Electronic money system and electronic money terminal

• US 7,426,493 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2001
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kubono, Fumio, Nakayama, Hiroshi, Abe, Hiroshi, Omori, Kazuo, Tsuyama, Fumio, Takeshima, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle; Charles R.
• Application Number:
  US09/778,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20010029488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,777 Days
• Field of Search: 705/41
• US Class Current: 705/41
• 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 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• 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 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/084 Additional components relating to data transfer and storing, e.g. error detection, self-diagnosis
• 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: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/10 Account details or usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/106 using commercial credit or debit cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

An electronic money system terminates communication to a management center indistinguishably from a case in which the communication to the management center is completed within a predetermined period when it is impossible to complete the communication to the management center within the predetermined period. By switching an operation mode, a predetermined portable terminal is used instead of a communication line to upload and download data. When it is impossible to obtain data required for processing through the communication line, processing is performed based on data possessed up until that time.

Claims

1. An electronic money system comprising:

an electronic money terminal for updating the amount of electronic money in a portable electronic device that stores a value of the electronic money, said electronic money terminal comprising recording means for recording the updating of the electronic money; and

a management section to which an update record for the updating of the amount of the electronic money is communicated through a communication line;

wherein said electronic money terminal further comprises;

communicating means for batch communicating a plurality of update records recorded in said recording means to said management section; and

terminating means for terminating the communication to said management section indistinguishably from a case in which the communication to said management section is completed within a predetermined period when the communication is not completed within the predetermined period; and

a portable terminal, which communicates with the electronic money terminal and the management section to complete the communication of the plurality of update records to said management section when the communication is not completed within the predetermined periods wherein the portable terminal facilitates communication between the electronic money terminal and the management section by mutual authentication and stores the plurality of records in encrypted form.

2. An electronic money transaction processing method comprising:

a recording step of recording the updating of the amount of electronic money in a recording unit of an electronic money terminal;

a communicating step of batch communicating a plurality of update records recorded in said recording unit to a management section through a communication line; and

a terminating step of terminating the communication to said management section indistinguishably from a case in which the communication is completed within a predetermined period when the communication to said management section is not completed within the predetermined period.

completing the communication of the plurality of update records to the management section through a portable terminal when communication to said management section through the communication line is not completed within the predetermined period. wherein the portable terminal facilitates communication between the electronic money terminal and the management section by mutual authentication and stores the plurality of records in encrvnted form.

3. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 2, wherein:

in said communicating step, a predetermined screen display is provided; and

in said terminating step, when the communication to said management section is not completed within the predetermined period, the same screen display is provided as that provided in a case in which the communication is completed within the predetermined period.

4. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

a determining step of comparing a payment amount with the amount of credited electronic money and determining whether the amount of the credited electronic money is sufficient to pay the payment amount; and

a menu providing step of providing, when it is determined in said determining step that the payment amount exceeds the credited amount, a menu allowing execution and cancellation of the payment transaction using the electronic money.

8. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

a first instructing step of instructing a portable electronic device that stores a value of electronic money to update the amount of the electronic money; and

a communicating step of communicating, in response to communication from said portable electronic device that the updating is completed, the updating of the electronic money to a management section for managing the updating of the electronic money.

9. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 8, further comprising a second instructing step of again instructing, subsequent to said first instructing step, the updating of the electronic money when the completion of the updating is not communicated from said portable electronic device.

10. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

an updating step of updating the amount of electronic money stored in a portable electronic device that stores a value of the electronic money;

a communicating step of communicating the updating of the electronic money to a management section; and

a canceling step of canceling, by a predetermined operation, the updating of the amount of the electronic money and the communication of the updating of the electronic money to said management section.

11. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 10, wherein:

the canceling of the processing by the predetermined operation is accepted until said portable electronic device is instructed to update the amount of the electronic money;

the canceling of the processing by the predetermined operation is not accepted within the period from the time at which said portable electronic device is instructed to update the amount of the electronic money to the time at which the completion of the updating is communicated from said portable electronic device; and

when the completion of the updating is communicated, the updating of the electronic money can be communicated to said management section.

12. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 10, wherein, subsequent to the cancellation of making a payment using the electronic money, the payment can be made by cash.

13. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

an updating step of subtracting part of a payment amount from a portable electronic device that stores a value of electronic money and updating the amount of the electronic money stored in said portable electronic device; and

a communicating step of communicating an amount partially paid to an external unit or subtracting the amount partially paid using the electronic money from the payment amount to obtain an outstanding amount and communicating the outstanding amount to the external unit.

14. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 13, wherein the payment amount is obtained from the external unit.

15. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 13, wherein the external unit includes a cash accounting machine.

16. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 13, wherein, in said updating step, the full amount of the electronic money stored in said portable electronic device is used to pay the amount to be paid using the electronic money.

17. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 13, wherein, in said updating step, the amount of the electronic money in said portable electronic device is updated, and update information is communicated to a management section.

5. An electronic money transaction processing method comprising:

a determining step of comparing a payment amount with the amount of credited electronic money and determining whether the amount of the credited electronic money is sufficient to pay the payment amount;

a setting step of setting, when it is determined in said determining step that the payment amount exceeds the credited amount, an amount to be paid using the electronic money in accordance with payment terms; and

an updating step of subtracting the amount to be paid using the electronic money, which has been set in said setting step, from the credited amount.

6. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 5, wherein:

the payment terms include terms allowing the giving of change in preset currency units; and

the amount to be paid using the electronic money is obtained by rounding down the amount of the electronic money to a preset currency unit.

7. An electronic money transaction processing method according to claim 5, wherein the payment terms include terms allowing a predetermined input unit to input the amount to be paid using the electronic money.

18. An electronic money terminal comprising:

updating means for updating the amount of electronic money recorded in a portable electronic device that stores a value of the electronic money;

recording means for recording a pluraliw of update records corresponding to updating the amount of electronic money recorded in the portable electronic device;

communicating means for communicating the updating of the amount of the electronic money to the plurality of update records to a management section through a communication line;

terminating means for terminating the communication to said management section indistinguishably from a case in which the communication to said management section is completed within a predetermined period when the communication is not completed within the predetermined period; and

operation mode switching means for switching between the communication of the updating of the amount of the electronic money through the communication line and the recording of the updating of the electronic money in a portable terminal when the communication is not completed within the predetermined period that facilitates communication between the electronic money terminal and the management section by mutualauthcnticaticn and encryption using key data, wherein the portable terminal facilitates communication between the electronic money terminal and the manaaement section by mutual authentication and stores the plurality of records in encrypted form.

19. An electronic money terminal to claim 18, wherein the data required for electronic money processing includes data on invalid portable electronic devices.

20. An electronic money terminal according to claim 18, wherein the data required for electronic money processing includes key data required to communicate the updating of the electronic money to said management section.