Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Electronic shopping
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-27
2001-01-30
Poinvil, Frantzy (Department: 2768)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Electronic shopping
C705S027200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182052
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a communications network designed to provide user access, presentation and gateway functions that permit a user to communicate with financial institutions and other providers of goods and services via an interactive telecommunications device, and more particularly, to a novel user interface at remote locations in the network for accessing services and information and for transaction processing.
REFERENCE TO APPENDICES
A listing of the source code used with the present invention is annexed as Appendix A.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An increasing number of people are demanding more convenience to access various types of consumer services, including banking, bill paying, shopping, travel and others. Catering to the demand for added convenience in banking services are ATMs, direct deposit, and banking by telephone and mail. Personal computers have not been accepted as a convenient provider means for these services. Only a small percentage of the public have personal computers with modems, and even fewer have the capability to access any network platform offering banking services.
Marketing research has indicated a consumer demand for convenience-driven services delivered via a screen-based interactive telecommunications device or terminal, such as the telephone/modem or terminal device announced by AT&T and identified by the trade designation AT&T Smart Phone™.
There is a need for a user interface for such an interactive telecommunications terminal that will efficiently enable users to have access to many types of services from their homes or offices. The present invention provides such a user interface, which is supported by a service platform network, for communicating with a service provider, thus enabling users to have access to a large variety of services from a single location. Through the present invention, users can perform a multitude of transactions electronically via the terminal, such as banking, purchasing merchandise, making travel arrangements and paying bills, from the convenience of home or office.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a programmable user interface adapted to provide a multiplicity of images on a touch screen terminal to enable a user to select from multiple service functions, such as from a group that includes banking, bill paying, shopping, travel, gifts and information. The user interface generates displays for providing the user with an option from the group including transaction confirmation, error explanation, transaction repetition and user/provider voice communication.
The user interface interacts with a communications network for operating an account or conducting a transaction from a remote location. The present invention relates to a touch screen terminal at a remote location for sending and receiving communications, a service platform for processing the communications, and at least one provider of the account or transaction accessible by the service platform. The service platform includes an application processor with means for user selection of a category of services from a predetermined menu. A service provider can customize the menu of services for its users.
The terminal screen displays the data received from the service platform, which in a touch screen version includes virtual “buttons” touched by the user to continue the transaction as well as to provide directions for subsequent steps to perform the transaction. As referred to herein, a “button” is a relatively small area on the touch screen defined by a box or circle on a particular display of the present interface and which, when touched by the user, will initiate a request or cause a display to be shown on the screen. The flow of data from the service platform is managed to insure a rapid flow of screen displays on the terminal by prioritizing information that the user is most likely to use next. Once the transaction is completed, data about the transaction are sent to the service provider for logging.
In the present invention, a confirmation number is sent to the user's terminal when a financial transaction is successfully completed or an error message is sent to the user's terminal if a transaction is not successfully completed. The user can repeat a transaction or can be connected directly to a service representative upon request. If the user desires, a voice call, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, generally known to the public by the historical acronym, and as consistently referred to herein as TDD or data transmission communication and a complete session log of the user's transaction sequence are sent to a customer service representative.
The user interface includes a security mechanism for preventing unauthorized access from the user interface to the network, including a user identification number, secret code and serial number of the terminal encoded in the transmission protocol from the user interface.
The present invention includes a method of providing services to a remote location. A user terminal for sending and receiving data communications is provided and interacts with a service provider computer for sending and receiving data communications. An intermediate service platform is operatively connected to the user terminal and the service provider computer. Requests for services from the user terminal are transmitted to the service platform which receives and processes the request and then sends the request for services to the appropriate service provider's computer. The service provider's computer then receives and processes the request for services in response to communications initiated from or sent to the user terminal and transmitted through the service platform. Responses from the service provider's computer, such as the generation of information and messages, are sent as a response to the user terminal. The response is displayed on the user terminal with instructions enabling the user to proceed with the request for services. Typical services provided include banking, bill paying, shopping, travel, flowers and gifts, and information.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings and the following description.
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The HBI Role in t
Fulton John W.
Shafer Thomas N.
Shepard Marianne
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated
Poinvil Frantzy
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
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