Trusted transactional internet kiosk
First Claim
1. An electronic kiosk comprising:
- a processor for controlling the kiosk;
a network interface to interface with a computer network;
a user interface enabling user interaction with the processor and initiation of a transaction with a remote server coupled to the computer network, the transaction including a plurality of execution sequences and associated plurality of critical states, anda non-volatile cache memory configured to selectively store a context of the transaction, the context of the transaction including all information that is necessary for the processor to resume execution of the transaction at a beginning of an interrupted one of the plurality of execution sequences;
a context data save engine controlled by the processor for selectively storing the context of the transaction to the non-volatile cache memory at each of the plurality of critical states, anda context data recovery engine controlled by the processor for retrieving the stored context from the non-volatile cache memory to enable the processor to resume and to complete execution of the transaction from the beginning of the interrupted execution sequence.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A public access kiosk for conducting trusted lightweight e-commerce transactions. A trusted transactional cache and the associated transactional protocol allow e-commerce transactions to be committed to a remote server extremely quickly and with little network overhead. The end-to-end transactions are completed is just a few seconds allowing users to carry out e-commerce transactions without having to stand in front of the a display for minutes as is usually the case when making purchases on the Internet. The invention operates equally well on robust private networks as on unpredictable Internet or wireless networks, avoiding upsetting shoppers who would otherwise have to wait for the transaction to complete in the case of a temporary communication failure with the remote server or other failure. The methods and devices described herein may advantageously be used to offer large scale and cost-effective micro-payments solutions.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An electronic kiosk comprising:
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a processor for controlling the kiosk; a network interface to interface with a computer network; a user interface enabling user interaction with the processor and initiation of a transaction with a remote server coupled to the computer network, the transaction including a plurality of execution sequences and associated plurality of critical states, and a non-volatile cache memory configured to selectively store a context of the transaction, the context of the transaction including all information that is necessary for the processor to resume execution of the transaction at a beginning of an interrupted one of the plurality of execution sequences; a context data save engine controlled by the processor for selectively storing the context of the transaction to the non-volatile cache memory at each of the plurality of critical states, and a context data recovery engine controlled by the processor for retrieving the stored context from the non-volatile cache memory to enable the processor to resume and to complete execution of the transaction from the beginning of the interrupted execution sequence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of carrying out an online transaction between an electronic kiosk and a remote server, each of the kiosk and the remote sewer being coupled to a network, the method comprising the steps of:
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initiating a transaction at the kiosk; staring a copy of the transaction in a non-volatile memory within the kiosk; sending the transaction to the remote server under a control of the kiosk, and generating a provisional acknowledgment of the transaction from the copy of the transaction stored in the non-volatile memory when a confirmed acknowledgment is not received from the remote server within a predetermined period of time. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification