Method and system for communicating location of a mobile device for hands-free payment

• US 8,838,477 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2012
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stripe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Golba LLC
• Inventors: Moshfeghi, Mehran
• Primary Examiner(s): Frenel, Vanel
• Application Number:
  US13/422,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20120316963A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16, 705/21, 705/14.4, 235/383, 235/376, 340/10.31
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Certain aspects of a method and system for communicating location of a mobile device for hands-free payment may include a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network that comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a plurality of access points, and a plurality of point of sale (POS) devices. A first mobile device may determine its location coordinates and communicate them to a selected POS device via the peer to peer ad-hoc network. At least one of the plurality of mobile devices and/or the plurality of access points may be within a defined proximity of the selected POS device. In some instances, the first POS device may receive via one or more intermediate mobile devices in the peer-to-peer ad-hoc network, location coordinates and payment transaction information of a selected mobile device. At least one of the intermediate mobile devices may be within a defined proximity of the first POS device.

Claims

1. A method for performing point of sale transactions in a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network comprising a plurality of mobile devices, a plurality of access points, and a point of sale device, the method comprising:

defining a first geo-fence around the point of sale device for receiving payment transaction orders;

defining a second geo-fence around the point of sale device for completing the ordered payment transactions, the second geo-fence within the first geo-fence;

determining location coordinates of a first mobile device of said plurality of mobile devices;

accepting a payment transaction order form the first mobile device after determining, based on the location coordinates of the first mobile device, that the first mobile device is within the first geo-fence of the point of sale device, wherein accepting the payment transaction order comprises receiving said payment transaction order at the point of sale device from the first mobile device via at least one of (i) said plurality of mobile devices and (ii) said plurality of access points of the peer to peer ad-hoc network that is within the defined first geo-fence of the point of sale device; and

executing the payment transaction order received from the first mobile device after determining that the first mobile device is within the second geo-fence of the point of sale device.

2. The method according of claim 1 further comprising determining whether said first of said plurality of mobile devices is within a defined proximity of the point of sale device based on one of said first and second geo-fences defined around the point of sale device.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising communicating an authorization to execute the payment transaction when the first mobile device is within the second geo-fence around the point of sale device.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating an authorization to execute the payment transaction to the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising receiving an authorization response for said executed payment transaction from the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving, at the first mobile device, at least one of advertisement information and discounted deal information from the point of sale devices via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating said determined location coordinates to the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network using short range wireless communication protocols.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said short range wireless communication protocols comprise at least one of near field communication (NFC), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, WiMax, Wi-Fi Direct, radio frequency identification (RFID), Ultra-wideband (UWB), cellular, and 60 Ghz protocols.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating said determined location coordinates directly from the first mobile device to the point of sale device, if the point of sale device is within a range of the first mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating said determined location coordinates from the first mobile device to at least one of (i) intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices and (ii) said plurality of access points within a range of the first mobile device, if the point of sale device is not within a range of the first mobile device.

11. A method for performing point of sale transactions in a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network comprising a plurality of mobile devices and a plurality of point of sale devices, wherein a geo-fence is defined around each of the plurality of point of sale devices, the method comprising:

registering a first mobile device in the plurality of mobile devices for performing point of sale transactions, the registering comprising providing identification credential information of a user of the first mobile device and payment information;

sending a payment transaction request from the first mobile device to a first point of sale device of said plurality of point of sale devices via one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices in said peer to peer ad-hoc network, wherein the payment transaction request does not include payment method details for the requested payment transaction, wherein at least one of said one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices is within the geo-fence defined around said first point of sale device; and

executing the payment transaction received from the registered first mobile device without requiring the transaction request to include said payment method details for the transaction.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising communicating at least one of advertisement information, discounted deal information, and referral reward information from the first point of sale device to the first mobile device through said at least one of said one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices within a range of the first point of sale device.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising receiving location coordinates and payment transaction information directly from the first mobile device, if the first mobile device is within a range of the first point of sale device.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising receiving an authorization to execute the payment transaction from the first mobile device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network when the first mobile device is within the geo-fence defined around the first point of sale device.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising communicating an authorization response for said executed payment transaction to the mobile device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising receiving a speed of movement and a direction of movement of the first mobile device at the first point of sale device.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising generating a map indicating a location of the first mobile device and at least a portion of said one or more intermediate ones of the first mobile device in said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

18. The method of claim 11 further comprising authenticating said received payment transaction information from the first mobile device based on at least one of a voice recognition, a gesture, a computer face recognition, and a biometric recognition.

19. A system for performing point of sale transactions, the system comprising:

a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network comprising;

a plurality of mobile devices comprising a first mobile device, the first mobile device comprising at least one processor and a set of circuits;

a plurality of access points; and

a point of sale device;

wherein the first mobile device is configured to determine location coordinates of the first mobile device;

wherein the point of sale device is configured to;

define a first geo-fence around the point of sale device for receiving payment transaction orders;

define a second geo-fence around the point of sale device for completing the payment ordered transactions, the second geo-fence within the first geo-fence;

accept a payment transaction order form the first mobile device after determining, based on the location coordinates of the first mobile device, that the first mobile device is within the first geo-fence of the point of sale device, wherein accepting the payment transaction order comprises receiving said payment transaction order at the point of sale device from the first mobile device via at least one of (i) said plurality of mobile devices and (ii) said plurality of access points of said peer to peer ad-hoc network that is within the defined first geo-fence of the point of sale device; and

execute the payment transaction order received from the first mobile device after determining that the first mobile device is within the second geo-fence of the point of sale device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to determine whether the first mobile device is within a defined proximity of the point of sale device based on one of said first and second geo-fences around the point of sale device.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first mobile device and the point of sale device are further configured to communicate an authorization to execute the payment transaction when the first mobile device is within the second geo-fence around said one of said plurality of point of sale devices.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to communicate an authorization to execute the payment transaction to the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to receive an authorization response for said executed payment transaction from the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to receive at least one of advertisement information and discounted deal information from the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to communicate said determined location coordinates to the point of sale device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network using short range wireless communication protocols.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said short range wireless communication protocols comprise at least one of near field communication (NFC), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, WiMax, Wi-Fi Direct, radio frequency identification (RFID), Ultra-wideband (UWB), cellular, and 60 Ghz protocols.

27. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to communicate said determined location coordinates directly to the point of sale device, if the point of sale device is within a range of the first mobile device.

28. The system of claim 19, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to communicate said determined location coordinates to at least one of intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices and said plurality of access points within a range of the mobile device, if the point of sale device is not within a range of the first mobile device.

29. A system for performing point of sale transactions, the system comprising:

a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network comprising;

a plurality of mobile devices comprising a first mobile device; and

a plurality of point of sale devices comprising a first point of sale device, wherein a geo-fence is defined around the first point of sale device, wherein the first point of sale device comprises one or more processors and a set of circuits;

wherein the first point of sale device is configured to;

register the first mobile device for performing point of sale transactions, the registering comprising receiving identification credential information of a user of the first mobile device and payment information;

receive a payment transaction request from the first mobile device via one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices in said peer to peer ad-hoc network, wherein the payment transaction request does not include payment method details for the requested payment transaction, wherein at least one of said one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices is within the geo-fence defined around said first point of sale device,

receive the payment transaction request from the first mobile device through said one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices; and

execute the requested payment transaction received from the registered first mobile device without requiring the transaction request to include said payment method details for the transaction.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to communicate at least one of advertisement information, discounted deal information, and referral reward information to the first mobile device through one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices within a range of the first point of sale device.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to receive location coordinates and said payment transaction information directly from the first mobile device, if the mobile device is within a range of the first point of sale device.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to receive an authorization to execute a payment transaction from the first mobile device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network when the first mobile device is within a defined proximity of the first point of sale device.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to communicate an authorization response for said executed payment transaction to the first mobile device via said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to receive a speed of movement and a direction of movement of the first mobile device.

35. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to generate a map indicating a location of the mobile device and at least a portion of said one or more intermediate ones of said plurality of mobile devices in said peer to peer ad-hoc network.

36. The system of claim 29, wherein the first point of sale device is further configured to authenticate said received payment transaction information from the first mobile device based on at least one of a voice recognition, a gesture, a computer face recognition and a biometric recognition.