Contactless or hybrid contact-contactless smart card designed to limit the risks of fraud

• US 6,390,375 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2000
• Issued: 05/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ask S.A. (Paragon Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Ask S.A. (Paragon Group Limited)
• Inventors: Kayanakis, Georges
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Seung H.
• Application Number:
  US09/725,078
• Publication Number:
  US 20010002035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/486, 235/487, 235/488, 235/380, 361/737
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/02 characterised by the selection of materials, e.g. to avoid wear during transport through the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07372 by detecting tampering with the circuit
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07769 the further communication means being a galvanic interface, e.g. hybrid or mixed smart cards having a contact and a non-contact interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07779 the inductive antenna being a coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16 of an individual bump connector

Abstract

The invention relates to a contactless or hybrid contact-contactless smart card, including an antenna on a support, this antenna being formed by at least one turn of electrically conductive ink which is screen printed on the support, two card bodies 24 on each side of the support, each of the card bodies consisting of at least one layer of plastic material, and a chip or module 26 connected to the antenna. The support is made of paper and features cutouts 22 in each corner at which the two card bodies are welded together, thus giving its capacity to delaminate, when the card is bent, at the location where the forces were generated, which highlights any act of deliberate damage a posteriori as the card retains the traces of the bending, and represents a countermeasure against fraud.

Claims

1. A contactless or hybrid-contact contactless smart card including an antenna on a support, said antenna being comprised of at least one turn of electrically conductive ink screen printed on said support, two card bodies on each side of said support, each of said card bodies being made up of at least one layer of plastic material, and a chip or module connected to the antenna,

said card being characterized in that said support is made of paper and features cutouts in each corner at which said card bodies are welded together thereby enabling said support to delaminate when bent at the location where the forces are generated by said bending, which highlights any act of deliberate damage a posteriori as the card retains the traces of the bending.

2. The smart card according to claim 1, in which said module is inserted into a cavity milled in the card body opposite the side of said support bearing the turns of the antenna.

3. The smart card according to claim 1, in which the chip is positioned between said support and one of said card bodies.

4. A smart card according to claim 1, in which each of said card bodies is comprised of at least two layers of plastic.

5. The smart card according to claim 4, in which the two sheets forming said card body layers have different stiffness and thickness.

6. The identification smart card according to claim 5, in which the sheet forming the external layer of the card bodies is made of a stiff plastic material and the sheet forming the internal layer of the card bodies is made of soft plastic having a low Vicat temperature softening temperature.

7. The identification smart card according to claim 6, in which the sheet forming the external layer is thicker than the sheet forming the internal layer.

8. The smart card according to claim 4, in which each of said card bodies further comprises a sheet of plastic material, or layer or varnish, acting as a cover.

9. A smart card according to claim 1, in which the plastic material forming the card bodies is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester (PET, PETG), polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

10. A smart card according to claim 1, in which the ink of said screen printed turns is an electrically conductive polymer ink loaded with conductive elements.

11. A smart card according to claim 1, in which at least one of the two card bodies is made up of transparent sheets in order to have the paper support visible, and specifically a graphic image printed on said support.