OXFORD, Miss. – The tedious task of clipping and organizing coupons may soon be simplified thanks to an invention by a University of Mississippi student.
Sophomore pre-med biology major Karah LaMon Evans, a
Hickory native, has programmed software that stores coupon
bar codes on a chip in the form of a convenient key chain
device.
Evans conceived the idea for the software about a year ago.
All the parts for the hardware already existed, but he
developed an original software program that allows a chip
to store the codes of coupons selected by the consumer.
“My mother was a big coupon person,” Evans said. “She had
arthritis, and I wanted to figure out how I could allow her
to not clip coupons anymore.”
The cashier swipes the device at the register, and the
amount of the recorded coupons is automatically deducted
from the bill. Evans said it saves time for both the
customer and cashier. Also, stores participating in the
service would no longer have to keep up with thousands of
coupons to send in each month, waiting as many as 30 days
to be reimbursed, he said.
“Stores would get money directly deposited into their
accounts within 48 to 72 hours,” he said.
Evans has filed for a provisional patent to begin the
process of establishing a full patent. “It is a low-cost
way of establishing who filed first,” he explained.
The provisional patent protects the invention for one year.
This period also allows the inventor to locate funding for
the patent, which the Patent Office informed Evans could
cost as much as $3,500. He has not yet sought help from
investors but is considering the idea.
The software has been tested successfully in Oxford-area
grocery stores, he said. Distributors are also interested
in the device, as it could save money required for printing
full coupons.
Evans, 33, has an extensive background in electronics and
computers that stems from Christmas 1982, when his mother
gave him his first computer at age 8. At age 9, he began
to write programs in BASIC.
“My mother would get me subscriptions to computer
magazines, and they would have sample codes in them,” he
said.
He explained that he would modify the sample codes in the
magazines to perform different actions. A few years later,
he began writing codes in Pascal, a computer programming
language originally intended to teach students structured
programming.
He graduated in 1992 from Newton County High School in
Decatur and continued his education at the University of
Southern Mississippi in the electronics engineering
technology program. After three years, he left school to
pursue a job offer with an electronics company in Memphis.
He has held various jobs in the field, including one as
senior systems programmer with FedEx Corporate Services.
However, a chronic medical condition forced him to quit
work and seek treatment. After a few surgical procedures
and several medications, Evans says that he is able to
function well.
Dr. Charles Bryant, an internal medicine and lung
specialist in Meridian, inspired Evans to return to school
and enroll in pre-med. He attends classes and works at the
Division of University Communications on campus through the
Federal Work-Study program.
“Evans is a mature, intelligent student who is
well-grounded. He has a direction for his life, and I have
no doubt that he will attain all the goals he sets for
himself,” said Evans’ co-worker Debbie Binkley, operations
manager for University Communications.