Interactive multimedia smart affinity card with flash memory

• US 8,177,129 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2009
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Timothy D. Larin
• Original Assignee: Timothy D. Larin
• Inventors: Webb, Richard S., Bertuccelli, Randall P.
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US12/476,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20090236430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: 235/435, 235/487, 235/492, 235/493, 235379-381
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/044 comprising galvanic contacts for contacting an integrated circuit chip thereon
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0806 Details of the card record carriers per se G06K
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/084 Additional components relating to data transfer and storing, e.g. error detection, self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 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
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0033 with cards or other card-like flat carriers, e.g. flat sheets of optical film
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/28 Re-recording, i.e. transcribing information from one optical record carrier on to one or more similar or dissimilar record carriers

Abstract

A multipurpose card, including a multimedia card portion with tiny protrusions on its face and a second card portion with tiny recesses which mate with the protrusions, wherein the two card portions easily connect and come apart. The multimedia card portion includes a flash memory device, which can be a removable, and a plug for programming the flash memory device. The multimedia card portion can also include an elongated finger hole and ‘wings.’ The finger hole and wings allow a user to grip the multimedia card in one hand with a thumb and middle/ring finger and pop apart the second card portion with an index finger.

Claims

1. A multipurpose card apparatus, comprising:

a multimedia card adapted to removably receive a solid state multimedia memory device comprising a flash memory card, wherein the flash memory card is received inside the multimedia card;

a substantially flat second card having a rectangular shape with substantially the same dimensions as a conventional credit card having first means to releasably connect to the multimedia card in a stacked relationship, the multimedia card having second means to releasably connect to the first means, wherein the flash memory card is accessible via an electronic physical connection interface of the multimedia card, wherein the electronic physical connection interface enables reading and writing to the flash memory card by an external multimedia computer processor while the multimedia card and the second card are releasably connected to each other in a stacked relationship, and wherein the substantially flat second card comprises at least one of indicia, raised data, and machine readable data storage, wherein each of the at least one of indicia, raised data, and machine readable data storage comprise data relating to both a cardholder and a card issuer associated with the second card, and wherein the substantially flat second card is separately useable, when detached from the multimedia card and presented to a party, to complete at least one of a credit, debit or affinity card transaction through use of at least the cardholder and card issuer information by the party.

2. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flash memory is embedded in the multimedia card.

3. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flash memory is enclosed in a memory card selected from the group consisting of a COMPACTFLASH®

card, SmartMedia card, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital card, MEMORY STICK®

card, and xD card.

4. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the solid state memory device is within a memory card, the memory card being releasably connected with the multimedia card portion.

5. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a docking bay within the multimedia card, the docking bay adapted to accept the memory card.

6. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 5, wherein the docking bay is adapted to enclose the memory card on five sides while the memory card is docked in the docking bay.

7. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second means to connect the multimedia card to the second card includes a plurality of protrusions extending perpendicularly from a face of the multimedia card.

8. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 7, wherein the protrusions are located substantially near corners of the multimedia card.

9. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 7, wherein the protrusions are asymmetrically located about the multimedia card.

10. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first means to connect includes a plurality of openings and the second means to connect includes a plurality of protrusions adapted to extend into second card openings to releasably interconnect the multimedia card with the second card.

11. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multimedia card includes an elongate hole through the multimedia card, the elongate hole having a size and shape that allows a finger to press against an exposed area of the second card to release the cards from one another.

12. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 11, wherein the elongate hole is centered in the multimedia card portion.

13. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one wing extending from at least one side of the multimedia card, the at least one wing extending beyond a planform of the second card when the cards are connected in a stacked relationship, wherein the wings enable a user to grip the at least one wing with a thumb and a finger of a same hand as the thumb without the thumb and finger touching the second card.

14. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one wing extends from at least one long side of the multimedia card.

15. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one wing has a curved shape, the curved shape extending smoothly from the at least one side of the multimedia card.

16. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second card is a thickness of a bank card.

17. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the physical connection interface includes a plug.

18. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the physical connection interface includes a connector selected from the group consisting of an FIREWIRE®

connector and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.

19. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multimedia card includes a wireless connection interface adapted for electronically accessing the solid state memory device.

20. The multipurpose card apparatus of claim 1, wherein the solid state multimedia memory device is adapted to be accessible by a multimedia processor when the cards are not connected to each other.

21. A multipurpose card apparatus, comprising:

a multimedia card adapted to removably receive a solid state multimedia memory device comprising a flash memory card, wherein the flash memory card is received inside the multimedia card;

a substantially flat second card having a rectangular shape with substantially the same dimensions as a conventional credit card having first means to releasably connect to the multimedia card in a stacked relationship, the multimedia card having second means to releasably connect to the first means, wherein the flash memory card is accessible via an electronic physical connection interface of the multimedia card, wherein the electronic physical connection interface enables reading and writing to the flash memory card by an external multimedia computer processor while the multimedia card and the second card are releasably connected to each other in a stacked relationship, and further comprising at least one wing extending from at least one side of the multimedia card portion, the at least one wing extending beyond a platform of the second card portion when the card portions are connected in a stacked relationship, wherein the wings enable a user to grip the at least one wing with a thumb and a finger of a same hand as the thumb without the thumb and finger touching the second card portion wherein the at least one wing has a curved shape with a constant radius;

and wherein the flat second card is separately useable, when detached from the multimedia card and presented to a party, to complete at least one of a credit, debit or affinity card transaction through use of at least the cardholder and card issuer information provided by the flat second card to the party.

22. A multipurpose card apparatus, comprising:

a multimedia card having a rectangular shape with substantially the same dimensions as a conventional credit card and having a plurality of protrusions extending perpendicularly from a face of the multimedia card, the multimedia card adapted to removably receive a solid state multimedia memory device comprising a flash memory card, wherein the flash memory card is received inside the multimedia card;

a substantially flat second card having a rectangular shape with substantially the same dimensions as a conventional credit card having a plurality of apertures, each aperture adapted to releasably mate with a protrusion of the plurality of protrusions such that the cards releasably connect with each other in a stacked relationship, wherein the flash memory card is accessible via an electronic physical connection interface of the multimedia card, wherein the electronic physical connection interface enables reading and writing to the flash memory card by an external off-board computer processor while the multimedia card and the second card are releasably connected to each other in a stacked relationship, and wherein the substantially flat second card comprises at least one of indicia, raised data, and machine readable data storage, wherein each of the at least one of indicia, raised data, and machine readable data storage comprise data relating to both a cardholder and a card issuer associated with the second card, and wherein the substantially flat second card is separately useable, when detached from the multimedia card and presented to a party, to complete at least one of a credit, debit or affinity card transaction through use of at least the cardholder and card issuer information by the party.