JP2003099677A - Bill issuance system, device and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To issue a bill safely and easily with the use of electronic information. SOLUTION: Information about service use statuses of each user is collected in a bill issuance server 2 from utility servers 1 of a plurality of public utility organizations. The bill issuance server 2 issues a bill according to the information about the service use statuses and returns information on the issued bill to the utility servers 1. Each user can know the issuance of a new bill from claim notification mail transmitted to a portable telephone 5, and browses a bill browse site from the portable telephone 5 to acquire an encrypted bill bar code. A store terminal 4 reads in the bill bar code displayed on the portable telephone 5 and decodes it via the bill issuance server 2 to enable the receipt of a charge. Information about the charge received by the store terminal 4 is collected in a financial institution server 3, which executes settlement processing according to the information on the bill transmitted in advance to the utility servers 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system or the like that enables electronic billing to issue a bill and make a settlement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Utility bills for electricity, gas, water, telephone, etc. are billed together for a certain period, whether they are for business use or household use. The bills are individually mailed to the addresses registered by the users, and the users pay the charges at banks, post offices, convenience stores (hereinafter referred to as financial institutions, etc.) and the like.

[0003] Further, the company that stores the charges is
You need to control which invoice was paid. In order to facilitate this management, invoices are often printed with identification information such as barcodes. Then, financial institutions and the like can read the bar code printed on the invoice to manage that the fee has actually been paid.

[0004] Generally, payment of public utility bills can be made by bank account transfer.
However, also in this case, the charge statement is individually mailed and the account is transferred individually. Further, although charges for mobile phone charges can be settled by using a credit card, there is a risk that payment by a credit card will be illegally used by another person.

[0005]

As described above, payment of charges other than credit cards is made individually for each utility charge. For this reason, many invoices and statement of use arrive at the user's hand, which is not easy to manage. In particular, if the fee is to be paid at a financial institution or the like based on the invoice without performing an account transfer, the payment procedure must be performed individually, which is very complicated. On the other hand, even for the business operator, since the bill and the usage statement are individually mailed and the charges are stored individually, there is a problem that it takes a very large cost to store the charges.

By the way, the bill issued by the business operator is described as analog data.
Therefore, there is a risk that personal information is easily leaked to others. In addition, it is relatively easy to tamper with the contents of the bill. Since the identification information such as the printed bar code is also relatively simple, the risk of unauthorized tampering is not small.

There are many bills issued in the same manner and paid by financial institutions, etc., for charges other than public bills. I have the same problem as if. Further, although some bills and usage statements are issued through the Internet, there is a very great risk of leakage of personal information.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a bill issuing system and the like that can issue a bill safely and easily using electronic information.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a bill issuing system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a terminal device provided for use by a user who is provided with goods or services, and A bill issuing server which is connected to the terminal device via a communication line and which sends the bill issued for the provision of the goods or services to the terminal device,
The invoice issuing server stores invoice information storing means for storing invoice information to be issued to each of the users and invoice information stored in the invoice information storing means from the terminal device. A bill information processing unit that processes into electronic information that can be output, and information about the bill processed by the bill information processing unit, to the terminal device used by the corresponding user, via the communication line. And a bill information transmitting unit for issuing a bill to each user, wherein the terminal device receives a bill information receiving unit for receiving information about the bill transmitted from the bill information transmitting unit, and the bill And a bill information output unit for outputting information on the bill received by the bill information receiving unit.

In the above-mentioned bill issuing system, the bill issued for receiving the provision of goods or services is
Electronic information is transmitted from the bill information transmitting means of the bill issuing server to the terminal device of the user and is output from the output means. That is, it is not necessary to print each bill on paper and mail it, and it is possible to easily deliver the bill to the user at low cost. Also, since the information about the bill is delivered directly to the user's terminal device, there is less risk of being stolen by others than the bill sent by print media, and the bill can be safely delivered to the user. Becomes

The bill issuing system may further include a fee storing terminal device for performing processing for storing a fee based on the bill. In this case, the output means may be constituted by a display means for displaying information about the bill received by the bill receiving means, and the charge storage terminal device is displayed on the display means. It may be provided with a reading means for reading information about the bill.

Alternatively, the bill issuing system may include a fee storing terminal device for performing processing for storing a fee based on the bill, and printing for printing the bill-related information output from the output means on a sheet. A device may be further provided, and in this case, the fee storage terminal device may be provided with a reading device for reading information regarding a bill printed on a sheet by the printing device.

In the former case, the user can surely know that the information regarding the bill has been received. In the latter,
Even if the information about the bill output from the output means cannot be directly input to the charge storage terminal, it may be printed on a sheet and read by the reading device. Therefore, if the charge storage terminal has a bar code reader or the like, the present invention can be applied as it is.

The above-mentioned bill issuing system comprises a business server for use by a business providing the goods or services, and a storage information collection server for collecting information indicating that the charges have been stored from the charge storage terminal device. It may be further provided. In this case, the bill issuing server may further include means for transmitting to the business entity server information regarding a bill to be transmitted from the bill transmitting means to the terminal device of each user. The trader server and the storage information collection server, based on the information about the bill sent from the bill issuing server and the information indicating that the charges accumulated from the charge storage terminal device are stored, the charge settlement processing. It can be performed.

In this case, not only the bill is delivered to the user, but also the payment of the fee paid by the user can be easily performed as a series of processes.

In order to achieve the above object, the bill issuing device according to the second aspect of the present invention is connected via a communication line to a terminal device for use by a user who is provided with goods or services. A bill information storage unit that stores information about a bill to be issued to each of the users who receive the goods or services, and the information about the bill stored in the bill information storage unit to the terminal device. From the bill information processing means for processing into electronic information that can be output from the
A bill information transmitting unit for transmitting via the communication line to a terminal device used by a corresponding user.

In the above-mentioned bill issuing device, the bill issued for receiving the provision of goods or services is transmitted from the bill information transmitting means to the terminal device of the user as electronic information, and It will be delivered to you. That is,
It is not necessary to print each bill on paper and mail it, and it is possible to easily deliver the bill to the user at low cost. Also, since the information about the bill is delivered directly to the user's terminal device, there is less risk of being stolen by others than the bill sent by print media, and the bill can be safely delivered to the user. Becomes

In the above-mentioned bill issuing device, when there are a plurality of businesses that provide the goods or services, the bill information storage means stores the plurality of bills for each user who uses the terminal device. The invoice information processing means may store information on invoices to be issued for the products or services provided by the respective business operators, and the invoice information processing means may provide information on invoices for each user. Can be processed into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device.

In the bill issuing device, the bill information processing unit reads information corresponding to the request from the bill information storage unit according to a request from the terminal device, and applies it to a format according to the request. Means may be included.

In this case, the bill information storage means may further store the destination information of the terminal device corresponding to each user, and the bill issuing device comprises:
When information about a new invoice is stored in the invoice information storage means, a notification to that effect is sent to the terminal device of the user corresponding to the newly stored invoice information according to the corresponding destination information. The new bill notification means may be further provided.

The bill information processing means can easily process the information by applying the information to the format. Further, by notifying that the information about the new bill is stored by the new bill notifying means, the user can easily know the information about the new bill.

In the bill issuing device, the information relating to the bill is displayed on the display device of the terminal device,
It may include display information that can be read by a charge storage terminal device that performs processing for storing the charge based on the bill.

Alternatively, the information about the bill is input from the terminal device to a predetermined printing device, is printed on a sheet by the printing device, and is a fee for performing processing for accommodating the fee based on the bill. It can also be read by the storage terminal device.

In the former case, the user can surely know that the information regarding the bill has been received. In the latter,
Even if the information about the bill output from the output means cannot be directly input to the charge storage terminal, it may be printed on a sheet and read by the reading device. Therefore, if the charge storage terminal has a bar code reader or the like, the present invention can be applied as it is.

The bill issuing device may further include an encryption key storage means for storing an encryption key for encrypting information. In this case, it is preferable that the bill information processing unit includes an encryption unit that encrypts information about the bill using an encryption key stored in the encryption key storage unit.

Further, in this case, the bill issuing device stores the decryption key storage means for storing the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key for decrypting the information, and the charge based on the invoice. Encrypted information receiving means for receiving information based on the encrypted bill input from the terminal device into the fee storing terminal device from the fee storing terminal device via the communication line, and the encrypted information. Decoding means for decrypting the information based on the encrypted bill received by the receiving means using the decryption key, and information relating to the bill decrypted by the decrypting means via the communication line. It may further comprise a bill information returning means for returning to the fee storing terminal device.

By encrypting the information about the bill sent to the terminal device as described above, it is possible to prevent the information about the bill as personal information from being stolen by another person. Further, by performing the decryption of the encrypted information in the bill issuing device, the risk of illegally decrypting the information relating to the bill is reduced.

In the bill issuing device, it is preferable that the information on the bill processed by the bill information processing means becomes invalid after a predetermined time has elapsed after being transmitted to the terminal device.

In order to realize this, the invoice information processed by the invoice information processing means may include a program that operates in the terminal device, and the program is received by the terminal device. It is possible to include a process of measuring the time from, and a process of invalidating the information related to the invoice when the measured time reaches a predetermined time.

In the above-mentioned bill issuing device, it is preferable that the information regarding the bill processed by the bill information processing means is provided with authentication information for authenticating its validity.

As described above, the information relating to the bill processed by the bill information processing means is prevented from being invalidated after a predetermined time has passed or being illegally forged due to the addition of the authentication information. You can

In the above bill issuing device, the terminal device may be, for example, a mobile phone, and in this case, the bill information transmitting means serves as the communication line at least through the mobile phone network. Information about the bill may be sent.

The mobile phone has a high diffusion rate and is always carried by the user. Therefore, if it is applied as a terminal device, the present invention can be easily used and the present invention can be popularized.

In order to achieve the above object, the bill issuing method according to the third aspect of the present invention is connected via a communication line to a terminal device for use by a user who is provided with goods or services. A method executed in a computer device, which stores in a storage means information about a bill to be issued to each of the users who have been provided with the goods or services, and the bill stored in the storage means. The information about the processed bill into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device, and the step of transmitting the processed information about the bill to the terminal device used by the corresponding user via the communication line. It is characterized by including.

In the above-mentioned bill issuing method, when there are a plurality of businesses providing the goods or services, information on the invoice to be issued for the goods or services provided by each of the plurality of businesses. Can be stored for each user who is using the terminal device, and the step of processing the information related to the bill can be performed by processing the information related to the bill for each user from the terminal device of the user. It can be processed into electronic information that can be output.

In the above bill issuing method, it is preferable that the step of processing the information about the bill includes the step of encrypting the information about the bill using a predetermined encryption key.

Further, it is preferable that the information regarding the processed bill becomes invalid after a predetermined time has passed after being transmitted to the terminal device.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the information relating to the processed bill is accompanied by authentication information for authenticating its validity.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer device connected via a communication line to a terminal device used by a user who receives a product or service. , A bill information storage unit that stores information about a bill to be issued to each of the users who receive the goods or services, and the terminal device that stores the information about the bill stored in the bill information storage unit. From the bill information processing means for processing into electronic information that can be output from the device, and information about the bill processed by the bill information processing means to the terminal device used by the corresponding user via the communication line. And functioning as a bill information transmitting unit.

In the above program, when there are a plurality of businesses that provide the goods or services, the bill information storage means causes the invoice information storage means to provide the business for each of the plurality of businesses using the terminal device. Information about a bill to be issued for a product or service provided by a person can be stored, and the bill information processing means can obtain information about a bill for each user from a terminal device of the user. It can be processed into electronic information that can be output.

The above program can further cause the computer device to function as encryption key storage means for storing an encryption key for encrypting information, and the bill information processing means relates to the bill. It may include an encryption means for encrypting information using the encryption key stored in the encryption key storage means.

In the above program, it is preferable that the information regarding the bill processed by the bill information processing unit becomes invalid after a predetermined time has elapsed after being transmitted to the terminal device.

Further, it is preferable that the information relating to the bill processed by the bill information processing means is provided with authentication information for authenticating its validity.

[0044]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a bill issuing system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, this system is a company server 1 owned (including leased) by companies such as electricity, gas, water, and telephone.
A bill issuing server 2 that provides a bill browsing site to be described later, a financial institution server 3 that performs settlement processing of the billed fee, a store terminal 4 placed in a convenience store or a store of a financial institution, The mobile phone 5 is owned (including rental or lease) by the user of the service provided by the business.

The business entity server 1 is connected to at least the bill issuing server 2 and the financial institution server 3 via a communication line, and the bill issuing server 2 communicates with at least the business entity server 1 and the store terminal 4. Connected via a line. The store terminal 4 is also connected to the financial institution server 3 via a communication line. As these communication lines, dedicated lines can be used or general-purpose networks such as the Internet can be used. The bill issuing server 2 is also connected to the mobile phone 5 via a mobile phone network and the Internet (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the company server 1. The business entity server 1 is composed of a general-purpose server computer, and as shown in the figure, a CPU (Cent
ralProcessing Unit) 11, a storage device 12, an input device 13, a display device 14, a printing device 15, and a communication device 16. In addition, the usage status database 17
have.

The CPU 11 executes the program stored in the storage device 12, accumulates the usage status of each user,
A process for causing the bill issuing server 2 to issue a bill is performed. The storage device 12 includes a main memory and an auxiliary memory, and includes C
The processing program of the PU 11 is stored and used as a data storage area. The input device 13 includes a keyboard and a pointing device, and an operator inputs data and instructions necessary for processing.

The display device 14 displays a screen necessary for the operator to input data, a processing result of the CPU 11, and the like. The printing device 15 prints the processing result of the CPU 11 and the data accumulated in the usage status database 17 on paper according to the instruction input from the input device 13 and ejects the paper. The communication device 16 transmits and receives information to and from the bill issuing server 2 and the financial institution server 3 via a communication line. The usage status database 17 is a database that stores data on the usage status of each service provided by the business operator. Details of the usage status database 17 will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the bill issuing server 2. The bill issuing server 2 is composed of a general-purpose server computer, and as shown in the figure, a CP
A U21, a storage device 22, and a communication device 23 are provided. It also has an issuance bill database 24.

The CPU 21 executes the program stored in the storage device 22, issues a bill based on the information relating to the usage status of each user sent from the business entity server 1, and notifies that effect to the business entity server. The processing necessary for returning to step 1, customizing each page in the invoice browsing site, which will be described later, and sending the invoice notification mail is performed.
The storage device 22 includes a main memory and an auxiliary memory, and includes the CPU 2
The first processing program is stored and used as a data storage area. The data stored in the storage device 22 includes an encryption key and a decryption key described later.

The communication device 23 transmits / receives information to / from the enterprise server 1 and the store terminal 4 via a communication line, and to / from the mobile phone 5 via a mobile phone network and the Internet. The issue bill database 24 is a database that stores data relating to the bill issued to each user. Details of the issue bill database 24 will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the financial institution server 3 or the like. The financial institution server 3 is composed of a general-purpose server computer, and as shown in the figure, a CP
It includes a U 31, a storage device 32, and a communication device 33. It also has a payment information database 34.

The CPU 31 executes the program stored in the storage device 32, and performs the payment processing with the business operator based on the information collected from the store terminal 4. The storage device 32 includes a main memory and an auxiliary memory, and includes the CPU 31.
Is used as a data storage area as well as storing the processing program. The communication device 33 transmits / receives information to / from the business entity server 1 and the store terminal 4 via a communication line. The payment information database 34 is a database that stores information necessary for payment of fees. Details of the payment information database 34 will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the store terminal 4. For example, if it is a convenience store, PO
An S (Point Of Sales) terminal, an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) terminal for financial institutions such as banks, and a CPU 41, a storage device 42, a bar code reader 43, and a key input device 44, as shown in the figure. , Display device 45
And a communication device 46. Whether it is a POS terminal or an ATM terminal, other constituent elements are included, but they are omitted because they are not directly related to the present invention.

The CPU 41 executes the program stored in the storage device 42, stores the charge based on the invoice bar code (described later) read by the bar code reader 43,
The processing required to send the information indicating that the fee has been stored to the server 3 such as a financial institution is performed. The storage device 42 includes a main storage and an auxiliary storage, stores the processing program of the CPU 41, and is used as a data storage area.

The bar code reader 43 reads the invoice bar code displayed on the mobile phone 5, as described later. The key input device 44 is used by the operator to key in instructions necessary for processing. The display device 45 displays information about billing based on the bill barcode read by the barcode reader 43. The communication device 46 transmits / receives information to / from the business entity server 1 and the financial institution server 3 via a communication line.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 5. As shown, the mobile phone 5 has a CPU
51, ROM (Read Only Memory) 52, and RAM
A (Random Access Memory) 53, an input device 54, a display device 55, and a communication device 56 are provided. The mobile phone 5 has a call function and a Web connection function, but since the call function is not directly related to the present invention, FIG. 6 shows at least the components necessary to realize the Web connection function. Shows.

The CPU 51 executes the program stored in the ROM 52 and performs the processing necessary for receiving the bill notification mail and browsing each page of the bill browsing site.
The ROM 52 stores the processing program of the CPU 51. The RAM 53 is used as a work area when the CPU 51 executes a program. It is also used to temporarily store each page of the bill browsing site.

The input device 54 has different meanings assigned to the ten keys used during the call function, and allows the user to input characters and input necessary instructions. The display device 55 displays the information necessary for the user to input an instruction, and also displays the bill notification mail and each page of the bill browsing site in accordance with the instruction input. Communication device 36
Transmits and receives information to and from the bill issuing server 2 via the mobile phone network and the Internet.

Next, each database included in the above bill issuing system will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the usage status database 17 included in the business entity server 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the issue bill database 24 included in the bill issue server 2. Figure 9
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a payment information database 34 included in the server 3 such as a financial institution.

The usage status database 17 is a database in which the usage status of each service of the service provided by the business operator associated with the business operator server 1 is recorded, and is recorded as one record of data for each user. As shown in FIG. 7, the data of each record is composed of a user ID (hereinafter simply referred to as an ID) of a service provided by the business operator, a user name, other attribute information, and monthly usage data. .

The issuance bill database 24 is a database in which bill data corresponding to bill notifications sent from a plurality of business entity servers 1 is registered together for each user, and a bill browsing site to be described later is constructed. Or used to send billing notification emails. In the issuance bill database 24, as shown in FIG. 8, one table is created for each user, and each table has a user ID (ID given to each user who is the subject of invoice issuance), The user name and the address of the mobile phone 5 used by the user are attached.

In addition, in each table provided for each user, one record of data is provided for each business operator who has decided to pay the bill with the bill issued by the bill issuing server 1. Saved. As shown in FIG. 8, the data of each record includes a business operator's classification (electricity, gas, water supply, etc.), a business operator name, and a user's ID attached to the business operator (“I in FIG. 7”).
D ”) and data indicating the monthly charge amount (billing data). Although not shown in the figure, the monthly billing data has a read flag indicating whether it has been read by the user. Contains.

The settlement information database 34 is a database in which data related to invoices in which charges are stored in stores under the control of financial institutions is registered. As shown in FIG. 9, one table is created for each business operator. Each table shows the operator I
D and the business name are attached. In each table provided for each business, one record of data is stored for each invoice for which the fee has been paid. The data of each record consists of the user ID (same as “ID” in FIG. 7) attached by the business operator, the billing month, the payment date, the payment store, and the payment amount.

The above-mentioned issuance bill database 2
If new billing data is recorded in 4, the bill issuing server 2 sends a billing notification mail indicating that a new fee has been billed to the user's mobile phone 5 relating to the billing data. To do. Further, the contents of the invoice browsing site are customized and provided based on the invoice data of each user recorded in the invoice database 24.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a bill notification mail transmitted from the bill issuing server 2 to the mobile phone 5. In this billing notification mail, as shown in the figure, the user name registered in the issuance bill database 24 is inserted first. Then, the billing month (here, August) of the newly registered billing data and the business division (here, electricity) of the billing data are inserted. Further, a link (here, “GO”) for referring to the bill browsing site is provided. The billing notification mail is transmitted to the mobile phone 5 of the user according to the address registered in the issuance bill database 24 corresponding to the user name inserted first.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing each page of the bill browsing site customized and provided by the bill issuing server 2 in accordance with the browsing request from the mobile phone 5. The invoice browsing site has the top page shown in FIG.
1 (b) to (e) or (f) and (g), the page is composed of lower pages with links in order from the top page. As shown in FIGS. 11A to 11G, each page of the bill browsing site is read from the issuance bill database 24 based on the address of the mobile phone 5 that has transmitted the page browsing request. The user name specified is inserted.

The top page shown in FIG. 11 (a) is the page that is first displayed on the display device 55 when the invoice browsing site is accessed, and includes "payment for this month" and "confirmation of payment".
This is a page for the user to select a desired item from the "Payment transition" item. If the billing data for which the browsed flag is not set for the user is registered in the issuance bill database 24, select the item "New" that is directly linked to the page showing the billing data. You can To request to browse this top page, select "GO" in the billing notification email
It is also sent to the bill issuing server 1 by directly inputting.

When the item "payment for this month" is selected on the top page and a browsing request is transmitted to the bill issuing server 1, the page shown in FIG. 11 (b) is displayed on the display device 55. This page is a page for selecting business categories such as "electricity", "gas", and "water supply". When the item “New” is selected on the top page or the business category is selected on the page shown in FIG. 11B and the browsing request is transmitted to the bill issuing server 2, the result is as shown in FIG. 11C. The page shown is to be displayed on the display device 55. This page shows the billing charge for the relevant month (here, August) for each business category (here, electricity). By displaying this page,
In the issuance bill database 24, the read flag of the month in the business segment is set.

On the page shown in FIG. 11C,
The item of "detailed confirmation" and the item of "payment" can be selected. When the item of “detailed confirmation” is selected and a browsing request is transmitted to the bill issuing server 2, the page shown in FIG. 11D is displayed, and the user can display the details of the usage status of the service for the relevant business segment. You can check.

Further, the page shown in FIG.
When the item of “payment” is selected on the page shown in 1 (d) and the browsing request is transmitted to the bill issuing server 2, FIG.
The page shown in (e) is displayed. On the page shown in FIG. 11 (e), in addition to displaying the business category and the billing charge for the month, a bill barcode in which the contents of the bill are converted into a two-dimensional barcode (shown near the center of the diagram) ) Is displayed. Details of this invoice barcode will be described later.

When the item of “Payment Transition” is selected on the top page and a browsing request is transmitted to the bill issuing server 1, the page shown in FIG. 11F is displayed on the display device 55. This page is a page for selecting the items of "total transition", "transition by item", and "transition by month". When the item of "total transition" is selected, FIG.
A page as shown in (g) is displayed. Also, when the "payment confirmation" item is selected on the top page, it becomes possible to browse the lower page linked in the same manner.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining in detail the invoice barcode included in the page of the invoice browsing site. The bill barcode displayed on the display device 55 of the mobile phone 5 is a two-dimensional barcode as shown in FIG. This is obtained by processing the three-stage code shown in FIG. 12B or the four-stage code shown in FIG. 12C into two-dimensional data, encrypting it, and further adding an error correction code. The encrypted bill barcode is decrypted by the bill issuing server 2 and returned to the store terminal 4. It should be noted that the three-stage cord of FIG.
In the four-level code in (c), it can be used to insert the ID given to the user by the business operator in the part that is freely used.

The processing in the bill issuing system according to this embodiment will be described below. In this bill issuing system, the business entity server 1 stores the usage status of the service of each user in the usage status database 17. At the closing date of each month, the usage status database 17
The bill notification server 2 sends to the bill issuing server 2 a bill notification corresponding to the usage status accumulated for each user. When the bill issuance server 2 receives the notice of billing, in the billing invoice database 24 showing the enterprise classification corresponding to the enterprise server 1 that sent the notice, the enterprise name, and the ID of the user used by the enterprise. In the record of, the usage amount for the month is registered as new billing data. The information indicating that the registration has been made is returned to the business entity server 1, and the business entity server 1 saves the information for settlement, which will be described later.

In this bill issuing system,
When the bill issuing server 2 receives a bill notification from the business entity server 1 and new billing data is registered in the issuance billing database 24, the billing shown in FIG. 10 is displayed according to the registered contents. A notification mail is generated and transmitted to the mobile phone 5 of the user who is the destination of the bill. The process of sending the mail itself is no different from the conventional process.

When the mobile phone 5 receives the billing notification mail sent by the above processing, the user may request the top page of the bill browsing site from the link provided in the billing notification mail. it can. In addition, the user inputs the URL (Uniform
You can request to view the top page of the invoicing site by inputting (source Locator). Further, by following the link from the top page, it is possible to request browsing of each page of the bill browsing site.

In the bill issuing server 2, when the mobile phone 5 requests the browsing of the top page of the bill browsing site or another page, the requested page is customized according to the requesting user, It is returned to the mobile phone 5 of the user. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process (hereinafter referred to as a page providing process) for the invoice issuing server 2 to customize and provide a page of the invoice browsing site. The page providing process is executed in parallel with other processes in the bill issuing server 2.

In the page providing process, the CPU 21 determines whether the communication device 23 has received a browsing request for any page from the mobile phone 5 (step S10).
1). If the browse request for any page has not been received, the process of step S101 is repeatedly executed, and the process waits until the browse request for any page is received. When the request to browse any page is received, the CPU 2
1 refers to the issuance bill database 24 according to the address of the mobile phone 5 that has sent the browsing request, and reads the corresponding user name (step S102).

Next, the CPU 21 causes the received browsing request to include a page including the display of the amount of money (FIGS. 11 (c), 11 (e),
It is determined whether or not the browsing request is (g) or the like (step S103). When it is not the browsing request for the page including the display of the amount of money, the CPU 21 determines whether the received browsing request is the browsing request for the top page (step S104). If the request is not for browsing the top page, the process proceeds to step S111 described below.

On the other hand, when the request is for browsing the top page, the CPU 21 determines whether the table of the user in the issuance bill database 24 includes billing data for which the browsed flag is not set. The determination is made (step S105). If the billing data in which the browsed flag is not set is not included, the process proceeds to step S111 described below.

When the billing data in which the browsed flag is not set is included, the CPU 21 adds the item "New" to the format of the prepared top page, and the browsed flag is set. Unclaimed data is read out so that it can be inserted in a later process (step S106). Then, the process proceeds to step S111 described below.

If it is determined in step S103 that the request is for browsing the page including the display of the amount of money,
The CPU 21 reads the data of the amount of money to be displayed on the page from the issuance bill database 24. Here, in the case of the page of total transition shown in FIG. 11G, it is necessary not to use the amount data read from the bill database 24 as it is, but to display an appropriate amount on the page. Various calculations (step S10)
7).

Further, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the received browsing request is a browsing request for the page (FIG. 11 (e)) including the bill barcode (step S10).
8). If the request is not for browsing the page including the bill barcode, the process proceeds to step S111, which will be described later.

When the request is for browsing the page including the bill barcode, the CPU 21 indicates the business operator and the bill amount corresponding to the bill barcode to be displayed on the page.
3-stage cord or 4 shown in FIG. 12 (b) or (c)
12 is processed based on the processed code.
The billing barcode shown in (a) is generated (step S109). Furthermore, the CPU 21 encrypts the generated billing bar code using the encryption key stored in advance in the storage device 22 (step S110). Then, the process proceeds to step S111.

In step S111, the CPU 21 reads from the issuance bill database 24 into a format prepared in advance for the page requested to be browsed (or the top page format added with the item "New" in step S106). The necessary data is inserted to generate a page to be transmitted to the mobile phone 5 that made the browsing request. Then, the generated page is transmitted from the communication device 23 to the mobile phone 5 via the communication line (step S112). After that, the process returns to step S101 again, and waits for the next page browsing request.

Further, when the invoice bar code is acquired from the invoice browsing site on the mobile phone 5, the user can pay the invoice fee at a financial institution or the like based on the invoice bar code. Become. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for payment of a billing fee, which is executed in the bill issuing server 2, the financial institution server 3, and the store terminal 4.

The user who intends to pay the billed fee displays the bill barcode relating to the fee to be used on the display device 55 of his / her mobile phone 5. The bar code reader 43 of the store terminal 4 is the display device 5
Invoice bar code displayed on 5 (encrypted)
Is read (step S201). The CPU 41 uses the bill barcode (encrypted) read by the barcode reader 43 via the communication line to issue the bill issuing server 2
(Step S202).

Next, the communication device 23 of the bill issuing server 2
Receives the encrypted invoice bar code sent from the store terminal 4 and temporarily stores it in the storage device 22 (step S221). The CPU 21 decrypts the encrypted invoice barcode using the decryption key stored in the storage device 22 (step S222), and outputs the decrypted plaintext invoice barcode from the communication device 23. The store terminal 4 of the transmission source is returned via the communication line (step S223).

At the store terminal 4, when the communication device 46 receives the plaintext invoice bar code (step S203), C
The PU 21 displays the received plain text invoice barcode as shown in FIG.
It is decoded into the 3-stage code shown in 2 (b) or the 4-stage code shown in (c) (step S204). Next, a predetermined charge storing process is performed based on the decoded three-stage code or four-stage code to store the amount of charge charged by the user (step S205). Then, based on the necessary information included in the decrypted 3-step code or 4-step code, information indicating that the fee has been stored is transmitted from the communication device 46 to the financial institution server 3 via the communication line (step S2).
06).

When the server 3 of the financial institution receives the information indicating that the charges are sent from the store terminal 4 (step S241), it is classified for each business operator and registered in the payment information database 34. Here, the date can be registered as the payment date, and the identified store can be registered as the payment store from the store terminal 4 that has transmitted the information indicating that the charge has been stored (step S242). And
When the registration in the payment information database 34 is completed, the processing shown in this flowchart is completed.

The financial institution server 3 checks the contents accumulated in the payment information database 34 for each business operator at regular intervals and accesses the corresponding business server 1. The business entity server 1 receives the information indicating that the charges accumulated in the payment information database 34 are stored from the server 3 of the financial institution, and compares the information with the information returned from the bill issuing server 2 described above. The financial institution server 3 also performs the same check as the business server 1. Then, the business entity server 1 and the financial institution server 3 perform settlement processing based on the mutual check results. This allows the business to store the fee charged to the user.

As described above, in the bill issuing system according to this embodiment, the usage fee for the service provided by the business operator is the bill obtained by sequentially browsing the pages of the bill browsing site by the user. By displaying the barcode on the display device 55 of the mobile phone 5 of its own and causing it to be read by the barcode reader 43 of the store terminal 4, step S20 is performed.
It can be stored by the fee storage processing of 5. In other words, the billing fee can be stored even if there is no invoice printed on the paper, so the operator does not need to print or mail the invoice, and can easily use the invoice at low cost. Can be delivered to other people.

The contents of each page of the bill browsing site provided by the bill issuing server 2 are customized according to the address of the mobile phone 5 that has accessed. Since a format is prepared in advance for each page, it can be easily created. Here, the information about the bill made by the business operator to each user cannot be viewed even if accessed from the mobile phone 5 of another person. Therefore, there is less risk of the personal information being stolen than a bill sent by print medium, and the bill can be safely delivered to the user.

Moreover, each user can access the bill browsing site from his / her mobile phone 5 anytime and any number of times. Therefore, unlike a bill printed on paper and mailed, there is no possibility that the user will be lost and unable to pay the fee. When new billing data is registered in the issuance bill database 24, the billing notification mail is delivered to the mobile phone 5 of the user, so that the user can easily know that a new bill has been made. . Also, on the top page of the bill browsing site, if there is unbroken bill data, it is displayed as an item of "New", so that the user can easily know that a new bill has been made.

Further, since the invoice bar code delivered to the user on the page of the invoice browsing site is encrypted using a predetermined encryption key, the contents cannot be decrypted. Therefore, there is little risk that personal information will be stolen by others. Moreover, since only the bill issuing server 2 has the decryption key for decrypting the encrypted invoice barcode, the encrypted invoice barcode is illegally decrypted. There is also little danger of being lost.
Also, the encryption can prevent forgery of the bill barcode.

Note that the user has used the mobile phone 5 as a terminal for browsing the bill browsing site and obtaining the bill barcode. Since the penetration rate of mobile phones is relatively high, and users carry it all the time, it is relatively easy to issue invoices and store charges using this system. We can also hope to promote the spread of this system.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various modifications and applications are possible. Hereinafter, modifications of the above-described embodiment applicable to the present invention will be described.

In the above embodiment, the encrypted invoice barcode read by the barcode reader 43 of the store terminal 4 is sent to the invoice issuing server 2 and decrypted in the invoice issuing server 2. It was supposed to be returned from. On the other hand, the store terminal 4 may have a decryption key so that the encrypted invoice barcode can be decrypted without sending it to the invoice issuing server 2. Further, the invoice issuing server 2 that has received the encrypted invoice barcode shall return only the decryption key to the store terminal 4, and the invoice barcode may be decrypted at the store terminal 4. Good.

In the above embodiment, the bill bar code sent to the user is encrypted to prevent the forgery of the bill bar code. However,
This is not the only technology that can be applied to prevent forgery of invoice barcodes. For example, authentication information such as an electronic signature may be embedded in the invoice barcode, and the invoice barcode read by the store terminal 4 may be sent to the invoice issuing server 2 to obtain authenticity authentication. here,
Only when the validity authentication is obtained, step S205
It is possible to carry out the fee storage processing.

Further, the bill bar code may be provided with an expiration date. For example, in the invoice barcode,
Information regarding the date and time transmitted from the mobile phone 5 is included. The store terminal 4 compares the transmission date and time included in the read invoice barcode and the current date and time, and only when the current date and time is within a certain period from the transmission date and time of the invoice barcode, the charge in step S205. The storage process may be performed.

Alternatively, a program described in Java (registered trademark) language or the like may be embedded in the invoice bar code, and a predetermined time has elapsed since the invoice bar code was received by the mobile phone 5 by the action of this program. The invoice bar code may be self-destructive.
The program may notify the user by sounding an alarm or changing the color of the barcode when the expiration date of the bill barcode is approaching. Further, when the expiration date of the invoice barcode has passed, it is possible to automatically replace the image or display the character information to erase the invoice barcode.

In the above embodiment, the bar code reader 43 directly reads the invoice bar code displayed on the display device 55 of the mobile phone 5. That is,
The store terminal 4 had to have a bar code reader 43 capable of reading a bill bar code. On the other hand, a read-only terminal for the bill barcode may be provided separately from the shop terminal 4. This read-only terminal can print the invoice bar code in its original form or by converting the form, and print it on paper to output it. Thereby, for example, when the store terminal 4 is a POS terminal of a convenience store, the present invention can be applied without making any changes to the POS terminal itself.

In the above embodiment, the bill bar code is displayed on the display device 55 of the mobile phone 5 as a bar code having a two-dimensional pattern, but a bar code having a multi-tone pattern or It may be displayed as a barcode having a three-dimensional pattern. This three-dimensional bar code is a two-dimensional bar code displayed on each surface of a cube formed of polygons, for example, and is displayed on each surface of the cube by rotating the polygon by an application such as Java. It becomes possible to recognize all codes and improve the total amount of information.

When the store terminal 4 and the mobile phone 5 can be directly communicated with each other by applying the Bluetooth technology or the like, even if the information is not visible information such as a bar code, the above-mentioned two-dimensional bar can be used. Can be applied instead of the invoice barcode as a code.

In the above embodiment, the bill issuing server 2 is registered in the issuance bill database 24 when the mobile phone 5 requests the browsing of the page of the bill browsing site including the bill barcode. Invoice data 3
It was supposed to be processed into a step code or a four-step code, and further into an invoice bar code which is a two-dimensional bar code. Then, this is encrypted and then transmitted to the mobile phone 5. However, as shown in the above-described modified example, a case where information other than the encrypted invoice bar code is transmitted to the mobile phone 5 is also included. That is, the bill issuing server 2 may process the bill data registered in the issuance bill database 24 so that the charges can be stored based on the information transmitted to the mobile phone 5.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied for payment of utility bills such as electricity, gas, water, telephone, etc. has been described, but it is billed for other services provided. The present invention can be applied to payment of fees. Further, in the case of purchasing a product by prepaid or postpaid fees, the present invention can be applied for the payment of the fee. In addition, an invoice will be issued,
The user who pays the fee may be not only an individual but also a company or an organization.

In the above embodiment, the invoice bar code is displayed on the display device 55 by browsing the invoice browsing site with the mobile phone 5, but the terminal capable of communicating with the invoice issuing server 2 is used. (For example, PDA (Personal
Digital Assistants) etc.) can be applied instead of the mobile phone 5. In the case of a PDA, since the size of the display device is generally larger than that of the mobile phone 5, a bill bar code having a more complicated pattern and including a large amount of information can be applied. When invisible information is used instead of the bill barcode by applying the Bluetooth technology or the like, the terminal may not have a display device.

In the above embodiment, the business server 1,
Bill issuing server 2, financial institution server 3, store terminal 4
The processing programs of the mobile phone 5 and the mobile phone 5 have been described as being stored in advance in the storage devices 11, 22, 32, 42 or the ROM 52, respectively. On the other hand, all or part of these processing programs are stored on a CD-ROM.
It may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a DVD or a ROM, and distributed separately from the hardware. Also, all or part of these processing programs are stored in a fixed disk device included in a Web server device on the Internet, and the business server 1,
Bill issuing server 2, financial institution server 3, store terminal 4
Alternatively, it may be distributed through a network such as the Internet in accordance with a request from the mobile phone 5.

[0110]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It will be possible to safely and easily deliver the invoice to the user and store the fee.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a bill issuing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a company server in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a bill issuing server in FIG. 1. FIG.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server such as a financial institution of FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the store terminal of FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a usage status database of FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an issuance bill database of FIG. 3. FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a payment information database of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a billing notification mail transmitted by the bill issuing server shown in FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a bill browsing site provided by the bill issuing server shown in FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the invoice barcode of FIG. 11 in detail.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process for the invoice issuing server of FIGS. 1 and 3 to provide each page of the invoice browsing site.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for payment of a billing charge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 company server 2 Billing server 3 financial institution servers 4 store terminals 5 mobile phones 11 CPU 12 storage devices 13 Input device 14 Display 15 Printer 16 Communication device 17 Usage database 21 CPU 22 Memory 23 Communication equipment 24 Issue Bill Database 31 CPU 32 storage 33 Communication device 34 Payment Information Database 41 CPU 42 storage device 43 bar code reader 44 key input device 45 display device 46 Communication equipment 51 CPU 52 ROM 53 RAM 54 Input device 55 Display 56 Communication device

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device for use by a user who has been provided with goods or services, and a bill issued for the provision of the products or services, which is connected to the terminal device via a communication line. A bill issuing system comprising: a bill issuing server for transmitting to a terminal device, wherein the bill issuing server stores bill information storage means for storing information on a bill to be issued to each of the users; Bill information stored in the bill information storage means, bill information processing means for processing into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device, and information about the bill processed by the bill information processing means, And a bill information transmitting unit for issuing a bill to each user by transmitting to a terminal device used by a corresponding user via the communication line, the terminal device comprising: It is provided with a bill information receiving means for receiving information on the bill transmitted from the solicitation information transmitting means, and a bill information output means for outputting information on the bill received by the bill information receiving means. Invoicing system. 2. A charge storage terminal device for performing processing for storing a charge based on the bill, wherein the output means is a display means for displaying information related to the bill received by the bill receiving means. The bill issuing system according to claim 1, wherein the bill storing terminal device includes a reading unit that reads information about the bill displayed on the display unit. 3. A charge storage terminal device that performs a process for storing a charge based on the invoice, and a printing device that prints information on the invoice output from the output means on a sheet, The bill issuing system according to claim 1, wherein the fee storing terminal device includes a reading device that reads information about the bill printed on the sheet by the printing device. 4. A business server for use by a business providing the goods or services, and a storage information collection server for collecting information indicating that a charge has been stored from the charge storage terminal device. The bill issuing server further includes means for transmitting information regarding a bill to be transmitted from the bill transmitting means to the terminal device of each user to the business entity server, and the business entity server and the storage information accumulation server, The charge settlement process is performed based on the information about the bill sent from the bill issuing server and the information indicating that the charges accumulated from the charge storing terminal device are stored. The bill issuing system according to claim 1. 5. A bill to be issued to each of the users who have been provided with the goods or services, which is connected to a terminal device used by the users who have been provided with the goods or services via a communication line. A bill information storage unit that stores information; a bill information processing unit that processes information relating to the bill stored in the bill information storage unit into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device; and the bill information A bill issuing device, comprising: bill information transmitting means for transmitting information on a bill processed by the processing means to a terminal device used by a corresponding user via the communication line. 6. A business operator providing the goods or services,
There is a plurality, and the bill information storage means stores, for each user who is using the terminal device, information regarding a bill to be issued for a product or service provided by each of the plurality of businesses. 6. The bill issuing device according to claim 5, wherein the bill information processing unit processes information regarding a bill for each user into electronic information that can be output from a terminal device of the user. . 7. The bill information processing means includes means for reading information according to the request from the bill information storage means according to a request from the terminal device and applying it to a format according to the request. The bill issuing device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that. 8. The bill information storage means further stores destination information of a terminal device corresponding to each user, and when information on a new bill is stored in the bill information storage means. The new claim notifying means for notifying the terminal device of the user corresponding to the newly stored information regarding the bill according to the corresponding destination information, according to the destination information. Invoicing device. 9. The information regarding the bill includes display information which is displayed on a display device of the terminal device and can be read by a fee storing terminal device which performs a process for storing a fee based on the bill. 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein
The bill issuing device according to claim 1. 10. The fee related to the bill is input from the terminal device to a predetermined printing device, printed on a sheet by the printing device, and a process for accommodating a fee based on the bill is performed. The bill issuing device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, which is read by a storage terminal device. 11. A cryptographic key storage means for storing a cryptographic key for encrypting information, wherein the bill information processing means stores cryptographic key information relating to the bill in the cryptographic key storage means. 5. An encryption means for encrypting by using the above is included.
The bill issuing device according to claim 1. 12. A decryption key storage means for storing a decryption key for decrypting information corresponding to the encryption key, and a charge storing terminal device for storing a charge based on the invoice from the terminal device. Encrypted information receiving means for receiving information based on the input encrypted bill from the fee storing terminal device via the communication line; and an encrypted bill received by the encrypted information receiving means. Means for decrypting information based on a bill using the decryption key, and a bill for returning information on the bill decrypted by the decryption means to the fee storing terminal device via the communication line. The bill issuing device according to claim 11, further comprising an information returning unit. 13. The invoice information processed by the invoice information processing means becomes invalid after a lapse of a predetermined time after being transmitted to the terminal device.
The bill issuing device according to claim 1. 14. The invoice information processed by the invoice information processing means includes a program that operates in the terminal device, and the program measures the time since the program was received by the terminal device, The bill issuing device according to claim 13, further comprising: a process of invalidating the information related to the bill when the counted time reaches a predetermined time. 15. The information relating to the bill processed by the bill information processing means is added with authentication information for authenticating the validity thereof. The invoicing device according to. 16. The terminal device is a mobile phone, and the bill information transmitting means transmits information relating to the bill through at least a mobile telephone network as the communication line. The bill issuing device according to any one of claims 1 to 15. 17. A method executed in a computer device connected via a communication line to a terminal device used by a user who has been provided with goods or services, wherein the goods or services have been provided. Storing information about a bill to be issued to each user in a storage unit; processing the information about the bill stored in the storage unit into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device; And a step of transmitting information about the processed bill to a terminal device used by a corresponding user via the communication line. 18. There are a plurality of business operators who provide the goods or services, and information regarding invoices to be issued for the goods or services provided by each of the plurality of business operators uses the terminal device. The stored information for each user, wherein the step of processing the information about the bill is processing the information about the bill for each user into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device of the user. 1
The method of issuing a bill according to 7. 19. The step of processing the information regarding the bill includes the step of encrypting the information regarding the bill using a predetermined encryption key.
The method for issuing a bill according to item 7 or 18. 20. The invoice according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the processed invoice information becomes invalid after a lapse of a predetermined time after being transmitted to the terminal device. Issuing method. 21. The bill issuance according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that the information relating to the processed bill is attached with authentication information for validating its validity. Method. 22. A computer device connected via a communication line to a terminal device used by a user who has been provided with goods or services is issued to each of the users who have been provided with the products or services. A bill information storage unit that stores information about a bill to be processed; a bill information processing unit that processes the information about the bill stored in the bill information storage unit into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device; A program for causing the bill information processing unit to function as a bill information transmitting unit that transmits information about a bill processed by the corresponding user to a terminal device used by a corresponding user via the communication line. 23. There are a plurality of businesses that provide the goods or services, and the invoice information storage means is provided by each of the plurality of businesses for each user who is using the terminal device. Information about a bill to be issued for goods or services is stored, and the bill information processing unit processes the information about the bill for each user into electronic information that can be output from the terminal device of the user. 23. The program according to claim 22, wherein 24. The computer apparatus is further caused to function as an encryption key storage means for storing an encryption key for encrypting information, and the bill information processing means stores information on the bill in the encryption key storage means. 24. The program according to claim 22, further comprising an encryption unit that performs encryption using the stored encryption key. 25. The invoice information processed by the invoice information processing means becomes invalid after a lapse of a predetermined time after being transmitted to the terminal device.
25. The program according to any one of 2 to 24. 26. The information relating to a bill processed by the bill information processing means is added with authentication information for authenticating its validity.
The program according to any one of 1.