Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Finance
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-10
2001-02-27
Cosimano, Edward R. (Department: 2761)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Finance
C705S013000, C235S382000, C235S384000, C340S870030, C340S870030, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195648
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field
The following invention disclosure is generally concerned with electronic systems for disabling equipment in response to failure to make timely payments on a corresponding loan.
2. Prior Art
Systems have been introduced to interrupt the ignition system of an automobile on a regular, timed interval. To re-enable the car, a user is required return to a payment center, make a payment, and have an agent reset the interrupt mechanism for a renewed timed interval. The system can only be reset by an authorized agent as it requires a key held in escrow at the payment center. While the system is effective in encouraging customers to repay their auto loans in timely fashion, it has extreme overhead considerations. The system requires a customer to travel to the payment center each payment period of the loan. Of course, this prevents the user from taking extended travel without first making an advanced payment. In addition, a user must arrive at the payment center during the hours in which it is open. Still further, a user must wait to receive the attention of the agent. As these problems pose considerable inconvenience, these systems suffer from limited utility. It is desirable to automate the reset process so a user is not required to travel to a payment center.
Monthly payments to utility companies are made with very high reliability. This is partly due to the threat of service cut-off. Failure to pay a phone bill, will result in loss of telephone services. Thus, phone bills are paid regularly because failure to do so has immediate and tangible results. Monthly payments on an automobile loan are not likely to be as regular. Although a car may be repossessed, the process is expensive and complex and thus the threat of doing so is less immediate than telephone service cut-off. To encourage reliable loan re-payments, it is desirable to have a ‘service’ cut-off for equipment related to loans.
Techniques have been discovered which provide very novel uses of automobile ignition interruption systems, particularly with respect to those which may be reset with minimal intrusion and burden upon a user's freedom. While systems and inventions of the art are designed to achieve particular goals and objectives, some of those being no less than remarkable, these inventions have limitations which prevent their use in new ways now possible. These inventions are not used and cannot be used to realize the advantages and objectives of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Comes now, Frank Simon, Mike Simon, and Ron Mueller with an invention of a loan repayment system including devices for and methods of interrupting a critical system of equipment in response to failure to make timely payments.
A critical system interruption circuit in communication with a logic processing unit operates to disable and enable equipment in response to loan payments being timely made. When a user makes a payment on an outstanding loan, usually a loan related to the equipment, a logic processor is notified of the action. The logic processor drives a switch coupled to a critical system interruption means to enable or disable the equipment in accordance with payment receipt.
In some preferred versions, when a user makes a payment on an outstanding car loan, a code is released to the user. The user then operates a user-operator interface connected to a logic processing unit to convey the code. Once the code is verified, the logic processing unit manipulates the automobile ignition interruption circuit to enable the car.
In example, an ignition interruption circuit is arranged to disable and enable an automobile in response to loan payments being timely made. When a user makes a loan payment, the code is released to the user from a payment center. The user operates a user interface to convey the code to a logic processing unit. Upon verification, the logic processing unit operates an interruption circuit to enable the automobile for further use. Thus it becomes possible to interrupt service of equipment in response to failure to timely receive payments on a loan associated with the equipment.
In agreement, apparatus of the invention include: a critical system interruption circuit operable for enabling and disabling a critical system of certain equipment; a logic processing unit having a reference code generation and storage facility and comparator. And in some versions, a user interface operable for receiving a numeric code from a user and conveying that numeric code to the logic processing unit is included.
Methods of the invention may be summarized as those which include the steps: computing a payment due deadline, generating a reference code which corresponds to the deadline, receiving a code at a logic processing unit, comparing the received code to the reference code, disabling a critical system if a correct code is not received before a present time exceeds a payment due deadline; enabling a critical system on receipt of correct code; and computing subsequent payment due deadline and generating a reference code which corresponds to the subsequent deadline.
In some preferred uses of systems of the invention, a user who purchases a car from a dealer agrees to have the system installed on the purchased automobile to protect the lender from late payments on an outstanding loan. On initiation, parameters which relate to loan terms, for example total number of payments and payment interval, are loaded into a system memory from a server unit. The logic processing unit computes a deadline time which corresponds to the due date and time for receipt of a payment. When a user makes a payment on time in agreement with loan terms, the payment agency releases a predetermined alpha-numeric code to the user. The user then enters the code via a user interface so that the logic processing unit can process the code for verification. If the code matches a reference code stored or generated within the device, then the logic processing unit puts the ignition interruption circuit in a state which enables the car's ignition system. A user who fails to make a payment will not receive the code necessary to ‘unlock’ the system. If the user fails to enter the proper code by the time the deadline passes, the car is put into a disabled state by way of interruption of the ignition until payment is made. Thus the logic processing unit is provided an indication that timely payment was made via receipt of a correct code.
The invention thus stands in contrast to methods and devices known. The invention includes a critical system interruption mechanism which can be operated without being returned to the payment center. Systems of the art require returning to a payment center.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the invention to provide systems to improve timely repayment of a loan.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system which can be operated without having to bring equipment to a predetermined location.
It is an object of the invention to provide systems to enable and disable equipment in response to receipt of loan payments.
It is a further object to provide systems which interrupt a critical system of equipment in response to a failure to receive a code in due time.
A better understanding can be had with reference to the detailed description of preferred embodiments and with reference to appended drawings. These embodiments represent particular ways to realize the invention and are not inclusive of all ways possible. Therefore, there may exist embodiments that do not deviate from the spirit and scope of this disclosure as set forth by the claims, but do not appear here as specific examples. It will be appreciated that a great plurality of alternative versions are possible.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3665397 (1972-05-01), De Napoli et al.
patent: 3790933 (1974-02-01), Cort
patent: 3987408 (1976-10-01), Sassover et al.
patent: 4067411 (1978-01-01), Conley et al.
patent: 4177466 (1979-12-01), Reagan
patent: 4291237 (1981-09-01), Kitano
patent: 4327353 (1982-04-01), Beard et al
Mueller Ron
Simon Frank
Simon Mike
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Cosimano Edward R.
Tran Tongoc
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