Third millenium credit card with magnetically onto it written multiple validity dates, from which is one single day as the credit card's validity day selected day after day by the legitimate card owner

• US 5,397,881 A
• Filed: 11/22/1993
• Issued: 03/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kallis H. Mannik
• Original Assignee: Kallis H. Mannik
• Inventors: Mannik, Kallis H.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEPPERD, JOHN W
• Application Number:
  US08/155,210
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/486, 235/493, 283/904
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification

Abstract

The Third Millenium credit card according to the present invention has magnetically into it written instead of only one expiration date, multiple expiration dates and multiple shopping hour periods, which are selected daily by means of erasing magnetic marking for one of these dates and by means of erasing magnetic marking for one of the shopping periods by the legitimate card user. The erased magnetic markings are rewritten into the credit card in any point of sales scanning device during the regular shopping procedure. These rewritten markings are again erased selectively day by day by the legitime card user, during the next time cycle of the credit card (week, 2 weeks or a month) according to this invention, as shown in FIG. 16. Thus the credit card according to this invention is continuously rejuvenated. The selective erasing of magnetic markings is done by the card user by means of a business card case like device which has a movable magnet built into it for erasing one date-mark each day. The erasure is completed by closing this card case for only two secunds.

Claims

1. A credit card with changeable expiration dates and hours, which can be changed every day by means of selective erasing of certain magnetic markings from multiple expiration date markings on this card and by means of selective erasing of magnetic markings for selected shopping hours on this card, with a permanent magnet, with an erasing head of a tape recorder or with an electromagnet;

and onto which credit card, while it is swiped through a point-of-sales scanner, are rewritten, or are rewritten by some other means, magnetic markings for these expiration dates, which were previously selectively erased.

2. A credit card with changeable expiration dates and hours, according to the claim 1, wherein a tiny permanent magnet or a piece of a flexible permanent magnet material of the kind, which is used to attach notes to a refrigerator in the family kitchen, is used for changing the day of validity or the expiration date of the credit card, and for specifying certain selected shopping hours.

3. A credit card with daily changeable expiration date and expiration hour, according to the claim 1, which has recorded onto its magnetic surface days of certain part of a year, days of a month, days of half of a month, days of a week or hours of a day, from which it will be selectively erased one date-mark every day, before the card'"'"'s owner uses his or her credit card for shopping.

4. A credit card with daily changeable expiration dates, according to the claim 1, which has on its magnetic area'"'"'s third band, band C, permanently recorded a certain number of timing marks, and which has on its magnetic areas fourth band, band D, magnetically written, certain number of dates for each month or for part of the month, from which it will be selectively erased one date-mark each day, day after day, for defining the card'"'"'s validity day.

5. A credit card with daily changeable expiration date, according to the claim 1, which has on its second magnetic band, band B on the spare area of this band magnetically recorded magnetic marks for 16 days of a month, or 7 days of a week and selected shopping hours of the day, which will be selectively erased from the card before the card is used for shopping, for defining the card'"'"'s validity day and card'"'"'s validity hours.

6. A specially equipped credit card case or card holder for the credit card with changeable expiration dates and hours, according to claim 1, in which there are built-in means for changing the expiration date/time, to update the card'"'"'s validity dates and selected shopping periods on the credit card, while the card is inserted briefly for 1-2 seconds into that credit card case or card holder

7. A specially equipped credit card case, to be used for changeable expiration date credit cards, according to the claim 6, for the expiration date/time changing of the credit card, in which means for erasure of an expiration date/time mark on the credit card, comprises a permanent magnet, mounted on a slide, movable along a bar inside of the lid of the card case into a position, where it is erasing the onto the credit card magnetically recorded current date every time when this credit card case, with the credit card in it, is closed for a few seconds, making the current day to the credit card'"'"'s validity day and making the next day'"'"'s date to the new expiration date, during which the card is expiring.

8. A credit card case, to be used for the changeable expiration date credit card, according to the claim 6, in which the credit card'"'"'s validity day is changed by means of inserting one of several magnetically active cards into this credit card case and then closing this credit card case, with the credit card in it, for a few seconds, each of these magnetically active cards having a tiny magnet mounted on it in a different position, corresponding to the 31 days of the month or 7 days of the week.

9. A credit card holder, to be used for the changeable expiration date credit card, according to the claim 6, in which the card validity day and the expiration date of the credit card according to this invention is changed, by means of positioning briefly for 1 or 2 seconds a tiny magnet, mounted on a manually turnable endless band, to the position of a magnetic date-mark of the current date on the credit card, which has to be erased.

10. A card holder, to be used for the changeable expiration date credit card according to the claim 6, which changes automatically the validity date of the credit card according to this invention every day, by positioning automatically, by means of a stepper motor or some other electromechanical device, controlled by a Date-Verifying-Clock, a tiny magnet, mounted on an endless band, to the position of a magnetic current date-mark on the credit card, which has to be erased at that day, in order to make that day to the card validity day.

11. A card holder, to be used for the changeable expiration date credit card according to the claim 6, which is arranged to change the expiration date automatically, by means of a Date-Verifying-Clock, by means of a binary counter and by means of one of the electromagnets of this device, for selective erasing of the current date'"'"'s magnetic marking from the credit card, making thus the current date to the card'"'"'s validity day.

12. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards according to claim 1 with changeable expiration dates, consisting of a read-head for reading the band B magnetic markings, an inverting amplifier, giving an output-pulse, when there is no magnetic mark on a date-mark position on the band B, an oscillator, oscillation rate of which is adjusted to correspond to the rate, with which the date-marks are passing under the band B reading head, of a binary counter, counting said oscillator pulses, of a Date-Verifying-Clock, of its binary counter which has stored in the current date'"'"'s information and of a comparator.

13. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards with changeable expiration dates, according to claim 1, consisting of a read-head for reading the band B magnetic markings, an amplifier, transmitting the signals from the read-head to a binary counter, where the output count of the binary counter is compared to the output count from the Date-Veryfying Clock'"'"'s binary counter in a comparator, and if found equal, the comparator generating an output signal which is used as an input to a detector circuitry, which via an op-amplifier and a via a relay, connects the read-head to the conventional band-B circuitry, for performing the regular credit card scanning operation, and which comparator output signal is also used for generating a "Transaction approved" signal for the point-of-sales scanner display.

14. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards according to claim 1 with changeable expiration dates, consisting of a read-head for reading the band C pulses, an amplifier connecting this read-head to a binary counter, numerical output of which is compared to Date-Verifying-Clock'"'"'s binary counter'"'"'s numerical output in a comparator, which gives a "Transaction approved" signal in case the comparator output is coincident with a zero reading from the band D read-head, which will be the case, if the magnetic marking for that day had been erased from the credit card.

15. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards with changeable electronics according to claim 1, consisting of a write-head which writes onto the band D magnetic markings certain number of magnetic marking positions before the read-head C position in relation to magnetic markings and certain number of band C counting pulses in time after this first magnetically written magnetic marking, where a certain number counting pulses delay is generated in a 3-bit binary counter or in some similar device.

16. The variable swipe-through speed compensation electronic arrangement, for credit cards with daily changeable expiration dates, according to claim 1, consisting of two magnetically written timing marks on band B of the credit card, and consisting of a band B read-head which sends pulses from these magnetic timing marks to a 2 bit-binary counter:

a) which at the first count generated by the first magnetic timing mark sends a pulse to an AND-gate, which also receives pulses from a fast oscillator, and this AND-gate output lead sends counting pulses to a reference 8-bit binary counter, until the second pulse arrives from the above mentioned 2-bit binary counter;

at what point of time the 8-bit binary reference counter stops pulse counting

b) which at the second count, generated by the 2nd magnetic timing mark, sends a pulse to another AND-gate which also receives pulses from the above mentioned oscillator, and which AND-gate then sends pulses to the second 8 bit binary counter, which counts these pulses until the binary value of this counter is exactly the same as the binary value of the reference 8-bit binary counter, at which time an output pulse is generated by a comparator comparing the values of both of these counters, for generating a new timing pulse, and where additional equivalent time-length timing pulses are generated by sending the comparator output signal via a Flip-Flop to the second 8-bit binary counter for generating the necessary number of timing pulses, with equal time duration, first for reading and then for writing the band B expiration-date marks, one after another.

17. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards with changeable date/hour electronics according to claim 1, where by means of erasing certain magnetic markings on the credit card, it is specified certain time periods, during which it will be connected into expiration date/hours checking circuitry several by the Time/Date Verifying Clock controlled relays.

18. Electronic circuitry for point-of-sale scanners for checking out credit cards with changeable date/hour electronics according to claim 1, where by means of erasing one specific magnetic marking on the credit card, the time limiting effect of certain specified shopping hours is cancelled and the only time limit which stays is the 12 midnight change of the date, when the card'"'"'s validity for the current day ends, in case the card is not reactivated for the next day, by means of erasing the next day'"'"'s magnetic mark from the card.

19. Electronic circuitry for point-of sale scanners for checking out credit cards with changeable date/hour electronics according to claim 1, where the erased specific magnetic markings for selected shopping periods will be rewritten onto the credit card during the last 1/2 hour of specified shopping periods, or during some other selected time period.

20. A credit card with monthly changeable expiration date, which has recorded into its magnetic surface 12 months of the year as its expiring months, magnetic markings for which will be erased selectively from the card, month by month.