Systems and methods for enabling additional devices to check in to bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons

• US 9,445,220 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2014
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Granbery, John Hastings
• Primary Examiner(s): GONZALES, APRIL GUZMAN
• Application Number:
  US14/248,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20150072618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 455/67.11, 455/456.1, 455/434, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through 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 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/068 using time-dependent keys, e.g. periodically changing keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for controlling usage of secret information H04L9/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0631 : Substitution permutation network [SPN], i.e. cipher composed of a number of stages or rounds each involving linear and nonlinear transformations, e.g. AES algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 : Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 : Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 : Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 : Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 : Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/75 : Temporary identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/244 : using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 : using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/34 : Selective release of ongoing connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 : Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for checking many users in to a location using a Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) beacon. The provided systems and methods may allow a BLE beacon to facilitate a check in with a remote server that processes check ins and then disconnect from the device used to check in. The device may be assigned a unique identifier that may be broadcast from the device during the check in so that the BLE beacon can quickly scan for the identifier and connect with the device based on the identifier to provide content and other information to the device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a non-transitory memory;

one or more wireless transceivers configured to;

send a device identifier to a user device in communication with the one or more wireless transceivers when the user device completes a check in;

establish communications with the user device based on the device identifier when content for the user device is received from a remote server; and

send content to the user device, wherein the one or more wireless transceivers are further configured to communicate with the user device using a Bluetooth®

low energy (BLE) communications protocol;

a network interface component coupled to the one or more wireless transceivers and in communication with the remote server over a network, the network interface component configured to receive the device identifier and the content from the remote server; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

determining when the device identifier is present; and

determining when the content is received from the remote server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless transceivers are further configured to:

broadcast a broadcast identifier; and

send metadata, a beacon token, and a digital signature when a request to communicate with the user device is received by the one or more wireless transceivers, the metadata, beacon token, and digital signature being used to complete the check in.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise generating a notification when the device identifier is determined to not be present and the network interface component is configured to send the notification to the remote server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the device identifier comprises a universally unique identifier (UUID).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless transceivers are further configured to stop communicating with the user device after sending the device identifier to the user device and after sending content to the user device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless transceivers are further configured to send instructions to broadcast the device identifier along with the device identifier.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein

the wireless transceivers are further configured to scan for the device identifier;

and

the operations further comprise determining when the device identifier is present by determining the presence of the device identifier from the scan for the device identifier.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

communicating with a beacon using a Bluetooth®

low energy (BLE) communications protocol to check in to a location;

receiving a device identifier and instructions to broadcast the device identifier from the beacon;

broadcasting the device identifier, wherein communicating with the beacon stops after receiving the device identifier;

re-establishing communications with the beacon in response to a request from the beacon; and

receiving content from the beacon, wherein the re-established communications with the beacon stops after receiving the content from the beacon.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein communicating with the beacon to check in to the location comprises:

receiving a digital signature from the beacon;

verifying the digital signature;

encrypting token values; and

sending the encrypted token values to the beacon.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein receiving the device identifier comprises receiving a universally unique identifier (UUID).

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein broadcasting the device identifier comprises broadcasting the device identifier for an expiration time associated with the check in.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the expiration time is about two hours.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein receiving content from the beacon comprises receiving at least one of an advertisement, an offer, or a payment token.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein re-establishing communications with the beacon comprises re-establishing communications with a different beacon, the different beacon being in a usable range of BLE communications.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

checking a user into a location;

assigning to the user a device identifier to be broadcast by a device associated with the user for an expiration time using a Bluetooth®

low energy (BLE) communications protocol;

sending content to the user based on the device identifier; and

checking the user out of the location when the device identifier is no longer broadcast at the location or the expiration time associated has passed.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein assigning to the user the device identifier comprises assigning to the user a universally unique identifier (UUID).

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein assigning to the user the device identifier further comprises sending the assigned device identifier to one or more beacons at the location.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising receiving an indication from the one or more beacons that the device identifier is being broadcast.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising determining a user location within the location based on a particular beacon of the one or more beacons that provides the indication that the device identifier is being broadcast.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein sending content to the device comprises sending content related to the determined user location using the particular beacon that provided the indication.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein checking the user out of the location comprises informing the one or more beacons that the device identifier will no longer be broadcast at the location.