JP2006318229A - Portable terminal and method for managing balance of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal and a balance management method in which a user can simply manage a plurality of currency units. <P>SOLUTION: The portable terminal 1 is provided with: a present position information acquisition part 121 for acquiring present position information 113d including information concerned with a present position; an exchange rate information acquisition part 122 for acquiring exchange rate information 113c including an exchange rate of a second currency unit to a first currency unit correspondingly to the present position information 113d; a storage part 113 for storing balance information including the first balance 113a of the first electronic money and the second balance 113b of the second electronic money; and a balance adjusting part 114 for converting a part of the first balance 113a into an amount based on the second currency unit by using the exchange rate information 113c when the second balance 113b is less than a prescribed amount, and replenishing the amount converted into the second balance 113b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a balance management method for the mobile terminal. In particular, the present invention relates to a portable terminal having an electronic money function that can be settled in a plurality of currency units, and a balance management method thereof.

  It has been put into practical use that a user performs general business transactions such as shopping and electronic commerce via the Internet without using cash by using an IC card storing money value information so-called electronic money. As such an electronic money IC card, a contactless IC card having an antenna inside and transmitting / receiving data such as monetary value information and settlement information using radio waves transmitted from an external terminal is known. Yes.

  Some IC cards that handle electronic money can handle a plurality of currency units. In this case, in a reader / writer having a function of exchanging a plurality of currency units, a method is adopted in which the user arbitrarily designates an amount to be converted and converts the electronic money stored in the IC card into a desired currency unit. be able to. However, since the electronic money currency unit conversion method is limited to the commercial transaction in the currency unit designated by the user, the user has to determine and select a currency unit that can be used in advance.

  Therefore, as a method of handling a plurality of currency units, balance information in a plurality of currency units and exchange rate information between each currency unit are stored in an IC card, which is an advantageous exchange rate when performing shopping or electronic commerce. An electronic money payment processing method is known in which payment processing is performed in units of currency (see Patent Document 1).

Further, in recent years, contactless IC cards have been connected to or built in mobile terminals such as mobile phones. In such a portable terminal, in order to handle a plurality of currency units, the exchange rate information corresponding to the user's current location is acquired by the communication unit or the location information acquisition unit, and the first currency unit to the second currency unit. It is known to notify the user of the converted balance (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-113081 A JP 2004-280656 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, an IC card can correspond to a plurality of currency units, but the currency unit stored in the IC card is a currency unit corresponding to a transaction processing device (for example, an IC card reader / writer). There was a need to match. For this reason, the user needs to store in advance an electronic money in a currency unit that can be handled by the transaction processing apparatus in an IC card.

  On the other hand, with the technology described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to grasp the current location using communication means and convert the balance held to currency units distributed at the current location. However, when there is a shortage of electronic money in currency units at the current location, it was necessary to replenish each time. Moreover, the balance could not be stored in a mobile terminal divided into a plurality of currency units.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the portable terminal and balance management method which a user can handle a some currency unit simply.

  A mobile terminal of the present invention is a mobile terminal that performs electronic payment using first electronic money in units of a first currency unit and second electronic money in units of a second currency unit, Current location information acquisition means for acquiring current location information including information relating to the current position, and exchange rate information corresponding to the current location information and acquiring exchange rate information including an exchange ratio of the second currency unit to the first currency unit When obtaining means, storage means for storing balance information including a first balance relating to the first electronic money and a second balance relating to the second electronic money, and the second balance being less than a predetermined amount And a balance adjusting means for converting a part of the first balance into an amount having the second currency unit as a unit by using the exchange rate information, and replenishing the second balance with the amount. .

  According to the portable terminal of the present invention, when the second balance becomes less than the predetermined amount, the exchange rate information corresponding to the current location information is used without replenishing the balance using a transaction processing device or the like. The second balance can be replenished. Accordingly, it becomes possible to perform settlement processing for a cocoon business transaction using the second balance, and the user can easily handle a plurality of currency units.

  The balance adjusting means may replenish the amount so that the second balance becomes a limit amount. With this configuration, the second balance can be supplemented without converting the first balance more than necessary.

  The limit amount may be an amount at which the second balance with respect to the first balance becomes a predetermined ratio. With this configuration as well, the second balance can be replenished without converting the first balance more than necessary.

  Further, the balance adjusting means may change the limit amount or the predetermined ratio based on the current location information or the exchange rate information. With this configuration, it is possible to replenish the balance according to the location where the mobile terminal is used in accordance with the current situation such as prices and exchange rates.

  Further, the present location information acquisition unit and the exchange rate information acquisition unit may acquire information from a plurality of routes. With this configuration, even when one route is not available, the latest exchange rate information and current location information can be acquired by using the other route.

  The present invention can be described as an invention of a portable terminal as described above, and can also be described as an invention of a balance management method as follows.

  The balance management method for a portable terminal according to the present invention is a portable terminal that performs electronic payment using first electronic money in units of a first currency unit and second electronic money in units of a second currency unit. A current location information acquisition step for acquiring current location information including information on the current position, and an exchange rate corresponding to the current location information and including an exchange ratio of the second currency unit to the first currency unit Exchange rate information acquisition step for acquiring rate information, and when the second balance is less than a predetermined amount, the exchange rate information is used to convert a part of the first balance into the second currency unit. And a balance adjustment step of replenishing the amount of money to the second balance.

  The invention relating to the balance management method of the portable terminal is an invention having technical features corresponding to the invention relating to the portable terminal and having the same operations and effects.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily perform a commercial transaction using electronic money in units of a plurality of currency units.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The configuration of the mobile terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The mobile terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 can carry out electronic settlement using first electronic money in units of a first currency unit and second electronic money in units of a second currency unit. The terminal includes a balance management unit 110, an information acquisition unit 120, a settlement processing unit 130, a clock unit 140, and a display unit 150 as functional components. Furthermore, the portable terminal 1 includes means (not shown) for a voice communication function, a data communication function (for example, an e-mail transmission / reception function, an Internet connection function) and the like.

  The information acquisition unit 120 of the portable terminal 1 can perform information communication by radio with the base station 2 which is an external device. In addition, the base station 2, the exchange 3, the first network 4, and the information server 7 can perform information communication with each other.

  Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 120 of the mobile terminal 1 can also perform information communication with the access point 5 that is an external device provided separately from the base station 2. In this case, the access point 5, the second network 6, and the information server 7 are configured to be able to perform information communication with each other.

  Next, the function of each component constituting the mobile terminal 1 will be described.

  The balance management unit 110 is a part that manages the balance of electronic money that is money value information. The balance management unit 110 includes an input / output unit 111, a control unit 112, a storage unit (storage unit) 113, and a balance adjustment unit (balance adjustment unit) 114.

  The input / output unit 111 is connected to the information acquisition unit 120, the settlement processing unit 130, the clock unit 140, and the display unit 150, and includes the current location information 113d, the first balance 113a relating to the first electronic money, and the second balance relating to the second electronic money. 2 is input / output of data relating to the balance 113b, exchange rate information 113c, current time, and the like.

  The control unit 112 performs control related to settlement of electronic money, a request for current location information, a request for foreign currency information, and balance adjustment, which will be described later.

  The storage unit 113 stores the first balance 113a related to the first electronic money and the second balance 113b related to the second electronic money as balance information. Here, the first electronic money is main monetary value information with the first currency unit as a unit. On the other hand, the second electronic money is monetary value information according to a second currency unit different from the first currency unit. The first currency unit and the second currency unit are different from each other. For example, if the first currency unit is Japanese yen, the second currency unit is US dollar, Canadian dollar, Euro. , British pound, Chinese yuan, Korean won, etc. The information handled as the balance and the currency unit is not limited to the currency distributed in a specific country or region, and may correspond to a monetary value that can be used only for a specific service (for example, food and drink, transportation). In addition, the area here is not limited to an economic / political area, but also includes a specific facility such as a transportation means or an amusement facility.

  Furthermore, the storage unit 113 stores the exchange rate information 113c acquired from the information server 7 via the information acquisition unit 120. The exchange rate information is information that corresponds to current location information 113d described later and includes an exchange ratio of the second currency unit to the first currency unit. Further, the exchange rate information 113c includes information such as an update date of the exchange rate information 113c in addition to the exchange ratio.

  The storage unit 113 stores current location information 113d acquired from the exchange 3 or the access point 5 described later via the information acquisition unit 120. Here, the current location information includes information on the current position. Specifically, the current location information 113d acquired from the exchange 3 or the access point 5 is information for specifying the location where the exchange 3 or the access point 5 is located, and directly or indirectly the country, region or facility of the location. It is for identification. More specifically, the current location information 113 d includes information such as a country code acquired from the exchange 3 and an address for specifying the access point 5. With this current location information 113d, it is possible to grasp the approximate current position with the mobile terminal 1, and as a result, it is possible to grasp the country, region and facility where the user is currently staying.

  The balance adjustment unit 114 converts a part of the first balance 113a into an amount in units of the second currency unit using the exchange rate information 113c, and replenishes the amount converted into the second balance 113b. . Details of processing relating to replenishment of the second balance 113b will be described later.

  The information acquisition unit 120 is a part that acquires the exchange rate information 113c and current location information 113d stored in the storage unit 113, and includes a current location information acquisition unit (current location information acquisition means) 121 and an exchange rate information acquisition unit (exchange rate information). Acquisition means) 122. The current location information acquisition unit 121 acquires current location information 113 d including information on the current position from the base station 2 or the access point 5 outside the mobile terminal 1. Further, the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 acquires the exchange rate information 113 c from the information server 7 outside the mobile terminal 1.

  As can be seen with reference to FIG. 1, the information acquisition unit 120, which is a means for communicating information with the base station 2, the exchange 3, the access point 5, the information server 7, etc. Section 121 and an exchange rate information acquisition section 122. Therefore, in the following description, when there is no particular need, the current location information acquisition unit 121 and the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 are not distinguished from each other, and are simply described as the information acquisition unit 120.

  Here, the information acquisition unit 120 can perform wireless communication with the base station 2 and performs information communication with the information server 7 via the base station 2, the exchange 3, and the first network 4.

  As a communication system in a communication system including the information acquisition unit 120 of the mobile terminal 1, the base station 2, and the exchange 3, a mobile phone such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Can be used. In such a communication system, the exchange 3 generally has an ID (country code) for identifying the country. Therefore, in response to a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1, the exchange 3 can transmit the country code as the current location information 113d to the current location information acquisition unit 121 of the mobile terminal 1. The acquisition of the current location information 113d is not limited to this, but the information using the information held by the base station 2 (for example, the ID of the base station) or the information held by the information server 7 (for example, the address of the server) is used. It may be what you did.

  In response to a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1, the information acquisition unit 120 acquires the exchange rate information 113 c from the information server 7 and inputs it to the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122.

  In addition, the information acquisition unit 120 can acquire information of the information server 7 from a route including the base station 2, the exchange 3, and the first network 4 (hereinafter referred to as “first route”). As indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1, information can be acquired from a route including the access point 5 and the second network 6 (hereinafter referred to as “second route”). When acquiring information of the information server 7 from the second route, the information acquisition unit 120 performs information communication with the information server 7 via the access point 5 and the second network 6.

  The second route is preferably constructed by a communication method different from that of the first route. The communication method adopted for the second route may be either wired communication or wireless communication. However, when wireless communication is used, standards such as “IEEE 802.11a”, “IEEE 802.11b”, and “IEEE 802.11g” are used. A standard wireless LAN can be used. In this case, the current location information 113d is acquired from information held by the access point 5 or a server (not shown) that manages the access point 5. As described above, when the information acquisition unit 120 of the mobile terminal 1 acquires the information of the information server 7 from a plurality of routes, the communication method adopted by the first route cannot be used (for example, in an airplane, a mobile phone) The exchange rate information 113c stored in the information server 7 can be acquired using the second route even in a region where the communication method is different.

  The settlement processing unit 130 has an electronic settlement function equivalent to an electronic money IC card used alone, and is configured to be able to communicate with the reader / writer 8 by a known electronic money system. ing. The electronic payment function of the payment processing unit 130 can be stopped by terminating application software built in the terminal or turning off the power of the portable terminal.

  Specifically, the settlement processing unit 130 is a part that performs settlement processing of electronic money (the first balance 113a or the second balance 113b) stored in the balance management unit 110. In the payment process, the payment processing unit 130 performs processing such as detection, mutual authentication, and billing information reception by performing wireless communication with the reader / writer 8. The transmission / reception unit 133 of the payment processing unit 130 performs communication related to electronic payment while performing mutual authentication with the reader / writer 8 by encryption / decryption processing using the key 132 in the authentication unit 131.

  In addition, the aspect which mounts the payment process part 130 in the portable terminal 1 is not specifically limited, It is good also as a built-in type and a removable card type.

  The display unit 150 is a part that displays the processes performed by the balance management unit 110, the information acquisition unit 120, and the settlement processing unit 131 and the results thereof, and displays displays related to the voice communication function and the data communication function of the mobile terminal 1. It can be shared with the part to do.

  Subsequently, the balance management method of the portable terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 while adding the explanation regarding the settlement processing by electronic settlement and the acquisition of the current location information and the exchange rate information. explain.

  First, payment processing by electronic payment performed between the mobile terminal 1 and the reader / writer 8 will be described with reference to FIG. The settlement process shown in FIG. 2 is common to the process for the first balance relating to the first electronic money and the process for the second balance relating to the second electronic money.

  The user of the mobile terminal 1 causes the reader / writer 8 to detect the payment processing unit 130 of the mobile terminal 1 by bringing the mobile terminal 1 close to the reader / writer 8 to a distance that allows mutual communication (S101). After mutual communication is possible, the reader / writer 8 and the settlement processing unit 130 perform mutual authentication according to the standard of electronic money to be used (S102). In mutual authentication, data exchange involving encryption / decryption using the key 132 can be performed.

  After performing mutual authentication, the reader / writer 8 generates billing information including the amount billed to the user of the mobile terminal 1 (S103). The billing information generated by the reader / writer 8 is transmitted to the settlement processing unit 130 and input to the balance management unit 110 via the settlement processing unit 130 (S104). The balance management unit 110 inputs billing information to the control unit 112 via the input / output unit 111. The control unit 112 compares the balance in the currency unit corresponding to the billing amount and the billing amount among the first balance 113a and the second balance 113b stored in the storage unit 113 (S105). If it is greater than the balance, the balance is withdrawn (S106), and the billing amount and the balance after the withdrawal are displayed on the display unit 150 (S107). On the other hand, the balance and the charged amount are compared (S105), and when the balance in the currency unit corresponding to the charged amount is insufficient, the balance is not deducted and the balance is insufficient as a processing result display. Is displayed on the display unit 150 (S107).

  Next, acquisition of the exchange rate information 113c and current location information 113d stored in the storage unit 113 of the balance management unit 110 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a case where the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d are acquired by a first route that is a route including the base station 2, the exchange 3, and the first network 4.

  When the electronic payment function is always activated (standby state), the time measured by the clock unit 140 reaches a predetermined time (the server-side information described in detail in FIG. 5 is updated). The control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1 starts an operation for acquiring the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d (S201). On the other hand, in the case of voluntary activation (detailed later) that activates the electronic payment function when necessary, the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1 acquires the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d when the electronic payment function is activated. For this purpose is started (S201). Next, the control unit 112 compares the date acquired from the clock unit 140 with the update date of the exchange rate information 113c, and determines whether or not the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113 is the exchange rate of the day. Confirm (S202).

  As a result of the confirmation, if the update date included in the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113 is the same as the date acquired from the clock unit 140, the process ends. On the other hand, if the two dates are different, the current location information acquisition unit 121 of the information acquisition unit 120 sends the current location information to the exchange 3 via the base station 2 in accordance with a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1. A request is transmitted (S203). In response to the transmission of the current location information request from the current location information acquisition unit 121, the exchange 3 generates current location information 113d (S204). Thereafter, the exchange 3 transmits the generated current location information 113d to the current location information acquisition unit 121 via the base station 2 (S205). The control unit 112 of the portable terminal 1 stores the received current location information 113d in the storage unit 113 of the balance management unit 110 (S206).

  After storing the current location information 113d in the storage unit 113, according to a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1, the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 of the information acquisition unit 120 sets the base station 2, the exchange 3 and the first network 4 together. The exchange rate information request including the information of the main first currency unit and the current location information 113d is transmitted to the information server 7 (S207).

  Upon receiving the exchange rate information request from the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122, the information server 7 generates exchange rate information 113c (S208). Here, the exchange rate information 113c generated by the information server 7 corresponds to the current location information 113d and includes at least the exchange rate of the subordinate second currency unit with respect to the main first currency unit.

  Thereafter, the information server 7 transmits the generated exchange rate information 113c to the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 via the first network 4, the exchange 3 and the base station 2 (S209). The control unit 112 of the portable terminal 1 stores the received exchange rate information 113c in the storage unit 113 of the balance management unit 110 (S210).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a case will be described in which the mobile terminal 1 acquires the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d through a second route that is a route including the access point 5 and the second network 6. To do. In FIG. 4, the user operates the mobile terminal specially in an environment where the first route cannot be used because the mobile terminal 1 cannot receive radio waves or the radio waves received by the mobile terminal 1 are weak. Instead, the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d are acquired by the second route.

  In the case of constant activation (standby state), the control of the portable terminal 1 is performed when the time measured by the clock unit 140 reaches a predetermined time (the timing at which the server-side information detailed in FIG. 5 is updated). The unit 112 starts an operation for updating the exchange rate information 113c (S301). On the other hand, in the case of voluntary activation that activates the electronic payment function when necessary (detailed later), the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1 performs an operation for updating the exchange rate information 113c when the electronic payment function is activated. Start (S301). The control unit 112 refers to the date acquired from the clock unit 140 and checks whether or not the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113 is the exchange rate of the day (S302).

  As a result of the confirmation, if the update date included in the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113 is the same as the date acquired from the clock unit 140, the process ends. On the other hand, if the two dates are different, it is confirmed whether the information acquisition unit 120 can communicate with the base station 2, that is, whether the first route is available (S303).

  When the information acquisition unit 120 is communicable with the base station 2, the process is terminated, and the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d are acquired as necessary according to the procedure shown in FIG. When the information acquisition unit 120 cannot communicate with the base station 2, the current location information acquisition unit 121 of the information acquisition unit 120 transmits a current location information request to the access point 5 in accordance with a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1. (S304). In response to the transmission of the current location information request from the current location information acquisition unit 121, the access point 5 generates current location information 113d (S305). Thereafter, the access point 5 transmits the generated current location information 113d to the current location information acquisition unit 121 (S306). The control unit 112 of the portable terminal 1 stores the received current location information 113d in the storage unit 113 of the balance management unit 110 (S307).

  After storing the current location information 113 d in the storage unit 113, the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 sends information to the information server 7 via the access point 5 and the second network 6 in accordance with a request from the control unit 112 of the mobile terminal 1. Then, the exchange rate information request including the information of the main first currency unit and the current location information 113d is transmitted (S308).

  Upon receiving the exchange rate information request from the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122, the information server 7 generates the exchange rate information 113c (S309). Here, the exchange rate information 113c generated by the information server 7 corresponds to the current location information 113d, and includes at least the exchange ratio of the subordinate two currency units to the main first currency unit.

  Thereafter, the information server 7 transmits the generated exchange rate information 113c to the exchange rate information acquisition unit 122 via the second network 6 and the access point 5 (S310). The portable terminal 1 stores the received exchange rate information 113c in the storage unit 113 of the balance management unit 110 (S311).

  In this way, by using a plurality of routes for the mobile terminal 1 to obtain the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d, even when one route is not available, the other exchange is used to obtain the latest exchange rate. Rate information 113c and current location information 113d can be acquired.

  3 and 4, the acquisition of the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d when the balance management unit 110 is always activated and voluntarily activated has been described. However, the user operates the mobile terminal 1 when always activated. Thus, the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d may be arbitrarily acquired. In this case, the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d using the first route can be obtained in accordance with the procedure from S203 to S210 in FIG. Further, the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d using the second route can be acquired in accordance with the procedure from S304 to S311 in FIG.

  Next, the timing for acquiring the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d stored in the balance management unit 110 of the mobile terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a case where exchange rate information stored in the information server 7 is updated every day at 11:00 am in accordance with the latest exchange rate announced by a financial institution or the like.

  First, a description will be given of a case where the portable terminal 1 is turned on and in a communicable state, a so-called standby state, and the electronic money function can be used by setting the balance management unit 110 to a constantly activated state by application software or the like. To do. In the case of such constant activation (standby state), the control unit refers to the time measured by the clock unit 140 in accordance with a predetermined time (that is, 11:00 am) when the exchange rate information of the information server 7 is updated. 112 requests the information acquisition unit 120 to acquire the exchange rate information 113 c and the current location information 113 d via the input / output unit 111. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the rate information A is updated to rate information B at 11:00 am on the first day, and the rate information B is updated to rate information C at 11:00 am on the second day.

  Next, a case where the activation is voluntary activation, that is, a case where the electronic money function can be used only when performing a commercial transaction, or a case where the balance management unit 110 is operated by activating application software or the like will be described. In the case of such optional activation, the control unit 112 requests the information acquisition unit 120 to acquire the current location information 113d and the exchange rate information 113c in accordance with the timing of optional activation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, when the first commercial transaction of the day is performed at 3 pm on the first day, the contents of the exchange rate information 113c are updated to include the rate information B in accordance with the time of voluntary activation. The In addition, when the first commercial transaction of the day is performed at 6:00 pm on the second day, the content of the exchange rate information 113c that is the rate information B includes the rate information C in accordance with the time of voluntary activation as in the first day. Updated to things.

  Next, a balance adjustment process for adjusting the balance stored in the storage unit 113 of the mobile terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a case where two balances are adjusted by using the first balance 113a stored in the storage unit 113 as a main currency unit balance and the second balance 113b as a subordinate currency unit balance. ing.

  At the time after the settlement process shown in FIG. 2 or after the exchange rate information 113c shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is acquired, the control unit 112 of the balance management unit 110 starts the balance adjustment process. 114 is requested (S401).

  In response to the request from the control unit 112, the balance adjustment unit 114 checks the second balance 113b stored in the storage unit 113, and determines whether the second balance 113b is less than a predetermined amount ( S402). If the second balance 113b exceeds the predetermined amount, the process is terminated, and if the second balance 113b is less than the predetermined amount, the balance adjustment process is continued.

  If the second balance 113b is less than the predetermined amount, the balance adjustment unit 114 determines whether or not the first balance 113a exceeds the lower limit (S403). If the first balance 113a is less than the lower limit, the process is terminated, and if the first balance 113a exceeds the lower limit, the balance adjustment process is continued. Here, the “lower limit amount” is a condition for determining whether or not to replenish the second balance 113b by converting a part or all of the first balance 113a into an amount in the second currency unit. It is a set value to be determined.

  If the first balance 113a exceeds the lower limit, the balance adjustment unit 114 confirms the limit of the second balance 113b (S404). Here, the “limit amount” is a set value that determines how much the second balance 113b is replenished.

  Next, using the exchange rate information 113c obtained from the information server 7, the balance adjustment unit 114 converts a part of the first balance 113a into an amount in the second currency unit (S405). Here, the part of the first balance 113a is a balance necessary to reach the set limit of the second balance 113b.

  After converting a part of the first balance 113a into an amount having the second currency unit as a unit, the balance adjustment unit 114 adds the converted amount to the second balance 113b, thereby changing the second balance 113b. Replenishment (S406), and the process ends.

  For example, the currency unit of the first balance 113a is Japanese yen, the currency unit of the second balance 113b is US dollar, the exchange rate of the exchange rate information 113c is “100 yen per dollar”, and the predetermined amount is 150 dollars. Suppose the lower limit is 20000 yen and the upper limit is 200 dollars. In this case, if 40000 yen is stored as the first balance 113a and 100 dollars is stored as the second balance 113b in the storage unit 113, the balance adjustment unit 114 calculates 10000 yen that is a part of the first balance 113a. Convert to $ 100 and replenish the second balance 113b to $ 200.

  By configuring the mobile terminal in this way, it is possible to perform a settlement process in the currency unit corresponding to the transaction processing apparatus in a state where a balance of a plurality of currency units is stored on the mobile terminal side. When the second balance 113b becomes less than the predetermined amount, the second balance 113b can be replenished only with the mobile terminal without replenishing the balance using a transaction processing device or the like. Therefore, the settlement process can be performed even for the cocoon business transaction using the second balance 113b.

  Details of each step in the balance adjustment process shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

  With respect to the balance adjustment processing start time shown in S401, the time can be set after the end of the settlement processing as shown in FIG. 2 or after the update of the exchange rate information 113c shown in FIGS. If the balance adjustment time is after the end of the payment process, even if the transaction is not possible due to the absence or shortage of the second balance, by performing the payment process again after the balance adjustment, It becomes possible to complete the business transaction. On the other hand, if the balance adjustment timing is after the exchange rate information 113c is updated, the second balance 113b can always be prepared as long as the first balance 113a exceeds the lower limit.

  The amount to be set as the predetermined amount in S402, the lower limit amount in S403 and the limit value in S404 is not particularly limited as long as it is within the range of the amount stored in the mobile terminal 1, but the predetermined amount, lower limit amount and limit By setting the amount, the second balance can be prepared without converting the first balance more than necessary.

  Further, the predetermined amount, the lower limit amount, and the limit amount may be set in the currency unit of the first balance 113a or in the currency unit of the second balance. If conversion of currency units is necessary for the set predetermined amount, lower limit amount and limit amount, the obtained exchange rate information 113c may be used. For example, regarding the setting of the predetermined amount, when the currency unit of the main first balance 113a is Japanese yen and the currency unit of the secondary second balance 113b is US dollars, the predetermined amount is “100 dollars in US dollars”. Or “10000 yen in Japanese yen”. When the predetermined amount of the second balance 113b is set to “10000 yen in Japanese yen”, if the exchange rate of the exchange rate information 113c is “100 yen per dollar”, the balance adjustment unit 114 performs “ Balance adjustment processing is performed as “100 US dollars”. Such processing of the predetermined amount by the balance adjustment unit 114 can be similarly performed for the lower limit amount and the limit amount.

  The exchange rate information 113c used in S405 is stored in the mobile terminal 1 before the balance adjustment process, as shown in FIGS. Therefore, it is not necessary to acquire the exchange rate information 113c for each commercial transaction, and the balance adjustment unit 114 can adjust the balance using the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113. With this configuration, even in an environment where the exchange rate information cannot be updated (for example, in a building or tunnel where radio waves do not reach), if the second balance 113b is less than a predetermined amount The second balance 113b can be replenished.

  In addition, when moving near the border, the information received as the current location information 113d may be information on the neighboring country of the country where the user is located. However, even in such a case, by using the exchange rate information 113c stored in the storage unit 113, currency conversion or replenishment is performed more than necessary, and expenditures associated with exchange rate fluctuations, exchange fees, etc. Can be prevented from increasing.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the balance of a plurality of currency units can be stored on the mobile terminal side, the user can easily handle a plurality of currency units.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the above-described embodiment can be modified as follows.

  In addition to the exchange rate and renewal date, the exchange rate information 113c includes, in addition to the exchange rate of the second currency unit with respect to the first currency unit, a plurality of currency units with respect to the first currency unit. It may include an exchange ratio.

  Further, the predetermined amount, the lower limit amount, and the limit amount may be amounts set in advance by the user or may be included as additional information in the exchange rate information 113c and the current location information 113d described above. When the predetermined amount, the lower limit amount and the limit amount are set based on the additional information, the balance can be replenished according to the location where the mobile terminal is used in accordance with the current situation such as prices and exchange rates.

  Further, the limit amount may be set such that the second balance 113b with respect to the first balance 113a has a predetermined ratio. With this configuration, when the first currency unit is the main and the second currency unit is the subordinate, the subordinate second balance is used up to a predetermined amount while storing the main first balance. be able to. Thereby, the user of the portable terminal can prevent the balance from being converted more than necessary.

  Similarly to the case of setting the predetermined amount, the lower limit amount, and the limit amount, the predetermined ratio may be set in the currency unit of the first balance 113a or in the currency unit of the second balance.

  For example, when the currency unit of the main first balance 113a is Japanese yen and the currency unit of the secondary second balance 113b is US dollars, the first balance 113a is 20000 yen and the second balance 113b is 100. If the predetermined ratio is “(Japanese yen) :( US dollar converted to Japanese yen) = 1: 2” and the exchange ratio of the exchange rate information 113c is “100 yen per dollar”, the balance adjustment unit 114 By the above process, the first balance 113a is adjusted to 10000 yen and the second balance 113b is adjusted to 200 dollars.

  Furthermore, the predetermined ratio of the second balance 113b to the first balance 113a adjusted by the processing of the balance adjustment unit 114 is in accordance with the current location information 113d acquired by the local information acquisition unit 121 of the information acquisition unit 120. be able to. For example, information regarding a predetermined ratio can be included in the exchange rate information 113c received from the information server 7, or the predetermined ratio can be set by the balance adjustment unit 114 of the mobile terminal 1 based on the current location information 113d.

  For example, when the location information is Japan, the predetermined ratio is “(Japanese yen): (US dollar converted to Japanese yen) = 10: 0”, and when the position information is the United States, the predetermined ratio is “(Japanese yen): (Japan US dollars converted into yen) = 3: 7 ”, and in the case of an aircraft moving from Japan to the United States, the prescribed ratio is“ (Japanese yen): (US dollars converted into Japanese yen) = 5: 5 ”. It can be. In addition, in order to acquire the information regarding a predetermined ratio in addition to the current location information 113d in the aircraft, for example, it can be acquired from the access point 5 in the aircraft using a wireless LAN as the communication method of the second route. By configuring in this way, it becomes possible to replenish the balance according to the place where the mobile terminal is used in accordance with the price difference for each current location and the user's desire.

  Further, the lower limit amount in S403 of FIG. In addition, when the first balance 113a is equal to or less than the lower limit, the first balance 113a is not only replenished from the outside by a transaction processing device (for example, the reader / writer 8), but also linked with a credit card or the like. The balance 113a may be replenished. Further, the limit amount in S404 may be the same amount as the predetermined amount in S402.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first balance 113a is mainly used as the subordinate and the second balance 113b is subordinate. However, there are a plurality of subordinate currency units such as “US dollar, euro and British pound”. It is also good. Even when there are a plurality of currency units of the balance, payment processing, exchange rate information 113c, acquisition of current location information 113d, and balance adjustment processing can be performed in the same manner as the processing shown in FIGS. is there.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the origin of the location information acquired by the current location information acquisition unit 121 of the information acquisition unit 120 is information held by the exchange 3, the access point 5, and the like has been described. For acquisition, a GPS (Global Positioning System) (not shown) may be used.

  Further, as a function of electronic money, not only monetary value information is stored in a mobile terminal, but also usage history, personal information, and the like may be stored.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the system for enforcing the portable terminal and balance management method which concern on this invention. It is a figure which shows the payment process by a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the procedure in which a portable terminal acquires exchange rate information and present location information using a 1st path | route. It is a figure which shows the procedure in which a portable terminal acquires exchange rate information and present location information using a 2nd path | route. It is a figure which shows the acquisition time of the exchange rate information and present location information which were stored in the portable terminal. It is a figure which shows adjustment of the balance in a portable terminal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable terminal, 2 ... Base station, 3 ... Switch, 4 ... 1st network, 5 ... Access point, 6 ... 2nd network, 7 ... Information server, 8 ... Reader / writer, 110 ... Balance management part, 111 ... Input / output unit, 112 ... Control unit, 113 ... Storage unit, 113a ... First balance, 113b ... Second balance, 113c ... Exchange rate information, 113d ... Current location information, 114 ... Balance adjustment unit, 120 ... Information Acquisition unit, 121 ... current location information acquisition unit, 122 ... exchange information acquisition unit, 130 ... settlement processing unit, 140 ... clock unit, 150 ... display unit.

Claims (10)

A mobile terminal that performs electronic payment using first electronic money in units of a first currency unit and second electronic money in units of a second currency unit,
Current location information acquisition means for acquiring current location information including information on the current position;
Exchange rate information acquisition means for acquiring exchange rate information including the exchange ratio of the second currency unit to the first currency unit corresponding to the current location information;
Storage means for storing balance information including a first balance relating to the first electronic money and a second balance relating to the second electronic money;
When the second balance is less than a predetermined amount, the exchange rate information is used to convert a part of the first balance into an amount with the second currency unit as a unit. And a balance adjusting means for replenishing the balance with the amount.   2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the balance adjustment unit replenishes the amount so that the second balance becomes a limit amount.   The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein the balance adjustment unit changes the limit based on the current location information or the exchange rate information.   The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein the limit amount is an amount that makes the second balance with respect to the first balance a predetermined ratio.   5. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein the balance adjusting unit changes the predetermined ratio based on the current location information or the exchange rate information.   The portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the current location information acquisition unit and the exchange rate information acquisition unit are configured to acquire information from a plurality of routes. A balance management method for a mobile terminal that performs electronic payment using first electronic money in units of a first currency unit and second electronic money in units of a second currency unit,
A current location information acquisition step for acquiring current location information including information on the current position;
An exchange rate information acquisition step for acquiring exchange rate information corresponding to the current location information and including an exchange ratio of a second currency unit to a first currency unit;
When the second balance is less than a predetermined amount, the exchange rate information is used to convert a part of the first balance into an amount with the second currency unit as a unit. A balance management method for a mobile terminal, comprising: a balance adjustment step of replenishing the balance with the amount.   8. The balance management method for a mobile terminal according to claim 7, wherein in the balance adjustment step, the amount is replenished so that the second balance becomes a limit amount.   9. The balance management method for a mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein, in the balance adjustment step, the limit is changed based on the current location information or the exchange rate information. The limit is an amount at which the second balance with respect to the first balance is a predetermined ratio;
9. The balance management method for a mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein, in the balance adjustment step, the predetermined ratio is changed based on the current location information or the exchange rate information.

Images