Card with embedded bistable display having short and long term information

• US 7,925,538 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2008
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HKC Corporation Limited (Shenzhen Huike Investment Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Johnson, David M., Maiola, Domenic, Stephenson, Stanley W., Capurso, Robert G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Goyea, Olusegun
• Application Number:
  US12/197,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20080314983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 361/680, 361/681, 361/683, 400/88, 235/380, 235/492, 235/493, 235/487, 235/375, 235/441, 235/479, 235/483, 235/486, 235/439, 235/462.01, 235/462.49, 345/38, 345/211, 705/43, 705/42, 705/45, 705/1.1, 705/21, 705/330
• US Class Current: 705/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07703 the interface being visual
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• 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 system includes a transaction card with a display tag for displaying short term information, the character display having optical states that are stable without power and viewable from one side of the display tag and an array of electrical contacts for electrically addressing the character display from the other side of the tag, a contact window through which the contacts are accessible, machine readable data on the card, and a long term information printed on the transaction card; a transaction card writer having a reader for reading the machine readable data and having means for updating the short term information displayed on the transaction card; and a central computer connected to the transaction card writer having a data base and a central processor for receiving the information read by the magnetic card reader and generating display commands for the transaction card writer.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a) a reader for reading machine readable data stored on a transaction card having a display tag including a character display for displaying short term information, the character display having optical states that are stable without power and viewable from one side of the display tag, the display tag also including an array of electrical contacts for electrically addressing the character display from the other side of the tag, the array of contacts being directly connected to the character display via conductive traces, the transaction card also having a contact window through which the contacts are accessible, and means for providing the machine readable data;

b) an array of electrical contact pins arranged for making contact with the array of electrical contacts of the display tag on the transaction card through the contact window in the card;

c) means for moving the electrical contact pins between a position out of contact with the display tag and a position in contact with the display tag in response to insertion and removal of the transaction card into a slot in the transaction card writer, thereby minimizing wear on the array of electrical contacts on the transaction card, the means for moving the electrical contact pins including at least one finger disposed to, in response to being pushed by the transaction card as the transaction card is inserted into the slot, cause the electrical contact pins to be moved linearly to come in contact with the array of electrical contacts of the display tag; and

d) control electronics including means for receiving display commands and producing drive signals to the array of electrical contacts of the display tag to change the optical state of the character display of the display tag, and including means for communicating the machine readable data read by the reader.

2. The apparatus claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for providing machine readable data is a magnetic stripe on the card body, an embedded memory chip with exposed contacts on the card body, an RFID chip embedded in the card body, or a bar code printed on the card body.

3. The apparatus claimed in claim 1, further comprising a writer for writing machine readable data onto the card.