Wearable computing device-powered chip-enabled card

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10133979-B1
Application number	US-201615394611-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 29, 2016
Priority date	Dec 29, 2016
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

Techniques are described for powering a chip-enabled card using a wearable computing device. The chip-enabled card is paired with the wearable computing device and a specific signal is generated for the chip-enabled card. When the chip-enabled card is proximate to the wearable computing device, the wearable computing device transmits the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card through a conducting element in contact with the user's body, through the user's body, and to a touch pad of the chip-enabled card that is also in contact with a portion of the user's body. According to the disclosed techniques, the chip of the chip-enabled card verifies that the received specific signal is associated with the chip-enabled card, and uses the verified specific signal to power subsequent transactions performed by the chip-enabled card. In this way, the chip-enabled card only emits a signal to perform transactions when the user is holding the card.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wearable computing device comprising:
a transmitter connected to a conducting element of the wearable computing device in contact with a user's body; and
one or more processors connected to the transmitter and configured to:
detect that a chip-enabled card is proximate to the wearable computing device, wherein the chip-enabled card is paired to the wearable computing device;
based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device, instruct the transmitter to transmit a specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body; and
receive a notification indicating whether the chip-enabled card is powered by the specific signal.

2. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein, to detect that the chip-enabled card is proximate to the wearable computing device, the one or more processors are configured to:
establish communication with the chip-enabled card within a certain distance using a short-range wireless communication protocol; and
based on the communication, determine that the wearable computing device is paired to the chip-enabled card.

3. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to, based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device:
retrieve the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card from one of a memory included in the wearable computing device or a database accessible by the wearable computing device; and
activate the transmitter included in the wearable computing device.

4. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to, based on the chip-enabled card being powered by the specific signal, receive another notification indicating whether a transaction performed by the powered chip-enabled card is authenticated.

5. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to monitor vital signs of the user, wherein, the one or more processors are connected to the one or more sensors and configured to:
based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device, compare the monitored vital signs of the user against a user profile; and
based on the monitored vital signs substantially matching the user profile, instruct the transmitter to transmit the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body.

6. The wearable computing device of claim 5 , wherein, to compare the monitored vital signals against the user profile, the one or more processors are configured to one of:
compare a set of vital signals received from the one or more sensors against a previous discrete set of vital signs included in the user profile; or
compare the set of vital signals received from the one or more sensors against a historic profile of vital signs included in the user profile.

7. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to instruct the transmitter to transmit a software update for the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body using the specific signal.

8. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to, during initial activation of the chip-enabled card with a card issuer of the chip-enabled card:
authenticate the user of the wearable computing device with the issuer of the chip-enabled card;
register the wearable computing device with the card issuer; and
pair the registered wearable computing device to the chip-enabled card.

9. The wearable computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to, during initial activation of the chip-enabled card with a card issuer of the chip-enabled card:
select an audio signal for the chip-enabled card;
receive, from the card issuer, the specific signal generated based on the selected audio signal; and
store the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card in one of a memory included in the wearable computing device or a database accessible by the wearable computing device.

10. A method comprising:
detecting, by a wearable computing device including a conducting element in contact with a user's body, that a chip-enabled card is proximate to the wearable computing device, wherein the chip-enabled card is paired to the wearable computing device;
based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device, transmitting, by the wearable computing device, a specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body; and
receiving, by the wearable computing device, a notification indicating whether the chip-enabled card is powered by the specific signal.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein detecting that the chip-enabled card is proximate to the wearable computing device comprises:
establishing communication with the chip-enabled card within a certain distance using a short-range wireless communication protocol; and
based on the communication, determining that the wearable computing device is paired to the chip-enabled card.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising, based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device:
retrieving the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card from one of a memory included in the wearable computing device or a database accessible by the wearable computing device; and
activating a transmitter included in the wearable computing device.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising, based on the chip-enabled card being powered by the specific signal, receiving another notification indicating whether a transaction performed by the powered chip-enabled card is authenticated.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
monitoring, by one or more sensors included in the wearable computing device, vital signs of the user;
based on the chip-enabled card being proximate to the wearable computing device, comparing the monitored vital signs of the user against a user profile; and
based on the monitored vital signs substantially matching the user profile, transmitting the specific signal associated with the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein comparing the monitored vital signals against the user profile comprises one of:
comparing a set of vital signals received from the one or more sensors against a previous discrete set of vital signs included in the user profile; or
comparing the set of vital signals received from the one or more sensors against a historic profile of vital signs included in the user profile.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising transmitting a software update for the chip-enabled card through the conducting element that is in contact with the user's body using the specific signal.

17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising, during initial activation of the chip-enabled card with a card issuer of the chip-enabled card:
authenticating the user of the wearable computing device with the issuer of the chip-enabled card;
registering the wearable computing device with the card issuer; and
pairing the registered wearable computing device to the chip-enabled card.

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising, during initial activation of

Assignees

• Wells Fargo Bank Na

Inventors

• Eidam Kourtney
• Duke Michael Thomas

Classifications

• G06K19/07762

  the adhering arrangement making the record carrier wearable, e.g. having the form of a ring, watch, glove or bracelet (record carriers for insertion in the human body for medical purposes A61B90/00; record carriers adapted for attachment to animals A01K11/00) · CPC title

• G06K19/145 Primary

  at least one of the further markings being adapted for galvanic or wireless sensing, e.g. an RFID tag with both a wireless and an optical interface or memory, or a contact type smart card with ISO 7816 contacts and an optical interface or memory · CPC title

• G06K19/0723

  the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs · CPC title

• G06K19/07701

  the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction · CPC title

• G06Q10/00 Primary

  Administration; Management · CPC title