Transaction card with attached auxiliary member

• US 6,588,658 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2000
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Abnote USA Incorporated (American Banknote Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Arthur Blank & Company Incorporated (American Banknote Corporation)
• Inventors: Blank, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US09/602,223
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/494, 235/382, 235/383, 283/61, 283/70, 283/81, 283/82
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/40 with a foldable or removable part
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/285 Gift cards
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/369 Magnetised or magnetisable materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10

Abstract

A transaction card assembly and method for forming a transaction card assembly. The transaction card assembly may include a transaction card and an auxiliary member attached to the transaction card. The transaction card and the auxiliary member may be formed from a same piece of material and may include a machine-readable feature, such as a barcode, magnetic strip or electronic device. The transaction card and/or the auxiliary member may meet ANSI and ISO specifications.

Claims

1. A transaction card assembly comprising:

a transaction card having a long edge and a short edge that is shorter than the long edge, the transaction card configured to meet ANSI and ISO specifications for transaction cards; and

at least one auxiliary member attached in an edge-to-edge fashion at a long edge of the transaction card;

wherein the transaction card meets ANSI and ISO specifications for edge roughness when separated from the at least one auxiliary member without the use of a tool.

2. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a machine readable feature on the transaction card near a side opposite the auxiliary member.

3. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a line of weakness between the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member are formed from a same sheet of material, and the line of weakness is a scoring of the material between the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the transaction card has an approximately rectangular shape.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the at least one auxiliary member includes a portion having an approximately rectangular shape and is approximately the same size as the transaction card.

7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the portion of the auxiliary member includes a hole formed through the portion.

8. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the portion of the auxiliary member includes an area for applying a handwritten message to the portion.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the transaction card is a gift card.

10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one auxiliary member includes at least one of a coupon portion, an advertisement portion, and a key tag.

11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member includes a machine-readable feature.

12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the machine-readable feature is a magnetic strip.

13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein the magnetic strip is fixed to the transaction card and meets ANSI and ISO specifications.

14. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the machine-readable feature is one of a barcode and an electronic device.

15. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member includes a label.

16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the label includes indicia that corresponds to indicia included on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the label is removable and adherable to another surface.

18. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the label obscures information on one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein the label obscures a PIN number for a prepaid telephone account on one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

20. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the transaction card includes a magnetic strip that is encoded while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

21. The assembly of claim 20, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member includes a label that is adhered and printed while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

22. The assembly of claim 20, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member include a barcode that is printed while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

23. The assembly of claim 1, wherein no auxiliary member is attached at a short edge of the transaction card.

24. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary member includes at least a portion attached at a short edge of the transaction card.

25. The assembly of claim 24, further comprising a machine readable feature positioned near a second long edge of the transaction card opposite the long edge, wherein the portion of the auxiliary member attached at a short edge of the transaction card is set back from the second long edge.

26. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the auxiliary member is formed to function as a transaction card.

27. A transaction card assembly comprising:

a transaction card having a machine-readable feature, a long edge and a short edge that is shorter than the long edge; and

at least one auxiliary member attached to the card in an edge-to-edge fashion, the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member arranged to allow the at least one auxiliary member and the transaction card to be separated without tools, the transaction card meeting ANSI and ISO specifications for edge roughness for a transaction card after being separated from the at least one auxiliary member.

28. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the machine-readable feature is a magnetic strip.

29. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the machine-readable feature is a barcode.

30. The assembly of claim 27, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member includes a removable label.

31. The assembly of claim 30, wherein the removable label includes indicia that corresponds to information contained in the machine-readable feature.

32. The assembly of claim 31, wherein the label includes indicia that corresponds to indicia printed on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

33. The assembly of claim 30, wherein the label is removable and adherable to another surface.

34. The assembly of claim 30, wherein the label obscures information on one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

35. The assembly of claim 34, wherein the label obscures a PIN number for a prepaid telephone account on one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

36. The assembly of claim 35, wherein the auxiliary member includes:

an intermediate portion attached to the long edge of the transaction card in an edge-to-edge fashion; and

at least one of a key tag portion and a coupon portion attached to the intermediate portion.

37. The assembly of claim 36, wherein the auxiliary member includes a key tag that has a machine-readable feature that includes information that corresponds to information stored in a machine-readable feature included on the transaction card.

38. The assembly of claim 36, wherein the transaction card and the auxiliary member are formed from a same sheet of plastic material, and a line of weakness is formed between the transaction card and the intermediate portion.

39. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the at least one auxiliary member is attached in an edge-to-edge fashion along the long edge of the transaction card.

40. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member are formed from a same sheet of material and a line of weakness is formed between the transaction card and the at least one auxiliary member.

41. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the transaction card has an approximately rectangular shape.

42. The assembly of claim 41, wherein the at least one auxiliary member includes a portion having an approximately rectangular shape and is approximately the same size as the transaction card.

43. The assembly of claim 42, wherein the portion of the auxiliary member includes a hole formed through the portion.

44. The assembly of claim 42, wherein the portion of the auxiliary member includes an area for applying a handwritten message to the portion.

45. The assembly of claim 44, wherein the transaction card is a gift card.

46. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the at least one auxiliary member includes at least one of a coupon portion, an advertisement portion, and a key tag.

47. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the machine-readable feature is an electronic device.

48. The assembly of claim 27, wherein the machine readable feature is a magnetic strip that is encoded while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

49. The assembly of claim 48, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member includes a label that is adhered and printed while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

50. The assembly of claim 49, wherein at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member include a barcode that is printed while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

51. The assembly of claim 44, wherein the assembly includes one of a gift card, a prepaid phone card, a frequent shopper card, a loyalty card and a membership card.

52. A method for forming a transaction card assembly having a transaction card and at least one auxiliary member, comprising:

providing a single sheet of material;

cutting at least a transaction card and an auxiliary member from the sheet of material;

providing a line of weakness between the transaction card and the auxiliary member so that the transaction card meets ANSI and ISO specifications for edge smoothness after being separated without tools from the auxiliary member; and

providing a machine-readable feature on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising:

forming a magnetic strip on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member; and

encoding the magnetic strip while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

adhering a label to at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

printing information on the label on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

printing a barcode on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member while the auxiliary member is attached to the transaction card.

57. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of cutting at least the transaction card and the auxiliary member comprises:

cutting so that the transaction card has an approximately rectangular shape.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the step of cutting comprises:

cutting so that the auxiliary member includes a portion having an approximately rectangular shape and is approximately the same size as the transaction card.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

forming a hole in the auxiliary member.

60. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

forming an area on the auxiliary member to receive a handwritten message.

61. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of cutting comprises:

cutting so that the auxiliary member includes at least one of a coupon portion, an advertisement portion, and a key tag.

62. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of providing the machine-readable feature comprises:

forming a magnetic strip on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the step of forming the magnetic strip comprises:

forming the magnetic strip so that the magnetic strip meets ANSI and ISO specifications.

64. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of providing the machine-readable feature comprises:

forming a barcode on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

65. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of providing the machine-readable feature comprises:

attaching an electronic device to at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

66. The method of claim 52, further comprising:

providing a label on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

printing indicia on the label that corresponds to indicia printed on at least one of the transaction card and the auxiliary member.

68. The method of claim 66, wherein the step of providing a label comprises:

providing a label that is removable and adherable to another surface.

69. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of providing a single sheet of plastic material comprises:

providing a sheet of material such that the transaction card cut from the sheet meets ANSI and ISO specifications.

70. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of providing a single sheet of plastic material comprises providing a sheet that is larger than a single transaction card assembly;

wherein the step of providing a machine-readable feature comprises forming a magnetic strip along a length of the sheet; and

wherein the step of cutting comprises cutting a plurality of transaction card assemblies from the sheet so no auxiliary member is attached along a short edge of the transaction cards in the transaction card assemblies.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the step of providing a machine-readable feature comprises encoding the magnetic strip with information for a plurality of transaction card assemblies.

72. A transaction card assembly comprising:

two transaction cards each having a magnetic strip and meeting ANSI and ISO specifications for transaction cards that are joined along short edges of the transaction cards, the transaction cards being separable from each other without tools and meeting ANSI and ISO specifications for edge smoothness after separation.

73. A transaction card assembly comprising:

a transaction card portion including indicia used to associate a transaction with an issue of the transaction card assembly, the indicia on the transaction card portion uniquely identifying the transaction card assembly from other transaction card assemblies in a plurality of transaction card assemblies;

an auxiliary member portion that is attached to the transaction card portion in an edge-to-edge fashion and includes a keytag portion, the keytag portion and transaction card portion being separable without the use of tools; and

a removable element attached to one of the transaction card portion and the auxiliary member portion, the removable element including indicia that corresponds to the indicia on the transaction card;

wherein the transaction card portion and the auxiliary member portion are not connected to any other transaction card portion that includes indicia different from the indicia on the transaction card portion, and the transaction card portion meets ANSI and ISO transaction card specifications for edge smoothness after being separated from the auxiliary portion without tools.

74. The transaction card assembly of claim 73, wherein the removable element is one of a removable label and a perforated section of the auxiliary member portion.