Patent ID: 8965781
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: D06F,G06Q,G07F,H04W

Abstract:
1. An online method using secure encrypted wireless technology to pay for usage of a commercial washer or dryer, comprising: forming a mesh network with a plurality of pay-per-use radio frequency readers, wherein each of the plurality of pay-per-use radio frequency readers discovers the network and joins the network; transmitting washer or dryer manufacturer vending options information, washer or dryer identification information, and washer or dryer location information from a pay-per-use radio frequency reader of the plurality of pay-per-use radio frequency readers to an internet server via a secure wireless communications circuit, the pay-per-use radio frequency reader coupled to the washer or dryer; receiving, by the washer or dryer via the secure wireless communications circuit, washer or dryer setup information from the server, the washer or dryer setup information including washer or dryer cycle time, key press wait time, and vend price, the setup information used to configure the washer or dryer; receiving a user identification via the pay-per-use radio frequency reader coupled to the washer or dryer, wherein the pay-per-use radio frequency reader receives the user identification from a card transmitting information via radio frequency, the card providing contactless transfer of information from a user to the pay-per-use radio frequency reader; transmitting the user identification via the secure wireless communications circuit; receiving a user account balance value from a user account associated with the user identification via the secure wireless communications circuit, wherein the user account includes prepaid funds from the user, the prepaid funds eliminating retrieval of bills and coins from the washer or dryer; displaying the user account balance via a display screen; receiving, by the washer or dryer, vending options from the user; receiving, the vend price from the server, the vend price calculated based on the user selected vending options and pricing tables stored on the server; displaying the received vend price via the display screen; receiving a start machine request via a user interface circuit; transmitting the start machine request via the secure wireless communication circuit; receiving an updated user account balance value via the secure wireless communication circuit, wherein the updated user account balance includes the vend price deducted from the user account balance; displaying the updated user account balance via the display screen; starting the washer or dryer by the pay-per-use radio frequency reader in response to the start machine request; receiving an interrogate command by the pay-per-use radio frequency reader from the server; extracting, by the pay-per-use radio frequency reader, diagnostic data from the washer or dryer based on the received interrogate command; and transmitting the diagnostic data from the pay-per-use radio frequency reader to the server.