Transaction card with annunciator

• US 20040026495A1
• Filed: 08/06/2002
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hubbell, Inc., Innovative Card Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Innovative Card Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Finkelstein, Alan
• Application Number:
  US10/213,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20040026495A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips

Abstract

A financial transaction card includes an annunciator to generate a human perceptible indication upon activation. The annunciator may be audio, such as a pre-recorded sound, or may be visual, such as a light. The annunciator may be user-activated and/or may be activated upon use of the financial transaction card in a reading device. The annunciator, being relatively more difficult to implement than a conventional transaction card, serves to authenticate the card. Furthermore, the consumer appeal of a financial transaction card with such annunciator capability may be promoted by an issuer to attract new customers.

Claims

1. A financial transaction card comprising:

a substrate;

data storage means attached to the substrate for storing machine readable data;

a sensor adapted to sense a reading operation in which the machine readable data is read by a reader separate from the financial transaction card;

an annunciator coupled to the sensor and adapted to provide a human-perceptible indication in response to the sensed reading operation.

2. The financial transaction card of claim 1 wherein the data storage means comprises a magnetic strip.

3. The financial transaction card of claim 1 wherein the data storage means comprises an electronic memory.

4. The financial transaction card of claim 1 wherein the annunciator comprises an audio generator.

5. The financial transaction card of claim 4 wherein the human-perceptible indication comprises a sequence of musical notes.

6. The financial transaction card of claim 4 further comprising means for storing an audio signal for playback by the audio generator.

7. The financial transaction card of claim 1 wherein the annunciator comprises a light.

8. The financial transaction card of claim 1 further comprising a manual control for activating the annunciator.

15. The financial transaction card of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the magnetic strip is encoded such that the sensor senses the reading operation of the encoded portion of the magnetic strip.

9. A method of verifying the authenticity of a financial transaction card comprising:

providing a financial transaction card having machine readable data and an annunciator;

providing a reader separate from the financial transaction card capable of reading the machine readable data;

sensing a reading operation;

generating a human-perceptible indication with the annunciator in response to sensing the reading operation.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the human-perceptible indication comprises a sound.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the sound comprises a sequence of musical notes.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the human-perceptible indication comprises a light.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the machine readable data is stored on a magnetic strip.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the machine readable data is stored in an electronic memory.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein at least a portion of the magnetic strip is encoded and wherein sensing the reading operation comprises sensing reading of the encoded portion of the magnetic strip.