CREDIT CARD

• US 3,812,328 A
• Filed: 05/31/1972
• Issued: 05/21/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Herbert Tramposch
• Original Assignee: Herbert Tramposch
• Inventors: Tramposch, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilgore, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US05/258,437
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.12N,61.12R,61.12M,61.7B,61.11D,61.11E 340/149A,174.1R 250/219DC 101/369 117/240 40/2.2
• US Class Current: 235/487
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/04 Transparent material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/30 Plastic material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/16 Bars or lines
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/20 Optical effects
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/34 Markings visible under particular conditions or containing coded information
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/318 Signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/455 using heat
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/46 using pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/02 characterised by the selection of materials, e.g. to avoid wear during transport through the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/901 Concealed data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/904 Credit card

Abstract

A credit card blank is provided with a machine readable optical bar code that is imprinted on a desired panel area of the card, which panel area is covered by a very thin protective layer of transparent plastic material that is bonded to the adjacent card surfaces so as both to shield the bar code indicia from normal smudging and wear conditions and to facilitate the manual and automatic handling of the card.

Claims

1. A credit card comprising:

a plastic card blank;

a portion of the upper surface of said blank having a longitudinal marking panel depressed therein which bears a plurality of machine readable optical code indicia, and a thin protective layer of plastic bonded to a portion of said upper card surface in the immediate vicinity of said marking panel and disposed in overlying relation with respect to said bar code indicia so as to thereby shield said inidicia from normal smudge and wear conditions associated with card handling and storing operations, said protective layer pressed in and forming a flat surface with the remaining said upper surface.