Abstract:
A payee (a vendor) creates bill  46  with account information  14  and activity  22  printed in alphanumeric characters and in a barcode symbol  42.  Bill  46  is sent in the mail to a payer (a customer). The payer scans symbol  42  into a PC  52  (personal computer). Scanning wand  48  decodes symbol  42  and transmits it to PC  52.  An editor  54  is installed on PC  52.  Editor  54  interprets signals and displays interactive visual image  60  on a display terminal  62.  The payer verifies that the information on image  60  is the same as on bill  46 . The payer clicks the next button with a mouse  66  to show a transaction display  68  on terminal  62.  The payer determines that he or she wishes to pay amount  73  and enters amount  73  on display  68.  The payer instructs editor  54  to transfer a payment order  82  either to an electric banking software program  58  installed on PC  52  or to an online program  59  accessible through a modem  55  of PC  52.

Description:
BACKGROUND-FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to the paying of bills by consumers, either by computer-generated checks or electronic banking, utilizing personal computers specifically being facilitated by coded indicia, such as barcode symbols, printed on the bill.  
         BACKGROUND-DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART  
         [0002]    People in this and many other countries have become comfortable with seeing and using coded indicia in conjunction with consumer charges and banking transactions. Three of the most prominent uses of coded indicia are magnetic strips and smart cards (cards containing embedded integrated circuits), used on credit cards, debit cards, and ATM cards; and barcode symbols, such as the Universal Product Code often found on sales tags. In these instances, the peripheral and computer are the property of, or in the possession of the vendor or his agent.  
           [0003]    Customers often perform the physical act of scanning a magnetic strip through a peripheral. Examples of this are inserting the card into a slot at a self-service gas pump or an ATM, and “swiping” the card at a supermarket checkout counter. Magnetic stickers are also applied to store merchandise in a manner similar to barcode symbol stickers. The magnetic images from these stickers are read by a peripheral that is usually a flat rubberized plate set on the store counter.  
           [0004]    Smart cards can communicate with a reader or receiver (the peripheral) in one of two forms. With a contact smart card the receiver contacts a small chip on the card to make the connection. A contactless smart card can communicate via antenna, eliminating the need to insert and remove the card by hand. To use a contactless card, all a person has to do is get close to a receiver and the card will begin communicating with it.  
           [0005]    In the case of barcode symbols, a sales clerk in the presence of the customer usually does the scanning, frequently with a hand held scanner. Typically, the scanner decodes the barcode symbol and some of the information is shown on a display screen so that both the customer and the sales clerk can read it. At the same time, software in the vendor&#39;s computer will determine pricing, add the item to the customer&#39;s sales slip, and note the sale of the item in the store&#39;s inventory control system.  
           [0006]    One of the most common barcode symbols used in retailing is the UPC (Universal Product Code). The first 6 digits of the 12 digit UPC are the Manufacturer&#39;s ID, the number assigned by the UCC (Uniform Code Council) to uniquely identify a manufacturer or company.  
           [0007]    Often the document with the barcode symbol printed on it will also have some of the same information in human-readable format. Clothing sales tags, for example, can have size, color and price in both formats. In some large self-service stores, barcode symbol scanners have been placed at the end of aisles so that when customers can not visually determine the price of an article, they can scan the barcode symbol and see the price on a display device.  
           [0008]    Some food supermarkets have introduced customer-scanning check out counters. The customer scans the barcode symbol of each item and the item&#39;s name and price are displayed on a screen. When the customer has finished scanning, the computer prints out a sales slip, which the customer takes to a manned counter. The clerk at that counter checks the sales slip for accuracy and collects the purchase amount from the customer.  
           [0009]    Thus, over a period of years, consumers have become used to the simplicity, reliability and accuracy of coded indicia in handling financial transactions.  
           [0010]    Companies have introduced fountain pen sized and fist sized, hand held barcode symbol scanners to use with PCs (IBM PC/XT/AT, IBM PS/2 and Apple Macintosh compatible personal computers). The scanners are referred to as “pen wand”, “wedge wand”, “handheld CCD (Charge Coupled Device)” or “handheld laser” scanners. These scanners are also referred to as “barcode readers” since they come with the decoder built into the scanner so no external decoding software is required. The scanner connects between the PC and the keyboard (or directly to the ADB Bus, in the case of the Macintosh). These scanners have the ability to read most commonly used barcode symbols and automatically discriminate among them. As the wand is scanned across the barcode symbol, the decoder will transmit the data to the PC as if it were typed on the keyboard; therefore no PC software drivers are required to convert the coded indicia to an alphanumeric display. Another procedure is for the pen wand to internally store the information of one or more scans. When the wand is placed in a pen holder type docking device, the data can be uploaded to the PC.  
           [0011]    Once the data from the coded indicia is uploaded to the PC, additional, mission specific, software is needed to further process the information.  
           [0012]    Traditionally, households receive numerous bills or invoice each month by regular first class mail (nicknamed by some as “snail mail”), for consumer goods or services that they have purchased. The consumer now becomes payer, both in the sense of being the person(s) incurring the bills and in the sense of paying the bills through a banking institution. Typically, payer (s) of these bills will review the bill, write a check naming the payee, the amount payer decides to pay, both in digits and alphabetically, add payer&#39;s account or billing identification number on the memo line of the check and the date, and sign the check. The payer then will detach and fill in a stub attached to the bill, insert the check and the stub into a return envelope supplied by the payee, being careful that the return address shows through the window of the return envelope, affix the payer&#39;s return address on the envelope, seal it, affix a stamp, and place it in the mail. In addition, the payer writes the check number, to who paid, the amount paid, and his or her balance in the checkbook register.  
           [0013]    The increasing use of PCs (Personal Computers) has made alternate ways of paying bills feasible, such as computer generated paper checks, and electronic banking from the home. In spite of the amount of effort and cost involved in paying bills as enumerated in the preceding paragraph, only a small percentage of those payer s who could use these alternate systems actually do. This is probably due to the payer s anticipation that installing such computer assisted payment systems would be difficult and, after installing the software, it would be a complex, time-consuming task to set up each billing account. Thus, the PC might take more time than it would save.  
           [0014]    To set up each account, the payer would have to type in such things as the payee&#39;s name, address (either regular or electronic), account number, and phone number. Once set up, these billing accounts can be stored indefinitely. However, only a few monthly bills, such as fixed rate mortgages and car loans, can be scheduled for identical repeating payment. Most other bills, such as homeowner&#39;s equity, credit cards, and utility bills, vary from month to month. Still other bills, such as those from gasoline companies and department stores, might have no new balance and no new charges for several months. Finally, there is the one time only bill, for example from a contractor.  
           [0015]    Once a regular billing account has been set up, except for those bills that are scheduled for repeating payments, the payer still must pay the bill himself by manually looking up each billing account in an index or typing in an identifying name. Adding to this inconvenience is that bills are usually paid in random order.  
           [0016]    Many owners of PCs are keyboard challenged. For this reason, flatbed and sheet feed scanners, used to photocopy images with the computer, often come with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software included. This type of OCR software is designed to recognize alphanumeric characters. It would be useful if OCR software could interpret bills so that the information could be entered into the PC automatically with sufficient accuracy. However, OCR software has to overcome the obstacles of different fonts, sizes, and formats. They do so by comparing words and phrases to their built in dictionaries and thesauruses. Letters of the alphabet, with the exception of “a” and “I”, have no stand alone meaning, whereas numbers do. Therefore, OCR software that is currently available for PCs is not accurate enough to transfer the numerical information from paper bills to PCs.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0017]    Objects and Advantages  
           [0018]    An object of the invention is to facilitate the payment of monthly bills by consumers (payer s) by printing a barcode symbol, or other coded indicia. The barcode symbol would contain pertinent information, such as the payee&#39;s name, the payer account number, amount due, minimum payment, and date due on each bill sent through the mail. This barcode symbol would be in addition to similar information conventionally shown in human readable form, and would be printed at a convenient location for scanning, such as at the upper edge of the bill. The payer could scan the code using a hand scanner so that the information shown on the paper bill is repeated on the display for verification. At the same time, software could access an existing payee electronic banking account from the PC&#39;s memory or set up a new account. The format of the display could be programmed by a payee to suggest the amount(s) to be paid and when a payment is due. A credit card bill, for example, could list the choices of paying the minimum amount, paying an intermediate amount, or paying the new balance. The payer could click a box on the display with his or her mouse to pick the first or third choice, or type in an amount next to the second choice. The payer would then approve the transaction, thus initiating the processing of the information by the PC, utilizing software to either print a check or transmit payment instructions to the payer&#39;s bank. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 shows the data printed in a barcode symbol printed on a bill.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 shows the flow of information processed by a vendor to create a bill and an image of the bill in the preferred embodiment.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 shows a personal computer with a display terminal and a barcode reader.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 shows an image on a terminal display with provisions for payer interface.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 shows a transactional confirmation display.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 shows an information flow for bill payment.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 shows a representation of a barcode initially sent by a payee to a payer in the second embodiment of the invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is an image of a bill in the second embodiment.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is an image of a bill in the third embodiment.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 shows a computer generated check, both as a visual image and as a printout.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 shows examples of barcode symbols. 
     
    
     DEFINITION OF BARCODE SYMBOL  
       [0030]    A barcode is defined as a series of vertical bars or a graphical bar pattern which can encode numbers and letters in a format which can be retrieved and interpreted by a combination of an optical scanning device and decoding software.  
         [0031]    A barcode symbol is defined as a combination of bar code characters required by a particular symbology (the language used in barcode technology) that forms a complete, scannable entity.  
         [0032]    Types of Barcode  
         [0033]    There are currently two general types of barcodes. FIG. 11 shows a linear barcode  85 . Barcode  85  can also be printed as a ladder (vertical) barcode (not shown).  
         [0034]    The second type of barcode is a 2D (two-dimensional) barcode  86 . An enlarged 2D-barcode section  88  is also shown. Another example of a 2D barcode is a Maxicode 90. Maxicode 90 uses a pattern of small dots and a bull&#39;s eye in the center.  
         [0035]    High density, two-dimensional barcode symbols can hold more than one kilobyte of information in less than a one-inch (6.45 centimeters) square area. A single symbol has the capacity to encode alphanumeric text filling a letter-sized document  
         [0036]    Information Included in Barcode Symbol of Preferred Embodiment  
         [0037]    Data in a barcode symbol  42  of the preferred embodiment is comprised of an access code  13 , account information  14  requested by banking software program  58  or online program  59  of the payee, and financial activity  22  for the current billing period. Neither banking software program  58  nor online program  59  is a part of the patent.  
         [0038]    Access code  13  is a predetermined or pseudorandom signal that acts as a key for the decryption of symbol  42 .  
         [0039]    An example of banking software program  58  is Intuit Inc.&#39;s Quicken® 6. The Quicken online payment service is available for check writing accounts with any U.S. financial institution. The Quicken service requests that a data file  56  be established in an internal data file  56  of PC  52  for each the payee in banking software program  58 . The information in data file  56  is comprised of the payee&#39;s name  18  and address  19 , the payer account number  16  (an account number that the payee uses to identify the payer), and a phone number  21  for contacting the payee. Although Quicken uses the term “online”, the payer actually identifies the payee, creates several payment instructions offline on PC  52 , and sends them together in one phone call to the financial institution.  
         [0040]    An example of an online program  59  is the Wells Fargo Online™ Banking. Using the Internet, the Wells Fargo program stores the payee&#39;s data file  57  in online data file  57  for each the payer. The information in data file  57  is identical to that of data file  56  since Wells Fargo requests the same information as is in data file  56  from each the payer for each the payee. In some cases the payee may be on a list that is already in the Wells Fargo Merchant Directory. With program  59 , using the modem (not shown) of PC  52 , the payer goes on line and creates instructions on the web page provided to the payer by program  59 .  
         [0041]    To complete the payment transaction from the payer to the payee, both Quicken and Wells Fargo need to know amount to pay  46  and a send date  78 .  
         [0042]    With respect to send date  78 , some payees are set up to receive an EFT  31  (electric funds transfer). This type of payment usually has a lead-time of one to two business days. Software banking software program  58  and online program  59  each handle EFT  31 . The payment center electronically transfers the money directly from payer&#39;s account to the payee&#39;s account.  
         [0043]    If the payee is not EFT  31  enabled the financial institution or bank will print a check and send it through the U.S. mail. Quicken and Wells Fargo both recommend a lead-time of four to five business days.  
         [0044]    It is in the best interest of the payee to be EFT  31  enabled since enabled payees receive payment information in an electronic format that automatically updates their accounts payable system. This allows the payee to reduce staffing in its billing department  
         [0045]    Although not requested by software banking software program  58  or online program  59 , the payee can include “EFT  31  enabled” in symbol  42 . This will help the payer to select send date  78 . Quicken and Wells Fargo both keep records of merchants that are EFT  31  enabled; however, the payer, not the financial institution, is responsible for selecting send date  78  that avoids late payment charges. On the other hand, the payer does not want send date  78  that is too soon because the money is taken out of the payer&#39;s account as of send date  78 .  
         [0046]    Typical financial activity  22  would be comprised of a minimum payment due  29 , a payment due date  30 , and a new balance  28 . Activity  22  might also be comprised of accrued interest  26 , and new charges  25  made by the payer since the last billing period.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0047]    In the preferred embodiment, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a procedure that a payee would use to print a document referred to as a bill  46 .  
         [0048]    A CPU  13  (central processing unit) of the payee accumulates an account information  14 . Account information  14  is comprised of the payer&#39;s account number  16  with the payee and phone number  21  of the payee. CPU  13  also accumulates the payer&#39;s recent financial activity  22  up to the statement closing date  24 . Activity  22  is comprised of new purchases  25 , finance charges  26 , new balance  28 , and time bounding such as closing date  24  and payment due date  30 . CPU  13  processes instructions to a word processor  32 , which formats and sends them to an alphanumeric printer  34 . Processor  32  causes printer  34  to print account information  14  and activity  22  on a sheet of paper  36  as alphanumeric information  38 . CPU  13  is also programmed to encode the data into a barcode processing instruction  40 . Generally, barcode printers have the ability to encode data into barcode images. If printer  34  is limited to alphanumerical characters, then processing instruction  40  causes a barcode printer  44  to add symbol  42  in the top margin of the paper  36 . If printer  34 , for example a laser printer, has the ability to print characters other than alphanumerical, CPU  13  will encode information  14  and activity  22  into processing instruction  40   a . Command  41  causes printer  34  to print account information  14  and activity  22  as a symbol  42  in the top margin of the paper  36 .  
         [0049]    Bill  46  is comprised of paper  36 , alphanumeric information  38 , and symbol  42 .  
         [0050]    While symbol  42  in the preferred embodiment is shown printed in the top margin of paper  36 , it is obvious that symbol  42  could be printed on any part of the face of paper  36  or on the reverse side of paper  36 . Symbol  42  could also be printed on a label that is then adhered to paper  36 , or on a separate sheet of paper included in the mailing envelope.  
         [0051]    At the end of each billing period, usually monthly, the payee causes bill  46  to be printed for the payer. Using conventional techniques for mailing bills (not shown), bill  46  is collated with other materials such as advertising literature and a return envelope, placed in an outside envelope having payer&#39;s address and the postage thereon, and mailed through the postal service to the payer.  
         [0052]    In the preferred embodiment, FIGS.  3 - 6  show a procedure that the payer would use to pay bill  46 .  
         [0053]    In FIG. 3, the payer “swipes” scanning wand  48  across symbol  42  to retrieve account information  14  and activity  22 . Wand  48  acts as a decoder deciphering account information  14  and activity  22  and converting it into a signal  50 . Wand  48  is attached to PC  52 . Signal  50  creates an interactive visual image  60  of account information  14  and activity  22  on a display terminal  62  of PC  52 .  
         [0054]    A control instructions editor  54  has been installed in PC  52 . Editor  54  processes signal  50 . Editor  54  is programmed to determine if access code  13  is present in signal  50 . If access code  13  is present in signal  50 , editor  54  will automatically integrate account information  14  and activity  22  into editor  54 . Editor  54  enables the payer to interface with image  60  utilizing user data entry such as a mouse  66  and a keyboard  67 . Image  60  follows the same format of alphanumeric information  38  so that the payer can easily compare image  60  with account information  14  and activity  22  to feel comfortable using editor  54  for payment transaction instructions.  
         [0055]    A “NEXT” button  64  is located on the lower right corner of image  60 . Clicking “NEXT” button  64  with mouse  66  causes a transaction display  68  to appear on terminal  62  as shown in FIG. 7. Since the payee allows installment payments, the payee offers the payer choices of clicking a button  70  labeled “Pay (minimum) amount of $54.43”, a button  72  labeled “Pay (intermediate amount) $___.___”, or a button  74  labeled “Pay new balance of $1,187.46”.  
         [0056]    Editor  54  polices for input errors. Buttons  70 ,  72 , and  74  are mutually exclusive and mouse  66  must click one of them. If mouse  66  clicks button  72 , an amount between $54.43 and $1,187.46 must be entered in the blank space prior to proceeding further. If “NEXT” button  64  is clicked without transaction display  68  being properly filled out, a conventional error message (not shown) will appear. The payer has clicked button  72  to pay the intermediate amount of $200.00 by and using keyboard  67  to enter 200.00 in the space provided.  
         [0057]    When installing editor  54 , using keyboard  67 , payer entered the number of days to allow before payment due date  30  to determine send date  78 . The payer has elected two business days if the payee is EFT  31  enabled, and five business days if the payee is not EFT  31  enabled. Editor  54  has an internal calendar program (not shown) to determine business days.  
         [0058]    If transaction display  68  has been properly filled out, when the payer clicks “NEXT” button  64 , a transaction confirmation display  76  appears on terminal  62 . FIG. 5 shows confirmation display  76  on terminal  62 . Display  76  also shows send date  78  that has automatically been calculated by editor  54 . Payment order  82  is comprised of amount  56  of $200.00 and send date  78  02/24/00. Clicking a “Yes” button  80  causes editor  54  to send account information  14  and payment order  82  to either electronic banking software program  58  or to modem  55 . Modem  55  routs information  14  and payment order  82  to banking on line online program  59  via the Internet. Banking online program  59  would be accessed through the Internet by means of a conventional shortcut icon on the PC  52  desktop (not shown). Software banking program  58  would have been previously installed on PC  52 . Program  58  includes a means to connect to a financial institution with modem  55 .  
         [0059]    While this embodiment is illustrated with banking software program  58  and online banking program  59  currently available through third parties, symbol  42  includes sufficient data that editor  54  can be designed to transfer account information  14  together with payment order  82  to any financial institution by using modem  55  and telephone service directly or over the internet to the financial institutions web site.  
       Other Embodiments  
       [0060]    Description of the Second Embodiment  
         [0061]    In the second embodiment, account information  14  has been previously installed in data file  56  or data file  57  on a permanent or semi-permanent basis for periodic use by the payer. The payer may have installed account information  14  in a conventional manner by following the current instructions in either banking software program  58 , or online banking program  59 .  
         [0062]    Another way that the payer could pre-install account information  14  in the second embodiment would be by “swiping” a barcode symbol  42   a . FIG. 7 shows symbol  42   a . Symbol  42   a  is comprised of account information  14 . Symbol  42   a  has been printed by the payee and sent to the payer either with a previous bill or in a separate mailing. Editor  54  installs account information  14  in either data file  56  or data file  57 .  
         [0063]    In FIG. 8 the payee causes bill  46   a  to be printed. Bill  46   a  is comprised of alphanumeric information  38  and a barcode symbol  42   b . Symbol  42   b  is comprised of financial activity  22 , a merchant ID (identification)  84  and access code  13 .  
         [0064]    The payer “swipes” symbol  42   b  with wand  48  to generate signal  50 . Editor  54  utilizes ID  84  from signal  50  to access account information  14  from either data file  56  or data file  57 . Editor  54  merges account information  14  with activity  22  to create visual image  60  on monitor terminal  62 .  
         [0065]    From this point on, the second embodiment is similar to the preferred embodiment.  
       Description of the Third Embodiment  
       [0066]    In the third embodiment, the payer pre-installs account information  14  as described in the second embodiment.  
         [0067]    In FIG. 9 the payee causes bill  46   b  to be printed. Bill  46   b  is comprised of alphanumeric information  38  and a barcode symbol  42   c . Symbol  42   c  is comprised of access code  13  and ID  84 .  
         [0068]    The payer “swipes” symbol  42   c  with wand  48  to generate signal  50 . Editor  54  utilizes ID  84  from signal  50  to enter the payee name in banking software program  58  or online banking program  59 . The appearance of a visual image  60  will vary depending on the vendor supplying either program  58  or program  59 , but image  60  will be comprised of payee&#39;s name  18 , amount  75  (to pay), and send date  78 , as shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0069]    Many owners of PCs also own hand held, sheet feed, and flat bed scanners for the purpose of scanning visual images of pictures and text into their PC. These scanners could be used to read symbols  42 ,  42   a ,  42   b , and  42   c  by installing a decoding software program in PC  52 .  
         [0070]    While wand  48  is shown wired to PC  52  in the preferred embodiment, wand  48  could be connected by a wireless link, as some keyboards and mice are. It would also be feasible to incorporate a wand within a mouse to reduce desktop clutter.  
         [0071]    Other Users  
         [0072]    While the descriptions of the embodiments imply that the payers are individual consumers, it is evident that businesses could use the same method to pay bills that have been mailed to them. This would enable some companies to reduce the man-hours in their accounts payable function.  
         [0073]    Other Coded Indicia  
         [0074]    Other coded indicia can be stored on a magnetic record carrier (magnetic strip) or on an imbedded integrated circuit (smart chip).  
         [0075]    The scanning device for the magnetic record carrier uses a transducer assembly. The transducer assembly reads the magnetic strip and senses the variation of characteristics therein. While normally the magnetic strip on a plastic card, such as a credit card, is “swiped” through a stationary transducer assembly, it would be easy to design a hand held transducer assembly to “swipe” across a piece of paper.  
         [0076]    The integrated circuit can be either a “contact” or a “contactless” type. The contact type is plugged into a reader so that a probe will touch the chip. The “contactless” has an antenna in order to transmit a signal to a receiver when in close proximity to it.  
         [0077]    With the magnetic strip and the smart chip, once the indicia is read the processing of the data is the same as the above three embodiments.  
         [0078]    Computerized Check Printing  
         [0079]    Intuit and other companies offer preprinted blank checks that can be used to write checks using their software. However, checks printed entirely on a peripheral printer of a PC are just as legal. In practice, a numerical code  96  at the bottom of checks should be included in order for the checks to be processed through the Federal Reserve check clearing houses.  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 10 shows a visual image  83  of a check  91  for a payment from the payer to the payee. In the database of PC  52  is a formatting means (not shown) to create a blank check form. Following either the procedure of the preferred embodiment or the second embodiment, the payer views image  60  and display  68 . Editor  54  merges payee&#39;s name  18  with the formatting to create a visual image  83  of the filled out check. After reviewing image  83 , the payer clicks a “PRINT” button  86  to make a hard copy of the check or a “CANCEL” button to clear the form.  
         [0081]    Summary, Ramifications, and Scope  
         [0082]    Almost half of the households in the United States do not yet have computers. In order to be sure that all customers have received their bills in a proper fashion, many bills will continue to be sent through the mail. Adding barcodes or other coded indicia to these bills would offer a valuable service to customers who wish to pay their bills with the aid of a computer. Banks might give their customers a proprietary version of the software and a scanner. Use of encryption included in the software for sending the account information and payment order from the customer to the bank would assure privacy and that the software would be used exclusively with that bank.  
         [0083]    Using this invention, the household bill payer can pay bills simply by “swiping” each bill, clicking his or her computer mouse a few times, typing in or selecting a payment amount, and clicking the mouse again to complete the payment.