Electronic transaction card powered by mobile device

• US 7,954,716 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Icashe Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Inventors: Tadepalli, Prabhakar, Narendra, Siva G., Spitzer, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D
• Application Number:
  US12/962,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20110073665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 181 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/375, 235/382, 235/492, 235/487, 235/493, 235/451, 235/462.45, 235/462.46, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/472.03
• US Class Current: 235/451
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06206 the magnetic marking being emulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0703 the battery being onboard of a handheld device, e.g. a smart phone or PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0727 the arrangement being a circuit facilitating integration of the record carrier with a hand-held device such as a smart phone of PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07741 comprising a first part operating as a regular record carrier and a second attachable part that changes the functional appearance of said record carrier, e.g. a contact-based smart card with an adapter part which, when attached to the contact card makes the contact card function as a non-contact card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07762 the adhering arrangement making the record carrier wearable, e.g. having the form of a ring, watch, glove or bracelet record carriers for insertion in the human body for medical purposes A61B90/00; record carriers adapted for attachment to animals A01K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• 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 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/353 Payments by cards read by M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

An electronic transaction card communicates with an add-on slot of an intelligent electronic device. The add-on slot may be a memory card slot. The intelligent electronic device may be a mobile phone or other device with or without network connectivity. The electronic transaction card may have magnetic field producing circuitry compatible with magnetic card readers, smartcard circuitry, other point-of-sale interfaces, or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A memory card compatible with a memory card slot in a mobile phone, the memory card including nonvolatile memory accessible by the mobile phone, and a point-of-sale interface to communicate with a point-of-sale terminal, wherein the point-of-sale interface receives power from the mobile phone.

2. The memory card of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale interface comprises circuitry to produce at least one time-varying magnetic field.

3. The memory card of claim 2 wherein the point-of-sale interface includes smartcard circuitry.

4. The memory card of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale interface includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

5. The memory card of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale interface includes smartcard circuitry.

6. The memory card of claim 1 further including software to be installed on the mobile phone.

7. An apparatus for performing a financial transaction comprising:

means for communicating through a memory card slot in an intelligent electronic device;

means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field to represent financial transaction data, wherein the means for producing receives power from the memory card slot; and

means for storing the financial transaction data.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further including software to be installed on the intelligent electronic device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the software is configured to run on a mobile phone.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising nonvolatile memory accessible through the means for communicating through a memory card slot.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field includes smartcard circuitry.

13. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for communicating through a memory card slot comprises a capacitor to be charged and to power the means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field.

14. An electronic transaction card comprising:

a memory card slot interface; and

circuitry powered by the memory card slot interface for producing a signal compatible with a card reader.

15. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 further comprising nonvolatile memory accessible via the memory card slot interface.

16. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 wherein the circuitry for producing a signal compatible with a card reader includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

17. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 wherein the circuitry for producing a signal compatible with a card reader includes smartcard circuitry.

18. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 further comprising software to be transferred to a device other than the electronic transaction card.

19. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 further comprising a capacitor to be charged by the memory card interface and to supply power to the electronic transaction card.

20. The electronic transaction card of claim 14 further comprising a battery to be charged by the memory card interface and to supply power to the electronic transaction card.