Systems and methods for passive identification circuitry

• US 8,584,956 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilson, Matt, Wen, Xuancong
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US12/903,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20110084147A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/385, 235/449, 235/492
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/087 flux-sensitive, e.g. magnetic, detectors G06K7/10336 takes precedence
• 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 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction

Abstract

A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to enable an individual to complete a financial transaction by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader connected to a mobile device. The size of the card reader is miniaturized to be portable for connection with the mobile device. The card reader is configured to reliably read data encoded in a magnetic strip of the card with minimum error in a single swipe and provide a signal that corresponds to the data read to the mobile device, which then decodes the incoming signal from the card reader and acts as a point-of-sale device to complete the financial transaction. Such an approach enables a person to become either a micro-merchant (payee) or a buyer/customer (payer) without having to purchase expensive card reader devices or software.

Claims

1. A card reader, comprising:

a housing that includes a read head;

a jack attached to the housing adapted to be inserted into a microphone input associated with a mobile device, the read head forming a slot for swiping a magnetic stripe of a buyer'"'"'s financial transaction card with the slot utilized to enable a financial transaction between a buyer and seller, the read head reading data on the magnetic stripe and producing a signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe; and

an electronic system that includes a card reader circuit, a communication subsystem with a control until, a fake load, a monitor system to manage card reader behavior between power cycles, a power subsystem and a pathway system, wherein following the control unit booting up, the communication subsystem checks a status bit in the monitor subsystem, the pathway subsystem configured to direct a signal path to the fake load preventing the mobile device from detecting a disconnect with the card reader, when the power subsystem has completed a power cycle the control unit configures the pathway subsystem to direct a signal path to a card reader circuit, and the control unit puts the system into a low power state with the monitoring subsystem remaining active, the monitor subsystem waking the electronic system from the low power state before a power cycle, the control unit being notified of the electronic system awakening by the monitoring subsystem and then forcing a power cycle.

2. The card reader of claim 1 wherein the mobile device is a mobile digital device.

3. The card reader of claim 1 wherein size of the device is miniaturized to be portable with the mobile device.

4. The card reader of claim 1 wherein size of the device is miniaturized to an overall length of less than 1.5″

.

5. The card reader of claim 1 wherein the housing is made of non-conductive material so that the device does not interfere with function of the mobile device.

6. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a unique ID of the device is in the form of a persistent set of bytes.

7. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a unique ID of the device is fixed per device and remains the same when the device is moved from one mobile device to another.

8. The card reader of claim 1 wherein the output jack is a TRS connector.

9. The card reader of claim 1 wherein the output jack is retractable within the housing.

10. The card reader of claim 1 wherein the output jack is extendable beyond the housing in order to accommodate connection with the mobile device having a case or a recessed plug-in socket.

11. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry is powered by the mobile device via the jack.

12. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry functions independently without interfering with functions of the other circuitry inside the housing.

13. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry includes a memory storing a unique ID of the device, wherein the memory has at least one byte of persistent writeable memory for status of the device.

14. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry transmits a unique ID of the device to the mobile device immediately upon the device is connected to the mobile device.

15. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry transmits a unique ID of the device to the mobile device only once.

16. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry includes a charge pump that utilizes a digital circuit to raise a voltage of a power source the device to a higher level.

17. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry includes a plurality of latches controlled by a processor for switching among various subsystems of the ID circuitry.

18. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry utilizes a two stage boot up process during which a charge pump is active first before a processor boots up to increase active time between charge pump resets and save power consumption.

19. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID circuitry includes a low powered watchdog timer to control uniformity of resets of subsystems in the passive ID circuitry.

20. The card reader of claim 1 wherein a passive ID notifies the mobile device 100 of a reset so that mobile device does not report a disconnection from the device during the reset.