Methods and apparatus for conducting financial transactions

• US 8,634,338 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2011
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Inventors: Wood, Clifton W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi
• Assistant Examiner(s): HYUN, SOON D
• Application Number:
  US13/275,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/312
• 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: G06K 7/10019 resolving collision on the communication channels between simultaneously or concurrently interrogated record carriers. collision between the communication channels used by wireless communication devices, where the solution is not particularly adapted for RFIDs or the like, H04W74/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A method of establishing wireless communications between an interrogator and individual ones of multiple wireless identification devices, the method comprising combining tree search and Aloha methods to establish communications between the interrogator and individual ones of the multiple wireless identification devices without collision. A system comprising an interrogator, and a plurality of wireless identification devices configured to communicate with the interrogator In a wireless fashion, the respective wireless identification devices having a unique identification number, the interrogator being configured to employ tree search and Aloha techniques to determine the unique identification numbers of the different wireless identification devices so as to be able to establish communications between the interrogator identification and individual devices without ones of the multiple wireless collision by multiple wireless identification devices attempting to respond to the interrogator at the same time.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a financial transaction via radio frequency communications, the method comprising:

transmitting, from a wireless master device, a first wireless command to initiate identification of one of a potential population of radio frequency communications devices, the wireless master device configured to transmit a plurality of subsequent wireless commands to continue the identification of the one radio frequency communications device, the first command including first bits that identify at least one radio frequency communications device;

receiving a reply at the wireless master device from the one radio frequency communications device, that has an identifier that includes the first bits;

determining whether there is a collision and if there is no collision in response to the first wireless command, identifying from the reply the identifier of the one radio frequency communications device; and

transmitting a second wireless command to individually identify the one radio frequency communications device using the identifier of the one radio frequency communications device that requests the one radio frequency communications device to transmit a subsequent reply; and

debiting an account associated with the one radio frequency communications device based at least in part on the replies from the one radio frequency communications device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the one radio frequency communications device disposed within a card.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the debiting of the account is associated with the payment of a toll.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said master wireless device is disposed within a toll booth, and said method further comprises operating said master wireless device disposed within said toll booth at least when said one radio frequency communications device issuing said reply to the first wireless command is in proximity thereto.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the debiting of the account comprises receiving a credit card number against which a toll can be charged.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the debiting of the account comprises receiving a credit card number which can be charged.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the debiting of the account is for the payment of goods or services.

8. A radio frequency communications-based method of conducting a financial transaction, comprising:

causing the transmission of a first wireless command requesting responses to start identification of at least one of a potential population of radio frequency communications devices configured to transmit at least identification information, the first wireless command specifying at least two bits to identify one or more first radio frequency communications devices and requesting the one or more first radio frequency communications devices to reply with respective identification numbers to be used by a master wireless device in subsequent communications to individually address the one or more first radio frequency communications devices;

causing the master wireless device to determine whether there is a collision in response to the first wireless command;

causing the identification of an identification number of a particular radio frequency communications device from a received response to the first command, if there is no collision in response to the first wireless command;

causing the master wireless device to individually address the particular radio frequency communications device using the identification number identified from the received response to the first command; and

receiving funds for the remote payment of goods or services based at least on part on the received response from the particular radio frequency communications device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the financial transaction is associated with the payment of a toll.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the master wireless device is disposed within a toll booth, and said method further comprises operating said master wireless device disposed within said toll booth at least when said particular radio frequency communications device issuing said response to said initial wireless command is in proximity thereto.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving of funds further comprises receiving a credit card number against which the toll can be charged.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the particular radio frequency communications device is embodied within a card.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the card includes visual identification features including at least one of graphics and/or text.

14. A method of conducting a financial transaction via a radio frequency communications method, comprising:

causing the transmission of, from a wireless master device, a first wireless command to initiate identification of at least one of a population of radio frequency communications devices, the wireless master device configured to transmit a plurality of subsequent wireless commands to continue the identification of the at least one radio frequency communications device, the first command including first bits that identify radio frequency communications devices;

causing the receipt of one or more replies at the wireless master device from respective ones of one or more radio frequency communications devices that have identifiers that include the first bits;

causing the wireless master device to determine whether there is a collision, and if there is no collision in response to the first wireless command, causing the wireless master device to identify from the one or more replies an identifier of a first radio frequency communications device; and

causing the transmission of a second wireless command to individually identify the first radio frequency communications device using the identifier of the first radio frequency communications device, the second command requesting the first radio frequency communications device to transmit a subsequent reply; and

causing the debiting of an account associated with the first radio frequency communications device based at least in part on the replies from the first radio frequency communications device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing the first radio frequency communications device to a user, the first radio frequency communications device being disposed within a card.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the debiting of the account is associated with the payment of a toll.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing said master wireless device within a toll booth;

and

operating said master wireless device disposed within said toll booth at least when said first radio frequency communications device issuing said reply to the first wireless command is in proximity thereto.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining whether to provide access to data in a memory of the first radio frequency communications device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the act of determining whether to provide access to data in the memory of the first radio frequency communications device is based at least on a received user input.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the received user input comprises a password.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the received user input comprises a personal identification number (PIN).

22. A method of conducting a financial transaction via a radio frequency communications device, comprising:

transmitting, from a wireless master device, a first wireless command to initiate communication with a population of radio frequency communications devices, the wireless master device configured to transmit a plurality of subsequent wireless commands to continue the identification of one or more of the population of radio frequency communications devices, the first command including first bits that useful in the identification of radio frequency communications devices;

receiving one or more replies at the wireless master device from one or more radio frequency communications devices that each have a respective identifier that includes the first bits;

determining whether a collision occurred as part of responding to the first command, and if no collision occurred, identifying from the one or more replies an identifier of a first radio frequency communications device; and

transmitting a second wireless command to individually identify the first radio frequency communications device using the identifier of the first radio frequency communications device that requests the first radio frequency communications device to transmit a subsequent reply; and

identifying a financial account associated with the first radio frequency communications device based at least in part on the identifier of the first radio frequency communications device; and

debiting the account as part of the financial transaction.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising providing the first radio frequency communications device within a card.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the debiting of the account is for the payment of goods or services.