Patent Publication Number: US-2005144077-A1

Title: Apparatus for point system that provides real-time cashback

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention is related to systems and methods for providing cashback for “points” in the form of electronic money.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      As disclosed in Japanese Open Laid Patent Applications No. 2002-170064A, and 2002-109570A, the point system is one of the well-known methods for boosting sales, which gives purchasers “points” for purchase of products or charged services, and provides various special services for the points, such as cashback, and discount. The given “points” are typically accumulated in point cards issued by the selling entity, which are often composed of IC cards incorporating an IC chip. Airline companies, for example, often provide mileage services, which give the users “points” on the basis of the traveling distance.  
      One requirement is that “points” are allowed to be used for purchase at stores or shops run by entities other than the point issuing entity. Cashback is one approach satisfying such requirement, as disclosed in Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. 2002-117351A. Cashback based on the “points” is often achieved by using electronic money rather than actual money due to the improved convenience; “points” are converted into corresponding electronic money in accordance with the user&#39;s choice.  
      Converting “points” into the electronic money, however, requires examining whether the user legally obtains the points. This is especially the case when the electronic money is allowed to be used for purchase at entities other than the point issuing entity.  
      The examination of the legality of the accumulated points is desirably performed as soon as possible after the user&#39;s request; this would encourage users to convert “points” into electronic money for purchasing articles, and effectively promote the use of the cashback system.  
      There is a need for providing a system that allows converting points accumulated in point cards into the electronic money immediately after the user&#39;s requirement.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a system that achieves converting points accumulated in point cards into the electronic money immediately after the user&#39;s requirement.  
      In an aspect of the present invention, a cashback system is composed of an IC card storing point data representative an amount of points used for a point system and electronic money data representative of an amount of electronic money, and electronic money data representative of an amount of electronic money; a terminal including a reader/writer accessible to the IC card; a point management server; and an electronic money server. The terminal is programmed to provide a prompt to input a customer ID identifying a customer, and a password in response to establishment of an access between the IC card and the terminal, to provide another prompt to input customer-specific information in response to the identifier and the password being inputted, and to transmit the customer ID, the password, and the customer-specific information to the point management server. The point management server is programmed to issue a conversion allowance when the customer is successfully authenticated with the customer ID, the password, and the customer-specific information. The electronic server is programmed to determine an amount of electronic money for points selected to be converted by the customer in response to the conversion allowance, and to transfer the determined amount of electronic money to the IC card.  
      When the point management server includes a database containing an association of customer IDs with customer-specific information, the point management server is preferably programmed to perform a search on the database using the customer ID received from the terminal for retrieving from the database customer-specific information associated with the received customer ID, to perform comparison of the customer-specific information received from the terminal with the customer-specific information retrieved from the database, and to issue the conversion allowance in response to a result of the comparison.  
      When the IC card contains a card ID, and the database contains sets of card IDs, customer IDs, and passwords, which are correlated with one another, it is preferable that the reader/writer obtains the card ID from the IC card to forward to the terminal, and the terminal is programmed to transmit the customer ID, the password, and the card ID obtained from the IC card, to the point management server, and that the point management server is programmed to determine whether the customer ID, the password, and the card ID received from the terminal are coincident with any of the sets of card IDs, customer IDs, and passwords, and to, when coincident, retrieve the customer-specific information from the database.  
      When the database contains an association of customer IDs with points, it is preferable that the electronic money server transmits transfer completion information to the point management server in response to completion of transferring the determined amount of electronic money, and the point management server updates the database in response to the transfer completion information received from the electronic money server.  
      In another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is used for a cashback system including an IC card storing an amount of points, a terminal including a reader/writer accessible to the IC card, a point management server, and an electronic money server. The computer program product contains instructions for implementing the steps of: 
          providing a prompt on the terminal to input a customer ID identifying a customer, and a password in response to establishment of an access between the IC card and the terminal;     the terminal providing another prompt on the terminal to input customer-specific information in response to the identifier and the password being inputted;     transmitting the customer ID, the password, and the customer-specific information from the terminal to the point management server;     issuing a conversion allowance by the point management server when the customer is successfully authenticated with the customer ID, the password, and the customer-specific information;     determining an amount of electronic money for points selected to be converted by the customer in response to the conversion allowance by the electronic money server; and     transferring the determined amount of electronic money from the electronic money server to the IC card.        

      Preferably, the computer program product further contains instructions for implementing the steps of: 
          performing a search on the database using the customer ID received from the terminal for retrieving from the database customer-specific information associated with the received customer ID by the point management server; and     performing comparison of the customer-specific information received from the terminal with the customer-specific information retrieved from the database, the conversion allowance being issued in response to a result of the comparison.        

      When the IC card contains a card ID, and the database contains sets of card IDs, customer IDs, and passwords, which are correlated with one another, it is preferable that the computer program product further contains instructions for implementing the steps of: 
          allowing the reader/writer to obtain the card ID from the IC card to forward to the terminal,     transmitting the customer ID, the password, and the card ID obtained from the IC card, from the terminal to the point management server,     determining by the point management server whether the customer ID, the password, and the card ID received from the terminal are coincident with any of the sets of card IDs, customer IDs, and passwords, retrieving by the point management server the customer-specific information from the database when coincident.        

      When the database contains an association of customer IDs with points, it is preferable that the computer program product further contains instructions for implementing the steps of: 
          transmitting transfer completion information from the electronic money server to the point management server in response to completion of transferring the determined amount of electronic money, and     updating the database in response to the transfer completion information received from the electronic money server.       

    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a structure of a real-time cashback system in one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a configuration of a point card;  
       FIG. 3  is a table showing contents of a dealer company management database  20  contained in a sales management server;  
       FIG. 4  is a table showing a configuration of a customer management database  30  contained in a client management server;  
       FIG. 5  is a table showing a point management database  40  contained in a point management server;  
       FIG. 6  is a table showing a configuration of an electronic money information database  60  contained in an electronic money dealing Web server;  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation of issuing “points”; and  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation for converting “points” into electronic money. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In one embodiment, the present invention is applied to a real-time cashback system using point cards for a vehicle company. It should be understood that the present invention applies to any system adapted to the point system that allows converting points into electronic money.  
     System Structure  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of the real-time cashback system in one embodiment. The real-time cashback system is provided with a point management server system  1 , an electronic money management server  5 , an electronic money dealing Web server  6 , dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n , customer terminals  8   1  to  8   n , associate store terminals  9   1  to  9   n , a gateway server  14 , an intranet  10 ; n indicates a natural number equal to or more than two. The dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n , the customer terminals  8   1  to  8   n , and the associate store terminals  9   1  to  9   n  are each composed of a card reader/writer  12 . The dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n  are respectively provided for operation of dealer companies.  
      The point management server system  1  is provided for operation of the staff of a point management organization. The point management server system  1  is connected to the intranet  10  through a dedicated line  10   a . The intranet  10  provides connections between the point management server system  1  and the dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n . The point management server system  1  is also connected to the electronic money management server  5 .  
      The point management server system  1  is composed of a sales management server  2 , a customer management server  3  and a point management server  4 . The sales management server  2  is an information processor for managing information stored on the dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n . The sales management server  2  contains sales management database  20  in a storage device, and the sales management database  20  contains information on the dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n .  
      The customer management server  3  is an information processor for managing customer information. The customer management server  3  includes a customer management database  30  storing the customer information.  
      The point management server  4  is an information processor used for the management of points given to customers for the purchase of products and charged services. The point management server  4  contains a point management database  40  in a storage device for storing information on the point management.  
      The electronic money management server  5  is an information processor provided for operation of an entity that issues electronic money. The electronic money management server  5  is used for the management of electronic money; the electronic money management server  5  is responsive to information received from the point management server system  1  for issuing electronic money to the users of point cards  13 . The electronic money management server  5  is connected through the dedicated line  10   a  to the point management server system  1  and connected through the dedicated line  10   a  to the electronic money dealing Web server  6 . The electronic money management server  5  contains necessary information for the management of the electronic money in an electronic money management database  50 .  
      The electronic money dealing Web server  6  is an information processor for providing reception services concerning electronic money. The electronic money dealing Web server  6  is designed to provide information on electronic money issued by the electronic management server  5 . Accessing the electronic money dealing Web server  6  through the Internet  11  allows a user of a point card  13  to receive electronic money for the points accumulated in the point card  13 . The electronic money dealing Web server  6  is connected through the dedicated line  10   a  to the electronic money management server  5 , and also connected through the Internet  11  to the dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n , the customer terminals  8   1  to  8   n , and the associate store terminals  9   1  to  9   n . The electronic money dealing Web server  6  stores electronic money information database  60  in a storage device. The electronic money information database  60  contains information on electronic money available for each customer.  
      The dealer company terminals  7   1  to  7   n  (which may be collectively denoted by numeral  7 ) are respectively provided for dealer companies, which provide vehicles and maintenance/inspection services. Each dealer company is equipped with at least one dealer company terminal  7 , and the respective dealer company terminals  7  may be designed to share information. The dealer company terminals  7  each include a card reader/writer  12 , an input device, a memory, a processor, a display and a communicator.  
      The card reader/writers  12  are used to access the point cards  13 . The card reader/writers  12  are designed to desired information onto the point cards  13 , and to read necessary information from the point cards  13 . The card reader/writers  12  may have a connector for achieve connection with the point cards  13 , and have an access to the point cards  13  when the point cards  13  are connected to the card reader/writers  12 . Additionally, the card reader/writers  12  are designed to transmit the information received from the point cards  13  through the intranet  10  or Internet  11  to the point management server system  1 . Finally, the card reader/writers  12  are designed to receive information to be written onto the point cards  13  from the point management server system  1  through the Internet  11 , and to program the point cards  13  with the received information.  
      The customer terminals  8   1  to  8   n  (which may be collectively denoted by numeral  8 ) are information processors provided for operation of the customers of the vehicle company. The customer terminals  8  are designed to be connectable to card reader/writers  12 . The customer terminals  8  are connected through the Internet  11  to the electronic money dealing Web server  6 .  
      The associate store terminals  9   1  to  9   n  (which may be collectively denoted by numeral  9 ) are information processors provided for operation of the staff of dealer companies that do not sell vehicles, but are allowed to issue points according to contracts with the vehicle company. As is the case of the dealer company terminals  7 , the associate store terminals  9  include card reader/writers  12 . The associate store terminals  9  are connected through the Internet  11  to the electronic money dealing Web server  6 .  
      The gateway server  14  is designed to provide a gateway between the intranet  10  and the Internet  11 . The gateway server  14  is designed to perform protocol conversion between the intranet  10  and the Internet  11  so that data are exchanged therebetween. The gateway server  14  allows the customer terminals  8  and the associate store terminals  9  to function identically to the dealer company terminals  7  when being connected through the gateway server  14  to the point management server system  1 .  
      The point cards  13  are used to accumulate points for the customers. The point cards  13  are issued to customers having had a contract with the vehicle company. When the point cards  13  are issued, personal information of the customers is registered into the customer management database  30  of the customer management server  3 . When a customer contracts with the vehicle company upon purchasing a product, the information on the purchased product is transmitted to the sales management server  2  and stored in the sales management database  20 .  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of the point cards  13  in this embodiment. The point cards  13  are each composed of a processor  14 , such as CPU (central processing unit), and a memory device  15 , such as a semiconductor memory device. The memory device  15  contains point data  15   a , electronic money data  15   b  and a card ID  15   c . The point data  15   a  represents the amount of points gained by the customer. The electronic money data  15   b  represents the amount of electronic money. The card ID  15   c  is used for identifying the point cards  13 .  
       FIG. 3  is a table illustrating contexts of the sales management database  20  within the sales management server  2 . The sales management database  20  contains customer name data  21 , customer IDs  22 , vehicle model data  23 , body numbers  24 , and registration date data  25 , which are correlated with one another.  
       FIG. 4  is a table illustrating contexts of the customer management database  30  within the customer management server  3 . The customer management database  30  contains customer name data  31 , customer IDs  32 , passwords  33 , customer address data  34 , customer age data  35  and sexuality data  36 , which are correlated with one another.  
       FIG. 5  is a table illustrating contexts of the point management database  40  within the point management server  4 . The point management database  40  contains customer name data  41 , customer IDs  42 , card IDs  43 , point data  44 , point obtainment location information  45 , and point expiration date data  46 , which are correlated with one another.  
       FIG. 6  is a table illustrating contexts of the electronic money information database  60  within the electronic money dealing Web server  6 . The electronic money information database  60  contains customer name data  61 , client IDs  62 , point data  63 , and electronic money amount data  64 , which are correlated with one another. The electronic money information  64  includes transferred electronic money amount data  64   a  and non-transferred electronic money amount data  64   b . The transferred electronic money amount data  64   a  is representative of the amount of electronic money transferred to the associated point card  13 . The non-transferred electronic money amount data  64   a  is, on the other hand, representative of the amount of electronic money available but not yet transferred to the associated point card  13   
     System Operation  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation of issuing “points”. The operation described below assumes a case when a certain customer obtains “points” for purchasing a new vehicle from the dealer company by using the dealer company terminal  7   1 . It should be understood, however, that “points” may be correspondingly obtained through purchasing vehicles or charged services from other dealer companies equipped with the dealer company terminals  7 , implementing online shopping using the customer terminals  8 , or purchasing products at the stores equipped with the associate store terminals  9 .  
      At Step S 101 , the customer pays for the new vehicle to the dealer company.  
      At Step S 102 , in order to obtain points for the expense for the new vehicle, the customer operates the dealer company terminal  7   1  to access a point issue Web page dedicated to those having the point card contact with the vehicle company, the point issue Web page being provided by the point management server system  1 . The point issue Web page prompts the customer to input the customer ID and the password. If the customer is successfully authenticated with the customer ID and the password, the point issue Web page allows the customer to login. The point issue Web page then prompts the customer to input the vehicle information on the purchased vehicle. The dealer company terminal  7   1  transmits the inputted vehicle information and the customer ID to the point management server system  1  through the intranet  10 . The point management server system  1  extracts information on the purchased vehicle from a database containing information on vehicles in accordance with the received vehicle information and customer ID, and provides the extracted information for the point management server  4 . The point management server  4  determines the amount of “points” to be given to the customer for the purchase of the vehicle on the basis of the received customer information and the information on the purchased vehicle. The rate of the “points” for the expense may not be constant; in special cases, such as a case when a sales boosting campaign is implemented or a case when a specific vehicle is purchased, the points more than those in normal cases may be issued.  
      At Step S 103 , the customer connects the point card  13  to the card reader/writer  12  associated with the dealer company terminal  7   1 . The connection may be wirelessly achieved by approaching the point card  13  to the card reader/writer  12  or placing the point card  13  at a predetermined position of the card reader/writer  12 . At Step S 104 , the dealer company terminal  7   1  programs the point card  13  to update the point data  15   a  in response to the amount of the “points” determined at Step S 102 .  
      After programming of the point card  13 , at Step S 105 , the dealer company terminal  7   1  accesses the point management server system  1  through the intranet  10 , and transmits the amount of the “points”, which is programmed onto the point card  13 . The point management server system  1  stores the amount of the “points” received from the dealer company terminal  7   1  in the point management database  40  of the point management server  4 .  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary operation of converting “points” into electronic money. The operation described below assumes a case when the “points” are converted into electronic money by using the dealer company terminal  7   1 . It should be understood, however, that “points” may be correspondingly converted by using the other dealer company terminals  7 , the customer terminals  8 , or the associate store terminals  9 .  
      At Step S 201 , the customer connects the point card  13  to the card reader/writer  12  within the dealer company terminal  7   1 , and thereby allows the dealer company terminal  7   1  to read the information stored in the point card  13 . At Step S 202 , the customer uses the dealer company terminal  7   1  to access through the intranet  10  an electronic money conversion Web page provided by the point management server system  1 .  
      At Step S 203 , the electronic money conversion Web page prompts the customer to input the customer ID and the password on the electronic money conversion Web page. The inputted customer ID and password are transmitted to the customer management server  3 , and the customer is authenticated with the customer ID and password by using the customer management database  30 .  
      When the customer is successfully authenticated, at Step S 204 , the electronic money conversion Web page then prompts the customer to input the vehicle information. The dealer company terminal  7   1  transmits the inputted vehicle information to the sales management server  2  through the intranet  10 .  
      At Step S 205 , the point management server system  1  determines whether the vehicle information received from the dealer company terminal  7   1  is coincident with the vehicle information associated with the customer ID within the sales management database  20 . If not coincident, an error message indicating that the conversion into the electronic money is not allowed is outputted to the dealer company terminal  7   1  at Step S 207 . If coincident, the process proceeds to Step S 206 , and an allowance message is outputted to the dealer company terminal  7   1  to report that the conversion of the “points” into electronic money is allowable.  
      Upon receiving the allowance message, the dealer company terminal  7   1  accesses to the point management server  4  at Step S 208 . The dealer company terminal  7   1  extracts the information associated with the relevant point card  13  from the point management database  40 , and displays the amount of “points” on the electronic money conversion Web page. When the point expiration date is coming soon, the amount of the “points” and the point expiration date are displayed on the electronic money conversion Web page. This allows the customer to avoid the “points” becoming ineffective because of the expiration.  
      At Step S 209 , the electronic money conversion Web page prompts the customer to determine the amount of the “points” to be converted into electronic money on the basis of the displayed amount of the “points”. The amount of the “points” to be converted into electronic money can be arbitrarily determined in accordance with the customer&#39;s choice. The dealer company terminal  7   1  transmits the inputted amount of the “points” to be converted into electronic money to the point management server  4 .  
      At Step S 210 , the point management server  4  transmits electronic money conversion allowance information to the electronic money management server  5  through the dedicated line  10   a , the allowance information being composed of the allowance message of the conversion into the electronic money generated at Step S 206  and the amount of the “points” to be converted into electronic money. Upon completing the transmission of the allowance information, the point management server  4  subtracts the amount of the “points” converted into the electronic money from that of the original “points” to update the point management database  40  with respect to the relevant point card  13 .  
      At Step S 211 , the electronic money management server  5  authenticates the received electronic money conversion allowance information. The authentication is instantly implemented upon receiving the electronic money conversion allowance information. If the electronic money conversion allowance information is not successfully authenticated, an error message indicating that the conversion into the electronic money is not allowed is outputted to the dealer company terminal  7   1  at Step S 213 .  
      If the electronic money conversion allowance information is successfully authenticated, on the other hand, the process proceeds to Step S 212 . The electronic money management server  5  determines the amount of electronic money for the converted “points” in accordance with the received electronic money conversion allowance information, and transmits electronic money amount information representative of the determined amount of the electronic money to the electronic money dealing Web server  6 . In response to the electronic money amount information, the electronic money dealing Web server  6  updates the electronic money information database  60 , and transmits an update completion report to the electronic money management server  5 .  
      At Step S 214 , the electronic money management server  5  generates a process completion message in response to the reception of the update completion report to transmit through the intranet  10  to the dealer company terminal  7   1 . The dealer company terminal  7   1  displays a message indicating the completion of the conversion of the desired amount of the “points” into electronic money on the electronic money conversion Web page, in response to the reception of the process completion message. The electronic money conversion Web page then displays the amount of the electronic money stored in the relevant point card  13 , and the amount of the electronic money that is stored in the electronic money dealing Web server  6  but not yet transferred to the relevant point card  13 . The electronic money conversion Web page then prompts the relevant customer to indicate the amount of the electronic money to be transferred from the electronic money dealing Web server  6  to the relevant point card  13 . When the customer selects the amount of the electronic money to be transferred, the dealer company terminal  7   1  transmits a request representative of the selected amount of the electronic money to the electronic money dealing Web server  6 . Upon receiving the request from the dealer company terminal  7   1 , the electronic money dealing Web server  6  transfers the amount of the electronic money to the relevant point card  13  in accordance with the received request, and updates the electronic money information database  60  in response to the amount of the transferred electronic money.  
      The operation described above effectively achieves real-time cashback for “points”. This is advantageous for the customers, because no expiration date is determined for electronic money. Conventionally, points are ineffective after the expiration date; however, the real-time cashback system in this embodiment allows customers to convert “points” into electronic money, and to thereby avoid “points” being lost because of the expiration.  
      Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been changed in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.