(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2013/0346291 A1
`VelloZ0 Luz et al.
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Dec. 26, 2013
`
`US 2013 0346291A1
`
`(54) SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
`PURCHASING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
`THROUGH THE USE OF A SYMBOLOGY
`
`(75) Inventors: Andre Gustavo Vellozo Luz, Sao
`Paulo-SP (BR); Mauricio Ghetler, Sao
`Paulo-SP (BR)
`(73) Assignee: PAYCHIEF LLC, New York, NY (US)
`s
`s
`(21) Appl. No.: 13/531,352
`(22) Filed:
`Jun. 22, 2012
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`G06O20/22
`
`(2012.01)
`
`
`
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`USPC ............................................................ 705/39
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Methods and systems for conducting a transaction for a sale
`of products or services to a purchaser are disclosed. The
`methods and systems may perform the following operations:
`(1) receiving transaction information from a merchant; (2)
`generating data corresponding to the transaction information;
`(3) encoding a symbology with the data; (4) providing the
`symbology to the merchant for delivery to the purchaser; (5)
`receiving the data corresponding to a payment authorization
`encoded by the symbology from a mobile device; and (6)
`transferring funds from a purchaser's account to a merchants
`acCOunt.
`
`Ex.1006
`APPLE INC. / Page 1 of 15
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 1 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`
`
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`Ex.1006
`APPLE INC. / Page 2 of 15
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 2 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`
`
`155
`
`F.G. 2
`
`Ex.1006
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`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 3 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`
`
`FIG. 3
`
`Ex.1006
`APPLE INC. / Page 4 of 15
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 4 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`- 415
`
`Computing
`Device
`
`-i-- 410
`Communication
`Ports
`
`
`
`i----------------------------------------------,
`
`-----------------------------------------------
`
`FIG. 4
`
`Ex.1006
`APPLE INC. / Page 5 of 15
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 5 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`550 - “l - 555
`Input
`Keyboard
`Device
`-----------------------------
`
`:
`
`i f
`
`- 535
`
`Display
`
`- 505
`
`
`
`- 545
`
`- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------.
`
`
`
`CPU
`
`Interface
`
`ma. 530
`Display
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`. . . . . .
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`. . . . . .
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`. . . . .
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`Interface
`
`
`
`Communication
`POrtS
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Ex.1006
`APPLE INC. / Page 6 of 15
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 6 of 7
`
`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`PURCHASER INDICATESTO
`MERCHANT DESIRED PRODUCT
`AND/OR SERVICE
`
`MERCHANT SPECIFIES ANY
`ADDITIONAL PAYMENT
`PARAMETERS
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPUTING DEVICE GENERATES
`SYMBOLOGY FROM DATA
`
`COMPUTING DEVICE SENDS SYMBOLOGY
`TO MERCHANT AND/OR PURCHASER
`
`PURCHASER SCANS
`GENERATED SYMBOLOGY
`
`
`
`
`
`PURCHASER PERFORMS
`ADDITIONAL ACTIONS
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`PURCHASER TRANSMITS DATA
`TO COMPUTING DEVICE
`
`--- 655
`
`MERCHANT/PURCHASER RECEIVES
`CONFIRMATION OF PAYMENT FOR
`PRODUCTS/SERVICES
`
`-- 660
`PRODUCTS/SERVICES ARE
`DELIVERED TO PURCHASER
`
`FIG. 6
`
`
`
`705
`r
`RECEIVE INPUTS
`FROMMERCHANT
`
`-710
`
`TRANSMTINPUT
`INFORMATION TO
`COMPUTING DEVICE
`
`- 715
`RECEIVE SYMBOLOGY FROM
`COMPUTING DEVICE
`
`
`
`- 720
`DISPLAY AND/OR SEND
`SYMBOLOGY
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Ex.1006
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Dec. 26, 2013 Sheet 7 of 7
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`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`805 ----- s
`
`OBTAIN SYMBOLOGYA
`DECODED DATA FROM
`SYMBOLOGY
`
`
`
`INFORMATION CORRESPONDING TO
`DECRYPTED/DECODED DATA FROM
`SYMBOLOGY
`
`
`
`
`
`DISPLAY
`ERROR
`MESSAGE
`
`
`
`
`
`VERIFY
`TRANSACTION
`DETAILS
`
`
`
`835 -
`
`ADD FUNDS TO
`MERCHANT'S ACCOUNT
`840 -s.
`
`DEDUCT FUNDS FROM
`PURCHASERS ACCOUNT
`
`845-a---
`
`pROVIDE
`CONFIRMATION TO
`PURCHASER
`
`850 -ss
`
`
`
`TO MERCHANT
`
`855 ros
`COMPLETE OTHER
`ACTIONS
`
`
`
`END
`
`FIG.8
`
`Ex.1006
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`US 2013/0346291 A1
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`Dec. 26, 2013
`
`SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
`PURCHASING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
`THROUGH THE USE OF A SYMBOLOGY
`
`BACKGROUND
`Recently, the use of mobile devices, such as Smart
`0001
`phones and the like, has rapidly increased. This increase has
`resulted in part from the porting of technologies to mobile
`electronic devices that were once limited to non-mobile appli
`cations. Mobile technologies provide the promise of a more
`efficient use of time by allowing interactions with other
`people and institutions at any time and place. One particular
`mobile technology demand of consumers is an increased
`ability to securely manage one's financial situation, Such as,
`for example, transferring funds and other monetary instru
`mentS.
`0002 Current mobile device technology and the financial
`services infrastructure to Support the technology continues to
`provide more convenient, secure, and rapid attention to one's
`financial needs in the mobile environment. However, further
`development in this field remains necessary to provide rapid
`transmission of funds between users, which further allows for
`an instant or almost instant availability of transferred funds.
`Accordingly, there exists a need for additional secure, easy
`to-use systems and methods for transferring funds.
`
`SUMMARY
`0003. In an embodiment, a method of offering a payment
`option for a sale of products or services may include (1)
`receiving, by a computing device, a payment request having
`payment information from a merchant for the sale of the
`products or services; (2) creating, by the computing device,
`data corresponding to the request encoded therein; and (3)
`encoding, by the computing device a symbology with the data
`(4) transmitting, by the computing device, the symbology to
`the merchant for delivery to a purchaser.
`0004. In an embodiment, a method of offering a payment
`option for a sale of products or services may include (1)
`receiving, by an electronic device, a payment request having
`payment information from a merchant for the sale of the
`products or services; (2) transmitting, by the electronic
`device, the payment request to a computing device; (3)
`receiving, by the electronic device, data corresponding to the
`payment request from the computing device; (4) creating, by
`the electronic device, a symbology encoding the data therein;
`and (5) transmitting, by the electronic device, the symbology
`to a purchaser.
`0005. In an embodiment, a method for sending a payment
`for a purchase of products or services may include (1) receiv
`ing, by a computing device, data corresponding to payment
`information encoded by a symbology from a mobile device;
`and (2) transferring, by the computing device, funds from a
`first account to a second account according to the payment
`information.
`0006. In an embodiment, a method of conducting a trans
`action for a sale of products or services to a purchaser may
`include (1) receiving, by a computing device, transaction
`information from a merchant; (2) generating, by the comput
`ing device, data corresponding to the transaction information;
`(3) encoding, by the computing device, a symbology with the
`data; (4) providing, by the computing device, the symbology
`to the merchant for delivery to the purchaser; (5) receiving, by
`the computing device, data corresponding to a payment
`
`authorization encoded by the symbology from a mobile
`device; and (6) transferring funds, by the computing device,
`from a purchaser's account to a merchant’s account.
`0007. In an embodiment, a system for conducting a trans
`action for the sale of products or services may have a process
`ing device and a non-transitory, processor-readable storage
`medium in communication with the processing device. The
`non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium may con
`tain one or more programming instructions that, when
`executed, cause the processing device to (1) Submit payment
`information to a remote computing device; (2) receive a sym
`bology comprising data corresponding to the payment infor
`mation from the remote computing device encoded therein;
`(3) provide the symbology to a purchaser, and (4) receive a
`payment confirmation from the remote computing device.
`The payment confirmation may include a verification that
`funds have been transferred by the remote computing device
`from a first account to a second account due to scanning, by a
`mobile device, the symbology to obtain the data correspond
`ing to a payment authorization and automatically Submitting,
`by the mobile device, the data to the remote computing
`device.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0008 FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a first and
`second face of a mobile device according to an embodiment.
`0009 FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of a third face of
`the mobile device in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment.
`0010 FIG.3 depicts a symbology according to an embodi
`ment.
`FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an illustrative
`0011
`communications system between mobile devices and a com
`puting device according to an embodiment.
`0012 FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of illustrative inter
`nal hardware that may be used to contain or implement pro
`gram instructions according to an embodiment.
`0013 FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative pro
`cess for sending and receiving funds according to an embodi
`ment.
`0014 FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative pro
`cess for creating a symbology in accordance with an embodi
`ment.
`0015 FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative pro
`cess for receiving a symbology input and transferring funds
`according to an embodiment.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`0016. This disclosure is not limited to the particular sys
`tems, devices and methods described, as these may vary. The
`terminology used in the description is for the purpose of
`describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and
`is not intended to limit the scope.
`0017. As used in this document, the singular forms “a,
`“an and “the include plural references unless the context
`clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all tech
`nical and Scientific terms used herein have the same meanings
`as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
`Nothing in this disclosure is to be construed as an admission
`that the embodiments described in this disclosure are not
`entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior inven
`tion. As used in this document, the term "comprising means
`“including, but not limited to.”
`
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`0018. The following terms shall have, for the purposes of
`this application, the respective meanings set forth below.
`0019. An “electronic device' refers to a device that
`includes a processing device and tangible, computer-readable
`memory. The memory may contain programming instruc
`tions that, when executed by the processing device, cause the
`device to perform one or more operations according to the
`programming instructions. Examples of electronic devices
`include personal computers, gaming systems, televisions and
`mobile devices.
`0020. A “mobile device' refers to an electronic device that
`is generally portable in size and nature. Accordingly, a user
`may transport a mobile device with relative ease. Examples of
`mobile devices include pagers, cellular phones, feature
`phones, Smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
`cameras, tablet computers, phone-tablet hybrid devices, lap
`top computers, netbooks, ultrabooks, global positioning sat
`ellite (GPS) navigation devices, in-dash automotive compo
`nents, media players, watches and the like.
`0021. A “computing device' is an electronic device, such
`as, for example, a computer, a server or components thereof.
`The computing device can be maintained by entities such as
`financial institutions, corporations, governments, and/or the
`like. The computing device may generally contain a memory
`or other storage device for housing programming instruc
`tions, data or information regarding a plurality of users. Such
`as, for example, contact information, personal information,
`account information, account balances, account numbers and
`service login information. The computing device may also
`have data regarding product inventories, billing information,
`purchase order information, contracts, bills of sale, and/or the
`like. The data may optionally be contained in a database,
`which is stored in the memory or other storage device. The
`data may optionally be secured by any method now known or
`later developed for securing data. The computing device may
`further be in operable communication with one or more elec
`tronic devices, such as, for example, the mobile devices
`described herein. The communication between the comput
`ing device and each of the mobile devices may further be
`secured by any method now known or later developed for
`securing transmissions or otherforms of communication. The
`computing device may further contain a registry of “autho
`rized users' wherein the authorized users are users that have
`registered to use the systems and methods described herein.
`Users may obtain “authorized user' status by, for example,
`providing contact information, account information, and/or
`the like.
`0022. A "symbology is a pattern, a symbol, an image or
`the like, as well as portions and combinations thereof, that is
`displayed on a Substrate. Such as, for example, the display
`depicted in FIG.1. The symbology provides an optical, elec
`tronically-readable encoded representation of data. Symbolo
`gies can include, without limitation, one-dimensional bar
`codes, two-dimensional (2D) barcodes or three-dimensional
`(3D) barcodes. Examples of two-dimensional barcodes
`include data matrix codes, quick response (QR) codes, Aztec
`codes, Maxi codes and the like. Symbologies can also include
`letters, numbers, punctuation and other symbols. The sym
`bology may be displayed on a display and may be of any
`geometric shape or size. In this document, the terms “bar
`code' or “matrix code' may be used in the examples, but the
`term is intended to include any type of symbology.
`0023. An “application environment” is an embodiment of
`programming instructions that direct the various components
`
`of each electronic device to execute a plurality of steps. Such
`as those described in more detail in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The
`application environment, when contained in a mobile device,
`may be referred to as a “mobile application environment.”
`Similarly, the application environment, when contained in a
`computing device, may be referred to as a “computing appli
`cation environment. The mobile application environment
`may be a Software application or the like. Such as a Smart
`phone 'app. The mobile application environment may gen
`erally provide a means for reading, decoding, encoding and
`communicating the data encoded by a symbology. The com
`puting application environment may generally provide a
`means for communicating with each mobile device, a means
`for reading, translating and transmitting data, and a means for
`completing other tasks, as described in greater detail herein.
`0024. A “merchant' is a user that sends a symbology and
`receives a payment in exchange for products and/or services
`in accordance with an embodiment. The merchant can be an
`individual, a corporation, a financial services provider, a gov
`ernment or any otherentity that sells products and/or services.
`Conversely, a “purchaser is a user, Such as a person or an
`entity, that receives a symbology from the merchant and sends
`a payment in exchange for products and/or services in accor
`dance with an embodiment. While this disclosure relates gen
`erally to a single merchant and a single purchaser, those
`skilled in the art will recognize that multiple merchants and
`purchasers may be involved in a transaction without depart
`ing from the scope of this disclosure. Both the merchant and
`the purchaser must be authorized users to use the application
`environment, and both must have an account that is recog
`nized as one that is capable of disbursing and/or receiving
`funds, as described in more detail herein. Examples of
`accounts are not limited by this disclosure and may include,
`for example, savings accounts, checking accounts, money
`market accounts, brokerage accounts, credit accounts, certifi
`cates of deposit, electronic wallet accounts and/or pooled
`accounts wherein funding for the pooled account is obtained
`from a combination of one or more of the accounts described
`herein. The accounts may be held with, for example, financial
`institutions, banks, credit bureaus, building Societies, credit
`unions, trust companies, mortgage loan companies, insurance
`companies, pension funds, brokers, underwriters and invest
`ment funds. The accounts may further contain some form of
`identifier, Such as, for example, an American Bankers Asso
`ciation (ABA) routing transit number (RTN), account num
`bers, or any other identifier that may be used for identifying a
`user and/or a user's account.
`0025 FIG.1 depicts a perspective view of a mobile device,
`generally designated 100, according to an embodiment. The
`mobile device may have a first face 105 and a second face 115.
`The first face 105 may have a display 110. The display 110
`may generally be a component for displaying images, text,
`Video and the like. Examples of displays may include, but are
`not limited to, electroluminescent displays, electronic paper
`displays, vacuum fluorescent displays, light emitting diode
`(LED) displays, cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, liquid crys
`tal (LCD) displays, plasma display panels, digital light pro
`cessing (DLP) displays, and organic light-emitting diode
`(OLED) displays.
`0026. The mobile device 100 may be configured to gener
`ate a symbology and/or display the generated symbology on
`the display 110, as described in more detail herein. The
`mobile device 100 may generate the symbology by using any
`methods now known or later developed for creating and
`
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`Dec. 26, 2013
`
`encoding symbologies. Alternatively, the mobile device 100
`may receive the symbology from another mobile device and/
`or a computing device.
`0027. The mobile device 100 may further have one or
`more user interface components 120, which may be posi
`tioned on any face of the device, including, but not limited to,
`the first face 105 and the second face 115. The one or more
`user interface components 120 may generally be configured
`to elicit one or more commands to the mobile device 100
`when actuated. Examples of user interface components 120
`may include keypads, Switches, buttons and/or the like.
`0028. As an alternative to, or in conjunction with the one
`or more user interface components 120, the display 110 may
`further include a touch sensitive screen, wherein the touch
`sensitive screen may act as a user interface component. The
`touch sensitive screen may receive contact based inputs from
`a user, such as from a user's fingers. The touch sensitive
`screen may be adapted for gesture control, thus allowing for
`a user to tap, pinch, Swipe or provide other similar gestures to
`elicit commands to the mobile device 100. The touch sensi
`tive screen may further be capable of sending touch com
`mands to the processing device. Examples of touch sensitive
`screens may include, but are not limited to, resistive touch
`screens, capacitive touchscreens, infrared touchscreens and/
`or other technologies now known or later developed. The
`mobile device 100 may also be adapted to receive commands
`via body gestures, Voice, audio signals, device movement
`and/or the like.
`0029 FIG.2 depicts a perspective view of a third face 150
`of the mobile device 100, according to an embodiment. The
`third face 150 may generally have an optical component 160.
`The third face 150 may also optionally have an audio com
`ponent 155 and/or an illumination component 165.
`0030 The optical component 160 may be any suitable
`component capable of receiving an optical image and trans
`mitting image information to other components of the mobile
`device 100 for processing. Such as, for example, a camera.
`The optical component 160 may further have an ability to
`adjust its focal length and aperture in Such a manner that
`would allow it to Zoom and properly focus upon an intended
`object to be imaged. Such ability may be through mechanical
`components (such as an optical Zoom) or programming (Such
`as a digital Zoom). This adjustment may define an "optimal
`focal distance.” or a range of distances in which the mobile
`device 100 may be properly positioned from the intended
`object to be imaged to achieve a clear image.
`0031 While the optical component 160 is depicted on the
`rear face of the present example, persons skilled in the art will
`appreciate that the optical component 160 may be positioned
`at any location on or in any face of the mobile device 100, or
`may even be external to the mobile device 100 and connected
`by any means of communication, including, but not limited
`to, physical cable communication Such as universal serial bus
`(USB), wireless radio communication, wireless light com
`munication, or near field communication technology.
`0032. The optical component 160 may further be config
`ured to receive an optical image on the display of another
`mobile device, such as, for example, a symbology displayed
`on the display of the other mobile device, as described in
`greater detail herein.
`0033. The optional illumination component 165 may be
`utilized in any light conditions to assist the optical component
`160 in completing any of the tasks described herein. Addi
`tionally, the illumination component 165 may be indepen
`
`dently activated to turn on or off at specific points in time,
`Such as when additional lighting is necessary to capture an
`ideal image. Other features of the illumination component
`165 may include dimming, strobe, constant on and/or the like.
`0034. The illumination component 165 may contain any
`Suitable light source capable of providing illumination,
`including, but not limited to, magnesium-based flashes,
`Xenon-based flashes, fulminate-containing flashes, light
`emitting diode (LED) flashes and the like. While the present
`figure depicts the illumination component 165 as being inte
`grated with the mobile device 100, it may be appreciated that
`the illumination component 165 may be a separate compo
`nent in communication with the mobile device 100, such as
`USB based flashes, hot shoe based flashes, remote slave flash
`units, or other similar devices.
`0035. The optional audio component 155 may be adapted
`to emit audio tones and signals. Such audio tones and signals
`may be used to instruct the user to complete various steps as
`described herein, and may further indicate to the user that an
`image has been received by the optical component 160 by
`emitting a beep, click or other audio signal. Additionally, the
`audio component 155 may be adapted to receive audio sig
`nals. Such audio signals may include, for example, Voice
`commands from a user.
`0036. The mobile device 100 may further have an ability
`to connect to a communications network, as described in FIG.
`4 herein. The types of communications networks that may be
`used in accordance with this disclosure are not limited in any
`manner, and may include any communications network now
`known or later developed. For example a communications
`networks may include, but is not limited to, the Internet, an
`intranet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area networks
`(LAN), a wireless local area networks (WLAN), a storage
`area networks (SAN) and/or the like.
`0037. The configuration of the mobile device 100 as
`shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is merely an example of a mobile
`device, and persons skilled in the art will appreciate that other
`configurations and embodiments will be possible without
`departing from the scope of this disclosure.
`0038 FIG.3 depicts an example of a symbology, generally
`designated 300, that may be used in accordance with an
`embodiment. The symbology 300 may be displayed, for
`example, on the display 110 of the mobile device 100 (FIG. 1)
`or affixed to a substrate.
`0039. The symbology 300 may be generated by a mobile
`device 100, or may be generated by any other electronic
`device. Such as for example, a computing device. In instances
`where the symbology 300 is generated by anything other than
`the mobile device 100, it may be transmitted to the mobile
`device 100 for further use, such as for display upon the dis
`play 110 (FIG. 1), addition to other documents and/or ele
`ments, or for Scanning, reading or decoding.
`0040. The symbology 300 may be encoded with data that
`may generally be used by a computing device to gain access
`to secured information. Examples of secured information
`may include, but are not limited to, information regarding a
`user's banking account, an amount of money to be sent and/or
`received, a date and time of transmission of money for future
`payments, and/or the like. The symbology 300 may further be
`encoded with other data, such as, for example, information
`regarding a product or a service, information regarding a
`merchant, purchase payment information, information about
`a bill and purchase order information.
`
`Ex.1006
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`US 2013/0346291 A1
`
`Dec. 26, 2013
`
`0041. The information encoded in the symbology 300 may
`further be encrypted. In instances where the information
`encoded in the symbology 300 is encrypted, the symbology
`300 may only be read by certain symbology reading devices
`and/or applications, such as those that contain or maintain
`access to an encryption key or another similar means for
`decrypting the information encoded in the symbology 300.
`Encryption may be completed by any encryption method now
`known or later developed. Examples of encryption may
`include, but are not limited to, manual encryption, transparent
`encryption, symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption
`and the like.
`0042. As an alternative to being encrypted, the symbology
`300 may be readable by any symbology reading device and/or
`application. However, the information encoded within the
`symbology 300 may appear to a user of the symbology read
`ing device and/or application as a random placement of char
`acters, numbers, symbols and the like. However, if the sym
`bology 300 is read using the application environment, the
`application environment may recognize the characters, num
`bers, symbols and the like and may perform or complete tasks
`accordingly, as described in more detail herein.
`0043. The symbology 300 may be a standalone image, or
`may be incorporated within another object, Such as, for
`example, an additional image, text, icons and/or the like. In
`instances where the symbology 300 is incorporated within
`another object, the other object may provide at least a portion
`of the information encoded by the symbology 300.
`0044 FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of communications
`between one or more electronic devices and one or more
`computing devices. A communications network 400 may
`serve as an information highway interconnecting the other
`illustrated components. The communications network is not
`limited by this disclosure, and may include any communica
`tions network now known or later developed. Examples of
`communications networks may include, but are not limited to,
`the Internet, intranets, wired networks and wireless networks.
`One or more electronic devices 405, such as mobile devices,
`computing devices and the like may connect to the commu
`nications network 400. In embodiments where a plurality of
`electronic devices 405 are connected to the communications
`network 400, each electronic device 405 may be configured to
`communicate with other electronic devices via the commu
`nications network 400. A computing device 415 may also be
`connected to the communications network 400, and may
`optionally connect through the use of one or more communi
`cations ports 410.
`0045 FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of illustrative inter
`nal hardware that may be used to contain or implement pro
`gram instructions, such as the process steps discussed herein
`in reference to FIGS. 6-8, according to embodiments. A bus
`500 serves as the main information highway interconnecting
`the other illustrated components of the hardware. CPU 505 is
`the central processing unit of the system, performing calcu
`lations and logic operations required to execute a program.
`CPU 505, alone or in conjunction with one or more of the
`other elements disclosed in FIG. 5, is an illustrative process
`ing device, computing device or processor as such terms are
`used within this disclosure. Read only memory (ROM) 510
`and random access memory (RAM) 515 constitute illustrative
`memory devices (i.e., processor-readable non-transitory Stor
`age media).
`0046. A controller 520 interfaces with one or more
`optional memory devices 525 to the system bus 500. These
`
`memory devices 525 may include, for example, an external or
`internal DVD drive, a CD ROM drive, a hard drive, flash
`memory, a USB drive or the like. As indicated previously,
`these various drives and controllers are optional devices.
`0047 Program instructions, software or interactive mod
`ules for providing the interface and performing any querying
`or analysis associated with one or more data sets may be
`stored in the ROM 510 and/or the RAM 515. Optionally, the
`program instructions may be stored on a tangible computer
`readable medium such as a compact disk, a digital disk, flash
`memory, a memory card, a USB drive, an optical disc storage
`medium, such as a Blu-rayTM disc, and/or other non-transi
`tory storage media.
`0048. An optional display interface 530 may permit infor
`mation from the bus 500 to be displayed on the display 535 in
`audio, visual, graphic or alphanumeric format. Communica
`tion with external devices, such as a print device, may occur
`using various communication ports 540. An illustrative com
`munication port 540 may be attached to a communications
`network, Such as the Internet or an intranet.
`0049. The hardware may also include an interface 545
`which allows for receipt of data from input devices such as a
`keyboard 550 or other input device 555 such as a mouse, a
`joystick, a touch screen, a remote control, a pointing device,
`a video input device and/or an audio input device.
`0050 FIG. 6 depicts a general transaction process accord
`ing to an embodiment. The process may involve a plurality of
`users, such as, for example, a purchaser and a merchant. Each
`user may have an electronic device, as described herein. Each
`electronic device may have a processor and a memory con
`taining programming instructions in the form of the applica
`tion environment.
`0051. The purchaser may indicate to the merchant a
`desired product and/or service 605. This may be generally
`completed in any type of sales transaction setting, such as, for
`example, interne sales transactions, telephone sales transac
`tions, and in-person sales transactions. Alternatively, the mer
`chant may not have direct knowledge of the desired products
`and/or services, and, particularly in the case of web-based
`sales, may be provided with an identifier of a virtual “shop
`ping cart. The shopping cart may contain one or more of the
`desired products and/or services, and may be identified to the
`merchant with only the identifier that, when accessed by the
`merchant, contains general information regarding the shop
`ping cart, such as, for example, a number of items in the
`shopping cart, prices of the individual items, whether each
`item is taxable, shipping costs for each item, and a total price.
`The identifier is not limited in Scope and may include any type
`of identifier, such as for example a session ID, a transaction
`code and the like.
`0.052 The merchant may provide payment information,
`which may include, for example, a payment amount to the
`computing device 610. The payment amount may include an
`amount agreed upon between the merchant and the purchaser
`or a cost of products and/or services. In instances where a
`virtual shopping cart is used, the paymen