System and method for processing multiple electronic transaction requests

• US 5,878,215 A
• Filed: 05/23/1994
• Issued: 03/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: Meliones, Cheryl A., Kling, Constance W., Levy, Jay S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Voeltz, Emanuel Todd
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hughet, William N.
• Application Number:
  US08/247,343
• Time in Patent Office: 1,744 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 364/406, 364/408, 370/60, 370/61, 395/200, 395/200.37, 395/200.7, 705/8, 705/42, 705/43
• US Class Current: 709/207
• 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 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]

Abstract

The present invention provides for a system and method for processing multiple electronic messages in one transmission, or data group, and responding individually to the service requests based on urgency indicators present in the data group. The disclosure describes a system that contains a switch and includes remote access devices, financial institution computers, and service provider computers all connected to the switch. Customers at remote access devices select desired services and the remote access devices construct a data group containing service requests consistent with the protocol described in the invention. The data group includes urgency indicators associated with each service requested. The urgency indicators can represent three different modes: transaction interactive, batch-interactive, or non-interactive. Depending upon the indicator, the switch will respond to the remote access devices either immediately, in a single response after the entire service request is received, or not at all, respectively. The switch will then communicate with the appropriate financial institution computer, service provider computer or remote access device to complete the transaction.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing incoming and outgoing data groups of information comprising:

means for receiving said incoming data groups, at least one incoming data groups comprising a plurality of service requests, each service request within said data group including a respective discrete urgency indicator indicative of a priority of response to the service request; and

means responsive to the service requests for transmitting outgoing data groups in a manner indicated by said urgency indicator of each said service request.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for transmitting includes generating one or more of said outgoing data groups.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said outgoing data groups are transmitted to a remote access device, wherein said remote access device generates and transmits said incoming data groups to said apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said outgoing data groups are transmitted to a host computer, wherein said host computer generates and transmits said incoming data groups to said apparatus.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said service requests include financial service requests.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising means for reading the financial service requests and analyzing said discrete urgency indicators of each said service request.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said manner indicated by said discrete urgency indicator includes no transmissions by said transmitting means in response to said service request.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said urgency indicators comprise transaction interactive, batch interactive, and non-interactive modes.

9. A system for processing data groups comprising:

an access device for generating first data groups, at least one of said first data groups comprising a plurality of service requests and a discrete urgency indicator indicative of a priority of response associated with each said service request; and

a switch comprising means for receiving said first data group from said access device, analyzing said first data group, constructing second data groups based upon the contents of said first data group and transmitting said second data groups in a manner indicated by said associated discrete urgency indicators.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said service requests include financial service requests.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said urgency indicators comprise transaction interactive, batch interactive, and non-interactive modes.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising a host computer for receiving said second data groups, wherein said host computer receives said second data groups from said switch, analyzes said second data groups and performs operations based upon the contents of said second data groups.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said host computer comprises a financial institution computer.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said host computer comprises a service provider computer.

15. A method of constructing a data group of information for a plurality service requests comprising the steps of:

placing data indicating a transmission header at the front of said data group;

placing in order a plurality of messages for each said service requested comprising a batch header, at least one message defining an instruction, and a batch trailer at the next location in the data group, wherein each said batch header includes an associated discrete urgency indicator to indicate a priority of response for said service requested;

placing data indicating a transmission trailer at the end of said data group;

wherein said urgency indicator comprises transaction interactive, batch interactive and non-interactive modes.

16. A method for processing incoming and outgoing data groups of information comprising:

receiving said incoming data groups, at least one incoming data groups comprising a plurality of service requests, each service request including a respective discrete urgency indicator indicative of a priority of response to the financial service request; and

responding to the service requests by transmitting outgoing data groups in a manner indicated by said urgency indicator of each said service request.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said responding step includes generating one or more of said outgoing data groups.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said urgency indicator comprises transaction interactive, batch interactive, and non-interactive modes.

19. The method of claim 16, where said service requests comprise financial service requests.