Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-12
2001-12-04
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
C235S382000, C902S003000, C902S005000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325285
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A smart card is a card made from plastic or other suitable material that comprises some degree of processing capability. Typically, smart cards may be programmed to perform a wide variety of functions. For example, a single smart card may be programmed to open doors as a key, store medical information, and serve as an electronic credit card. A single smart card therefore has the potential to replace many of the items that people carry and use in their day-to-day lives.
Although widespread adoption of smart card technology promises great benefits, many individuals remain hesitant about using smart cards because of security concerns. For example, if the smart card just described is lost, the card's finder might use the card to gain access to the card owner's home or to improperly charge purchases against the card owner's credit account.
It has therefore been suggested to combine the use of smart cards with a biometric test in order to confirm that the person using the card is, in fact, an authorized user such as the card owner. Specifically, it has been suggested to provide fingerprint-reading-and-comparison apparatus to compare the fingerprint of an individual presenting a smart card to a stored fingerprint on the smart card, in order to ensure that the person presenting the card is authorized to do so. Such a biometric system was used, for example, at EXPO'92 in Spain, as described in “Smart Cards” by Jose Luis Zoreda et al. (Artech House, Inc., 1994), which is hereby incorporated by reference.
As Zoreda et al. note, however, this prior art technique may be subject to consumer rejection especially in countries where fingerprint information is typically collected only from criminals. More specifically, individuals may be hesitant to employ a biometric system that collects and stores their fingerprint information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and method that confirms the identity of an individual presenting a smart card using a biometric, but does not require any of the individual's biometric information to be collected or stored by a reader or other device that is outside of the individual's control.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises an improved smart card made of plastic or other suitable material. The smart card preferably comprises a CPU, memory, and a fingerprint reader including a sensing surface. Preferably, the sensing surface is located along a surface of the smart card so that a user's thumb is naturally positioned over the sensing surface when the card is inserted into a write/read unit or other suitable card reader.
When an individual inserts the smart card into a write/read unit, the smart card creates an electrical representation of the individual's fingerprint and compares the acquired representation to a stored fingerprint representation in the card's memory. If the acquired representation matches the stored representation, the card is enabled, and the user is given access to information and/or services that require cooperation of the smart card.
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Jose Luis Zoreda et al.,Smart Cards,Arttech House, Inc., 1994, pp. 165-173.
AT&T Corp.
Cyr Daniel St.
Frech Karl D.
Pennie & Edmonds LLP
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