Credit card construction for automatic vending equipment and credit purchase systems

• US 4,017,834 A
• Filed: 01/08/1975
• Issued: 04/12/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vilma M. Wagner, William E. Cuttill
• Original Assignee: Vilma M. Wagner, William E. Cuttill
• Inventors: Cuttill, William E., Wagner, Vilma M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US05/539,330
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 340/149 A, 340/166 R, 340/173, 29/25.42, 40/2.2, 283/6, 283/7, 235/61.11 H, 235/61.12 N
• US Class Current: 283/83
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/067 Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 5/00 Methods or arrangements for verifying the correctness of markings on a record carrier; Column detection devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/081 electrostatic, e.g. by detecting the charge of capacitance between electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/904 Credit card

Abstract

A special credit card arrangement and construction is employed with the credit card precoded in binary code representing several digits and with a locator indicator to insure that the card is correctly positioned when inserted in the console or readout station. The card coding includes an arrangement of high dielectric constant spots or discs and low dielectric constant spots or discs arranged in several bit groupings related to a plurality of identification digits. In one embodiment of the cards, which are preferably of the plastic material type, opaque conductive plastic inserts may additionally be included over and above the first mentioned discs so that the discs, their location and code arrangement cannot be readily ascertained.

Claims

1. A card of the self-identifying type, comprising:

a core of vinyl material having a plurality of openings formed therein in a predetermined pattern;

an upper and a lower polyester layer positionable above and below said core;

an upper and a lower metallic contact positionable in each of said openings and extending through opposed openings preformed in each respective upper and lower layer; and

a plurality of high and low dielectric constant inserts positionable between preselected pairs of said contacts in accordance with the code selected.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper and lower layers comprise sheets of the mylar material type.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said metallic contacts have included therein raised crown portions for improving the strength of said contacts.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein there is further included the upper and lower surfaces of said inserts an electrically conductive silicone layer for improving the impact strength of the card.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the core of said card comprises a vinyl material.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the core is of a high impact resistant styrene material.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said dielectric constant inserts comprise in each case a ceramic material disc.

8. A coded card of the self-identifying type, comprising:

an upper and a lower layer of polyester film material;

an intermediate vinyl core having a plurality of openings formed therethrough in a predetermined code pattern;

a plurality of high and of low capacitance material inserts operable to be inserted in a predetermined number of said openings in conformance with the preselected code; and

a like plurality of like positioned electrically conductive spots preformed in both the upper and lower layers in registration with such core openings.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said electrically conductive spots comprise fibers having their axes arranged to provide conductive in a direction normal but not transverse to the plane in which said card is lying.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said conductive spots comprise discrete portions of said layers prepolarized to permit electrical conduction therethrough.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein said conductive spots comprise discrete portions of said layers having electrically conductive particles embedded therein.

12. A coded card of the self-identifying type comprising:

an upper and a lower layer, each of said layers including a plurality of electrically conductive fibers having their axes aligned in paths substantially normal to the plane of such layers to permit current flow only in such paths;

an intermediate core of insulating material having a plurality of openings preformed therethrough in a predetermined code pattern; and

a plurality of high and of low dielectric constant material inserts in said openings in conformance with a predetermined code.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein said inserts comprise ceramic discs.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein a plurality of raised alpha numeric indicia are included on the upper layer of said card to provide for direct print-out.

15. A coded card of the self-identifying type, comprising:

an upper and a lower layer, each of said layers comprising a material having an electrical conductive capability in directions substantially normal to the plane of each such layer but not in directions parallel thereto;

an intermediate core of insulating material having a plurality of openings preformed therethrough in a predetermined code pattern; and

a plurality of high and of low dielectric constant inserts positioned in said openings in accordance with a predetermined code.