Electronic money system

• US 6,032,857 A
• Filed: 02/27/1997
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Matsubara, Takashi, Ohsawa, Takao, Miyamoto, Yo, Furuta, Jun, Takano, Masaki, Kitagawa, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US08/807,630
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• 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 20/4093 Monitoring of device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

An electronic money system has an IC card for electronic money having a memory for maintaining money deposit and money debit information and another memory, such as an EPROM, for storing transaction data, including detailed information of transactions, such as the content of a typical receipt received from a retail store. The transaction information can be used at a later time in a personal computer so that an electronic record of household expenses can be maintained The transaction data that is stored includes the product name, price of the product, quantity of the product purchased and similar details of the transaction. The IC card memory can record the name and telephone number of a retail store where the card has been used or a network address can be recorded in the memory for use by a customer to access electronic direct-mail information by using a PC. Also, a store can determine whether a particular purchase is within a range of average purchases in terms of the number of products being purchased in a transaction and the total cost of the transaction, based on the stored transaction information.

Claims

1. An electronic money system using IC cards for transferring electronic money by communication of a signal between said IC cards, comprising:

said IC cards having a processor and first memory for storing operations to be performed by said processor in transferring electronic money, wherein said first memory stores money data values to maintain a record of money transfers between said IC cards, said money transfers between said IC cards including a deposit transfer in which money is received from one said IC card and stored in said first memory of another said IC card and a payment transaction in which electronic money stored in said first memory of said another IC card is transferred to any other one of said IC cards; and

said IC cards having a second memory for storing information details associated with each said payment transaction.

2. An electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein second memory stores said information details that further include at least one of a price, date and time for each said payment transaction.

3. An electronic money system according to claim 2, wherein said second memory stores said information details that further include at least one of details relating to identifying a commodity that is part of said payment transaction, a quantity of the identified commodity and supplier identification information for the identified commodity.

4. An electronic money system according to claim 1, further including said first memory storing transaction data related to each transfer of electronic money and said second memory storing said information details, said processor using said transaction data in said first memory as an index.

6. An electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein second memory means for storing said information details further stores at least one of a price, date and time for each said payment transaction.

7. An electronic money system according to claim 2, wherein second memory means for storing said information details further stores at least one of details relating to identifying a commodity that is part of said payment transaction, a quantity of the identified commodity and supplier identification information for the identified commodity.

8. An electronic money system according to claim 1, further including said first memory means storing transaction data related to each transfer of electronic money and said second memory means storing said information details, said processor using said transaction data in said first memory means as an index.

5. An electronic money system using IC cards for transferring electronic money by communication of a signal between said IC cards, comprising:

said IC cards having processor means and first memory means for storing operations to be performed by said processor in transferring electronic money, wherein said first memory stores money data values that record money transfers between said IC cards, said money transfers between said IC cards including deposit transfers in which money is received from one said IC card and stored in said first memory means of another said IC card and payment transactions in which electronic money stored in said first memory of said another IC card is transferred to any other one of said IC cards; and

said IC cards having second memory means for storing information details associated with each of said payment transactions.

9. A method for recording expenses in an electronic money system using IC cards having a processor for transferring electronic money by communication of a signal between said IC cards, comprising:

recording in a first memory of said IC cards money data values to maintain a record of money transfers between said IC cards, said money transfers between said IC cards including a deposit transfer in which money is received from one said IC card and stored in said first memory of another said IC card and a payment transaction in which electronic money stored in said first memory of said another IC card is transferred to any other one of said IC cards; and

further, using said record of money transfers as an index, storing in a second memory information details associated with each said payment transaction that includes at least one of a price, date and time for each said payment transaction; and

reading from said second memory and processing said information details with a personal computer with a program for managing expenses.