Expenditure tracking check
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A printed bank check comprising:
- a substrate;
a plurality of printed lines, spaces and/or boxes disposed on at least one side of said substrate defining the front of said bank check, said plurality of lines, spaces or boxes being adapted to record customary check-transaction information; and
an array of graphic icons disposed on said substrate in a regular pattern, each of said graphic icons comprising a pictorial representation corresponding to a predetermined expenditure category, said graphic icons being adapted to be scanned electronically and receive a mark thereon such that one or more selected expenditure categories may be permanently recorded on said bank check substantially contemporaneously with a particular check transaction.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved system and method is provided for automatically tracking check transactions and generating an expenditure statement thereof using printed bank checks having a plurality of graphic icons disposed thereon. The customer marks the icon which describes the particular expense for which the check payment is being made. The payor bank or a check processing center scans each check to determine which icon(s) have been marked for each particular check transaction. Recorded expenditures are then automatically recorded in a cumulative transaction record. Periodically, this information is organized into a detailed expenditure statement that can be provided to the bank customer.
206 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A printed bank check comprising:
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a substrate; a plurality of printed lines, spaces and/or boxes disposed on at least one side of said substrate defining the front of said bank check, said plurality of lines, spaces or boxes being adapted to record customary check-transaction information; and an array of graphic icons disposed on said substrate in a regular pattern, each of said graphic icons comprising a pictorial representation corresponding to a predetermined expenditure category, said graphic icons being adapted to be scanned electronically and receive a mark thereon such that one or more selected expenditure categories may be permanently recorded on said bank check substantially contemporaneously with a particular check transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A bank check comprising:
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a substrate comprising a rectangular slip of paper; a plurality of lines, spaces and/or boxes disposed on at least one side of said substrate defining the front of said bank check, said plurality of lines, spaces or boxes being sized and positioned to record customary check-transaction information; and an array of graphic icons disposed on said substrate in a predetermined pattern, each of said graphic icons comprising a pictorial representation corresponding to a predetermined expenditure category, said graphic icons having a predetermined PCS such that each icon is adapted to receive a user-made mark directly thereon having a different PCS and which is machine readable to indicated one or more selected expenditure categories, whereby said one or more selected expenditure categories may be permanently recorded on said bank check substantially contemporaneously with a particular check transaction. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A negotiable instrument for transacting financial transactions wherein the improvement comprises:
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an array of markable icons, symbols or text images thereon representative of expenditure categories, said icons, symbols or text images having a PCS less than a first predetermined threshold measured over a spectral range having a peak spectral response of about 555 nanometers and a one-half peak spectral response of about 510 to 610 nanometers; said icons, symbols or text images being sized and arranged on said check so as to receive a user-made mark directly thereon over each said icon, symbol or text image to indicate an appropriate expenditure category describing said financial transaction, said mark having a PCS greater than a second predetermined threshold which is greater than said first predetermined threshold measured over a spectral range having a peak spectral response of about 555 nanometers and a one-half peak spectral response of about 510 to 610 nanometers; whereby the presence of said mark can be detected using a scanner and applying threshold imaging. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A negotiable instrument for transacting financial transactions comprising:
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a paper substrate; a plurality of lines, spaces and/or boxes disposed on at least one side of said substrate defining the front of said bank check, said plurality of lines, spaces or boxes being sized and positioned to record customary check-transaction information; and an array of markable icons, symbols or text images thereon representative of expenditure categories, said icons, symbols or text images having a PCS less than a first predetermined threshold measured over a spectral range having a peak spectral response of about 555 nanometers and a one-half peak spectral response of about 510 to 610 nanometers, said icons, symbols or text images being sized and arranged on said check so as to receive a user-made mark directly thereon over each said icon, symbol or text image to indicate an appropriate expenditure category describing said financial transaction, said mark having a PCS greater than a second predetermined threshold greater than said first predetermined threshold, whereby the presence of said mark can be detected using a scanner and applying threshold imaging. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification