Contactless payment card reader with a frusto-conical operating volume

• US 7,520,435 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: Smets, Patrick, Garrett, Duncan, Van De Velde, Eddy Lodewijk Hortensia
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze; Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US11/182,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20060022043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 235/451, 235/492, 235/380, 235/384, 235/439, 235/493, 235/375, 235/382, 235/487, 235/450, 705/41, 705/53, 705/67, 705/64
• US Class Current: 235/486
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/302 Contactless testing G01R31/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/308 using non-ionising electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical radiation investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means G01N21/00; image analysis G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/00 Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns methods or arrangements for marking the record carrier in digital fashion G06K1/00; pattern recognition G06F18/00; arrangements for image or video recognition or understanding G06V10/00; character recognition, recognising digital ink or document-oriented image-based pattern recognition G06V30/00
• 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 7/0095 Testing the sensing arrangement, e.g. testing if a magnetic card reader, bar code reader, RFID interrogator or smart card reader functions properly testing of electrical circuits G01R31/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10019 resolving collision on the communication channels between simultaneously or concurrently interrogated record carriers. collision between the communication channels used by wireless communication devices, where the solution is not particularly adapted for RFIDs or the like, H04W74/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10465 the interrogation device being capable of self-diagnosis, e.g. in addition to or as part of the actual interrogation process testing of electrical circuits in general G01R31/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/084 Additional components relating to data transfer and storing, e.g. error detection, self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A contactless payment card reader has a frusto-conical operating volume. The frusto-conical shaped operating volume has defined magnetic field strengths for powering and communicating with proximity payment cards. The reader can serve as a reference reader, which is representative of product readers deployed in contactless payment card systems, to test product contactless payment cards under conditions that simulate field use of the cards.

Claims

1. A reader arrangement for reading contactless payment cards, the reader comprising:

an RF antenna circuit; and

a landing plane positioned at a fixed distance from the RF antenna, wherein the RF antenna circuit is configured to generate a magnetic field H_ov in a frusto-conical shaped operating volume, wherein the landing plane forms the smaller diameter base of the frusto-conical shaped operating volume, wherein the magnetic field H_ov in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume is specified to power and communicate with the contactless payment cards placed in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume, wherein the frusto-conical shaped operating volume comprises;

a frusto cone having an axial length S1, a small base diameter D1 and a large base diameter D2; and

a cylindrical section having a diameter D2 and an axial length S2, wherein the RF antenna has a diameter of about 7 cms, wherein the landing plane is positioned at a fixed distance of about 15 cms from the RF antenna, and wherein the parameters S1, S2, D1 and D2 have nominal values of about 1, 3, 3 and 5 cms, respectively.

2. The reader arrangement of claim 1 wherein the magnetic field Hov corresponds to a power transfer voltage Vov measured at a point on the RF antenna circuit, and wherein Vov measured on the RF antenna circuit has a nominal value of about 3-α

z volts on an RF antenna circuit where z is the distance of a payment card from the landing plane in cms and where a is equal to about 0.35.

3. A reference reader for testing a contactless payment card that can be used with any of several card readers deployed in an electronic payment system, the reference reader comprising:

an RF antenna circuit whose external behavior is representative of the behaviors of the several readers deployed in the electronic payment system, wherein the RF antenna circuit is configured to exhibit the representative external behavior to the contactless payment card under test and to generate a magnetic field H_ov in a frusto-conical shaped operating volume, and wherein the magnetic field H_ov in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume is specified to power and communicate with the contactless payment card placed in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume.

4. The reference card of claim 3 wherein the several readers are contactless payment card readers and wherein the RF antenna circuit comprises an antenna having a resonant frequency of about 13.56 MHz.

5. The reference reader of claim 4 wherein the RF antenna is a circular antenna fabricated on a circuit board, and wherein the reference reader further comprises a landing plate on which cards are placed for testing and which is disposed at a fixed distance of about 15 cms away from the printed circuit board.

6. The reference reader of claim 5 wherein the antenna is a circular antenna having a diameter of about 7 cms which represents an average of the antenna sizes of the several readers deployed in the field and which generates a magnetic field which is representative of readers deployed in the field.

7. The reference reader of claim 6 wherein the frusto-conical shaped operating volume comprises:

a frusto cone having an axial length S1, a small base diameter D1 and a large base diameter D2; and

a cylindrical section having a diameter D2 and a length S2.

8. The reference reader of claim 7 wherein the landing plane is positioned at a fixed distance of about 15 cms from the RF antenna, and wherein the parameters S1, S2, D1 and D2 have nominal values of about 1, 3, 3 and 5 cms, respectively.

9. The reference reader of claim 8 wherein the magnetic field Hov corresponds to an equivalent power transfer voltage Vov measured at a point on the RF antenna circuit, and wherein the Vov measured on the RF antenna circuit has a nominal value of about (3-α

z) volts, where z is the distance of the payment card from the landing plane in cms and where α

is equal to about 0.35.

10. A method for testing the behavior of a contactless payment card that can be used with any of several card readers deployed in an electronic payment system, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a reference reader having a frusto-conical operating volume, the reference reader comprising an RF antenna circuit whose external behavior is representative of the behaviors of the several readers deployed in the electronic payment system, wherein the RF antenna circuit is configured to exhibit the representative external behavior to the payment card under test and to generate a magnetic field H_ov in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume, and wherein the magnetic field H_ov in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume is specified to power and communicate with the contactless payment card when placed in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume;

placing the contactless payment card at a first position in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume; and

measuring the data reception and power sensitivity of the contactless card placed in the operating volume.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

placing the contactless payment card at a set of positions in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume; and

measuring the data reception and power sensitivity of the product card at each of set of positions in the frusto-conical shaped operating volume.