IP Library Granted Patent US 11,250,438
Granted Patent B2
US 11,250,438 · App. 16/779,449 · Granted Feb 15, 2022

Blockchain-based reimbursement splitting

Inventors: Yu Chu (Hangzhou, CN); Longsheng Qing (Hangzhou, CN); Ge Jin (Hangzhou, CN); Zhenzhong Meng (Hangzhou, CN); Xueqing Yang (Hangzhou, CN); Zhen Sun (Hanzghou, CN)
Assignee: Advanced New Technologies Co., Ltd.
G06Q20/405G06Q20/3825G06Q20/407H04L9/0637
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,250,438
App. No.
16/779,449
Granted
Feb 15, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

This disclosure relates to blockchain-based reimbursement. In some aspects, a network node on a blockchain network receives a target transaction. The target transaction includes a target electronic bill identifier. In response to receiving the target transaction, expense splitting logic is invoked. The expense splitting logic is specified in a smart contract deployed on the blockchain Respective expense splitting notes are generated based on the expense splitting logic and an unreimbursed amount included in reimbursement information that is stored in the blockchain and that corresponds to the target electronic bill identifier. The respective expense splitting notes are broadcasted to the blockchain for storage.

Claims (89)

1. A computer-implemented method for blockchain-based reimbursement splitting, wherein the method is performed by a network node on a blockchain network comprising a blockchain, and the computer-implemented method comprises:

receiving, by the network node, a target transaction, wherein the target transaction comprises a target electronic bill identifier for a target electronic bill for a reimbursement initiator and an address for a smart contract that is deployed in the blockchain, wherein the smart contract comprises computer-executable code that comprises expense splitting logic for the target electronic bill and reimbursement logic for the target electronic bill; and

in response to receiving the target transaction:

invoking, by the network node, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

generating, by the network node using the expense splitting logic, respective expense splitting notes for a plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on an unreimbursed amount remaining after a first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed a partial amount of a total reimbursement amount, the generating including searching the blockchain for reimbursement information using the target electronic bill identifier and obtaining the unreimbursed amount from the reimbursement information that is stored in the blockchain and that corresponds to the target electronic bill identifier, wherein the respective expense splitting note for each additional reimbursement acceptor indicates a respective portion of the unreimbursed amount for the additional reimbursement acceptor; and

broadcasting, by the network node, the respective expense splitting notes to the blockchain for storage;

updating, in the blockchain and based on the respective expense splitting notes, a remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator;

after updating the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator in the blockchain, monitoring, by the network node, for a new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier to be stored in the blockchain;

in response to detecting, based on the monitoring, the new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier being stored in the blockchain and receiving a given expense splitting note of the respective expense splitting notes, triggering reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

determining, by the network node using the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, that reimbursement of a given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies reimbursement criteria based on the given portion being less than or equal to the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies the reimbursement criteria, broadcasting, by the network node to the blockchain, a reimbursable event that enables a given additional reimbursement acceptor corresponding to the given expense splitting note to complete reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the target transaction is an expense splitting transaction initiated by the first reimbursement acceptor; and

generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

generating the respective expense splitting notes based on a found unreimbursed amount included in found reimbursement information that is found as a result of the searching.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the target transaction is a reimbursement transaction initiated by a reimbursement initiator, and the blockchain stores a target electronic bill corresponding to the reimbursement transaction; and

invoking the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

invoking, in response to receiving the target transaction, the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain to determine whether the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria:

generating a first reimbursable event that satisfies the reimbursement criteria, and broadcasting the first reimbursable event to the blockchain for storage such that, when monitoring the first reimbursable event stored in the blockchain, the first reimbursement acceptor performs reimbursement processing on the target electronic bill and broadcasts the reimbursement information to the blockchain for storage; and

further invoking, in response to monitoring the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes based on the unreimbursed amount included in the reimbursement information.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining that the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain is not monitored within a predetermined monitoring duration; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement information stored on the blockchain is not monitored within the predetermined monitoring duration, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

6. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions executable by a computer system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a network node on a blockchain network comprising a blockchain, a target transaction, wherein the target transaction comprises a target electronic bill identifier for a target electronic bill for a reimbursement initiator and an address for a smart contract that is deployed in the blockchain, wherein the smart contract comprises computer-executable code that comprises expense splitting logic for the target electronic bill and reimbursement logic for the target electronic bill; and

in response to receiving the target transaction:

invoking, by the network node, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

generating, by the network node using the expense splitting logic, respective expense splitting notes for a plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on an unreimbursed amount remaining after a first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed a partial amount of a total reimbursement amount, the generating including searching the blockchain for reimbursement information using the target electronic bill identifier and obtaining the unreimbursed amount from the reimbursement information that is stored in the blockchain and that corresponds to the target electronic bill identifier, wherein the respective expense splitting note for each additional reimbursement acceptor indicates a respective portion of the unreimbursed amount for the additional reimbursement acceptor; and

broadcasting, by the network node, the respective expense splitting notes to the blockchain for storage;

updating, in the blockchain and based on the respective expense splitting notes, a remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator;

after updating the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator in the blockchain, monitoring, by the network node, for a new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier to be stored in the blockchain;

in response to detecting, based on the monitoring, the new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier being stored in the blockchain and receiving a given expense splitting note of the respective expense splitting notes, triggering reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

determining, by the network node using the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, that reimbursement of a given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies reimbursement criteria based on the given portion being less than or equal to the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies the reimbursement criteria, broadcasting, by the network node to the blockchain, a reimbursable event that enables a given additional reimbursement acceptor corresponding to the given expense splitting note to complete reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount.

7. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 6 , wherein:

the target transaction is an expense splitting transaction initiated by the first reimbursement acceptor; and

generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

generating the respective expense splitting notes based on a found unreimbursed amount included in found reimbursement information that is found as a result of the searching.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies the reimbursement criteria comprises determining that a reimbursement initiator that initiated the new reimbursement transaction has reimbursement permission for a target electronic bill identified by the target electronic bill identifier.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies the reimbursement criteria comprises determining that the give portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note is less than the unreimbursed amount included in the reimbursement information.

10. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 6 , wherein:

the target transaction is a reimbursement transaction initiated by a reimbursement initiator, and the blockchain stores a target electronic bill corresponding to the reimbursement transaction; and

invoking the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

invoking, in response to receiving the target transaction, the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain to determine whether the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria:

generating a first reimbursable event that satisfies the reimbursement criteria, and broadcasting the first reimbursable event to the blockchain for storage such that, when monitoring the first reimbursable event stored in the blockchain, the first reimbursement acceptor performs reimbursement processing on the target electronic bill and broadcasts the reimbursement information to the blockchain for storage; and

further invoking, in response to monitoring the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes based on the unreimbursed amount included in the reimbursement information.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain is not monitored within a predetermined monitoring duration; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement information stored on the blockchain is not monitored within the predetermined monitoring duration, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

12. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

13. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

one or more computers of a network node on a blockchain network comprising a blockchain; and

one or more computer memory devices interoperably coupled with the one or more computers and having tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a network node, a target transaction, wherein the target transaction comprises a target electronic bill identifier for a target electronic bill for a reimbursement initiator and an address for a smart contract that is deployed in the blockchain, wherein the smart contract comprises computer-executable code that comprises expense splitting logic for the target electronic bill and reimbursement logic for the target electronic bill; and

in response to receiving the target transaction:

invoking, by the network node, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

generating, by the network node using the expense splitting logic, respective expense splitting notes for a plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on an unreimbursed amount remaining after a first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed a partial amount of a total reimbursement amount, the generating including searching the blockchain for reimbursement information using the target electronic bill identifier and obtaining the unreimbursed amount from the reimbursement information that is stored in the blockchain and that corresponds to the target electronic bill identifier, wherein the respective expense splitting note for each additional reimbursement acceptor indicates a respective portion of the unreimbursed amount for the additional reimbursement acceptor; and

broadcasting, by the network node, the respective expense splitting notes to the blockchain for storage;

updating, in the blockchain and based on the respective expense splitting notes, a remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator;

after updating the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator in the blockchain, monitoring, by the network node, for a new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier to be stored in the blockchain;

in response to detecting, based on the monitoring, the new reimbursement transaction comprising the target electronic bill identifier being stored in the blockchain and receiving a given expense splitting note of the respective expense splitting notes, triggering reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain;

determining, by the network node using the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, that reimbursement of a given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies reimbursement criteria based on the given portion being less than or equal to the remaining reimbursement amount for the reimbursement initiator; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount indicated by the given expense splitting note satisfies the reimbursement criteria, broadcasting, by the network node to the blockchain, a reimbursable event that enables a given additional reimbursement acceptor corresponding to the given expense splitting note to complete reimbursement of the given portion of the unreimbursed amount.

14. The computer-implemented system of claim 13 , wherein:

the target transaction is an expense splitting transaction initiated by the first reimbursement acceptor; and

generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

searching the blockchain for the reimbursement information; and

generating the respective expense splitting notes based on a found unreimbursed amount included in found reimbursement information that is found as a result of the searching.

15. The computer-implemented system of claim 13 , wherein:

the target transaction is a reimbursement transaction initiated by a reimbursement initiator, and the blockchain stores a target electronic bill corresponding to the reimbursement transaction; and

invoking the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes for the plurality of additional reimbursement acceptors based on the unreimbursed amount remaining after the first reimbursement acceptor reimbursed the partial amount of the total reimbursement amount comprises:

invoking, in response to receiving the target transaction, the reimbursement logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain to determine whether the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill satisfies the reimbursement criteria:

generating a first reimbursable event that satisfies the reimbursement criteria, and broadcasting the first reimbursable event to the blockchain for storage such that, when monitoring the first reimbursable event stored in the blockchain, the first reimbursement acceptor performs reimbursement processing on the target electronic bill and broadcasts the reimbursement information to the blockchain for storage; and

further invoking, in response to monitoring the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain, the expense splitting logic specified in the smart contract deployed on the blockchain, and generating the respective expense splitting notes based on the unreimbursed amount included in the reimbursement information.

16. The computer-implemented system of claim 15 , wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the reimbursement information stored in the blockchain is not monitored within a predetermined monitoring duration; and

in response to determining that the reimbursement information stored on the blockchain is not monitored within the predetermined monitoring duration, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

17. The computer-implemented system of claim 15 , wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria; and

in response to determining that the target electronic bill does not satisfy the reimbursement criteria, returning, to the first reimbursement acceptor, prompt information indicating a reimbursement failure.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 8, 2020
From: CHU, YU; QING, LONGSHENG; JIN, GE; MENG, ZHENZHONG; YANG, XUEQING; SUN, ZHEN
To: ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Reel/Frame 054012/0139 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 10, 2020
From: ADVANTAGEOUS NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
To: ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 053754/0625 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 31, 2020
From: ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
To: ADVANTAGEOUS NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 053743/0464 →