Adaptor for magnetic stripe card reader
First Claim
1. An adaptor for a magnetic stripe card reader comprising:
- a simulacrum configured to be substantially permanently positioned within a slot of a magnetic stripe card reader, the simulacrum comprising an inductor aligned with a magnetic head of the magnetic stripe card reader and configured to generate a magnetic field sensed by the magnetic head, a presence of the simulacrum within the slot allowing the magnetic head to continue to receive signals from a magnetic stripe card.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An adaptor allows a magnetic stripe card reader to receive information from other media such as wireless proximity chip cards while maintaining the ability to receive a magnetic stripe card. In accordance with one embodiment, the adaptor includes a simulacrum structure of sufficiently narrow width to fit substantially permanently within the slot of the magnetic stripe reading device, while providing sufficient room for a magnetic stripe card to also be concurrently accommodated within the slot and read by the reader head. The simulacrum structure may be in electronic communication with one or more transceivers of wireless communications such as RF and IR.
24 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An adaptor for a magnetic stripe card reader comprising:
a simulacrum configured to be substantially permanently positioned within a slot of a magnetic stripe card reader, the simulacrum comprising an inductor aligned with a magnetic head of the magnetic stripe card reader and configured to generate a magnetic field sensed by the magnetic head, a presence of the simulacrum within the slot allowing the magnetic head to continue to receive signals from a magnetic stripe card. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An adaptor for a point-of-sale (POS) magnetic stripe card reader to be used to conduct a transaction over a network coupled to the POS reader, the adapter comprising:
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a wireless transceiver adapted to receive account information from a wireless device via a wireless signal;
a simulacrum adapted to be inserted into a card reading slot of the POS card reader, the simulacrum including an inductor which can be aligned with a magnetic head of the card reader, wherein the simulacrum is sufficiently thin to allow a magnetic stripe card to be swiped through the card reading slot and be read by the magnetic head while the simulacrum is positioned within the slot; and
a processor in electronic communication with the wireless transceiver and with the simulacrum, the processor configured to receive a wireless signal to an emulated signal that can be sent to the inductor in the simulacrum, read by the magnetic head of the card reader, and transmitted over the network. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for adapting a magnetic stripe card reader for use with an RF proximity chip card, the method comprising:
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providing a magnetic stripe card reader having a slot and a magnetic head in magnetic communication with the slot;
disposing substantially permanently within the slot a simulacrum including an inductor aligned with the magnetic reader head, the simulacrum sufficiently narrow to allow a magnetic stripe card to access the slot and the magnetic head while the simulacrum is present within the slot;
providing a transceiver configured to receive a signal;
translating the communication signal from the transceiver into a series of electrical pulses emulating the signal in a magnetic stripe card format; and
communicating the series of electrical pulses to the inductor to generate a magnetic field sensed by the magnetic head. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of using an RF proximity chip card to conduct a financial transactions over an existing magnetic stripe card point-of-sale (POS) network, the method comprising:
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coupling an adaptor having a wireless transceiver, a processor, and a simulacrum including an inductor, to a magnetic card reading POS terminal by inserting the simulacrum into a magnetic card reading slot of the POS terminal and substantially permanently affixing the simulacrum to the terminal;
receiving with a wireless receiver a wireless signal from an RF proximity chip card comprising transaction information;
converting the wireless signal to a second signal emulating a magnetic card;
transmitting the second signal to the inductor aligned with a magnetic head of the terminal;
reading the second signal with the magnetic head; and
transmitting the transaction information over the POS network using the POS terminal. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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Specification