System for safe collection of payment including electronic payment receipt generators having electronic purses

• US 6,609,114 B1
• Filed: 10/22/1997
• Issued: 08/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SanDisk IL Ltd. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Milstein, David, Granot, Ran, Hadad, Isaac, Sander, Avi, Gressel, Carmi David
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US08/956,060
• Time in Patent Office: 2,127 Days
• Field of Search: 705/41, 705/39, 705/44, 705/13, 705/40, 705/80, 705/34, 705/64-66, 705/76, 705/50, 705/18, 235/384, 340/825.35
• US Class Current: 705/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence

Abstract

A system for safe collection of payment by a vehicle operator from riders, the system including a multiplicity of electronic payment receipt generators, each operable by a vehicle operator, wherein each individual one of the payment receipt generators includes an electronic purse storing an amount of electronic cash, each electronic purse including an electronic cash loader operative to use some of the electronic cash to generate a payment receipt to be given by the vehicle operator to a rider, and an electronic purse control unit operative to prevent said electronic cash loader from exceeding said amount of electronic cash, thereby limiting the vehicle operator'"'"'s entitlement to collect payments from riders, and an electronic cashier purse operative to increment the electronic purse of each electronic payment receipt generator by the amount of payment collected by the vehicle operator to whom the electronic payment receipt generator is assigned.

Claims

1. A system for safe collection of payment by a vehicle operator from riders, the system comprising:

a multiplicity of electronic payment receipt generators, each operable by a vehicle operator, wherein each individual one of the payment receipt generators includes an electronic purse storing an amount of electronic cash, each electronic purse including;

an electronic cash loader operative to generate a payment receipt to be given by the vehicle operator to a rider; and

an electronic purse control unit operative to prevent said electronic cash loader from exceeding said amount of electronic cash, thereby limiting the vehicle operator'"'"'s entitlement to collect payments from riders; and

an electronic cashier purse operative to increment the electronic purse of each electronic payment receipt generator by the amount of payment collected by the vehicle operator to whom the electronic payment receipt generator is assigned.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein each of said purses includes a SAM (security application module).

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein each purse control unit is public-key protected.

4. A system according to claim 1 and wherein said multiplicity of payment receipt generators communicate with said electronic cashier purse in an encrypted manner.

5. A system according to claim 4 and wherein said multiplicity of payment receipt generators communicate with said electronic cashier purse by employing public key cryptographic signatures.

7. A method according to claim 1 and wherein said multiplicity of payment receipt generators communicate in an encrypted manner.

8. A method according to claim 1 and wherein said multiplicity of payment receipt generators communicate by employing public key cryptographic signatures.

6. A method for safe collection of payment by a vehicle operator from riders, the method comprising:

providing a multiplicity of electronic payment receipt generators, each operable by a vehicle operator, wherein each individual one of the payment receipt generators includes an electronic purse storing an amount of electronic cash;

generating a payment receipt given by the vehicle operator to a rider;

preventing the total amount of payment receipts from exceeding said amount of electronic cash, thereby limiting the vehicle operator'"'"'s entitlement to collect payments from riders; and

incrementing the electronic purse of each electronic payment receipt generator by the amount of payment collected by the vehicle operator to whom the electronic payment receipt generator is assigned.