Automatic portable account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt to a vendor

• US 5,591,949 A
• Filed: 01/06/1995
• Issued: 01/07/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Robert J. Bernstein
• Inventors: Bernstein, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL GUNYOUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/369,749
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/381, 902/1, 902/2
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices

Abstract

An automatic account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt to a vendor. The controller includes a detector for activating the portable account controller upon detection of indicia of identity of an authorized user and a selector for selecting a mode of payment to the vendor. The controller further includes a keypad for entering a payment amount, a wireless transceiver for communicating with the vendor, and a processor for executing the selected mode of payment to the vendor through the apparatus for communicating.

Claims

1. An automatic portable account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt to a vendor comprising in combination:

means for activating the automatic portable account controller upon detection of indicia of identity of an authorized user;

means for selecting direct value transfer as a mode of payment to the vendor via off-line mode;

means for selecting credit purchase as a mode of payment to the vendor via off on-line mode;

means for selecting bank account transfer as a mode of payment to the vendor via on-line mode;

means for entering a payment amount;

means for communicating with the vendor; and

means for executing the selected mode of payment to the vendor through the means for communicating.

2. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating with the vendor further comprises a radio frequency transceiver.

3. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating with the vendor further comprises an infrared transceiver.

4. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt of claim 1 wherein the means for communicating with the vendor further comprises a telephone jack.

5. The account controller as in claim 1 wherein the means for executing the mode of payment to the vendor of the direct value transfer further comprises a controller for transferring value from a cash memory of the portable account controller to a memory of the vendor.

6. The account controller of claim 1 wherein the means for executing a mode of payment to the vendor of the cash transfer from a bank account of the authorized user to a bank account of the vendor further comprises a controller for transferring at least an account number of the authorized user to the bank of the authorized user.

7. The account controller as in claim 6 wherein the controller further comprising means for encrypting the account number of the authorized user.

8. The account controller of claim 6 wherein the controller further comprising means for communicating a personal identification number to the bank of the authorized user.

9. The account controller as in claim 8 wherein the controller further comprising means for encrypting the personal identification number of the authorized user.

10. The account controller of claim 1 wherein the means for executing the mode of payment of credit purchase from the vendor further comprising a controller for communicating an account number of the authorized user to a credit source.

11. The account controller as in claim 10 wherein the controller further comprising means for encrypting the account number of the authorized user.

12. The account controller of claim 10 wherein the means for executing the mode of payment of credit purchase from the vendor further comprising a controller for communicating a personal identification number of the authorized user to the credit source.

13. The account controller as in claim 12 wherein the controller further comprising means for encrypting the personal identification number of the authorized user.

14. The account controller as in claim 10 wherein the controller further comprises a means for requesting a credit authorization number from the credit source for transmission to the vendor.

15. The account controller as in claim 1 further comprising means for encrypting temporal indicia of the transaction.

16. The automatic portable account controller of claim 1 further comprising a vendor'"'"'s cashbox operably interconnected with the account controller at a point of purchase for receiving a direct value transfer.

17. The vendor'"'"'s cashbox as in claim 16 further comprising means for decoding the temporal indicia of the transaction and declining the transaction where the temporal indicia do not match a time of the transaction.

18. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt as in claim 1 wherein the vendor further comprises a cash dispensing station and the means of executing the mode of payment further comprises a controller for transferring cash from a bank account of the authorized user to a bank account of a controlling bank of the cash station.

19. The account controller of claim 18 further comprising a controller for communicating at least an account number of an authorized user to a bank of the authorized user.

20. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt as in claim 19 further comprising means for encrypting the account number of the authorized user.

21. The account controller for remotely arranging for payment of debt as in claim 20 further comprising means for encrypting the personal identification number of the authorized user.

22. The account controller of claim 18 further comprising means for communicating a personal identification number of the authorized user to the bank of the authorized user.