Public kiosk providing near field communication services

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for making content elements available for use at a public computing kiosk operated by a first-party operator. The public computing kiosk can receive a wireless communication from a hand-held device utilized by a second-party end user located in close physical proximity to the public computing kiosk. The wireless communication can include information identifying a third-party provider of the hand-held device with the third-party provider and the first-party operator being different entities. The public computing kiosk can transmit a request to a computing system including information identifying the third-party provider of the hand-held device, receive a transmission including a set of content descriptors, and display the set of content descriptors to the second-party end user. The public computing kiosk can also accept selection of content descriptors and execute at least one content element corresponding to at least one content descriptor.

Description

RELATED APPLICATONS[0001]This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 245,503 filed Sep. 26, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The disclosed subject matter relates in general to Near Field Communication (NFC) services and in particular to public kiosks providing NFC services.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]NFC enables short-range, contactless, wireless communication between various devices, for example, mobile telephones, service terminals, or kiosks and NFC-compatible stickers, fobs, cards, or tags. NFC requires at least two devices, a first device having a medium for storing data and a second device having at least a reader for reading data. NFC is a form of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) with a short operating distance, typically requiring proximity of a few centimeters. For example, a reader in the second device can emit a short-range radio signal that when brough...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes methods and systems for making content elements available for use at a public computing kiosk. The kiosk receives a wireless communication from a hand-held device, which identifies a third-party provider of the device. The kiosk then sends a request to the computing system, which includes information about the third-party provider and a set of content descriptors based on the information about the provider. The kiosk displays the set of content descriptors to the end user and allows them to select one or more content elements. The kiosk then executes the selected content element and displays the result to the end user. The technical effect of this patent is to enable a more seamless experience for end users interacting with the public computing kiosk, as they can select and use content elements based on information about the third-party provider of the hand-held device.

Problems solved by technology

This type of control by the service interface operator can limit the proliferation of useful NFC services.

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