Methods and apparatus for wireless RFID cardholder signature and data entry

• US 7,100,835 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2003
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Selker, Edwin Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): FUREMAN, JARED
• Application Number:
  US10/646,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20040124248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,109 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/451, 235/487, 257/679, 340/572.1, 340/10.33, 361/737
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06 characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0716 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising a sensor or an interface to a sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07345 by activating or deactivating at least a part of the circuit on the record carrier, e.g. ON/OFF switches
• 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: H01H 2231/05 Card, e.g. credit card
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2239/076 Key stroke generating power

Abstract

A radio operated data card whose outer jacket forms a sealed protected housing for internal electrical components, including an RFID integrated circuit which incorporates data storage and a radio frequency transceiver, and one or more on-card antenna structures. Manually operated electrical switching elements, or antenna structures which are responsive to the positioning of conductive members, such as the human hand, at particular locations on or near the surface of the card, are connected to the on-card electronic circuitry. The switching elements or antenna elements are selectively operated by the cardholder who manipulates the card in predetermined ways to generate data signals that may be used to activate the card, store data in the card, or transmit data to the reader.

Claims

1. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder comprising, in combination,

a transceiver on said card for exchanging data between said RFID card and a remotely located card reader electromagnetically coupled to said card,

at least one sensor on said card operable by said cardholder to generate a plurality of control signals indicating the timing of a corresponding sequence of touch events when said card is being manipulated by said cardholder, and

a timer responsive to said control signals for controlling the data exchanged between said RFID card and said card reader when the time duration between touch events in said sequence satisfies a predetermined condition.

2. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 1 wherein said control signals further indicate a location on said card where said touch events occur.

3. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 2 wherein said sensor comprises a plurality of switching elements located at different positions on a surface of said card.

4. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 3 wherein said transceiver is electromagnetically coupled to said card reader by an antenna and wherein each of said plurality of switching elements are connected to said antenna to vary the gain or resonant frequency of said antenna.

5. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 2 wherein said switching elements are activated by selective positioning of the cardholder'"'"'s hand with respect to said card.

6. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder comprising

an on-card antenna defining of a plurality of spaced apart regions of said RFID card and having a different response to the presence of a conductive object positioned proximate to different ones of said regions of said card,

sensing means coupled to said antenna for detecting the timing and sequence in which said conductive object moves with respect to said spaced apart regions, and

a timer for controlling the operation of said RFID card when said timing and sequence satisfies one or more predetermined time duration conditions.

7. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 6 wherein said sensing means detects a change in the Q of said antenna in the presence of said object.

8. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 6 wherein said sensing means detects a change in the amplitude gain of said antenna in the presence of said object.

9. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 6 wherein said conductive object is a human hand.

10. An RFID card adapted to be carried by and activated by a human cardholder as set forth in claim 6 wherein said conductive object is a conductive member mounted on said card for movement with respect to said on-card antenna to alter the characteristics of said antenna.

11. A radio operated data card carried by and activated by a human cardholder including, on said card,

an antenna,

a data memory,

a transceiver for transferring data between said memory and a remote host system via said antenna,

a sensing mechanism for generating control signals indicative of the position at which, and the timing at which, said cardholder touches each of a plurality of different locations on said card in sequence, and

means including at least one timer for controlling the transfer of data via said transceiver when said control signals satisfy predetermined conditions indicating that said card was touched at predetermined locations in a predetermined sequence satisfying predetermined time duration constraints.

12. A radio operated data card as set forth in claim 11 wherein said antenna comprises different segments and wherein said sensing mechanism sensor detects a change in the Q of said antenna.

13. A radio operated data card as set forth in claim 11 wherein said antenna comprises different segments and said sensing mechanism detects a change in the standing wave ratio exhibited by said different segments.

14. A radio operated data card as set forth in claim 11 wherein said antenna comprises different segments and said sensing mechanism detects change in the amplitude gain of said antenna segments.

15. A radio operated data card as set forth in claim 11 wherein said antenna comprises different segments and said sensing mechanism detects a change in the resonant frequency of said one or more antenna segments in the presence of an object.