Mobile Device Intermediary for Vending Machine Cashless Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vending machines and similar payment accepting units often require persistent network connections for cashless payments, which can be unreliable in areas without internet access, limiting their ability to accept mobile payments.
Innovation Solution
A mobile-device-to-machine payment processing system that uses a combination of short-range and long-range communication technologies to facilitate cashless transactions over non-persistent network connections, allowing users to make payments through a mobile device without the need for continuous internet access, featuring hands-free and manual modes for convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a persistent network connection is used for cashless payments in vending machines, then payment reliability is improved, but device complexity and operational costs increase due to required cellular connections
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves as an intermediary between the vending machine and the payment network. The vending machine communicates payment requests to the mobile device via short-range communication, and the mobile device handles network communication with the payment server, eliminating the need for the vending machine to have persistent network connectivity while maintaining payment reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical/network-dependent payment system with a communication-based system using short-range wireless communication between the vending machine and mobile device, substituting the need for persistent network connections with direct device-to-device communication
2Adaptability or versatility
If a persistent network connection is installed in vending machines, then cashless payment capability is improved, but operational costs increase due to cellular connection requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device acts as an intermediary that handles all network communication and payment processing, allowing the vending machine to offer cashless payments without incurring cellular connection costs. The vending machine only needs short-range communication capability, which is already present in most modern devices
3Device complexity
If short-range communication is used for payment transmission, then device complexity is reduced, but communication reliability worsens due to non-persistent connections
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves as a reliable intermediary that receives payment information via short-range communication from the vending machine, then transmits this information over the network. This mediator approach allows the use of simple short-range communication at the vending machine while maintaining overall communication reliability through the mobile device's network connectivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the mobile device ready to receive and process payment information before the actual transaction occurs. The mobile device can be pre-configured with payment methods and can immediately transmit payment requests when triggered, ensuring reliable communication even with non-persistent connections
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device with a first transceiver, a second transceiver, one or more processors, and memory bridges communications between an offline retail machine with a short-range communication capability and a remote server by obtaining via the first transceiver a single-use request code from an information packet broadcast by the offline retail machine; transmitting via the second transceiver the single-use request code to a remote server; obtaining via the second transceiver from the remote server a grant token including the single-use request code; detecting a trigger condition for initiating provision of a product or service by the offline retail machine; and in response to detecting the trigger condition, initiating performance of the provision of the product or service by transmitting the grant token to the offline retail machine via the first transceiver.