Wireless telephone debit card system and method

Abstract

A wireless telephone debit card communications system comprising a radio telephone, a base station, and an end station. The radio telephone includes a processor; a reader for reading a credit amount and a telephone number of a debit card; a writer for changing the credit amount and the telephone number of the debit card; and a transceiver for communicating, using radio waves, a credit signal. The base station receives and relays the credit signal over a communications channel to the end station, The end station includes a switch to generate a first control signal to allocate the credit amount of the debit card to the radio telephone, and to assign a telephone number of the radio telephone to the telephone number of the debit card with a communications path through the base station. The end station also generates a second control signal for changing the credit cunt and the telephone number of the debit card.

United States Patent: 5359182