WO2006115842A2

WO2006115842A2 - Rfid and magnetic swipe initiated mobile download

Info

Publication number: WO2006115842A2
Application number: PCT/US2006/014129
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colin Rand
Original assignee: Kaplan, Mark, Mitchell
Priority date: 2005-04-22
Filing date: 2006-04-14
Publication date: 2006-11-02
Also published as: WO2006115842A3

Abstract

A method of initiating a mobile download is provided that includes transmitting a signal by an identification device, receiving by a reader the signal, communicating by the reader to a transaction server, and transmitting content wirelessly by the transaction server to a mobile device. The method of may further include receiving a message at the mobile device and selecting an embedded link in the message by the mobile device. The selecting of the embedded link may cause the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device. The content may be a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, an audio clip, or a video clip. A location of the reader may determine the content to be transmitted. A method of crediting an account is provided. A system for initiating a mobile download is provided. A computer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for a general purpose computer is provided. A method of initiating a mobile download is provided.

Description

RFID AND MAGNETIC SWIPE INITIATED MOBILE DOWNLOAD RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/674,243 filed April 22, 2005, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to initiating mobile downloads. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of operating an RFID interface or magnetic swipe reader for initiating a download to a mobile device or mobile telephone. BACKGROUND Radio frequency ID (RFID) tags may be used for tracking stock or other items (for instance, packages), and operate by passing the item in the region of a scanner. The scanner creates an electromagnetic field which interacts with the RFID tag causing the RFID tag to emit a radio signal. The radio signal emitted by the RFID tag may give various information, including a serial number indicating the identity of the item that has just been scanned. Mobile telephones are conventional, as are mobile phone originated SMS (Short Message Service) signals. SMS signals conventionally include a text message. However, these systems are distinct and have not been integrated to provide users with a seamless, convenient and efficient shopping experience. Thus, a need exists to integrate technology to provide a more efficient shopping experience. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method of initiating a mobile download is provided that includes transmitting a signal by an identification device, receiving by a reader the signal, communicating by the reader to a transaction server, and transmitting content wirelessly by the transaction server to a mobile device. The method of may further include receiving a message at the mobile device and selecting an embedded link in the message by the mobile device. The selecting of the embedded link may cause the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device. The selecting of the embedded link may cause the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device only for one of a predetermined number of times and a limited time. The identification device may include a radio-frequency identification device and the transmitting of the signal by the identification device may be in response to a stimulating transmission sent by the reader. The content may be a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, an audio clip, or a video clip. A location of the reader may determine the content to be transmitted. The signal transmitted by the identification device may include an identifier and the identifier may be associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server. The method may include associating by a user the identifier of the identification device with the mobile device, and communicating by the transaction server to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content. The signal transmitted by the identification device may be unique and encrypted. The method may include acquiring the identification device by the user. A method of crediting an account is provided that includes transmitting in response to an offer a message by a mobile device to a base station, receiving by the base station the message, communicating by the base station to a transaction server, and crediting an account associated with an identification device in an amount determined by the offer. The account may be credited with one of a dollar amount and at least one loyalty point. The account may be one of a credit account, a debit account, and a PayPal account. A system for initiating a mobile download is provided that includes an identification device adapted to transmit a signal, a reader adapted to receive the signal and transmit a communication in response to receiving the signal, a transaction server adapted to receive the communication from the reader and transmit a wireless transmission of content in response to receiving the communication, and a mobile device adapted to receive the wireless transmission of the content from the transaction server. The reader may be adapted to transmit a stimulating transmission, and the identification device may be adapted to transmit the signal in response to the stimulating transmission. The content may be one of a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, and a song. The signal transmitted by the identification device may include an identifier, and the identifier may be associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server. A user may associate the identifier of the identification device with the mobile device, and the system may include a mobile device billing server adapted to receive debit information related to a purchase of the content from the transaction server. A computer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for a general purpose computer is provided. The set of instructions include storing an identifier associated with a telephone number of the mobile device, receiving from a reader a signal including the identifier, the signal being received by the reader from a radio-frequency identification device, and transmitting content wirelessly to a mobile device. A location of the reader determines the content to be transmitted, and the content is a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, an audio clip, or a video clip. The set of instructions may include sending a message including an embedded link to the mobile device, and receiving a selection of the embedded link from the mobile device. The selecting of the embedded link may cause the content to be wirelessly transmitted to the mobile device. The set of instructions may include communicating to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content. The transmitting of the content wirelessly to the mobile device may be limited to one of a predetermined number of times and a limited time. A method of initiating a mobile download is provided that includes swiping a magnetic card in a reader, receiving by the reader an identifying signal, communicating by the reader to a transaction server, and transmitting content wirelessly by the transaction server to a mobile device. The method may include receiving a message at the mobile device, and selecting an embedded link in the message by the mobile device. The selecting of the embedded link may cause the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device. A location of the reader may determine the content to be transmitted. The identifier may be associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server. The method may include associating by a user the identifying signal with the mobile device, and communicating by the transaction server to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention innovation creates a new process by which location based activities activate mobile downloads using radio frequency identification. The method is based on having consumers carry an RFID card, that when activated sends a series of messages that result in the consumer receiving content or applications on their mobile phone. Additionally, the process can work in the opposite direction, where the consumer sends a message from their mobile phone over the carrier network triggering credits or loyalty points being added to their RFID card account. The process by which this innovation is enabled is diagramed in three steps. First, the consumer acquires the RFID enabled card (Figure 1) in a retail location, via online, or by another distribution mechanism. The RFID card is associated with a unique identification number. Then the RFID is used to interact with a reader, and finally the reader initiates a server to download content to a mobile device. These and other features and aspects of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the following detailed description and figures. This system enables a consumer to interact with a single system seamlessly moving across different communication channels receiving medium specific messages. A description of the mobile transaction system, its interfaces and major system and sub components, follows. The consumer activates the RFID card (Figure 2) using the online registration system. This registration process collects the consumer's mobile phone number and associates it with the unique identification number on the RFID card. Also, the registration process establishes the consumers preferred method of billing, either credit card, services like Paypal, or via charges appearing on their mobile phone account. Once the RFID card has been established with a consumer account, the consumer is then able to use the card for location based activities. The process for activating the location based system (Figure 3) starts with the consumer moving their RFID card within range of an RFID reader. The RFID reader captures the unique, encrypted code from the embedded RFID chip on the consumer card, and transmits this data to the local server. The local server transmits a message over the internet to the application host server, with information about which program, event, or location of the reader and the consumer identification number. The application server then initiates transmission of the appropriate content to the consumer's mobile phone. This content can be mobile wallpapers, ring tones, audio clips, video clips, mobile applications or any other type of mobile content. The transmission begins with the charging of the consumer account if they have signup for credit card billing, or else with packaging the content in SMS, WAP Push, MMS or similar delivery mechanism and sending it to the carrier interoperability center. The interoperability center is then responsible for routing the packaged content to the correct mobile carrier network, upon which it is transmitted to the consumer mobile device. At this point the consumer will have received the product that the RFID card activated. The RFID interface for a server may provide a location-based download for a user having an RFID which is associated with a user profile, user account, and/or payment plan. The user may initiate a purchase by arranging the RFID in proximity to an RFID interface (for instance a scanner/reader). The RFID interface may then inititate the purchasing operation by sending the unique RFID tag and selected item to a server. The application of this process enables a new generation of mobile purchasing, location based activities and loyalty programs. Some applications of this technology include uses in movie theaters, stadiums, scavenger hunts or consumer good loyalty programs. An extension of this exemplary system may include use of a magnetic stripe (also referred to herein as a magnetic strip or magnetic swipe) to activate a download to a mobile device. This embodiment of the RJFID to Mobile download innovation is to extend usage to include magnetic stripe technology. In this scenario, a consumer would use a magnetic stripe enabled card to activate the chain of processing that would result in the download of mobile content to the consumer's mobile phone. The system and method of the present invention may be adapted to either RFID technology or magnetic swipe technology. The RFID interface provides a mechanism by which the transaction server receives messages directly or via an intermediate server connected to an RFID reader. The RFID reader is able to transmit unique, encrypted consumer identifications to the transaction server to indicate the consumer's participation in a given mobile campaign. The participation could include registration for a mobile program, purchase of a mobile product, or some other similar feature. Alternatively, instead of an RFID reader, a magnetic swipe reader could be seamlessly interchanged. The credit card interface allows the transaction server to place credits and debits on major credit cards via a credit card processing gateway. The PayPal interface allows the transaction server to place credits and debits using the PayPal service. The following major components may be used in the system, including mobile messaging and connectivity. The mobile messaging and connectivity component will provide the interfaces to SMSC, WAP Push and MMSC systems. Each of these systems is connected to a mobile phone interoperability and messaging system that provides cross carrier messaging. Additionally, this mobile connectivity component provides the interface for the premium billing capabilities for mobile messaging. This component also provides the link to the WAP gateway for mobile web browsing. Asset hosting for the present invention may be provided in any number of different manners. The mobile asset hosting component provides mobile phones access to the mobile content that has been requested. Upon receiving a WAP Push message the consumer will follow an embedded link to the mobile content. This content will only be available for a limited number of downloads and a limited time. In addition to images and applications, other types of multimedia assets will be available for download through the system. These can be audio or video, either clips of streaming. Additionally, the present invention provides for an article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code contained within implementing one or more modules to aid in the purchase of mobile content download initiated from an interactive web advertisement. Furthermore, the present invention includes a computer program code-based product, which is a storage medium having program code stored therein which can be used to instruct a computer to perform any of the methods associated with the present invention. The computer storage medium includes any of, but is not limited to, the following: CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic tape, optical disc, hard drive, floppy disk, ferroelectric memory, flash memory, ferromagnetic memory, optical storage, charge coupled devices, magnetic or optical cards, smart cards, EEPROM, -EPROM, RAM, ROM, DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any other appropriate static or dynamic memory or data storage devices. The above enhancements are implemented in various computing environments. For example, the present invention may be implemented on a conventional IBM PC or equivalent, multi-nodal system (e.g., LAN) or networking system (e.g., Internet, WWW, wireless web). All programming and data related thereto are stored in computer memory, static or dynamic, and may be retrieved by the user in any of: conventional computer storage, display (i.e., CRT) and/or hardcopy (i.e., printed) formats. The programming of the present invention may be implemented by one of skill in the art of wireless applications and web-based programming. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the RFID may trigger a second authentication mechanism, either by interactive voice response (IVR), acknowledgement or sending of a short message via SMS, or any other appropriate software application. In this manner, the user may provide a second credential of authorization. For example, the user may provide a secret identification number (a personal identification number, e.g. a PIN), a voice sample, or access to another biometric. The PIN or other biometric may then be used to authenticate the presence and/or authorization of the user with respect to the use of the RFID and the purchase initiated by the RFID or other means. In a further exemplary embodiment, the fulfillment of the product may come either as a digital download to the consumer device, or, especially but not exclusively when used with a second factor authentication mechanism, may come in the form of a physical product delivered to an address on record with the system. In further alternative embodiments, the fulfillment may be in the form of a bundle of a digital download and a physical product, or in the form of a physical product delivered in person. This application discusses specific embodiments of the present invention. The specific features described herein may be used in some embodiments, but not in others, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the foregoing disclosure. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrative examples do not define the metes and bounds of the invention. For example, the present invention should not be limited by software/program, computing environment, or specific computing hardware.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A method of initiating a mobile download, comprising: transmitting a signal by an identification device; receiving by a reader the signal; communicating by the reader to a transaction server; and transmitting content wirelessly by the transaction server to a mobile device associated with the identification device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a message at the mobile device; and selecting an embedded link in the message by the mobile device; wherein the selecting of the embedded link causes the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting of the embedded link causes the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device only for one of a predetermined number of times and a limited time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the identification device includes a radio-frequency identification device; and the transmitting of the signal by the identification device is in response to a stimulating transmission sent by the reader.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is one of a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, an audio clip, and a video clip.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a location of the reader determines the content to be transmitted.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein: the signal transmitted by the identification device includes an identifier; and the identifier is associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: associating by a user the identifier of the identification device with the mobile device; and communicating by the transaction server to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the signal transmitted by the identification device is encrypted.

10. A method of crediting an account, comprising: transmitting in response to an offer a message by a mobile device to a base station; receiving by the base station the message; communicating by the base station to a transaction server; and crediting an account associated with an identification device in an amount determined by the offer.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the account is credited with one of a dollar amount and at least one loyalty point.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the account is one of a credit account, a debit account, a PayPal account, and a loyalty program.

13. A system for initiating a mobile download, comprising: an identification device adapted to transmit a signal; a reader adapted to receive the signal and transmit a communication in response to receiving the signal; a transaction server adapted to receive the communication from the reader and transmit a wireless transmission of content in response to receiving the communication; and a mobile device adapted to receive the wireless transmission of the content from the transaction server.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein: the reader is adapted to transmit a stimulating transmission; and the identification device is adapted to transmit the signal in response to the stimulating transmission.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the content is one of a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, and a song.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein: the signal transmitted by the identification device includes an identifier; and the identifier is associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising: a mobile device billing server adapted to receive debit information related to a purchase of the content from the transaction server; wherein a user associates the identifier of the identification device with the mobile device.

18. A computer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for a general purpose computer, the set of instructions comprising: storing an identifier associated with a telephone number of the mobile device; receiving from a reader a signal including the identifier, the signal being received by the reader from a radio-frequency identification device; and transmitting content wirelessly to a mobile device; wherein a location of the reader determines the content to be transmitted; and wherein the content is one of a ringtone, an application, a wallpaper image, a picture, an audio clip, and a video clip.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, the set of instructions further comprising: sending a message including an embedded link to the mobile device; and receiving a selection of the embedded link from the mobile device; wherein the selecting of the embedded link causes the content to be wirelessly transmitted to the mobile device.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, the set of instructions further comprising: communicating to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content; wherein the transmitting of the content wirelessly to the mobile device is limited to one of a predetermined number of times and a limited time.

21. A method of initiating a mobile download, comprising: swiping a magnetic card in a reader; receiving by the reader an identifying signal; communicating by the reader to a transaction server; and transmitting content wirelessly by the transaction server to a mobile device.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving a message at the mobile device; and selecting an embedded link in the message by the mobile device; wherein the selecting of the embedded link causes the content to be wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to the mobile device.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein a location of the reader determines the content to be transmitted.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the identifier is associated with a telephone number of the mobile device stored in the transaction server.

25. The method of claim 21 , further comprising: associating by a user the identifying signal with the mobile device; and communicating by the transaction server to a mobile device billing server debit information related to a purchase of the content.

26. A method comprising: transmitting a signal by an identification device; receiving the signal by a reader electronically communicating with a purchase server; authenticating by the purchase server a user; communicating by the server to a transaction server; and providing a fulfillment to the user.

27. The method of claim 26, where the fulfillment is at least one of: content wirelessly transmitted by the transaction server to a mobile device associated with the identification device, and an article delivered to one of the user and an address associated with the identification device.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the authenticating of the user includes at least one of: interactive voice response; at least one of sending and acknowledging a text message on the mobile device; providing by the user a secret identification number; measuring a voiceprint of the user; measuring a fingerprint of the user; and measuring a biometric of the user.