Card or pass in plastic material incorporating an integrated memory circuit

• US 4,873,427 A
• Filed: 06/23/1987
• Issued: 10/10/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pentasystem SPA
• Original Assignee: Pentasystem SPA
• Inventors: Virdia, Antonio
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US07/076,931
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/468
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07743 External electrical contacts
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/08 using markings of different kinds or more than one marking of the same kind in the same record carrier, e.g. one marking being sensed by optical and the other by magnetic means

Abstract

A card or pass comprising at least two layers, suitably mated, of shock-resistant plastic film transparent to infrared light. Inside these layers, identification optical codes, readable in transparency by means of infrared rays, are printed. Inside these layers still, a seat, suitably shaped to receive an integrated memory circuit connected to the outside by means of four contacts, is provided. Each contact has a very precise function according to its connection with the circuit which comprises an integrated memory circuit of EEPROM technology with interfacing protocol on two wires and with voltage converter on chip so as to eliminate the necessity of several feeding voltages.

Claims

1. An identification system, comprising

(a) a card formed of synthetic plastic material which is transparent to infrared rays;

(b) an integrated memory circuit arranged within said card and comprising a plurality of memory cells and voltage conversion circuits for generating the voltages necessary for programming said cells;

(c) an optical code univocally associated with and arranged within said card, said code further being associated with data contained in said memory circuit and being used as a component of an access key for the information stored in said memory circuit via an external reading/writing device; and

(d) four contacts arranged on said card and connected with said memory circuit and including a first contact (VCC) receiving a feed signal, a second contact (VSS) being connected with a feed return line, a third contact (SCL) transmitting a logic signal acting as a clock signal for data and instructions, and a fourth contact (SDA) connected with an open drain two-dimensional line and acting as a support for data and instructions,

(e) the voltage applied to said third and fourth contacts being variable between low and high logic levels;

(f) said external reading/writing device providing the clock signal for transferring data from and to said memory circuit;

(g) the line connected with said fourth contact changing its status only when said third contact is low with said fourth contact status variations occurring when said third contact is high and being used to indicate START and STOP conditions for a transmission;

(h) all controls being preceded by the START condition with no data byte following it and subsequently the selection control is sent with RW=1 and, continuing to generate the clock signal, the desired byte is received from the memory, whereby if the generation of the clock signal continues, the memory continues to send new bytes, increasing the memory addres from which they are drawn and if the memory address exceeds the limit of the 256 bytes page, said address is put to zero so that the bits selected subsequently are taken commencing from the beginning of the same page.

2. An identification system as defined in claim 1, wherein the internal univocal code is inserted into said card by means of at least two different codification systems, one being the logical complement of the other, placed in different areas of said card so that alteration of said code is possible by modifying both areas, in a completely logical complementary way, so as to keep their congruency unaltered, said alteration being impossible without delaminating the card itself.

3. An identification system as defined in claim 2, wherein said contacts are placed along a single line of only one layer of said card.

4. An identification system as defined in claim 3, wherein said contacts are connected with the integrated circuit in such a way that the connections derive from a single side of said card.

5. An identification system as defined in claim 2, wherein said card includes an internal seat, and further wherein the thickness of said memory circuit is less than the height of said seat, whereby support for said circuit comprises the conductive tracks thereof which allows said circuit to swing in its seat.

6. A card, comprising

(a) at least two mated layers of plastic material (15a and 15b) transparent to infrared rays;

(b) an integrated memory circuit (22) of EEPROM technology connected with the outside of said layers through four contacts (11, 12, 13,

     14) and containing voltage conversion circuits capable to generate internally, starting from a single voltage, a voltage necessary for the memory cells programming;

(c) an internal univocal code written on internal faces of one of said layers by means of at least two different codification systems, one being the logical complement of the other, placed in different areas (18a and 18b), so that the alteration of said code is possible only by modifying both areas (18a and 18b) in a completely logical complementary way, so as to keep their congruency unaltered and that said alteration is not possible without delaminating the card itself.

7. A card as defined in claim 6, wherein said contacts (11, 12, 13, 14) are connected with said integrated circuit (22) in such a way that the connections derive from a single side of said card, the integrated circuit (22) thickness being less than the height provided for a seat (19), so that the only support for the integrated circuit (22) is four conductive tracks (21) thereof which allow the integrated circuit (22) to swing in its seat (19).