Document transmit system and document transmitting method

• US 20020091638A1
• Filed: 03/06/2002
• Published: 07/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Junko Hirota, Koichi Yamabe, Satoshi Takeuchi
• Original Assignee: Junko Hirota, Koichi Yamabe, Satoshi Takeuchi
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Satoshi, Hirota, Junko, Yamabe, Koichi
• Application Number:
  US10/090,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20020091638A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

In response to a fee payment request issued from an applicant apparatus via a communication network, a payment acceptance server makes a payment credit inquiry of an applicant to a financial institution server. When a payment acceptance server judges that a payment by the applicant is guaranteed, the payment acceptance server transmits to an applicant apparatus, an electronic payment certificate corresponding to a stamp, or an inspection sticker. A document with the payment certificate is transmitted from either the applicant apparatus or an agent apparatus to a document acceptance server via the communication network. Before a main body of the document is received, the document acceptance server receives from the document transmitting apparatus, compressed data which is acquired by applying one-way cryptographic function, and sets this reception timing as acceptance day/time this document.

Claims

1. A document transmit system for transmitting a document from an applicant apparatus via a network to a document acceptance server, wherein:

a payment acceptance server is connected to said network;

said applicant apparatus includes a payment processing unit for requesting to pay a fee to said payment acceptance server by designating a payment amount;

said payment acceptance server includes a payment acceptance processing unit for making a payment credit inquiry to a financial institution in response to a fee payment request issued from said applicant apparatus; and

a processing unit for forming a payment certificate used to indicate that said fee payment is guaranteed when it can be judged that the fee payment of said applicant can be guaranteed in said credit inquiry, and then for transmitting the formed payment certificate to said applicant apparatus;

said applicant apparatus includes a document transmit processing unit for attaching said payment certificate to the document to be transmitted to thereby constitute a document with a payment certificate, and then for transmitting said document with the payment certificate to said document acceptance server; and

said document acceptance server includes a document acceptance processing unit for confirming that a payment certificate sent from said applicant apparatus is an “

unused”

payment certificate, and thereafter for saving said document with the payment certificate into a storage apparatus.

7. A document transmit system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said document acceptance server changes a state of said payment certificate into a “

used”

state thereof after confirming that the state of said payment certificate is an “

unused”

state.

2. A document transmit system for transmitting a document which is wanted to be transmitted by an applicant apparatus via a network to a document acceptance server from an agent apparatus as a proxy, wherein:

a payment acceptance server is connected to said network;

said applicant apparatus includes a payment processing unit for requesting said payment acceptance server to pay a fee by designating a payment amount;

said payment acceptance server includes a payment acceptance processing unit for making a payment credit inquiry to a financial institution in response to a fee payment request issued from said applicant apparatus; and

a processing unit for forming a payment certificate used to indicate that said fee payment is guaranteed when it can be judged that the fee payment of said applicant can be guaranteed in said credit inquiry, and then for transmitting the formed payment certificate to said applicant apparatus;

said applicant apparatus includes a document transmit processing unit for attaching said payment certificate to the document to be transmitted to thereby constitute a document with a payment certificate in an encryption form, and then for transmitting said document with the payment certificate to said agent apparatus;

said agent apparatus includes a document transmit processing unit for transmitting the received document with the payment certificate to said document acceptance server; and

said document acceptance server includes a document acceptance processing unit for confirming that a payment certificate sent from said agent apparatus is an “

unused”

payment certificate, and thereafter for saving said document with the payment certificate into a storage apparatus.

8. A document transmit system as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said document acceptance server changes a state 706 of said payment certificate into a “

used”

state thereof after confirming that the state of said payment certificate is an “

unused”

state.

3. In a document transmit system for transmitting a document from an applicant apparatus via a network 110 to a document acceptance server,

a payment acceptance server for accepting a fee payment in connection with said document transmission is comprised of:

a payment acceptance processing unit for making a payment credit inquiry to a financial institution in response to a fee payment request issued from said applicant apparatus; and

a processing unit for forming a payment certificate used to indicate that said fee payment is guaranteed when it can be judged that the fee payment of said applicant can be guaranteed in said credit inquiry, and then for transmitting the formed payment certificate to said applicant apparatus.

9. A payment acceptance server as claimed in claim 3 wherein:

said payment acceptance server saves information about each of the payment certificates into the storage apparatus, and when a payment certificate is formed, said payment acceptance server sets the state of said payment certificate among the information saved in storage apparatus to “

unused”

.

4. A document transmit system where a document is transmitted from a predetermined apparatus via a network to a document acceptance server, comprising:

a document transmit processing unit for applying an one-way cryptographic function to document data to be transmitted so as to acquire compressed data in said document transmitting apparatus, and then for transmitting said compressed data to said document acceptance server;

a ticket issue processing unit for transmitting a ticket to said document transmitting apparatus after the received compressed data has been stored into a storage apparatus by said document acceptance server;

a document transmit processing unit for transmitting said document data to be transmitted to said document acceptance server after the ticket is received by said document transmit apparatus; and

a document acceptance processing unit for comparing the compressed data which is obtained by applying said one-way cryptographic function to said document data with said compressed data which is stored into the storage apparatus after said document data is received by said document acceptance server, and for confirming that the first-mentioned compressed data is made identical with the second-mentioned compressed data.

5. A document transmit method for transmitting a document from an applicant apparatus via a network to a document acceptance server, comprising the steps of:

requesting from said applicant apparatus a payment acceptance server connected to said network to pay a fee by designating a payment amount;

making a payment credit inquiry to a financial institution in response to a fee payment request issued from said applicant apparatus by aid payment acceptance server;

forming a payment certificate used to indicate that said fee payment is guaranteed when it can be judged that the fee payment of said applicant can be guaranteed in said credit inquiry, and then for transmitting the formed payment certificate to said applicant apparatus;

attaching said payment certificate to the document to be transmitted to thereby constitute a document with a payment certificate, and then for transmitting said document with the payment certificate to said document acceptance server; and

confirming that a payment certificate sent from said applicant apparatus is an “

unused”

payment certificate, and thereafter for saving said document with the payment certificate into a storage apparatus.

10. A document transmit method as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

when said compressed data is received by said document acceptance server, said document acceptance server saves acceptance day/time into said storage apparatus; and

when said document acceptance server confirms that both said compressed data are made identical with each other, said document acceptance server sets said acceptance day/time as acceptance day/time of said document data.

11. A document transmit method as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

said document acceptance server changes a state of said payment certificate into a “

used”

state thereof after confirming that the state of said payment certificate is an “

unused”

state.

6. A document transmit method for transmitting a document from a predetermined apparatus via a network to a document acceptance server, comprising the steps of:

applying an one-way cryptographic function to document data to be transmitted so as to acquire compressed data in said document transmitting apparatus, and then transmitting said compressed data to said document acceptance server;

transmitting a ticket to said document transmitting apparatus after the received compressed data has been stored into a storage apparatus by said document acceptance server;

transmitting said document data to be transmitted to said document acceptance server after the ticket is received by said document transmit apparatus; and

comparing the compressed data which is obtained by applying said one-way cryptographic function to said document data with said compressed data which is stored into the storage apparatus after said document data is received by said document acceptance server, and confirming that the first-mentioned compressed data is made identical with the second-mentioned compressed data.

12. A document transmit method as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

when said compressed data is received by said document acceptance server, said document acceptance server saves acceptance day/time into said storage apparatus; and

when said document acceptance server confirms that both said compressed data are made identical with each other, said document acceptance server sets said acceptance day/time as acceptance day/time of said document data.

13. A document acceptance system comprising:

a communication network;

an apparatus connected to said communication network, for transmitting a document; and

a document acceptance server connected to said communication network, for accepting said document via said communication network, said document acceptance server including a storage apparatus;

wherein;

said document transmitting apparatus transmits first compressed data via said network to said document acceptance server, said first compressed data being obtained by applying an one-way cryptographic function to said document;

said document acceptance server stores acceptance time of said first compressed data together with said first compressed data into said storage apparatus;

after said document transmitting apparatus transmits said first compressed data, said document transmitting apparatus transmits non-compressed data of said document via the communication network to said document acceptance server; and

said document acceptance server compares said first compressed data with second compressed data which is obtained by applying an one-way cryptographic function to said received non-compressed data; and

determines acceptance time of said first compressed data as acceptance time of said document when such a comparison result is obtained that said first compressed data is made identical with said second compressed data.

14. A document acceptance method comprising the steps of:

transmitting first compressed data via a network from a document transmitting apparatus to a document acceptance server, said first compressed data being obtained by applying an one-way cryptographic function to a document to be transmitted;

storing, in said document acceptance server, acceptance time of said first compressed data together with said first compressed data into a storage apparatus;

after said document transmitting apparatus transmits said first compressed data, transmitting non-compressed data of said document from said document transmitting apparatus via the communication network to said document acceptance server; and

comparing, in said document acceptance server, said first compressed data with second compressed data which is obtained by applying an one-way cryptographic function to said received non-compressed data; and

determining acceptance time of said first compressed data as acceptance time of said document when such a comparison result is obtained that said first compressed data is made identical with said second compressed data.