Apple's newly published iWallet patent this week was a little baffling at first due to the fact that every patent figure directly matched those found in part three of our series on Apple's iWallet component dubbed "Transaction" back in May 2010.

In order to figure out how this new patent application differed from others in this series of filings on the subject of "transactions" I had to rely on the patent claims. For instance, patent application 20100082481 filed in 2010 focused on "acquiring payment information on a handheld device." In claim 5 of that patent, Apple states, "the selected payment account comprises a smart card, and wherein acquiring the payment information comprises receiving payment information stored on the smart card using the communication interface." Another patent filing not related to this series from Apple covered this more specifically

Other patent application published in Apple's 2010 Transaction series included 20100078472 which covered "A method for conducting a group transaction having a plurality of group transaction members on a handheld electronic device." Patent application 20100078471 covered "A method for authorizing a payment in a peer-to-peer transaction," while patent application 20100082490 focused on "A method of conducting a wireless transaction," which covered initiating NFC and at least one other module of the portable electronic device to help ensure the security of a transaction.

The Key iWallet Patent Claims Found in Apple's Latest "Transactions" Patent Application

This week's new iWallet Transaction patent application focused on "A method for conducting a financial transaction." Below you'll find a list of Apple's specific patent claims focused on this subject

1. A method for conducting a financial transaction comprising: taking a picture of a first code displayed on a transaction terminal using a camera of a portable electronic device; and sending data from the portable electronic device to the transaction terminal to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal using a near field communication channel or another wireless communication channel, or both, wherein the data is derived from the first code to enable the transaction terminal to verify that the portable electronic device is physically located near the transaction terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising taking a picture of a second code displayed on the transaction terminal using the camera of the portable electronic device and sending data derived from the second code from the portable electronic device to the transaction terminal to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal, wherein the second code replaces the first code displayed on the transaction terminal after a period of time.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising sending a location of the portable electronic device to the transaction terminal to aid the transaction terminal in verifying that the portable electronic device is physically located near the transaction terminal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the location of the portable electronic device is determined by the portable electronic device communicating with one or more cellular towers.

5. A method for conducting a financial transaction comprising: generating a code to be used by the transaction terminal to verify that the portable electronic device is physically located near the transaction terminal; displaying the code on a display of the transaction terminal; receiving data from the portable electronic device via a near field communication channel or another wireless communication channel, or both, wherein the data comprises decoded information from the code and indicates to the transaction terminal that the portable electronic device is physically located near the transaction terminal; and allowing the portable electronic device to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal while the data indicates that the portable electronic device is physically located near the transaction terminal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein more than one code is generated, the method further comprising intermittently changing the code on the display.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein allowing the portable electronic device to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal using data based on the code comprises comparing the data from the transaction terminal with the generated code.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein allowing the portable electronic device to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal comprises receiving a location of the portable electronic device from the portable electronic device and comparing the location of the portable electronic device with a location of the transaction terminal.

14. A method for conducting a financial transaction comprising: generating a code at a transaction terminal; displaying the code on a display of the transaction terminal; receiving a request to conduct the financial transaction, wherein the request comprises a communication derived from the code to enable the transaction terminal to verify that the request was received from a device physically located near the transaction terminal; and opening a communication channel to complete the financial transaction after the request is received.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the generated code comprises an encryption key and the request for conducting the financial transaction is encrypted using the encryption key.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the code comprises a file name.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the code comprises a QR code.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein more than one code is generated, the method comprising changing the code intermittently.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the code comprises a QR code.

Patent Credits

Apple credits Engineering Program Manager Sean Mayo, Senior User Interface Designer Taido Nakajima, Michael Rosenblatt (who has since left Apple to start a toy block company called ATOMS Express) and Gloria Lin who worked on Apple's iTravel patent, as the inventors of patent application 20130085941 which was originally filed in Q3 2011.

Considering that this is a patent application, the timing to market of such an Apple product is unknown.

At the End of the Day

At the end of the day, Apple's iWallet could be a defining application for the iPhone which is all the more reason why Apple has to get this one right. Timing to market has to come second to getting it right. Apple obviously has to avoid another public fiasco like they experienced with "Maps."

If a significant financial transaction mistake were to ever surface due directly to Apple's future iWallet, consumers could easily lose confidence in the iPhone in short order. So there's a lot of pressure on Apple to deliver a flawless experience like they have with so many facets and features found in today's iDevices. The iWallet is coming; we just have to have a little patience. 

Technicalities aside, I've heard from many Apple fans that they can't wait to be able to use Apple's iWallet while others are determined to never activate this future app. The question of the day becomes: Will you use or pass on Apple's iWallet application when it finally arrives?  

A Note for Tech Sites Covering our Report: We ask tech sites covering our report to kindly limit the use of our graphics to one image. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation. 

Patently Apple presents a detailed summary of patent applications with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent application should be read in its entirety for full and accurate details. Revelations found in patent applications shouldn't be interpreted as rumor or fast-tracked according to rumor timetables. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments.