System for printing personalized charge-card service receipts at remote locations

• US 5,173,594 A
• Filed: 09/27/1991
• Issued: 12/22/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GTE Mobilnet Service Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GTE Cellular Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: McClure, Dana W.
• Primary Examiner(s): WEINHARDT, ROBERT A
• Application Number:
  US07/767,542
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/381, 235/432, 902/36, 364/400, 364/406, 364/408, 364/401, 340/825.33, 340/825.35, 379/56, 379/58, 379/59, 379/91, 379/100, 379/114, 379/116, 379/119, 379/144
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/04 Recording calls , or communications in printed, perforated or other permanent form
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/02 Coin-freed or check-freed systems , e.g. mobile- or card-operated phones, public telephones or booths

Abstract

A receipt generator which produces written receipts at locations remote to the location of use for a conventional charge-card activated system is disclosed. The charge-card activated system provides a telecommunications service and maintains billing records which are supplied at predetermined intervals, such as daily, to a receipt transmission computer. The receipt transmission computer communicates with a personal profile database that associates charge-card numbers with phone numbers assigned to the remote locations. Printing devices, such as facsimile machines, couple to phone lines at these remote locations. The receipt transmission computer identifies, through an examination of charge-card identifiers, particular ones of the billing records for which personal profile database entries exist. The receipt transmission computer then formats a text file for such records. For each of such records, this text file includes transaction parameters describing use of the service within the previous predetermined interval. Attempts are then made to send the text file to the phone number recorded in the personal profile database. When a successful attempt occurs, the written receipt is printed at the printing device in the remote location.

Claims

1. A method for initiating the generation of a customer receipt at a selected location in response to customer use of a charge card activated system comprising the steps of

storing in a computer a personal profile data base file for each customer including charge card data fields and target address data fields which include selected locations for generating customer receipts,

storing in said computer a billing file for each customer including charge card data fields and transaction data fields in response to use of the charge card activated system, for each charge card data field in each of the billing file and the personal profile data base file there existing a corresponding transaction data field in the transaction data fields and a corresponding target address data field in the target address data fields that is used when a respective charge card data field in a billing file and a respective charge card data field in a personal profile data base file are matched,

comparing in the computer the billing file for a using customer with the personal profile data base files to identify matching charge card data fields for the using customer in the personal profile data base files and the billing files,

upon identification of such matching charge card data fields, generating and sending from the computer a first signal to a location indicated by said corresponding target address data field for a selected location for initiation of generation of the using customer'"'"'s receipt, and

generating and sending from the computer a second signal, representative of said corresponding transaction data field, to initiate generation of the receipt for the using customer at the selected location.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of verifying in the computer the receipt of the first signal at the selected location, and

initiating in the computer a retry operation for retransmission of the first signal in the event verification does not occur.

3. The method of claim 2 further including means for initiating a third signal in the computer for initiating the generation of a receipt at another location in the event that verification is not successful after a predetermined number of the retry operations.

4. The method for generating receipts at respective electronic signal receiving receipt generating equipment at respective customer locations in response to customer usage of a charge card activated system comprising the steps of

storing a personal profile database which includes identifying information comprising charge-card identifiers, and target address data fields of each customer;

storing billing file information covering a preceding predetermined period of time, said billing file information comprising charge-card identifiers, and call records, for each customer who has used said charge card activated system during said preceding predetermined period of time;

processing said personal profile database and said billing file information to match the personal profile database charge card identifier of a respective using customer with the billing file information charge card identifier of said respective using customer;

generating, in response to said processing, groups of sequential electronic signals, each respective group being representative of matched charge card identifiers of a respective using customer who has used said charge card activated system during said preceding period of time and call records of said using customer;

transmitting each respective group of sequential electronic signals to respective electronic receiving receipt generating equipment located at each respective using customer'"'"'s location indicated by a target address data field of said target address data fields to initiate generation of said receipt; and

generating a receipt in response to receipt of said sequential electronic signals at said respective electronic receiving receipt generating equipment.

5. The method of claim 4 which further comprises the step of re-transmitting any respective group of sequential electronic signals which has not been successfully transmitted to initiate receipt generation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of retransmitting is repeated for any respective group of sequential electronic signals which has not been successfully transmitted until successfully transmitted.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein said respective electronic signal receiving receipt generating equipment comprises a facsimile machine.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein said respective electronic signal receiving receipt generating equipment comprises a printing device.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of retransmitting is repeated a predetermined number of attempts.