REMOTELY CONFIGURABLE USER DEVICE WITH PHYSICAL USER RESOURCES AND INTERFACE

• US 20100179990A1
• Filed: 01/09/2010
• Published: 07/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ganart Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ganart Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: CACHERIA, ANTHONY M. III, EDWARDS, WEBB, MCHUGH, WAYNE THOMAS, HOOKER, DAVID, JENKINS, BARRETT, HOLBROOK, ARTHUR MARTIN, GLOVER, KRISTOPHER
• Granted Patent: US 8,255,500 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1053 Employment or hiring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1057 Benefits or employee welfare, e.g. insurance, holiday or retirement packages
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1091 Recording time for administrative or management purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/065 using e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/08 Payment architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/125 Finance or payroll

Abstract

A user device for interfacing predetermined external services provided by third party service providers to a user at a fixed location includes a processing platform running an operating system, a plurality of physical system resources associated with the remotely configurable user device, physical system resource interfaces for interfacing the operating system with the available physical system resources, a data store for storing ones of multiple configuration information associated with and identifying the external services that are available to a user with the user device and one or more of the available physical system resources required for ones of the external services and a communication resource for interfacing with the operating system to allow communication of the operating system with a central office for downloading of configuration information to remotely enable a selected one or ones of the predetermined external services provided by third party service providers.

Claims

1. A remotely configurable user device for interfacing predetermined external services provided by service providers to a user, comprising:

a processing platform running an operating system;

a plurality of physical system resources associated with the remotely configurable user device;

a plurality of physical system resource interfaces for interfacing with available physical system resources such that the physical system resources are operative to enable a user to gain access to the predetermined external services;

a data store for storing configuration information, the configuration information defining ones of the plurality of external services that are available to a user wherein there are a plurality of configurations stored in the data store, each associated with a predetermined service and one or more of the available physical system resources;

a communication resource for interfacing with the operating system to allow communication of the operating system with a central office for downloading of configuration information whereby one or more selected predetermined external services may be remotely enabled from the central office; and

wherein the communications resource in conjunction with configuration information facilitates access to a selected one of the external services.

2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes at least one configuration script that defines a sequence of actions to allow a user to gain access to a predetermined desired service using one or more of the physical system resources.

3. The user device of claim 1, wherein each of the physical system resource interfaces is uniquely associated with a defined one of the physical system resources.

4. The user device of claim 1, wherein one of the physical system resources comprises a biometric scanner for identifying a user.

5. The user device of claim 1, wherein the physical system resource interfaces communicate the status of the associated physical system resource to the operating system such that the operating the operating system is operable to communicate the status of the associated physical system resource to the central office through said communication resource.

6. The user device of claim 1, wherein the physical system resource interface is adaptable to allow the operating system to determine if a physical system resource is operating after it is actually interfaced with an associated one of the physical system resource interfaces.

7. The user device of claim 6 wherein the operating system is operative to disable access to a selected one of the external service when one or more of the physical system resources required to access the external service is unavailable.

8. The user device of claim 1, wherein the physical system resource interface is connected to allow the operating system to determine if a physical system resource is actually interfaced with an associated one of the physical system resource interfaces.

9. The user device of claim 8 wherein the operating system is operative to disable access to a selected one of the external services when a physical system resource required to access the external service is not interfaced with an associated one of the physical system resource interfaces.

10. A user device for interfacing predetermined external services provided by third party service providers to a user at a fixed location, comprising:

a processing platform running an operating system;

a plurality of physical system resources associated with the remotely configurable user device;

a plurality of physical system resource interfaces for interfacing the operating system with the available physical system resources, the physical system resources allowing a user to gain access to a plurality of predetermined external services provided by third party service providers;

a data store for storing configuration information, the configuration information identifying the external services that are available to a user with the user device and wherein there are multiple configurations stored in the data store, each associated with one of the predetermined external services and one or more of the available physical system resources and wherein multiple ones of configuration information are interfaced with a given available physical resource;

a communication resource for interfacing with the operating system to allow communication of the operating system with a central office for downloading of configuration information to remotely enable a selected one or ones of the predetermined external services provided by third party service providers; and

wherein the communications resource in conjunction with configuration information facilitates access to external services available to a user through the user device.

11. The user device of claim 10 wherein one of the physical system resources comprises one or more of a display, keyboard or biometric scanner.

12. The user device of claim 10, wherein the configuration information for one or more of the external services includes at least one configuration script that defines a sequence of actions to allow a user to gain access to a selected one of the physical system resources.

13. The user device of claim 10, wherein the operating system is adaptable to monitor through the physical system resource interfaces available physical system resources and inform the central office of the availability thereof through said communication resource and wherein the operating system is operable to block access to an external service when a required physical system resource is unavailable.

14. The user device of claim 10, wherein the physical system resource interface is adaptable to allow the operating system to determine if a physical system resource is operating after it is actually interfaced with an associated one of the physical system resource interfaces and wherein the operating system is operable to block access to an external service when a required physical system resource is inoperable.

15. The user device of claim 10, wherein the physical system resource interface is connected to allow the operating system to determine if a physical system resource is actually interfaced with an associated one of the physical system resource interfaces.

16. A method for interfacing predetermined external services provided by service providers to a user, comprising:

providing processing platform running an operating system;

providing a plurality of physical system resources associated with the remotely configurable user device;

providing a plurality of physical system resource interfaces for interfacing with available physical system resources such that the physical system resources are operative to enable a user to gain access to the predetermined external services;

providing a data store for storing configuration information, the configuration information defining ones of the plurality of external services that are available to a user wherein there are a plurality of configurations stored in the data store, each associated with a predetermined service and one or more of the available physical system resources;

a communication resource for interfacing with the operating system to allow communication of the operating system with a central office for downloading of configuration information whereby one or more selected predetermined external services may be remotely enabled from the central office wherein the communications resource in conjunction with configuration information facilitates access to a selected one of the external services;

receiving user input with one or more of the physical system resources identifying a user and a user selected one of available external services; and

accessing configuration information corresponding to the selected external service to enable a user to access the selected service.