Server-assisted pairing for wireless communications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12207322-B2
Application number	US-201514864547-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2015
Priority date	Sep 24, 2015
Publication date	Jan 21, 2025
Grant date	Jan 21, 2025

Abstract

A wireless communication device such as a payment reader has a wireless communication interface and is able to establish wireless pairing with an interactive electronic device such as a merchant device running a point of sale application. In order to establish pairing, the wireless communication device accesses an identifier. The identifier is transmitted to the interactive electronic device via the wireless communication interface, and the interactive electronic device sends the identifier to a pairing server. The pairing server retrieves a passkey based on the identifier and sends the retrieved passkey to the interactive electronic device via a secure connection. The wireless communication device and the interactive electronic device establish wireless pairing based on the retrieved passkey.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a wireless communication device; and
an interactive electronic device,
wherein the wireless communication device comprises:
a wireless communication circuitry;
a first memory storing first pairing information;
a first processor that executes one or more instructions stored in the first memory to perform operations comprising:
accessing an identifier, and
transmitting a first message comprising the identifier via the wireless communication circuitry,

wherein the interactive electronic device comprises a second processor that executes one or more instructions stored in a second memory of the interactive electronic device to perform operations comprising:
receiving the first message with the identifier,
providing the identifier from the first message to a pairing server, and
receiving second pairing information from the pairing server, and

wherein the interactive electronic device and the wireless communication device establish an encrypted connection between the wireless communication device and the interactive electronic device based on the first pairing information stored in the first memory at the wireless communication device being the same as the second pairing information received by the interactive electronic device from the pairing server.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second pairing information received from the pairing server and the first pairing information accessed at the wireless communication device each comprise a passkey.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises a unique identifier for the wireless communication device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first message comprises an advertising message for a wireless communication protocol and a payload of the advertising message comprises the identifier.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first processor further executes one or more instructions stored in the first memory to perform operations comprising:
transmitting an advertising message via the wireless communication circuitry,
receiving a request message via the wireless communication circuitry,
generating a response message, and
transmitting the response message via the wireless communication circuitry, wherein a payload of the response message comprises the identifier and the first message comprises the response message.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication circuitry comprises a Bluetooth wireless communication interface.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second processor of the interactive electronic device executes one or more instructions stored in a second memory of the interactive electronic device to perform operations comprising:
displaying to a user, at a user interface of the interactive electronic device, the second pairing information received from the pairing server, and
receiving, at the user interface of the interactive electronic device, the displayed second pairing information entered by the user, wherein the establishing of the encrypted connection is based on the first pairing information stored at the wireless communication device and the the second pairing information entered by the user.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device is a payment reader and the first processor of the payment reader executes one or more instructions stored in the first memory to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request to process a payment from a point-of-sale application of the interactive electronic device,
receiving payment information from a payment device in response to the request, and
transmitting the payment information to the point-of-sale application of the interactive electronic device.

9. A method, comprising:
storing, at a wireless communication device, first pairing information;
accessing, at the wireless communication device, an identifier;
transmitting, via wireless communication circuitry of the wireless communication device, a first message comprising the identifier;
receiving, by an interactive electronic device, the first message with the identifier;
transmitting, from the interactive electronic device, the identifier from the first message to a pairing server;
receiving, at the interactive electronic device, second pairing information from the pairing server; and
establishing, by the interactive electronic device and the wireless communication device, an encrypted connection between the wireless communication device and the interactive electronic device based on the first pairing information stored at the wireless communication device being the same as the second pairing information received by the interactive electronic device from the pairing server.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first pairing information of the wireless communication device and the second pairing information received by the interactive electronic device from the pairing server each comprise a passkey.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the identifier comprises a unique identifier for the wireless communication device.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first message comprises an advertising message for a wireless communication protocol and a payload of the advertising message comprises the identifier.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
transmitting, from a wireless communication interface of the wireless communication device, an advertising message;
receiving, at the wireless communication device, a request message from the interactive electronic device;
generating, at the wireless communication device, a response message, wherein a payload of the response message comprises the identifier; and
transmitting, from the wireless communication interface of the wireless communication device, the response message, wherein the first message comprises the response message.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the wireless communication circuitry comprises a Bluetooth wireless communication interface.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
displaying, at a user interface of the interactive electronic device, the second pairing information received from the pairing server; and
receiving, at the user interface of the interactive electronic device, the displayed second pairing information as entered by a user, wherein the establishing of the encrypted connection is based on the first pairing information stored at the wireless communication device and the second pairing information entered by the user.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the wireless communication device comprises a payment reader, and wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, at the wireless communication device, a request to process a payment from a point-of-sale application of the interactive electronic device;
receiving, at the wireless communication device, payment information from a payment device in response to the request; and
transmitting, via the wireless communication circuitry of the wireless communication device, the payment information to the point-of-sale application of the interactive electronic device.

Assignees

• Block Inc

Inventors

• Rezayee Afshin
• Smith Malcolm
• Mosends Sergei
• White Michael Wells
• Bota Ovidiu
• Guise Max
• Leiserson Andrew John

Classifications

• H04L63/166

  at the transport layer · CPC title

• H04W12/0431

  Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement · CPC title

• G06Q20/3278

  RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices · CPC title

• G06Q20/38215

  Use of certificates or encrypted proofs of transaction rights · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title