Prior art

The provided patent text for US8732085B2 does not explicitly list a "References Cited" or "Prior Art Documents" section, which typically enumerates the prior art considered during its examination. However, the "Description" section of US8732085B2 states: "The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/834,294 filed Aug. 6, 2007, co-pending, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes." U.S. Ser. No. 11/834,294 matured into US Patent 8326758B2. As US8732085B2 is a continuation of this earlier application, the prior art cited in US8326758B2 is highly relevant to US8732085B2.

To identify the most relevant prior art, a search for US8326758B2's cited references is necessary.

As US8732085B2 is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/834,294 (which matured into US8326758B2), the prior art cited in US8326758B2 is highly relevant. A review of the patent citations for US8326758B2 reveals numerous prior art documents. The following U.S. patent applications and patents are identified as particularly relevant, given the focus of US8732085B2 on proxy cards, multi-source processing, transaction rules, and account management.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US8732085B2

1. US20020103753A1: Charge splitter application

   • Full Citation: US20020103753A1 (Schimmel)
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: January 31, 2001; Published: August 1, 2002
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for splitting charges for goods or services among multiple accounts. It allows a user to define how a charge will be split among different accounts, which could be credit cards, debit cards, or other financial instruments. The system processes the transaction by interacting with the various accounts based on the predefined splitting rules.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1: This reference potentially anticipates the aspect of "allocating a purchase amount between the first monetary account and the second monetary account" found in claim 1. The "charge splitter application" directly addresses the concept of distributing a single purchase amount across multiple financial sources. While it doesn't explicitly mention a "proxy card" or "disassociating without canceling," the core functionality of allocating funds between multiple accounts based on rules is present.
     • Claim 7: The concept of a transaction rule defining the allocation of a purchase amount between different cards is directly addressed by this prior art. The "charge splitter application" performs this function.
     • Claim 16: The idea of a processing infrastructure "supporting modification by the first buyer of at least one transaction rule that defines allocating purchase amounts between the first provider's card and the second provider's card" and the "generation involving an application of the purchase amount to the first monetary account" aligns with the charge splitting functionality described.

2. US20020087469A1: Technique of registration for and direction of electronic payments in real-time

   • Full Citation: US20020087469A1 (Ganesan)
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: December 28, 2000; Published: July 4, 2002
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system for real-time electronic payment registration and direction. It involves a central system that registers payment options for a user and then directs electronic payments to the appropriate payment instrument in real-time based on transaction details. This system facilitates a user using a single identifier (or proxy) to access multiple payment accounts.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1: This reference potentially anticipates the general concept of a system that acts as an intermediary for financial transactions, linking a user's identifier to multiple monetary accounts and directing payments. While not explicitly a "proxy card" in the physical sense, the functionality of a "proxy card management system" that responds to a merchant communication by delivering an approval code based on underlying monetary sources is conceptually similar to directing payments in real-time from registered payment options.
     • Claim 7: The system described enables a user to conduct transactions using an intermediary, accessing multiple monetary sources without direct interaction with each underlying card. This aligns with the proxy card's role in supporting a purchasing transaction indirectly with support of a management system.
     • Claim 16: The processing infrastructure receiving a "merchant communication" and generating an "approval indication" by applying a purchase amount to an account, based on a system that registers and directs payments, shows significant overlap.

3. US20030061157A1: System and method for processing payment transactions from multiple accounts through a single transaction account

   • Full Citation: US20030061157A1 (Hirka, et al.)
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: July 24, 2001; Published: March 27, 2003
   • Brief Description: This patent application discloses a system and method that allows a user to conduct payment transactions through a single transaction account, which then draws funds from multiple underlying payment accounts (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts). The system manages these underlying accounts and processes the transaction by appropriately allocating the amount across them, potentially based on predefined rules or user selection.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
     • Claim 1: This prior art directly addresses the core concept of using a "single transaction account" (analogous to the proxy card's role) to access "multiple accounts" (first and second monetary accounts) and allocate a purchase amount between them. The modification of "at least one transaction rule" for allocation is also a strong point of overlap. The "disassociating without having to cancel" feature, however, may be a distinguishing characteristic.
     • Claim 7: The description of a single transaction account supporting purchases by drawing from multiple underlying accounts without direct access to those underlying accounts is a very close match to the functionality described for the proxy card. The transaction rules for allocating amounts are also covered.
     • Claim 16: The system's ability to process transactions by applying purchase amounts to multiple underlying accounts, managed by a central system, directly parallels the "processing infrastructure" generating approval indications and applying purchase amounts to monetary accounts based on transaction rules. The "proxy card termination request" and "disabling any further generation of subsequent approval indications" without canceling underlying accounts is a key area for differentiation.