Digital transactional procedures and implements

• US 9,471,906 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gideon Samid
• Original Assignee: Gideon Samid
• Inventors: Samid, Gideon
• Primary Examiner(s): Apple, Kirsten
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Michael W
• Application Number:
  US14/035,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/065 using e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

This invention describes a set of related procedures designed to co-operate with mints of digital money in order to allow for said money to be properly, securely, and conveniently traded by, various size and various type of trading crowds. The procedures refer mainly to distribution of responsibility. This invention also specifies the construction of digital coins encapsulated in a physical housing to amount to off-line tradable digital coins.

Claims

1. An apparatus for storing a digital coin, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium that contains a digital coin;

a tamper proof housing that encloses the non-transitory computer readable medium and is made of such a material so that when the housing is opened to obtain the non-transitory computer readable medium and read the digital coin the tamper proof housing cannot be returned to its virgin condition;

the digital coin containing visible markings of the digital coin'"'"'s nominal value and the identity of its mint; and

wherein the digital coin is marked with a dynamic identification code that changes at given time intervals based on cryptographic protocols, allowing the digital coin holder to contact the mint that minted the digital coin to verify its authenticity and viability;

track digital coin history for the digital coin wherein the dynamic identification code of value-indicating bits are randomly determined by the mint that minted the digital coin;

wherein the digital coin holder redeems the digital coin by presenting the dynamic identification code of the value-indicating bits;

few of the digital coin'"'"'s representative bits within the coin are masked by the payer unbeknownst to a payee (the digital coin still appears random) such that the mint upon inspecting the digital coin submitted for redemption will authenticate the digital coin on account of the identity using the digital coin'"'"'s bits, including the masked bits which the mint detects;

wherein the masked bits are editing binary code for history tracking; and

wherein the payee trades the digital coin to a third trader, and similarly masks a few bits, and so on, trader to next trader;

the identities of the various masked bits will indicate to the mint who owned the digital coin.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tamper proof housing is comprised of a scratchable pad such that the money value of the digital coin is visible by scratching the pad, in which case it can no longer be passed around as a “

virgin”

, unexposed digital coin.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tamper proof housing is comprised of plastic such that a blow designed to crack it will cause the housing to break along a breaking line in which case the digital coin can no longer be passed around as a “

virgin”

, unexposed digital coin.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tamper proof housing is comprised of material and shape reminiscent of regular coins, like a quarter, or a dollar coin, including a jagged edge.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tamper proof housing is comprised of any of the variety of ways used to insure virginity of over-the-counter drugs, like sheer tear-able plastic wrappers, such than when the wrapper is torn the digital coin can no longer be passed around as a “

virgin”

, unexposed coin.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital coin is rectangular in shape, resembling the familiar credit card, and where the digital coin data is held in on-card flat-chip technology.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital coin'"'"'s size will reflect its nominal value to help prevent counting errors, and make it easy to visually compute the total value of a number of coins.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital coin'"'"'s value reflects the cost of a common transaction, like a bus or metro ride, such that admission is granted against passing the digital coin, expediting admission for large crowds.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital coin is marked with an identification code (e.g. serial number, minting date) allowing its holder to contact the mint that minted the digital coin to verify its authenticity and viability.