1. A method comprising:
receiving, in a proximity coupling system, holder consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance associated with a payment account; and
providing a human understandable indication of the account balance via an output device, in response at least in part to the consent;
wherein receiving holder consent comprises receiving holder consent provided via a proximity payment device associated with the payment account.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, in the proximity coupling system, account data from the proximity payment device; and
initiating the payment transaction in response at least in part to receiving the account data
3. The method of claim 1, where the proximity coupling system comprises a point of sale system.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the account balance comprises a monetary balance.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving holder consent comprises determining whether the proximity payment device has been positioned within range of the proximity coupling system for at least a predetermined amount of time after a reference and wherein the reference comprises an indication to the holder after the account data is received.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving holder consent comprises receiving holder consent based at least in part on whether a holder has actuated a switch supported by the proximity payment device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises printing the account balance.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises displaying the account balance on an electronic display device.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises displaying the account balance to an operator of the proximity coupling system who thereafter verbally informs the holder of the account balance.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises indicating the account balance using machine generated speech.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, in the proximity coupling system, preference data from the proximity payment device, the preference data indicative of a preferred method to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises providing a human understandable indication of the account balance in accordance with the preferred method.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, in the proximity coupling system, preference data from the proximity payment device, the preference data indicative of a preferred order of methods to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data indicative of a preferred order of methods includes data indicating that a first method is a preferred method and wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises providing a human understandable indication of the account balance using the first method if the first method is available.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the data indicative of a preferred order of methods includes data indicating that a second method is a preferred method if the first method is unavailable and wherein providing a human understandable indication of the account balance comprises providing a human understandable indication of the account balance using the second method if the second method is available and the first method is unavailable.
16. A proximity coupling system comprising;
a wireless interface to communicate with a proximity payment device associated with a payment account;
a processor coupled to the wireless interface, the processor to receive holder consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance associated with the payment account; and
an output device to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance;
wherein the holder consent comprises holder consent provided via the proximity payment device.
17. The proximity coupling system of claim 16, wherein the processor comprises a processor to receive account data from the proximity payment device via the wireless interface and initiate the payment transaction in response at least in part to receiving the account data.
18. The proximity coupling system of claim 16, wherein the account balance comprises a monetary account balance.
19. The proximity coupling system of claim 16 wherein the proximity payment device comprises a radio frequency identification circuit.
20. The proximity coupling system of claim 16 wherein the processor comprises a processor to receive holder consent by determining whether the proximity payment device has been positioned within range of the proximity coupling system for at least a predetermined amount of time after a reference and wherein the reference comprises an indication to the holder after the account data is received.
21. The proximity coupling system of claim 16, wherein the holder consent comprises holder consent based at least in part on whether a holder has actuated a switch.
22. The proximity coupling system of claim 16, wherein the processor comprises a processor to receive preference data from the proximity payment device, the preference data indicative of a preferred method to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance.
23. The proximity coupling system of claim 16, wherein the processor comprises a processor to receive preference data from the proximity payment device, the preference data indicative of a preferred order of methods to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance.
24. A method comprising:
storing account data; and
storing preference data in a proximity payment device, the preference data indicative of a preferred method to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the account balance comprises a monetary balance.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein the preference data comprises preference data indicative of a preferred order of methods to provide a human understandable indication of the account balance.
27. The method of claim 24 wherein the proximity payment device comprises a radio frequency identification circuit.
28. A computer program product comprising:
receiving, in a proximity coupling system, holder consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance associated with a payment account; and
providing a human understandable indication of the account balance via an output device, in response at least in part to the consent;
wherein receiving holder consent comprises receiving holder consent provided via a proximity payment device associated with the payment account.
29. An article comprising a machine readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that if executed by a proximity coupling system result in the following:
receiving, in a proximity coupling system, holder consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance associated with a payment account; and
providing a human understandable indication of the account balance via an output device, in response at least in part to the consent;
wherein receiving holder consent comprises receiving holder consent provided via a proximity payment device associated with the payment account.
30. Apparatus comprising;
a proximity payment device comprising:
a wireless communication interface;
account data; and
preference data, the preference data indicative of a preferred method to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance.
31. Apparatus comprising;
a proximity payment device comprising:
a wireless communication interface;
account data; and
data indicative of whether there is consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance; and
a switch;
wherein the proximity payment device generates the data indicative of whether there is consent to provide a human understandable indication of an account balance based at least in part on whether a holder has actuated the switch.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-17. (canceled)
18. An alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide represented by the following general formula (I), having a content of sulfate ions (SO42\u2212) of 3,000 ppm or less.
(in the formula (I), Ma represents an alkali metal, and Ra and Rb are the same or different and represent a fluorine atom, or a alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluorine atom, and at least one of Ra or Rb is a fluorine atom.)
19. An alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide represented by the following general formula (I), wherein
a mass loss rate is 2% or less when the salt is kept at 100\xb0 C. for 8 hours under an air current, or
a temperature is 210\xb0 C. or higher at which a mass loss rate becomes 2% when the salt is heated from 25\xb0 C. at a temperature rise rate of 10\xb0 C.minute under an air current.
(in the formula (I), Ma represents an alkali metal, and Ra and Rb are the same or different and represent a fluorine atom, or a alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluorine atom, and at least one of Ra or Rb is a fluorine atom.)
20. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 18 or 19, wherein a content of fluoride ions (F\u2212) is 1,000 ppm or less.
21. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 20, wherein a water content is 500 ppm or less.
22. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 21, further comprising 4,000 ppm or less of a residual solvent.
23. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is an alkali metal salt of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.
24. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is selected from a sodium salt, a potassium salt or a lithium salt.
25. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 21, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is an alkali metal salt of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.
26. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 22, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is an alkali metal salt of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.
27. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 21, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is selected from a sodium salt, a potassium salt or a lithium salt.
28. The alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 22, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is selected from a sodium salt, a potassium salt or a lithium salt.
29. An electrolytic solution comprising
an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide represented by the following general formula (I) and
a medium, wherein
a content of SO42\u2212 in the electrolytic solution is 1,500 ppm or less.
(in the formula (I), Ma represents an alkali metal, and Ra and Rb are the same or different and represent a fluorine atom, or a alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms in which one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluorine atom, and at least one of Ra or Rb is a fluorine atom.)
30. The electrolytic solution according to claim 29, wherein a content of water is 250 ppm or less.
31. The electrolytic solution according to claim 30, further comprising 2,000 ppm or less of a residual solvent.
32. The electrolytic solution according to claim 31, wherein a content of F is 500 ppm or less.
33. The electrolytic solution according to any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is an alkali metal salt of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide.
34. The electrolytic solution according to any one of claims 29 to 32, wherein the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide is selected from a sodium salt, a potassium salt or a lithium salt.
35. A method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide described in claim 18 or 19, comprising a step of
concentrating a solution of an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide while bubbling a gas into a reaction solution containing the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide, andor,
concentrating the solution of the alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide by thin film distillation.
36. The method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 35, wherein a reaction solvent contained in the reaction solution is an ester solvent andor a nitrile solvent.
37. The method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 35, wherein the concentrating step is carried out by using thin film distillation.
38. The method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 35, further comprising a step of fluorinating chlorosulfonyl imide or a salt thereof in the presence of the reaction solvent.
39. The method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 36, further comprising a step of fluorinating chlorosulfonyl imide or a salt thereof in the presence of the reaction solvent.
40. The method for producing an alkali metal salt of fluorosulfonyl imide according to claim 37, further comprising a step of fluorinating chlorosulfonyl imide or a salt thereof in the presence of the reaction solvent.