Beacon-based contactless reader identification

• US 10,075,213 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2017
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Kai P., Watkins, Ryan L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chakraborty, Raj
• Application Number:
  US15/791,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20180048356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 323 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for using proximity sensing systems, such as Bluetooth low energy (LE) beacons, to uniquely identify remote computing systems, such as point of sale terminals. A mobile device includes an antenna, a baseband modem, and a contactless frontend, and is able to perform near-field communication transactions. The mobile device antenna receives radio communications from one or more Bluetooth LE beacons, the transmissions including data packets with a unique identifier. The mobile device calculates the signal strength of the one or more Bluetooth LE beacons at a time proximate to when a near-field communication transaction is initiated. The mobile device stores in its memory the data packet associated with the Bluetooth LE beacon broadcasting the strongest signal.

Claims

1. A system to obtain contactless reader data, comprising:

a memory,

an antenna, and

a processor, communicatively coupled to the memory and the antenna, wherein the processor is operable to execute application code instructions that are stored in the memory to cause the system to;

initiate a contactless transaction in response to the antenna being placed within a predetermined proximity to a contactless reader;

upon initiating the contactless transaction, receive, via the antenna, a radio frequency (RF) broadcast from at least one of a plurality of beacons, each RF broadcast including at least one data packet comprising a unique identifier corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of beacons;

calculate a signal strength of each received RF broadcast;

store in the memory, as corresponding to the contactless reader, the at least one data packet comprising a unique identifier corresponding to the beacon calculated as producing the highest signal strength;

transmit each stored unique identifier to a server; and

receive, from the server, in response to transmitting each stored unique identifier to the server, one or more sets of data, each set of data corresponding to the unique identifier.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins approximately at a time when the data packet is stored in the memory.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins at a predetermined time after the data packet is stored in the memory.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins after the data packet is stored in the memory and upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined event comprises a time of day.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined event comprises establishing communication with the server.

7. A method to obtain contactless reader data, comprising:

initiating, by one or more computing devices, a contactless transaction in response to an antenna of the one or more computing devices being placed within a predetermined proximity to a contactless reader;

upon initiating the contactless transaction, receiving, by the one or more computing devices, a radio frequency (RF) broadcast from at least one of a plurality of beacons, each RF broadcast including at least one data packet comprising a unique identifier corresponding to the at least one beacon;

calculating, by the one or more computing devices, a signal strength of each received RF broadcast;

storing, by the one or more computing devices in a memory as corresponding to the contactless reader, the at least one data packet comprising a unique identifier corresponding to the beacon calculated as producing the highest signal strength;

transmitting, by the one or more computing devices, each stored unique identifier to a server; and

receiving, by the one or more computing devices from the server, in response to transmitting each stored unique identifier to the server, one or more sets of data, each set of data corresponding to the unique identifier.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins approximately at a time when the data packet is stored in the memory.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins at a predetermined time after the data packet is stored in the memory.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins after the data packet is stored in the memory and upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event comprises a time of day.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event comprises establishing communication with the server.

13. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device having computer-executable program instructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computer cause the computer to obtain contactless reader data, the computer-executable instructions comprising;

computer-executable instructions to initiate a contactless transaction in response to an antenna of the computer being placed within a predetermined proximity to a contactless reader;

computer-executable instructions to receive, upon initiating the contactless transaction, a radio frequency (RF) broadcast from at least one of a plurality of beacons, each RF broadcast comprising a unique identifier corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of beacons;

computer-executable instructions to calculate a signal strength of each received RF broadcast;

computer-executable instructions to store in a memory, as corresponding to the contactless reader, the at least one data packet comprising the unique identified corresponding to the beacon calculated as producing the highest signal strength;

computer-executable instructions to transmit each stored unique identifier to a server; and

computer-executable instructions to receive, from the server, in response to transmitting each stored unique identifier to the server, one or more sets of data, each set of data corresponding to the unique identifier.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins approximately at a time when the data packet is stored in the memory.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins at a predetermined time after the data packet is stored in the memory.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the transmission of the unique identifier to the server begins after the data packet is stored in the memory and upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the predetermined event comprises a time of day.