Server-based electronic wallet system

• US 20020107755A1
• Filed: 06/27/2001
• Published: 08/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Main, Jonathan, Sivadas, Madhav, Steed, David Anthony William
• Application Number:
  US09/892,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20020107755A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Purchases from a wireless device are facilitated by detecting, at a proxy (14), that a wireless device is attempting to access a form from a merchant server (18). The form is automatically filled at the proxy and delivered to the wireless device together with a hyperlink to a file stored on a wallet server (17). Upon receipt at the wallet server of an instruction from the wireless device, information is delivered to the merchant server to complete a transaction. Also, a wireless device (10) is provided having a browser for sending, to an Internet connected gateway, a request to access a form from a merchant server (18). Upon receipt from a proxy, the wireless device receives, stores and presents to a user a representation of the form pre-filled with data relating to the user, together with a hyperlink to a file and an indication that activation of the hyperlink will complete a transaction.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating purchases from a wireless device comprising:

detecting, at a proxy, that a wireless device is attempting to access a form from a merchant server, where the form requires information to be entered;

automatically filling the form at the proxy;

delivering the filled-form to the wireless device together with a hyperlink to a file stored on a wallet server; and

upon receipt at said wallet server of an instruction from the wireless device, delivering to the merchant server information to complete a transaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting comprises receiving a request from the wireless device, parsing the request and comparing it with a pre-determined list of merchant form identifiers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the pre-determined list includes associated mappings between fields of merchant forms and fields of user personal details.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of receiving comprises receiving a wireless protocol request at a wireless gateway and converting it to a HTTP request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, following the step of detecting, retrieving the form from the merchant server and caching it in a cache at the wallet proxy.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising retrieving the form from the cache upon receipt of an invoke instruction to invoke the wallet proxy.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of filling the form proceeds from the step of retrieving the form from the cache.

8. A proxy for facilitating purchases from a wireless device comprising:

a memory to store a list of predetermined merchant form URL'"'"'s,

a parser and filter for identifying by comparison with said list an incoming attempt from a wireless device to access a form from a merchant server, where the form requires information to be entered;

a form-filling software program for filling the form at the proxy; and

a socket to a wireless gateway for delivering the filled-in form to the wireless device together with a hyperlink to a file stored on a wallet server and for receiving an instruction from the wireless device; and

a socket to a wallet server for delivering the instruction to the wallet server to complete a transaction.

9. A data storage medium having stored thereon wallet proxy computer instructions that, when loaded onto a gateway server, cause the gateway server to operate as a proxy that:

receives, parses and filters requests from wireless devices;

identifies an attempt to access a form from a merchant server, where the form requires information to be entered;

automatically fills the form with user data; and

delivers the filled-form to a wireless device through the gateway, together with a hyperlink to a file stored on a wallet server.

10. A method of operation of a wireless device by a user, the method comprising:

sending, to an Internet connected gateway, a request to access a form from a merchant server, where the form requires information to be entered;

receiving from the gateway a representation of the form pre-filled by wallet software associated with the gateway with data relating to the user, together with a hyperlink to a file stored on a wallet server further associated with the wallet software; and

selectively activating the hyperlink to the file to activate a transaction with the merchant server.

11. A wireless device having a browser for sending, to an Internet connected gateway, a request to access a form from a merchant server, where the form requires information to be entered;

characterized in that, upon receipt from a proxy, the wireless device receives, stores and presents to a user a representation of the form pre-filled with data relating to the user, together with a hyperlink to a file and an indication that activation of the hyperlink will complete a transaction.