Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-15
2001-05-15
Tremblay, Mark (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
C235S382500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230971
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The application relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/539,163 filed on Oct. 4, 1995 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARGING FEE FOR VIDEO INFORMATION”, by Shigeyuki Ito, et al. and assigned to HITACHI, LTD., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system such as an electronic home-by-home (or door-to-door) delivery service/reception system, an electronic laundry service/reception system, an IC-card-operated electronic locker system, an IC-card type electronic parking meter system and the like. Such systems are adapted for performing control and management of boxes or compartments or zones destined for accommodating articles in a broadest sense, as well as monetary transactions associated therewith, by making use of an electronic wallet system.
As the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system of the type mentioned above, there has been proposed in JP-A-3-92966 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 92966/1991) an electronic money system in which an IC card (integrated-circuit card) is used for realizing commercial transactions in a completely cashless manner (i.e., without involving monetary transactions in cash).
Similar systems are also disclosed in the publications of JP-A-5-287946, JP-A-546633 and JP-A-432050.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system such as an electronic home-by-home delivery service/reception system, an electronic laundry service/reception system, an IC-card-operated electronic locker system, a parking meter system and the like, in which the principle underlying an electronic money system is made use of. Such allows monetary transactions associated therewith to be performed in a cashless manner using an IC card, while allowing the IC card to also be used as keys for locking and unlocking accommodation units or boxes to thereby render unnecessary all of the management of keys, handling of money and bill collecting.
In view of the above and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds, there is provided according to an aspect of the present invention, a transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system which includes an IC card storing electronic monetary information and an identification number. Further, there are included: an IC card read/write unit for reading and/or writing information in/from the IC card, an IC card control unit for controlling loading and discharge of the IC card into/from the accommodation system, an article receiving/housing unit such as a box for accommodating therein an article, a key control unit for controlling locking and unlocking of a door of the article receiving/housing unit, an identification number storing unit for storing the identification number of the IC card, an amount-of-money information storing unit for storing amount-of-money information, a collating unit for collating the identification number stored in the identification number storing unit with the identification number read out from the IC card, and a line control unit for transferring the electronic monetary information with a centralized management unit via transmission line or channel.
Upon accommodation of an article within the article receiving/housing unit such as a box, a compartment, a zone or the like, the identification number read out from the IC card is stored in the identification number storing unit, and the door of the article receiving/housing unit is locked under the control of the key control unit. Further, upon taking out of the article from the article receiving/housing unit, the door thereof is unlocked by the key under the control of the key control unit, only when coincidence is found by the collating unit between the identification number stored in the identification number storing incorporated in the system unit and the identification number read out from the IC card as inserted. Furthermore, upon taking out of the article from the article receiving/housing unit, the amount of money to be charged for utilization of the accommodation system is subtracted from deposit money recorded in the IC card by means of the IC card read/write unit. A corresponding amount-of-money information is then sent to the centralized management unit such as a management center via a transmission line such as a telephone circuit, only when monetary information is stored in the monetary information storing unit.
By applying the principle underlying the electronic money system to the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system such as a locker system, a home-by-home delivery system and others, the article receiving/housing unit can be locked upon starting the use thereof in dependence on the ID number of the IC card as inserted. Similarly, taking out the article from the article receiving/housing unit, unlocking of the article receiving/housing unit and the accounting settlement processing are performed simply by inserting the IC card in the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system. Similar advantageous effects can be realized in the locker system as well. Thus, the user of the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system can get rid of a burden for managing the key for unlocking the article receiving/housing unit, while allowing the accounting to be settled at the same time even when payment upon reception of the article is required. Thus, transaction can be realized in the cashless manner (i.e., without involving monetary transactions in cash).
In the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to another aspect of the present invention, an IC card is used as a substitute means for payment in cash by writing the monetary information (amount-of-money information) in the IC card, while the ID information recorded in the IC card is made use of for locking and unlocking the article receiving/housing unit such as a box, compartment or the like. To this end, the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system is comprised of a unit for reading out the ID information from the IC card as inserted, a unit for storing the ID information, a unit for controlling locking/unlocking of the article receiving/housing unit, a unit for storing the ID information, a unit for controlling the locking/unlocking key by collating the input ID information with the stored ID information, a unit for measuring a time, a unit for calculating an amount of money to be charged on the basis of the information concerning the time as measured, a unit for rewriting or updating the monetary information recorded in the IC card in dependence of the amount-of-money information as charged, and a unit for transferring the monetary information with a center for centralized management.
With the arrangement of the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system described above, the IC card carrying the monetary information and the ID information can be used in association with the article receiving/housing unit. Thus, the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system can be utilized even when the user has no money in cash or no coins. Besides, utilization of the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system can be realized satisfactorily for the user even in the case where the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system or the article receiving/housing unit is used only for a short time, because the fee as charged is calculated on the basis of the time for which the system has been utilized.
Thus, with the arrangement of the transaction oriented electronic accommodation system according to the present invention, the facilities or services which require instantaneous settlement of the accounting for the utilization as well as identification of the user can be realized without need for monetary transaction in cash, to great advantages.
The above and other objects, features and attendant advantages
Hiroya Masaaki
Itoh Shigeyuki
Kanehira Akira
Matsumoto Kenji
Nakano Misuzu
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Hitachi , Ltd.
Tremblay Mark
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