Granted Patent B2

US 12,737,569 · App. 18/659,887 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventor: Troy Edwards (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: Block, Inc.

G06K7/0004G06Q20/204

Abstract

Claims (33)

1 . An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a base;

reader circuitry, wherein the reader circuitry is configured to read payment information from a payment object that interacts with the reader circuitry;

a connector protruding from the base, wherein the connector is configured to couple to a second connector of a mobile computing device, wherein the connector is configured to convey the payment information from the reader circuitry to the mobile computing device and retain a position of the mobile computing device relative to the base, wherein the connector protrudes from a first portion of the base and is configured to swivel relative to the first portion of the base; and

a body that couples to the base to retain the position of the mobile computing device relative to the base.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a first Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a Lightning connector.

4 . An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a base;

reader circuitry, wherein the reader circuitry is configured to read payment information from a payment object that interacts with the reader circuitry; and

a connector protruding from the base, wherein the connector is configured to couple to a second connector of a mobile computing device, wherein the connector is configured to convey the payment information from the reader circuitry to the mobile computing device and retain a position of the mobile computing device relative to the base and wherein the reader circuitry is mechanically biased toward a neutral position and wherein insertion of the payment object causes a physical displacement of the reader circuitry away from the neutral position.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the connector is a first Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.

6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the connector is a Lightning connector.

7 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein at least a portion of the base surrounds at least a portion of the mobile computing device while the connector is coupled to the second connector.

8 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a surface of the base is parallel to a surface of the mobile computing device while the connector is coupled to the second connector.

9 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a first portion of the base is configured to swivel relative to a second portion of the base, wherein the connector protrudes from the first portion of the base.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the second portion of the base includes the reader circuitry.

11 . The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:

a body that couples to the base to retain the position of the mobile computing device relative to the base.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein at least a portion of the body surrounds at least a portion of the mobile computing device while the body is coupled to the base.

13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a surface of the body is parallel to a surface of the mobile computing device while the body is coupled to the base.

14 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the body includes the reader circuitry.

15 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the reader circuitry includes magnetic stripe reader circuitry that reads the payment information from a magnetic stripe of the payment object.

16 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the reader circuitry includes integrated circuit chip reader circuitry that reads the payment information from an integrated circuit chip of the payment object.

17 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the reader circuitry includes a first wireless device that reads the payment information from a second wireless device of the payment object.

18 . The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:

a power interface that is configured to provide power to the reader circuitry, wherein the connector is configured to convey power between the power interface and a second power interface of the mobile computing device while the connector is coupled to the second connector.

19 . The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:

tamper detection circuitry that is configured to monitor the reader circuitry for tamper detection.

20 . A computer-implemented method, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a mobile computing device at a base, wherein a connector protrudes from the base, wherein the connector couples to a second connector of the mobile computing device in response to the mobile computing device being received at the base, wherein the connector being coupled to the second connector of the mobile computing device retains a position of the mobile computing device relative to the base;

reading payment information from a payment object that interacts with reader circuitry; and

conveying the payment information from the reader circuitry to the mobile computing device through the connector, wherein the connector protrudes from a first portion of the base and is configured to swivel relative to the first portion of the base.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (5)

References Cited (367)