CREDIT CARD HAVING CLEAR MIDDLE LAYER ENCODED BY DISCRETE OPAQUE AREAS AND SYSTEM FOR DECODING SAME BY LASER BEAM

• US 3,858,031 A
• Filed: 02/16/1973
• Issued: 12/31/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jack P. Kornfeld
• Original Assignee: Jack P. Kornfeld
• Inventors: Kornfeld, Jack P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Application Number:
  US05/333,204
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.11E,61.12N,61.7B 340/149A,173LT,173MA 250/219R,219Q,219D
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1058 PIN is checked locally

Abstract

Laminated credit or other identification card having a center layer of clear, light-transmitting material between a pair of opaque cover sheets. The card is coded by providing discrete areas of opaque material in the center layer with windows between them defining parallel light-transmitting channels extending edgewise through the center layer and spaced apart irregularly along the card in accordance with a predetermined code. The card is decoded by directing one or more laser beams edgewise through the center layer toward one or more light sensors and moving the card to produce output signals corresponding to the number and spacing of the light-transmitting channels. In one embodiment, a main laser beam is directed edgewise through the card at a right angle to produce a main read-out signal and simultaneously an auxiliary or check laser beam is directed edgewise through the card at a different angle. Separate light sensors and read-out devices produce two separate identification numbers, code names, or other indicia.

Claims

1. A credit card system comprising:

a laminated credit card having a rectangular body including a center layer of transparent, light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card to produce read-out information including;

(a) a barrier consisting of a plurality of discrete opaque areas in said center layer set back to non-exposed positions substantially inwardly from said edges to render them not readily visible; and

(b) said opaque areas being individually lesser in both length and width than said body and being displaced relative to one another in a direction parallel to said open edges to provide windows defining a set of straight parallel light-transmitting channels extending edgewise through said center layer at a predetermined angle and spaced apart irregularly along said card in accordance with a predetermined code;

means for decoding said card including means for supporting said card in a laser beam focused at said predetermined angle parallel to said light-transmitting channels into one of the open edges of said center sheet toward light sensor means beyond the other open edge, said light sensor means being effective to generate a signal in response to change in intensity of said laser beam directed thereon, and means for effecting relative movement between said card on the one hand and said laser beam and light sensor means on the other hand to enable said light sensor to generate an output signal corresponding to the information coded into said set of lighttransmitting channels; and

read-out means for said light Sensor means operable in response to said output signal from said light sensor for producing information decoded from said set of light-transmitting channels.

2. In a credit card system, a laser-readable credit card comprising:

a laminated rectangular body including a center layer of transparent, light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card to produce read-out information including;

(a) a barrier consisting of a plurality of discrete opaque areas in said center layer set back to non-exposed positions substantially inwardly from said edges to render them not readily visible; and

(b) said opaque areas being individually lesser in both length and width than said body and being displaced relative to one another in a direction parallel to said open edges to provide windows defining a set of straight parallel light-transmitting channels extending edgewise through said center layer at a predetermined angle and spaced apart irregularly along said card in accordance with a predetermined code;

whereby the information coded into said set of channels can be decoded by scanning the card edgewise with a laser beam directed into one edge of the card toward a light sensor along the opposite edge of the card.

3. A credit card system comprising:

a laminated credit card having a rectangular body including a center layer of transparent, light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card to produce a plurality of information read-outs including a plurality of discrete opaque areas in said center layer set back to non-exposed positions substantially inwardly from said edges to render them not readily visible, said opaque area being arranged in said center layer to define a plurality of sets of parallel light-transmitting channels, each set of channels extending edgewise through said center layer at an angle different from any other set, said channels in each of said sets being spaced irregularly along said card in accordance with a predetermined code in a pattern representative of information unique to that set;

means for decoding said card including means for supporting said card between laser means along one of said open edges and light sensor means along the other of said open edges, said laser means including means for focusing separate laser beams at different angles corresponding to the angles of said different sets of light-transmitting channels into said center layer, said light sensor means including a separate light sensor positioned to intercept each of said laser beams, each of said light sensor being effective to generate a signal in response to change in intensity of the corresponding laser beam directed thereon, and means for effecting relative movement between said card on the one hand and said laser means and light sensor means on the other hand to enable each of said light sensors to generate an individual output signal related to the information coded into the corresponding set of light-transmitting channels; and

read-out means for each of said light sensors operable in response to the output signal from the respective light sensor for producing information decoded from the corresponding set of light-transmitting channels.

4. In a credit card system, a laser-readable, multiple read-out credit card comprising:

a laminated rectangular body including a center layer of transparent, light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card to produce multiple information read-outs including;

(a) a barrier consisting of a plurality of discrete opaque areas in said center layer set back to non-exposed positions substantially inwardly frOm said edges to render them not readily visible; and

(b) said opaque areas being individually lesser in both length and width than said body and being displaced relative to one another in a direction parallel to said open edges to provide windows defining a plurality of sets of straight parallel light-transmitting channels, each set of channels extending edgewise through said center layer at an angle different from any other set, said channels in each of said sets being spaced irregularly along said card in accordance with a predetermined code in a pattern representative of information unique to that set;

whereby the information coded into each set of channels can be decoded separately by scanning the card edgewise with a laser beam disposed at the same angle as the set of channels decoded and directed toward a light sensor along the opposite edge of the card.

5. A credit card system comprising:

a laminated credit card having a rectangular body including a center layer of transparent, light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card to provide separate main and check read-outs comprising;

a. Two spaced barriers of opaque material extending along and between said open edges in said center layer;

b. pairs of light-transmitting windows arranged with one window in each of said barriers;

a main set of said pairs of windows being aligned parallel to a main axis transverse to said body to define a main set of light-transmitting channels extending edgewise through said center layer, and an auxiliary set of said pairs of windows being aligned parallel to an auxiliary axis transverse to said body to define an auxiliary set of light-transmitting channels extending edgewise through said center layer;

the windows in each of said main and auxiliary sets of windows being irregularly spaced along said barriers to thereby space the channels in each of said sets of light-transmitting channels irregularly along the length of the card in accordance with a predetermined code in a pattern representative of information unique to that set of channels;

means for separately and coincidentally decoding said main and auxiliary sets of light-transmitting channels comprising main and auxiliary laser means aligned respectively with said main and auxiliary axes and focused into said center sheet through one of its said open edges, and main and auxiliary light sensors along the opposite open edge axially aligned with said laser means, each of said light sensors being independently effective to generate a signal in response to change in intensity of light;

means for effecting relative movement between said card on the one hand and said laser means and light sensors on the other hand to enable each of said light sensors to generate a separate output signal corresponding to the information coded into the corresponding set of lighttransmitting channels; and

separate main and auxiliary read-out means for said light sensors operable in response to the output signals from the main and auxiliary light sensors respectively for separately producing information decoded from said main and auxiliary sets of light-transmitting channels whereby information produced from one of said set of lighttransmitting channels may be employed to check the other. 6. In a multiple read-out credit card system, the combination of claim 5 in which said main and auxiliary axes are disposed at different angles within said card body.

7. In a credit card system, a laser-readable credit card comprising:

a laminated rectangular body comprising a center layer of light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card comprising;

a. a linear barrier of opaque material extending along and inwardly from said open edges in said center sheet; and

b. light transmitting windows in said barrier spaced apart in a pattern representative of information and capable of being decoded by moving said card between a laser and light sensor and analyzing the sequence of light pulses through said windows.

8. In a credit card system, a laser-readable multiple read-out credit card comprising:

a laminated rectangular body comprising a center layer of light-transmitting material between a pair of cover sheets, said body having opposed open edges for transmitting light into and out of said center layer;

means for coding said card comprising;

a. two spaced barriers of opaque material extending along and between said open edges in said center layer; and

b. pairs of light-transmitting windows arranged with one of each pair in one of said barriers and the other of each pair in the other barrier;

a main set of said pairs of windows being aligned parallel to a main axis transverse to said body, and an auxiliary set of said pairs of windows being aligned parallel to an auxiliary axis disposed at an angle to said main axis; and

the windows in each of said main and auxiliary sets being spaced along said barriers in a pattern representative of information unique to said set.