Phone Diversifications
Designation of the Technical Field
This invention constitutes a contribution to the general field of electronic payment devices and to the transfer of vouchers from an issuing authority to said devices. Exposure of the technical problem which has prompted an inventive effort.
The banking world has established a system of routines supported by technical solutions which allows them in an efficient manner to transfer both major and minor amounts from one Bank to another on behalf of Industry and Financial Institutions. The technical problem to be solved, however no equivalent system exists for smaller transfers between markets and individuals.
There do not exist any ready-made products which an individual owner of a telephone set might use for the remote loading of an electronic cash card using the existing telephone network for data transmission and from which, in a reliable manner, payments could be made. Nor has anyone considered how valuable it would be to load an authentic text message into such a card. Such cards could serve as medical recipes, and vouchers for entertainment events, railway tickets, specific combined routing tickets, specific instructions for operating a device, specific orders for delivery, etc.
In this field, the old type of money is still the prevalent method in many countries, even though it is now possible to draw cash from ATMs on presentation of an identifiable electronic card. The trip to an ATM location has still to be made, or, to a bank manager who can grant relief from strict regulations. Also, there does not exist an equivalent facility for the transfer of vouchers, the absence of which forces people to see one of their Agents to obtain a specific prepaid piece of paper. All this wastes a great deal of Time and, additionally requires support from verifying telephone calls. Most people dislike these procedures but put up with them because there are no alternatives. The author's prior art.
The author of the present application has also generated prior art in the past which had been exclusively directed towards creating devices for individual persons' use, in the way as described further above. These devices and techniques had been generated at various times in the past as described in published and granted patents as follows:
GB 1,314.021 (1969), GB 2,291,724, GB 2,291,725, GB 2,291,726, GB 2,291,727, GB 2,291,728 GB 2,291729, GB 2,291,730 and GB 2,291.731, US 3,906,4650, US 3,906,300 US 3,870,866 US 4,466,691, US 4,499,556, US 4,859,837, US 4,9o6,828, US 5,734.722, GB 2,356,274, GB 2,375,427 PE 9894,4098.7 US 2004077372, GB 2,353,889, GB 2,321,551, GB 2,311,399
Several of these patents are in fact candidates for being implemented within the framework of the present patent application which adds, as patent law requires, further innovative material and completes the possibility of industrial exploitation.
Prior Art by other Inventors.
This has mainly concentrated on the transfer of a purchase value by a Bank to a contact smart card. The chief corporate sponsor of this idea was MONDEX. However, tis company has given inadequate attention to the security aspect and therefore entered a difficult period. Attempts to draw their attention to my work have failed.
There may be other companies who concentrate on supplementary switching systems such as can convey speech and digital signals at the same time. These units are expensive entities which only telephone companies can afford..
The Purpose of the present paper is: to create money and time-saving devices that are inexpensive, and which almost any subscriber to a Line Telephone network can afford. As will be seen, these add-on devices could be used also by the owner of a mobile telephone.
The innovative additions.
(a) a method for avoiding wrong entries on the part of the Issuer of electronic cash or electronically transferred ticket/
(b) a product innovation which combines oscillators, modulators, phase-locked loop circuits, etc. in the most economical manner so that they can be used by individual phone users, often farmers some distance away from towns.
(c) a serial encryption system in combination with the above that can, on a long- term basis, be trusted by the general public.
(d) in combination with the above three aspects, an RF antenna configuration which can transfer a multiple of the power to the card component, and besides rejects common mode noise inputs thereby making card transfers safer.
The invention will be explained in two versions, one for those who are connected to the telephone cable network, and one who own a mobile telephone. (The same 'addon' product can be used for both versions).
The here described products and systems are all characterised by the feature that they contain a contactless card- READ / WRITE device side by side with other devices such as phase-locked loops, analogue or digital filters, so as to transfer information from one card to another, or from one card to a computer system respectively, or from, a computer system to a card of the said type. . The anticipated advantage of the author's prior art together with the present inventive additions.
(a) The intention is to utilise this author's method of encryption which resists computerised factoring of numbers (such as encryption keys).
(b) The intention is to utilise this author's GB 2,291.731 patent which pre-describes
a card-like component, has a key-board for entering a PIN number thereby providing authentication of any transaction after a first use, giving coverage for subsequent transactions provided they are carried out within a pre-settable time limit., say, one minute or 12 minutes, 60 minutes, etc.
(c) When the money reserve of the card would be exhausted during the commencement of a new transaction, the system allows such transaction by an automatic up-dating procedure.
(d) Ticket data for any event may be transferred from an Agency via a telephone link between the Agency and a private subscriber to the telephone network. This means that the subscriber's own PDC can be converted into a ticket for any number of persons, for such events where ticket checking means and seat display monitors had been installed. (e) other examples can be derived from the descriptions that follow. Brief Description of the Drawings. Fig. 1 shows a block diagram for an Add-on Box, and how it connects to the pocket-size data carrier (PDC) and the telephone line. Fig. 2 shows the block diagram of a PDC Fig. 3 shows the structure of link between a PDC and the Computer of a Ticket Agency, or that of a financial institution. Fig. 4 shows the structure of a communication link between the PDC and a Point of Sale terminal (POS) in a retail shop. Fig. 5 shows an alternative structure of an ADD-ON BOX and a Personal Computer (PC), so that the PDC can be used for payments through the internet. Fig. 6 shows the structure of communication links in the case of a fund transfer between two individual users, using a telephone line Fig. 7 shows the structure of the communication link in the case of a fund transfer between two individuals through the internet. Fig. 8 shows a telephone with a display screen and a number of buttons, some of which may be functional instruction buttons, and which comprises all the basic components of Fig. 10 Fig. 9 shows a conventional telephone connected to an "ADD - ON" box, the main Components of which are shown in Fig 10 Fig 10 shows the essential components for an implementation design (omitting the micro-processor which controls the sequencing of messages, etc.). Fig. 11 shows the SEND /RECEINE add-on box for the telephone at the distant end, which is controlled by PC inputs entered by an Agency. Fig. 12 shows, along a frequency axis, the placing of an audio-band and one or more narrow-band digital filters or phase locked loops. Fig. 13 displays the view of the Computer Monitor for a specific example. Fig. 14 shows a modified implementation in case the telephone is a mobile one, Fig. 15 shows the same possibility also for the Agency's Computer to function normally for the issue of tickets, even if there is a phone line defect.
Description of the Invention
For maximum inter-operabiliy with the current bank procedures, each individual PDC is associated with a personal bank account, called PDC account
Any transaction requires entry of the person's PIN, as otherwise no digital transfer can be executed.
A crediting transaction will normally start with a voice session The ID information stored in the PDC may be read and in this context would support bank-stored data.
Once the user has been identified and has specified the amount of money he wishes to transfer from the user's main account into the PDC account, the bank officer then initiates a data transmission session over the phone line to the PDC user. Figure 3 shows the communication link between the user's PDC and the Bank Computer.
The add-on box acts like an ATM, the difference being that this system delivers electronic cash which is then stored in the PDC
Crediting transactions can also be executed between two individual PDCs using a line telephone as shown in figure 6, or through the internet using add-on boxes as indicated in Fig. 5, or in a communication link as shown in Fig. 7
The case of a typical debit transaction is shown in Fig. 4 when the PDC communicates via RF - electro-magnetic waves with the POS. The user is prompted by a message on the LDC of the PDC to enter a PIN to validate the transaction.
As to the mode of realisation of the invention, there are envisaged two modes, one being an enhanced type of of telephone (Fig. 8) and the second mode using a conventional telephone with an add-on box which endows the old telephone set with new capabilities, Fig. 9.
The top part of the telephone Fig. 8 has a recessed area 4 into which a PDC can be placed. . Alternatively, there may be a slotted area. A similar recessed area is provided for the top lid of the add-on box. The inside of the lid of the add-on box 33 contains an antenna 28 whose configuration is similar to that in the PDC The interior of the box 3 would, for example, contain a differential amplifier 19 a spike eliminator 20 an oscillator 21 for generating the oscillations at the frequency f - 2., a modulator 22 and a band pass filter 23 which admits only a carrier frequency around the mid frequency f- 2. This can be an electro-magneto filter or it can be a digital filter, or it can be a phase- locked loop.
A pre-programmed protocol will ensure that no collision occurs between data sent from the card to the Agency, and data sent by the Agency to the card.
The incoming cable 17 carries a mixture of audible signals and binary signals embedded in the frequencies f- 2 and f- 3. They will be demodulated in the circuit group 26.. and the output is applied to the oscillator 27 which would operate at one of the standard frequencies reserved for contactless cards. Within the card, these signals are further demodulated so that binary levels can be entered into the non-volatile memory of the PDC.
As to the verbal exchanges between the home phone and the Agency operator, these can go on irrespective of any data exchanges, at the same time.
There are only four message types that matter "Debit my card" when the user presses button 30 „ . Ticket Details 31, when the Agency sends digitally recorded data into the card. A Correct Button 32 would be pressed when the Ahency wished to change a numeral or letter. And when the user desires to cancel all details he would press button 34 . This will erase an entire ticket record, (see Fig.11).
When namely the Agency Operator sends a verbally agreed package of ticket data to the customer, he or she can see on the computer screen, on a next line below, the letter or word appear which matches exactly the letter or word entered on the key board. These are quasi-simultaneous transmissions because they happen on different channels from the Agency and to the Agency, (see Fig. 13).
Not always is there a need for a PC to be involved. One can foresee the convenience of advice being given by an expert in various fields of Nature, or in the field of reading contemporary Books, or in a medical field. When such advice is required immediately, without weeks of delay based on a simple phone call. Using another person's knowledge and time would be an awkward proposition. A person with a life-long experience in a certain field may easily be tempted to pass something of that insight on to others in need of it. If a conversation does not last longer than, say 8 minutes, a standard fee may apply which need not be astronomical and yet would help many persons. It would also generate a source of additional income, especially in times when pensioners' real income is bound to get lower. - In such cases and also in other cases, a card-to-card transfer of electronic cash would be justified.
As to security against fraudulent manipulation, please see some of the cited prior art. which is incorporated into this document.
The possibility of utilising a mobile phone is illustrated in Figures 14 and 15, using the mobile phone's serial port for linkage with a computer, but in the case as illustrated, it would use this port for outgoing and incoming modulated carrier waves, for outgoing or incoming data.
CLAIMS (overleaf)