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US 2018/0005223 A1Published application
Preliminary enablement of transaction processing circuitry
AssigneeSquare, Inc.
InventorsDavid Terra, Koun Han, Michael Wells White, Michael Dahn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A payment terminal includes multiple chips that perform different processing functions within the payment terminal. A terminal chip performs general functionality of the payment terminal while a transaction chip communicates with payment devices such as chip cards and NFC payment devices and processes payment information. The transaction chip may operate in a low power during which communications and processing are limited, and a transaction processing mode in which transactions may be processed. The transaction chip may transfer between these modes based on wake-up messages provided by other devices or circuitry of the payment terminal.
Claims33
A system for exchanging electronic payment information between a payment reader and a chip card or wireless payment device, the system comprising:
- a chip card interface configured to receive the chip card and exchange the electronic payment information with the chip card;
- a wireless payment interface configured to communicate wirelessly to exchange the electronic payment information with the wireless payment device;
- a transaction chip configured to operate in a low-power mode and in a transaction processing mode, wherein the transaction chip is configured to exchange payment information with the chip card interface or the wireless payment interface during the transaction processing mode, and wherein the transaction chip comprises:
- a transaction processing unit coupled to the chip card interface and the wireless payment interface, wherein the transaction processing unit is configured to execute wake-up instructions and transaction processing instructions;
- and
- a transaction processing memory configured to store the wake-up instructions and the transaction processing instructions, wherein the wake-up instructions cause the transaction processing unit to cause the transaction chip to enter the transaction processing mode in response to a wake-up request, wherein the transaction processing instructions cause the transaction processing unit to receive the electronic payment information during the transaction processing mode in response to a request for payment information, and wherein the wake-up instructions cause the transaction processing unit to return to the low-power mode from the transaction processing mode if the request for payment information is not received within a threshold wake-up period;
- and
- a payment reader chip coupled to the transaction chip, wherein the payment reader chip comprises:
- a reader processing unit coupled to the transaction processing unit, wherein the reader processing unit is configured to execute reader instructions;
- a communication interface configured to receive a wake-up signal as a wake-up message from a merchant device and to receive a request to process payment from the merchant device, wherein the wake-up message is based on the progress of a payment transaction at the merchant device;
- and
- a reader memory configured to store the reader instructions, wherein the reader instructions cause the reader processing unit to identify a wake-up type based on the wake-up message, identify a wake-up rule based on the wake-up type, send the wake-up request to the transaction processing unit in response to a comparison of the wake-up signal to the wake-up rule, receive the request to process payment, and transmit the request for payment information to the transaction processing unit in response to the request to process payment.
9 more elements
A payment terminal, comprising:
- a payment interface configured to receive payment information from a payment device;
- a transaction chip configured to operate in a low-power mode and in a transaction processing mode, wherein the transaction chip is configured to exchange the payment information with the payment device during the transaction processing mode, and wherein the transaction chip comprises:
- a transaction processing unit coupled to the payment interface, wherein the transaction processing unit is configured to execute wake-up instructions and transaction processing instructions;
- and
- a transaction processing memory configured to store the wake-up instructions and the transaction processing instructions, wherein the wake-up instructions cause the transaction processing unit to cause the transaction chip to enter the transaction processing mode in response to a wake-up request and wherein the transaction processing instructions cause the transaction processing unit to receive the electronic payment information during the transaction processing mode;
- and
- a payment terminal chip coupled to the transaction chip, wherein the payment terminal chip comprises:
- a terminal processing unit coupled to the transaction processing unit, wherein the terminal processing unit is configured to execute terminal instructions;
- a communication interface;
- and
- a terminal memory configured to store the terminal instructions, wherein the terminal instructions cause the terminal processing unit to receive a wake-up message, identify wake-up information from the wake-up message, identify a wake-up type based on the wake-up message, identify a wake-up rule based on the wake-up type, and send the wake-up request to the transaction processing unit based on a comparison of the wake-up information to the wake-up rule.
8 more elements
A payment information processing method, comprising:
- receiving, at a terminal processing unit of a payment terminal, a wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit of the payment terminal, wake-up information from the wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit of the payment terminal, a wake-up type based on the wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit of the payment terminal, a wake-up rule based on the wake-up type;
- providing, from the terminal processing unit, a wake-up request to a transaction processing unit of the payment terminal based on a comparison of the wake-up information to the wake-up rule;
- entering, at the transaction processing unit, a transaction processing mode in response to the wake-up request, wherein the transaction processing unit is configured to operate in a low-power mode in the transaction processing mode, and wherein the transaction processing unit is configured to exchange payment information with a payment device while operating in the transaction processing mode;
- receiving, at a payment interface of the payment terminal during the transaction processing mode of the transaction processing unit, payment information from a payment device in response to the a request for payment information;
- processing the payment information at the transaction processing unit;
- providing the processed payment information to the terminal processing unit;
- and
- transmitting the processed payment information via the a communication interface.
8 more elements
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by one or more processing units, cause the one or more processing units to perform operations comprising:
- receiving, at a terminal processing unit, a wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit, wake-up information from the wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit, a wake-up type based on the wake-up message;
- identifying, at the terminal processing unit, a wake-up rule based on the wake-up type;
- providing from the terminal processing unit, a wake-up request to a transaction processing unit based on a comparison of the wake-up information to the wake-up rule;
- entering a transaction processing mode at the transaction processing unit in response to the wake-up request, wherein the transaction processing unit is configured to operate in a transaction processing mode and a low-power mode, and wherein payment information is exchanged with a payment device while the transaction processing unit is operating in the transaction processing mode;
- receiving, at the transaction processing unit via a payment interface, payment information from a payment device in response to the request for payment information while the transaction processing unit is operating in the transaction processing mode;
- processing the payment information at the transaction processing unit;
- providing the processed payment information to the terminal processing unit;
- and
- providing the processed payment information to a communication interface.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.