Electronic money system and electronic money terminal device

• US 7,475,044 B1
• Filed: 04/21/2000
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ito, Koji, Kawai, Shigeyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischer; Andrew J
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBEID, MAMON A
• Application Number:
  US09/720,079
• Time in Patent Office: 3,182 Days
• Field of Search: 705/38, 705/64, 705/41, 705/16, 705/26, 705/65, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/65
• 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 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]

Abstract

The present invention offers an electronic money system and electronic money terminal that allow the user who uses an installment payment plan to decide the installment amount each time he/she pays it.

Instead of debiting the amount data equivalent to consumption from an information card 50, the present invention accumulates the amount data equivalent to consumption as data on the transaction history of installment payments, receives part or all of the accumulated installment balance as an installment amount, subtracts the received installment amount from the installment balance to determine a new balance, and thereby allows the user to pay any part of the installment balance as an installment amount.

Claims

1. An electronic money system comprising:

a plurality of electronic money terminals, an electronic money terminal of said plurality of electronic money terminals receiving electronic money log data from an electronic device, said electronic money log data including electronic money,

for the purchase of a commodity or the reception of a service, said electronic money terminal receiving a transaction amount and a payment method indication, said transaction amount being said purchase price of said commodity or the monetary value of said service, said payment method indication indicating payment of said transaction amount using said electronic money or installment payments,

wherein said electronic money terminal updates said electronic money log data with said transaction amount when said payment method indication indicates said payment by said installment payments,

wherein said updated electronic money log data is stored within said electronic money terminal, and

wherein said electronic device stores said updated electronic money log data.

2. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic money terminal updates said electronic money log data by decrementing said electronic money in the amount of said transaction amount when said payment method indication indicates said payment by said electronic money.

3. The electronic money system according to claim 2, wherein, when said transaction amount is greater than said electronic money, the difference between said transaction amount and said electronic money is stored within said electronic money terminal as credit card transaction information.

4. The electronic money system according to claim 3, further comprising:

an electronic money management block that captures electronic money log data stored within each money terminal of said plurality of electronic money terminals.

5. The electronic money system according to claim 4, wherein said electronic money management block calculates the sum total transaction amounts for said electronic device during a particular time interval.

6. The electronic money system according to claim 4, wherein said electronic money management block sends to a bank or credit company the sum total amount of credit card transaction information for said electronic device during a particular time interval.

7. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic money terminal stores therein electronic money log data for prior usages of said electronic device.

8. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic money terminal receives electronic money log data from another electronic device.

9. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic money terminal receives other electronic money log data from said electronic device.

10. The electronic money system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a deposit terminal that receives currency and transmits amount data to said electronic device, said amount data representing the monetary value of said currency being transmitted, said electronic device using said amount data to increment electronic money in the amount of said monetary value.

11. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic device is a portable terminal.

12. The electronic money system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic device is an information card.

13. The electronic money system according to claim 12, wherein said information card is a contactless information card that sends and receives said electronic money log data in a contactless manner.

14. A transaction method using an electronic money system, the method comprising:

receiving electronic money log data from an electronic device, said electronic money log data including electronic money, an electronic money terminal of a plurality of electronic money terminals receiving said electronic money log data;

receiving a transaction amount for the purchase of a commodity or the monetary value of a service;

receiving a payment method indication for said purchase of said commodity or the payment of said service, said payment method indication indicating payment of said transaction amount using said electronic money or installment payments;

updating said electronic money log data with said transaction amount when said payment method indication indicates said payment by said installment payments;

storing said updated electronic money log data within said electronic money terminal; and

storing said updated electronic money log data within said electronic device,

wherein said electronic money terminal updating said electronic money log data.

15. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

updating said electronic money log data by decrementing said electronic money in the amount of said transaction amount when said payment method indication indicates said payment by said electronic money.

16. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

storing the difference between said transaction amount and said electronic money within said electronic money terminal as credit card transaction information when said transaction amount is greater than said electronic money.

17. The electronic money system according to claim 16, further comprising:

capturing electronic money log data stored within each money terminal of said plurality of electronic money terminals.

18. The transaction method according to claim 17, further comprising:

calculating the sum total transaction amounts for said electronic device during a particular time interval.

19. The transaction method according to claim 17, further comprising:

sending to a bank or credit company the sum total amount of credit card transaction information for said electronic device during a particular time interval.

20. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

storing electronic money log data for prior usages of said electronic device.

21. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving electronic money log data from another electronic device.

22. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving other electronic money log data from said electronic device.

23. The transaction method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving currency;

transmitting amount data to said electronic device, said amount data representing the monetary value of said currency being transmitted; and

using said amount data to increment electronic money in the amount of said monetary value.