Optical payment transceiver and system using the same

Abstract

An optical payment transceiver and an optical settlement system using the same uses a personal portable terminal incorporated with an optical transceiver as a card substitute payment unit for settlement. Here, card information is incorporated in a personal portable terminal incorporated with an optical transceiver such as a portable phone or a PDA and the optical transceiver is connected to a card inquiry machine to thereby optically transmit and receive card information. The card inquiry machine recognizes the received card information in the same manner as that of the card reader reading a magnetic card, and transmits the card information to a VAN company server or a card company server, to then request for an approval and settle transactions. The present invention is applied to most fields where financial transactions are performed as in a general commerce, a toll gate fee or tunnel passage fee collection system, a subway or bus fare levying system, a gas station, a department store, a drive-thru ordering system, a vending machine, and a fee payment system of kiosks. Also, the present invention can be applied to an entrance/exit security system requiring personal identification. Thus, the present invention can use a portable terminal as a payment unit without carrying a cash or cards, to thereby provide an effect of performing a safer and more reliable credit transaction.

1 . An optical payment transmitter for use in an optical transceiver apparatus for payment of expenses, the optical payment transmitter comprising: 
 a memory storing user card information therein;    an optical transceiver for optically transmitting and receiving card information;    a button for commanding an optical payment operation, having a petty cash settlement button for transmitting card information without inputting a password and a big money settlement button for transmitting a password and card information together;    a controller for optically transmitting card information according to user button manipulation so that a settlement is completed; and    a display displaying an optical payment operation state, in which the optical payment transmitter is fabricated as a compact portable device.    
     
     
         2 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein said portable device is applied to a portable phone, a PDA, a key-chain, a clock and an electronic notebook, and manufactured in order to store card information and transmit the stored card information as an optical signal.  
     
     
         3 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein said optical transceiver transmits and receives the card information in the form of infrared rays.  
     
     
         4 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 3 , wherein said optical transceiver comprising: 
 an infrared light receiving/emitting portion for converting card information received in the form of an infrared ray into an electrical signal, and converting the electrical signal into an infrared signal, to then transmit the converted result;    a decoder and an encoder for converting an IrDA standard electrical signal into a UART standard signal and converting a UART standard electrical signal into an IrDA standard signal, respectively; and    a UART portion for converting a UART standard serial signal output from said decoder into a parallel signal in units of a predetermined bit to then output the converted result to a controller, and converting the parallel signal of the card information transmitted via the controller into a serial signal to then output the converted result to said encoder.    
     
     
         5 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 1 , further comprising a tone recognition module for recognizing the secret number from a tone signal generated in correspondence to the secret number input via a keypad on a portable phone.  
     
     
         6 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein a signature tag is attached to an appropriate position of the optical payment transmitter so that the signature of the card owner can be identified.  
     
     
         7 . An optical payment transmitter for use in a portable terminal including a data transmission and reception function, the optical payment transmitter comprising: 
 an optical transmission and reception plug device removably connected to the portable terminal, for optically transmitting and receiving card information; and    said portable terminal storing the user card information, for transmitting stored payment information to the optical transmission and reception plug device if the optical transmission and reception plug device is connected to an external communications port.    
     
     
         8 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 7 , wherein said optical transmission and reception plug device comprises: 
 a case;    a circuit provided in the case;    an optical transceiver for optically transmitting and receiving the card information transmitted from said portable terminal;    a connection cable formed on the side of the circuit;    a plug connected to the connection cable, and combined with an external communications port in the portable terminal; and    an optical transmission and reception window provided on the side of the case, and forming an entrance/exit unit for an optical signal transmitted from and received at said optical transceiver.    
     
     
         9 . The optical payment transmitter of  claim 8 , wherein said optical transmission and reception window is formed to face the rear surface of the portable terminal.  
     
     
         10 . An optical payment system for paying for fees using an optical signal, the optical payment system comprising: 
 a mobile optical relayer for receiving a card information contained optical signal from a user terminal, temporarily storing corresponding card information, and outputting the stored card information one time; and    an optical relay base unit for receiving the card information from the mobile optical relayer and transmitting the received card information to a credit card inquiry machine, wherein said mobile optical relayer comprises:    an infrared reception portion and an infrared emission portion for receiving and transmitting card information in the form of an infrared ray, respectively;    a memory storing the received card information;    a button for commanding data transmission;    a transmission port connected to said optical relayer base unit by a connector, for transmitting the card information stored in the memory to the optical relayer base unit; and    a controller for controlling the card information to be transmitted to the optical relayer base unit via one of the infrared emission portion and the transmission port according to the connection state with the optical relayer base unit if the button is manipulated.    
     
     
         11 . The optical payment system of  claim 10 , wherein said controller deletes the transmitted card information from the memory.  
     
     
         12 . The optical payment system of  claim 10 , wherein said optical relayer base unit comprises: 
 a reception port connected to the mobile optical relayer by a connector, for receiving the transmitted card information;    an infrared reception portion for receiving the card information transmitted from the mobile optical relayer, in the form of an infrared ray; and    a controller for controlling the received card information to be transmitted to the credit card inquiry machine.    
     
     
         13 . The optical payment system of  claim 12 , wherein said optical relayer base unit is connected to the credit card inquiry machine by cable.  
     
     
         14 . The optical payment system of  claim 10 , wherein said mobile optical relayer is fabricated in a clip type.  
     
     
         15 . The optical payment system of  claim 10 , wherein said optical relayer base unit is fabricated in an adapter type.  
     
     
         16 . An optical settlement system for use in a commerce system, the optical settlement system comprising: 
 an optical payment transmitter for optically transmitting card information, receiving a response signal, ascertaining whether the card information is normally received, and displaying a message indicating whether the card information is normally received on a screen;    an optical payment receiver for optically receiving the transmitted card information, and outputting a response signal with respect to the received card information, wherein said optical payment receiver is detachable;    a credit card inquiry machine for transferring the received card information and requesting a transaction approval; and    a settlement authority server for notifying an approval result with respect to the received approval request to the credit card inquiry machine.    
     
     
         17 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said optical payment transmitter is a portable terminal to which an optical transceiver is attached.  
     
     
         18 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said optical payment receiver is connected to the credit card inquiry machine by cable.  
     
     
         19 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said optical payment receiver is an adapter type optical receiver in which a card reader is installed.  
     
     
         20 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said optical payment transmitter transmits information including the name and card number of a customer together with a signal indicating a start of transactions when a predetermined key button is manipulated by the customer, in the form of an infrared signal.  
     
     
         21 . The optical settlement system of  claim 20 , wherein said optical payment receiver receives the transmitted card information in the form of an infrared ray and converting the infrared card information into a signal which can be recognized in the credit card inquiry machine to then be transmitted to the credit card inquiry machine.  
     
     
         22 . The optical settlement system of  claim 21 , wherein said credit card inquiry machine transmits the received card information to the settlement authority server to receive an approval from the settlement authority server to complete a transaction.  
     
     
         23 . The optical settlement system of  claim 17 , wherein said optical payment transmitter stores a phone number assigned to a corresponding portable terminal matching the card information, and transmits the phone number together with the stored card information in the form of an infrared ray, when a key button is manipulated in order to perform an optical payment settlement.  
     
     
         24 . The optical settlement system of  claim 23 , wherein said optical payment receiver extracts the card information and the phone number from the received infrared signal and transmits the extracted card information and phone number to the credit card inquiry machine.  
     
     
         25 . The optical settlement system of  claim 24 , wherein said credit card inquiry machine keeps the received phone number in custody, transmits the card information to the settlement authority server and prints out purchase details and the stored phone number on a receipt when the transaction details are approved, to thereby represent a transaction subject with the phone number.  
     
     
         26 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said optical payment transmitter transmits index data indicating a storage position of the card information if an optical payment settlement is selected by a user, extracts an encryption key and a memory access command from an encryption key signal transmitted from the optical payment receiver, reads the stored card information according to the memory access command and transmits the card information encrypted with the encryption key.  
     
     
         27 . The optical settlement system of  claim 26 , wherein said optical payment receiver ascertains whether the received index data is valid, produces an encryption key to then be transmitted to the optical payment transmitter together with the memory access command, decodes the received card information with the stored encryption key and restores the decoded result into the original card information according to a predetermined compression table.  
     
     
         28 . The optical settlement system of  claim 16 , wherein said settlement authority server transmits the approved details including a sales generated time, sales amount, affiliated store name, and part of the card number to a wireless data receiver, if the approval requested card is a card of a member who requests for reception of the approval details wirelessly.  
     
     
         29 . The optical settlement system of  claim 28 , wherein said settlement authority server transmits the approved details via at least one of wireless transmission methods among an e-mail, a short message system (SMS), and a WAP.  
     
     
         30 . The optical settlement system of  claim 29 , wherein said settlement authority server ascertains a possessor of the designated wireless data receiver is a card member if the approval request is a first request after the approval details wireless transmission has been applied, and transmits the approval details if the possessor of the wireless data receiver is a card member.  
     
     
         31 . A settlement system at a place where a distance between a customer and a credit card inquiry machine is considerably far, the settlement system comprising: 
 an optical payment unit for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;    a mobile optical relayer for displaying a settlement amount of money, receiving and temporarily storing the transmitted card information, and transmitting the stored card information to an optical relayer base unit only once; and    said optical relayer base unit for receiving the card information from the mobile optical relayer and transmitting the received card information to the credit card inquiry machine or POS, wherein said mobile optical relayer is fabricated so that a user is capable of carrying the mobile optical relayer, in which the mobile optical relayer is connected to the optical relayer base unit by a connector or by optical communications.    
     
     
         32 . The optical settlement system of  claim 31 , wherein said mobile optical relayer directly transmits the card information to the credit card inquiry machine or POS via an optical receiver mounted in the credit card inquiry machine or POS.  
     
     
         33 . An optical settlement system for paying for expenses in an electronic commerce, the optical settlement system comprising: 
 a portable terminal for transmitting card information in the form of an optical signal;    an optical receiver for receiving the optically transmitted card information;    a computer connected to the optical receiver, for receiving the card information and performing an electronic commerce after being connected to Internet; and    a payment gateway connected to a shopping mall system, for receiving the card information and performing a settlement processing, wherein said portable terminal suspends the card information automatically if user's bio- identification does not coincide with pre-registered user's bio data more than a predetermined number of times so that declaration of a loss is accomplished.    
     
     
         34 . The optical settlement system of  claim 33 , wherein said portable terminal connects the shopping mall system via wireless Internet communications to thereby perform an electronic commerce.  
     
     
         35 . The optical settlement system of  claim 33 , wherein said payment gateway is an optical payment dedicated gateway.  
     
     
         36 . The optical settlement system of  claim 35 , wherein said optical payment dedicated gateway performs decoding and authenticating procedure with respect to the card information received from the shopping mall system, ascertains whether the optical payment settlement is authenticated, requests for an approval of the optical payment settlement to a settlement authority server if the optical payment settlement has been authenticated and transmitting the result to the shopping mall system.  
     
     
         37 . The optical settlement system of  claim 34 , wherein said portable terminal encrypts the card information and transmits the encrypted card information.  
     
     
         38 . The optical settlement system of  claim 37 , wherein said payment gateway decodes the encrypted card information with the optical payment dedicated gateway and performs an authentication procedure for a settlement processing.  
     
     
         39 . The optical settlement system of  claim 33 , wherein said computer is connected to the optical receiver and is an Internet accessible web-POS, and said payment gateway is a POS gateway connected to the web-POS, for receiving the card information and performs a settlement processing.  
     
     
         40 . The optical settlement system of  claim 37 , wherein user authentication is performed by combining the secret number with the user's bio-identification.  
     
     
         41 . The optical settlement system of  claim 40 , wherein said bio-identification uses at least one of iris, face, footprint or voice.  
     
     
         42 . The optical settlement system of  claim 41 , wherein said portable terminal in which a camera is attached, extracts facial data from a photographed user's image and stores the extracted facial data for use in the user authentication.  
     
     
         43 . The optical settlement system of  claim 42 , wherein said portable terminal extracts the facial data from the photographed image if the input secret number coincides with a predetermined secret number at a settlement mode, and compares the extracted facial data with a pre-registered facial data and authenticates the user with the facial data within an allowable error.  
     
     
         44 . An optical payment settlement system comprising: 
 an optical transmitter for optically transmitting a corresponding inherent number;    a counter terminal where an optical receiver for receiving an inherent number of the optical transmitter is attached, for registering a lease and return state with respect to the received inherent number;    a calculation terminal where an optical receiver for receiving an inherent number of the optical transmitter is attached, for inputting a use amount of money into the received inherent number; and    a main computer for receiving and registering the lease and return station information of the optical transmitter from the counter terminal, ascertaining the inherent number and the use amount of money input from the calculation terminal, and settling the amount of money.    
     
     
         45 . The optical settlement system of  claim 44 , wherein said optical transmitter is rented according to a method selected by a user of an advance payment method in which cash is deposited in advance, and a credit card method in which an amount of transactions is settled using a credit card, and is returned at the time of leaving.  
     
     
         46 . The optical settlement system of  claim 45 , wherein said counter terminal inputs a deposited amount of money into the inherent number received from the optical transmitter if the payment method is the advance payment method.  
     
     
         47 . The optical settlement system of  claim 45 , wherein said counter terminal where a card reader for registering credit card information of the optical transmitter user, inputs the registered credit card information into the inherent number.  
     
     
         48 . The optical settlement system of  claim 45 , wherein said calculation terminal subtracts a use amount of money from a remaining amount of money to thereby display a current remaining amount if the settlement method is an advance payment method, and adds the current use amount of money to the remaining amount of money if the settlement method is a credit card payment method, to thereby display a total of the use amount of money.  
     
     
         49 . The optical settlement system of  claim 45 , wherein said main computer receives the rental state information from the counter terminal if the optical transmitter is rented, and updates a rental database.  
     
     
         50 . The optical settlement system of  claim 49 , wherein said main computer receives the return state information from the counter terminal if the optical transmitter is returned, and updates a return database.  
     
     
         51 . The optical settlement system of  claim 50 , wherein said main computer registers the corresponding inherent number in a loss database if the optical transmitter is not returned, and updates a return database while refunding a remaining amount of money if the optical transmitter is returned later.