Computer enabled methods and systems for facilitating micropayments via public networks

• US 9,785,937 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2013
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Paul Wickliffe
• Original Assignee: Paul Wickliffe
• Inventors: Wickliffe, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Obeid, Mamon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez-Hernand, Edgar R
• Application Number:
  US13/873,867
• Publication Number:
  US 20130290174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 705 64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0816 Key establishment, i.e. cryptographic processes or cryptographic protocols whereby a shared secret becomes available to two or more parties, for subsequent use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3026 details relating to polynomials generation, e.g. generation of irreducible polynomials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3093 involving Lattices or polynomial equations, e.g. NTRU scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083

Abstract

A computer enabled system for facilitating electronic micropayments in which an accounting application receives a vendor submission a remote vendor server via a public communications network. This includes identifiers for the vendor, the customer and an item selected by the customer. The accounting application then checks the status of the customer'"'"'s account. If it has sufficient funds, the transaction proceeds. The customer account is conditionally debited, and the vendor account conditionally credited with the transaction amount, including fees. A transaction confirmation is sent to the vendor application which then confers usage rights for the item to the customer. The accounting application periodically reconciles the vendor and customer accounts, deducts any service fees, and makes a single payment to each vendor. This single payment only incurs a single per-transaction credit-card company fee, thereby spreading it across multiple purchases and clients, making micro-transactions profitable.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating micropayments, comprising:

a user establishing, via a processor on a user device, an account with a billing server, wherein the account includes at least a username and a password having numerical portions and letter portions;

the billing server generating a polynomial equation having a plurality of coefficients and a plurality of variables, wherein the plurality of coefficients corresponds to the numerical portions of the password;

storing, via the billing server, the polynomial equation in a machine-readable non-transitory memory of the billing server;

embedding, by the user device, the polynomial equation into a software application stored in a machine-readable non-transitory memory of the user device;

the user selecting, using the software application, one or more items to be purchased in at least one transaction from a vendor server;

sending, by the vendor server, a time stamp to the user device;

inputting, into the software application and via the processor on the user device, numerical portions of the time stamp into the polynomial equation to replace the plurality of variables;

in response to inputting the numerical portions of the time stamp, generating, by the processor on the user device, a first solution to the polynomial equation;

sending, by the processor on the user device, the first solution to the vendor server;

the vendor server forwarding the solution and the time stamp to the billing server;

solving, by the billing server, the polynomial equation to obtain a second solution;

comparing, by the billing server, the first solution and the second solution;

determining that the first solution is equivalent to the second solution; and

in response to determining that the first solution is equivalent to the second solution, authorizing, by the billing server, the at least one transaction to be completed.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said numerical portions of said time stamp comprises a year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

periodically reconciling, by the billing server, the account of the user after a predetermined number of transactions associated with the account of the user have occurred.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the numerical portions of the password comprise at least five numerals and the letter portions of the password comprise at least five characters.