Optical payment transceiver and system using the same

• US 20020194137A1
• Filed: 05/29/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harexinfotech Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Harexinfotech Incorporated
• Inventors: Woo, Hee Gu, Kim, Chul Ki, Jung, Hoon Joon, Kim, Dae Yeon, Cho, Eun Sang, Kim, Won Dong, Sung, Kwang Hyun, Jung, Bong Sung, Park, Kyung Yang, Chang, Kwang Su, Kang, Bog Heui, Kim, Do Ha, Hwang, Que Min
• Granted Patent: US 7,552,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/351 Virtual cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/355 Personalisation of cards for use
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• 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: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0213 Consumer transaction fees
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 : by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 : Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An optical payment transceiver and an optical settlement system using the same uses a personal portable terminal incorporated with an optical transceiver as a card substitute payment unit for settlement. Here, card information is incorporated in a personal portable terminal incorporated with an optical transceiver such as a portable phone or a PDA and the optical transceiver is connected to a card inquiry machine to thereby optically transmit and receive card information. The card inquiry machine recognizes the received card information in the same manner as that of the card reader reading a magnetic card, and transmits the card information to a VAN company server or a card company server, to then request for an approval and settle transactions. The present invention is applied to most fields where financial transactions are performed as in a general commerce, a toll gate fee or tunnel passage fee collection system, a subway or bus fare levying system, a gas station, a department store, a drive-thru ordering system, a vending machine, and a fee payment system of kiosks. Also, the present invention can be applied to an entrance/exit security system requiring personal identification. Thus, the present invention can use a portable terminal as a payment unit without carrying a cash or cards, to thereby provide an effect of performing a safer and more reliable credit transaction.

Claims

1. A card issuance method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a card issuance application;

(b) examining an issuance qualification with respect to the received card issuance application;

(c) encrypting card information if the issuance qualification is met;

(d) transferring the encrypted card information to an applicant designating portable terminal so as to be stored therein; and

(e) if the encrypted card information has been completely stored, checking a normal operation state and approving the card information stored portable terminal to be used as a substitute card.

2. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (a) comprises of the step of receiving a card issuance application by recommending a purchaser of the portable terminal to subscribe as a card member.

3. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (a) comprises the step of receiving a card issuance application through an Internet website or a telemarketing.

4. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (b) comprises the step of identifying whether a possessor of the applicant designating portable terminal is the same person as a card issuance applicant.

5. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (c) comprises the steps of:

(c1) forming a set by producing a card number and assigning an authentication number to the card number;

(c2) compressing the authenticated assigned card number according to a predetermined compression algorithm; and

(c3) assigning a card identification (ID) to the compressed card number.

6. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises the step of downloading card information via the wireless Internet.

7. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises the step of directly inputting card information via the keypad of the portable terminal.

8. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises the step of inputting card information into a SIM card which can be inserted into the portable terminal.

9. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises the step of transmitting card information in a wireless data format.

10. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises the step of transferring card information by cable.

11. The card issuance method of claim 1, further comprising the step of (e) identifying whether a card information change applicant is a true card possessor and changing the card information, if a card information change application is received.

12. The card issuance method of claim 1, wherein said step (e) comprises the step of displaying the changed contents as a message on the portable terminal and allowing the card information change applicant to check the changed contents.

13. The card issuance method of claim 1, further comprising the step of (f) registering a blacklist into a corresponding portable terminal if a transaction suspension cause of the issued card occurs, and suspending the card transactions.

14. The card issuance method of claim 13, wherein said step (f) comprises the step of displaying suspension of transaction due to a loss of card on a designated wireless data receiver if the transaction suspension cause is due to the loss of card, and informing a card owner that a declaration of loss has been processed.

16. The card issuance system of claim 15, further comprising a mobile communications company server for authenticating whether the card issuance applicant is the same as a portable terminal owner.

17. The card issuance system of claim 16, wherein said card company server is connected with said mobile communications company server by a dedicated line.

18. The card issuance system of claim 15, wherein a card issuance terminal in said card company server is connected with said portable terminal by cable, to thereby transferring card information.

19. The card issuance system of claim 18, wherein an optical transceiver is attached in said card issuance terminal to optically transmitting card information, and an optical transceiver is attached in said portable terminal to receive the optically transmitted card information, so that the received card information can be input.

20. The card issuance system of claim 15, wherein said portable terminal stores the input card information in a memory region which is not accessible by a general user.

21. The card issuance system of claim 20, wherein said portable terminal notifies the card company server that the card information is not normally input, if the card information is not normally input to the portable terminal.

22. The card issuance system of claim 21, wherein said portable terminal is a wireless communications terminal to which an optical transceiver is attached.

23. The card issuance system of claim 21, wherein said card information comprises the name of and the credit card number of the card possessed by each card owner and said portable terminal is used as a substitute credit card.

24. The card issuance system of claim 21, wherein said card information is personal identification information and said portable terminal is used as a substitute entrance/exit card.

26. The card issuance system of claim 25, further comprising a mobile communications company server for authenticating whether the card issuance applicant is the same as a portable terminal owner.

27. The card issuance system of claim 26, wherein said card company server is connected with said mobile communications company server by a dedicated line.

28. The card issuance system of claim 25, wherein said relayer performs the card information to the portable terminal as a short message service in a wireless data format.

29. The card issuance system of claim 28, wherein said relayer comprises:

a compressor for receiving the card number assigned with an authentication number from said card company server and compressing the card number according to a predetermined compression algorithm; and

a card identification (ID) assigner for assigning a card identification (ID) to the compressed card number.

30. The card issuance system of claim 25, wherein said portable terminal decodes the input card information into a prior-to-being-encrypted state and storing the same.

31. The card issuance system of claim 30, wherein said portable terminal stores the input card information in a memory region which is not accessible by a general user, and uses the stored card information as substitute for a card.

32. The card issuance system of claim 31, wherein said portable terminal notifies the relayer that the card information is not normally input, if the card information is not normally input to the portable terminal.

33. The card issuance system of claim 32, wherein said portable terminal is a wireless communications terminal to which an optical transceiver is attached.

34. The card issuance system of claim 29, wherein said portable terminal comprises:

a storage index unit for receiving the card ID assigned card information and storing the card ID as an index;

a card information memory for storing the card ID and the actual card information corresponding to the card ID in a pair; and

a screen display memory for storing the card ID and characters and logo data for displaying actual card kinds corresponding to the card ID on a screen.

35. The card issuance system of claim 34, wherein said storage index unit comprises a index memory storing a total length of stored indexes, IDs of the card information selected by a user among various kinds of card information, and index information representing positions where the card information is actually stored.

36. The card issuance system of claim 33, wherein said card information comprises the name of and the credit card number of the card possessed by each card owner and said portable terminal is used as a substitute credit card.

37. The card issuance system of claim 33, wherein said card information is personal identification information and said portable terminal is used as a substitute entrance/exit card.

38. The card issuance system of claim 25, wherein said card company server ascertains the phone number of the portable terminal corresponding to the card if a transaction suspension cause of the issued card occurs, and transmitting card transactions suspension information to said relayer.

39. The card issuance system of claim 38, wherein said relayer calls the portable terminal of the phone number ascertained by the card company server and registers card transaction suspension as a blacklist in the portable terminal.

40. The card issuance system of claim 39, wherein said relayer transmits the transaction suspension information in a wireless data format.

41. The card issuance system of claim 40, wherein if the card is used after the card has been registered as a blacklist, said portable terminal displays an error message and rejects the card transaction.

42. The card issuance system of claim 25, wherein if a card information change application is received, said card company server identifies whether a card information change applicant is a true card possessor and changing the card information of the portable terminal through the relayer.

15. A card issuance system comprising:

a card company server receiving a card issuance application, examining an issuance qualification encrypting card information if the issuance qualification is met, and transferring the encrypted card information to an applicant designating portable terminal; and

said portable terminal receiving and storing the transmitted card information, and displaying the received card information on a screen in order to inform the card issuance applicant that the card issuance has been made.

25. A card issuance system comprising:

a card company server receiving a card issuance application, examining an issuance qualification encrypting card information if the issuance qualification is met, and encrypting the card information and transferring the encrypted card information to a relayer;

said relayer for encrypting the card information transmitted from said card company server again and transferring the encrypted card information to an applicant designating portable terminal via a communications network; and

a portable terminal receiving and storing the transmitted card information, and displaying the received card information on a screen in order to inform the card issuance applicant that the card issuance has been made.

43. An optical payment transmitter for use in an optical transceiver apparatus for payment of expenses, the optical payment transmitter comprising:

a memory storing user card information therein;

an optical transceiver for optically transmitting and receiving card information;

a button for commanding an optical payment operation;

a controller for optically transmitting card information according to user button manipulation so that a settlement is completed; and

a display displaying an optical payment operation state, in which the optical payment transmitter is fabricated as a compact portable device.

44. The optical payment transmitter of claim 43, wherein said portable device is applied to a portable phone, a PDA, a key-chain, a clock and an electronic notebook, and manufactured in order to store card information and transmit the stored card information as an optical signal.

45. The optical payment transmitter of claim 43, wherein said optical transceiver transmits and receives the card information in the form of infrared rays.

46. The optical payment transmitter of claim 45, wherein said optical transceiver comprising:

an infrared light receiving/emitting portion for converting card information received in the form of an infrared ray into an electrical signal, and converting the electrical signal into an infrared signal, to then transmit the converted result;

a decoder and an encoder for converting an IrDA standard electrical signal into a UART standard signal and converting a UART standard electrical signal into an IrDA standard signal, respectively; and

a UART portion for converting a UART standard serial signal output from said decoder into a parallel signal in units of a predetermined bit to then output the converted result to a controller, and converting the parallel signal of the card information transmitted via the controller into a serial signal to then output the converted result to said encoder.

47. The optical payment transmitter of claim 43, wherein said button comprises a petty cash settlement button for transmitting card information without inputting a secret number, and a big money settlement button for transmitting both a secret number and card information.

48. The optical payment transmitter of claim 47, further comprising a tone recognition module for recognizing the secret number from a tone signal generated in correspondence to the secret number input via a keypad on the portable phone.

49. The optical payment transmitter of claim 43, wherein a signature tag is attached to an appropriate position of the optical payment transmitter so that the signature of the card owner can be identified.

50. A battery pack for use in a portable terminal, the battery pack comprising an optical transmitter for storing user card information and transmitting an optical signal with respect to the card information.

51. The battery pack of claim 50, wherein said optical transmitter comprises:

an optical transmitter circuit installed in the battery, for generating the optical signal;

a light emitting element for emitting the optical signal from the optical transmitter circuit externally; and

a settlement switch for approving and settling the optical payment by the emitted optical signal.

52. The battery pack of claim 51, wherein said optical transmitter circuit is included in the portable terminal combined with the battery.

53. The battery pack of claim 51, wherein said optical transmitter circuit comprises:

a power supply circuit for supplying power to the optical transmitter;

a memory storing the user card information;

an optical transmitter unit emitting the card information as an optical signal; and

a controller for controlling the information of the memory to be transmitted to the optical transmitter unit and controlling the optical transmitter circuit entirely.

54. An optical payment transmitter for use in a portable terminal including a data transmission and reception function, the optical payment transmitter comprising:

an optical transmission and reception plug device connected to the portable terminal, for optically transmitting and receiving card information; and

said portable terminal storing the user card information, for transmitting stored payment information to the optical transmission and reception plug device if the optical transmission and reception plug device is connected to an external communications port.

55. The optical payment transmitter of claim 54, wherein said optical transmission and reception plug device comprises:

a case;

a circuit provided in the case;

an optical transceiver for optically transmitting and receiving the card information transmitted from said portable terminal;

a connection cable formed on the side of the circuit;

a plug connected to the connection cable, and combined with an external communications port in the portable terminal; and

an optical transmission and reception window provided on the side of the case, and forming an entrance/exit unit for an optical signal transmitted from and received at said optical transceiver.

56. The optical payment transmitter of claim 55, wherein said optical transmission and reception window is formed to face the rear surface of the portable terminal.

58. The optical payment receiver of claim 57, wherein said optical receiver is incorporated in said credit card inquiry machine.

59. The optical payment receiver of claim 57, wherein said optical receiver is connected to said credit card inquiry machine by cable.

60. The optical payment receiver of claim 59, wherein said optical receiver receives the card information in the form of an infrared signal, converting the same into a signal having a form which can be recognized in said credit card inquiry machine, and transferring the converted result to the credit card inquiry machine by cable.

61. The optical payment receiver of claim 57, wherein said adapter comprises:

an infrared reception portion and an infrared emission portion for receiving and transmitting card information in the form of an infrared ray, respectively;

an infrared decoder connected to the infrared reception portion, for decoding the received card information into a UART standard signal;

an infrared encoder connected to the infrared emission portion, for encoding the received card information into an infrared signal;

a UART portion for converting the decoded UART standard signal into a parallel signal of a predetermined bit unit, and converting the parallel signal of the UART standard form into a serial form;

a controller for applying an alternating signal in order to alter an electrical signal with respect to the card information into an electromagnetic signal according to a conversion algorithm prepared in a transmission mode; and

an I/F converter for adjusting an impedance voltage according to the alternating signal applied from the controller and applying the adjusted impedance voltage into the magnetic interface card.

62. The optical payment receiver of claim 57, wherein said magnetic interface card is fabricated in the form that coils are wound at a predetermined position of an iron core, for generating change of magnetic flux by the alternating signal applied to the coils from the I/F converter.

63. The optical payment receiver of claim 62, wherein said adapter urther comprises a card reader for directly reading a magnetic card at the state that the magnetic interface card is inserted into the card reader.

57. An optical payment receiver for use in a credit card inquiry machine for settling card information transmitted from a portable terminal, the optical payment receiver comprising:

an optical receiver for receiving the card information as an optical signal and settling the received card information;

a card reader;

a adapter for receiving the card information; and

a magnetic interface card connected to said adapter by cable at the state where a credit card is inserted into said card reader, and converting the card information into the same magnetic signal as the form swapping in the card reader, to then be transmitted to the body of the credit card inquiry machine;

wherein card information is received by either said optical receiver or said adaptor.

64. An optical payment system for paying for fees using an optical signal, the optical payment system comprising:

a mobile optical relayer for receiving a card information contained optical signal from a user terminal, temporarily storing corresponding card information, and outputting the stored card information one time; and

an optical relay base unit for receiving the card information from the mobile optical relayer and transmitting the received card information to a credit card inquiry machine.

65. The optical payment system of claim 64, wherein said mobile optical relayer comprises:

an infrared reception portion and an infrared emission portion for receiving and transmitting card information in the form of an infrared ray, respectively;

a memory storing the received card information;

a button for commanding data transmission;

a transmission port connected to said optical relayer base unit by a connector, for transmitting the card information stored in the memory to the optical relayer base unit; and

a controller for controlling the card information to be transmitted to the optical relayer base unit via one of the infrared emission portion and the transmission port according to the connection state with the optical relayer base unit if the button is manipulated.

66. The optical payment system of claim 65, wherein said controller deletes the transmitted card information from the memory.

67. The optical payment system of claim 65, wherein said optical relayer base unit comprises:

a reception port connected to the mobile optical relayer by a connector, for receiving the transmitted card information;

an infrared reception portion for receiving the card information transmitted from the mobile optical relayer, in the form of an infrared ray; and

a controller for controlling the received card information to be transmitted to the credit card inquiry machine.

68. The optical payment system of claim 67, wherein said optical relayer base unit is connected to the credit card inquiry machine by cable.

69. The optical payment system of claim 65, wherein said mobile optical relayer is fabricated in a clip type.

70. The optical payment system of claim 65, wherein said optical relayer base unit is fabricated in an adapter type.

71. A method for enhancing a security in an optical payment settlement system using a portable terminal, the security enhancement method comprising the steps of:

(a) encrypting card information by using a user'"'"'s secret number;

(b) inputting the encrypted card information into the portable terminal together with a settlement secret number;

(c) inputting the secret number into the portable terminal during performing transactions and selecting a settlement mode;

(d) transmitting both the card information and the secret number input into the portable terminal in the form of an optical signal, at the settlement mode;

(e) receiving the card information and the secret number in the form of the optical signal and decoding the card information using the received secret number; and

(f) performing a settlement operation with the decoded card information.

72. The security enhancement method of claim 71, wherein in said step (a) only part of the card information is encrypted.

73. The security enhancement method of claim 71, further comprising the step of (g) displaying the card information including a card number and a valid date on the screen of the portable terminal, according to an operation of a decoding program if a card information ascertainment menu is selected at the settlement mode of said step (d).

74. An optical settlement system for use in a commerce system, the optical settlement system comprising:

an optical payment transmitter for optically transmitting card information;

an optical payment receiver for optically receiving the transmitted card information;

a credit card inquiry machine for transferring the received card information and requesting a transaction approval; and

a settlement authority server for notifying an approval result with respect to the received approval request to the credit card inquiry machine.

75. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said optical payment transmitter is a portable terminal to which an optical transceiver is attached.

76. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said optical payment receiver is connected to the credit card inquiry machine by cable.

77. The optical settlement system of claim 76, wherein said optical payment receiver is an adapter type optical receiver in which a card reader is installed.

78. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said optical payment receiver is incorporated in the credit card inquiry machine.

79. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said optical payment transmitter transmits information including the name and card number of a customer together with a signal indicating a start of transactions when a predetermined key button is manipulated by the customer, in the form of an infrared signal.

80. The optical settlement system of claim 79, wherein said optical payment receiver receives the transmitted card information and outputs a response signal with respect to the received card information.

81. The optical settlement system of claim 80, wherein said optical payment transmitter receives the response signal, ascertains whether the card information is normally received and displays a message indicating whether the card information is normally received on the screen.

82. The optical settlement system of claim 79, wherein said optical payment receiver receives the transmitted card information in the form of an infrared ray and converting the infrared card information into a signal which can be recognized in the credit card inquiry machine to then be transmitted to the credit card inquiry machine.

83. The optical settlement system of claim 82, wherein said credit card inquiry machine transmits the received card information to the settlement authority server to receive an approval from the settlement authority server to complete a transaction.

84. The optical settlement system of claim 75, wherein said optical payment transmitter stores a phone number assigned to a corresponding portable terminal matching the card information, and transmits the phone number together with the stored card information in the form of an infrared ray, when a key button is manipulated in order to perform an optical payment settlement.

85. The optical settlement system of claim 84, wherein said optical payment receiver extracts the card information and the phone number from the received infrared signal and transmits the extracted card information and phone number to the credit card inquiry machine.

86. The optical settlement system of claim 85, wherein said credit card inquiry machine keeps the received phone number in custody, transmits the card information to the settlement authority server and prints out purchase details and the stored phone number on a receipt when the transaction details are approved, to thereby represent a transaction subject with the phone number.

87. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said optical payment transmitter transmits index data indicating a storage position of the card information if an optical payment settlement is selected by a user, extracts an encryption key and a memory access command from an encryption key signal transmitted from the optical payment receiver, reads the stored card information according to the memory access command and transmits the card information encrypted with the encryption key.

88. The optical settlement system of claim 87, wherein said optical payment receiver ascertains whether the received index data is valid, produces an encryption key to then be transmitted to the optical payment transmitter together with the memory access command, decodes the received card information with the stored encryption key and restores the decoded result into the original card information according to a predetermined compression table.

89. The optical settlement system of claim 74, wherein said settlement authority server transmits the approved details including a sales generated time, sales amount, affiliated store name, and part of the card number to a wireless data receiver, if the approval requested card is a card of a member who requests for reception of the approval details wirelessly.

90. The optical settlement system of claim 89, wherein said settlement authority server transmits the approved details via at least one of wireless transmission methods among an e-mail, a short message system (SMS), and a WAP.

91. The optical settlement system of claim 90, wherein said settlement authority server ascertains a possessor of the designated wireless data receiver is a card member if the approval request is a first request after the approval details wireless transmission has been applied, and transmits the approval details if the possessor of the wireless data receiver is a card member.

92. A system for settling a toll gate fee comprising:

an entrance controller for receiving card information from an approaching vehicle, transmitting entrance approach information and recording transaction details in which an optical transceiver is attached to an appropriate position of an access road;

an exit controller for receiving the card information and the entrance approach information from the approaching vehicle, calculating a toll gate fee and settling the calculated toll gate fee, and recording transaction details in which an optical transceiver is attached to an appropriate position of an access road;

a business office computer for receiving and recording transaction details from the entrance controller and exit controller, comparing the transaction details recorded in the entrance controller and the exit controller at every predetermined point in time, and clearing the transaction details recorded in the entrance controller and the exit controller if both transaction details coincide with each other to then transmit corresponding transaction details to a collection server;

a portable terminal for optically transmitting the card information to an optical transceiver at an entrance access road, receiving entrance approach information, optically transmitting the card information and the entrance approach information to an optical transceiver at an entrance access road and receiving transaction details, in order to pay for a toll gate fee; and

said collection server for centrally controlling each business office computer connected to each other, collecting the received transaction details, comparing the transaction details recorded in the business office computer, applying for an approval of the collected transaction details in package if both the transaction details coincide with each other, and clearing the transaction details recorded in the business office computer.

93. The optical settlement system of claim 92, wherein said entrance controller comprises:

a vehicle approach detector for detecting an approaching vehicle;

an optical transceiver for checking a signal format of the received card information, transmitting the card information to a vehicle lane controller if the signal format meets a predetermined protocol and optically transmitting the received entrance approach information;

a ticket issuing machine for issuing a ticket containing entrance approach information; and

said vehicle lane controller for ascertaining whether a detected vehicle is an optical payment information transmission vehicle, and transmitting the entrance approach information to one of the optical transceiver and the ticket issuing machine.

94. The optical settlement system of claim 93, wherein said entrance approach information comprises information on a current toll gate, time information, and vehicle type information.

95. The optical settlement system of claim 92, wherein said exit controller comprises:

a vehicle detector for detecting a vehicle approach;

an optical transceiver for checking a signal format of the received card information and the entrance approach information, transmitting the information to a vehicle lane controller if the checked signal format is normal, and recording and transmitting the received toll gate fee levying details; and

said vehicle lane controller for ascertaining whether a detected vehicle is an optical payment information transmission vehicle, calculating a toll gate fee of a corresponding passage interval from the entrance approach information if the vehicle is the optical payment information transmission vehicle, levying the fee in connection with the card information and transmitting the levying details to the optical transceiver.

96. A method for settling a transaction using a portable terminal at a drive-thru ordering store, the optical settlement system comprising the steps of:

(a) ascertaining order items after ordering and transmitting card information stored in the portable terminal;

(b) receiving the card information transmitted in the form of an optical signal and requesting for a transactions approval;

(c) moving the vehicle to a product reception stand in the store during the approval request; and

(d) receiving the ordered product and a card receipt if the transaction has been approved and settling the ordered product in cash and receiving the product in the result of checking.

97. A system for settling a transaction at a drive-thru ordering store, the optical settlement system comprising:

an optical payment unit storing card information, for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

an ordering details display for displaying product order details and amount ordered by a customer, in which an optical receiver for receiving the optical signal card information is attached;

a means connected to the optical receiver, for requesting for an approval of transactions of the received card information; and

a server for transmitting a transaction approval request and an approval result between the transaction approval request means and a card company server.

98. The optical settlement system of claim 97, wherein said optical payment unit is a portable communications terminal such as a portable phone and a PDA or a portable article.

99. The optical settlement system of claim 97, wherein said transaction approval request means is a POS (Point of Sales) or a card inquiry machine.

100. A settlement system at a place where a distance between a customer and a credit card inquiry machine is considerably far, the settlement system comprising:

an optical payment unit for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

a mobile optical relayer for displaying a settlement amount of money, receiving and temporarily storing the transmitted card information, and transmitting the stored card information to an optical relayer base unit only once; and

said optical relayer base unit for receiving the card information from the mobile optical relayer and transmitting the received card information to the credit card inquiry machine or POS.

101. The optical settlement system of claim 100, wherein said mobile optical relayer is fabricated so that a clerk can be easily carried, in which the mobile optical relayer is connected to the optical relayer base unit by a connector or by optical communications.

102. The optical settlement system of claim 101, wherein said mobile optical relayer directly transmits the card information to the credit card inquiry machine or POS via an optical receiver mounted in the credit card inquiry machine or POS.

103. An unmanned automatic vending system comprising:

an optical payment unit for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

an automatic vendor including an optical transceiver, distributively disposed at respectively different places, for receiving card information and recording particulars of products which are sold;

a collection device for collecting the details of sales by an operator of the automatic vendor in which case the operator goes to a place at which the automatic vendor is installed at every period; and

a transmission terminal for transmitting the details of sales collected in the collection device and requesting for an approval of the transaction details in package.

104. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said automatic vendor comprises:

a vendor controller for performing an entire controlling in order to perform sales of products; and

an optical payment receiver for monitoring the vendor controller, recording the sales of products whenever the sales occur, performing infrared communications with the collection device, and transmitting the recorded details of sales if a collection command is received.

105. The optical settlement system of claim 104, wherein said collection device is a PDA.

106. The optical settlement system of claim 105, wherein said PDA comprises:

an Ir transceiver for performing infrared communications;

a memory for recording particular of sales;

a controller for controlling the particular of sales received from the Ir transceiver to be recorded and collected and the collected details of sales to be transmitted in package;

a display for displaying a collection status under the control of the controller; and

a serial port for transmitting the collected details of sales under the control of the controller.

107. The optical settlement system of claim 104, wherein said collection device is a memory pack.

108. The optical settlement system of claim 107, wherein said memory pack is a non-volatile memory (NV-RAM), which is connected to the automatic vendor by a connector.

109. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said transmission terminal is a power lie modem connection device.

110. The optical settlement system of claim 109, wherein said automatic vendor comprises:

a converter for modulating the recorded details of sales; and

a power line mixer for loading and the modulated details of sales on a power line and sending the loaded result.

111. The optical settlement system of claim 110, wherein said power line modem connection device is connected to a power source terminal, for monitoring whether information is loaded in the power line and transmitting the information by wire or wirelessly if the information is recognized.

112. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said transmission terminal comprises:

a keypad for setting a settlement mode;

an Ir interfacer for performing infrared communications with the collection device and receiving the collected details of sales;

a serial interfacer connected to the collection device by ports, for receiving details of sales;

a memory temporarily storing the details of sales;

a transmission/reception portion for transmitting the details of sales wirelessly;

a display displaying the transmission result, for monitoring a communications state; and

a microprocessor for controlling each component and requesting for an approval of the collected details of sales in package at a settlement mode.

113. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said transmission terminal is a portable phone connection device.

114. The optical settlement system of claim 113, wherein said portable phone connection device comprises:

an I/F portion for monitoring the automatic vendor and detecting generation of details of sales;

a memory for receiving and storing the details of sales whenever the details of sales are detected;

a cable connector for connecting a portable phone external connection port by cable;

a UART portion for detecting whether a portable phone is connected and notifying the controller that the portable phone is connected; and

said controller for controlling the details of sales stored in the memory to be transmitted by calling a preset connection number via the portable phone if the portable phone is connected, and the records stored in the memory to be deleted.

115. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said transmission terminal is an Internet connection device.

116. The optical settlement system of claim 115, wherein said Internet connection device comprises:

a memory connector for receiving details of sales collected in the collection device;

an infrared I/F portion for performing infrared communications with the collection device and receiving the collected details of sales;

a serial port for connecting an Internet connection PC; and

a controller for controlling the details of sales to be transmitted via the serial port.

117. The optical settlement system of claim 103, wherein said transmission terminal is a dial-up VAN connection device.

118. The optical settlement system of claim 117, wherein said dial-up VAN connection device comprises a modem for loading the collected details of sales in a phone line and sending the loaded result.

120. The optical settlement system of claim 119, wherein said collection server compares the collected transaction details with the transaction details stored in the kiosk, transmitting the transaction details in package if both the transaction details coincide with each other, and clearing all the transaction details stored in the kiosk.

121. The optical settlement system of claim 120, wherein said collection server is a main computer for integrally managing the kiosk dispersed in several places via a computer network.

124. The optical settlement system of claim 123, wherein said RF terminal comprises:

an optical transceiver for receiving card information in the form of an optical signal from a portable terminal of a customer;

a recorder for recording the fare levying details;

a controller for ascertaining whether the received card information is valid and levying the fare if the card information is valid and recording the levying details in the recorder; and

a display for displaying a levying fare and cumulative amount of money under the control of the controller.

125. The optical settlement system of claim 124, wherein said recorder is a separable pack-type memory.

127. The optical settlement system of claim 126, wherein said portable terminal transmits the card information toward the departure station RF terminal in the form of an optical signal, receives the departure station information from the RF terminal, and transits the departure station information together with the card information toward the arrival station RF terminal in the form of an optical signal.

128. The optical settlement system of claim 127, wherein said RF terminal comprises:

an optical transceiver for receiving the card information and the departure station information together with the card information and transmitting the departure station in the form of an optical signal;

a controller for controlling the departure station information including information on a current subway station and time information to be transmitted from the optical transceiver if the received card information is valid, and calculating a fare from the received departure station information so that the fare is collected;

a display for displaying the levied amount of money and a cumulative amount; and

a recorder for recording levying details including card information, transaction date, a fare, and a cumulative amount of money.

129. The optical settlement system of claim 126, wherein said collection server is a central server for centrally controlling each subway station, for collecting the levying details recorded in the RF terminal installed in each subway station at every pint in time, comparing the collected levying details with the levying details recorded in the RF terminal, requests for an approval of the levying details in package only when both the levying details coincide with each other, and clearing all the recorded contents from the RF terminal.

131. The optical settlement system of claim 130, wherein said portable terminal keeps the accumulated transaction amount of money in a memory which can be controlled by the mobile communications company server, so that a credit transaction using a phone number is performed within a limit determined by the mobile communications company.

132. The optical settlement system of claim 130, wherein said optical receiver ascertains the received authentication key using a predetermined decoding key and approves the transaction details by a self-authentication program if the received phone number is an inherent number input at the time of participation in the optical settlement system.

134. The optical settlement system of claim 133, wherein said portable terminal connects the shopping mall system via wireless Internet communications to thereby perform an electronic commerce.

135. The optical settlement system of claim 133, wherein said payment gateway is an optical payment dedicated gateway.

136. The optical settlement system of claim 135, wherein said optical payment dedicated gateway performs decoding and authenticating procedure with respect to the card information received from the shopping mall system, ascertains whether the optical payment settlement is authenticated, requests for an approval of the optical payment settlement to a settlement authority server if the optical payment settlement has been authenticated and transmitting the result to the shopping mall system.

137. The optical settlement system of claim 134, wherein said portable terminal can be accessed to the card information only by a user who is authenticated as an in-person.

138. The optical settlement system of claim 137, wherein said portable terminal encrypts the card information and transmits the encrypted card information.

139. The optical settlement system of claim 138, wherein said payment gateway decodes the encrypted card information with the optical payment dedicated gateway and performs an authentication procedure for a settlement processing.

140. The optical settlement system of claim 133, wherein said computer is connected to the optical receiver and is an Internet accessible web-POS, and said payment gateway is a POS gateway connected to the web-POS, for receiving the card information and performs a settlement processing.

141. The optical settlement system of claim 138, wherein said in-person authentication is performed by combining the secret number with the in-person bio-identification.

142. The optical settlement system of claim 141, wherein said bio-identification uses at least one of iris, face, footprint and voice.

143. The optical settlement system of claim 142, wherein said portable terminal in which a camera is attached, extracts facial data from a photographed user'"'"'s image and stores the extracted facial data for use in the in-person authentication.

144. The optical settlement system of claim 143, wherein said portable terminal extracts the facial data from the photographed image if the input secret number coincides with a predetermined secret number at a settlement mode, and compares the extracted facial data with a pre-registered facial data and authenticates the user as an in-person with the facial data within an allowable error.

145. The optical settlement system of claim 144, wherein said portable terminal suspends the card information automatically if the facial data does not coincide with the pre-registered facial data more than a predetermined number of times so that declaration of a loss is accomplished.

147. The optical settlement system of claim 146, wherein said optical transmitter is rented according to a method selected by a user of an advance payment method in which cash is deposited in advance, and a credit card method in which an amount of transactions is settled using a credit card, and is returned at the time of leaving.

148. The optical settlement system of claim 147, wherein said counter terminal inputs a deposited amount of money into the inherent number received from the optical transmitter if the payment method is the advance payment method.

149. The optical settlement system of claim 147, wherein said counter terminal where a card reader for registering credit card information of the optical transmitter user, inputs the registered credit card information into the inherent number.

150. The optical settlement system of claim 147, wherein said calculation terminal subtracts a use amount of money from a remaining amount of money to thereby display a current remaining amount if the settlement method is an advance payment method, and adds the current use amount of money to the remaining amount of money if the settlement method is a credit card payment method, to thereby display a total of the use amount of money.

151. The optical settlement system of claim 147, wherein said main computer receives the rental state information from the counter terminal if the optical transmitter is rented, and updates a rental database.

152. The optical settlement system of claim 151, wherein said main computer receives the return state information from the counter terminal if the optical transmitter is returned, and updates a return database.

153. The optical settlement system of claim 152, wherein said main computer registers the corresponding inherent number in a loss database if the optical transmitter is not returned, and updates a return database while refunding a remaining amount of money if the optical transmitter is returned later.

156. The money withdrawal method of claim 155, further comprising the step of (d) exchanging the transmitted electronic money with other portable terminal.

157. The money withdrawal method of claim 156, wherein said step (d) comprises the steps of:

(d1) selecting cash transmission and reception and object in the portable terminals of a payer and a receiver and inputting a secret number;

(d2) inputting an amount of money to be transmitted into the payer portable terminal if the input secret number is normal, and making the receiver portable terminal await to receive information;

(d3) selecting an execution of a money transmission in the payer portable terminal and transmitting and receiving the electronic money to and from the receiver portable terminal; and

(d4) checking if a transmission and reception is completed, and displaying the transmitted and received amount of money and the remaining amount of money if the transmission and reception has been completed.

159. The optical settlement system of claim 158, wherein said portable terminal exchanges money with other portable terminals and pays for a purchase amount of money with an electronic money

160. The optical settlement system of claim 159, wherein said portable terminal transmits an electronic money as much as a corresponding amount of money to a portable terminal which is a transmission object if the transmission object portable terminal and an amount of money to be transmitted are input and an execution of money transmission is selected, and displays the transmitted amount of money and the remaining money.

119. An optical settlement system for use in a kiosk, the optical settlement system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

a kiosk including an optical receiver, for receiving the optical signal, extracting the card information from the received optical signal, issuing a user desired document and storing transaction details;

a collection server for collecting the transaction details stored in the kiosk and requesting for an approval of the collected transaction details in package; and

a card company server for paying for an amount of money with respect to the transaction details transmitted from the collection server to a designated kiosk operator and charging a card user for the paid amount of money.

122. A settlement method for paying for a kiosk fee, the settlement method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying the kinds of services and displaying a fee if the kind of the services is selected;

(b) ascertaining whether an optical payment settlement is performed with respect to the displayed fee and receiving an optical signal if the settlement is the optical payment settlement;

(c) extracting card information from the received optical signal and ascertaining whether the extracted card information is valid;

(d) notifying a user to pay for the fee by means of other settlement unit if the card information is not valid in the result of ascertainment, and receiving necessary personal information if the card information is valid;

(e) issuing a corresponding document based on the input information; and

(e) storing transaction details including the kinds of services, fee, issuance date if the document has been issued.

123. An optical settlement system for automatically levying a bus/taxi fare, the optical settlement system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

a RF terminal including an optical transceiver, for receiving the optical signal, extracting card information from the received optical signal, levying fares and recording levied details; and

a transmission terminal connected to the RF terminal, for transmitting and settling the recorded levied details in package.

126. A subway fare automatic levying system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal and receiving and temporarily storing departure station information;

a RF terminal including an optical transceiver, for receiving the optical signal and transmitting departure station information, levying a subway fare in connection with the card information and recording the levying details; and

a collection server for collecting the collection details recorded in the RF terminal and transmitting the collected levying details to a card company server in package.

130. A package processing settlement system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting a registered phone number during performing transactions together with an authentication key in the form of an optical signal and accumulating the received transaction amount of money to keep the accumulated result in custody;

an optical receiver for receiving the optical signal phone number and the authentication key which are transmitted from the portable terminal, keeping the approved transaction details in custody and transmitting the transaction amount of money to the portable terminal;

a collection center for collecting the transaction details kept in the optical receiver in custody and paying for the settled amount of money to a corresponding affiliated store; and

a mobile communications company server for paying for the collected transaction details to the collection center and adding the settled amount of money in a communications fee bill.

133. An optical settlement system for paying for expenses in an electronic commerce, the optical settlement system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;

an optical receiver for receiving the optically transmitted card information;

a computer connected to the optical receiver, for receiving the card information and performing an electronic commerce after being connected to the Internet; and

a payment gateway connected to a shopping mall system, for receiving the card information and performing a settlement processing.

146. An optical payment settlement system comprising:

an optical transmitter for optically transmitting a corresponding inherent number;

a counter terminal where an optical receiver for receiving an inherent number of the optical transmitter is attached, for registering a lease and return state with respect to the received inherent number;

a calculation terminal where an optical receiver for receiving an inherent number of the optical transmitter is attached, for inputting a use amount of money into the received inherent number; and

a main computer for receiving and registering the lease and return station information of the optical transmitter from the counter terminal, ascertaining the inherent number and the use amount of money input from the calculation terminal, and settling the amount of money.

154. An entrance/exit security system comprising:

a portable terminal storing an inherent ID which is a personal identification information and transmitting the inherent ID in the form of an optical signal;

an entrance/exit controlling optical receiver attached to an entrance/exit gate door, for receiving an inherent ID which is optically transmitted from the portable terminal;

a controller connected to the optical receiver, for adding entrance/exit gate door identification information to the received inherent ID and transmitting the added result to a central controlling device; and

said central controlling device including a controlling DB in which inherent ID with respect to entrance/exit admission persons, for allowing a person to enter and exit the gate door if the inherent ID of the information transmitted from the controller is an ID registered in the controlling DB.

155. A method for withdrawing a predetermined amount of money from a cash withdrawal machine (ATM) using a portable terminal, the cash withdrawal method comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting a secret number into the portable terminal and selecting a withdrawal state;

(b) transmitting card information stored in the portable terminal to the ATM as an optical signal if the withdrawal state has been selected; and

(c) paying for an amount of money to be desired to withdraw in cash in connection with the card information received from the ATM if the cash withdrawal has been selected, and transmitting a monetary value as much as the amount of money input to the portable terminal from the ATM, if an electronic money has been selected.

158. An optical settlement system for use in an electronic money system comprising:

a portable terminal for transmitting card information and a withdrawal amount of money in the form of an optical signal and receiving an amount of money transmitted from an ATM; and

said ATM where an optical transceiver is attached, for receiving the card information and the withdrawal amount of money, and paying for an amount of money in cash in connection with the received card information if a user selects a cash withdrawal, and transmitting an amount of money toward the portable terminal to transfer money if the user selects an electronic money.