Card reader with power efficient architecture that includes a power supply and a wake-up circuit

• US 10,140,481 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Lamba, Kartik, Babu, Amish, Rothschild, Adam David Peter, Dorsey, Jack, McKelvey, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Thien T
• Application Number:
  US15/252,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20160371513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/01 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/084 sensing magnetic material by relative movement detecting flux changes without altering its magnetised state
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10128 the step consisting of detection of the presence of one or more record carriers in the vicinity of the interrogation device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction

Abstract

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in a card reader with a read head positioned in a housing. The read head is configured to be coupled to a mobile device and has a slot for swiping a magnetic stripe of a card. The read head reads data on the magnetic stripe and produces a raw magnetic signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe. A power supply is coupled to wake-up electronics and a microcontroller. An output jack is adapted to be inserted in a port of the mobile device and deliver an output jack signal to the mobile device.

Claims

1. A transaction device reader comprising:

a housing;

an interface configured to detect a transaction device; and

a wake-up component configured to send a wake up signal to wake up a microcontroller of the transaction device reader from a sleep state to an active state in response to the transaction device being detected, the microcontroller configured to, in the active state, receive data from the transaction device;

wherein the microcontroller is configured to power down the wake-up component in response to the microcontroller transitioning to the active state and to power up the wake-up component in response to the microcontroller returning to the sleep state.

2. The transaction device reader of claim 1, wherein the transaction device is a transaction card.

3. The transaction device reader of claim 1, wherein the transaction device is one of:

a wristband, a radio frequency identification number (RFID) chip, a cell phone, or a biometric marker.

4. The transaction device reader of claim 1, wherein the interface is a magnetic read head positioned in a slot and configured to read magnetic stripe data from the transaction device.

5. The transaction device reader of claim 1, further comprising a communication interface configured to transmit the data via an output port to a mobile device.

6. The transaction device reader of claim 5, wherein the output port is one of:

a universal serial bus (USB) port, an accessory port, or an audio port.

7. A method comprising:

receiving initial data from a transaction device at an interface of a transaction device reader;

sending, by a wake-up component, a wake up signal to wake up a microcontroller of the transaction device reader from a sleep state to an active state in response to the receiving of the initial data from the transaction device at the interface of the transaction device reader;

powering up the wake-up component in response to the microcontroller being powered down, and powering down the wake-up component in response to the microcontroller transitioning to the active state.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the transaction device reader comprises a slot for receiving the transaction device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the transaction device is a magnetic stripe card.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the transaction device is a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader to read data from the transaction device.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein a mobile device is communicatively coupled to the transaction device reader using an audio output jack.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein a mobile device is communicatively coupled to the transaction device reader using a USB port.

13. A system comprising:

an interface configured to receive data from a transaction device; and

a wake-up component configured to detect the transaction device and generate a wake up signal for a microcontroller;

wherein

the microcontroller is configured to transition from a sleep state to an active state in response to the wake up signal;

the microcontroller is configured to power down the wake-up component in response to the microcontroller transitioning to the active state, and to power up the wake-up component in response to a transition of the microcontroller to a sleep state; and

the microcontroller is configured to, in the active state, receive the data from the transaction device and produce a digital signal based on the data.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a slot for receiving the transaction device.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a magnetic read head positioned within the slot.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a power supply coupled to the wake-up component and the microcontroller.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the power supply is provided by a microphone bias from a mobile device.

18. The system of claim 13, comprising:

a communication interface adapted to transmit the digital signal to a mobile device which is communicatively coupled to the system.