NFC base station and passive transmitter device

• US 10,318,952 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2015
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Wade, Jeremy, Maibach, Matthew H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Zhitong
• Application Number:
  US14/868,221
• Time in Patent Office: 1,352 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling

Abstract

A payment device for a point-of-sale system that is configured to operate in a reader mode and in a transmitter mode. When in a first (reader) mode of operation as a seller device, the payment device is configured to receive first payment object information from a first payment object, such as a near field communication (NFC) enabled payment object. When in the second (transmitter) mode of operation as a buyer device, the payment device is configured to receive second payment information from a second payment object, such as an integrated circuit (IC) enabled payment object, and to transmit the second payment object information using a NFC protocol. The payment device includes a NFC antenna and a driving circuit configured to drive the NFC antenna to create a magnetic field when in the first mode of operation.

Claims

1. A payment device configured to receive payment object information and to transmit the payment object information, the payment device comprising:

a near field communication (NFC) antenna;

a driving circuit configured to drive the NFC antenna to create a first magnetic field that is capable of being load modulated by a NFC enabled payment object while the payment device is in a first mode and while a switch is closed;

the switch, wherein a first pole of the switch is coupled to the NFC antenna and a second pole of the switch is coupled to the driving circuit;

an integrated circuit payment object reader having one or more electrical contacts;

a load modulation subsystem connected to the NFC antenna; and

a microcontroller configured to, while the payment device is in the first mode, receive first payment object information via the NFC antenna from the NFC enabled payment object, and transmit the first payment object information to a merchant device,

the microcontroller further configured to, while the payment device is in a second mode;

turn off the driving circuit by opening the switch,

receive second payment object information from an integrated circuit of a payment card while the integrated circuit of the payment card electrically engages with the one or more electrical contacts of the integrated circuit payment object reader, and

transmit the second payment object information using a NFC protocol by instructing the load modulation subsystem to control the antenna to modulate a second magnetic field.

2. The payment device of claim 1, wherein the NFC antenna is configured to transmit the second payment object information received from the integrated circuit of the payment card to a NFC-enabled payment object reader via the NFC antenna of the payment device using the NFC protocol.

3. The payment device of claim 1, further comprising a memory that stores the second payment object information, wherein transmission of the second payment object information using the NFC protocol occurs while the payment card is not present at the integrated circuit payment object reader.

4. The payment device of claim 1, wherein an inductive load is modulated via the load modulation subsystem to communicate data from the NFC antenna of the payment device by modulating the second magnetic field.

5. A near field communication (NFC) enabled payment device that can be operated in a reader mode or in a transmission mode, the NFC enabled payment device comprising:

a NFC antenna;

a driving circuit;

a switch, the switch coupled at a first pole to the NFC antenna, the switch coupled at a second pole to the driving circuit, wherein the NFC antenna is driven by the driving circuit and the NFC enabled payment device operates in the reader mode while the switch is closed, and wherein the NFC antenna is not driven by the driving circuit and operates in the transmission mode while the switch is open, wherein the NFC enabled payment device while in the reader mode reads first payment data from a first payment object and transmits the first payment data to a merchant device, wherein the NFC enabled payment device while in the transmission mode reads second payment data from a second payment object via contact between the second payment object and a reader interface of the NFC enabled payment device, wherein the NFC enabled payment device while in the transmission mode transmits the second payment data wirelessly via the NFC antenna from the NFC enabled payment device to a payment object reader;

a microcontroller; and

a load modulator that is configured to modulate an inductive load via the NFC antenna to communicate payment object data from the NFC enabled payment device.

6. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, wherein the reader interface includes an integrated circuit object reader configured to make contact with an integrated circuit in the second payment object to read the second payment data from the second payment object while the NFC enabled payment device is in the transmission mode, wherein the microcontroller receives the second payment data from the integrated circuit object reader and controls a second switch to modulate the NFC antenna to transmit the second payment data to the payment object reader.

7. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, wherein the second payment object is a chip-type card.

8. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, wherein the second payment object is a magnetic stripe card.

9. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, further comprising a slot having an integrated circuit reading contact configured to read data from an integrated circuit payment card.

10. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, further comprising a slot having an magnetic stripe reading interface configured to read data from a magnetic stripe payment card.

11. The NFC enabled payment device of claim 5, wherein the payment object reader is a mobile device, and the second payment data is transmitted to a mobile device via short-range wireless communication.

12. A payment device having a first mode of operation where the payment device acts as a receiver and reads first payment data from a first payment object, the payment device also having a second mode of operation where the payment device acts as a transmitter and transmits second payment data from a second payment object to a payment object reader, the payment device comprising:

an antenna;

a driving circuit configured to drive the antenna while a switch is closed;

the switch wherein a first pole of the switch is coupled to the antenna and a second pole of the switch is coupled to the driving circuit; and

a microcontroller in communication with the driving circuit, the microcontroller configured to;

read the first payment data from the first payment object while the payment device is in the first mode of operation,

transmit the first payment data to a merchant device having a merchant application running thereon while the payment device is in the first mode of operation,

open the switch while the payment device is in the second mode of operation,

read the second payment data from the second payment object via electrical contact between the second payment object and a reader interface of the payment device while the payment device is in the second mode of operation, and

transmit the second payment data from the antenna of the payment device to the payment object reader while the payment device is in the second mode of operation.

13. The payment device of claim 12, wherein, while the payment device is in the first mode of operation, the microcontroller is configured to transmit the first payment data to the merchant device via load modulation at the antenna by powering the driving circuit.

14. The payment device of claim 12, wherein, while the payment device is in the second mode of operation, the microcontroller is configured to read the second payment data from the second payment object by turning off power to the driving circuit and to the antenna.

15. The payment device of claim 12, the microcontroller further configured to encrypt the second payment data in response to reading the second payment data from the second payment object.

16. The payment device of claim 12, further comprising a second switch coupled on a first pole of the second switch to the antenna and on a second pole of the second switch to a load, wherein the second switch is configured to be controlled by the microcontroller, whereby an inductive load can be modulated via the antenna to communicate data from the payment device.

17. A method of receiving and transmitting payment data using a payment device, the payment device having a first mode of operation where the payment device acts as a receiver and reads first payment data from a first payment object, and a second mode of operation where the payment device acts as a transmitter and transmits second payment data from a second payment object to a payment object reader, the method comprising:

reading the first payment data from the first payment object while the payment device is in the first mode of operation;

transmitting the first payment data to a merchant device having a merchant application running thereon while the payment device is in the first mode of operation;

opening a switch while the payment device is in the second mode of operation, wherein a first pole of the switch is coupled to an antenna and a second pole of the switch is coupled to a driving circuit;

reading the second payment data from the second payment object via contact between the second payment object and a reader interface of the payment device while the payment device is in the second mode of operation; and

transmitting the second payment data wirelessly via the antenna from the payment device to the payment object reader while the payment device is in the second mode of operation.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein, while the payment device is in the first mode of operation, a microcontroller of the payment device is configured to instruct a load modulation system of the payment device connected to the antenna of the payment device to generate an electric field that is capable of being load modulated by the first payment object, wherein the first payment object is a NFC enabled payment object.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, while the payment device is in the second mode of operation, the payment device is configured to read payment data from the second payment object by turning off power to the driving circuit of the payment device and to the antenna of the payment device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the second payment data is read from an integrated circuit payment card and the second payment data is transmitted using a NFC protocol via the antenna of the payment device.