Electronic transaction card with contactless interface

• US 8,136,732 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2011
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iCashe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Inventors: Narendra, Siva G., Tadepalli, Prabhakar, Spitzer, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US13/184,240
• Publication Number:
  US 20110272469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 249 Days
• Field of Search: 235/449, 235/494, 235/493, 235/375, 235/380, 235/386, 235/392, 235/451
• 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. An apparatus comprising:

a point-of-sale compatible interface to communicate with a point-of-sale transaction device; and

a contactless interface to communicate with a mobile device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale compatible interface comprises smartcard circuitry.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale compatible interface includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising nonvolatile memory accessible through the contactless interface.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising volatile memory accessible through the contacless interface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an area for imprinting information.

7. An electronic transaction card comprising:

a contactless interface to allow the electronic transaction card to communicate with a host device;

a point-of-sale compatible interface to communicate with a point-of-sale transaction device; and

financial card emulation circuitry coupled to the point-of-sale compatible interface to communicate financial transaction data to the point-of-sale transaction device.

8. The electronic transaction card of claim 7 wherein the point-of-sale compatible interface comprises smartcard circuitry.

9. The electronic transaction card of claim 7 wherein the point-of-sale compatible interface includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

10. The electronic transaction card of claim 7 further comprising software to be installed on the host device.

11. An apparatus comprising:

smartcard circuitry;

a point-of-sale compatible interface coupled to the smartcard circuitry, to communicate with a point-of-sale transaction device; and

a contactless interface to communicate with an intelligent electronic device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the point-of-sale compatible interface includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising nonvolatile memory accessible through the contactless interface.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising volatile memory accessible through the contactless interface.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising software to be installed on the intelligent electronic device.