U.S. patent application number 14/970276 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-08 for exchange service for wireless communication pricing accessible by wallet applications.
This patent application is currently assigned to RFCO LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is RFCO LLC. Invention is credited to Anthony HARPER.
Application Number | 20160261999 14/970276 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54848080 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160261999 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HARPER; Anthony |
September 8, 2016 |
EXCHANGE SERVICE FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION PRICING ACCESSIBLE BY
WALLET APPLICATIONS
Abstract
A system and method may provide an exchange service for
providing the price of wireless minutes to wallet applications and
other client applications. The system may obtain pricing
information for the wireless minutes and provide the pricing
information to a wallet application. The pricing information may be
provided through a rate server that subscribed to receive the
pricing information. The rate server typically also provides
exchange rates for currencies for use at wallet applications that
are communicably coupled to the rate server. By providing the
pricing information to wallet applications, wireless service
providers may variably price their wireless services. End users may
be able to obtain real-time prices of the wireless services and
purchase such services directly using payment accounts associated
with a wallet application. For example, a Bitcoin wallet may be
used to obtain real-time prices of the wireless services and
purchase such services using Bitcoins.
Inventors: |
HARPER; Anthony; (Madeira
Beach, FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RFCO LLC |
Madeira Beach |
FL |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
RFCO LLC
|
Family ID: |
54848080 |
Appl. No.: |
14/970276 |
Filed: |
December 15, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14640922 |
Mar 6, 2015 |
9219824 |
|
|
14970276 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/065 20130101;
H04M 17/02 20130101; H04M 15/31 20130101; G06Q 20/3678 20130101;
H04M 15/83 20130101; H04M 15/48 20130101; H04M 17/20 20130101; H04W
4/24 20130101; H04M 15/67 20130101; G06Q 20/36 20130101; G06Q
20/381 20130101; H04M 15/61 20130101; H04M 17/204 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/24 20060101
H04W004/24; G06Q 20/38 20060101 G06Q020/38; H04M 15/00 20060101
H04M015/00; G06Q 20/06 20060101 G06Q020/06; G06Q 20/36 20060101
G06Q020/36 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method of providing price information for
wireless communication units, the method being implemented in a
computer system having one or more physical processors programmed
with computer program instructions that, when executed by the one
or more physical processors, cause the computer system to perform
the method, the method comprising: obtaining, by the computer
system, from a pricing provider, price information for a wireless
communication unit that represents an increment of usage of a
wireless service; identifying, by the computer system, a rate
server that is subscribed to receive the price information;
causing, by the computer system, the price information for the
wireless communication unit to be transmitted to a wallet
application of a client device via the rate server; causing, by the
computer system, at least a portion of the price information to be
displayed on the client device; receiving, by the computer system,
a payment related to a purchase of one or more wireless
communication units, the payment originating from the wallet
application for facilitating payment through at least one payment
processor; identifying, by the computer system, a subscriber
account related to the payment; and causing, by the computer
system, the subscriber account to be updated based on the one or
more wireless communication units.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication units
comprises a unit of time.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication units
comprises a unit of data download or upload.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the price information comprises a
price of the wireless communication unit denominated in a first
currency, the method further comprising: identifying, by the
computer system, a second currency used by the rate server;
determining, by the computer system, whether the first currency is
the same as the second currency; and converting, by the computer
system, the price of the wireless communication unit from the first
currency to the second currency responsive to a determination that
the first currency is different from the second currency.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein converting the price of the
wireless communication unit comprises converting the price from the
first currency to Bitcoin currency.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the payment is made using Bitcoin
currency.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein converting the price of the
wireless communication unit comprises converting the price from the
first currency to a fiat currency.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the payment is made using the
fiat currency.
9. A system of providing price information for wireless
communication units, the system comprising: a computer system
comprising one or more physical processors programmed by computer
program instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system
to: obtain, from a pricing provider, price information for a
wireless communication unit that represents an increment of usage
of a wireless service; identify a rate server that is subscribed to
receive the price information; cause the price information for the
wireless communication unit to be transmitted to a wallet
application of a client device via the rate server; cause at least
a portion of the price information to be displayed on the client
device; receive a payment related to a purchase of one or more
wireless communication units, the payment originating from the
wallet application for facilitating payment through at least one
payment processor; identify a subscriber account related to the
payment; and cause the subscriber account to be updated based on
the one or more wireless communication units.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the wireless communication units
comprises a unit of time.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the wireless communication units
comprises a unit of data download or upload.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein the price information comprises
a price of the wireless communication unit denominated in a first
currency, and wherein the computer system is further programmed to:
identify a second currency used by the rate server; determine
whether the first currency is the same as the second currency; and
convert the price of the wireless communication unit from the first
currency to the second currency responsive to a determination that
the first currency is different from the second currency.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein to convert the price of the
wireless communication unit, the computer system is further
programmed to convert the price from the first currency to Bitcoin
currency.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the payment is made using
Bitcoin currency.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein to convert the price of the
wireless communication unit, the computer system is programmed to
convert the price from the first currency to a fiat currency.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the payment is made using the
fiat currency.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/640,922, entitled "Exchange Service for
Wireless Communication Pricing Accessible by Wallet Applications,"
filed on Mar. 6, 2015, the content of which is hereby incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to an exchange service for providing
the price of wireless communication units and other commodities
accessible by wallet applications and other client
applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Wallet applications for mobile devices have grown in
popularity due to their convenience of use and improved security
features. Wallet applications generally are pre-associated with a
payment account used to pay for purchases. For instance,
Softcard.TM. from American Express.RTM. is associated with a credit
card that is charged whenever the Softcard.TM. wallet application
is used to make a purchase. Some wallet applications use digital
currencies, such as Bitcoin, to fund purchases. Many wallet
applications (in particular those using digital currencies) provide
exchange rates. For example, Bitcoin wallet applications typically
provide exchange rates to convert Bitcoins into fiat or other
currencies.
[0004] Although convenient to make purchases at retail locations
that accept wallet application payments, purchasing commodities is
still cumbersome. For example, purchasing wireless minutes (and
other increments of wireless services) from a wireless service
provider using a wallet application may be impractical. This is
because, from the end user's point of view, the rates (i.e.,
prices) for the wireless minutes are unknown when contemplating
activating or adding increments of wireless services. These and
other drawbacks exist with conventional wallet applications and
wireless minute purchases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention addressing these and other drawbacks relates
to a system and method for providing an exchange service that
provides price information for wireless communication units and
other commodities. The price information may include a price for a
given wireless communication unit. The price may be denominated in
one or more currencies (e.g., a digital currency, a fiat currency,
and/or other type of currency) according to particular needs.
[0006] The price information may be provided (indirectly through
rate servers and/or directly) to a wallet application executing on
a client device. The price information may be provided on-demand
(e.g., the wallet application may request the price information
each time the wallet application is opened, when a network
connection is available, based on an explicit request from an
end-user operating the client device, etc.). Alternatively or
additionally, the price information may be provided at regular
intervals and/or upon occurrence of a publication triggering event
(e.g., when updated price information is available). In this
manner, the wallet application may obtain (either directly from the
system or through rate servers) real-time or near-real-time prices
for wireless communication units or other commodities, as well as
facilitate purchases of such units or commodities.
[0007] A wireless communication unit may be used by a wireless
service provider as a way to monitor usage of a wireless service. A
wireless communication unit may be expressed as an increment of
time (e.g., number of minutes or other increment of time), an
increment of data (e.g., megabytes (Mb) of data), and/or other unit
that may be used to monitor usage of a wireless service. A wireless
service may include, without limitation, a satellite-based
communication service, a terrestrial-based communication service
(e.g., cellular service), and/or other communication service that
may charge a fee for the use of wireless communication units.
Although described herein as "wireless communication units" and
"wireless service," other types of communication services (e.g.,
landline, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), etc.) may be
used as well.
[0008] Wireless communication units will be used as examples
throughout for ease of illustration and not limitation. It will be
apparent, however, that the system may be used to provide an
exchange for providing price or other exchange information for
other commodities (e.g., rewards such as airline miles, goods,
services, financial securities, etc.) based on the disclosure
herein as well. Furthermore, examples of commodities will be
described with respect to wireless minutes for convenience and not
limitation. Other wireless communication units and commodities may
be used as well.
[0009] To facilitate these and other functions, the system may
include a computer system that aggregates pricing information from
one or more pricing providers. The pricing providers may include,
without limitation, a wireless service provider, a rewards (e.g.,
airline miles) provider, a commodities producer or exchange, a
financial services provider, and/or other entities that may provide
pricing information for a good or service.
[0010] The computer system may store the price information in a
pricing database in association with the type of commodity to which
the price information pertains, a provider of the commodity, and/or
other information that may be used to retrieve the price
information for a given commodity or provider of the commodity.
[0011] The computer system may provide the price information to
rate servers, which may then provide the price information (along
with their own exchange rate information) to a wallet application.
For instance, a particular rate server may subscribe to receive the
price information (e.g., the price for wireless minutes) provided
by the computer system. A wallet application that receives exchange
rates from the particular rate server may also receive the price
for wireless minutes. The particular wallet application will
therefore have access to and display the price for wireless
minutes.
[0012] Using the system, a wireless service provider may introduce
variably priced wireless services, including limited time
promotions (e.g., discounts), that may be purchased using a wallet
application (which may be executing on the device that uses the
wireless services). For instance, a wireless service provider may
encode identification information into a Quick Response (QR) code
or other machine readable code that is printed on a SIM card or on
packaging of the SIM card. Other devices (other than a SIM card)
used to identify a client device that accesses wireless services
may be used as well. Furthermore, other ways to convey the
identification information may be used as well.
[0013] The client device (which may be programmed with a wallet
application) may display the price of the wireless minutes, which
may have been obtained from a rate server. The client device may
obtain the identification information from the QR code, identify
the wireless service based on the identification information, and
initiate a purchase of the wireless minutes using a payment account
associated with the wallet application. As such, an end user may
obtain real-time or near-real-time pricing for wireless minutes and
purchase the wireless minutes using a wallet application. In some
instances, a given wallet application may use a particular
currency. The wallet application may automatically convert the
price of the wireless minutes in to the particular currency, as
necessary, based on the price information ultimately provided by
the computer system.
[0014] These and other objects, features, and characteristics of
the system and/or method disclosed herein, as well as the methods
of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and
the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become
more apparent upon consideration of the following description and
the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings,
all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like
reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various
figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the
drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only
and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the
invention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the
singular form of "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents
unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for an exchange
service that provides price information for wireless communication
units and other commodities and facilitating the purchase through
wallet applications, according to an implementation of the
invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary data flow diagram for
various components in a system for providing an exchange service
that provides price information for wireless communication units
and other commodities and facilitating the purchase through wallet
applications, according to an implementation of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary exchange application for an
exchange service that provides price information for wireless
communication units and other commodities, according to an
implementation of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary wallet application for
facilitating the purchase of wireless communication units and other
commodities, according to an implementation of the invention.
[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a process of providing price information
for wireless communication units and other commodities, according
to an implementation of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 depicts a process of facilitating the purchase of
wireless communication units and other commodities, according to an
implementation of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 7A depicts an identification acquisition interface,
according to an implementation of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 7B depicts an identification acquisition interface,
according to an implementation of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 depicts an exchange rate interface, according to an
implementation of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] The invention described herein relates to a system and
method for an exchange service that provides price information for
wireless communication units and other commodities.
[0025] Exemplary System Architecture
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 for an exchange
service that provides price information for wireless communication
units and other commodities and facilitating the purchase through
wallet applications, according to an implementation of the
invention.
[0027] System 100 may include one or more computer systems 110, one
or more pricing providers 120, one or more rate servers 130, one or
more client devices 140, one or more payment processors 150, one or
more databases 160, and/or other components.
[0028] Computer System 110
[0029] Computer system 110 may be implemented as a server computing
device, a personal computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop
computer, etc.), a smartphone, a tablet computing device, and/or
other device that can be used to provide pricing for wireless
communication units.
[0030] Computer system 110 may include one or more processors 112
(also interchangeably referred to herein as processors 112,
processor(s) 112, or processor 112 for convenience), one or more
storage devices 114 (which may store an exchange application 116),
and/or other components. Processors 112 may be programmed by one or
more computer program instructions. For example, processors 112 may
be programmed by exchange application 116 and/or other
instructions.
[0031] It should be noted that the functions of computer system 110
(described in more detail herein) may be provided as a standalone
service to various entities and/or may be integrated within the
various entities' systems. For example, computer system 110 may be
a standalone computer system or be integrated into a pricing
provider's computer system, a rate server's computer system, and/or
other entity's computer systems.
[0032] Pricing Providers 120
[0033] A pricing provider 120 may include an entity that provides
price information for a commodity. For example, and without
limitation, a pricing provider 120 may include a telecommunication
company (e.g., a wireless service provider), a rewards provider
(e.g., an airline miles provider), a commodity producer, financial
securities brokers/managers, and/or others that provide goods or
services at a price or exchange rate that generally (although not
necessarily) varies. Thus, a given pricing provider may use the
system to expose their prices to a wallet application, as well as
facilitate the sale of a commodity through the wallet
application.
[0034] Rate Servers 130
[0035] A rate server 130 may include an entity that provides
exchange rates for currencies it deems are relevant to its
business. For example, various credit card companies and other
financial institutions may offer their own rate servers that
provide relevant rates to their own wallet applications. Some rate
servers 130 provide centralized currency exchanges used by
financial institutions.
[0036] Client Devices 140
[0037] A client device 140 may be implemented as a personal
computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, etc.), a
smartphone, a tablet computing device, and/or other device that can
be used to pricing for wireless communication units or other
commodity and facilitate the purchase of such commodity.
[0038] Client device 140 may include one or more processors 142
(also interchangeably referred to herein as processors 142,
processor(s) 142, or processor 142 for convenience), one or more
storage devices 144 (which may store a wallet application 146),
and/or other components. Processors 142 may be programmed by one or
more computer program instructions. For example, processors 142 may
be programmed by wallet application 146 and/or other
instructions.
[0039] Payment Processors 150
[0040] Payment processors 150 may include digital currency
transaction loggers (e.g., Bitcoin transaction processors/miners),
conventional credit card payment processors, electronic funds
transfer processors, and/or other payment processors that can
transfer currency from a sender (or payer) account to a recipient
(or payee) account.
[0041] Databases 160
[0042] The various databases 160 described herein may be, include,
or interface to, for example, an Oracle.TM. relational database
sold commercially by Oracle Corporation. Other databases, such as
Informix.TM., DB2 (Database 2) or other data storage, including
file-based, or query formats, platforms, or resources such as OLAP
(On Line Analytical Processing), SQL (Structured Query Language), a
SAN (storage area network), Microsoft Access.TM. or others may also
be used, incorporated, or accessed. The database may comprise one
or more such databases that reside in one or more physical devices
and in one or more physical locations. The database may store a
plurality of types of data and/or files and associated data or file
descriptions, administrative information, or any other data.
[0043] Although illustrated in FIG. 1 as a single component,
computer system 110 may include a plurality of individual
components (e.g., computer devices) each programmed with at least
some of the functions described herein. In this manner, some
components of computer system 110 may perform some functions while
other components may perform other functions, as would be
appreciated.
[0044] The one or more processors 112, 142 may each include one or
more physical processors that are programmed by computer program
instructions. The various instructions described herein are
exemplary only. Other configurations and numbers of instructions
may be used, so long as the processor(s) 112, 142 are programmed to
perform the functions described herein.
[0045] Furthermore, it should be appreciated that although the
various instructions are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located
within a single processing unit, in implementations in which
processor(s) 112, 142 each includes multiple processing units, one
or more instructions may be executed remotely from the other
instructions.
[0046] The description of the functionality provided by the
different instructions described herein is for illustrative
purposes, and is not intended to be limiting, as any of
instructions may provide more or less functionality than is
described. For example, one or more of the instructions may be
eliminated, and some or all of its functionality may be provided by
other ones of the instructions. As another example, processor(s)
112, 142 may each be programmed by one or more additional
instructions that may perform some or all of the functionality
attributed herein to one of the instructions.
[0047] The various instructions described herein may be stored in a
storage device 114, 154, which may comprise random access memory
(RAM), read only memory (ROM), and/or other memory. The storage
device may store the computer program instructions (e.g., the
aforementioned instructions) to be executed by processor 112, 142
as well as data that may be manipulated by processor 112, 142. The
storage device may comprise floppy disks, hard disks, optical
disks, tapes, or other storage media for storing
computer-executable instructions and/or data.
[0048] The various components illustrated in FIG. 1 may be coupled
to at least one other component via a network 102, which may
include any one or more of, for instance, the Internet, an
intranet, a PAN (Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local Area
Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a SAN (Storage Area Network),
a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a wireless network, a cellular
communications network, a Public Switched Telephone Network, and/or
other network. In FIG. 1, as well as in other drawing Figures,
different numbers of entities than those depicted may be used.
Furthermore, according to various implementations, the components
described herein may be implemented in hardware and/or software
that configure hardware.
[0049] Delivery/Publication of Pricing Information
[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary data flow diagram 200 for
various components in a system for providing an exchange service
that provides price information for wireless communication units
and other commodities and facilitating the purchase through wallet
applications, according to an implementation of the invention.
[0051] Various pricing providers 120 may provide pricing
information to computer system 110. For example, telecommunications
providers (e.g., satellite phone providers, cellular phone
providers, etc.) may provide pricing information for wireless
communication units. Rewards providers (e.g., an airline miles
provider) may provide exchange rates for rewards (e.g., to exchange
airline miles to currency and vice versa), a commodity exchange or
provide may provide pricing for commodities, financial services
markets or companies may provide prices for mutual funds, stocks,
or other financial instruments. Others that provide goods or
services at a price or exchange rate that generally (although not
necessarily) varies may also provide price information to computer
system 110 as well.
[0052] Computer system 110 may obtain the pricing information and
store the pricing information in association with its source and
the commodity to which the pricing information pertains. In this
manner pricing information for wireless minutes may be provided
alone or along with other types of commodities using a digital
currency and/or other type of currency.
[0053] Computer system 110 may provide the pricing information to
various entities, such as rate servers 130. In this manner, rate
servers 130 may incorporate the pricing information into their own
rate services they provide to downstream recipients. Some rate
servers 130 may provide its rates to other rate servers. For
example, a centralize bank or currency exchange may provide
exchange rates (including pricing information from computer system
110) to other rate servers, which may be associated with individual
companies involved in electronic payment systems, some of which may
be proprietary and some of which may use a digital currency such as
Bitcoin.
[0054] In turn, each rate server 130 may provide exchange rates
(including the pricing information from computer system 110) to its
downstream recipients, typically (although not necessarily) to
wallet applications 146, executing on client devices 140, that
cooperate with the corresponding rate server. A wallet application
146 may display the exchange rates/pricing information and
facilitate the purchase of wireless minutes natively using a
payment account associated with the wallet application.
[0055] Having described a high level overview of the system,
attention will now be turned to the functions of computer system
110, which may be programmed by exchange application 116.
[0056] Exchange Application 116
[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary exchange application 116 for
an exchange service that provides price information for wireless
communication units and other commodities, according to an
implementation of the invention.
[0058] Exchange application 116 may include instructions that
program computer system 110. The instructions may include, without
limitation, a subscription manager 310, a pricing aggregator 312, a
price conversion engine 314, a price publisher 316, a purchase
manager 318, and/or other instructions that program computer system
110 to perform various operations, examples of which are described
in greater detail herein. As used herein, for convenience, the
various instructions will be described as performing an operation,
when, in fact, the various instructions program the processors 112
(and therefore computer system 110) to perform the operation.
[0059] Subscription Manager 310
[0060] According to an aspect of the invention, subscription
manager 310 may register a subscription user to receive price
information for wireless communication units. As used herein, the
term "subscription user" may refer to an entity such as rate server
130, a person, a wallet application, and/or others that register to
receive price information provided by computer system 110. For
instance, an entity such as a rate server 130 may be interested in
obtaining the price information and providing such price
information along with other prices provided by that rate server.
An individual person may subscribe to receive the price information
as well. Likewise, an application (e.g., a wallet application 144)
may subscribe to directly receive the price information (rather
than or in addition to receiving such pricing from a rate server
130).
[0061] Upon registration, subscription information related to the
subscription user may be collected and stored in a subscription
database, such as in one or more databases 160. The subscription
information may include subscription user identification
information, authentication information (e.g., a secret such as a
password), currency preference information that indicates a
preferred currency in which denominate prices, commodity preference
information that identify commodities for which price information
is desired, and/or other information related to the subscription
user.
[0062] Pricing Aggregator 312
[0063] According to an aspect of the invention, pricing aggregator
312 may obtain price information from one or more pricing providers
120. For instance, pricing aggregator 312 may obtain a price of
wireless minutes offered by a wireless service provider, a
commodity price from a commodities exchange, a security price from
a securities exchange, and/or other price information. Pricing
aggregator 312 may obtain such price information on-demand, at
regular intervals, and/or at other times. Furthermore, pricing
aggregator 312 may request (e.g., pull) the price information
and/or be provided with (e.g., pushed) the price information. The
price information may be stored in a pricing database, such as a
database 160 for later retrieval and/or historical price
analysis.
[0064] The pricing database may further store an association of a
given SIM card identifier with a wireless service provider that
provides wireless service and/or with a price for wireless minutes.
In this manner, a given SIM card may be mapped to a price for
wireless minutes.
[0065] In some instances, the price information may specify a price
that varies. For example, the price of wireless minutes may vary
due to promotions offered by a wireless service provider, time of
day, day of week, location (e.g., whether in-network), service
load, and/or other factor that may cause the price to vary. In this
manner, a wireless service provider may advantageously use the
system to provide real-time price information for its services and
facilitate the sale of such services to end users (e.g., those who
use wireless communication units). Likewise, other entities may
advantageously use the system to provide real-time price
information for its commodities and facilitate the sale or exchange
of such commodities.
[0066] The price information may be associated with identification
information that indicates the relevant commodity so that the price
information may be later matched with the relevant commodity. For
instance, price information for a wireless minute may be associated
with identification information such as an identity of a wireless
service provider, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or other
mobile account identity, and/or other identifying information. In
this manner, price information may be matched to a given type of
service provider or a given commodity to facilitate the sale of
such commodity.
[0067] In implementations in which price information relates to
wireless minutes (or other wireless communication unit), the system
allows variable pricing for wireless minutes, even on prepaid
devices such as prepaid SIM cards, prepaid phones, etc. For
instance, a SIM card that has been sold or is offered for sale at a
retail outlet may be associated with a variable price for wireless
minutes. In other words, instead of a set number of wireless
minutes for a prepaid SIM card or phone, for example, the price may
vary according to real-time pricing offered by the wireless service
provider that provides service to the SIM card or phone.
[0068] In an implementation, the price of a commodity may vary as a
result of a promotion or sale. For instance, a wireless service
provider may offer a promotion during a specified period of time
that may begin at a starting point in time (e.g., date and/or time)
and ends at an ending point in time (e.g., date and/or time).
During the promotion, the price per minute may be reduced. The
system may publish the appropriate price information based on the
promotion so that end users who are interested in activating or
reloading a SIM card or prepaid phone, for instance, may obtain
real-time pricing that reflects any promotion (as well any other
price variation).
[0069] Price Conversion Engine 314
[0070] According to an aspect of the invention, price conversion
engine 314 may convert the price of wireless minutes from one
currency to one or more other currencies. For instance, if wireless
service provider provides the price of wireless minutes in a first
currency, price conversion engine 314 may convert the price of
wireless minutes to a second currency and/or third currency. Such
conversion may be performed based on current exchange rates
(between the first, second, and/or third currencies) provided by
one or more rate servers 130.
[0071] Price Publisher 316
[0072] According to an aspect of the invention, price publisher 316
may provide price information for wireless minutes and/or other
commodities in one or more currencies. As would be appreciated, the
one or more currencies may each be converted by to another currency
by the recipient (e.g., a subscription user).
[0073] Price publisher 316 may provide the price information to
subscriber users or others based on an occurrence of a publication
trigger event and/or an on-demand request. Typically, though not
necessarily, the subscriber users or others may cache the price
information for local retrieval, as will be described below with
respect to wallet application 146.
[0074] Broadcasting Price Information
[0075] In some instances, price publisher 316 may provide price
information through a broadcast message that is pushed to
subscriber users or others. The broadcast message may be responsive
to an occurrence of a publication trigger event. A publication
trigger event may include, without limitation, a change in the
price information (as measured from previously obtained price
information for a given commodity), a passage of a predefined
and/or configurable amount of time, and/or other event that causes
price publisher 316 to provide price information to subscriber
users or others.
[0076] Upon occurrence of a publication trigger event, price
publisher 316 may identify relevant subscriber users and their
subscriptions. Price publisher 316 may then provide the appropriate
price information to the subscriber users or others.
[0077] Such publication may be made through, for example, a
multicast communication, a one-to-one communication, a webservice
(e.g., a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) service), and/or
other communication protocol in which a sender may push information
to a recipient.
[0078] On-Demand Price Information
[0079] In some instances, price publisher 316 may provide price
information responsive to a request. For instance, price publisher
316 may expose an Application Programming Interface (API), a
webservice (e.g., a SOAP service), and/or other interface through
which a computing device (e.g., a computing device of a rate server
130, an individual, an application, etc.) is provided with the
price information. In some instances, a user interface application
(such as an application executing through an Internet browser) may
use the interface to request and obtain the price information from
price publisher. The user interface application may display the
price information through, for example, a website, a mobile
application, and/or other user interface suitable to display or
otherwise consume the price information.
[0080] In some instances, price publisher 316 may provide a price
for a commodity responsive to a request that is specific for the
commodity. For example, a client device 140 may request a current
price for wireless minutes for use in a wireless service. In a
particular example, a client device may scan or otherwise obtain
identification information packaged with, or directly printed onto,
SIM cards, pre-paid phones, and/or other devices used to access a
wireless service. Client device 140 may provide the identification
information to price publisher 316.
[0081] Upon receipt of the identification information, price
publisher 316 may identify the corresponding type of commodity
(e.g., wireless service) and/or provider (e.g., wireless service
provider) based on the identification information. Price publisher
316 may obtain and provide the appropriate price for wireless
minutes based on the identified wireless service and/or provider.
In some instances, a first SIM card may be encoded with first
identification information while a second SIM card may be encoded
with second identification information. The first identification
information may correspond to a first price for wireless minutes,
while the second identification information may correspond to a
second price (different than the first price) for wireless minutes.
In this manner, different SIM cards (or other devices) may be
associated with different pricing structures. Furthermore, as would
be appreciated, different SIM cards may be associated with
different wireless service providers (and therefore may have
different pricing structures for their wireless minutes).
[0082] Customizing the Price Information
[0083] In an implementation, price publisher 316 may provide a
price for wireless minutes based on an identity of a wallet
application to which the price is provided. For example, the price
for wireless minutes may be provided in a digital currency (e.g.,
Bitcoin) for a digital currency wallet or a fiat currency for a
fiat currency-based wallet. In this manner, price publisher 316 may
provide a given wallet application 146 with a price for wireless
minutes using the currency preferred or otherwise used by the
wallet application. Conversion to and from different currencies may
be performed by price conversion engine 314. In other
implementations, price publisher 316 may provide a given wallet
application (or all wallet applications) with price information
that includes prices denominated in a predefined currency, which
may then be converted to an appropriate currency by each respective
wallet application.
[0084] In an implementation, the price (or other information) may
be customized based on an identity of a user of a wallet
application. For instance, price publisher 316 may obtain an
identity of a user associated with the wallet application, such as
from registration information obtained during a registration
process described herein. Price publisher may customize the actual
price or offer for wireless minutes (or other commodity) based on
the identity of the user. For example, price publisher 316 may
obtain user preferences, prior user activity (e.g., previously
purchased wireless minutes or other commodity, wireless usage
activity, etc.), user demographic information, and/or other
information known about the user to provide customized price or
other information.
[0085] Localizing the Price Information
[0086] In an implementation, price publisher 316 may provide a
price for wireless minutes using a currency localized for wallet
application 146. For instance, a client device 140 executing wallet
application 146 may provide location information (e.g., Global
Positioning System information, manual input by an end user, etc.)
that indicates a location of the client device. The location
information may be received in association with a request from
wallet application 146 to receive the price for wireless minutes
and/or may be received periodically from the wallet application.
Price publisher 316 may use the location information to
automatically localize the price for wireless minutes. For example,
price publisher 316 may identify a currency accepted at the
location and may localize the price of wireless minutes according
to the local currency.
[0087] Purchase Manager 318
[0088] According to an aspect of the invention, purchase manager
318 may facilitate purchase of a commodity (e.g., wireless
minutes). For example, purchase manager 318 may receive a payment,
initiated by wallet application 146, for wireless minutes. Upon
receipt of the payment, purchase manager 318 may arrange for the
provision of the purchased commodity. For example, purchase manager
318 may cause a SIM card account to be activated or reloaded with
an appropriate number of purchased wireless minutes. Other types of
commodities may be arranged for provision as well. Payments may be
processed by purchase manager 318 or purchase agent 316, and will
be described below with respect to purchase agent 416.
[0089] Wallet Application 146
[0090] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary wallet application for
facilitating the purchase of wireless communication units and other
commodities, according to an implementation of the invention.
Wallet application 146 may include instructions that program client
device 140. The instructions may include, without limitation, a
pricing manager 410, a price conversion engine 412, an
identification ("ID") reader 414, a purchase agent 416, and/or
other instructions that program client device 140 to perform
various operations, examples of which are described in greater
detail herein. As used herein, for convenience, the various
instructions will be described as performing an operation, when, in
fact, the various instructions program the processors 142 (and
therefore client device 140) to perform the operation.
[0091] Pricing Manager 410
[0092] According to an aspect of the invention, pricing manager 410
may obtain price information for wireless minutes. For example,
pricing manager 410 may receive the price information from price
publisher 416 upon the occurrence of a publication triggering
event. Alternatively or additionally, pricing manager 410 may
request the price information on-demand through an interface (e.g.,
API, web service, etc.) provided by pricing manager 410. Such
on-demand requests may be initiated by the end user or by pricing
manager 410 when a network connection is available and/or whenever
wallet application 416 is opened.
[0093] In some instances, pricing manager 410 may obtain exchange
rates for digital, fiat, and/or other types of currencies from
exchange servers 130. The exchange rates may be used for conversion
from one currency to another. Pricing manager 410 may maintain
exchange rates for a particular currency for conversion to one or
more other currencies. The particular currency may be used
specifically by wallet application 146. For example, pricing
manager 410, when part of a digital currency wallet application,
may maintain exchange rates to convert Bitcoins to other currencies
such as other digital currencies and/or fiat currencies.
[0094] Pricing manager 410 may cause the obtained price information
and/or exchange rates to be stored in a memory, such as storage
device 144. In some instances, the price information may be stored
in a local price database at storage device 144.
[0095] Pricing manager 410 may provide the price information and/or
the exchange rates via a user interface associated with wallet
application 146. An example of such a user interface is illustrated
in FIG. 8.
[0096] Price Conversion Engine 412
[0097] According to an aspect of the invention, price conversion
engine 412 may convert the price of wireless minutes from one
currency to another currency and, more generally, convert a given
currency to another currency using the exchange rates. In this
manner, currency exchange rates may be performed locally.
[0098] ID Reader 414
[0099] According to an aspect of the invention, ID reader 414 may
read or otherwise obtain identification information associated with
a SIM card, prepaid phone, and/or other device used to access
wireless services. The identification information may: (i) be
encoded using a machine readable code (e.g., a Quick Response (QR)
code, a barcode, etc.), (ii) include alpha-numeric text, (iii) be
encoded using an electronic tag (e.g., a Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.),
and/or include other methods of conveying the identification
information.
[0100] The identification information may be included (e.g.,
printed) on the SIM card (or other device) used to access wireless
services and/or on packaging for the SIM card. In this manner, an
end user may use client device 140 to obtain the identification
information from the SIM card and/or packaging. For example, an end
user may scan or otherwise read the identification information from
the device and/or packaging using client device 140 (programmed by
a wallet application 146).
[0101] In an implementation, to obtain the identification
information, ID reader 414 may cause an ID acquisition interface to
be displayed by client device 140, such as the ID acquisition
interface illustrated in FIG. 7.
[0102] Purchase Agent 416
[0103] According to an aspect of the invention, purchase agent 416
may facilitate the purchase of wireless minutes (or other
commodity). For instance, purchase agent 416 may use ID reader 414
to obtain identification information associated with a SIM card.
Once obtained, purchase agent 416 may match the identification
information with a price information of corresponding wireless
minutes or other commodity, which may be stored in storage device
144. Alternatively or additionally, purchase agent 416 may
transmit, to computer system 110, a request to obtain real-time
price information of wireless minutes associated with the SIM card.
The request may include the identification information. Whether or
not the price information agent 416 is obtained from local storage
or in real-time, purchase agent 416 may provide the price
information through a display to the end user, either in response
to the obtained identification information or as an exchange rate
display (illustrated in FIG. 8).
[0104] Upon receipt of an indication to purchase wireless minutes,
purchase agent 416 may initiate payment processing using a payment
account associated with wallet application 146. In implementations
where wallet application 146 is associated with multiple payment
accounts, purchase agent 416 may prompt the end user to select a
given payment account.
[0105] Purchase agent 416 may process the payment based on the
selected (or default/only) payment account. For example, purchase
agent 416 may transmit payment identifying information (e.g.,
information associated with, though not necessarily including a
credit card number) to a payment processor (which may process
payments on behalf of the payee, such as a wireless service
provider) according to conventional payment processing techniques.
In another example, purchase agent 416 may provide a Bitcoin payer
address, Bitcoin payee address, information signed using a Bitcoin
private key, amount (as determined from the wireless minutes price
and applicable exchange rate) and, and/or other information
required to process Bitcoin transactions.
[0106] In this manner, purchase agent 416 facilitates the purchase
of wireless minutes (which may be variably priced) and other
commodities using an integrated solution that can include digital
and other currencies.
[0107] It should be appreciated that at least some of the functions
of exchange application 116 may be performed by wallet application
146 and vice versa. For example, wallet application 146 may
customize and/or localize the price information received directly
from computer system 110 or from a rate server 130.
[0108] FIG. 5 depicts a process 500 of providing an exchange
service that provides price information for wireless communication
units and other commodities, according to an implementation of the
invention. The various processing operations and/or data flows
depicted in FIG. 5 (and in the other drawing figures) are described
in greater detail herein. The described operations may be
accomplished using some or all of the system components described
in detail above and, in some implementations, various operations
may be performed in different sequences and various operations may
be omitted. Additional operations may be performed along with some
or all of the operations shown in the depicted flow diagrams. One
or more operations may be performed simultaneously. Accordingly,
the operations as illustrated (and described in greater detail
below) are exemplary by nature and, as such, should not be viewed
as limiting.
[0109] In an operation 502, price information for wireless minutes
may be obtained. The price information may indicate a price for a
given number of wireless minutes (or other wireless communication
unit), an identification of a provider of the wireless minutes,
and/or other information.
[0110] In an operation 504, the price information may be customized
and/or localized. The price information, customized price
information, and/or localized price information may be stored in a
pricing database.
[0111] In an operation 506, the price information may be provided
to relevant parties, which may include subscription users who have
subscribed to receive the price information, users who have
requested such price information on-demand, and/or others.
[0112] In an operation 508, an indication of a payment to pay for
wireless minutes may be received.
[0113] In an operation 510, a number of wireless minutes involved
in the purchase may be determined. For instance, the indication of
the payment may include an indication of the amount paid (whether
in digital, fiat, and/or other currency), an indication of the
number of wireless minutes purchased, and/or other information that
allows for a determination of the number or amount of wireless
communication units that were purchased. If the payment indicates
an amount paid, an appropriate number of wireless minutes may be
determined based on pricing information (which may be stored in the
pricing database).
[0114] In an operation 512, a subscriber account associated with
the payment may be identified. For example, the indication of
payment may be associated with identification information that
identifies a SIM card.
[0115] In an operation 514, the subscriber account associated with
the SIM card may be incremented by the number of minutes.
[0116] FIG. 6 depicts a process 600 of facilitating the purchase of
wireless communication units and other commodities, according to an
implementation of the invention.
[0117] In an operation 602, pricing or other information for
wireless minutes may be obtained. The pricing or other information
may include a price for one or more wireless minutes.
[0118] In an operation 604, the price may be localized by
converting the price from one currency to another currency. In some
instances, this operation may be unnecessary because the price may
be obtained in an appropriate currency. In a particular
implementation, the price may be denominated in Bitcoin currency,
suitable for use with a Bitcoin wallet application, although other
currencies and wallet applications may be used as well.
[0119] In an operation 606, at least a portion of the pricing
information (e.g., the price) may be displayed. In some instances,
the price may be displayed in one or more currencies. In some
instances, the price may be displayed along with exchange rates for
various digital, fiat, and/or other currencies. In this manner, an
end user may be provided with a real-time (e.g., on-demand) or near
real-time (e.g., regularly updated based on a triggering event)
price for wireless minutes.
[0120] In an operation 608, identification information may be
obtained from a SIM card, a prepaid phone, and/or other device used
to access wireless services. Alternatively or additionally, the
identification information may be read from packaging associated
with such device, other media (e.g., a printed or electronic
advertisement). In any event, the identification information may be
encoded as a machine readable code (e.g., a QR code, a barcode,
etc.). The machine readable code may be imaged using an imaging
device (e.g., a camera) and image-processed using conventional
techniques to obtain the identification information. The
identification information may be manually input by an end user as
well or be read from electronic tags (e.g., RFID, NFC, etc.). Other
methods of obtaining the identification information will be
apparent as well.
[0121] In an operation 610, a price of wireless minutes may be
identified based on the identification information. For example,
the identification information may be transmitted to a computer
system, which responds with the price of the wireless minutes
and/or an identification of the wireless service associated with
the identification information. In some instances, the
identification information may be used to locally look up the price
for wireless minutes. For example, the identification information
may be locally associated with a particular wireless service
provider and/or a particular wireless service, which may (in turn)
be associated with the price of wireless minutes.
[0122] In an operation 612, a purchase of wireless minutes may be
facilitated. For instance, a payment account may be used to
purchase the wireless minutes. Such purchase may use a particular
currency, such as a Bitcoin or other currency. Information
identifying the payment account (which may include an actual
account identifier such as a credit card number or a token
representative of the credit card number) may be pre-stored locally
and/or may be input by the end user.
[0123] FIG. 7A depicts an ID acquisition interface 700A, according
to an implementation of the invention. ID acquisition interface 700
(referred to hereinafter as "interface 700A") may include a field
of view 702 and an imaging guide 704. Field of view 702 displays
the range of a camera used for imaging, as described herein.
[0124] As illustrated in FIG. 7A, packaging 701 is within a field
of view 702. Packaging 701 may package a SIM card 703 and include a
printed QR code 705. The end user (e.g., a user operating client
device 140 programmed with wallet application 146) is directed to
arrange imaging guide 704 around QR code 705. In some instances,
interface 700A may provide a visual indication that indicates
whether or not the QR code 705 is properly aligned with imaging
guide 704. Once the user takes an image of QR code 705, wallet
application 146 may obtain identification information encoded
thereon, as described herein. The identification information may be
used to identify a wireless service (or commodity as described
herein) and/or a wireless service provider (or commodity
provider).
[0125] In some instances, wallet application 146 may have stored an
association of pricing information and the wireless service and/or
wireless service provider. In this instance, the end user may be
made aware of the current price for minutes. Alternatively or
additional, wallet application 146 may obtain a real-time price
quote for the wireless minutes by transmitting the identification
information to computer system 110. The end user may purchase
wireless minutes based on the obtained identification
information.
[0126] FIG. 7B depicts an ID acquisition interface 700B, according
to an implementation of the invention. ID acquisition interface 700
(referred to hereinafter as "interface 700B") may include similar
features and functions as those described with respect to interface
700A. However, FIG. 7B illustrates content 721 (e.g., a magazine or
other content, which may be printed or electronic) that includes
one or more QR codes 723 (illustrated as QR codes 723A, 723B) each
corresponding to a different commodity, such as a mutual fund or
financial security. As would be appreciated, other machine readable
codes, alphanumeric text (e.g., for manual input by the end user),
and/or other markings may be used as well. Upon obtaining
identification information associated with a given QR code 723, the
end user may be provided with a corresponding current price (e.g.,
a current mutual fund price or financial security price). The end
user may be provided with an opportunity to purchase the mutual
fund or financial security using a payment account associated the
wallet application. Of course, such functionality may also be
incorporated into a branded mobile application for a stock broker
or other financial services firm that allows users to purchase
mutual funds or financial securities. Furthermore, other types of
commodities may likewise be advertised for sale.
[0127] FIG. 8 depicts an exchange rate interface 800, according to
an implementation of the invention. Exchange rate interface 800
(hereinafter, "interface 800") may display a currency used by
wallet application 146. As illustrated, for example, wallet
application 146 uses Bitcoins for payments. Section 802 indicates
that the current balance of Bitcoins is 2.08454166. Section 804
includes other currencies and their equivalent values based on
prevailing exchange rates (as obtained by wallet application 146).
Section 806 indicates a number of wireless minutes that may be
purchased, according to the current price of wireless minutes from
a given wireless service provider and based on prevailing exchange
rates (assuming that the wireless minutes were not priced using
Bitcoins). As would be appreciated, Sections 802, 804, and 806 are
used for illustrative purposes only. Interface 800 may not
necessarily be sectioned off or may have other sections not
illustrated.
[0128] Other implementations, uses and advantages of the invention
will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of
the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein.
The specification should be considered exemplary only, and the
scope of the invention is accordingly intended to be limited only
by the following claims.
* * * * *