Cashless medium for an electronic cashless system

• US 6,003,767 A
• Filed: 06/03/1996
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Hayashida, Shoji
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US08/656,913
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/384
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/202 Depositing operations within ATMs depositing in general G07D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/204 Loading of a stored value token using an ATM
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence

Abstract

An electronic cashless system uses a cashless medium for memorizing amount information and for performing an operation of amount information. The electronic cashless system comprises an automatic transaction terminal device having a reading/writing unit for writing amount information to the cashless medium, and a center device having a unit for identifying the account balance of multiple accounts and for storing amount information and a non-settled fund file unit for storing amount information written by the cashless medium and a seller ledger file means for identifying the account balance of the multiple seller'"'"'s accounts and for storing amount information.

Claims

1. A cashless medium card, comprising:

an external interface for receiving from an adding terminal device a transferred charging amount of money to be added to the cashless medium card and from a subtracting terminal a first purchase amount to be subtracted from the cashless medium card;

a memory storing a second amount corresponding to a current cash balance, the current balance initially being the transferred charging amount; and

a processor coupled to said interface and said memory, which operates within a cashless system without requiring an identity of a holder, subtracting the first amount from the second amount to determine a remaining amount representing available cash of the holder of said cashless medium card and for storing the remaining amount as a renewed second amount in said memory and said interface transferring the first amount from the cashless medium card to the subtracting terminal device.

2. A cashless medium card, comprising:

electronic storage storing a current cash balance of said cashless medium card; and

a transaction unit interfacing with external terminal devices to change the current cash balance without using an identity of a holder of said cashless medium card, the transaction unit of the cashless medium card, in a charging operation, transferring a first transferred amount of money from one of the external terminal devices to said storage and adding the first transferred amount to the current cash balance and, in a purchase operation, the transaction unit of the cashless medium card, transferring a second amount of money from said storage to another one of the external terminal devices and subtracting the second amount from the current cash balance.

3. A cashless medium card comprising interactive electronic storage storing a holder identityless current cash balance and comprising means for transferring a first amount of money from a first terminal to said storage and for transferring a second amount from said storage to a second terminal device.

4. A cashless medium card, comprising:

a memory storing a current cash balance;

an external interface transferring, in a charging operation, from a first terminal device a first amount of money to said memory changing the current cash balance of said cashless medium card and transferring, in a purchase operation, a second amount of money from said memory to a second terminal device and changing the current cash balance of said cashless medium card; and

a processor coupled to said interface and said memory, operating with the second terminal device without requiring an identity of a holder of said cashless medium card, changing the current cash balance by the second amount to determine a remaining amount representing available cash of the holder of said cashless medium card and storing the remaining amount in said memory as an updated current cash balance.

5. A card as recited in claim 4, further comprising a key interface coupled to said processor and allowing the holder to enter a password, said processor validating the password prior to changing the current cash balance.

6. A card as recited in claim 5, further comprising a display coupled to said processor and capable of displaying the current cash balance, said processor displaying the current cash balance on said display after the validating.