Multi-chip card

• US 8,925,816 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2014
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Jean-Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US14/297,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20140284383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 215 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5, 235/487, 235/492, 235/441
• US Class Current: 235/441
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/072 the record carrier comprising a plurality of integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07716 the record carrier comprising means for customization, e.g. being arranged for personalization in batch
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07743 External electrical contacts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49124 On flat or curved insulated base, e.g., printed circuit, etc.

Abstract

A multi-card chip. A method for configuring the multi-chip card according to an embodiment includes: selecting a sub-card comprising an integrated circuit chip from a plurality of sub-cards on the multi-chip card; and displacing the selected sub-card from an inactive position on the multi-chip card to an active position on the multi-chip card.

Claims

1. A method for configuring a multi-chip card, comprising:

selecting a sub-card comprising an integrated circuit chip from a plurality of sub-cards on the multi-chip card; and

displacing the selected sub-card from an inactive position on the multi-chip card to an active position on the multi-chip card.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reading the sub-card in the active position on the multi-chip card using a chip card reader.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reading further comprises:

communicating with the chip card reader via contacts of the sub-card in the active position on the multi-chip card.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of sub-cards comprises a discrete function relative to a second of the plurality of sub-cards.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to displacing the selected sub-card:

displacing one of the plurality of sub-cards from the active position on the multi-chip card to an inactive position on the multi-chip card to create a vacancy on the multi-chip card for the selected sub-card.

6. The method claim 1, the displacing further comprising sliding the plurality of sub-cards relative to one another.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the multi-chip card further comprises:

a card body comprising a plurality of edges along a periphery of card body and an interior portion extending at least partially way through a thickness of the card body;

wherein the plurality of sub-cards are displaceable relative to one another within the interior portion of the card body.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the interior portion of the card body comprises a plurality of edges, and wherein at least one edge of the plurality of edges of the cutaway portion is arranged substantially parallel to at least one of the plurality of edges along the periphery of the card body.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of sub-cards comprises a face comprising electrical contacts, and wherein at least one of the plurality of sub-cards comprises a plurality of edges which displaceably engage an edge of the interior portion of the card body and/or an edge of an adjacent sub-card.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of sub-cards are displaceably engageable by respective complementary edge profiles of the plurality of sub-cards and a plurality of edges of the interior portion of the card body.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the displaceable engagement is provided by a tongue and groove mechanism.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

removing a section of the card body between the interior portion of the card body and an edge of the card body to add a new sub-card, to remove one of the plurality of sub-cards, and/or to exchange a new sub-card for one of the plurality of sub-cards.

13. A multi-chip card, comprising:

a plurality of sub-cards, at least one of the plurality of sub-cards comprising an integrated circuit chip; and

at least one of the plurality of sub-cards configured for moving to occupy an active position of the multi-chip card.

14. The multi-chip card of claim 13, wherein the multi-chip card is configured for insertion into a chip card reader, and wherein electrical contacts of the sub-card at the active position are configured for communicating with the reader by electrical contacts in the reader.

15. The multi-chip card of claim 13, wherein the multi-chip card further comprises:

a card body, comprising;

a plurality of edges along a periphery of the card; and

a cutaway portion spaced from one of the plurality of edges of the card body, wherein the cutaway portion extends at least part way through a thickness of the card body.

16. The multi-chip card of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the plurality of sub-cards comprises a face comprising contacts, and wherein the plurality of sub-cards further comprises edges which are configured for displaceable engagement with an edge of the card cutaway portion and an edge of an adjacent sub-card.

17. The multi-chip card of claim 16, wherein the sub-cards are displaceably engageable by respective complementing edge profiles of sub-cards and the card cutaway portion.

18. The multi-chip card of claim 17, wherein the displaceable engagement is by a tongue and groove mechanism.

19. The multi-chip card of claim 16, wherein the card body comprises a section extending between the cutaway portion and a card body edge, the section configured for removal from the card body to allow a sub-card to be removed from and/or added to the card body.

20. A smart card, comprising:

a plurality of slidable sub-cards disposed on a body of the smart card, at least one of the plurality of slidable sub-cards comprising an integrated circuit chip.