Banking card for automatic teller machines and the like

• US 4,360,728 A
• Filed: 02/27/1981
• Issued: 11/23/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LaserCard Corp. (Assa Abloy AB)
• Original Assignee: Drexler Technology Corporation (Assa Abloy AB)
• Inventors: Drexler, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): YUSKO, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US06/238,832
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462, 235/493, 235/440, 235/487, 235/454, 346/77 E, 346/76 L, 365/124
• US Class Current: 235/440
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/003 with webs , filaments or wires, e.g. belts, spooled tapes or films of quasi-infinite extent
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0032 for moving-picture soundtracks, i.e. cinema cameras or projectors with sound recording or reproducing means G03B31/02
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0033 with cards or other card-like flat carriers, e.g. flat sheets of optical film
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/90 Magnetic feature
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24917 including metal layer

Abstract

A data card having a pair of spaced apart information records. One record is a strip of high resolution reflective laser recording material, such as a metallic film. The other strip is a magnetic recording material. The strip of laser recording material has a capacity for recording at least 250,000 bits represented by pits having a dimension less than 50 microns.

Claims

1. A data card for use with a card reader-writer comprising,

a wallet size card having opposed sides and a length equal to or exceeding a width,

a first strip of high resolution reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material adhered to the card, the reflectivity of said first strip greater than 15%, said first strip being laser recordable in place on said card, and

a second strip of magnetic recording material adhered to the card.

2. The card of claim 1 wherein said first and second strips are adhered to the same side of said card.

3. The card of claim 1 wherein said first and second strips are adhered to opposite sides of said card.

4. The card of claim 1 wherein said first and second strips are disposed parallel to each other and spaced apart on the same side of said card, said strips extending in the lengthwise direction.

5. The card of claim 1 wherein said first strip has a minimal laser recording capacity of 250,000 binary bits, each bit being a pit in said laser recording material under 50 microns in size.

6. The card of claim 5 wherein said first strip includes previously recorded data bits represented by pits which are oblong and aligned in paths.

7. The card of claim 6 wherein said pits are arranged in a self-clocking bar code.

8. A data card transaction system comprising,

a wallet size card having opposed sides and a length equal to or exceeding a width,

a first strip of high resolution reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material adhered to the card, the reflectivity of said first strip greater than 15%,

a second strip of magnetic recording material adhered to the card,

a laser disposed in laser data-writing relation with respect to said first strip on said card, and a photodetector disposed in reflective data-read relation with respect to the laser and said first strip on said card, and

a magnetic head disposed in magnetic writing relation with respect to said second strip.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said laser is a semiconductor diode laser.

10. The card of claim 8 wherein said first and second strips are adhered to the same side of said card.

11. The card of claim 8 wherein said first and second strips are adhered to opposite sides of said card.

12. The card of claim 8 wherein said first and second strips are disposed parallel to each other and spaced apart on the same side of said card, said strips extending in the lengthwise direction.

13. The card of claim 8 wherein said first strip has a minimal laser recording capacity of 250,000 binary bits, each bit being a pit in said laser recording material under 50 microns in size.

14. The card of claim 13 wherein said first strip includes previously recorded data bits represented by pits which are oblong and aligned in paths.