Wireless point of sale transaction

• US 7,587,196 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2002
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Hansen, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): DOAN, PHUOC HUU
• Application Number:
  US10/472,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243517A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,744 Days
• Field of Search: 705/64, 705/39, 705/67
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/38215 Use of certificates or encrypted proofs of transaction rights
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions

Abstract

A transaction request by a first customer device is processed by a transaction system. The transaction request is approved by transmitting a data signal from the first customer device to the transaction system via a wireless communications link. Respective wireless communications links are established between the transaction system and a number of customer devices corresponding to respective customers. The first customer device is identified among the number of customer devices having established respective wireless communications links as being a customer device carried by a selected customer.

Claims

1. A method of processing a transaction request by a first customer mobile terminal at a transaction system, the method comprising:

establishing via at least one wireless access point respective wireless communications links between the transaction system and a number of customer mobile terminals corresponding to respective customers, the transaction system including a point of sale system and a server connected to the point of sale system and to the at least one wireless access point;

wirelessly transmitting a transaction request from the first customer mobile terminal to the server via said at least one wireless access point;

in response to the transaction request, generating by the server an identifier identifying the first customer mobile terminal;

transmitting the identifier from the server to the first customer mobile terminal via said at least one wireless access point; and

identifying at the point of sale system the first customer mobile terminal among the number of customer mobile terminals having established a respective wireless communications link as being a customer mobile terminal carried by a selected customer by communicating the identifier to the point of sale system, wherein identifying the first customer device includes;

assigning respective identifiers to each of the number of customer mobile terminals by the transaction system, a first identifier being assigned to the first customer mobile terminal;

transmitting the respective identifiers from the transaction system to the corresponding customer mobile terminals via the corresponding wireless communications links; and

using the first identifier to identify the first customer mobile terminal carried by the selected customer, wherein the first identifier has a length determined by the transaction system based on the number of customer mobile terminals having established a wireless communications link with the transaction system.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first identifier is a sequence of alphanumeric characters.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the first identifier comprises less than five characters.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein using the first identifier to identify the first customer device comprises:

presenting the first identifier to the selected customer by the first customer device; and

receiving a first input by the transaction system from a user of the transaction system, the first input being indicative of the first identifier.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing in a storage medium a set of customer data items in relation to a set of device data items, the set of customer data items being indicative of a set of registered customers and the set of device data items being indicative of a corresponding set of customer devices;

presenting to a user of the transaction system selected ones of the set of customer data items related to the customer devices having established respective wireless communications links; and

receiving a second input by the transaction system from the user of the transaction system, the second input being indicative of a selected one of the presented customer data items.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein presenting selected ones of the set of customer data items further comprises selecting a subset of the number of customer devices based on additional information about the customer devices.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the additional information comprises reception characteristics of at least the established wireless. communications links.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein presenting selected ones of the set of customer data items further comprises presenting the selected customer data items in a predetermined order based on additional information about at least one of the customer data and the customer devices.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transaction includes a transfer of a predetermined amount from a customer account to a recipient account, and the method further comprises:

transmitting a second data signal indicative of the predetermined amount from the transaction system to the first customer device via the corresponding wireless communications link;

receiving a third input from the selected customer to the wireless customer device, the third input being indicative of an authorization to transfer the predetermined amount from the customer account to the recipient account;

transmitting the first data signal in response to the third input;

initiating transfer of the predetermined amount by the transaction; and

system in response to the received first data signal.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least a first one of the respective wireless communications links is a Bluetooth link.

11. A computer program embodied in a computer-readable medium comprising program code for performing the steps of claim 1 when said computer program is run on a computer.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein further comprising:

transmitting the identifier from the point of sale system to the server;

based on the received identifier, creating a contract by the server; and

transmitting the contract to the first customer device in order for the customer of the first customer mobile terminal to approve the transaction request.

13. A transaction system for processing a transaction request to be approved by a first customer mobile terminal, the transaction system comprising:

a transceiver included at a wireless access point for establishing respective. wireless communications links between the transaction system and a number of customer mobile terminals;

wherein the transaction system includes a point of sale system;

a server, connected to the point of sale system and to the wireless access point; and

arranged to receive a transaction request wirelessly transmitted from a first customer mobile terminal via the wireless access point,

wherein the server is arranged to generate a first identifier identifying the first customer mobile terminal in response to the transaction request and to transmit the identifier to the first customer mobile terminal via the wireless access point;

wherein the point of sale system is arranged receive the first identifier output by the first customer mobile terminal and to identify the first customer mobile terminal among the number of customer mobile terminals having established a respective wireless communications link as being a customer mobile terminal carried by a selected customer based on the first identifier having been output by the first customer mobile terminal,

wherein;

the server is arranged to assign a respective identifier to each of the number of customer mobile terminals;

the transceiver is arranged to transmit the respective identifiers from the transaction system to corresponding customer mobile terminals via the corresponding wireless communications links; and

the first identifier has a length determined by the transaction system based on the number of customer mobile terminals having established a wireless communications link with the transaction system.

14. A transaction system according to claim 13, wherein the server comprises:

a first output for presenting the first identifier to the selected customer; and

a first input for receiving a first input from a user of the transaction server, the first input being indicative of the first identifier.

15. A transaction system according to claim 13, further comprising:

a storage medium arranged to store a set of customer data items in relation to a set of device data items, the set of customer data items being indicative of a set of registered customers and the set of device data items being indicative of a corresponding set of customer mobile terminals;

a second output for presenting selected ones of the set of customer data items to a user of the transaction system; and

a second input for receiving a second input from the user, the second input being indicative of a selected one of the presented customer data items.

16. A transaction system according to claim 13, wherein

the transaction request includes a request to transfer a predetermined amount from a customer account to a recipient account;

the transceiver is adapted to transmit a second data signal indicative of the predetermined amount from the transaction system to the first customer mobile terminal via the corresponding wireless communications link;

the first customer device comprises a third input for receiving a third input from the selected customer, the third input being indicative of an authorization to transfer the predetermined amount from the customer account to the recipient account;

the transceiver is further adapted to transmit the first data signal in response to the third input; and

the transaction system further comprises a second server for initiating the transfer of the predetermined amount by the transaction component in response to the received first data signal.

17. A customer mobile terminal for processing a transaction request from a point of sale (POS) transaction system, the customer mobile terminal comprising:

a transceiver for establishing a short-range wireless communications link between the customer mobile terminal and the transaction system via at least one wireless access point, the transaction system including a point of sale system and a server connected to the point of sale system and to the at least one wireless access point; and

a processor for assisting the transaction system in identifying the customer mobile terminal among a number of customer mobile terminals having established respective short-range wireless communications links as being a customer mobile terminal carried by a selected customer,

wherein the processor is arranged to;

wirelessly transmit a transaction request via the wireless access point to the server;

receive an identifier identifying the customer mobile terminal from the server via the wireless access point; and

output the received identifier so as to allow the point of sales system to identify the customer mobile terminal among the number of customer mobile terminals having established a respective wireless communications link as being a customer mobile terminal carried by a selected customer based on the identifier having been output by the first customer mobile terminal,

wherein a length of the identifier identifying the customer mobile terminal is based on the number of customer mobile terminals having established a wireless communications link with the transaction system.

18. A transaction system for processing a transaction request to be approved by a first customer mobile terminal, the transaction system comprising;

a transceiver at a wireless access point for establishing respective wireless communications links between the transaction system and a number of customer mobile terminals;

a point of sale system; and

a server, connected to the point of sale system and to the wireless access point, arranged to receive a first transaction request wirelessly transmitted from the first customer mobile terminal via the wireless access point, and in response to the first transaction request, to generate a transaction record comprising first identifier and store the transaction record in a database, the database storing a number of transaction records indicative of respective customer mobile terminals having transmitted a transaction request,

wherein the server is further arranged to, in response to a second transaction request from the point of sale system, present the number of transaction records and associated customer information on the point of sale system;

wherein the point of sale system is arranged to identify the first customer mobile terminal among the number of customer mobile terminals having established respective wireless communications links as being a customer device carried by a selected customer based on the associated customer information presented on the point of sale system including the first identifier; and

wherein a length of the first identifier is based on the number of customer mobile terminals having established a wireless communications link with the transaction system.

19. A method of processing a transaction request by a first customer mobile terminal at a transaction system;

the method comprising;

establishing respective wireless communications links between the transaction system and a number of customer mobile terminals corresponding to respective customers via at least one wireless access point, the transaction system including a point of sale system and a server connected to the point of sale system and to the at least one wireless access point;

wirelessly transmitting a first transaction request from the first customer mobile terminal to the server via said at least one wireless access point;

in response to the first transaction request, generating by the server a transaction record comprising an identifier and storing the transaction record in a database, the database storing a number of transaction records indicative of respective customer mobile terminals having transmitted a transaction request;

communicating a second transaction request from the point of sale system to the server;

in response to the second transaction request, presenting the number of transaction records and associated customer information on the point of sale system;

identifying at the point of sale system the first customer mobile terminal among the number of customer mobile terminals based on the associated customer information presented on the point of sale system.

20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising:

transmitting the identifier from the point of sale system to the server;

based on the received identifier, creating a contract by the server; and

transmitting the contract to the first customer mobile terminal in order for the customer of the first customer mobile terminal to approve the transaction request.

21. A method according to claim 19, wherein the associated customer information presented on the point of sale system includes an identifier associated with the first customer mobile terminal and a length of the identifier is based on the number of customer mobile terminals having established a wireless communications link with the transaction system.