Electronic money system of token and value mixed type

• US 6,155,484 A
• Filed: 11/10/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sasaki, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JAMARA ALZAIDA
• Application Number:
  US09/188,365
• Time in Patent Office: 756 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 902/25, 705/26, 705/39, 705/41, 380/24
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks

Abstract

An electronic money system of a token and value mixed type includes an electronic money card of a type in which a token type for preferentially paying the coin money and paying the bill money when a coin money balance is insufficient for payment, and for recording issuance numbers of bills paid/received in a transaction history in a memory area of the electronic money card. An automatic transaction machine (ATM) reads, from an electronic money card, issuance numbers of bills for deposit and an issuance number of an invalid bill, and transmits the numbers to a computer of a bank.

Claims

1. An electronic money system of a token and value mixed type, comprising:

an electronic money card of a type in which a token type and a value type are mixed, said card including storage means for storing therein issuance numbers of electronic money having a fixed faced value and a balance of coin money in terms of a value amounts and means for preferentially paying the coin money if the coin money balance is sufficient for a transaction amount and paying bill money when the coin money balance is insufficient for payment, issuance numbers of bills paid/received being recorded in a transaction history in a memory area of said electronic money card;

an automatic transaction machine (ATM) for reading from an electronic money card an issuance number of an invalid bill and issuance numbers of bill money in a depositing operations and transmitting the numbers to a computer of a bank, the issuance number of the invalid bill being an issuance number of bill money which was changed into coins and hence became invalid; and

a computer of a bank for accumulating therein information transmitted from said ATM.

2. An electronic money system of a token and value type in accordance with claim 1, further including an electronic money transporter for reading from an electronic money card of a payer at least one of issuance numbers of bills and a value amount of the coin money and, outputting at least one of the numbers and the value amount to an electronic money card of a recipient.

3. An electronic money card of a token and value mixed type, comprising:

storage means for storing therein issuance numbers of electronic money having a fixed face value and a balance of coin money in terms of a value amount; and

processing means for preferentially paying, when the card is used as an electronic money card of a payer, the coin money if the coin money balance is sufficient for a transaction amount and paying bill money when the coin money balance is insufficient for payment,

said processing means changing, for a transaction balance to which neither the coin money balance nor the bill money is applied, the bill money to a value amount of coin money to achieve the payment.

4. An electronic money card of a token and value mixed type in accordance with claim 3, wherein said processing means includes

means for conducting, when the coin money balance is equal to or more than the transaction amount, the paying operation by subtracting the transaction amount from the coin money balance;

means for conducting, when the coin money balance is less than the transaction amount and is equal to or more than a face value of the bill, the paying operation by deleting issuance numbers of bills whose value amounts to a maximum within the transaction amount and setting a remaining amount as a transaction balance;

means for conducting, when the coin money balance is equal to or more than the transaction amount, the paying operation of the transaction balance by subtracting the transaction balance from the coin money balance; and

means for conducting, when the coin money balance is less than the transaction amount or the transaction balance, the paying operation of the transaction amount of the transaction balance by changing bill money into a value amount of coin money and deleting an issuance number of the bill money.

5. An electronic money card of a token and value mixed type in accordance with claim 4, said processing means further including means for registering, as an invalid bill, the issuance number of the bill money changed into the coin money to said storage means.

6. An electronic money card of a token and value mixed type in accordance with claim 3, said processing means further including means for storing, when the card is utilized as an electronic money card of a recipient, the issuance numbers of received bill money in said storage means and adding the coin money received to the coin money balance.

7. An electronic money transporter handling an electronic money card in which a token type and a value type are mixed, comprising:

means for reading at least one of issuance numbers of bill money and a value amount of coin money from an electronic money card of a payer, said money card including storage means for storing therein issuance numbers of electronic money having a fixed face value and a balance of coin money in terms of a value amount, and processing means for preferentially paying the coin money if the coin money is sufficient for a transaction amount and paying bill money when the coin money balance is insufficient for payment, said processing means changing, for a transaction balance to which neither the coin money balance nor the bill money is applied, the bill money to a value amount of the coin money to achieve the payment; and

means for outputting at least one of the issuance numbers of the bill money read and the value amount read to an electronic money card of a recipient.

8. An automatic transaction machine (ATM) handling an electronic money card in which a token type and a value type are mixed, comprising:

means for receiving from an electronic money card a card ID thereof, issuance numbers of deposited bill money, and an issuance number of an invalid bill, the issuance number of the invalid bill being an issuance number of a bill which was changed into coin money and hence became invalid, the electronic card including storage means for storing therein issuance numbers of electronic money having a fixed face value, a balance of coin money in terms of a value amount, and an issuance number of a bill converted into a value amount of coin money, and means for notifying issuance numbers of bill money indicated for a deposit operation and the issuance number of the invalid bill from the storage means; and

means for transmitting said card ID received, the issuance numbers of the bill money deposited, and the issuance number of the invalid bill to a computer of a financial facility.

9. An automatic transaction machine (ATM) handling an electronic money card in which a token type and a value type are mixed, comprising:

means for receiving from an electronic money card a card ID thereof, issuance numbers of deposited bill money, and an issuance number of an invalid bill, the issuance number of the invalid bill being an issuance number of a bill which was changed into coin money and hence became invalid, the electronic card including storage means for storing therein issuance numbers of electronic money having a fixed face value, a balance of coin money in terms of a value amount, and an issuance number of a bill converted into a value amount of coin money, and means for notifying issuance numbers of bill money indicated for a deposit operation and the issuance number of the invalid bill to the ATM and deleting the issuance number of the bill money indicated for a deposit and the issuance number of the invalid bill from the storage means; and

means for storing therein said card ID, the issuance numbers of the bill money deposited, and the issuance number of the invalid bill with a correspondence established therebetween.