Distinct smart card reader having wiegand, magnetic strip and bar code types emulation output

• US 6,223,984 B1
• Filed: 06/06/1997
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bridgepoint Systems, Inc. (DeWaay Financial Network LLC)
• Original Assignee: Cybermark Incorporated
• Inventors: Johnson, Randall E., Chu-Jeng, Caroline, Renner, G. Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US08/870,597
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/487, 235/449, 235/451, 235/380, 235/381, 902/26, 902/22
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1097 Optical sensing of electronic memory record carriers, such as interrogation of RFIDs with an additional optical interface
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration

Abstract

An intelligent card reader is provided to replace existing magnetic stripe readers, bar code readers, and Wiegand effect readers without the need for expensive retrofitting of existing computer systems which are coupled to the existing readers. The intelligent card reader can replace the aforementioned readers and yet remain compatible with their existing interfaces by emulating a magnetic card reader, a Wiegand effect reader, or a bar code reader. Moreover, the card reader can accept smart cards having different functions and/or software interfacing techniques, thus allowing different types of smart cards can be used in the same reader. A reprogramming feature allows the unit to be easily reprogrammed to support new features and smart card types without rewiring or removing the unit.

Claims

1. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions; and

a reprogramming control circuit coupled to the microprocessor.

2. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory and comprises a reset circuit.

3. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory and comprises a clock divider.

4. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory and comprises a power control circuit.

5. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory and comprises an input/output circuit.

6. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the input/output circuit comprises a bidirectional buffer.

7. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the microprocessor is capable of sending a card eject signal to the card acceptor.

8. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the first set of specific smart card functions;

allows files on the smart card to be referenced by name, and where the second set of specific smart card functions does not allow files on the smart card to be referenced by name.

9. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the first set of specific smart card functions comprises a function which differs in its implementation from a corresponding function in the second set of specific smart card functions, and where the generic set of smart card functions hides the difference in implementation from the application program.

10. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the information comprises answer-to-reset data supplied by the smart card in response to a reset signal generated by the microcontroller, and where the microcontroller makes the determination by extracting vendor information from a historical portion of the answer-to-reset data.

11. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the application program comprises an access control application which reads an access control file from the smart card, extracts an access code therefrom, and supplies the access code to an external device.

12. The intelligent card reader according to claim 11, further comprising means for converting the access code into a signal compatible with a Wiegand effect reader and transmitting the signal to the external device.

13. The intelligent card reader according to claim 11, further comprising means for converting the access code into a signal compatible with a magnetic stripe reader and transmitting the signal to the external device.

14. The intelligent card reader according to claim 11, further comprising means for converting the access code into a signal compatible with a bar code reader and transmitting the signal to the external device.

15. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, further comprising means coupled to the microcontroller for controlling a vending machine, and where the application program comprises means for extracting a purse value from the smart card, displaying the purse value on a display unit coupled to the microcontroller, determining whether the purse value is sufficient to operate the vending machine, and, responsive to a determination that the purse value is sufficient to operate the vending machine, controlling the vending machine to dispense an item.

16. The intelligent card reader according to claim 15, further comprising a transaction storage memory, where the application program further comprises means for storing an encrypted transaction in the transaction storage memory corresponding to the dispensed item.

17. The intelligent card reader according to claim 15, where the application program further comprising means for, responsive to a determination that the purse value is not sufficient to operate the vending machine, generating an error message for display on the display unit, and means for ejecting the smart card from the card acceptor.

18. The intelligent card reader according to claim 17, further comprising means coupled to the microcontroller for reading out transactions stored in the transaction storage memory.

19. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, further comprising:

a computer having a touch-screen display; and

means for coupling the microcontroller to the computer, where the application program communicates with a second application program executing on the computer.

20. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, further comprising:

a machine decoder and controller, coupled to the microcontroller, for selectively enabling one of a plurality of machines; and

a device keypad, coupled to the microcontroller, for allowing a user to select one of the plurality of machines;

where the application program comprises means for extracting a purse value from the smart card, displaying the purse value on a display unit coupled to the microcontroller, determining whether the purse value is sufficient to operate one of the machines, and, responsive to a determination that the purse value is sufficient to operate one of the machines, controlling the machine decoder and controller to enable the selected machine.

21. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the application program comprises means for reading a library account code from the smart card, converting the library account code into a signal compatible with a bar code reader, and transmitting the signal to an external computer.

22. The intelligent card reader according to claim 1, where the application program comprises means for reading a meal plan account code from the smart card, converting the meal plan account code into a signal compatible with a magnetic stripe reader, and transmitting the signal to an external computer.

23. A vending machine comprising:

a machine controller mechanism which operates a dispenser to dispense vended items;

a smart card acceptor which accepts a smart card having electrical contact pads thereon through which information can be retrieved from the smart card;

a microprocessor having a reprogramming control circuit, coupled to the machine controller, where the microprocessor is programmed with a computer program which;

(a) determines the type of smart card inserted into the smart card acceptor on the basis of answer-to-reset data received from the smart card;

(b) based on the determination in (a), couples one of two vendor-specific sets of smart card functions particular to the type of smart card inserted to a set of generic smart card functions independent of the type of smart card inserted, where the one coupled vendor-specific set comprises smart card functions which provide access to a debit purse on the smart card but the second of the two vendor-specific sets of smart card functions does not provide such access;

(c) retrieves a purse value from the smart card inserted into the smart card acceptor and displays the purse value on a display;

(d) determines whether the purse value retrieved from the smart card inserted into the smart card acceptor is sufficient to operate the vending machine; and

(e) responsive to a determination that the retrieved purse value is sufficient to operate the vending machine, controls the machine controller mechanism to dispense an item.

24. The vending machine of claim 23, further comprising:

a coin mechanism, coupled to the machine controller mechanism, which accepts money from a user to operate the machine controller mechanism; and

means, coupled between the microprocessor and the coin mechanism, for disabling the coin mechanism when a smart card has been inserted into the smart card acceptor.

25. The vending machine of claim 23, further comprising:

a coin mechanism, coupled to the machine controller mechanism and to the microprocessor, which accepts money from a user to operate the machine controller mechanism; and

where the microprocessor is programmed to detect money received in the coin mechanism and to operate the machine controller mechanism on the basis of a combination of money received from the coin mechanism and the purse value retrieved from the smart card.

26. The vending machine of claim 23, where the vending machine is a photocopier which dispenses copies of an original document.

27. The vending machine of claim 23, where the vending machine dispenses food items.

28. The vending machine of claim 23, where the vending machine comprises a nonvolatile memory coupled to the microprocessor;

and

where the computer program stores an encrypted transaction in the nonvolatile memory corresponding to operation of the machine controller mechanism dispensing an item.

29. The vending machine of claim 28, where the vending machine comprises means for transmitting transactions stored in the nonvolatile memory to an external computer.

30. The vending machine of claim 23, where the generic set of smart card functions, when coupled to the second set of vendor-specific smart card functions, emulates a purse function by storing information in a predetermined memory location on the smart card.

31. The vending machine of claim 23, where each smart card provides a plurality of debit purses thereon, and where the computer program accesses one of the plurality of debit purses corresponding to a vending machine application.

32. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions; and

a reprogramming control circuit is coupled to the microprocessor.

33. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, where the input/output circuit comprises a bidirectional buffer.

34. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, where the microprocessor is capable of sending a card eject signal to the card acceptor.

35. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, where the first set of specific smart card functions comprises a function which differs in its implementation from a corresponding function in the second set of specific smart chard functions, and where the generic set of smart card functions hides the difference in implementation from the application program.

36. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, where the application program comprises an access control application which reads an access control file from the smart card, extracts an access code therefrom, and supplies the access code to an external device.

37. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, further comprising means coupled to the microcontroller for controlling a vending machine, and where the application program comprises means for extracting a purse value from the smart card, displaying the purse value on a display unit coupled to the microcontroller, determining whether the purse value is sufficient to operate the vending machine, and, responsive to a determination that the purse value is sufficient to operate the vending machine, controlling the vending machine to dispense an item.

38. The intelligent card reader according to claim 37, further comprising a transaction storage memory, where the application program further comprises means for storing an encrypted transaction in the transaction storage memory corresponding to the dispensed item.

39. The intelligent card reader according to claim 37, the application program further comprising means for, responsive to a determination that the purse value is not sufficient to operate the vending machine, generating an error message for display on the display unit, and means for ejecting the smart card from the card acceptor.

40. The intelligent card reader according to claim 39, further comprising means coupled to the microcontroller for reading out transactions stored in the transaction storage memory.

41. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, further comprising:

a computer having a touch-screen display; and

means for coupling the microcontroller to the computer, where the application program communicates with a second application program executing on the computer.

42. The intelligent card reader according to claim 32, further comprising:

a machine decoder and controller, coupled to the microcontroller, for selectively enabling one of a plurality of machines; and

a device keypad, coupled to the microcontroller, for allowing a user to select one of the plurality of machines;

where the application program comprises means for extracting a purse value from the smart card, displaying the purse value on a display unit coupled to the microcontroller, determining whether the purse value is sufficient to operate one of the machines, and, responsive to a determination that the purse value is sufficient to operate one of the machines, controlling the machine decoder and controller to enable the selected machine.

43. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions; and

where the first set of specific smart card functions;

allows files on the smart card to be referenced by name, and where the second set of specific smart card functions does not allow files on the smart card to be referenced by name.

44. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions;

where the information comprises answer-to-reset data supplied by the smart card in response to a reset signal generated by the microcontroller, and where the microcontroller makes the determination by extracting vendor information from a historical portion of the answer-to-reset data.

45. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions;

where the application program comprises an access control application which reads an access control file from the smart card, extracts an access code therefrom, and supplies the access code to an external device; and

means for converting the access code into a signal compatible with a Wiegand effect reader and transmitting the signal to the external device.

46. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions;

where the application program comprises an access control application which reads an access control file from the smart card, extracts an access code therefrom, and supplies the access code to an external device; and

means for converting the access code into a signal compatible with a bar code reader and transmitting the signal to the external device.

47. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions; and

where the application program comprises means for reading a library account code from the smart card, converting the library account code into a signal compatible with a bar code reader, and transmitting the signal to an external computer.

48. An intelligent card reader, comprising:

a card acceptor for accepting a microprocessor-equipped smart card and for supplying information from the smart card;

memory comprising an application program, a set of generic smart card functions executable by the application program and applicable to a plurality of different types of smart cards, a first set of specific smart card functions applicable to a first type of smart card, and a second set of specific smart card functions applicable to a second type of smart card;

a microcontroller is operatively coupled with interface circuitry between the card acceptor and the memory, where the interface circuitry comprises a reset circuit, a clock divider, a power control circuit, and an input/output circuit;

the microcontroller, operatively coupled between the card acceptor and the memory, for reading the information from the smart card, determining whether the smart card corresponds to the first type or the second type, and, responsive to the determination, coupling the set of generic smart card functions to one of the first and second sets of specific smart card functions; and

where the application program comprises means for reading a meal plan account code from the smart card, converting the meal plan account code into a signal compatible with a magnetic stripe reader, and transmitting the signal to an external computer.

49. A method of reading a microprocessor-equipped smart card, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing into memory of a card reader an application program, a plurality of generic smart card functions executable by the application program without regard to smart card type, and a plurality of vendor-specific smart card functions specific to different types of smart cards;

(b) inserting the smart card into a card reader;

(c) from the card reader, determining the type of smart card inserted in step (b);

(d) on the basis of the determination in step (c), setting software pointers in the card reader to functions specific to the type of smart card inserted by binding each generic smart card function to one or more vendor-specific smart card functions;

(e) executing the application program using at least one of the generic smart card functions bound to one of the vendor-specific smart card functions; and

where step (c) further comprises the steps of;

issuing a reset signal to the smart card;

receiving answer-to-reset data from the smart card;

extracting historical information from the answer-to-reset data; and

determining on the basis of the extracted historical information what type of card was inserted;

where step (e) further comprises the step of retrieving a data item from the smart card, the method further comprising the steps of;

(f) in the card reader, converting the retrieved data item into a signal compatible with an external computer; and

(g) transmitting the signal to the external computer.

50. The method of claim 49, where step (a) comprises the step of storing an application program which does not communicate with any computer external to the card reader to execute the application program.

51. The method of claim 49, where step (e) comprises the step of retrieving a data item from the smart card, the method further comprising the steps of:

(f) in the card reader, converting the retrieved data item into a signal compatible with an external computer; and

(g) transmitting the signal to the external computer.

52. The method of claim 49, where step (e) comprises the step of using a vendor-specific function which performs a “

debit purse”

function on the smart card.

53. The method of claim 49, where step (a) comprises the step of converting the retrieved data item into a plurality of pulses compatible with a Wiegand-effect signal.

54. The method of claim 49, where step (f) comprises the step of converting the retrieved data item into a bar code signal.