Systems and methods for enabling additional devices to check in to Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons

• US 10,631,154 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2019
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Granbery, John Hastings
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzales, April G
• Application Number:
  US16/372,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20190364409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 385 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/068 using time-dependent keys, e.g. periodically changing keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for controlling usage of secret information H04L9/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0631 : Substitution permutation network [SPN], i.e. cipher composed of a number of stages or rounds each involving linear and nonlinear transformations, e.g. AES algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 : Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 : Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 : Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 : Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 : Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/75 : Temporary identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• 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 40/244 : using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 : using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/34 : Selective release of ongoing connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 : Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for checking many users in to a location using a Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) beacon. The provided systems and methods may allow a BLE beacon to facilitate a check in with a remote server that processes check ins and then disconnect from the device used to check in. The device may be assigned a unique identifier that may be broadcast from the device during the check in so that the BLE beacon can quickly scan for the identifier and connect with the device based on the identifier to provide content and other information to the device.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a server a device identifier associated with a user device;

transmitting, to the user device through a wireless transceiver via a local wireless protocol, the device identifier;

stopping communication with the user device;

scanning, using the wireless transceiver, for the device identifier being broadcast by the user device;

notifying, in response to detecting the broadcast of the device identifier;

the server of a presence of the user device;

receiving, from the server in response to notifying the server, content that is directed to the user device;

reinitiating, in response to receiving the content, communication with the user device through the wireless transceiver via the local wireless protocol; and

transmitting, to the user device through the wireless transceiver via the local wireless protocol and in response to receiving the content that is directed to the user device and detecting the device identifier being broadcast by the user device, the content.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise notifying the server that the user device is not present when the device identifier is not detected during the scanning.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise stopping the scanning when an expiration time for a check-in for the user device has passed.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise stopping the scanning in response to receiving, from the server, a notification to stop the scanning.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise stopping communication with the user device after transmitting the content to the user device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the user device through the wireless transceiver and before receiving the device identifier from the server, a check-in request from the user device; and

transmitting, to the server, the check-in request in response to receiving the check-in request from the user device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

broadcasting, using the wireless transceiver, a beacon identifier;

receiving, from the user device through the wireless transceiver and in response to the user device receiving the beacon identifier, a request for beacon information; and

transmitting, to the user device through the wireless transceiver and in response to receiving the request for beacon information, metadata, a beacon token, and a digital signature.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, by a beacon and from a server, an identifier assigned to a client computing device;

transmitting, by the beacon to the client computing device through wireless transceiver, the identifier assigned to the client computing device;

stopping, by the beacon, communication with the client computing device;

scanning, by the beacon using the wireless transceiver, for the identifier assigned to the client computing device being broadcast by the client computing device;

notifying, by the beacon in response to detecting the broadcast of the identifier assigned to the client computing device;

the server of a presence of the client computing device;

receiving, by the beacon from the server in response to notifying the server, content to be delivered to the client computing device;

reinitiating, by the beacon in response to receiving the content, communication with the client computing device through the wireless transceiver; and

transmitting, by the beacon to the client computing device through the wireless transceiver and in response to receiving the content and detecting the identifier assigned to the client computing device being broadcast by the client computing device, the content.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising notifying, by the beacon, the server that the client computing device is not present when the identifier assigned to the client computing device is not detected during the scanning.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising stopping, by the beacon, the scanning when an expiration time for a check-in for the client computing device has passed.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising stopping, by the beacon, the scanning in response to receiving, from the server, a notification to stop the scanning.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising stopping, by the beacon, communication with the client computing device after transmitting the content to the client computing device.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, by the beacon from the client computing device through the wireless transceiver and before receiving the identifier assigned to the client computing device from the server, a check-in request from the client computing device; and

transmitting, by the beacon to the server, the check-in request in response to receiving the check-in request from the client computing device.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

broadcasting, by the beacon using the wireless transceiver, an identifier assigned to the beacon;

receiving, by the beacon from the client computing device through the wireless transceiver and in response to the client computing device receiving the identifier assigned to the beacon, a request for beacon information; and

transmitting, by the beacon to the client computing device through the wireless transceiver and in response to receiving the request for beacon information, metadata, a beacon token, and a digital signature.

15. A system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

assigning a device identifier to a user device;

transmitting, to the user device via one or more beacon devices, the device identifier;

receiving, from the one or more beacon devices, one or more notifications that the one or more beacons devices have detected the device identifier being broadcast the user device;

identifying content to be sent to the user device;

transmitting the content to a first beacon device of the one or more beacon devices, the first beacon device being a last one of the one or beacon devices to detect the broadcast of the device identifier by the user device; and

transmitting, the content to the first beacon device, to cause the first beacon device to;

connect, through a wireless transceiver using a local wireless protocol, to the user device; and

transmit, through a wireless transceiver using a local wireless protocol, the content to the user device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, from one of the one or more beacon devices, a notice that the user device is not present.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting, to the one or more beacon devices, instructions to stop scanning for the device identifier when an expiration time for a check-in for the user device has passed.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting, to the one or more beacon devices, instructions to stop scanning for the device identifier in response to receiving, from each of the one or more beacon devices, a notification that the user device is not present.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting, to each of the one or more beacon devices, the content.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from one of the one or more beacon devices, a check-in request for the user device; and

assigning the device identifier to the user device in response to receiving the check-in request.