Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
  • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
  • G06K19/08—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code using markings of different kinds or more than one marking of the same kind in the same record carrier, e.g. one marking being sensed by optical and the other by magnetic means
  • G06K19/10—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code using markings of different kinds or more than one marking of the same kind in the same record carrier, e.g. one marking being sensed by optical and the other by magnetic means at least one kind of marking being used for authentication, e.g. of credit or identity cards
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
  • G07F7/08—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means
  • G07F7/0866—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means by active credit-cards adapted therefor
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
  • G06Q20/04—Payment circuits
  • G06Q20/06—Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
  • G06Q20/065—Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme using e-cash
  • G06Q20/0658—Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme using e-cash e-cash managed locally
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

• the subject of the invention is a smart card with a counter, in particular a unit or bonus counter. It also relates to a method of implementing such a smart card.
• This smart card is dedicated to at least one application.
• the invention is also applicable in the case where the smart card is of the ⁇ mlti-applications type: when it can be used by its bearer to obtain services from different service providers (car rental, distribution of drinks, consultation of databases of data) .
• the object of the invention is to facilitate the commercial dissemination of the goods or services sold and for which payment is made, or accompanied, by the presentation of such smart cards.
• An application is the set of instructions and actions executed both by a card microprocessor and that of a card reader, or by the peripherals which are functionally linked to it and which lead to the delivery of a good or of a service.
• Promotional offers represent a certain cost for a service provider or seller of goods.
• the object of the invention is to overcome this problem by proposing, in the chip card operating system, either in hardware form or in software form, the creation of one or more auxiliary counters whose accumulations will take take into account changes in the credit counter, and / or the bonus counter, and / or certain auxiliary counters, and / or even the occurrence of certain subroutines of the application program.
• the counters of an application are even modified as a function of another application.
• the subject of the invention is therefore a smart card with microprocessor provided with a program for executing a first application, and at least a first counter, characterized in that it comprises at least one auxiliary counter whose content is modified by an action on this first counter or by the counting of actions of the application program.
• the invention also relates to a method for implementing a bonus counter in a smart card comprising at least one counter block, each counter block comprising a bonus counter and at least one auxiliary counter characterized in that it comprises steps of
• each bonus counter defines at least one associated auxiliary counter whose content is capable of being modified by an action on the counter corresponding bonuses, or by counting the actions of an application program;
• FIG. 2a to 2d essential steps for setting up software auxiliary counters in accordance with the invention
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a smart card 1 provided with a statistical monitoring device according to the invention.
• the chip card 1 represented comprises, in the electronic chip (an electronic integrated circuit), a microprocessor 2 in relation to a program memory 3 via a bus 4.
• This system comprises in a known manner a memory of data 5 and an interface 6 for exchanges with the outside world, a reader not shown.
• the interface 6 comprises an electrical connector connected to the bus 4. It may however be for the interface 6 a wireless, infrared or other type of connection.
• the smart card 1 preferably, but not necessarily, includes a credit counter 7 for containing information relating to consumption units available with the card.
• the credits can be telephone consumption units in the case where the card 1 is intended to provide such services. Units can also be expressed in monetary form if card 1 is an electronic wallet.
• the card 1 may include a counter S for counting gratuities, for example of the type of those mentioned above. These gratuities take the form of points recorded in binary form in the counter S.
• the counters 7 and 3 are connected by the bus 4 to the microprocessor 2.
• the smart card of the invention comprises at least one of these two counters 7 or 8. Optionally, it includes both of them. Or even, it includes several of at least one of these types to count units or gratuities of different types.
• the operating system of the card also comprises at least one other counter, auxiliary, 9 the content of which is modified by an action on the counter 7 of credits, on the counter 8 of bonuses, or even by the execution of an instruction contained in the application program stored in the memory 3.
• the auxiliary counter 9 counts down in the latter case the number of executions of these instructions, and is incremented by one each time time.
• Called counter block one or more auxiliary counters associated with a gratuity counter and / or a unit counter in a application.
• the advantage is to be able to modify the content of an auxiliary counter, not only as a function of the content of a first gratuity counter associated with an application, but also as a function of '' another bonus counter, associated with another application.
• links are then created between several counter blocks (bonus counter + associated auxiliary counters) for joint commercial development applications known as "co branding" in Anglo-Saxon literature.
• the auxiliary counter has four sub-counters: 10 to 13.
• the counters 10 to 13 respectively represent a counter for visits, a counter for accumulating bonuses, a counter for accumulating redemptions and a counter for accumulating services.
• the counter 10 of visits records the number of times the counter 7 has been reduced: it counts the number of purchases.
• the bonus counter 11 counts the accumulated points, without worrying about their possible deduction.
• the counter 12 for cumulative redemptions counts, as desired, the bonus points consumed, or the number of promotions subscribed, or even both (in this case it is double).
• the cumulative service counter 13 counts the number of uses of a particular service. These counters 10-13 can be produced in a physical form.
• FIGS. 2a to 2d show the principle of making preferred software counters of the invention. It is also possible to also realize the counter 7 of credits and the counter 8 of gratuities in a software form.
• these counters comprise on the one hand a non-volatile register which can be represented schematically by the references 7,8 and 10 to 13 in FIG. 1, and on the other hand by a set of instructions present in the program stored in memory 3.
• counters 10-13 can be of the abacus type recorded in non-volatile memory.
• the counter 10 of visits, FIG. 2a can for example include in its software implementation a test operation 18 measuring the evolution of the counter 7 of credits. Either the credit counter 7 has not been reduced or it has been reduced. If it has been reduced, this means that the customer has consumed consumption units during a visit to the supplier of goods or services. In this case, independently of the gratuities which could be granted to him and which would possibly correspond to a proportion of the sum purchased (consumption units spent), we will count his visit by increasing the visit counter by one unit. the contents of register 10 to add a unit. This is done in step 19 in the event that test 18 shows that the credit counter has been decreased.
• Step 2b we will see if the bonus counter has been increased in step 20. If necessary, in a step 21, the counter 21 for accumulating bonuses will be incremented. In this case, the incrementation will be one or n units depending on whether you want to know the total number of bonuses acquired, or simply the number of times they were acquired. If necessary, there are even two counters 11 for monitoring these two solutions.
• FIG. 2d in a test 24, it will be sought to know whether a particular instruction originating from the program stored in the memory 3 has been implemented.
• a service can for example be a consultation of an account statement, a consultation of a catalog of products offered by the service provider, or others.
• Test 24 can also be replaced by a complement to the instruction launched and monitored.
• this instruction which has the effect of making available to the holder of the smart card a particular good or service, includes an instruction code which can be supplemented by an additional instruction code.
• This additional instruction code can, once entered in the microprocessor 2 instruction register, cause the counter 13 to increment.
• This additional instruction code corresponds to this additional instruction 25. In this case there is not strictly speaking a test but rather a automatic mandatory operation.
• the state of the counters 10 to 13 can also be stored in a particular register, for example a register 26 of the memory 5.
• a register 26 of the memory 5 In this way, each time that the card 1 is put in contact with a reader, the latter takes cognizance of the consumption profile of the card holder by prior reading of this register 26.
• This reader can offer this card holder special services or promotions. It is also possible to count the number of times the card holder has been solicited by promotions, and the number of times he has entered them. In these conditions, special counters will be installed in the card.
• At least one counter block assigned to a first application is produced in a card.
• one of the counters of the other application is then incremented by 1 or n units (for example the gratuity counter) when a counter of the first application (counter of units, of bonuses, visits, cumulative bonuses, accumulation of redemptions or accumulation of services) is requested.
• n units for example the gratuity counter
• the first application can be carried out with a sequence of instructions from the program of the other application (a subroutine of this other application) launched by the program of this first application.
• the gratuity counter of the other application one can of course also modify any other of its auxiliary counters, or even the unit counter of this other application.
• each counter 10 to 13 created will preferably include indications of the start date of the creation and, if applicable, the end date of the promotion.
• the label in practice is stored in memory 9 at a correspondence table providing information on the one hand on the labels and on the other hand on the addresses, in memory 9, where the registers 10 to 13 are located which represent the associated counters to these labels.

Landscapes

• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Finance (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Development Economics (AREA)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
• Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Cash Registers Or Receiving Machines (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
• Storage Device Security (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9506059

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (26)

• 1997
  • 1997-04-17 FR FR9704782A patent/FR2762424B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1998
  • 1998-04-17 CN CN98806265A patent/CN1260893A/zh active Pending
  • 1998-04-17 EP EP98921562A patent/EP0976112A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1998-04-17 BR BR9808572-7A patent/BR9808572A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-04-17 WO PCT/FR1998/000784 patent/WO1998048387A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1998-04-17 AR ARP980101796A patent/AR012471A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-04-17 JP JP54515498A patent/JP2001524234A/ja active Pending
  • 1998-04-17 AU AU74368/98A patent/AU7436898A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-04-17 CA CA002287491A patent/CA2287491A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-04-17 KR KR1019997009590A patent/KR20010006500A/ko not_active Withdrawn
• 1999
  • 1999-11-01 US US09/431,655 patent/US6698661B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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