Information terminal apparatus

• US 7,752,098 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsutani, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Borlinghaus; Jason M
• Application Number:
  US09/839,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20020046161A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,361 Days
• Field of Search: 705/41, 705/42, 705/43, 705/25
• US Class Current: 705/35
• 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 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

An information terminal apparatus includes: a communication unit for transmitting/receiving information among the communication means, a server of a credit card firm, and a server owned by a settling financial institution which settles a charge requested from the credit card firm; a processor for executing a comparison process as to both credit card charge historical information issued from the credit card firm and balance account information saved in the settling financial institution, the credit card charge historical information being contained in the transmission/reception information of the communication unit; and an output unit for outputting predetermined information based upon the comparison process result by the processing means.

Claims

1. An information terminal apparatus comprising:

communication unit configured to transmit and receive information among said communication unit, a server of a credit card firm, and a server owned by a settling financial institution which settles a charge requested from said credit card firm;

processing unit configured to execute a comparison process as to both credit card charge historical information issued from said credit card firm and balance account information saved in said settling financial institution, said credit card charge historical information being contained in the transmission and reception information of said communication unit; and

output unit configured to output comparison result information based upon the comparison process result by the processing unit.

2. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said processing unit comprises periodic charge information extracting unit configured to extract periodic charge information from the credit card charge historical information;

prediction unit configured to predict an estimated charge amount based on said extracted periodic charge information; and

said processing unit executes the comparison process as to said credit card charge historical information containing said estimated charge amount and said balance account information.

3. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said processing unit comprises;

taste information extracting unit configured to extract taste information of a user based upon shop use historical information, facilities use historical information, or shopping historical information, which are contained in the credit card charge historical information; and

providing unit configured to provide said taste information with a top priority while one of a shop and facilities are retrieved.

4. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein:

said information terminal apparatus further comprises storage unit configured to store thereinto the taste information extracted by said taste information extracting unit.

5. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said storage unit is constituted by a non-volatile storage medium;

and said storage unit is arranged in such a manner that the taste information can be replaced with respect to an external appliance, while said storage unit is detachably mounted on the information terminal apparatus, or is communicated to the external appliance.

6. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said information terminal apparatus further comprises;

input unit configured to input first identification information used to specify a user; and

identifying unit configured to judge as to whether or not said user can use the credit card based upon said first identification information entered by said input unit.

7. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said input unit utilizes a remote control operation by way of a wireless communication.

8. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said input unit inputs second identification information which is transmitted from the communication unit to both the credit card firm and the server of the settling financial institution so as to identify the user.

9. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said communication unit is comprised of;

monitoring unit configured to monitor operation conditions of said communication unit; and

warning unit configured to issue a warning notice in the case that an abnormal operation is confirmed by said monitoring means.

10. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein:

said communication unit comprises;

releasing unit configured to release the operation of either said monitoring unit or said warning unit by inputting thereinto third identification information used to identify the user.

11. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein when said monitoring unit confirms the abnormal operation of the communication function under such a state that the operation of said monitoring unit is not released by the releasing unit, the warning notice is issued by said warning unit.

12. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein:

said communication unit is further comprised of;

positional move sensing unit configured to sense a positional move of said communication unit; and

when said monitoring unit confirms the abnormal operation of the communication function under such a state that the operation of said monitoring unit is not released by the releasing unit, the warning notice is issued by said warning unit.

13. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein when at least one of unauthorized information and incorrect information is entered into said releasing unit under such a state that the operation of the monitoring unit is not released by the releasing unit, the warning notice is issued by said warning unit.

14. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said information terminal apparatus is mounted on a mobile object;

and

said processing unit executes a comparison process as to toll road fee historical information supplied from an electric toll collection system, the credit card charge historical information, and the balance account information.

15. An information terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said information terminal apparatus is mounted on a mobile object; and

said processing unit comprises;

taste information extracting unit configured to extract taste information of the user based upon either shopping historical information or shop and/or facilities use historical information, which are contained in the credit card charge historical information, and also travel path historical information supplied from the credit card charge historical information; and

providing unit configured to provide said taste information with a top priority while one of a shop, facilities, and a route is sought.