Systems and methods for financial transaction through miniaturized card reader.

(54) Title: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTION THROUGH THE MINIATURIZED CARD READER.

(54) Title: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTION THROUGH MINIATURIZED CARD READER.

(57) Summary

With a new approach that includes systems and methods that allow an individual to complete a financial transaction by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader connected to a mobile device. The size of the card reader is miniaturized to be portable for connection to the mobile device. The card reader is configured to reliably read data encoded on the card's magnetic stripe with minimal error in a single swipe and provide a signal that corresponds to the data reading for the mobile device, which then decodes the incoming signal from the card reader and acts as a point of sale device to complete the financial transaction. Such an approach allows a person to become a micro merchant (beneficiary) or a buyer / customer (payer) without having to purchase expensive card reader devices or software.

(57) Abstract

A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to enable an individual to complete a financial transaction by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader connected to a mobile device. The size of the card reader is miniaturized to be portable lor connection with the mobile device. The card reader is configured to reliably read data encoded in a magnetic strip of the card with minimum error in a single swipe and provide a signal that corresponds to the data read to the mobile device, which then decodes the incoming signal from the card reader and acts as a point-ofsale device to complete the financial transaction. Such an approach enables a person to become either a micro-merchant (payee) or a buyer / customer (payer) without having to purchase expensive card reader devices or software.

i

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTION THROUGH

MINIATURIZED CARD READER

Background of the Invention

Credit cards that have a magnetic stripe built into one side of the card are offered in everyday business. These cards are used in various transactions such as to pay for purchases when using a credit card, a debit card, or a corporate gasoline card. A corporate card or debit card can also be used to do business with a range through the use of an automatic (ATM). The magnetic stripe card is capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of magnetic particles embedded in the stripe. The data stored on the magnetic stripe can be detected or read by sliding the strip past a read head. The analog waveform obtained by detecting the magnetic stripe must undergo a process known as decoding to obtain the digital information stored in the magnetic stripe on the card.

Currently, there are hundreds of magnetic stripe readers / sliders on the market, all of which are at least as long as the same credit card. These existing readers / sliders can

REF.:230130 be classified as platform card readers or drop card readers. Platform card readers are traditional card sliders with individual rails, which allow a card to be held against the reader base by the user and move through the reader's read head. The down sliders guide a card through two sets of lanes and a barrier. Once the user has inserted the card against the barrier, the card is read as it is removed from the down sliders. Drop sliders are common in ATM and other secure payment devices because they are less prone to intrusion.

Magnetic stripe cards that have standard specifications can typically be read by point of sale devices at a merchant location. When the card is swiped through an electronic card reader, such as a platform card reader, at the checkout counter in a merchant store, the reader usually uses its built-in modem to dial the number of a company that is handles credit authentication requests. Once the account is verified and an approval signal is sent back to the merchant to complete a transaction.

Although magnetic stripe cards are universally used by merchants, there is no way for an individual to take advantage of the card to receive a payment from another (non-merchant) individual by swiping the card through a simple attached reader. to your mobile device. For a non-limiting example, one person may owe another person money for a debt, and the conventional way to pay the debt is to provide cash or a check. It would be wise to be able to use a credit card or a debit card to pay off the debt. Furthermore, it is advantageous for an individual to make the payment to another individual or merchant by swiping their magnetic stripe card through a reader connected to a mobile device.

The foregoing related art examples and related limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related technique will become apparent with a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a system diagram to support the financial transaction between a payer and payee through a miniaturized card reader connected to a mobile device.

Figure 2 illustrates an example of an external structural diagram of a miniaturized card reader.

Figures 3A-3B illustrate examples of a real card reader with miniature design.

Figures 4A-4B illustrate examples of alignment between card reader reading head and sliding card magnetic stripe.

Figure 5 illustrates an example of a TRS connector as a part of the card reader.

Figures 6A-6C illustrate examples of internal structures of a miniaturized card reader.

Figures 7A-7B illustrate examples of data waveforms read from a magnetic stripe track by the read head as the card slides through the card reader slot in the forward and reverse directions, respectively .

Figure 8 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process for supporting the swipe of a card with a magnetic stripe through a miniaturized portable card reader.

Figure 9 illustrates an example of a schematic diagram of the passive ID circuitry built into the card reader.

Figure 10 illustrates an example schematic diagram containing additional passive ID circuit system components 22 that contribute to the user experience.

Figure 11 illustrates an example of an implementation for passive ID circuit systems 22 illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 12 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process for delivering the unique ID to the mobile device through the passive ID circuitry.

Figure 13 illustrates an example of additional cryptographic encoding and / or decoding systems included in the passive ID circuitry for card reader unique ID cryptographic encoding and decoding.

Figure 14 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process to support decoding of incoming signals from swiping a card with a magnetic stripe through a miniaturized portable card reader.

Figure 15 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process to support financial transaction between a payer and a payee through a miniaturized card reader connected to a mobile device.

Figures 16A-16F illustrate screen shots of an example of a financial transaction between a buyer and a merchant through a miniaturized card reader connected to a mobile device.

Detailed description of the invention

The approach is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the attached figures where similar references indicate similar elements.

It should be noted that references to one or one or more modality (s) in this description are not necessarily for the same modality, and such references mean at least one.

A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to allow an individual to complete a financial transaction by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader connected to a mobile device. Here, the financial transaction can be any transaction that involves receiving or sending payment from one person to another. The magnetic stripe card can be but is not limited to a credit card, debit card, or other types of payment authentication pieces capable of carrying out the financial transaction. The size of the card reader is miniaturized to be portable for connection to the mobile device. The card reader is configured to easily read data encoded on the card's magnetic stripe with minimal error in a single swipe and to provide a signal that corresponds to the data reading for the mobile device, which then encodes the incoming signal from the card reader and acts as a point of sale device to complete the financial transaction. Such an approach allows a person to become a micro-merchant (beneficiary) or a buyer / customer (payer) without having to purchase expensive card reader devices or software.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a system diagram to support the financial transaction between a payer and a payee through a miniaturized card reader connected to a mobile device. Although the diagrams illustrate components as functionally separate, such an illustration is merely for illustrative purposes. It will be apparent that the components illustrated in this figure can be combined to be arbitrarily divided into separate software, firmware and / or hardware components. Furthermore, it will also be apparent that such components, regardless of how they are combined or divided, can run on the same host or multiple hosts, and where multiple hosts can connect via one or more networks.

In the example of Figure 1, the system includes a mobile device 100, a miniaturized card reader 10 connected to mobile device 100, a decoding processor 110, a user interaction processor 12 0, and a transaction processor 130, all running on mobile device 100. Additionally, the system also includes one or more of user database 140, product or service database 150, and transaction database 170, all coupled to transaction processor 130.

As used herein, the term processor refers to software, firmware, hardware, or other component that is used to make a proposal. The processor will typically include software instructions that are stored in nonvolatile memory (also called secondary memory). When the software instructions are executed, at least a subset of the software instructions are loaded into memory (also called primary memory) by a processor. The processor then executes the software instructions in memory. The processor can be a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a combination of shared or dedicated processors. A typical program will include calls to hardware components (such as 1/0 devices), which typically require the execution of drivers. Drivers may or may not be considered part of the processor, but the distinction is not critical.

As used here, the term database is widely used to include any means or a convenient one for storing data, whether centralized or distributed, relational or otherwise.

In the example of Figure 1, the mobile device 100 to which the portable card reader 10 is connected may be, but is not limited to, a cell phone, such as Apple iPhone, other portable electronic devices, such as iPod Touch Apple, Apple iPad, and mobile devices, based on Google's Android operating system, and any other portable electronic devices that include software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof that is capable of at least receiving the signal, decoding it if necessary, exchanging information with a transaction server to verify buyer and / or seller account information, conducting the transaction, and generating a receipt . Typical components of mobile device 100 may include but are not limited to persistent memories such as flash ROM, random access memory such as SRAM, a camera, a battery, an LCD controller, a display, a cellular antenna, a horn, a circuit Bluetooth, a circuit system

WIFI, where the persistent memory can contain programs, applications, and / or an operating system for the mobile device.

Miniaturized Card Reader

In the example of Figure 1, the miniaturized card reader 10 is configured to read encoded data on a magnetic stripe from a card that is swiped by a shopper and send a signal corresponding to the reading of data to mobile device 100 via of a signal connector 18. The size of the miniature card reader 10 to be portable for connection to the mobile device 100.

ίο

For a non-limiting example, the size of the card reader 10 can be miniaturized to be an overall length of less than

3.81 cm (1.5). Additionally, the miniaturized card reader 10 is also designed to reliably read on the card with minimal error through a single swipe by countering the vendor-specific filtering performed by mobile device 100. Note that this comprehensive review is intended to be no limiting since the components for this process are represented in different modalities. For example, the decoding processor 110 may be incorporated in the card reader 10 as shown in Figure 13 as the decoding system 42.

Figure 2 illustrates an example of the external structural diagram of a miniaturized card reader 10. Although the diagrams illustrate components as functionally separate, such an illustration is merely for illustrative purposes. It will be apparent that the components illustrated in this figure can be arbitrarily combined into separate software, firmware, and / or hardware components.

In the example of Figure 2, the miniaturized card reader 10 is shown to comprise at least one housing 12 having a slot 14, a read head 16 built into a slot wall 14, a signal connector 18 extending outward from housing 12, and an optional passive ID circuit 22. Figure 3A illustrates an example of a real card reader with miniaturized design and Figure 3B illustrates other examples of a miniaturized card reader with width of approximately

1.27 cm (0.5).

In the example of Figure 2, the housing 12 of the card reader 10 is designed to be asymmetric with respect to the slot 14, with a texture such as a logo on one side of the housing that can be perceived and recognized by a user by touch of a finger. For 'correct card swipe, the textured side of the housing 12 must match the textured (front) side of the card, so that the user can easily identify the right side of the reader to slide the card through the slot 14 without actually seeing the reader or card. Even a blind person is able to swipe the card correctly by matching the textured side of the reader to the textured side of the card.

In the example in Figure 2, slot 14 is wide enough and deep enough to accept a card that has a magnetic stripe for the strip to fit into slot 14. More importantly, slot 14 is configured to reduce the torque applied on the reader 10 when the card slides through the slot 14 in order to maintain the accuracy and reliability of data reading by the read head

16. Since the size of the card reader 10 is miniaturized, slot 14 also has a length that is significantly less than the length of the card to be inserted into slot 14.

To correctly read the data on the card's magnetic stripe, the read head 14 must maintain contact with the stripe as the card moves past slot 14. If the card swings during sliding, the alignment of the head 12 with the band can be engaged. As the length of slot 14, that is, the path of the card through which the card slides through slot 14, becomes shorter, the oscillation and alignment of the head can become major problems. As shown in Figure 4A, if the magnetic stripe card slides without the card base resting against the flat bottom piece, the magnetic stripe will not align with the read head 16 when the card is slid through the slot 14 having a flat base 15.

In some embodiments, the base 15 of the slot 14 may change from flat to a curved base with a radius in order to increase contact between the read head 14 and the magnetic stripe to address the oscillation problem. As shown in Figure 4B, the read head 16 can maintain contact with the magnetic stripe, even when some additional error due to the contact recording introduced by the curved base 15.

Figure 15 illustrates an example of signal connector 18 as part of card reader 10. Here, signal connector 18 may be but is not limited to being a tip, ring, sleeve (TRS) connector. ) also known as an audio jack, a phone jack, a jack connector, a stereo jack, a mini jack, or a mini stereo audio jack. Signal connector 18 can be formed in different sizes such as miniaturized versions that are 3.5mm or

2.5 mm.

In some embodiments, the signal connector 18 may be retractable within the housing 12. In some embodiments, the signal connector 18 is configured to extend beyond the reader housing 12 in order to incorporate connection with mobile devices 18 obtaining a Recessed connection plug, where the plug may be but is not limited to a microphone input jack or audio input of the mobile device1.

In some embodiments, the housing 12 of the card reader 10 is made of non-conductive material such as plastic so that the reader does not interfere with the function of the mobile device 100 to which it is connected. Such a choice of material is important since the outer case of certain mobile devices, such as iPhone 4, is conductive and serves as an antenna for the device, the function of which could potentially be interfered with if the metal case of the device is touched by housing a card reader made of conductive material.

Figure 6A illustrates an example of an internal structural diagram of a miniaturized card reader.

Although the diagrams illustrate components as functionally separate, such an illustration is merely for illustrative purposes. It will be apparent that the components illustrated in this figure can be arbitrarily combined or divided into separate software, firmware and / or hardware components.

In the example of Figure 6A, the internal structure within the card reader housing 12 of 10 is shown to comprise at least one read head 16 with a built-in circuit system, and a spring structure 20 to support the print head. Reading 16. The Figure

6B illustrates an example of the internal structure of a real miniature card reader. Figure 6C illustrates an example of separate read head 16 and spring structure components 20 used in the actual miniaturized card reader.

In the example of Figures 6A-6B, the read head 16, which for a non-limiting example, may be an inductive read head, detects and provides data stored in the magnetic stripe of a card to a connected mobile device 100. More specifically, as the magnetic stripe on a card slides through slot 14 and is in contact with read head 16, card reader device 10 reads one or more data or information tracks stored in the card. Magnetic stripe on the card through the built-in section circuitry inside the read head. Here, the data stored on the magnetic stripe can be in the form of magnetic transactions as described in the ISO 7811 standards. As the card moves past the read head 16, magnetic transactions representing data induce a voltage or waveform in a coil (not shown) of the read head 16 due to such relative movement between the read head 16. reading 16 and the band (called the Hall Effect), where a resistance (not shown) within the reading head 16 sets the amplitude of the waveform. This waveform is sent through signal connector 18 into the jack that is recorded by the microphone of mobile device 100 connected to card reader 10.

In some embodiments, read head 16 on the head reader is capable of reading only one data track (either track 1 or 2, but not both) from the magnetic stripe in order to reduce size and structural complexity of the compact 16 read head as only one plug needs to be included in the read head. Figures 7A-7B illustrate examples of data waveforms read from track 1 (instead of both tracks 1 and 2 as for a traditional read head) of the magnetic stripe by read head 16 when the card is slid through slot 14 in the forward and reverse directions, respectively.

In some embodiments, the size or thickness of housing 12 of card reader 10 is configured to be narrow enough to incorporate only a single read head 16. Such a design is intended to be tamper proof so that even if housing 12 is tampered with, no additional circuitry can be added to card reader 10 and such alteration will render the card reader non-functional.

In the example of Figures 6A-6C, the spring structure 20 is a flexible spring that mounts to the read head 16 in a screw, causing the read head to be suspended to the housing 12 of the card reader 10. Here , the spring 20 can be connected to the housing 12 through screws or welded to the plastic housing 12 without using any screws. As the card moves past the read head 16 over the miniature card reader, any bending or misalignment of the card may cause the read head to lose contact with the magnetic stripe. Spring 20 allows the suspended read head 16 to rotate while maintaining contact pressure to the track to track the card strip as it slides. The spring 20 is designed to be small enough to fit inside the miniature card reader 10, even powerful enough to maintain good contact during the band. Different from traditional spring structures, the spring 20 places the read head brackets 20 within the overall shape of the spring, allowing the spring to flex without having to make a movable bracket.

Figure 8 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process for supporting the swipe of a card with a magnetic stripe through a miniaturized portable card reader. Although this figure illustrates functional steps in a particular order for illustration purposes, the process is not limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps illustrated in this figure can be omitted, redistributed, combined, and / or adapted in various ways.

In the example of Figure 8, flow box 800 starts at block 802 where a miniaturized card reader is structured to provide sufficient contact between a read head and the magnetic stripe during a card slip. Flow box 800 continues to block 800 where a card with a magnetic stripe slides through a slot in the miniature card reader. Flow chart 800 continues to block 806 where the read head reliably reads data stored in the magnetic stripe and generates an analog signal or waveform indicative of data stored in the magnetic stripe. Flow chart 800 continues to block 808 where the amplitude of the waveform is established by the circuitry within the read head. Flow box 800 terminates at block 810 where the established waveform is provided to a mobile device 100 connected to the miniaturized card reader through signal connector 18.

Passive ID Circuit

In some embodiments, the card reader housing 12 may further encapsulate passive ID circuit systems 22 powered by mobile device 100 through signal connector 18, where passive ID circuit system 22 delivers a unique ID from the card reader to the mobile device 100 only once when the card reader is connected to (and powered by) the mobile device. Although both are integrated in the same housing 12, the passive ID circuitry 22 operates independently and separately from the read head 18 without interfering with the card swipe functions of the read head described above.

Figure 9 illustrates an example of a schematic diagram of a passive ID circuitry built into the card reader. In the example of Figure 9, the passive ID circuit system 22 may comprise at least five subsystems / components: unique ID storage 24, communication subsystem 26, which reads and transmits the unique ID from unique ID storage, power subsystem 28, which provides power to enable communication with mobile device 100, a path 20 subsystem to direct signals to the service connector through the circuit system, and a control unit 32, to orchestrate communication between different systems. All of these subsystems can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Communication subsystem 26, power subsystem 28, and read head 16 share the same signal connector 18 for connection to the mobile device. The components illustrated in this figure can be arbitrarily combined or divided into separate software, firmware and / or hardware components.

In the example in Figure 9, the unique ID storage 24 is the memory containing the unique ID of the card reader. Unique ID storage 24 can be any persistent memory containing bytes that can be accessed by communication system 26.

In the example of Figure 9, the power subsystem 28 comprises a modified charge pump, which uses a digital circuit to artificially raise the voltage of a power source to a higher level. Normal charge pump operation requires a large current that is then fed into multiple capacitors, and the switching logic switches the capacitors between series and parallel configurations. In the example in Figure 10, the power source is a bias voltage provided by the desired mobile device for detection of a connected component. It is nominally 1.5V and is supplied through a 2kQ resistor, resulting in a maximum current of 750μΑ. Details of how the power subsystem 28 works are described in Figure 11.

In standard operation the path subsystem 30 is configured to direct the bias voltage of the mobile device 100 to the power subsystem 28. After the power subsystem converts the bias voltage to a system voltage, the control unit 32 is able to operate. Control unit 32 configures path subsystem 30 to allow communication subsystem 26 to access the mobile device

100. Communication subsystem 26 transfers the unique ID from unique ID storage 24. The control unit then configures path subsystem 30 to allow card reader circuit 16 to access mobile device 100.

Figure 10 illustrates an example of a schematic diagram containing additional components of passive ID circuitry 22 that contribute to the user experience. These additional systems prevent the mobile device 100 from perceiving that the card reader 10 has been disconnected during power cycles. These additional systems also ensure that the unique ID sent from the unique ID storage 24 is sent as specified by the designer. This extra feature group comprises a discharge subsystem 34 to force the device to power cycle, a dummy load 36 so that the mobile device 100 does not perceive a disconnection, and a monitor system 38 to handle the behavior of the card reader 10 between energy cycles.

In the example of Figure 10, the communication subsystem 26 comprises a signal controller connected to the control unit 32 and a unique ID storage

24. In a non-limiting embodiment of a system that sends an ID only once to a mobile device 100, after the control unit 32 starts, the communication subsystem 26 will review 1 status bit in the monitor subsystem 32. The first Once this process occurs, the status bit will not be set. When the status bit is not set the ID is sent immediately. Figure 12 contains a detailed flow chart of a non-limiting example of this process. In one embodiment the control unit 32 will write to the status bit in the monitor subsystem 38. It will then use the download system 34 to self-reset. During this time the path subsystem 30 will be configured to direct the signal path to the false load preventing the mobile device 100 from detecting a disconnection with the card reader 10. Once the power subsystem 28 has completed its power cycle, the control unit 32 will read the status bit. Seeing that the status bit is cleared will set the path subsystem 30 to direct the signal path to the card reader circuit 16. Control unit 32 will then place the system in an extremely low power state (hereinafter referred to as as a state of inactivity). Only monitoring subsystem 38 will remain active. The monitor subsystem 38 will wake the system from the idle state at some point (time depending on the implementation) before a power cycle. The control unit 32 will notify about the awakening of the system through the monitoring sub system

38. Control unit 32 will then set the status bit in monitor subsystem 38 only if there is a detected voltage on the false load indicating that the reader is still connected. Control unit 32 will then force a power cycle.

Figure 11 illustrates an example of an implementation for passive ID circuitry 22 illustrated in Figure 10. In some embodiments, power subsystem 28 has multiple capacitors in parallel. A voltage switch (eg Zener diode, etc.) and a latch are used to activate the transition between parallel and series configurations. Once the latch is flipped, the power subsystem 28 will remain in a series configuration until the CMOS trigger gate gate voltage is approximately 0.4V. At this time the passive ID circuitry 22 will be reset and the unique ID delivery process will start again.

In the example of Figure 11, path subsystem 30 comprises a plurality of locks controlled by control unit 32 to switch between various passive ID circuit system subsystems

22. When passive ID circuitry 22 is in operation, the default configuration distributes the output signal through signal connector 18 to the modified charge pump of power subsystem 28. After the safety is activated to turn off the modified charge pump 28, the control unit 32 will direct signal connector 18 from read head 16 to communication subsystem 25 and transmit the unique ID through signal connector 18 after reviewing the status bit in unique ID storage 24. The path subsystem will then write to the status bit in storage of

Unique ID 24 and will offload power subsystem 28. Figure 12 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a processor for delivering the unique ID to mobile device 100 via passive ID circuitry 22.

In some embodiments, the passive ID circuitry 22 may further include additional cryptographic encoding and / or decoding systems as shown in Figure 13 to cryptographically encode and decode the unique ID of the card reader 10. In the example of Figure 13, the decoding system 42 and the cryptographic decoding system 40 can both use the control unit 32 from the passive ID circuit system 22 to communicate with the mobile device 100 in the communication subsystem 26.

Signal Decoding

Once the card reader 10 provides the set waveform to the fixed mobile device 100, the incoming signals (waveform) can be amplified, sampled, and converted to a stream of digital values ​​or samples by the decoding processor 110 that it runs through a microprocessor inside the mobile device. Here, the decoding processor 110 may comprise a software decoding process pipeline (decoders) to decode and process the incoming signals as described below, where each software process in this pipeline can be removed and replaced to incorporate various densities of track data read in order to reduce card slip error rate. Incoming signals may be of poor quality due to one or more of: poor quality of data read from an individual track and / or low density of a magnetic stripe of data, sample rate limitations of the microphone input jack of the mobile device, and noise entered into mobile device 100 from card reader 100. Figure 14 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process to support decoding of incoming signals from swiping a card with a magnetic stripe through a miniaturized portable card reader.

In the example of Figure 14, flow box 1400 starts at block 14 02 where decoding processor 110 starts its internal state by waiting for the system voltage to reach a stable state. With the initial connection of a card reader, there is usually a signal explosion due to feedback caused by slight inconsistencies in impedance and the presence of non-linear elements such as in the read head. After at least three time constants, the signal is determined to be in an inactive state. During such a startup phase, DC offset of incoming signals is calculated when the mobile device first connects to the card reader over signal connector 18. In some embodiments, startup goes through at least the following steps:

one. Take an intermediate circuit from the system of an audio signal and calculate the DC compensation of this intermediate circuit.

2. Save the calculated DC offset.

3. Calculate the average of the last three DC offsets.

Four. Calculate the variance of the current DC offset from the average calculated in step 3.

The following values ​​presented were found to be optimal for performance in the decoding system. In the spirit of full disclosure they have been provided herein to enable some person skilled in the art to be able to duplicate this process. It is fully appreciated that many other values ​​can be used here and depending on the hardware implementation. The values ​​here are intended to be non-limiting. If the variance calculated in step 4 is less than the variance threshold, 0.06% of full scale or less than the percent offset, 10% of the average offset calculated in step 3, and the DC offset calculated in step 1 it is less than the noise limit, 3% of full scale, of the mobile device 100. After the startup is complete, the decoding processor 110 may proceed to process the incoming signals to detect card slippage. Otherwise, steps 1-4 need to be repeated.

Flow box 1400 continues to block 1404 where decoding processor 110 detects card slip once the incoming signals are in a stable state. The signal detection phase processes the incoming signals in an idle state in order to detect the presence of a card slip through the card reader. The signal detection phase is a lightweight procedure that operates in near real time. It scans incoming signals quickly and glues multiple signal system intermediates together to form a signal of interest. In some embodiments, the signal detection process goes through at least the following steps:

one. Apply exclusive system intermediate circuit software to incoming signals.

2. Start taking the incoming signal intermediate circuits and look for points that exceed a minimum signal amplitude threshold, which is an empirically found hardware-based parameterization.

3. Set a mark that triggers detection of a slip once an individual point that exceeds the threshold is detected.

Four. Once the flag is activated, the incoming signal is appended to a larger intermediate circuit until the signal falls below a minimum signal amplitude threshold for a certain period of time, for example, 10 ms.

5. Adjust the last 10 ms of data to reduce the amount of signal data to be processed later.

6. Check to see if at least a certain number of samples have been collected in the intermediate circuit to make sure there is enough information for subsequent decoding. This number is parameterized based on the hardware of the mobile device used.

Alternatively, a hardware independent slip detection process can be used to capture the signal of interest through Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), while adjusting the front and rear of the signal. process will include at least the following steps:

one. Retrieve incoming signal system intermediate circuits and maintain a number of internal signal history circuits.

2. Calculate the frequency distribution of the signal history maintained through FFT.

3. Locate two maxima on the histogram and check if one maximum is located at 2x the frequency of the other maximum. If this condition is satisfied, continue to add in history buffers that exhibit such behavior.

Four. Once such behavior has stopped, begin removing signals from the start and end of the signals in the intermediate circuits until the SNR is maximized, where the SNR is defined to make the two maximum amplitudes that are greater than the next maximum.

Flow box 1400 continues block 1406 once card slip is detected to be present where decoding processor 110 identifies spikes in incoming signals. Peak detection is the most complex portion of decoding incoming signals from credit card swipes, and credit card swipe decodes have traditionally not been performed on signals that are heavily filtered such as the signal entering through the TRS connector, as most mobile device manufacturers assume that the incoming signal is based on audio. This results in a wide variety of signal filtering that must take into account peak detection. Different peak detection approaches discussed below using the microprocessor can be used to perform peak detection on incoming signals in different ways, all by applying a basic moving average low-pass filter to boost some of the high-frequency noise in order to overcome poor quality data reading, mobile device sampling rate limitations, and noise introduced into mobile device1.

Reactive peak detection

Reactive Peak Detection is a heuristic-based approach to peak detection that is suitable for situations where incoming signals from the card swipe are not unduly distorted by the filter circuitry of the mobile device. This approach uses at least the following steps to detect peak signals:

one. Seed an adaptive positive and adaptive negative threshold with an ambient noise value that depends on the hardware of the mobile device. These thresholds will be used for initial peak detection.

2. Begin processing through the sample buffer, and for each sample in the buffer:

. Wait for the threshold to cross again when either the negative or positive threshold is crossed, except with a hysteresis factor applied to the threshold for the second crossing. The hysteresis factor is key in making this zoom-resistant approach of incoming signals, which is associated with the active filter (s) of the platform hardware.

Four. Begin looking for tilt changes within this time frame once the two samples where the threshold is crossed have been established.

5. If more than one tilt change is found, calculate the midpoint of the two samples.

6. If only a single tilt change is detected, then

to. Collect the maximum point for the tilt change.

b. Compare the amplitude of the peak with the amplitude of the previously found peak (if this has been established).

c. Skip the current peak and continue if its amplitude is greater than (([full scale] - [current peak amplitude]) / ([full scale] * 100) +100)% of the amplitude of the previous peak.

7. If the previous step did not result in the jump of the peak, check the polarity of the peak against the polarity of the previous peak.

to. If the polarity of the peak is the same as the polarity of the previous peak, then remove the previous peak and put the current peak in place.

b. If the polarity of the current peak has changed, then simply add the current peak to the peak list. This step is another key component to making this zoom resistant approach.

8. With finding a peak, update the adaptive threshold of the corresponding polarity as the polarity of the peak just found and the amplitude to make a percentage of the amplitude of this peak. Here, the percentage is a parameter varied by the detection approach used, since from higher values ​​they detect peaks more precisely, but they are not resistant to noise, although the lower values ​​are more resistant to noise, but can pick up peaks formerly associated with buzzing.

Predictive Peak Detection

Predictive peak detection differs heavy processing to the decoding digitizing stage. Predictive peak detection is highly resistant to Scratches on the card that could cause false or low quality peak information to manifest on incoming signals. This approach is more memory intensive than the reactive peak detection approach since more peaks are stored. The approach uses at least the following steps to detect signal peaks:

one. Seed an adaptive positive and negative threshold with an ambient noise value that depends on the hardware of the mobile device.

2. Start going through the sample buffer circuit. For each sample in the intermediate circuit:

3. Start waiting for the tilt to change when either the positive or negative threshold is crossed.

Four. When the slope changes, store the current sample as a peak.

Peak Peak Detection

Peak Peak Stop detects peaks by searching for local maxima and minima within a digital sample window. If any of these are at the edges of the swatches window, then the zoom jumps the window and moves to the next window to search for local highs and lows. These local highs and lows are then stored in a peak list.

Flow box 1400 continues to block 1408 where decoding processor 110 identifies the track from which data from the incoming signals is read by swiping the card through the card reader. Traditionally, track 1 on track 2 come from different pins on the read head of a card reader, so there is no need to guess which track is being read. Since the read head 16 on the card reader is capable of reading only one data track from the magnetic stripe, track identification becomes a major problem. This track identification process runs through detection processor 110 after peaks are detected to guess and recognize the track (track 1 or track 2) from which data is read by the card reader by inferring a range of peaks expected for signals coming from each track. Since track 1 is known to be much more data-dense than track 2, it is therefore reasonable to expect more spikes in data coming from track 1 to be identified. Although this process is not a definitive assumption, it generates the correct track value of 99.9% when coupled with the peak detection algorithms outlined here. Alternatively, the track assumption can be based on the number of bits found in the digital signals after the decoding digitization step. When a decoder fails to guess the wrong track (since track identification affects how digital signals are structured and matched against character groups), the decoder can simply choose another track type, although this makes card processing more intensive. processor.

Flow box 1400 continues to block 1410 where decoding processor 110 digitizes the peaks identified in the incoming signals into bits.

The digitizing process takes the peak information given it changes it into binary data and appends it to a digital bit arrangement. There are two types of digitizers: reactive digitizing and predictive digitizing.

Reactive Digitization

Reactive scanning takes the given peak information as fact, and tries to convert it to ls and Os in the following steps:

one. Pass through all the peak information.

For each peak:

2. Identify the distance between each pair of adjacent peaks.

3. If your distances are similar (for example, based on a parameter to find a series of peaks that are equidistant from each other), start looking for ls and Os. Leading spikes always represent zeros, as the credit card is filled with zeros on the front and back of the signal.

Four. Once equidistant peaks are found, identify the number of samples between peaks, which is the number of samples that approximately equals 1 bit.

5. Examine the number of samples between the current peak and the next peak.

6. Examine the number of samples between the current peak and the peak after the next.

7. Compare the results of Steps 5 and 6 against the value of Step 4:

to. If the result of Step 5 is closer to the value of Step 4, then identify the bit found as 0.

b. If the result of Step 6 is closer, then identify the bit found as a 1.

<td>c,</td><td>Tiebreaker: yes</td><td>the</td><td colspan="2">distances are equal and</td><td>the</td>

<td>following</td><td>two amplitudes</td><td>of</td><td>peak are less</td><td>than</td><td>the</td>

<td colspan="2">current peak amplitude,</td><td colspan="2">then identify</td><td>the</td><td>bit</td>

<td>found</td><td>like a 1. of</td><td>other</td><td>shape, identify</td><td>the</td><td>bit</td>

found as a 0.

8. Once the peak is determined, update the bit length based on the found peak: if the found peak was 0, update the value in Step 5; otherwise, use the value from step 6.

Predictive Digitization

Predictive scanning of detected peaks in incoming signals does not treat the list of peaks as fact.

)

First find the bit length, and then find a point in the peak list where the next relevant peak should be. Once you reach this location, then search for the nearest peak before and after the location. The process then checks the polarity of this peak compared to the previous peak examined. If the polarities are the same, the found bit is identified as a 1. Otherwise, it is identified as a 0. This method of digitizing a peak list is effective in that it simply ignores any information that is similarly relevant.

Flow box 1400 terminates at block 1412 where decoding processor 110 converts the arrangement of digitized bits into words of card information. This conversion process locates the bit stream that is the starting sentinel in the layout. At that point, it takes bit frames (for example, 5 bits for track 2, 7 bits for track 1) and decodes them based on a symbol table. Along the way, the process constantly checks parity and the LRC at the end to ensure the data is correct. If there is any parity, LRC, or track length error, blocks 1406-1412 can be repeated with a different group of parameters to obtain the correct signal data.

When a card swipe begins, the decoding processor 110 may combine various peak detectors and digitizers discussed above in order to cover various ranges of degradation in quality of the analog input signal generated by the card reader 10. In some embodiments Different combinations and process parameters can be chosen and optimized depending on the hardware platform of the mobile device. These combinations and parameter values ​​can be predetermined based on experimentation and testing and started with the start of the decoding process. Decoding then runs through all specified processes and runs certain specific processes multiple times in order to obtain the correct signal. Such a decoding process enables automatic scaling and adjustment during each run to account for different amounts of noise, sampling rate variations, signal hum, and slip direction.

Present Card Transaction without Sharing Information

In the example of Figure 1, user interaction processor 120 is a software application running on mobile device 100 associated with a payee (merchant) that allows the payer (buyer) and merchant to interact with the transaction processor 130 to complete a financial transaction. More specifically, it may take input of information related to the financial transaction of the buyer and / or merchant, provide such input to the transaction processor to initiate and complete the transaction, and present the result of the transaction to the buyer and merchant. Here, the input of information accepted by user interaction processor 120 may include, but is not limited to, one or more of: transaction source, which includes list price and optionally advice, additional transaction related notes such as description written and / or images of the item to be attached, authorization and / or signature of the buyer.

In some embodiments, other than the conventional keyboard, the user interaction processor 120 may use a touch screen of the mobile device 100 to allow the buyer and merchant to enter numbers, characters, and signatures by touching the screen from a stylus or finger. .

In some embodiments, in addition to the transaction outcome, user interaction processor 120 may also present merchant-provided products or services to the buyer in combination with one or more text, images, audio, and videos, and enable the buyer Browse through the products and services on the mobile device to choose the one you want to buy. Product information can be stored and managed in the 150 product database.

In the example of Figure 1, the transaction processor 13 0 takes as its input the decoded credit card information from the decoding processor 110 and the transaction amount from the user interaction processor 120. Transaction processor 130 then contacts third party financial institutions such as an acquisition bank that handles such an authorization request, which can then contact the card issuing bank to authorize or reject the transaction. If the third party authorizes the transaction, then the transaction processor 130 will transfer the amount of money deducted from the cardholder's account (for example, the buyer) to a merchant's account and provide the transaction results to the interaction processor of user 120 for presentation to the buyer and the merchant. In this way, the merchant can accept a payment from the buyer through the card reader 10 and the mobile device 100.

In the example of Figure 1, although the mobile device 100 that is associated with the merchant, the transaction processor 130 running on the mobile device 100 protects the privacy of the buyer / payer during the card present transaction by taking information from the Buyer's card directly from the decoding processor 110 and not sharing such information with the merchant through the user interaction processor 12 0. Here, card information that is not shared with the merchant includes, but is not limited to, card number, cardholder name, expiration date, security code; etc. In essence, transaction processor 130 serves as an intermediary between the buyer and the merchant, so that the buyer does not have to share his card information with the merchant as in a typical present card transaction or an online transaction. Additionally, the buyer is able to obtain a detailed receipt of the completed transaction as discussed below.

In some embodiments, although the transaction processor 130 does not share the buyer's card information with the merchant, it may present the buyer's identity information, such as a picture of the buyer in the user database record 140, with the merchant through user interaction processor 120 so that the merchant can reliably confirm the identity of the buyer during the present card transaction to prevent credit fraud.

In the example of Figure 1, user database 140, product database 150, and transaction database 160 can be used to store buyer and merchant information, products and services provided by the merchant , and transactions carried out, respectively. Here, user information (for example, name, phone number, email, etc.) can be obtained through online user registration and product information can be provided by the merchant, while the transaction database 160 it is updated each time a transaction is processed by transaction processor 130. The stored information can be selectively accessed and provided to the buyer and / or merchant as necessary.

In the example of Figure 1, transaction processor 130 communicates and interacts with the third party financial institution, user database 140, product database 150, and transaction database 160 in one network (not shown). Here, the network can be a communication network based on certain communication protocols, such as PCP / IP protocol. Such a network may be, but is not limited to, the Internet, Intranet, Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Network, Bluetooth, WiFi, and mobile communication network. The physical network connections and communication protocols are well known to those skilled in the art.

Dynamic Receipt

In various embodiments, with the completion of a financial transaction through, as a non-limiting example, a card reader 10 connected to mobile device 100 associated with a merchant, transaction processor 130 running on mobile device 100 can be configured to capture additional data associated with the transaction and incorporate the additional data into a dynamic receipt for the transaction, wherein in addition to the transaction information typically included in a conventional receipt, the dynamic receipt may also include additional environmental information about the transaction. For non-limiting examples, the financial transaction may be an electronic transaction conducted on the Internet or a card-based point-of-sale transaction where the buyer / payer makes the purchase at a cyber store, other traditional location, or simply in the presence of a merchant / beneficiary.

In some embodiments, the additional environmental information included in the dynamic receipt may include information pertaining to the transaction environment. In a non-limiting example, a mobile device equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver can be used to capture the coordinates / location of the transaction, and record it as part of the information on the dynamic receipt. In this way, the physical location of the point of sale (which may be different from the registered address of the merchant / payee) can be registered and used by transaction processor 120 to verify the transaction. In another non-limiting example, a mobile device equipped with an audio and / or video camera and / or recorder can be used to capture a photograph and / or video and / or audio recording of the product or service involved in the transaction. and incorporate such data or link / reference to such data in the dynamic receipt. In another non-limiting example, a mobile device with a biometric scanner can be used to scan the fingerprint or palm print of the buyer / payer and / or merchant / beneficiary and includes less than a portion of such information on the dynamic receipt. In another non-limiting example, the mobile device may record certain information associated with the transaction on the dynamic receipt, where such information includes, but is not limited to, how quickly the buyer slides the card, the angle at which the card slides. card. In another non-limiting example, special features of the sliding card, also referred to as the card's magnetic fingerprint, can be recorded and included in the dynamic receipt.

In some embodiments, the dynamic receipt may be in electronic form that can be accessed electronically or online and may also include a link or reference that points to multimedia information such as image, video, or audio that are relevant to the transaction.

<td>In</td><td colspan="2">some</td><td>modalities,</td><td colspan="2">processor</td>

<td>transaction</td><td> 130</td><td>can</td><td>use the</td><td>information</td><td>environmental</td>

<td>included in</td><td>the</td><td>receipt</td><td colspan="2">dynamic to value</td><td>the risk</td>

<td>associate with</td><td>a</td><td colspan="2">transaction. For a</td><td>example no</td><td>limiting,</td>

If the GPS information indicates that the transaction is taking place in a high crime / high risk area, the risk associated with the transaction is adjusted accordingly, and the buyer's bank can be notified accordingly. Alternatively, the information scanned and included in the dynamic receipt can be used for identity purposes to prevent identity theft and credit fraud.

In some embodiments, transaction processor 130 can use dynamic receipt that can be used as a non-intrusive way to communicate with the buyer and / or merchant.

For a non-limiting example, the additional information included in the dynamic receipt can be used to make offers to the buyer. If a dynamic receipt includes the GPS location of the transaction point of sale, coupons or other promotional offers made by sellers may be presented at locations close to the buyer when the buyer chooses to view the receipt electronically online. Alternatively, if a specific product involved in the transaction can be identified by the transaction processor either directly through the product description or indirectly by analyzing images or videos taken, offers of similar or complementary products may be made by a vendor to the merchant of the product.

In some embodiments, transaction processor 130 may notify the buyer and / or merchant of the receipt through an electronic message, which may be, but is not limited to, an email message, a Short Message Service message ( SMS)

Twitter, or other forms of electronic communication. The electronic message receipt can then retrieve a full detailed dynamic receipt online at your convenience via a telephone number in its register in the user database 140 to retrieve its electronic receipts stored in the transaction database 160. In some embodiments, the electronic message may include an indication such as a code that the recipient could use to retrieve the electronic receipt online as an alternative or in combination with the phone number.

Figure 15 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a process to support financial transaction between a buyer and a beneficiary through a miniaturized card reader connected to a mobile device. In the example of Figure 15, flow chart 1500 starts at block 1502 where an amount of a financial transaction is provided through an interactive user application started on the mobile device as shown in Figure 16A. Flow chart 1500 continues to block 1504 where a miniaturized card reader structured to minimize slip error is connected to the mobile device as shown in Figure 16B. Flow chart 1500 continues to block 1506 where a card is swiped through the card reader to initiate the financial transaction as shown in

Figure 16. Flow chart 1500 continues to block 1508 where the payer confirms the amount of card transaction presented through a signature dialed through the interactive user application on the mobile device to complete the transaction as shown in Figure 16D. Note that the signature is required as an additional confirmation layer for payer protection even when such a signature may not be technically required to authorize the transaction. Flow chart 1500 continues to block 1510 where the transaction result is received and presented to the payer and / or merchant as shown in Figure 16E. Flow chart 1500 terminates at block 1512 where an electronic receipt of the transaction is provided to the payer in the form of an electronic message as shown in Figure 16F.

The above description of various modalities of the claimed subject has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the subject matter claimed to the precise forms described. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Particularly, although the component concept is used in the modalities of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be used interchangeably with equivalent concepts such as, class, method, type, interface, module, object model, and other concepts. suitable. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to better describe the principles of the invention and its practical application, consequently allowing other experts in the art to understand the subject matter claimed, the various embodiments and the various modifications that are tailored for the particular use contemplated .

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to put the aforementioned invention into practice is the one that is clear from the present description of the invention.