs search engine providers etc 0024 The marketing service of the present invention involves providing merchant specific computer peripheral devices specifically manufactured for each e merchant 34a 34b The computer peripheral devices are considered mer chant specific as 1 each of the computer peripheral devices for a particular e merchant is provided with mer chant specific information e g a logo a Website address or other merchant information associated with the particular e merchant and 2 each device includes at least one pre programmed switch Web switch which upon actuation by a user automatically connects the user to at least one predetermined Website associated with the e merchant 0025 In accordance with the present invention the mer chant specific information provided on the computer periph eral devices for viewing by the users is not associated with a manufacturer of the computer peripheral devices The Sep 27 2001 merchant in
28. nection to the CPD Website which redirects automatically to the second Website US 2001 0024189 A1 39 The computer peripheral device of claim 38 wherein the CPD Website functions as an access tracking device for the merchant for tracking accessing of the second Website by the users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 40 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the computer peripheral device is without alphanumeric keys 41 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the computer peripheral device is a computer mouse 42 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the computer peripheral device is a keypad 43 The computer peripheral device of claim 42 wherein the keypad further includes at least one second switch coupled to the interface and associated with second data pre programmed in the computer peripheral device the second data including specific command data for executing commands on the predetermined site of the merchant 44 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 further comprising at least one light source coupled to the switch for visually indicating an operational status of the switch 45 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the computer peripheral device includes a plurality of switches for automatically accessing predetermined sites on the communications network 46 The computer peripheral device of claim 31 wherein the data is non altera
29. pheral device Each time the user actuates the pre programmed Web switch es on the computer peripheral device as discussed above the CPD Website or another Website through the CPD Website will be displayed automatically on the user s monitor The ease and convenience associated with operating a pre programmed Web switch encourages the user to access more frequently the merchant s Website s and increases the visibility of the merchant and the likelihood of business transactions being conducted through that Website s Therefore the computer peripheral devices of the present invention provide conve nience to Internet users as well as competitive business advantages to merchants and Website sponsors benefitting all parties involved in e commerce 0063 Having thus described a few particular embodi ments of the invention various alterations modifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art Such alterations modifications and improvements as are made obvious by this disclosure are intended to be part of this description though not expressly stated herein and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention Accordingly the foregoing description is by way of example only and not limiting The invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalents thereto Sep 27 2001 What is claimed is 1 A method of promoting a merchant the method com prising the step of
30. rogram product 52 The computer program product of claim 51 wherein the computer readable means stores in the computer a pre determined Web address associated with the predetermined site of the merchant such that the computer retrieves the stored Web address upon receipt of the predetermined sig nal 53 The computer program product of claim 52 further comprising computer readable program code means for selectively enabling an operation of the switch on the device 54 The computer program product of claim 51 wherein the predetermined site is a computer peripheral device CPD Website dedicated to users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices 55 The computer program product of claim 54 wherein the predetermined site further includes a second Website associated with the CPD Website wherein an actuation of the switch by a user results in an automatic connection to the CPD Website which redirects automatically to the second Website 56 The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the CPD Website functions as an access tracking device for the merchant for tracking accessing of the main Website by the users of the switches on the computer peripheral devices
31. roller 16 and the motion sensor 20 whereas the data port 24 transmits the processed signals from the processor Interface 22 to the host computer 50 throueh the connector 18 or wireless connection The data port 24 and the proces sor interface 22 may also receive and process signals from the host computer 50 as needed 0050 The predetermined Website data can be pre pro grammed into the mouse 10 in a number of different ways For instance the predetermined Website data may be non alterably stored in a memory accessible by the processor interface 22 In another example the Website data may be integrated into the circuitry of the mouse 10 e g in the processor interface 22 or a circuit associated with the switch 12 Still in another example where the Website data repre sents a triggering signal the pre programming of the mouse 10 involves pre programming the processor interface 22 with the triggering signal such that the processor inter face 22 outputs the triggering signal to the host computer 50 in response to the actuation of the Web switch 12 0051 The host computer 50 may include a data port 52 a peripheral device interface 54 a processor 56 a memory 58 such as RAM or ROM a display interface 60 a display device 62 such as a monitor a communications link 64 for connecting to the Internet 100 or other networks and additional peripheral device interfaces 66 e g for a key board a scanner an optical pen etc
32. rovide more individualized and personal service to the users 0060 Thus the present invention offers many advan tages For instance Internet users can easily and conve niently access predetermined Websites using the computer peripheral devices of the present invention and in certain embodiments execute commands once such Websites have been accessed 0061 Moreover the computer peripheral devices of the present invention may be utilized as advertising and market study tools through which the advertisers can gain competi tive business edge into desired markets The marketing agency provides to each merchant the merchant specific computer peripheral devices wherein the Website data asso ciated with the merchant is pre programmed into the com puter peripheral devices which are then distributed to poten tial or current customers either for free or for a fee Since each computer peripheral device includes an advertising area for displaying merchant specific information e g one or more of the merchant s logo business name Website address or other information associated with the merchant it will function as a visible and constant reminder to the user as long as the computer peripheral device is located within the user s sight 0062 Even more effectively the value of the computer peripheral device of the present invention increases signifi cantly if the user actually uses the pre programmed Web switch es on the computer peri
33. site 37a was accessed by customers using the peripheral devices of the present invention If desired an icon button may be provided on the page of the CPD Website 37a which upon clicking connects the cus tomer 36 automatically to the page of the main Website 38a 0035 Therefore the business methods of the present invention provide an effective and powerful way for e mer chants to promote themselves to individuals through the merchant specific computer peripheral devices Further more the merchant specific computer peripheral devices allow a particular e merchant to be distinguished over all other e merchants due to 1 the e merchant information provided on the devices and 2 the direct Website accessi bility enabled by the pre programmed switch Moreover Website tracking information obtained through the CPD Website can be used in market studies and research so that the business and visibility of the e merchant can be further improved 0036 FIG 2 shows a pictorial representation of a com puter mouse according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention The computer mouse of FIG 2 is an example of a merchant specific computer peripheral device which can be used to promote e business as discussed hereinabove referring to FIG 1 It should be clearly under stood that the present invention is not limited to the par ticular design shape size or configuration of the mouse shown in FIG 2 but includes any variations thereo
34. te software into the host computer 0053 After the initial set up is completed the user runs the Web browser installed on the host computer 50 and connects to a communications network such as the Internet 100 through the communications link 64 Once the host computer 50 is connected to the Internet 100 the user can actuate or press the pre programmed Web switch 12 at any Sep 27 2001 time The actuation of the Web switch 12 causes the pro cessor interface 22 to transmit the pre stored Website data e g URL of the CPD Website of the merchant or a triggering signal to the computer 50 through the data port 24 0054 The data port 52 of the host computer 50 receives the Website data which the peripheral device interface 54 converts into a form recognizable by the processor 56 The processor 56 receives the converted Website data and pro cesses it according to the conventional methods of process ing Website data The processor 56 communicates the Web site data to an appropriate server 150 on the Internet 100 using well known HyperText Transport Protocols HTTPs or other established protocols 0055 The processor 56 receives from the server 150 the Web page data e g HTML files corresponding to the Website data and processes and displays it on the display device 62 through the display interface 60 0056 As mentioned above once the host computer 50 is connected to the Internet 100 the user may actuate the Web switch 12 at
35. the present invention to provide a business method and a computer peripheral device for improving customer relations and providing competitive business advantages to e merchants or Website sponsors 0013 Itis still another object of the present invention to provide a computer peripheral device which can be used both as an advertising tool and a market studying tool in electronic commerce SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0014 The present invention is directed to a computer peripheral device and a method of promoting e merchants using the computer peripheral device such as a computer mouse or keypad 0015 In accordance with the present invention a mar keting service is provided to a plurality of merchants who are interested in promoting their online businesses The marketing service involves providing merchant specific computer peripheral devices to preselected recipients or directly to the merchant The devices are configured spe cifically for each merchant in that Website information associated with the merchant or a Website access triggering signal is programmed into the computer peripheral devices The company logo Web address or other merchant specific information is also provided on a surface of the computer peripheral device These merchant specific devices are dis tributed to the preselected recipients e g current or poten tial customers or vendors of the merchant 0016 As long as the peripheral device is located wit
36. tween the mouse 10 and the computer 50 0045 In accordance with other embodiments the com puter mouse 10 may include a plurality of pre programmed Web switches 12 such that multiple pre designated Websites of a single e merchant or multiple e merchants may be selectively and directly accessed by the operation of these Web switches 0046 One skilled in the art would readily understand that various other modifications to the computer mouse 10 may be possible without affecting the operation of the computer mouse and that such modifications are contemplated as part of the invention For instance the Web switch 12 can be any electrical actuator known in the art e g a button a knob a two position switch etc Although it is preferred that the Web switch 12 be placed on the left side of the mouse 10 close to the thumb area of the right handed user for easy access and on the right side of the mouse 10 for devices designed for left handed use the Web switch 12 can be located in any area of the mouse 10 Moreover the mouse 10 may be a wireless mouse such that it communicates with the host computer 50 wirelessly e g by transmitting and receiving infrared optical or radio signals or can be an optical mouse or other type of mouse which operates with out a mouse ball 0047 FIG 3 shows a block diagram of the computer mouse 10 coupled to the host computer 50 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention As show
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