Card reader with power efficient architecture that includes a wake-up circuit

• US 9,262,777 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2011
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lamba, Kartik, Babu, Amish, Ho, Michael Shyh-yen, Rothschild, Adam David Peter, Ryle, Gerald Thomas, Dorsey, Jack, McKelvey, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Thien T
• Application Number:
  US13/298,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20120132712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 235/435, 235/449, 235/380, 235/492
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• 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: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3226 Use of secure elements separate from M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• 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 card reader is provided with a read head with a slot and is configured to be coupled to a mobile device and has a slot for swiping a magnetic stripe of a card. The read head reads data on the magnetic stripe and produces a raw magnetic signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe. A power supply is coupled to wake-up electronics and a microcontroller. An output jack is adapted to be inserted in a port of the mobile device and deliver an output jack signal to the mobile device. The wake-up electronics is powered by a microphone bias of a mobile device.

Claims

1. A card reader, comprising:

a housing;

a card slot positioned within the housing, the card slot comprising a read head configured to be coupled to a mobile device, wherein the read head is configured to read data on a magnetic stripe of a card and produce a raw magnetic signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe;

a power supply coupled to a microcontroller;

an output jack adapted to be inserted in a port of the mobile device and deliver an output jack signal to the mobile device; and

device electronics comprising a control unit, a pathway system, and a fake load, and wherein the pathway subsystem is configured to direct a signal path to the fake load and prevent the mobile device from detecting a disconnect with the card reader during a power cycle of the card reader, and wherein the control unit is configured to set a status bit if a voltage is detected on the fake load indicating the card reader is still connected to the mobile device.

2. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the output signal is an encrypted output jack signal.

3. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the output signal is an encrypted and signed output jack signal.

4. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the signal from the microcontroller is the output jack signal.

5. The card reader of claim 1, further comprising:

device electronics that includes the microcontroller and an analog to digital front-end.

6. The card reader of claim 5, wherein the analog to digital front end is coupled to a processing element in the microcontroller, the analog to digital front end receiving a raw magnetic head signal and converting the raw magnetic head signal into a processed digital signal that the microcontroller can interpret, the microcontroller producing a signal.

7. The card reader of claim 5, wherein the front end includes, an amplifier/filter, differentiator, a comparator and wake-up electronics.

8. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the wake-up electronics is a wake-up circuit.

9. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the wake-up electronics signals the microcontroller, which in tum puts the device electronics into an active mode from a sleep mode, and back into the sleep mode when a card swipe signal stops.

10. The card reader of claim 9, wherein the wake-up electronics is powered down by the microcontroller when the device electronics is in the active mode.

11. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the wake-up electronics utilize an op-amp.

12. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the wake-up electronics utilize an op-amp and a discrete transistor.

13. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the wake-up electronics detects when there is an edge from leading zeros of a card being swiped and alerts to wake up the microcontroller and device electronics.

14. The card reader of claim 7, wherein the device electronics wakes up in enough time to process and encrypt a card swipe signal.

15. The card reader of claim 5, wherein the device electronics includes an amplifier or filter, differentiator, comparator, transmission electronics, and the microcontroller.

16. The card reader of claim 15, wherein the raw magnetic head signal is amplified by the amplifier and or filter and processed before the microcontroller accepts it as an input.

17. The card reader of claim 16, wherein the differentiator takes the output of the amplifier and or filter and differentiates it, looking for peaks in the input signal.

18. The card reader of claim 17, wherein the comparator takes the output of the differentiator and compares it to a reference voltage and produces an output that is a processed digital version of a magnetic swipe.

19. The card reader of claim 18, wherein the comparator looks for where an input signal crosses zero.

20. The card reader of claim 19, wherein the microcontroller accepts the comparator input, processes the comparator input and encrypts at least a portion of data of the comparator input.

21. The card reader of claim 15, wherein the micro controller controls power to the amplifier and or filter, differentiator and comparator.

22. The card reader of claim 15, wherein the comparator is included as part of the microcontroller.

23. The card reader of claim 15, wherein the transmission electronics accepts output data of the microcontroller as an input and uses this to modulate a microphone-bias line of the mobile device.

24. The card reader of claim 23, wherein the microphone-bias line is used both for power and for data transmission back to the mobile device.

25. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the output jack signal is a synchronous Manchester encoded stream.

26. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the output jack signal is an asynchronized stream.

27. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the output jack signal is at a frequency that the output jack signal is recognized as an alternating current to a microphone input of the mobile device.

28. The card reader of claim 27, wherein the frequency of the output jack signal is 2 KHz to 48 kHz.

29. The card reader of claim 27, wherein the frequency of the output jack signal is 2.4 kHz.

30. The card reader of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller has a non-volatile memory with a size of 2-8 kbytes, and ram with a size 128-512 bytes.