Transaction method and selling system

• US 6,764,003 B1
• Filed: 03/26/2003
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom Mobile AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Lauper, Eric, Martschitsch, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAIL, ALLYSON NEEL
• Application Number:
  US10/275,734
• Time in Patent Office: 482 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/383, 235/379, 705/17, 705/21, 705/16, 705/26
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines

Abstract

Proposed is a transaction method between a customer and one of a plurality of service terminals (4) which supply selectable products and/or services, subject to costs, on location, as well as a sales system for carrying out the transaction method, whereby, by means of a portable mobile device (1) of the customer, an order record (6), comprising a service terminal identification (62) of the service terminal (4), is transmitted via a mobile radio network (2) to a service center (3), the service center (3) checking the credit worthiness of the customer from whom the order record was transmitted, and, in the case of positive credit worthiness, transmitting a credit record comprising a credit value via a communication network (2′) to the service terminal (4) identified through the service terminal identification (62), and whereby, on the basis of the received credit record, the service terminal (4) releases the selection of a product and/or of a service and supplies the desired product or the desired service corresponding to the selection made by the customer, and a supply confirmation comprising a cost amount for the supplied product or the supplied service is transmitted to the service center (3) which debits the cost amount to an account of the customer.

Claims

1. A transaction method between a customer and one of a multiplicity of service terminals, which service terminals supply on location products and/or services, selectable by customers, subject to costs, wherein

the service terminal comprises a vending machine having an integrated communication module configured to transmit by a contactless interface a platform independent executable selection program directly to a mobile device of the customer, the executable selection program lists on a display of the mobile device products and/or services available in the service terminal for selection by the customer, and the executable selection program generates an order record based on a product and/or service selected by the customer,

the order record comprises a service terminal identification for the service terminal and an object identification for a desired product or a desired service, and by the portable mobile device the service terminal identification is transmitted by a mobile radio network to a service center,

the service center checks credit worthiness of the customer from whom the order record was transmitted, and, in a case of positive credit worthiness, transmits a credit record comprising at least one of a credit value and the object identification by a communication network to the service terminal identified through the service terminal identification,

based on the received credit record, the service terminal releases selection of at least one of the products and/or services identified through the object identification, and, corresponding to the selection made by the customer, supplies the desired product or the desired service and transmits to the service center a supply confirmation containing a cost amount for the supplied product or the supplied service, and

the service center bills to the customer the cost amount for the supplied product or the supplied service.

2. The transaction method according to claim 1, wherein before supply of the desired product or the desired service, as a confirmation of the desired product or the desired service to be supplied, the service center asks the customer to enter a predefined number of end digits of the call number of the mobile device, and wherein the service terminal compares the end digits entered by the customer with end digits that have been transmitted to the service terminal together with the credit record.

3. The transaction method according to claim 2, wherein the service center transmits the credit record together with the service terminal identification for the service terminal by the communication network to a service terminal center, which service terminal center passes on the credit record by a communication link to the service terminal identified through the service terminal identification.

4. The transaction method according to claim 1, wherein the service center transmits the credit record together with the service terminal identification for the service terminal by the communication network to a service terminal center, which service terminal center passes on the credit record by a communication link to the service terminal identified through the service terminal identification.

5. The transaction method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises means for manually entering the service terminal identification by the customer.

6. The transaction method according to claim 1, wherein the service terminal transmission comprises one or more unstructured supplementary service data message.

7. A sales system comprising a multiplicity of service terminals, which service terminals supply on location products and/or services selectable by customers, subject to costs, wherein

the service terminals each comprise a vending machine having an integrated communication module and a contactless device interface, the service terminals each comprise a memory unit in which a platform independent executable selection program is stored, through which executable selection program a processor of a mobile device is controllable such that the processor lists on a display of the mobile device products and/or services available at the service terminal for selection by the customer and generates an order record based on a product or service selected by the customer, and wherein the integrated communication module is configured to transmit the executable selection program by the contactless interface directly to the mobile device,

the sales system comprises at least one service center, which comprises means for receiving data messages from mobile devices by a mobile radio network, and for recognizing and accepting order records from among the data messages, which order records each contain an object identification for a desired product or a desired service and a service terminal identification for the service terminal from which service terminal a desired product and/or a desired service is supposed to be supplied,

the service center comprises means for taking the object identification from the order record, and the service center comprises means for checking credit worthiness of the customer from whom the order record has been transmitted, and, in a case of positive credit worthiness, for transmitting a credit record containing at least one of a credit value and the object identification by a communication network to the service terminal identified through the service terminal identification,

the service terminal comprises means for releasing selection of at least one of the products and/or at least one of the services, in each case based on the received credit record, and for supplying the desired product or the desired service corresponding to the selection made by the customer and for transmitting a supply confirmation to the service center containing a cost amount for the supplied product or the supplied service, and

the service center comprises means for billing to the customer the cost amount for the supplied product or the supplied service.

8. The sales system according to claim 7, wherein the sales system comprises a service terminal center connected by the communication network to the service center, and comprises means for receiving the credit record together with the service terminal identification from the service center and of passing on, by a communication link, the credit record to the service terminal identified through the service terminal identification.

9. The sales system according to claim 7, wherein the service terminal comprises means for asking the customer to enter a predefined number of end digits of the call number of the mobile device before supply of the ordered product to confirm the desired product or the desired service to be supplied, and wherein the service terminal compares the end digits entered by the customer with end digits that have been transmitted to the service terminal with the credit record.

10. The sales system according to claim 7, wherein the mobile device comprises means for manually entering the service terminal identification by the customer.

11. The sales system according to claim 7, wherein the service terminal transmission comprises one or more unstructured supplementary service data messages.