Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention lies in the field of credit card transactions and, more particularly, to account-identifying and authorization protocols. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Credit and debit card transactions have quickly become just as prevalent, if not more prevalent, than economic transactions using standard currency. A credit card works by an issuer of a credit card lending money to a credit-card holder to make a purchase. Often billed on a monthly basis, the issuer charges interest on the lent money until the credit-card holder pays the balance in full to the issuer. Alternatively, in the case of a debit card, the purchase amount is deducted from the account-holder&#39;s bank account. 
         [0003]    Some credit and debit card manufacturers have recently begun to use wireless transmitters on credit cards to make the purchase between a card holder and seller more efficient. No longer will a card holder have to present the physical card itself to the merchant. The wireless transmitter and wireless receiver at the Point of Sale (POS) device eliminate the need for a magnetic strip on the credit card and a magnetic strip reader from the merchant. 
         [0004]    However, the capability of receiving information wirelessly also introduces the risk that a card in proximity to the wireless receiving POS device, which is not intended to be involved in the transaction, will erroneously transmit information and that information will be introduced into the process. For instance, an employee running a cash register may have a wallet on his or her person that contains a card with wireless-capabilities. During a transaction, where the employee is naturally in close proximity to the POS device, the employee&#39;s card may be charged by mistake. Without a further step of ensuring which card is the target of the transaction, unintended and undesirable results may occur. It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a more reliable way of authorizing credit and debit purchases over the existing art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a credit authorization security system that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type. 
         [0006]    With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an economic transaction system that includes a transaction medium having a first vibration detector, a first clock, a memory including information identifying a financial account, a first processor communicatively coupled to the first vibration detector, the first clock, and the memory, and a transmitter communicatively coupled to the first processor. The transaction medium is able to identify, with the first vibration detector, an occurrence of a physical contact between the transaction medium and an object, calculate a first elapsed time since the occurrence of the physical contact, and transmit, with the transmitter, the first elapsed time and the information identifying the financial account. 
         [0007]    With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a point-of-sale device that includes a second vibration detector, a second clock, a second processor communicatively coupled to the second vibration detector and the second clock, and a receiver communicatively coupled to the second processor. The point-of-sale device is able to identify, with the second vibration detector, an occurrence of a physical contact between the point-of-sale device and an object, calculate a second elapsed time since the occurrence of the physical contact of the point-of-sale device and the object, receive the first elapsed time from the transaction medium, and with the second processor, compare the first elapsed time to the second elapsed time and authorize a transaction if a difference between the first elapsed time and the second elapsed time is within a predetermined maximum variance. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another feature of the invention, the point-of-sale device is operable to deny a transaction if a difference between the first elapsed time and the second elapsed time exceeds the predetermined maximum variance. 
         [0009]    In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the transaction medium is one of a credit card, a debit card, a key fob, and an electronic device. 
         [0010]    In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the first vibration detector is a microphone. 
         [0011]    In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the first clock is a counter. 
         [0012]    In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the transaction medium is operable to transmit, with the transmitter, the information identifying the financial account. 
         [0013]    In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the point-of-sale device further includes a network connection communicatively coupling the point-of-sale device to an account-verifying entity. 
         [0014]    In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the point-of-sale device is operable to receive, with the receiver, the information identifying the financial account and, upon authorizing the transaction, communicating the information identifying the financial account to the account-verifying entity over the network connection. 
         [0015]    In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, there is also provided a method of conducting an economic transaction, where the method includes providing a transaction medium having a first vibration detector, a first clock, a memory including account information, a first processor communicatively coupled to the first vibration detector, the first clock, and the memory, and a transmitter communicatively coupled to the first processor. The method also includes providing a point-of-sale device that has a second vibration detector, a second clock, a second processor communicatively coupled to the second vibration detector and the second clock, and a receiver communicatively coupled to the second processor. The method further includes the steps of causing a physical contact between the transaction medium and the point-of-sale device, the physical contact being sufficient to create an audible vibration, identifying the audible vibration with the first vibration detector, calculating a first amount of time elapsed since the identification of the audible vibration with the first vibration detector, and transmitting the first amount of time elapsed since the identification of the audible vibration with the first vibration detector. 
         [0016]    Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a credit authorization security system, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of a front face of an exemplary embodiment of a tap-detecting wirelessly transmitting secure economic transaction device in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of a back face of an exemplary embodiment of the tap-detecting wirelessly transmitting secure economic transaction device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a block circuit diagram of internal circuitry of the tap-detecting wirelessly transmitting secure economic transaction device of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a tap-detecting wirelessly receiving secure economic transaction Point of Sale system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a block circuit diagram of internal circuitry of the tap-detecting wirelessly transmitting Point of Sale system of  FIG. 4  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process taking place during an exemplary transaction utilizing the inventive card of  FIGS. 1-3  and the inventive Point of Sale system of  FIGS. 4-5 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic illustration of a tap-detecting wirelessly transmitting secure economic transaction device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment the present invention with a block diagram of internal circuitry of the device. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process of a consumer attempting to make an authorized purchase from a merchant or retailer in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. 
         [0027]    Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
         [0028]    While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward. The figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale. 
         [0029]    The present invention provides a new system to safely and efficiently transfer a card holder&#39;s account information to a vendor&#39;s POS device. The term “card” encompasses credit, charge, and debit cards, or any other type of card used to identify a user&#39;s account information. The term “vendor” includes, but is not limited to any entity; such as a merchant or other retailer, including hardware or software used thereby, that accepts card information in relation to completion or facilitation of financial transactions. The term “POS device” encompasses any economic transaction device, such as credit-card readers, ATM machines, fuel dispensers, and others. 
         [0030]    Credit/Debit Card 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary card  100  is shown. As stated above, the term “card,” is used generically herein, and is not necessarily meant to refer only to a credit card, but can include charge cards, debit cards, smart cards, microprocessor cards, and other identification-number-bearing cards of the same or different dimensions.  FIG. 1  shows the front face of the card  100 . In one embodiment, the card  100  is made of a medium  102 , which can be, for example, plastic or other type of synthetic, and supports printed or raised characters, such as a visible account number  104 , an expiration date  106 , an authorization number  108 , and a name  110  of the cardholder. In addition, the card can include graphics  112  that, for example, identify the card issuer or an institution to which the card is associated. 
         [0032]    An account number  104  is created and used by an issuing institution, such as a bank, to uniquely identify the card holder and the card holder&#39;s account. Generally, each issuer type is also identified by this number. For instance, account numbers issued by AMERICAN EXPRESS are 15 digits long and account numbers issued by VISA and MASTERCARD are 16 digits long. In addition, account number formats are able to vary between issuing institutions. 
         [0033]    To authorize a card&#39;s use, a merchant receives account information, such as the account number, so they can transmit it to the credit card issuer or some other credit verifying entity for verification of the account. This can be accomplished in several ways utilizing embodiments of the present invention, including traditional methods. A first traditional way is for the merchant to manually enter the account numbers digit by digit into the POS system. This can be accomplished by reading the visible number  104  on the front face of the card and typing the number  104  into a keypad on the payment terminal. A second traditional method to receive the account information is by swiping a magnet strip, described below, on the card across a magnetic strip reader. Both of these first two methods are well known in the art. 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  shows the back side of the card  100 , which includes a magnetic strip  200  attached to or integrated into the body  102 . The magnetic strip  200  is encoded with the account number  104  shown on the front face or some other code that is associated with the user&#39;s account number. The POS system is provided with a magnetic strip reader that is used to capture the account number and transmit it to the credit card issuer for verification of the account. Typically, the back side of credit cards has a signature box  202 . When a card is first received, the holder signs his or her name in the signature box  202 . During a transaction, a merchant can compare the signature of the person completing the transaction to the signature in the signature box  202 . This comparison acids a layer of security to help ensure that the person completing the transaction is actually the authorized card holder. In addition to the two traditional methods of manually entering numbers and swiping the magnetic strip  200  on the card, as just described, embodiments of the present invention advantageously also provide further methods of communicating account information to a merchant that provide greater convenience than any method currently known in the art. 
         [0035]    Wireless Transmitter 
         [0036]      FIG. 3  shows the card  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  with a wireless account information transmitting device  300  integrated into the body  102 . In some embodiments of the present invention, device  300  is used as a receiving device as well. In one embodiment, the transmitter is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device  300 . Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a well-known automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data via RFID transponders. In this exemplary application, the data includes a credit-card holder&#39;s account information and is stored in a memory  310  provided on the card  100 . 
         [0037]    The RFID transponder device  300  has its own internal power source  302 , which is used to power a clock  308  and any integrated circuits that are used to generate an outgoing radio-frequency signal  304 . In one embodiment, the RFID device  300  has a practical communication range of only about 1 foot or less. This short range helps limit the number of persons/devices that are able to receive, i.e., intercept, the credit card information to those that are in the very near vicinity. However, the present invention, is not limited to any particular range. A clandestine receiver may be equipped with a more-sensitive antenna and, hence, may be able to communicate with the card or POS device over a longer distance than normally expected. The invention can, therefore, transmit at distances less than or greater than 1 foot. 
         [0038]    In addition, the present invention provides features not present in prior-art economic-transaction systems. Specifically, the inventive card  100  includes a vibration detector  306 , which is coupled to the clock  308 , a processor  309 , the memory  310 , and the wireless account information transmitting device  300 . The vibration detector  306  can be any device that senses vibrations and shock, whether acoustic or tactile, acceleration, tilt, and many others. Exemplary implementations of the vibration detector  306  include Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (separate or built directly into processor chips), microphones, piezoelectric crystals, and more. 
         [0039]    POS 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the merchant is equipped with a POS system  400  that is able to wirelessly receive and interpret information from the card  100 . The POS system  400  includes a housing  402  enclosing a wireless receiving antenna  404 , which is capable of receiving card information transmitted by the wireless account information transmitting device  300  on the card  100 . The housing  402  also includes at least a surface  406  on an area facing the customer during a transaction. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , also located on or within the housing  402  is a vibration detector  408 , which is operable to detect the occurrence of a vibration and, in particular, a tap on the surface  406 . The vibration detector  408  can be any device that senses vibrations and shock, whether acoustic or tactile, acceleration, tilt, and many others. Exemplary implementations of the vibration detector  408  include Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (separate or built directly into processor chips), microphones, piezoelectric crystals, and more. 
         [0042]    The POS system  400  further includes a clock  410  and a processor  412 , which includes comparative capabilities, as will be explained below. 
         [0043]    Tapping 
         [0044]    In operation, the vibration detector  306  within the card  100  will detect a vibration and, in particular, a tap of the card  100  against the surface  406  of the housing  402 . Correspondingly, the vibration detector  408  of the housing  402  also detects the same tap. As will now be explained, the independently-recognized taps can be used to authenticate a transaction. 
         [0045]      FIG. 6 , in conjunction with  FIGS. 3-5 , show an exemplary process that takes place during an exemplary transaction utilizing the inventive card  100  and POS system  400 . The flow begins at step  600  and moves directly to step  602  where a card holder  414 , in physical possession of a card  100 , comes within a defined proximity to a POS terminal system  400 , shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0046]    In step  604 , the card holder  414  makes a brief physical contact, i.e., “taps,” the card  100  against the surface  406  of the POS system  400 . Upon occurrence of the tap, in step  606 , both the vibration detector  306  of the card  100  and the vibration detector  408  of the POS system  400  detect the vibration. Substantially simultaneously with detecting the vibration, in step  608 , both the card  100  and the POS system  400  mark a time stamp, which will provide a reference of when the tap occurred. The POS system  400 , in step  610 , through use of the clock  410  and the processor  412 , begins counting the amount of time expired since the time stamp, i.e., since the tap occurred. In step  612 , the card  100 , through use of the clock  308  and processor  309 , also begins counting the amount of time expired since the tap occurred. 
         [0047]    In step  614 , the transmitter  300  of the card  100  wirelessly transmits information  304  to the POS system  400 . The information  308  includes the account number, i.e., credit card number, as well as a tap confirmation signal, which includes information indicating the amount of time that has expired since the tap occurred. In other embodiments, the credit card account number or other account-generating information can be transmitted separately from the transmission of the tap confirmation. 
         [0048]    In step  616 , the POS system  400  receives the information  304 , including the tap confirmation. The POS system  400  then, in step  618  compares the amount of expired time, which information is contained within the tap confirmation signal  304 , to the elapsed time recorded by the POS system  400  since the last tap occurred. If the times match, i.e., have the same amount of expired time and are accurate, within a predetermined amount of error, the transaction is confirmed in step  620  and the account information  416  is then transmitted, in step  622 , to an account-verifying entity  418 , which can be the card issuer or any agent or extension thereof, for verification that that account number is valid and that the transaction is authorized by the issuer of the card. This transmission can be wired, such as via the Internet, phone line, or any other network, or may be wireless. The process ends at step  624 . 
         [0049]    If, in step  618 , the elapsed times do not match, the transaction is denied in step  626  and, as an optional step (dashed line), the failed transaction can be reported in step  628  to a relevant merchant, bank, the account holder, and/or the card holder. 
         [0050]    The inventive tap-verifying step advantageously ensures that account information from other cards in proximity to the POS system  400  is not erroneously accepted into the transaction. If sufficient precision of corresponding tap times between the card and POS system  400  is required, the likelihood that another card near the POS system  400  will be tapped at the same time becomes virtually impossible or, at least, extremely unlikely. The present invention includes various amounts of precision between the card  100  and POS system  400  elapsed time calculations, but an error of no more than 5 milliseconds is used in at least one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, if the elapsed time calculations vary by more than 5 milliseconds, the transaction is not allowed. 
         [0051]    In one embodiment, the allowed range of time difference would be between 1 and 5 milliseconds. If the card  100  was provided with a 32 kHz clock, for instance, which is relatively slow (selected for the purpose of saving power), the frequency the “clock ticks” would be a thirtieth of a millisecond, allowing, time measurement to a precision on that order. 
         [0052]    The present invention, however, is in no way limited to transactions using cards like credit cards. A great majority of today&#39;s card holders carry cellular telephones when making a purchase. Although numerous other electronic devices, such as MP3 players, Personal Desktop Assistants (PDA), pagers, Global Positioning System (GPS) units, and others, could be used with the present invention, the cellular telephone will be described herein as an exemplary embodiment of an alternative to the card device  100  described above. 
         [0053]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , a cellular telephone  700  includes a built in microphone  702 . As is well known in the art, a microphone  702  enables the cellular telephone  700  to convert sounds in the environment of the telephone  700  (e.g., a user&#39;s speech) into a series of electrical signals. In addition, cellular telephone  700  utilizes an antenna  704 , whether internal or external (as shown), to communicate with the cellular telephone&#39;s service provider. This antenna  704  also allows the device to communicate with other electronic devices, such as the POS system  400 , in addition to the cellular-telephone service provider. 
         [0054]      FIG. 7  also shows the telephone  700  having a processor  706 , a clock  708 , and a memory  710 —subsystems that are present in virtually every cell phone in existence. As with the credit card  100  described above, the cellular telephone  700  can, itself, be tapped against the POS system  400  to produce an audible sound. The tapping sound produced by such mechanical contact is recognized by both the cellular phone  700  and the POS system  400  substantially simultaneously. In this embodiment, the microphone  702  of the cellular telephone  700  performs the same or similar function as the vibration detector  306 , which is to capture the moment of the tap. Here, microphone  702 , serving as a vibration detector, and the vibration detector  408  of the POS system  400  will record an electronic signature of the tapping sound. Substantially simultaneously with detecting the vibration, both the phone  700  and the POS system  400  mark a time stamp, which will provide a reference of when the tap occurred. The POS system  400 , through use of the clock  410  and the processor  412 , begins counting the amount of time expired since the time stamp, i.e., since the tap occurred. The phone  700 , through use of the clock  708  and processor  706 , also begins counting the amount of time expired since the tap occurred. 
         [0055]    The steps involved in a consumer attempting to make an authorized purchase from a merchant or retailer are shown in  FIG. 8 . The process flow starts at step  800  and progresses to step  802 , where the consumer inputs his/her account information into the phone  700  or, more specifically, the memory  710  within the phone  700 . It should be noted that, the cellular telephone  700  is just one of a myriad of electronic devices capable of use with the present invention and, therefore, this embodiment of the invention should not be limited to a cell phone configuration. 
         [0056]    In step  803 , the user places the device in a tap-verification state. This state-change can be performed by operation of a hard switch, soft buttons, or any other way of indicating to the device that the state should be entered. In step  804 , the owner  414  of the electronic device comes in close proximity with a POS system  400 . In step  806 , the consumer  414  taps their cellular telephone  700  to the payment terminal  400 , thereby creating an audible sound. Both the electronic device  700  and payment terminal  400  receive and record the time of the tapping sound in step  808 . From a security standpoint, the fact that both vibration detectors  408 ,  702  located in the POS system  400  and the cellular telephone  700 , respectively, hear the tapping sound and provide a subsequent comparison of the recorded times and their respective elapsed times to the time of comparison provides a novel mode of achieving secure authentication. Since the tapping creates a sound from the mechanical interaction of the cellular telephone  700  and POS system  400 , both sounds will have substantially identical timestamps and, in one embodiment, audio waveforms. In this embodiment, both the POS system  400  and the cellular telephone  700  capture the actual audio waveform of the tap. A subsequent comparison of this audio waveform can be used to differentiate a second device that was tapped at the same time, but not against the same surface  406 . 
         [0057]    Once the tapping is audibly captured, the cellular telephone  700 , in step  810 , sends the user account information and timestamp to the POS system  400  through antenna  704 . Optionally, the cellular telephone  700  can also transmit the audio signature it received at the time of the tap in step  810  as well. When the POS device  400  has both its own recorded timestamp and receives the timestamp and account information from the cellular telephone  700 , in step  812 , both timestamps are sent along with the user account information to an authorization service. The authorization service can be a comparison performed within the POS system  400  or can be carried out remotely at an account verifying entity  418 . Again, the comparison can also include a comparison of the audio signatures of both sides of the tap that were recorded in step  808 . 
         [0058]    At step  814 , the authorization service compares the two elapsed times since the tap occurred or, in some embodiments, the audible waveforms, with one being from the cellular telephone  700  and the other from the POS system  400 . The comparison step determines if the elapsed time or audio signals are the same, i.e., vary by no more than an acceptable error margin, e.g., 0.5%. Various techniques known to those skilled in the art may be used to characterize the two audio signals, such as intensity-over-time, frequency-domain spectra (e.g.: fast Fourier transform processing), or other techniques of signal analysis. This margin of error may account for the amount of time it takes to transmit and receive the elapsed time value between the card  100  and the POS system  400 . If the elapsed time is a match, then the process advances to step  816 , whereby the authorization service confirms the successful authorization to the merchant and applies the purchase to the account information provided. The transaction by the user completes at step  818 , where the request is confirmed by the bank. The process ends at step  824 . 
         [0059]    However, if at step  814  the authorization service determines that the two elapsed times vary from each other by more than the allowable variation, the transaction is denied at step  820 . For example, the audible nature of sound allows for its interception by someone or some piece of electronic theft equipment within range of the sound. However, the speed of sound creates a delay in a recorded audio signature when the sound is received subsequent to the tapping. This delay provides sufficient verification information for the authenticating service to differentiate the intercepted signal, post-tapping, from the user-authorized signal that was created simultaneous to the tapping. This security measure protects the account holder and issuer from unauthorized purchases. 
         [0060]    In addition, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, this denial will also trigger a notification, in step  822 , to the merchant and account holder of the attempted unauthorized purchase. By sending this notification, the merchant will not proceed with the purchase and the account holder will be put on notice of the thwarted unauthorized purchase on their account so s/he can take further action. Once this notification occurs, the process ends at step  824 . 
         [0061]    The heretofore mentioned tapping/confirming technology can be implemented in many other applications including, but not limited to, automobile key fobs, locker/safe devices, gap pumps, computer terminal access devices, door knobs, and many others. 
         [0062]    A transaction authentication system, device, method, and protocol has just been described that advantageously provides an added layer of security to economic transactions as well as to many other possible situations where access is limited to those with authorization.

Technology Category: 3