Electronic money holding device and electronic money automatic payment method

• US 6,728,686 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2002
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kawashima, Kazuhiro, Kasai, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M
• Application Number:
  US10/293,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20030074314A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 705/13, 705/39-42, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• 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 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4093 Monitoring of device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An electronic money holding device has a first storage unit for storing a uniquely assigned identification number and an amount of held electronic money, a processor for controlling the reference to and the updating of the amount of held electronic money and the transfer of electronic money between the electronic money holding device and another electronic money holding device, and a second storage unit for storing information of service providers concluding sales contracts with a possessor of the electronic money holding device and payment information of each sales contract.

Claims

1. In a system including a device attachable with an IC card storing electronic money, and including electronic money transaction management apparatuses for an electronic money supplier and an electronic money payee, the device being connected to the electronic money transaction management apparatuses via a network, a method of automatically paying electronic money from the device to the electronic money transaction managing apparatus of the payee via the network, comprising:

reading payment data of an electronic money transaction from the IC card;

obtaining a payment amount from the payment data having a payment due date indicating that payment should presently be made;

obtaining a balance of the electronic money in the IC card;

comparing the payment amount with the balance;

if the payment amount is larger than the balance, receiving additional electronic money, which amount corresponds to a difference between the payment amount and the balance, from the electronic money transaction management apparatus of the electronic money supplier; and

sending the electronic money corresponding to the payment amount to the electronic money transaction management apparatus of the payee.

2. An electronic money payment method according to claim 1, wherein the IC card includes the payment data including the payment amount, the payment due date, and an identifier for uniquely identifying the payee for each contract between the payee and a possessor of the IC card, and includes information for accessing and uniquely identifying the electronic money transaction management apparatuses of the electronic money supplier and the payee.

3. An electronic money payment method according to claim 2, wherein, if there are plural payment data entries having the same payee and the same payee due date in the IC card, the payment amounts of the plural payment data entries are added and the electronic money-sending step is performed once.

4. An electronic money payment method according to claim 2, wherein each payment data has a flag indicating whether the automatic payment is acceptable or not, and the steps for automatic payment are performed for payment data having a flag indicating that the automatic payment is acceptable.

5. An electronic money payment method according to claim 1, comprising:

before receiving electronic money from the electronic money transaction management apparatus of the electronic money supplier, performing an authentication process such that the IC card is authenticated by the electronic money supplier.

6. An electronic money payment system including:

an IC card for storing electronic money card including payment data including a payment amount, a payment due date, and an identifier for uniquely identifying a payee for each contract between the payee and a possessor of the IC card, and including information for accessing and uniquely identifying an electronic money transaction management apparatuses of an electronic money supplier and the payee; and

a device attachable with the IC card and connectable to the electronic money transaction management apparatuses of the electronic money supplier and the payee via a network, including;

means for reading payment data from the IC card, including a payment amount of payment data having a payment due date indicating that payment should presently be made, and a balance of the electronic money from the IC card, and comparing the payment amount with the balance;

means for receiving, if the payment amount is larger than the balance, additional electronic money, which amount corresponds to a difference between the payment amount and the balance, from the electronic money transaction management apparatus of the electronic money supplier; and

means for sending the electronic money corresponding to the payment amount to the electronic money transaction management apparatus of the payee.