Smart card providing a plurality of independently accessible accounts

• US 6,024,286 A
• Filed: 10/21/1997
• Issued: 02/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bradley, Joanna, Bradley, James Frederick, Cooper, Paul W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sherr, Daniel H.
• Application Number:
  US08/954,866
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/375, 235/380
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3572 Multiple accounts on card
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• 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 smart card having a planar surface is provided. A plurality of sectors extend over the planar surface. Each sector includes a set of transaction processing electronics for performing account transactions in a manner independently operable from every other sector. The transaction processing electronics typically include a processor and memory for processing and storing data, a power coupler for transmitting power to the processor and memory, and a data coupler for transmitting data between the processor and memory and a smart card reader. The smart card serves as a substitute for a plurality of single-application cards. In one particular example, the smart card maintains up to four individual accounts, where each account is associated with a different quadrant of the card. The user simply selects the appropriate account by properly orienting the card upon inserting it into a smart card reader. The smart card is labeled with the individual account names to ensure correct orientation when inserted into the reader. The card reader may display the currently active account so that the user can very that the desired account has been accessed.

Claims

1. A smart card comprising:

a first plurality of sectors wherein each sector includes a set of transaction processing electronics for performing account transactions in a manner independently operable from every other of said sectors;

said first plurality of sectors being configured such that a user of the smart card can select a first account in a first sector of the first plurality of sectors by inserting the smart card into a smart card reader with the smart card having a first orientation relative to the smart card reader; and

said first plurality of sectors being configured such that the user of the smart card can select a second account in a second sector of the first plurality of sectors by inserting the smart card into the smart card reader with the smart card having a second orientation relative to the smart card reader, the second orientation being different than the first orientation.

2. The smart card of claim 1 wherein said transaction processing electronics include:

a processor and memory for processing and storing data;

a power coupler for transmitting power to said processor and memory; and

a data coupler for transmitting data between said processor and memory and a smart card reader.

3. The smart card of claim 1 further comprising:

a second plurality of sectors wherein each sector of the second plurality of sectors includes a set of transaction processing electronics for performing account transactions in a manner independently operable from every other of said sectors of the first and second plurality of sectors;

said second plurality of sectors being configured such that the user of the smart card can select a third account in a first sector of the second plurality of sectors by inserting the smart card into a smart card reader with the smart card having a third orientation relative to the smart card reader, the third orientation being different than the first orientation and different than the second orientation; and

said second plurality of sectors being configured such that the user of the smart card can select a fourth account in a second sector of the second plurality of sectors by inserting the smart card into the smart card reader with the smart card having a fourth orientation relative to the smart card reader, the fourth orientation being different than the first, second, and third orientations.

4. The smart card of claim 1 wherein each of said sectors includes a label identifying an account associated therewith, each label positioned on the smart card to facilitate selection of one of the accounts by selectively orienting the smart card before inserting the smart card into the smart card reader.

5. The smart card of claim 1 wherein each of said sectors represents a different account and wherein at least one of said sectors has transaction processing electronics configured in a read-only mode.

6. The smart card of claim 5 wherein at least one of said accounts is accessible with an authorization code.

7. The smart card of claim 6 wherein another of said accounts is accessible without an authorization code.

8. The smart card of claim 1 wherein said smart card has a symmetric planar shape selected from the group consisting of:

a triangle, a rectangle, a polygon, and a circle.

9. A smart card reader comprising:

a processor for processing data received from a smart card;

a keypad for receiving user input;

a display screen;

a slot for receiving a smart card, said smart card including a plurality of sectors wherein each sector includes a respective set of transaction processing electronics for performing account transactions in a manner independently operable from every other of said sectors; and

a set of transaction processing electronics located interior to said slot and adapted to facilitate communication with only one selected set of said respective sets of transaction processing electronics, the orientation of the card in the slot determining selection of the selected set of transaction processing electronics.

10. A method of performing a smart card transaction, comprising the steps of:

selecting a smart card account for performing the transaction;

orienting the smart card relative to a smart card reader based upon the selected account;

inserting the smart card into the smart card reader, the smart card being oriented relative to the smart card reader in accordance with the selected account; and

performing the transaction.