USING VISUAL IMAGES TRANSFERRED FROM WIRELESS COMPUTING DEVICE DISPLAY SCREENS

• US 20090099936A1
• Filed: 12/22/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Creamer, Thomas E., Moore, Victor S., Katz, Neil A., Celi, Joseph JR.
• Granted Patent: US 7,865,436 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• 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 20/3274 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being displayed on the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Within a wireless computing device, a method of conducting commerce can include receiving a user input in the wireless computing device specifying an account to which a proposed transaction is to be billed and identifying contact information for a billing entity according to the user specified account. The billing entity can manage the account. An authorization can be requested from the billing entity via a wireless communications link established using the contact information. The method also can include receiving the authorization from the billing entity via the wireless communications link, generating a visual image which identifies the billing entity and represents the authorization received from the billing entity, and presenting the visual image upon the display screen of the wireless computing device. Accordingly, a visual image reader can read the displayed visual image.

Claims

1. A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

receiving a user input in a wireless computing device specifying an account to which a proposed transaction is to be billed;

identifying contact information for a billing entity according to the user specified account, wherein the billing entity manages the account;

requesting an authorization from the billing entity via a wireless communications link established using the contact information;

receiving the authorization from the billing entity via the wireless communications link;

dynamically encoding the billing entity and the authorization received from the billing entity into a pattern using a protocol for a visual image reader of a point of sale (POS) system associated with a merchant processing system;

generating a bar code upon a display screen of the wireless computing device from the pattern;

presenting the display screen of the wireless computing device to the visual image reader; and

scanning the bar code using the visual image reader;

detecting the pattern in the bar code and retrieving the billing entity and the authorization encoded in the pattern;

verifying the retrieved authorization with the billing entity retrieved from the pattern;

the verification step being performed by the merchant processing system and the billing entity, the merchant processing system determining contact information for the billing entity retrieved from the bar code, the merchant processing system sending the retrieved authorization to the retrieved billing entity, and the merchant processing system receiving a response from the retrieved billing entity indicating whether the proposed transaction was authorized; and

completing the transaction if the retrieved authorization is verified by the retrieved billing entity.

2. The machine readable storage of claim 1, said receiving step further comprising:

receiving a user input specifying at least one of the billing entity and an amount of the proposed transaction.

3. The machine readable storage of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications link is a data communications link.

4. The machine readable storage of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication link is a voice communications link, said requesting step comprising:

calling the billing entity; and

requesting the authorization over the voice communications link.

5. The machine readable storage of claim 1, wherein the step of verifying is performed by the merchant processing system and the billing entity without additional input from the user.

6. The machine readable storage of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying contact information for the retrieved billing entity.

7. A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

receiving a user input in a wireless computing device specifying an account to which a proposed transaction is to be billed;

identifying contact information for a billing entity according to the user specified account, wherein the billing entity manages the account;

requesting an authorization from the billing entity via a first wireless communications link established using the contact information;

receiving the authorization from the billing entity via the first wireless communications link;

dynamically encoding the billing entity and the authorization received from the billing entity into a barcode pattern for a short range wireless communication using a protocol for a short range wireless communications link of a point of sale (POS) system associated with a merchant processing system;

transmitting the pattern through a second wireless communications link to the POS system, wherein the second communications link comprises a short range wireless communication link directly between said wireless computing device and said POS system;

detecting the pattern in the transmitted pattern and retrieving the billing entity and the authorization encoded in the transmitted pattern;

verifying the retrieved authorization with the billing entity retrieved from the transmitted pattern, the step of verifying being performed by the merchant processing system and the billing entity without additional input from the user; and

completing the transaction if the retrieved authorization is verified by the retrieved billing entity.

8. The machine readable storage of claim 7, the step of verifying further comprising code sections for:

the merchant information processing system determining contact information for the retrieved billing entity;

the merchant information processing system sending the retrieved authorization to the retrieved billing entity; and

the merchant information processing system receiving a response from the retreived billing entity indicating whether the proposed transaction was authorized.