Promotion Code Validation via Checksums and Family IDs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Providers face challenges in efficiently generating and managing large numbers of unique personal promotion codes, as existing methods require storing all codes in a database for validation, leading to resource inefficiencies and costly database queries, especially since only a small percentage are used.
Innovation Solution
A system generates internal promotion codes with a family ID and serial ID, encodes them into external codes, and stores only used codes, allowing validation without storing all generated codes, using a predictable grammar and checksums to ensure uniqueness and randomness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all generated promotion codes are stored in a database for validation, then code validation reliability is improved, but database resource consumption and query cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary validation information from the full code database by using checksums and family ID/serial ID structure. Instead of storing all generated codes, the system stores only the validation criteria (checksum algorithm and ID structure) which allows validating any code without storing the entire code list in the database.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces checksums as an intermediary mechanism between the promotion code and the validation process. The checksum acts as a mediator that enables verification of code validity without requiring direct database queries for each code, thus reducing database resource consumption while maintaining validation reliability.
2Measurement precision
If all generated promotion codes are stored in a database for validation, then code validation accuracy is improved, but database query cost and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing the checksum algorithm and code structure rules before validation is needed. This allows the system to validate codes using pre-established criteria rather than querying a database during validation, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical database query system with a computational checksum validation system. Instead of mechanically searching through a database of all codes, the system uses mathematical checksum calculations to verify code validity, which is much faster and more scalable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If personal promotion codes are generated to control distribution, then distribution control is improved, but code generation complexity and uniqueness requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the promotion code into distinct components: family ID for identifying the promotion campaign, serial ID for unique identification within the campaign, and checksum for validation. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple generation logic while achieving sophisticated distribution control through the combination of these segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes in the code structure (family ID, serial ID, checksum) to achieve distribution control. By varying these parameters systematically, the system can generate unique codes for different customer segments while maintaining a simple generation algorithm based on parameter transformation rather than complex cryptographic operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a system for generating personal promotion codes from the computing resources of a provider of services. Internal promotion codes including a family ID field and serial ID field of alphanumeric characters are first generated. The internal promotion codes are then encoded into a corresponding series of external promotion codes of alphanumeric characters, which render the internal promotion codes unintelligible. After which the series of external promotion codes is packed into an encrypted file which is forwarded to a client application of the provider of services to have the external promotion codes distributed to its customers. The external promotion codes later submitted to the client application by the customers are further validated by the provider of services. Validation of the external promotion codes submitted by the customers does not require that all generated external promotion codes need to be stored in a database of the provider of services.