Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 01/24081 CA 02382566 2002-03-22 pCT~S00/24521
COMPUTER NETWORK PORTAL SYSTEM AND PAYMENT METHOD
FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE OPPORTUNITIES
This invention relates to a system and method of providing electronic
commerce opportunities, and more particularly, to a computer network portal
system
and a method used in the portal system for providing payment options for such
electronic commerce opportunities to customers.
Electronic commerce on the Internet embraces enormous potential for new
revenues for vendors. There are many goods and services already offered on the
Internet. In order to purchase a good or service over the Internet, a customer
typically accesses a website of a vendor, selects a desired good or service,
and
sends a purchase order together with its identification and finance
information, such
as a credit or debit card data. Upon receiving the purchase order, the vendor
bills
the customer using the finance information and forwards the purchased goods or
services to the customer. The procedure of purchasing goods or services on the
Internet is easy and quick for customers.
However, the easiness of access to the Internet and its open architecture also
involves insecurity of information exchanged thereon. Also, legitimacy of
vendors
posting electronic commerce opportunities on the Internet are often unknown to
customers. These factors often make customers reluctant to provide their
identification and financial information over the Internet to such vendors.
Thus, the
growth of electronic commerce on the Internet is not as rapid as vendors would
like.
In order to attend to the security problems, many encryption softwares are
proposed. However, those encryption softwares usually require customers to
have
special softwares. The use of encryption softwares are often complicated.
Thus,
the use of encryption softwares is not suitable for many customers when
shopping
for goods and services of various vendors.
US Patent No. 5,899,980 issued on May 4, 1999 to Wilf, et al. and US Patent
No. 5,794,221 issued on August 11, 1998 to Egendorf propose systems which
avoid
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the need of transmitting financial information of customers over the Internet.
However, these system providers require identity and financial information of
customers to be provided in advance. Thus, customers who have not so provided
the system providers with their identity and finance information cannot use
these
systems.
There is therefore a need for a system which provides customers with a
secure way of participating in electronic commerce on the Internet or other
computer
networks without a need of providing their identity or finance information in
advance.
The present invention uses a computer network portal system which receives
a purchase order from a customer with customer data, replaces the customer
purchase order with a network purchase order, and forwards the network
purchase
order to a relevant vendor through a computer network. The network purchase
order hides the customer data, and replaces it with network data which is
irrelevant
to the customer data.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
computer network portal system connectable to a computer network which
includes
at least a vendor computer of a vendor who offers items. The computer network
portal system comprises a portal server and a network order generator. The
portal
server is connectable to the computer network for receiving item information
from
the vendor, and provided for presenting the item information to a customer,
and for
receiving from the customer a customer purchase order for purchasing an item.
The
customer purchase order includes item data for specifying the item and
customer
data relating to the customer. The network order generator is provided for
replacing
the customer data in the customer purchase order with network data which is
irrelevant to the customer data, and generating a network purchase order
including
the item data and the network data which is sent to the vendor computer
through the
computer network.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a computer network portal system connectable to a computer network which
includes at least a vendor computer of a vendor who offers items. The computer
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network portal system comprises a portal server and a connection unit. The
portal
server is connectable to the computer network for receiving item information
from
the vendor, and provided for presenting the item information to a customer,
and for
receiving from the customer a customer purchase order for purchasing an item.
The
customer purchase order includes item data for specifying the item and
customer
data relating to the customer. The connection unit is provided for
communicating a
finance computer of a financial entity for forwarding the customer purchase
order to
the finance computer, for receiving a network purchase order from the finance
computer, and for sending the network purchase order to the vendor computer
through the computer network. The network purchase order is generated by the
finance computer in response to the customer purchase order and includes the
item
data and network finance data which is irrelevant to the customer data.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a method for ordering an item to a vendor. The method comprises the steps of
receiving a customer purchase order from a customer who wants to purchase an
item offered by a vendor, the customer purchase order including item data
specifying the item and customer data relating to the customer; replacing the
customer data with network data which is irrelevant to the customer data;
generating
a network purchase order including the item data and the network data; and
forwarding the network purchase order to the vendor through a computer
network.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
an Internet portal system connectable through the Internet to at least a
vendor
computer of a vendor who offers items. The Internet portal system comprises a
web
server and a network order generator. The web server is connectable to the
Internet, and used for providing a portal website for presenting to a customer
item
information received from the vendor, and for receiving from the customer a
customer purchase order for purchasing an item. The customer purchase order
includes item data specifying the item and customer data relating to the
customer.
The network order generator is provided for replacing the customer data in the
customer purchase order with network data which is irrelevant to the customer
data,
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and generating a network purchase order including the item data and the
network
data which is sent to the vendor computer through the Internet.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a method for ordering an item to a vendor using a computer network. The method
comprises the steps of providing a customer options to select whether the
customer
orders an item to a vendor with or without revealing customer identity data to
the
vendor; and providing a customer options to select whether the customer makes
payment for the item with or without revealing customer finance data to the
vendor.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will be readily apparent
to
those skilled in the art from a review of the following detailed description
of preferred
embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The invention will be further understood from the following description with
reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer network in
which a computer network portal system in accordance with the present
invention is
used;
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the computer network
portal system;
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing data flow in the computer network
using the computer network portal system shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a computer
network portal system;
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing data flow in the computer network
using the computer network portal system shown in Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the portal system shown in
Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the portal
system;
Figure 8 is a flowchart showing payment options; and
Figure 9 is a flowchart showing another payment options.
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Referring to Figures 1 to 3, an embodiment of a computer network portal
system 10 in accordance with the present invention is described.
The portal system 10 is connected to a computer network 12. The computer
network 12 may be of any type. The present invention is suitably applied to an
open
computer network which is accessible by the public, such as the Internet.
Vendors who wish to participate in electronic commerce on the computer
network 12 connect one or more vendor computers 14 to the computer network 12.
The vendors post item information on the computer network 12 using the vendor
computers 14. The vendors may also provide item information through other
conventional medium, such as direct mail, television, radio, newspapers,
magazines
and catalogues. The vendors may provide item information using conventional
medium directly to customers or through the portal service provider. The
portal
service provider may be the owner of the portal system 10, a financial entity
or other
party who provides the portal services.
The item information may include description of the item and conditions of
purchases. The description of the item may include texts, photos, videos and
audios. Items may be of any type which can be offered or delivered to or
purchased
by customers directly or indirectly using the computer network 12. For
example,
items may be tangible goods, such as, watches and air tickets, or intangible
services
such as house cleaning and transmission of music. When the vendors offer items
through a non-computer medium, the vendors also provide contact information of
the portal service provider. The vendors may also provide contact information
of
their own, so that customers may elect to purchase directly from the vendor or
to
purchase through the portal system 10. The contact information is typically a
telephone number, but may be other contact methods, such as a fax number,
mailing address and/or web site address.
Customers may use services provided by the portal system 10 through a
customer interface terminal 16 which is connected to the computer network 12
or a
customer interface terminal 18 which is connected to the portal system 10, as
further
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described later. Customers may also use the portal services through other
communication means, such as telephone, fax and mail.
As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the portal system 10 comprises a
portal server 30 and an order generator 32. These and other elements of the
portal
system 10 are further described with the operation thereof, referring to
Figure 6.
The portal server 30 is connected to the computer network 12. It receives
item information offered by vendors from the vendor computers 14 (120). The
portal
server 30 may also receive item information from the portal service provider's
computer (not shown) which receives item information provided by the vendors
through conventional medium. The portal server 30 presents the item
information to
customers (122). Customers may access the presented information using a
customer interface terminal 16 or 18 (124). Customers may also receive
presented
item information through conventional medium from the portal service provider
or
from the vendors directly (126).
A customer may not want to reveal his/her data to the vendor or may not want
to directly deal with the vendor which may be unknown to the customer to
purchase
an item. In that case, the customer elects to order the item through the
portal
system 10 (127). The customer may use a customer interface terminal 16 or 18,
or
through conventional communication means, e.g., telephone (128).
When the customer elects to use a customer interface terminal 16 or 18,
he/she issues a customer purchase order through the customer interface
terminal 16
or 18 (130). The customer purchase order includes item data and customer data.
The item data specifies the item to be purchased. The customer data may
include
customer identification and/or customer finance data. The customer finance
data
specifies the method of payment by the customer. It is typically a credit,
debit or
stored value card data of the customer. When the purchased item will need to
be
delivered to a receiver, the customer purchase order also includes data
regarding
the receiver of the purchased item. The receiver is not necessarily the same
as the
purchaser. Accordingly, the vendor would not know from the receiver data the
identification of the customer, i.e., the purchaser.
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When the customer elects to order an item through the portal system 10 over
telephone (128), the customer dials the given telephone number of the portal
service
provider, and places a customer purchase order with the portal service
provider
(131 ). The customer typically provides specific order information such as
size, color
and quantity and receiver information, as a part of the customer purchase
order.
Customers may also use other conventional communication means.
The portal system 10 intercepts the transaction between the customer and
the vendor offering the item. The portal server 30 receives the customer
purchase
order (132). In response to the customer purchase order, the order generator
32
generates a network purchase order (134). The network purchase order includes
the item data and network data. The item data is the same as that included in
the
customer purchase order. The network data may include network finance data.
The
network finance data is irrelevant to the customer finance data included in
the
customer purchase order. Thus, the customer finance data is hidden from the
1 S network purchase order. The identification of the customer is also not
included in
the network purchase order. Accordingly, the customer data is not revealed to
the
vendor. The network finance data may be provided by the portal service
provider,
e.8., the owner or sponsor of the portal system 10.
The portal server 30 forwards the network purchase order to the vendor
computer 14 through the computer network 12 (136). In response to the network
purchase order, the vendor provides the purchased item to the customer or
another
receiver (138). The purchased item is delivered to a specified receiver when
the
receiver data is included in the customer and network purchase orders. The
receiver may be or may not be the customer. When the customer is the receiver
of
the purchased item and the purchased item is deliverable over the computer
network, the purchased item may be transmitted to the customer over the
computer
network in the reverse direction of the network and customer purchase orders.
For the purchased item, the vendor bills the portal service provider, e.8.,
the
owner or sponsor of the portal server 30, using the network finance data
included in
the network purchase order. The portal service provider may pay the vendor
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through the computer network or using other methods. The portal service
provider
bills the customer using the customer finance data included in the customer
purchase order. The owner or sponsor of the portal system 10 may verify the
customer finance data with an appropriate financial entity, e.g., the bank of
the
customer's debit card or the credit card company of the customer's credit
card. The
verification is preferably carried out prior to generating the network
purchase order.
As shown in Figure 2, it is preferable that the portal system 10 also has a
connection port 34 through which it can communicate with a computer 20 of such
a
financial entity. The communication link 21 between the port 34 and the
financial
entity computer 20 may be a dial-up line or a dedicated line. Thus, the portal
system
10 may verify the customer finance data on line. It is preferable that the
verification
of the customer finance data is carried out automatically upon the receipt of
the
customer purchase order.
At box 127 of Figure 6, when the customer elects to purchase directly from
the vendor, the customer orders directly with the vendor together with payment
(140). The customer may send a customer purchase order to the vendor computer
14 through a user interface terminal 16, or may contact the vendor using the
given
contact information of the vendor.
As described above, according to the present invention, there is no direct
communication necessary between customers and vendors when customers
purchase items through the portal system 10. Thus, customers do not need to
disclose their finance data or identification to vendors. They can always deal
with a
trusted party, i.e., the portal service provider such as the owner or sponsor
of the
portal system 10. Also, in order to access item information and place a
customer
purchase order using a customer interface terminal 16 or 18, customers do not
need
to have any special software to use the portal system 10 as long as they have
access to a customer interface terminal which is capable of handling
communication
with the computer network 12. Furthermore, as the portal system 10 allows
customers to use conventional communication means to obtain item information
and
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place a purchase order, customers who do not have access to the computer
network
12 or customer interface terminals 18 can also benefit from the portal system
10.
As described above, customers may transmit to the portal server 30 their
purchase orders using a customer interface terminal 16 that is connected to
the
computer network 12 directly or through a third party network connection
service
provider. However, it is preferable that customers use a customer interface
terminal
18 which is connected to the portal system 10 by a system communication link
19.
The system communication link 19 may be any closed communication link which is
not accessible by the public. It is preferably a dedicated link that is
dedicated to the
communication between the portal system 10 and customer interface terminal 18.
By using such a system communication link 19, customers do not need to
disclose
their finance data over the open computer network 12 at all.
As a customer interface terminal 18, a public access computer terminal is
suitably used. The public access computer terminal is preferably provided at a
location accessible by the public, e.g., near an entrance of a retailer. It
interfaces
communication with customers. The public access computer terminal is
preferably
connected to the portal server 10 by a direct dedicated link 19. It may be
connected
to the portal server 10 through other devices, such as a retailer server.
The public access computer terminal 18 preferably has a customer input
device, display device, a card reader and a printer. Customers may view item
information on the display device, and enter selection of an item by the input
device.
The card reader may read customers' credit, debit or stored value cards. The
printer
may print out receipts. The public access computer terminal 18 may also have a
microphone or telephone handset and a voice recognition function, so that
customers can enter necessary data for purchase by dictation.
Customers may also use the public access computer terminal from any other
computer terminal which is connected to the public access computer terminal by
a
communication link, e.g., a dial-up link.
It is preferable that multiple public access computer terminals are provided
for
the portal system 10.
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Figure 3 illustrates an example of purchase data flow among the portal
system 10, a vendor computer 14, a customer interface terminal 18 and a
financial
entity computer 20 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1. When a customer
selects an item and transmits the finance data from the customer interface
terminal
18, a customer purchase order 22 is forwarded to the portal system 10. The
portal
system 10 may verify the customer finance data 24 with the financial entity
computer
20 (26). The portal system 10 generates a network purchase order 28 including
network finance data. Then, it forwards the network purchase order 28 to the
vendor computer 14.
Item information is typically posted on the Internet by vendors through their
websites. It is desirable that the portal server 30 also provides its website
to present
the item information to customers. In this case, the portal server 30
retrieves from
the vendors' websites web pages including the item information. The portal
server
30 may first present a menu indicating the vendors or classifications of items
offered, and then retrieve the web pages from the vendor's websites in
response to
a selection from the menu by a customer.
The vendors' websites typically contain a button or form to order items
directly
from the vendors. In order to avoid disclosure of customers' finance data and
identification to the vendors, it is preferable that the portal server 30 is
provided with
a reformatting function 36. By the reformatting function 36, the portal server
30
reformats the retrieved web pages to include an activating function, prior to
presenting them to customers. The activating function is used for activating
the
order generator 32. The activating function may be actuated by a customer
directly
by pressing an indication, e.g., an "order" button. It may be actuated in
response to
the selection of an item by the customer on the website of the portal system
10.
It is also preferable that the portal server 30 has a monitoring function 38
for
monitoring selection of an item by a customer. By monitoring the selection,
the
portal server 30 can obtain the item data. This eliminates a need for the
customer to
manually input the entire or partial item data.
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Depending on the item purchased, the customer purchase order includes
information regarding the receiver of the purchased item. The receiver may be
the
same as or different from the purchaser. When the customer purchase order
includes receiver information, the network purchase order also includes the
receiver
information. Thus, the purchased item can be delivered to the intended
receiver.
Referring to Figures 4 and 5, another embodiment of a portal system 50 of
the present invention is described. This embodiment is similar to that shown
in
Figure 2, other than the location of the network purchase order generator 32.
The
same reference numerals are used for similar elements.
The portal system 50 comprises a portal server 30 and a connection port 34.
It does not have an order generator which is present in the portal system 10
shown
in Figure 2.
In this embodiment, generation of network purchase orders is carried out by a
financial entity computer 20 or other computer (not shown) directly or
indirectly
connected to the connection port 34. Such other computer preferably uses a
dedicated communication link or a dial-up communication link to the connecting
port
34 or to the financial entity computer 20. The financial entity computer 20 is
connected to the connection port 34 using a direct or dial-up communication
link 21,
as described above referring to Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 5, when a customer purchase order is issued from the
customer interface terminal 18 or 16, the portal system 50 forwards it to the
financial
entity computer 20 through the connection port 34. In response to the customer
purchase order, the financial entity computer 20 or the other computer (not
shown)
generates a network purchase order which is similar to that described above.
Figure 5 illustrates an example of purchase data flow among the portal
system 50, a vendor computer 14, a customer interface terminal 18 and a
financial
entity computer 20 in the embodiment shown in Figure 4. In this example, the
financial entity computer 20 generates a network purchase order. When a
customer selects an item and transmits the finance data from the customer
interface
terminal 18, a customer purchase order 22 is forwarded to the portal system
50.
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The portal system 50 in turn forwards the customer purchase order 22 to the
financial entity computer 20. The financial entity computer 20 verifies the
customer
finance data by itself or by communicating with other financial entity
computer or
computers. The financial entity computer 20 then generates a network purchase
order 28 including network finance data. Then, the financial entity computer
20
forwards it to the portal system 50, which in turn forwards it to the vendor
computer
14. The financial entity computer 20 may forward the network purchase order 28
to
the vendor computer 14 directly.
This system enables direct participation of the financial entity in electronic
commerce. The financial entity may add one or more additional values to the
transaction, such as providing the vendor warrantee of no charge back, except
for
bad merchandise. The financial entity may issue a special "electrical credit
card" to
each customer for use for electronic commerce payments through the portal
system
10.
In the above embodiments, customers make payments at the time of ordering
one or more items. Referring to Figures 7 and 8, another embodiment of a
computer network portal system 100 in accordance with the present invention is
described. This system 100 provides customers with an additional option by
which
the customers can make payment at a time later than that order of items.
The system 100 is similar to the system 10 shown in Figure 1 and further
includes one or more payment terminals 102 connected to the portal system 100.
One or more payment terminals 102 are provided at one or more physical payment
locations. Physical payment locations are typically accessible by the public,
such as
participating retail locations. Each payment terminal 102 is connected to the
portal
system 100. Each payment terminal 102 may be a retail terminal, such as a cash
register or Point-Of-Sale (POS) system terminal. Each payment terminal 102 may
be connected to the portal system 100 directly or indirectly through a retail
system or
other physical payment location's system (not shown).
The operation of the portal system 100 is similar to that shown in Figure 6.
As shown in Figure 8, when a customer places a customer purchase order at 130
or
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131, the portal system 100 provides the customer with two options: "pay now"
or
"pay later" (150). When the customer selects the "pay now" option (152), the
portal
system 100 works as described above (132). In order to select the "pay now"
option,
the customer needs to have a credit, debit or stored value card or other
payment
means usable over the communication means, e.g., the computer network or
telephone.
When a customer selects the "pay later" option (152), the portal system 100
receives the customer purchase order and provides the customer with
confirmation
of the purchase order (156). The order confirmation includes an order
identification,
such as an order number or order name. The portal system 100 maintains the
purchase order on a status of "on-hold - pending payment" (158).
The customer then goes to a physical payment location, and makes payment
for the purchased item at the physical payment location (160). The customer
identifies the purchase order using the order identification included in the
order
confirmation. Thus, the customer can use cash or check as well as a credit,
debit or
stored value card at the payment terminal 102. The customer may make the full
payment at a time at a physical payment location, or divide the payment into
some
portions and pay each portion at a different time at the same physical payment
location or a different physical payment location.
The information of the payment is sent to the portal system 100 through the
payment terminal 102 with the order identification (162). When the full
payment is
made, the portal system 100 generates a network purchase order using the order
identification and its corresponding customer purchase order which is
maintained in
the portal system 100 (134).
The portal system 100 may send to the vendor the network purchase order
prior to receiving the payment information and the vendor may maintain the
received
purchase order on a status of "on-hold - pending payment" until the portal
system
100 confirms the receipt of the full payment.
As described above, the customer may go to any participating physical
payment location. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8, the customer may
designate
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a participating physical payment location to make the payment (154). In this
case,
the customer makes the payment at the designated physical payment location
(160).
It is preferable that the portal system 100 prompts the customer to estimate
by when the customer will make the payment. The portal service provider or
vendor,
through the portal system 100, may provide a default time of payment deadline.
Purchase orders on a status of "on-hold - pending payment" may be cancelled if
full
payment is not made within the time period estimated and provided by the
customer
or defaulted by the portal service provider or vendor through the portal
system 100.
The portal system 100 may forward a network purchase order to the vendor
prior to receiving the payment information from the payment terminal 102. In
this
case, the vendor maintains the order on a status of "on-hold - pending
payment"
until the payment confirmation is provided by the portal system 100 or a
predetermined time period expires.
The customer who elects to order items directly from the vendor at 127 in
Figure 6 may also use the portal system 100 for making payment.
As shown in Figure 9, when a customer places a customer purchase order at
140 in Figure 6, the vendor provides the customer with two options: "pay now"
or
"pay later" (170). When the customer selects the "pay now" option (172), the
customer makes payment using a credit, debit or stored value card or other
payment
means that is acceptable by the vendor.
When a customer selects the "pay later" option (172), the customer may
designate one of the participating physical payment locations to make the
payment
at (174). The vendor provides the customer with confirmation of the purchase
order
(176). The order confirmation includes an order identification, such as an
order
number. The vendor maintains the purchase order on a status of "on-hold -
pending payment" (178).
The customer then goes to a physical payment location, and makes payment
for the purchased item at the physical payment location (160). The customer
identifies the purchase order using the order identification included in the
order
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confirmation. Thus, the customer can use cash or check as well as a credit,
debit or
stored value card at a payment terminal 102.
The information of the payment is sent to the portal system 100 through the
payment terminal 102 (180) together with the order identification. Then, the
portal
system 100 sends payment confirmation to the vendor with the order
identification
(182). The vendor provides purchased item to the receiver (138).
The participating physical payment locations may use a common sign to
indicate that customers may make payments for items that they purchased
through
the portal system 100.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and
described, changes and modifications may be made to such embodiments without
departing from the true scope of the invention. For example, in the above
embodiments, only a single financial entity computer is connected, but more
than
one financial entity computer may be connected.
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