Method and apparatus for performing benefit transactions using a portable intergrated circuit device
First Claim
1. An apparatus for performing at least some non-financial transactions, the apparatus comprising:
- a portable information storage device including;
a processor for executing routines used to control operation of said device; and
a memory coupled to said processor, said memory including;
a plurality of sets of benefit package information, each of the sets of benefit package information including;
i) benefit package selection criteria data, ii) a plurality of benefit item identifiers, each benefit item identifier identifying a non-monetary item to be supplied as a benefit and iii) quantity information including a plurality of non-monetary quantity values, each non-monetary quantity value corresponding to a different benefit item identified by a benefit item identifier included in the same set of benefit package information as the corresponding non-monetary quantity value;
an account owner interface that allows an account owner to access and modify benefit package information included in said memory, said account owner interface allowing the account owner to read benefit package information from said memory and to perform at least one of;
increasing one of the non-monetary quantity values included in one of the sets of benefit package information and storing a new set of benefit package information in said memory; and
a retailer interface, said retailer interface prohibiting a retailer from storing information on a new benefit to be provided or incrementing a stored non-momentary quantity value indicating the amount of a benefit to be provided but allowing the retailer to obtain benefit account information from said portable electronic device and to cause decrementing of non-monetary quantity values stored in said memory.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable electronic data storage/processing device, e.g., smart card maintains an account including benefit packages. Each benefit package includes multiple items with associated quantity information. A smart card includes an account benefits interface and a retailer interface, each interface using different security measures. New benefit packages are added to the smart card through the account benefit interface by a benefit provider. Benefits debit request lists including multiple items and associated quantities are submitted to the smart card through the retailer interface. The smart card is the trusted member and checks if all requested items in quantities requested can be debited. If all requests can be fulfilled, the smart card executes the debiting from the currently valid benefit package and returns a transaction success indication to the retailer. If any of the requests of the list cannot be met, the entire request list is rejected and no debiting occurs. Benefit quantity addition is not possible through the retailer interface. Transactions are performed as block transactions.
52 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An apparatus for performing at least some non-financial transactions, the apparatus comprising:
a portable information storage device including;
a processor for executing routines used to control operation of said device; and
a memory coupled to said processor, said memory including;
a plurality of sets of benefit package information, each of the sets of benefit package information including;
i) benefit package selection criteria data, ii) a plurality of benefit item identifiers, each benefit item identifier identifying a non-monetary item to be supplied as a benefit and iii) quantity information including a plurality of non-monetary quantity values, each non-monetary quantity value corresponding to a different benefit item identified by a benefit item identifier included in the same set of benefit package information as the corresponding non-monetary quantity value;
an account owner interface that allows an account owner to access and modify benefit package information included in said memory, said account owner interface allowing the account owner to read benefit package information from said memory and to perform at least one of;
increasing one of the non-monetary quantity values included in one of the sets of benefit package information and storing a new set of benefit package information in said memory; and
a retailer interface, said retailer interface prohibiting a retailer from storing information on a new benefit to be provided or incrementing a stored non-momentary quantity value indicating the amount of a benefit to be provided but allowing the retailer to obtain benefit account information from said portable electronic device and to cause decrementing of non-monetary quantity values stored in said memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 30)
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20. A method of implementing a benefit program including at least some non-monetary benefits, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of portable information storage devices to beneficiaries of said benefit program;
storing on the portable information storage device provided to a particular program beneficiary benefit information indicating the types and amounts of non-monetary benefits to be provided to the particular beneficiary;
operating the portable information storage device to provide said benefit information to a retail terminal through which benefits can be provided;
operating the portable information storage device to approve or disapprove a benefit grant transactions on a per transaction basis, each benefit transaction grant requested by a retail terminal that involves modifying multiple benefit amounts corresponding to different items which are to be provided as a benefit to said particular program beneficiary being disapproved in its entirety if the amount of any one of a plurality of items to be provided exceeds the benefit amount available for the corresponding one of the items to be provided. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of performing a non-financial transaction using a portable electronic storage device including a microprocessor, the method comprising:
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storing in said portable electronic storage device at least two benefit data sets related to a benefit account owner, wherein each benefit data set comprises benefit value data;
accessing said portable electronic storage device during a single non-financial transaction at a retail location, wherein said access is controlled by said storage device'"'"'s microprocessor; and
modifying the value of said at least two benefits value data during said single non-financial transaction. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 31)
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32. A method of providing non-financial benefits, comprising:
reading benefit package information from a portable information storage device, the portable information storage device including;
a processor for executing routines used to control operation of said device; and
a memory coupled to said processor, said memory including;
a plurality of sets of benefit package information, each of the sets of benefit package information including;
i) benefit package selection criteria data, ii) a plurality of benefit item identifiers, each benefit item identifier identifying a non-monetary item to be supplied as a benefit and iii) quantity information including a plurality of non-monetary quantity values, each non-monetary quantity value corresponding to a different benefit item identified by a benefit item identifier included in the same set of benefit package information as the corresponding non-monetary quantity value;
an account owner interface that allows an account owner to access and modify benefit package information included in said memory, said account owner interface allowing the account owner to read benefit package information from said memory and to perform at least one of;
increasing one of the non-monetary quantity values included in one of the sets of benefit package information and storing a new set of benefit package information in said memory; and
a retailer interface, said retailer interface prohibiting a retailer from storing information on a new benefit to be provided or incrementing a stored non-momentary quantity value indicating the amount of a benefit to be provided but allowing the retailer to obtain benefit account information from said portable electronic device and to cause decrementing of non-monetary quantity values stored in said memory;
generating a set of benefit information representing a single transaction in which non-monetary benefits are provided to a beneficiary, said set of benefit information indicating the amount and quantity of at least two non-monetary benefits which are provided to a user of said portable information storage device;
supplying the set of benefit information representing a single transaction to said portable information storage device via said retailer interface; and
receiving a transaction acknowledgement indicating one of;
a successful transaction including debiting of the amount of benefits provided from a set of benefit information stored in said storage device and a failed transaction in which the entire transaction was rejected and no debiting of benefit information stored on said portable storage device occurs.- View Dependent Claims (33)
Specification