IP Library Granted Patent US 12,475,433
Granted Patent B2
US 12,475,433 · App. 18/463,130 · Granted Nov 18, 2025

Provisioning temporary functionality to user devices

Inventors: Claudia Ng (San Bruno, CA); John Lewis (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Block, Inc.
G06Q10/087G06F8/60G06Q10/00G06Q20/203H04L63/083H04L63/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,475,433
App. No.
18/463,130
Granted
Nov 18, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An entity computing device associated with a service provider can temporarily provision access to a functionality associated with the service provider to user computing devices operated by users associated with the entity. In an example, the entity computing device can receive, via an application, information from instances of the application executing on the user computing devices. Based on the information, the entity computing device can provision to a user computing device access to a functionality associated with the application. The access can enable the user computing device to independently implement the functionality via an instance of the application. Data corresponding to the usage of the functionality can be received by the entity computing device from the user computing device and can be sent by the entity computing device to the service provider to update database(s) associated with the functionality.

Claims (55)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, via an application executing on a computing device of an entity associated with a service provider, information from one or more instances of the application executing on one or more user computing devices operated by one or more users associated with the entity, wherein the application is provided by the service provider to the entity, and wherein an instance of the application configures a user computing device to generate and transmit the information to the computing device of the entity;

based at least in part on the information, provisioning, by the computing device of the entity, access to a functionality associated with the application to a user computing device, of the one or more user computing devices, of a user, wherein the access enables the user computing device to independently implement, via an instance of the application, the functionality;

receiving, by the computing device of the entity and from the user computing device, data corresponding to usage of the functionality through the user computing device; and

sending, from the computing device of the entity and via the application, the data to one or more server computing devices of the service provider to cause the one or more server computing devices to update one or more databases associated with the functionality.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

causing presentation of, on a display of the computing device of the entity and via a graphical user interface associated with the application, representations of at least two user computing devices; and

receiving, via the graphical user interface, input comprising a selection of the user computing device,

wherein provisioning the access to the functionality is based at least in part on receiving the input.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responsive to receiving the data corresponding to the usage associated with the application, causing presentation of, on a display of the computing device of the entity and via a graphical user interface associated with the application, the data corresponding to the usage of the functionality.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving input to the graphical user interface; and

based at least in part on the input, at least one of modifying or supplementing the data corresponding to the usage.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the functionality comprises at least one of a point-of-sale functionality, an inventory functionality, or a store arrangement functionality.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user is a customer of the entity.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user is an employee of the entity.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the computing device of the entity, an occurrence of an event; and

terminating, based at least in part on the occurrence of the event, the access to the functionality.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the event is at least one of an expiration of a period of time associated with the access, or a failure of a location of the user computing device to satisfy a location criterion associated with the access.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user computing device comprises a first user computing device, the data comprises first data, and the method further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device of the entity and from a second user computing device, second data corresponding to the usage of the functionality through the second user computing device; and

generating aggregated data by aggregating the first data and the second data.

11 . A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving, via an application executing on a computing device of an entity associated with a service provider, information from one or more instances of the application executing on one or more user computing devices operated by one or more users associated with the entity, wherein the application is provided by the service provider to the entity, and wherein an instance of the application configures a user computing device to generate and transmit the information to the computing device of the entity;

based at least in part on the information, provisioning, by the computing device of the entity, access to a functionality associated with the application to a user computing device, of the one or more user computing devices, of a user, wherein the access enables the user computing device to independently implement, via an instance of the application, the functionality;

receiving, by the computing device of the entity and from the user computing device, data corresponding to usage of the functionality through the user computing device; and

sending, from the computing device of the entity and via the application, the data to one or more server computing devices of the service provider to cause the one or more server computing devices to update one or more databases associated with the functionality.

12 . The system of claim 11 , the acts further comprising:

causing presentation of, on a display of the computing device of the entity and via a graphical user interface associated with the application, representations of at least two user computing devices; and

receiving, via the graphical user interface, input comprising a selection of the user computing device,

wherein provisioning the access to the functionality is based at least in part on receiving the input.

13 . The system of claim 11 , the acts further comprising:

responsive to receiving the data corresponding to the usage associated with the application, causing presentation of, on a display of the computing device of the entity and via a graphical user interface associated with the application, the data corresponding to the usage of the functionality.

14 . The system of claim 13 , the acts further comprising:

receiving input to the graphical user interface; and

based at least in part on the input, at least one of modifying or supplementing the data corresponding to the usage.

15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the user computing device comprises a first user computing device, the data comprises first data, and the acts further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device of the entity and from a second user computing device, second data corresponding to the usage of the functionality through the second user computing device; and

generating aggregated data by aggregating the first data and the second data.

16 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media maintaining instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, program the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving, via an application executing on a computing device of an entity associated with a service provider, information from one or more instances of the application executing on one or more user computing devices operated by one or more users associated with the entity, wherein the application is provided by the service provider to the entity, and wherein an instance of the application configures a user computing device to generate and transmit the information to the computing device of the entity;

based at least in part on the information, provisioning, by the computing device of the entity, access to a functionality associated with the application to a user computing device, of the one or more user computing devices, of a user, wherein the access enables the user computing device to independently implement, via an instance of the application, the functionality;

receiving, by the computing device of the entity and from the user computing device, data corresponding to usage of the functionality through the user computing device; and

sending, from the computing device of the entity and via the application, the data to one or more server computing devices of the service provider to cause the one or more server computing devices to update one or more databases associated with the functionality.

17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16 , wherein the functionality comprises at least one of a point-of-sale functionality, an inventory functionality, or a store arrangement functionality.

18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16 , wherein the user is a customer of the entity.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16 , wherein the user is an employee of the entity.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16 , the acts further comprising:

causing presentation of, on a display of the computing device of the entity and via a graphical user interface associated with the application, representations of at least two user computing devices; and

receiving, via the graphical user interface, input comprising a selection of the user computing device,

wherein provisioning the access to the functionality is based at least in part on receiving the input.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 7, 2023
From: NG, CLAUDIA; LEWIS, JOHN
To: SQUARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 064834/0408 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Sep 7, 2023
From: SQUARE, INC.
To: BLOCK, INC.
Reel/Frame 064840/0764 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17020547 · Sep 14, 2020
Continuation 15454892 · Mar 9, 2017
Related Publication 20240005272A1 · Jan 4, 2024
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