Mobile Device Relay for Vending Machine Payment Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vending machines and similar payment accepting units face challenges in integrating mobile payment systems over non-persistent network connections, limiting their ability to offer promotional offers and efficient transaction processing.
Innovation Solution
A mobile-device-to-machine payment processing system that uses a mobile device with processors and memory to display promotional offers, detect user inputs, initiate transactions with automatic retail machines, and validate promotions, leveraging short-range and long-range communication protocols to relay information between the mobile device, payment module, and server, even without a dedicated communication connection in the payment module.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vending machines integrate mobile payment systems with dedicated communication connections, then transaction processing efficiency is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves as an intermediary between the payment module and the network, relaying communication data between these components. This eliminates the need for dedicated communication connections in the payment module while maintaining efficient transaction processing, as the mobile device's existing connectivity infrastructure handles all network communications.
2Device complexity
If vending machines use non-persistent network connections, then device complexity is reduced, but promotional offer capabilities and transaction efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the payment module to support multiple functions including promotional offers, transaction processing, and communication relay through a unified architecture that leverages the mobile device's capabilities. This allows the vending machine to provide enhanced functionality without requiring complex dedicated communication infrastructure in each component.
3Reliability
If dedicated communication connections are installed in payment modules, then transaction reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost and ease of manufacture deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The communication connection functionality is extracted from the payment module and relocated to the mobile device. This simplifies the payment module's manufacturing requirements while maintaining reliable transaction processing, as the critical communication functions are handled by the mobile device's established connectivity infrastructure.
4Loss of energy
If mobile devices are used as communication relays, then operator costs are reduced, but communication protocol complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device, which users already possess and operate, is leveraged to perform the communication relay function. This eliminates the need for additional dedicated communication infrastructure that would require ongoing operational costs, while the device's existing operating system and protocols handle the communication tasks without requiring complex custom implementations.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device with a display, processor(s), and memory: identifies a retail machine configured for wireless communications based on broadcasted information transmitted by the retail machine and including an identifier corresponding to the retail machine; transmits the identifier to a server and receives from the server an electronic communication including a promotional offer for products or services offered by the retail machine; displays the promotional offer; detects selection of a promotional offer; receives a notification from the retail machine that a product or service was provided by the retail machine for a user of the mobile device; transmits confirmation information associated with the notification to the server, receives promotion validation information from the server indicating validation of the promotional offer; and based on the promotion validation information, displays information confirming application of the promotional offer.