WO2000048107A1 - Wireless point of sale communication - Google Patents

Abstract

A converter (40) for wireless point of sale (POS) credit or debit card transactions includes a first modem (42) connected to a POS installation to receive card information and transaction information in land-line format. A CPU with programmed memory (44) identifies a CDPD IP address from the information received and converts the message to CDPD format. A second modem (46) communicates via CDPD network with a host computer that authorizes or declines authorization. The second modem (46) receives the authorization message via CDPD network, converts it to telephone land-line format and communicates it to the POS installation (34).

Description

WIRELESS POINT OF SALE COMMUNICATION Cross Reference to Related Applications Related provisional U.S. patent application Serial No. 60/120,121 of Michael W. Cardin, was filed February 12, 1999. Priority from that application is claimed here.

Specification

This invention relates to the wireless communication of data from a point of sale terminal, and more particularly to the wireless connection of point of sale data via CDPD protocol.

Background of the Invention A. The Credit/Debit Card

The credit and debit card industry provides merchants with payment processing services, such as credit, charge, and debit cards, and related industry services. It has grown rapidly in recent years because of the dramatically increased use of credit and debit cards, wider acceptance of "plastic," and faster and more reliable processing methods. In addition to the traditional providers of service, colleges, airlines, and many other institutions and industries have begun to issue their own credit cards. To raise funds or increase their business, they now aggressively solicit customers by telephone, mail, or the Internet. Many American mailboxes contain several credit card offers per week, and American dinner hours are often interrupted by telephone solicitations. Over 3.2 million merchants accept bank cards, and Americans purchased over $800 billion in goods and services in 1995. Since then, the rate of growth has been in double digits annually. Statistics show that credit card customers tend to buy more goods and services than they would if they were paying by cash or check, and each sale tends to be higher. Fast food chains report that the size of the average purchase increased by 120% when they began to accept credit or debit cards. B. How Transactions are Processed

The point of sale ("POS") electronic data terminal reads the magnet strip on the back of a credit or debit card and sends the encoded information to a processor (such as Visa or MasterCard) for authorization. An authorization code - e.g. accepted, declined, or reported stolen - is returned to the terminal, and a dual receipt is printed for customer signature if the card is accepted. Most electronically processed transactions are currently transmitted via land-lines - either public telephone or leased lines. The merchant "batches out" by sending the money electronically sent to him to the processor of choice at the end of the day, or whenever it is convenient to do so. The processor then deposits the funds electronically in the merchant's bank account. Any transactions involving invalid credit cards where no authorization was established at the time of purchase, are charged back to the merchant (and subtracted from the funds).

The merchant, of course, pays a fee for this service. The fee varies according to a number of factors, such as the average size of the purchase, the volume of business done by a merchant, and the type of transaction. Surcharges are applied to other than qualified transactions. Conventionally processed transactions suffer from the following shortcomings:

• Expense. The cost of installing a dedicated phone line is several hundred dollars in many cities. Monthly telephone bills average $30 to $40, and can range into the hundreds of dollars if the merchant is using a data cell phone adapter. Moreover, in some rapidly growing cities, not enough telephone lines are available on demand, and there may be a delay of months in getting a phone installed.

• Slowness of Transmission. Fast-food chains and other high-volume merchants have been hesitant to install credit/debit card terminals because a transaction may take up to 30 seconds to be processed, even under the best circumstances. During the Christmas season, on Mother's Day, and on other important holidays, the circuits are particularly busy and transmission is slow. At the busiest times, it may take many minutes to process a transaction.

• Lack of Access to Phone Lines. Vendors who sell their goods directly from a truck or golf cart and providers of services in tow trucks, cabs, limousines, and boats have not had access to credit/debit card terminals in the past. This is true, too, of vendors who sell food and drinks to spectators throughout a stadium, vendors at temporary stands at sporting events, street festivals, and the like, and most merchants who lease carts in malls. These merchants must then risk losses from accepting bad checks or credit and debit card payments without telephone authorization. C. Growth of the Wireless Industry

Wireless data networks cover an ever-growing number of regions nationwide, with service provided by Bell Atlantic, AT&T, NYNEX, GTE, Cellular One, and Ameritech. CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) technology is particularly well suited for processing transactions. Providing rapid and secure (encrypted) transmission of data, CDPD networks eliminate the need for expensive and slow land- line telephones. Authorization can be secured in approximately 5 seconds.

It is estimated that CDPD users will account for 65% of the $1.5 billion in revenues to be generated by the 4.2 million mobile users in 1999. American communications companies have spent approximately $100 billion nationally on

CDPD technology. In Pittsburgh alone, $525 million has been spent to construct 300 CDPD towers. This technology is expected to penetrate international markets very quickly, particularly in countries where land-lines and telephones are scarce and undependable. Clearly, a less expensive, faster point of sale communication device, free of dependence on phone lines, would be greatly advantageous.

Summary of the Invention This invention relates to a wireless "multipass" converter device and method for communicating point of sale transaction information via available wireless communication network using Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology.

In accordance with the device and method of this invention, a converter (the multipass box) interfaces between a conventional point of sale (POS) installation and the existing CDPD network. To communicate with the POS terminal, the converter responds to the POS terminal by emulating a phone line. The POS installation, for example, may be a POS terminal, a computer equipped with a card reader and modem or a multi-terminal installation served by a central computer. It converts information sent from the terminal to the protocol of the wireless network, and it makes the connection with a host computer via the wireless network. Upon receiving a reply via the wireless network, the converter of the invention converts information received from the host to conventional land-line modem signals that it supplies to the POS terminal. The POS terminal then acts accordingly, advising of acceptance or denial, and printing the usual receipt in the case of acceptance.

Preferably, the wireless network uses Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology. A first modem in the converter is linked to the POS terminal. It receives the identifying data from the credit card magnetic strip, the telephone number that the POS installation would call and the transaction data input by a retail clerk, for example. The converter includes a second modem for communicating with a host computer via the wireless network. Between these modems stands a CPU including a microprocessor and program containing Eprom. The POS installation can be connected to the converter by a wired connection.

A detector detects when the POS installation places an outgoing call in response to the swipe of a credit or debit card. Initially, a tone generator presents a dial tone to the POS device. Using wireless network IP addresses stored in memory, the CPU selects an IP address based on the telephone number or other identifying information communicated by the POS installation. Via the second modem, the converter conveys the identifying number or IP address, and information received from the POS installation to the host used by the credit or debit card company and retrieves from the host authorization or denial of authorization which is then converted by the converter company to a land-line phone communication and communicated to the POS installation via the first modem. The entire communication is exceedingly fast. The converter of the invention makes credit card usage available where there is no ready hookup to telephone lines. The converter requires no rewiring or programming of the POS terminal. In one preferred embodiment transaction time is reduced by avoiding sending the complete land-line telephone number to the converter from the POS terminal. The POS terminal is programmed to identify the particular authorizing entity to be called by sending just a one digit identifying number rather than the complete telephone number. The converter CPU uses this to look up the correct IP address in memory.

The above and further features of the invention will be better understood from the following Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment, taken into consideration with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a system of point of sale information transmission via CDPD using the converter of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration in block diagram form illustrating the major functional features of the converter of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a further block diagram showing the interconnection of the components further diagrammed in Figs. 4-11 ;

Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a central processing unit of the converter of Figs. 1 -3 ;

Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a memory of the converter of Figs. 1-3; Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a line modem of the converter of Figs.

1-3;

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a detector used in the converter of Figs. 1-3; Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of the power supply section of the converter of Figs. 1-3;

Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a SEPIC of the detector of Figs. 1-3; Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a CDPD modem of the converter of Figs. 1-3;

Fig. 1 1 is a schematic block diagram of a dial tone modulation frequency section of the converter of Figs. 1-3; and

Fig. 12 (a) - (g) is a flow chart illustrative of the programming of the central processing unit of Fig. 3.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment In Fig. 1, a point of sale system 30 includes either a computer 32 with attached credit card reader 33 or a point of sale (POS) terminal 34. The card reader 33 can be a known card reading device, used to read credit or debit cards. These cards and any cards used in similar manner in commercial transactions are referred to on occasion here as "value cards." Both of the computer 32 and terminal 34 have internal modems (not shown) communicating with a multipass converter 40 in accordance with this invention. An input line to the converter 40 connects to the RJl 1 jack at the back of the computer 32 or POS terminal 34. Because the converter 40 receives ordinary RJl 1 output communications, there is no hardware change necessary to the computer, its attached card reader or to the POS terminal. Neither does the converter 40 of the invention require any software change in either the computer 32 or the terminal 34. The converter 40 communicates with a host computer 50 via a CDPD network indicated by the CDPD cloud 60. The host computer 50 communicates with a credit or banking institution 70 in conventional fashion, and returns authorization (or denial of authorization) via the CDPD cloud to the converter 40. The converter 40 converts the communication and CDPD protocol to typical land-line communication and conveys that to the attached computer 30 or terminal 34. Instead of an 11 to 20 second elapsed time (and much more on busy days and holidays) typical of these transaction communications using an ordinary land-line, the converter 40 sees to the completion of the transaction in approximately 7 to 9 seconds. Whereas ordinary business phone charges average $40 a month, the converter 40 is expected to cost the user approximately $ 15 per month. The CDPD communication is encrypted, so communication is actually more secure than via land-lines. As seen in Fig. 2, the main functional components of the converter 40 are a land-line modem 42 that communicates via the RJl 1 jack of the terminal or computer, a central processing unit 44 programmed to convert land-line communications to CDPD and vice versa, and a CDPD modem 46 adapted to receive and send CDPD communications. It should be noted that the multipass converter 40 is not limited to use with either a point of sale terminal such as that indicated as 34 or the PC 32, but may communicate with any value card reading device or value card information transmitting device equipped with a telecommunications modem. For example, a laptop computer, either Apple or IBM-compatible, can transmit the credit card information to the converter 40, which will then convert the land-line communication to the CDPD protocol.

Turning to Fig. 3, the interconnection of the several sections of the converter 40 that are shown schematically in Figs. 4-1 1 include the land-line modem 42 shown in greater detail in Fig. 6, the CPU 44 shown in Fig. 4, the CDPD modem 46 shown in Fig. 10, a detector circuit 51 of Fig. 7, a memory section 60 of Fig. 5, a DTMF (Dial Tone Modulation Frequency) section 63 of Fig. 1 1 , and a power section shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

In Figs. 4-11, elements such as the gates 74HCT32 and inverters 74HCT14 of Fig. 4 are various "glue logic" elements used to tie together the integrated circuits of the converter along with other conventionally connected capacitors, resistors, etc. As seen in Fig. 3, the CPU 40 has dual serial ports. One of these ports talks only to the CDPD modem 46 of Fig. 10, the remaining port communicates with the land-line modem 42 of Fig. 6. The modem 42 of Fig. 6 receives tones from the point of sale device at terminals 461 when the point of sale device places a call in response to either a swiping of a card or the manual entry of data by a clerk. As seen in Fig. 3 and in further detail in Fig. 7, the detector circuit 51 is connected at 512 to the RJl 1 port 53 (Fig. 7) of the converter, which in turn is connected to the RJl 1 port of the point of sale device. A detector 513 of the detector circuit 51 recognizes the voltage decrease at the Ring line 514 signifying an off-hook condition in the POS device and signals the CPU via the terminal 511 labeled "DETECT. " Upon receipt of the DETECT signal, the CPU recognizes that a transaction is about to occur and readies the converter. When, however, an off-hook condition in the point of sale device is not signaled, the CPU regularly polls the CDPD modem 46 for registration status. The CPU 40 shown in Fig. 4 includes a microcontroller 401. The microcontroller shown operates on a multiplexed address and data bus. A latch 403 is used to assemble a first 8 bits of a 16 bit address AO-A15 from the bus as shown. The microcontroller 401 handles all data transfers between the CDPD modem 46 and the POS land-line modem 42. A pair of ICs 405 and 406 are 2 to 4 line decoders, of which only one, the DC 405, is in use here. Its inputs are connected to address bits A4 and 5, and it is enabled by address bit A15. Its outputs are inputs to the two OR gates 631 and 632 of the tone DTMF circuit 63 of Fig. 11. The microcontroller 401 operates under a program stored as firm ware in an EPROM 601 (Fig. 5). The EPROM 601 forms, with a static RAM 603, the memory 60 illustrated in Fig. 3. The EPROM 601 is a 32K EPROM containing the operating program explained with respect to the flow chart of Figs. 12(a) - 12(g). The RAM 603 is a 32K RAM used for all temporary data while the power is on to the converter device. The land-line modem 46 of Fig. 6 communicates all POS communications between the embedded controller and the POS device's own land-line modem (not shown). Likewise, the CDPD modem of Fig. 10 handles all communications between the CDPD network and the CPU 44. Additionally shown in Fig. 10, a bank of LED's 70 serve as status indicators.

A DTMF detector 63 can retrieve the phone number being dialed by the POS device, which is then matched with an IP address of a host as described. More preferable still, to save time, the POS device is programmed to output a single digit number for each card brand, such as Visa, Mastercard or American Express. A dial tone progress chip 633 is used to emulate all phone line dial tones. A set of dip switches 637 are provided for use for multiple programming purposes.

Stored in memory in the converter are the appropriate IP addresses to be reached via the CDPD link. They correspond to hosts used by the various credit card companies. The converter responds to an appropriate phone number or single digit number dialed by the POS terminal 34, looks up the host IP number and transmits the CDPD dial command with that IP number to the CDPD modem which is in command mode. The CDPD modem responds to the dial command by changing to its data mode and forwarding the IP address for connection to that address via the CDPD network. The appropriate number from the POS terminal to which the converter responds may be the telephone number stored in the POS in connection with individual credit card companies such as Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, or more conveniently, a shorter number such as the single digit can be utilized to indicate one of these companies, and to trigger the transmission to that company's host. POS terminals are equipped to have these numbers changed at the keyboard, so that when a credit card company's number changes, that change can be made by the merchant. Using this ability, the POS terminal can simply, and more quickly, provide a single numeral to the converter 40 which can then recognize a Visa, Mastercard, AMEX card or other debit or value card. Likewise, the converter can be programmed to immediately use that single digit rather than the 7-digit phone number of the credit card company for the purpose of selecting from its memory the number to be used for connection to the host.

Turning to Fig. 12a, after a series of initialization steps, of the serial communication ports, timers and other components in conventional fashion, as indicated at 121, the CDPD modem is queried at 123 to determine if it is registered and the POS terminal is checked to determine if it is off-hook. CDPD modem registration is provided for valid modems authorized for communication over the CDPD network.

If either the CDPD registration check or off-hook status is negative, the program retries as indicated at 125. If both queries are responded to in the affirmative, however, a dial tone is generated, at 127, and communicated to the POS terminal. The converter listens for a DTMF tone at 130. If the DTMF tone is not detected, the converter tries again at 131. After a long time-out period or on determination that the POS terminal is on hook, the converter returns again to start over at point A via the yes output of the decision block 131. If a DTMF tone is detected at 130, the dial tone generated by the converter is turned off, at 134, and the phone number (or other identifier number) is detected. Again at 137, a DTMF tone is checked for. If it is detected, again a DTMF number is looked for at 139 and a short time reset timer is checked. If either a short time-out or on hook condition (no DTMF tone) is detected then at 141 , the program progresses to block 144, otherwise it tries again, returning along line 143.

At 144, the dial tone emulation is turned off. At decision block 146, the converter determines whether the communication mode has been set either for connection via the CDPD network to a host, either one that requires an initialization exchange or handshake (TCP) or one, like Nova, that gives no response. If the predial connection setting by a dip switch is detected, then at 148, a TCP or UDP connection is made.

At 150, the leadline modem 42 (Fig. 3) is set to answer mode, enabling it to originate a message to the POS terminal. At block 152, the connection with the POS terminal is checked for suitability for communication. If it is not, no carrier is detected, and a 200 ms timer is reset, at 154. The POS connection is again checked for off-hook condition at 156. If the POS terminal is off-hook, then the program returns to block 152 along the line as indicated by line 157, the suitability of the connection is again tested at 152, if the connection is determined to be stable for 200 ms at 158 the communication with the POS terminal proceeds. On the other hand, if the POS terminal is found no longer to be off-hook, at decision block 156, then the line modem 42 is turned off at 160 and the program moves to point B, Fig. 12d.

If the POS land-line modem connection has been made and is stable, then at 162, the land-line modem 42 is prepared to transmit and receive data. Next, at 164, buffers of the two modems are reset. The POS off-hook/on-hook condition is again checked at 166. If the POS terminal is no longer off-hook or is still on hook (as previously detected at 160 (Fig. 12c)) then the program proceeds to point C.

If the POS terminal has remained off-hook, the host is dialed at 168 unless predialed at 148 (Fig. 12C). At 170 (Fig. 12C), the connection to the host via the CDPD network is checked. If good, the program proceeds to block 172, if not, it proceeds to point C (Fig. 12g). At 172, the setting is checked of the switch that determines whether the converter is to communicate with a host requiring a handshake or one, like Nova, that does not. If a handshake is required, an inquiry is sent, at 174, to the POS terminal. If not, the program continues to decision block 176 (Fig. 12f). The condition of the POS and CDPD connection is checked at 176. If either the POS terminal is on hook or there is no CDPD connection, then the program continues the disconnect sequence of Fig. 12g.

However, if the POS terminal and CDPD connections are intact, the program checks for data from the POS terminal at 178. If present, the data are sent to the host via the CDPD network at 180 and the program loops back via line 181 to the decision block 176. If no data are present from the POS terminal, the program checks whether any data are present from the host at 182. If not the program loops back to the decision block 176 via line 183. If data are available from the CDPD network at 182, they are sent to the POS terminal at block 184. The program then loops back to decision block 176 via lines 185 and 181. Eventually, the POS terminal will hang up and that will bring the program out of the loop of Fig. 12f to the disconnect routine of Fig. 12g.

At 188, the CDPD modem hangs up if no communication is detected from the host. At decision block 190, it is determined whether the CDPD has hung up or a 15 to 30 second time- out has recurred. If not, the program repeats the procedure until either the host hangs up or the time-out occurs. If CDPD disconnect or time-out has occurred, the program checks at 192 whether the POS terminal is on hook. If not, the program repeats this check until the POS is determined to have hung up. At which time, the relevant LED indicators are turned off and the CDPD modem is turned off at 194. The program returns to point A, Fig. 12a to await the next transaction.

While a specific, preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departure from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A point of sale (POS) converter device for effecting wireless POS communications, including: (a) means for connecting the converter device to a POS installation, (b) means for communicating with a wireless communication network, (c) means for telephonically communicating with the POS installation, (d) means for converting information input by the POS installation to a protocol used by the wireless network, and (e) means for converting information received from the wireless network to a protocol used by the POS installation.

2, The point of sale converter according to claim 1 , wherein the means for telephonically communicating comprises means for emulating a phone line in communication with the POS installation.

3. The point of sale converter according to claim 1 , wherein the means for converting information input by the POS installation to a protocol used by the wireless network comprises means for converting the information input to a Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) protocol.

4. The point of sale converter according to claim 1 , wherein the means for connecting the converter device to a POS installation includes a modem for receiving and transmitting telephone communications from and to the POS installation.

5. The point of sale converter according to claim 4, wherein the means for communicating with a wireless network includes a further modem receiving and transmitting telephone communications from and to the wireless network.

6. The point of sale converter according to claim 5, wherein the further modem is a Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) modem.

7. The point of sale converter according to claim 4, wherein the means for connecting the converter device to a POS installation comprises a jack for wire communication with the POS installation and a detector circuit operative to detect when the POS installation places an outgoing telephone call.

8. The point of sale converter according to claim 1 , wherein the means for converting information comprises CPU having a microcontroller with programmed memory connected thereto.

9. The point of sale converter according to claim 8, further comprising memory locations storing IP addresses used to reach value card company hosts.

10. The point of sale converter according to claim 9, wherein the CPU is operatively connected to the means for connecting the converter device to a POS installation, the programmed memory including programming for responding to an indication of what value card is being used in a transaction at the POS installation to retrieve the IP address for the host to be used.

11. The point of sale converter according to claim 9, wherein the programming for responding to an indication of what value card is being used comprises a routine for responding to a land-line telephone number dialed by the POS installation to identify a wireless IP address for a host.

12. The point of sale converter according to claim 9, wherein the programming for responding to an indication of what value card is being used comprises a routine for responding to a number shorter than a land-line telephone number dialed by the POS installation to identify a wireless IP address for a host.

13. The point of sale converter according to claim 10, wherein the means for telephonically communicating comprises means for emulating a phone line.

14. The point of sale converter according to claim 13, wherein the means for emulating a phone line comprises a dial tone generator, and the programmed memory contains: (a) a first routine for turning off the dial tone of the dial tone generator upon recognition of an incoming telephone call from the POS, (b) a second routine for retrieving the telephone number dialed by the POS installation, (c) a third routine for detecting, converting to a wireless format and forwarding, via the wireless, network information communicated to the converter device by the POS installation, and (d) a fourth routine for detecting, converting and forwarding to the POS installation, via the means for connecting the converter device to a POS installation, information communicated to the converter by the wireless network.

15. A point of sale (POS) value card system including means for retrieving information from a value card, means for retrieving a wireless network IP address in response to a portion of the retrieved information, means for connecting to a host computer via a wireless network based on the IP address retrieved, means for forwarding additional information including identifying information and transaction information to the host via the wireless network, and means for converting received information from the host computer via the wireless network to transaction authorizing or authorization denial information.

16. A point of sale (POS) converter device comprising a first port, a first modem adapted to communicate telephone messages in land-line format, a CPU with memory programmed to identify a wireless network IP address based on information received in a telephone communication received by the first modem and to generate messages in wireless network format based on further information received by the first modem, a second modem adapted to communicate said messages via the wireless network, to an identified IP address, and the memory being further programmed to convert a message received via the wireless network from the IP address into a telephone message in land-line format and to cause the first modem to communicate the message thus converted.

17. A method of communicating point of sale information, including, (a) detecting the communication of a transaction credit request, (b) retrieving information encoded on a value card, (c) retrieving transaction information relating to a commercial transaction, (d) connecting to a wireless network, (e) formatting the information encoded on the value card and the transaction information for communication via the wireless network in a wireless communication, (f) forwarding the wireless communication, (g) attending the wireless network for a response, (h) receiving a response from the wireless network, (i) terminating the connection to the wireless network, and (j) completing the transaction by either approval or denial of credit.

18. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 17, wherein steps (a) and (b) further comprise receiving information in land-line telephone format, the method further comprising the step of converting the land-line telephone format of the information received to wireless network format.

19. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 18, further comprising responding to a communication in the format of a land- line telephone call from a POS installation having a value card reader, and communicating the response received from the wireless network to the POS installation in the land-line telephone format.

20. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 19, wherein the step of responding to a communication in the format of a telephone call from a POS installation includes emulating a telephone line.

21. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 20, wherein the step of emulating a telephone line includes providing a dial tone to the POS installation and interrupting the dial tone upon detection of a communication from the POS installation.

22. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 20, further comprising selecting a wireless network IP address based upon information provided from the POS installation.

23. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 22, wherein selecting a wireless network IP address comprises selecting an IP address in response to a land-line telephone number dialed by the POS installation.

24. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 22, wherein selecting a wireless network IP address comprises selecting an IP address in response to a number shorter than a land-line telephone number dialed by the POS installation.

25. The method of communicating point of sale information according to claim 24, wherein the number shorter than a land-line telephone number is a one digit number.