FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention relates to communication in a networking environment and in
particular relates to interaction between mobile devices in the networking environment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
The advent of internet has enabled execution of a plethora of tasks online and mobile device
technology has evolved itself to impart the benefits of online services on the fly. Examples of such
devices include tablets, smartphones, palm-tops, smart-watches etc. Using a mobile-device
application software i.e. a mobile app running on data network connection to request online
services has become a general norm.
Through such mobile-app initiated operations, a user account may be emulated and a
service request related to the user account may be routed through a long-distance communication
mechanism, e.g. through cellular communication or packet data communication, and more recently,
even through short range communication mechanism such as NFC communication mechanism. An
example of such emulation of user account through the mobile-app is the mobile apps based on
Host card architecture (HCE). However, for gathering such ‘user-account’ related requests that
may be triggered through mobile-app and thereafter communicated vide NFC mechanism, a
specifically configured NFC-device has to be employed by a service request receiver to interact
with the requestor mobile phone. An example of such specifically configured device is point of
sale device (POS). However, as known such devices are generally bulky in nature and a
representative handling such specific device has to simultaneously manually-operate upon both the
requestor NFC enabled mobile device and the specific device, thereby leading to complexity and
time consumption.
Recently, there have been technologies that are able to configure an NFC-enabled mobile
device itself towards receiving and processing the aforesaid service requests. Yet, benefit is
realized through an implementation of an external hardware element within the NFC enabled
mobile device for configuring. Moreover, since such hardware secure elements are provided by
third party manufactures, interoperability between mobile device manufacturers and secure element
manufacturers is also substantially limited, and accordingly only selected mobile device
manufacturers are benefitted.
2
Accordingly, there has been a long felt need for enabling any NFC enabled mobile phone to
receive and process ‘user-account’ related service requests that are triggered by a mobile app and
sent through NFC mechanism from a requestor NFC enabled mobile device, without requiring any
significant up-gradation to any of the NFC enabled mobile devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
Accordingly, the present invention describes a method for enabling an operation using a
near field communication (NFC) enabled mobile device, wherein said method comprises receiving
a first cryptogram by a first mobile device hosting a pre-defined environment; communicating, by
the first mobile device, through an NFC mechanism with a second mobile device comprising a
second cryptogram and hosting said pre-defined environment; and based on said communication,
transmitting by the first mobile device through said pre-defined environment said first cryptogram
at least along-with a user account related parameter. The transmission causes an operation related
to said user account, at least based upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at
least along-with said user account parameter.
The present invention also provides a system for enabling an operation using a near field
communication (NFC) enabled mobile device. The system comprises a receiver for receiving a first
cryptogram in respect of said mobile device hosting a pre-defined environment; an NFC module
for communicating with another mobile device comprising a second cryptogram and hosting said
pre-defined environment; and based on said communication through NFC module, a transmitter for
transmitting through said pre-defined environment, said first cryptogram at least along-with a user
account related parameter. The transmission causes an operation related to said user account, at
least based upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at least along-with said user
account parameter.
The present invention further provides another method for enabling an operation using NFC
enabled mobile devices, said method comprising receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a
recipient and delivery itinerary; communicating a first cryptogram to a portable device hosting a
pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on
details of the recipient; communicating a second cryptogram to a portable device hosting the predefined
environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram being based on
details pertaining to the intermediary and optionally the delivery itinerary; receiving from the
portable device corresponding to the recipient, a first message comprising the first cryptogram at
least along-with a user account related parameter; receiving from the portable device
3
corresponding to the intermediary, a second message comprising at least the second cryptogram;
and performing an operation related to a user account of said recipient, in response to
authentication of the first message and authentication of the second message.
The present invention also provides a system for enabling an operation using NFC enabled
mobile devices. The system comprises a receiver for receiving details pertaining to an
intermediary, a recipient and delivery itinerary; a transmitter for communicating a first cryptogram
to a portable device hosting a pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first
cryptogram being based on details of the recipient; said transmitter for communicating a second
cryptogram to a portable device hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the
intermediary, the second cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and
optionally the delivery itinerary; said receiver for receiving from the portable device corresponding
to the recipient, a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user account
related parameter; said receiver for receiving from the portable device corresponding to the
intermediary, a second message comprising at least the second cryptogram; and a processor for
performing an operation related to a user account of said recipient, in response to authentication of
the first message and authentication of the second message.
The present invention further provides another method for enabling an operation using NFC
enabled mobile devices. The method comprises receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a
recipient and a delivery itinerary; generating a first cryptogram for providing to a portable device
hosting a pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being
based on details of the recipient; generating a second cryptogram for providing to a portable device
hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram
being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and the delivery itinerary; receiving a first
message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with at least one of a user account related
parameter; , a time based parameter and a location based parameter; receiving a second message
comprising at least the second cryptogram along-with at least one of a time based parameter and a
location based parameter; and providing an authentication signal, in response to determining
authenticity of the first message and the authenticity of the second message.
The present invention also provides a system for enabling an operation using NFC enabled
mobile devices. The system comprises a receiver for receiving details pertaining to an
intermediary, a recipient and a delivery itinerary; a cryptogram generator for generating a first
cryptogram for providing to a portable device hosting a pre-defined environment and
corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on details of the recipient; said
4
cryptogram generator for further generating a second cryptogram for providing to a portable
device hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second
cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and the delivery itinerary; said
receiver for receiving a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user
account related parameter; receiving a second message comprising at least the second cryptogram;
and a processor for providing an authentication signal, in response to determining authenticity of
the first message and the authenticity of the second message.
To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular
description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which
is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical
embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The
invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES:
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better
understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 shows a flow chart corresponding to a first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 shows a detailed internal construction of the apparatus in accordance with a first
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a flow chart corresponding to a second embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 shows a detailed internal construction of the apparatus in accordance with the
second embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5 shows a flow chart corresponding to a third embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 shows a detailed internal construction of the apparatus in accordance with the third
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7 shows a detailed internal construction of the apparatus as described in Fig. 2, 4 and
6;
Figure 8 shows an exemplary implementation of a networking environment corresponding to
application of the first and second embodiments of the present invention;
Figure 9 shows an exemplary control flow diagram as applicable within the implementation
described in Fig. 8.
5
Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for
simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts
illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve
understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the
device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by
conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to
understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with
details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the
description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference
will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used
to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the
invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system,
and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being
contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and
the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not
intended to be restrictive thereof.
Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language
means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the
embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of
the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this
specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover
a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not
include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process
or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components
proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other
devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or
6
additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or
additional components.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same
meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention
belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended
to be limiting.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
Now referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that the present invention provides a method for
enabling an operation using a near field communication (NFC) enabled mobile device, said method
comprising:
receiving (step 102) a first cryptogram by a first mobile device hosting a pre-defined
environment;
communicating (step 104), by the first mobile device, through an NFC mechanism with a
second mobile device comprising a second cryptogram and hosting said pre-defined environment;
and
based on said communication, transmitting (step 106) by the first mobile device through
said pre-defined environment said first cryptogram at least along-with a user account related
parameter;
wherein said transmission causes an operation related to said user account, at least based
upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at least along-with said user account
parameter.
In an embodiment, wherein said transmission from said first mobile device further
comprises at least one of a time based parameter; and a location based parameter.
In another embodiment of the invention, wherein said first and second mobile device are
NFC enabled devices.
In a further embodiment of the invention, wherein said first cryptogram pertains to a useridentity
details associated with said first mobile device.
7
In another embodiment, wherein said pre-defined environment hosted within the first and
the second mobile device is capable to receive at least one of said first cryptogram and said second
cryptogram.
In another embodiment, wherein said pre-defined environment is capable to transmit at least
one of said first cryptogram, said second cryptogram, said user account related parameter, said time
based parameter and said location based parameter.
In another embodiment, wherein said second cryptogram pertains to at least one of details
associated at least one of : identity of said second mobile device, a third party, a deliverable object,
and optionally a delivery itinerary of an object to be delivered from said second mobile device’
user to said first mobile device’ user.
In another embodiment, wherein said transmission further comprises at least one of:
transmission of the second cryptogram by the first mobile device;
transmission of the first cryptogram by the second mobile device; and
transmission of the second cryptogram by the second mobile device.
In another embodiment, wherein said transmissions from said first and second mobile
device directly reach a geographically separated server.
In another embodiment , wherein said operation related to the user account is caused based
on authentication of at least one of the transmitted second cryptogram, transmitted second
cryptogram, said user account related parameter, said time based parameter, and said location
based parameter.
In another embodiment, wherein said operation related to the user account is electronic
transfer mechanism from said user to a distant entity.
Referring to Figure 2, the present invention also provides a system (200) for enabling an
operation using a near field communication (NFC) enabled mobile device, said system comprising:
a receiver (202) for receiving a first cryptogram in respect of said mobile device
hosting a pre-defined environment;
an NFC module (204) for communicating with another mobile device comprising a
second cryptogram and hosting said pre-defined environment; and
8
based on said communication through NFC module (204), a transmitter (206) for
transmitting through said pre-defined environment, said first cryptogram at least along-with
a user account related parameter;
wherein said transmission causes an operation related to said user account, at least
based upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at least along-with said
user account parameter.
Now referring to Figure 3, it can be seen that the present invention further provides a
method for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said method comprising:
receiving (step 302) details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and delivery itinerary;
communicating (step 304) a first cryptogram to a portable device hosting a pre-defined
environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on details of the
recipient;
communicating (step 306) a second cryptogram to a portable device hosting the pre-defined
environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram being based on details
pertaining to the intermediary and optionally the delivery itinerary;
receiving (step 308) from the portable device corresponding to the recipient, a first message
comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user account related parameter;
receiving (step 310) from the portable device corresponding to the intermediary, a second
message comprising at least the second cryptogram; and
performing (step 312) an operation related to a user account of said recipient, in response to
authentication of the first message and authentication of the second message.
In an embodiment, wherein said first message further comprises at least one of a time based
parameter and a location based parameter.
In another embodiment, wherein said second message further comprises at least one of a
time based parameter and a location based parameter.
In another embodiment, wherein authentication of the first message includes:
• comparing the first cryptogram as communicated to the portable device
corresponding to the recipient with the first cryptogram as contained in the first message;
• comparing the time based parameter as contained in the first message with the time
based parameter as contained in the second message; and
• comparing the location based parameter as contained in the first message with the
location based parameter as contained in the second message.
9
In yet another embodiment, wherein authentication of the second message includes:
• comparing the second cryptogram as communicated to the portable device
corresponding to the intermediary with the second cryptogram as contained in the second message;
• comparing the time based parameter as contained in the second message with the
time based parameter as contained in the first message; and
• comparing the location based parameter as contained in the second message with the
location based parameter as contained in the first message.
In yet another embodiment, wherein the first message further includes the second
cryptogram.
In yet another embodiment, wherein the second message further includes the first
cryptogram.
Referring to Figure 4, the present invention also provides a system (400) for enabling an
operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said system comprising:
a receiver (402) for receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and delivery
itinerary;
a transmitter (404) for communicating a first cryptogram to a portable device hosting a predefined
environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on details
of the recipient;
said transmitter (404) for communicating a second cryptogram to a portable device hosting
the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram being
based on details pertaining to the intermediary and optionally the delivery itinerary;
said receiver (402) for receiving from the portable device corresponding to the recipient, a
first message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user account related parameter;
said receiver (402) for receiving from the portable device corresponding to the
intermediary, a second message comprising at least the second cryptogram; and
a processor (406) for performing an operation related to a user account of said recipient, in
response to authentication of the first message and authentication of the second message.
Now referring to Figure 3, it can be seen that the present invention further provides a method
for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said method comprising:
receiving (step 502) details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and a delivery itinerary;
10
generating (step 504) a first cryptogram for providing to a portable device hosting a predefined
environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on details
of the recipient;
generating (step 506) a second cryptogram for providing to a portable device hosting the
pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram being
based on details pertaining to the intermediary and the delivery itinerary;
receiving (step 508) a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a
user account related parameter; receiving a second message comprising at least the second
cryptogram; and
providing (step 510) an authentication signal, in response to determining authenticity of the
first message and the authenticity of the second message.
Referring to Figure 6, the present invention also provides a system (600) for enabling an
operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said system comprising:
a receiver (602) for receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and delivery
itinerary;
a cryptogram generator (604) for generating a first cryptogram for providing to a portable
device hosting a pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram
being based on details of the recipient;
said cryptogram generator (604) for further generating a second cryptogram for providing
to a portable device hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary,
the second cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and the delivery
itinerary;
said receiver (602) for receiving a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least
along-with a user account related parameter;
said receiver (602) for receiving a second message comprising at least the second
cryptogram; and
a processor (606) for providing an authentication signal, in response to determining
authenticity of the first message and the authenticity of the second message.
Referring to figure 7, yet another typical hardware configuration of the systems 200, 400, 600
in the form of a computer system 700 is shown. The computer system 700 can include a set of
instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system 700 to perform any one or more of
the methods disclosed. The computer system 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be
connected, e.g., using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.
11
In a networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the capacity of a server
or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer
system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 can also
be implemented as or incorporated across various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a
tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop
computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line
telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of
executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that
machine. Further, while a single computer system 700 is illustrated, the term "system" shall also be
taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set,
or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.
The computer system 700 may include a processor 702 e.g., a central processing unit (CPU),
a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 702 may be a component in a variety of
systems. For example, the processor 702 may be part of a standard personal computer or a
workstation. The processor 702 may be one or more general processors, digital signal processors,
application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers, networks, digital
circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices for
analysing and processing data The processor 702 may implement a software program, such as code
generated manually (i.e., programmed).
The computer system 700 may include a memory 704, such as a memory 704 that can
communicate via a bus 708. The memory 704 may be a main memory, a static memory, or a
dynamic memory. The memory 704 may include, but is not limited to computer readable storage
media such as various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media, including but not limited to
random access memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically
programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic
tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one example, the memory 704 includes a cache or
random access memory for the processor 702. In alternative examples, the memory 704 is separate
from the processor 702, such as a cache memory of a processor, the system memory, or other
memory. The memory 704 may be an external storage device or database for storing data.
Examples include a hard drive, compact disc ("CD"), digital video disc ("DVD"), memory card,
memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus ("USB") memory device, or any other device
operative to store data. The memory 704 is operable to store instructions executable by the
processor 702. The functions, acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described may be performed
by the programmed processor 702 executing the instructions stored in the memory 704. The
12
functions, acts or tasks are independent of the particular type of instructions set, storage media,
processor or processing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits,
firm-ware, micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise, processing
strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like.
As shown, the computer system 700 may or may not further include a display unit 710, such
as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a
solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later
developed display device for outputting determined information. The display 710 may act as an
interface for the user to see the functioning of the processor 702, or specifically as an interface with
the software stored in the memory 704 or in the drive unit 716.
Additionally, the computer system 700 may include an input device 712 configured to allow
a user to interact with any of the components of system 700. The input device 712 may be a
number pad, a keyboard, or a cursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen
display, remote control or any other device operative to interact with the computer system 700.
The computer system 700 may also include a disk or optical drive unit 716. The disk drive
unit 716 may include a computer-readable medium 722 in which one or more sets of instructions
724, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, the instructions 724 may embody one or more of the
methods or logic as described. In a particular example, the instructions 724 may reside completely,
or at least partially, within the memory 704 or within the processor 702 during execution by the
computer system 700. The memory 704 and the processor 702 also may include computer-readable
media as discussed above.
The present invention contemplates a computer-readable medium that includes instructions
724 or receives and executes instructions 724 responsive to a propagated signal so that a device
connected to a network 726 can communicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over
the network 726. Further, the instructions 724 may be transmitted or received over the network 726
via a communication port or interface 720 or using a bus 708. The communication port or interface
720 may be a part of the processor 702 or may be a separate component. The communication port
720 may be created in software or may be a physical connection in hardware. The communication
port 720 may be configured to connect with a network 726, external media, the display 710, or any
other components in system 700, or combinations thereof. The connection with the network 726
may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernet connection or may be established
wirelessly as discussed later. Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the
13
system 700 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly. The network 726 may
alternatively be directly connected to the bus 708.
The network 726 may include wired networks, wireless networks, Ethernet AVB networks,
or combinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephone network, an 802.11,
802.16, 802.20, 802.1Q or WiMax network. Further, the network 726 may be a public network,
such as the Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize
a variety of networking protocols now available or later developed including, but not limited to
TCP/IP based networking protocols.
In an alternative example, dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific
integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to
implement various parts of the system 700.
Applications that may include the systems can broadly include a variety of electronic and
computer systems. One or more examples described may implement functions using two or more
specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can
be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific
integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware
implementations.
The system described may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer
system. Further, in a non-limited example, implementations can include distributed processing,
component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer
system processing can be constructed to implement various parts of the system.
The system is not limited to operation with any particular standards and protocols. For
example, standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP,
UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) may be used. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more
efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards
and protocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed are considered equivalents
thereof.
In the following paragraphs, a detailed description about exemplary implementation of the
invention and a control flow within such exemplary implementation has been provided. It should
however, be understood that there may be other analogous implementations related to claimed
method and apparatus that need not strictly follow the components, steps and sequence of steps as
14
described in the following paragraphs. Thus, the following explanation shall be strictly interpreted
as one of the many conceivable exemplary implementations of the claimed subject matter, and the
scope of the claims is intended to be restricted only on the basis of the claim language and its
equivalents.
EXEMPLARY IMPLEMENTATION IN A NETWORKING ENVIRONMENT
Fig. 6 depicts a technical and exemplary implementation of the systems 200, 400, 600 as
defined in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 in a networking environment, wherein the systems are
communicatively linked with each other through a network. While the system 200 may be
implemented in a single NFC enabled mobile device, the systems 400 may be distributed systems
and denote an interconnected network of computers, servers, transceivers, etc.,. The system 600
may be a stand-alone server. While an organization associated with the system 400 may be an
aggregator or a service provider in terms of selling various services and commodities, the system
600 may be a security code or cryptogram for issuing secure tokens to various devices for
authenticating the recipient devices at a later stage. In other example, the system 600 may also acts
or a subset of the system 400.
The systems 200, 400, 600 are further connected to an intermediate entity 8001 and a
representative of the intermediate entity 8003. In an example, such an intermediate entity 8001 may
also correspond to an organization that may be a courier service provider or a transport agency, and
the representative 8003 may be a device used by a courier or a representative of the transport
agency. Accordingly, in an implementation, while the intermediate entity 8001 may be a
distributed system, the representative 8003 corresponds to a single NFC enabled mobile device. In
a further example, the entity 8001 may also be a subset of the system 400.
Further, the system 400 is connected to an entity 8005 that performs the operation once the
interaction between the NFC enabled mobile devices 200, 8003 has been authenticated. Such
entity 8005 may be a financial institution and may conclude its operation by debiting a financial
account of the user of the mobile device 200. However, such conclusion may not be always
realized owing to non-meeting of some of the requirements in specific cases like insufficient
balance, network error, server down, etc. In any case, the entity’s 8005 operation is triggered upon
authentication of the NFC mobile devices’ 200 and 8003 interaction. However, the entity 8005’s
operation may not be restricted towards debiting or crediting of accounts and may also involve
redeeming loyalty points or pre-purchased units accrued to a user account or an electronic voucher.
Further, the entity 8005 may also be an in-house entity of the system 400.
15
In addition, as the role players 200, 400, 600, 8001, 8003, 8005 may be geographically
separated from each other and interconnected in the networking environment, which may be
implemented through a plurality of networking technologies like cellular network, data packet
network, radio frequency based networking, or any other known data communication technology.
Now coming to operation, various operational steps in respect of the present exemplary
implementation have been depicted by the arrows and reference numerals from 801 to 821 in Fig.
8. The order of reference numerals from 801 to 821 defines a sequence of operations within the
exemplary networking implementation in Fig. 8. Specifically, these operational steps depict a
combination of functionalities involving the system 200, 400, 600 and the entities 8001, 8003 and
8005.
Further, it may be mentioned that some of the steps like 801, 802, 805, 806, 810, and 811
are performed by a single entity without having to interact with other entity or system, while the
remaining steps necessitate an interaction between at least two entities or systems. Accordingly, to
clearly illustrate the steps that require mutual interaction, Fig. 9 has been provided. More
specifically, the operational steps 803, 804, 807-809, and 812-821 have been depicted in Fig. 9 in
the order of their performance. Nevertheless, each and every operational step from 801 to 821 has
been elaborated under the description of present Fig. 8 as follows:
In operation, prior to the commencement of the step 801 and as a part of factory settings, a
designated mobile app is implemented in an NFC enabled mobile device 200 (e.g. mobile phone,
tablet, palmtop, etc.,), as well as in the NFC enabled mobile device of the 8003 of the
representative. A user of the mobile device 200 selects one or more items that are meant to be
electronically or telephonically sold by the system 400 and avails an option to remit only upon
receiving the selected one or more items. In example, the mode of remittance may be “cash on
delivery” or “electronic card on delivery”. Hereinafter, the steps 801 till 821 come into action.
In step 801, the system 400 registers the item-selection as well as the remittance-mode as
provided by the user. Based upon this, the system 400 creates an order and communicates a preselected
intermediator entity 8001 regarding the same. The entity 8001 may also be an affiliate of
the system 400.
In step 802, the system 400 dispatches the selected items to the entity 8001 upon having
received a valid acknowledgement from the entity 8002.
16
In step 803, the dispatched items are received by the entity 8001 from the system 400 and in
step 804, the details related to the order (item selected, quantity, mode of remittance, time of
purchase etc.) are sent to the user by the system 400.
In steps 805 and 806, the entity 8001 takes into account the received one or more items to
be delivered to the user and prepares a delivery itinerary based on various factors such as the
availability of the personnel ,vehicles, prior engagements, environmental conditions, distance from
the user etc. However, in other scenarios, the entity 8001 may be provided a readymade delivery
itinerary from the system 400 for strict adherence.
In step 807, the delivery itinerary (if prepared by the entity 8001) is communicated to the
system 400.
In step 808, the user of the mobile device 200 is communicated the delivery itinerary from
the system 400.
Subsequently in step 809, the system 400 requests another system 600 to generate
cryptogram specific to the user, based on user identity details and the details corresponding to the
applicable NFC-enabled mobile device 200. In an example, user identity details may be unique
identification details, social security number, Aadhar card details, while the mobile device details
may be MSISDN, IMEI (in case of Mobile phones) or any known manufacturer provided device
identification number (in case of tablets, I-pads, palm tops etc).
In addition, as a part of the current step, the system 400 requests the system 600 to generate
another cryptogram based at least on the identity details of the entity 8001. Such details in an
example may include company registration number (CIN) of the courier service provider 8001,
CIN of the service provider maintaining the system 400, mobile device details of the appointed
courier or representative 8003 etc.
In addition to the aforesaid, the system 400 may also sends a common set of details to the
system 600 while requesting generation of either of the aforesaid two tokens. In an example, such
common set of details include details of item selection, payment amount, time of item selection,
delivery itinerary etc.
Vide steps 810 and 811, the tokens as requested in step 809 are generated by the system
600.
17
Through steps 812 and 813, the system 600 directly transmits the generated cryptograms to
the mobile device 200 of the user and the mobile device 8003 of the representative, respectively.
Such cryptograms may be communicated through data packet network or cellular network to the
mobile-app. The cryptograms sent to the mobile device 200 and the mobile device 8003 may be
hereinafter referred to as first and second cryptograms.
As per step 814, the system 600 also notifies the system 400 regarding the communication
of the cryptograms to the respective mobile devices 200 and 8003.
Within the step 815, the two mobile devices 200 and 8003 interact with each other through
NFC mechanism. For executing such interaction, the mobile device 200 is tapped with the mobile
device 8003. Upon such interaction, the mobile device 200 and the mobile device 8003 interact
with each other via a designated mobile-app (installed at both devices 200, 8003) and the NFC
mechanism. In an example, such interaction may involve mapping of item selected item details
(e.g. order id, order name, date of order, time of order etc) and the delivery itinerary details
between the mobile devices 200 and 8003 to establish a match. Such type of mapping based
interaction may be necessary to ensure that only the authorized mobile devices interact with each
other.
Vide step 816, both mobile devices 200 and 8003 execute transmissions to the system 400,
upon having had a successful and non-interrupted mutual interaction as described in step 815. The
transmission from the mobile device 200 includes the first cryptogram along-with a user account
related parameter. The user account parameter may be a debit card number or a bank account
number of the user. In addition, the transmission may also include a time based parameter say a
current time of the interaction and a location based parameter, say a current location where the
interaction has taken place. The location based parameter may be derived from a GPS module
installed within the mobile device 200. Likewise, there may be other analogous parameters that are
transmitted so as to denote the time and place of the occurrence of the interaction.
Further, the transmission from the mobile device 8003 denotes transmission of the second
cryptogram along-with the time and location details and other analogous parameters to denote the
occurrence of the interaction. In other examples, the mobile device 200 may additionally send the
second cryptogram, while the mobile device 8003 in such a scenario may either skips sending the
second cryptogram or may nevertheless still send it. Likewise, while the mobile device 8003 may
also send the first cryptogram, the mobile device 200 in such a scenario may either skip sending the
second cryptogram or may nevertheless still send it. Whatever may be the scenarios, the
18
transmission of other parameters such as the user account parameter, the time and location based
parameters remains unaffected. Further, the transmissions from the mobile device 200 and 8003
may be referred as a first message and a second message, respectively.
Vide step 817, the system 400 requests the system 600 to validate the transmission as
received vide step 816. In other example, the transmission from both the mobile devices 200 and
8003 may instead directly reach the system 600, instead of being routed via the system 400.
Accordingly, the step 816 will deem non-applicable in such a scenario.
Vide step 818, the system 600 performs an authentication procedure to validate the received
messages. The authentication of the first message as received from the mobile device 200 includes
comparing the first cryptogram as initially communicated to the mobile device 200 corresponding
to the recipient with the first cryptogram as contained in the first message to ascertain whether an
authorized mobile device has been used by the user for aforesaid NFC interaction. Any
discrepancy found as a result of such comparison establishes the mobile device 200 as being nonauthorized.
Further, the time based parameter (i.e. time of interaction) and location based parameter in
the first message are compared with the corresponding parameters in the second message to
ascertain whether the mobile device 200 interacted with an authorized mobile device 8003?
Discrepancies as a result of such comparisons will establish that an otherwise authorized mobile
device 200 has interacted with a non-authorized mobile device 8003.
Likewise, an authentication of the second message is performed. Such authentication
involves comparing the second cryptogram as initially communicated to the mobile device 8003
corresponding to the intermediate entity 8001 with the second cryptogram as contained in the
second message to ascertain whether an authorized mobile device has been used by the courier or
representative for aforesaid NFC interaction. Any discrepancy found as a result of such comparison
may prove that the mobile device 8003 is non-authorized.
Further, the time based parameter (i.e. time of interaction) and location based parameter in
the second message are compared with the corresponding parameters in the first message to again
ascertain whether the mobile device 8003 interacted with an authorized mobile device 200?
Discrepancies as a result of such comparisons will establish that an otherwise authorized mobile
device 8003 has interacted with a non-authorized mobile device 200.
19
Based upon aforesaid, the NFC interaction between the mobile devices 200 and 8003 is
either authenticated or rendered invalid.
As a part of step 818, the system 600 sends the validation results to the system 400. In case
the authentication has been established, flow proceeds to next step 819. Else, the mobile device 200
or the mobile device 8003 are intimated by the system 400 that items cannot be handed over to the
user for want of authentication of either the user or the courier.
Vide step 819, the system 400 forwards the user account related parameter to the entity
8005 (e.g. a financial institution) maintaining the user’ account with a request for debiting user’s
account or redeeming the points accrued to a user account.
Vide step 820, the financial institution 8002 responds to the request received in step 819
with affirmation or rejection. The reasons of rejection may be non- authentication of user account
due to receipt of non-authorized user account related parameter or system error etc. In spite of user
account authentication, rejection may still happen due to reasons such as insufficient balance, valid
but temporarily suspended user account etc.
In case the user account has been authenticated and there is availability of sufficient funds,
then the user account is debited or point/units are redeemed.
Vide step 821, the system 400 immediately authorizes the courier using the mobile device
8003 to handover the selected items to the user, in case of a successful debiting of the user account
or a successful redemption of points as happened in in step 820. Else, in case rejection received in
step 820 is caused due to authentication failure due to system error, the system 400 instructs the
mobile device 8003 to undergo the NFC interaction again with the mobile device 400. However, in
case rejection intimated in step 820 is due to non-authorized user account related parameter,
insufficient balance, valid but temporarily suspended user account, then the system 400 instructs
the mobile device 8003 to not handover the item to the user for want of remittance.
As a result of the aforesaid exemplary illustration as depicted, an electronic fund transfer to
the system 400 is immediately achievable and is akin to electronic transfer as performed through
magnetic cards or net-banking, despite the fact that the user decided to execute payment at the time
of delivery without employing cash or swiping the magnetic card. Moreover, the fund transfer
flow as described in steps 820 and 821 does not involve routing of user account information
through the intermediator entity 8001, thereby substantially reducing fund-settlement cycles that
20
otherwise normally involve initial fund receipt by the intermediator 8001 from the mobile device
200 and thereafter forwarding it to the system 400.
It may be understood that to assist the electronic fund transfer with minimum settlement
cycles, the NFC enabled mobile device 8003 virtually acts as a POS (point of sale) device with
respect to the mobile device 200 of the user, without incorporating an additional separate
EMV/MC/Visa certified hardware element that is otherwise needed by any mobile device to
emulate itself as POS device. The mobile device 8003 is empowered to leverage the peer to peer
(P2P) facility provided by the communication features of the NFC mechanism and accordingly
enables proximity payments based on ‘card not present (CNP)’ mode.
Overall, in view of the aforesaid, the present invention as described by claimed subject
matter ensures that service requests emanating from a mobile device through a pre-defined
environment (i.e. a mobile app) are received and processed by another NFC enabled mobile device
that implements a similar pre-defined environment, wherein such request entertainer mobile device
does not require presence of any additional hardware element. Moreover, the present invention
also facilitates any NFC enabled mobile device to act as a service-request receiver and processor in
respect of another NFC enabled mobile device that issues the service request.
As far as the requestor NFC enabled mobile device is concerned, the present invention
enables the requestor mobile to provide the user-account related parameter directly to a
geographically separate entity, based on the NFC interaction with the counterpart mobile device.
Accordingly, a number of procedurals cycles related to the processing of the user account
parameter are reduced. In addition, the requestor NFC enabled mobile device neither needs to
emulate the user account through a separate mobile app (e.g. HCE based mobile app), not it
requires a manual operation upon the mobile device (e.g. performing net-banking operation step by
step) to communicate the user account related parameter.
While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on
account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working
modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught
herein.
The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in
the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a
single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional
elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example,
21
orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described
herein.
Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown;
nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on
other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no
means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the
specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible.
The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with
regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any
component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more
pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any
or all the claims.

We Claim:
1. A method for enabling an operation using a near field communication (NFC) enabled
mobile device, said method comprising:
receiving (step 102) a first cryptogram by a first mobile device hosting a pre-defined
environment;
communicating (step 104), by the first mobile device, through an NFC mechanism
with a second mobile device comprising a second cryptogram and hosting said pre-defined
environment; and
based on said communication, transmitting (step 106) by the first mobile device
through said pre-defined environment said first cryptogram at least along-with a user
account related parameter;
wherein said transmission causes an operation related to said user account, at least
based upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at least along-with said
user account parameter.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transmission from said first mobile device
further comprises at least one of a time based parameter; and a location based parameter.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second mobile device are NFC
enabled devices.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first cryptogram pertains to a user-identity
details associated with said first mobile device.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-defined environment hosted within the
first and the second mobile device is capable to receive at least one of said first cryptogram
and said second cryptogram.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said pre-defined environment is capable to
transmit at least one of said first cryptogram, said second cryptogram, said user account
related parameter, said time based parameter and said location based parameter.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second cryptogram pertains to at least one
of details associated at least one of : identity of said second mobile device, a third party, a
deliverable object, and optionally a delivery itinerary of an object to be delivered from said
second mobile device’ user to said first mobile device’ user.
23
8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transmission further comprises at least one
of:
transmission of the second cryptogram by the first mobile device;
transmission of the first cryptogram by the second mobile device; and
transmission of the second cryptogram by the second mobile device.
9. The method as claimed in claims 1 and 8, wherein said transmissions from said first and
second mobile device directly reach a geographically separated server.
10. The method as claimed in claim 2 and 8, wherein said operation related to the user account
is caused based on authentication of at least one of the transmitted second cryptogram,
transmitted second cryptogram, said user account related parameter, said time based
parameter, and said location based parameter.
11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operation related to the user account is
electronic transfer mechanism from said user to a distant entity.
12. A system (200) for enabling an operation using a near field communication (NFC) enabled
mobile device, said system comprising:
a receiver (202) for receiving a first cryptogram in respect of said mobile device
hosting a pre-defined environment;
an NFC module (204) for communicating with another mobile device comprising a
second cryptogram and hosting said pre-defined environment; and
based on said communication through NFC module (204), a transmitter (206) for
transmitting through said pre-defined environment, said first cryptogram at least along-with
a user account related parameter;
wherein said transmission causes an operation related to said user account, at least
based upon an authentication of the transmitted first cryptogram at least along-with said
user account parameter.
13. A method for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said method
comprising:
receiving (step 302) details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and delivery
itinerary;
24
communicating (step 304) a first cryptogram to a portable device hosting a predefined
environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being based on
details of the recipient;
communicating (step 306) a second cryptogram to a portable device hosting the predefined
environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second cryptogram being
based on details pertaining to the intermediary and optionally the delivery itinerary;
receiving (step 308) from the portable device corresponding to the recipient, a first
message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user account related
parameter;
receiving (step 310) from the portable device corresponding to the intermediary, a
second message comprising at least the second cryptogram; and
performing (step 312) an operation related to a user account of said recipient, in
response to authentication of the first message and authentication of the second message.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said first message further comprises at least
one of a time based parameter and a location based parameter.
15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said second message further comprises at least
one of a time based parameter and a location based parameter.
16. The method as claimed in claim 13 and 14, wherein authentication of the first message
includes:
 comparing the first cryptogram as communicated to the portable device corresponding
to the recipient with the first cryptogram as contained in the first message;
 comparing the time based parameter as contained in the first message with the time
based parameter as contained in the second message; and
 comparing the location based parameter as contained in the first message with the
location based parameter as contained in the second message.
17. The method as claimed in claim 13 and 15, wherein authentication of the second message
includes:
 comparing the second cryptogram as communicated to the portable device
corresponding to the intermediary with the second cryptogram as contained in the
second message;
 comparing the time based parameter as contained in the second message with the time
based parameter as contained in the first message; and
25
 comparing the location based parameter as contained in the second message with the
location based parameter as contained in the first message.
18. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first message further includes the second
cryptogram.
19. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second message further includes the first
cryptogram.
20. A system (400) for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said system
comprising:
a receiver (402) for receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and
delivery itinerary;
a transmitter (404) for communicating a first cryptogram to a portable device
hosting a pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram
being based on details of the recipient;
said transmitter (404) for communicating a second cryptogram to a portable device
hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second
cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and optionally the delivery
itinerary;
said receiver (402) for receiving from the portable device corresponding to the
recipient, a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least along-with a user account
related parameter;
said receiver (402) for receiving from the portable device corresponding to the
intermediary, a second message comprising at least the second cryptogram; and
a processor (406) for performing an operation related to a user account of said
recipient, in response to authentication of the first message and authentication of the second
message.
21. A method for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said method
comprising:
receiving (step 502) details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and a delivery
itinerary;
generating (step 504) a first cryptogram for providing to a portable device hosting a
pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the first cryptogram being
based on details of the recipient;
26
generating (step 506) a second cryptogram for providing to a portable device
hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to the intermediary, the second
cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the intermediary and the delivery itinerary;
receiving (step 508) a first message comprising the first cryptogram at least alongwith
a user account related parameter; receiving a second message comprising at least the
second cryptogram; and
providing (step 510) an authentication signal, in response to determining
authenticity of the first message and the authenticity of the second message.
22. A system (600) for enabling an operation using NFC enabled mobile devices, said system
(600) comprising:
a receiver (602) for receiving details pertaining to an intermediary, a recipient and a
delivery itinerary;
a cryptogram generator (604) for generating a first cryptogram for providing to a
portable device hosting a pre-defined environment and corresponding to the recipient, the
first cryptogram being based on details of the recipient;
said cryptogram generator (604) for further generating a second cryptogram for
providing to a portable device hosting the pre-defined environment and corresponding to
the intermediary, the second cryptogram being based on details pertaining to the
intermediary and the delivery itinerary;
said receiver (602) for receiving a first message comprising the first cryptogram at
least along-with a user account related parameter; receiving a second message comprising
at least the second cryptogram; and
a processor (606) for providing an authentication signal, in response to determining
authenticity of the first message and the authenticity of the second message.