Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-06
2001-05-01
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2877)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
C235S487000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223984
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to card readers which accept and interact with microprocessor-equipped cards (e.g., so-called “smart cards”). In particular, the invention provides a card reader which accepts different types of smart cards and emulates various peripheral devices such as magnetic stripe readers, bar code readers, and Wiegand effect readers.
2. Related Information
The need to store information in a portable and compact form has led to the development of various types of storage media and peripheral devices which interact with the storage media. For example, cards containing magnetic stripes have been developed to store a customer's bank account information, so that the customer can insert the magnetic card into an ATM machine and have certain information quickly and automatically exchanged with a bank. Similarly, Wiegand-effect cards containing a plurality of special wires have been used to store pre-coded information onto a portable card which can then be inserted into a suitable reader, which upon activation by the card unlocks a door or activates a parking garage gate. Well-known bar code technology allows a library patron's account information to be quickly entered and correlated with bar-coded books to be checked out from the library. These various media and reader devices have proliferated into numerous applications such as cafeteria meal plans, access control, and point-of-sale credit and debit transactions. Unfortunately, the media are incompatible with each other, resulting in the need for each customer to maintain several different cards for a bank, library, parking garage, and the like.
More recently, microprocessor-equipped cards (“smart cards”) have been developed to allow larger quantities of information to be stored onto a single medium. Various manufacturers now provide different types of smart cards with different memory sizes, microprocessor types, and operating systems. The development of these cards can provide the basis for eliminating different types of information media altogether and consolidating different types of information on a single card.
Unfortunately, existing systems which support magnetic cards, bar-code stripes, and Wiegand effect cards cannot be easily retrofitted to use the newer smart cards. For example, replacing a cafeteria plan system which reads magnetic cards would require the replacement of the card reading terminals and the installation of a new type of terminal which could interact with the smart cards. Additionally, expensive and time-consuming software changes would be required in the central computer to interact with the smart cards. Thus, there exists a problem in transitioning existing systems to newer smart card technology.
Even if existing systems can be transitioned to smart card technology, there remains a problem of incompatibility among different types of smart cards. For example, different smart card vendors, while providing cards which generally comply with an ISO standard for electrical contacts and the like, unfortunately have failed to ensure that all cards provide a standard set of functions or software interfaces which can be used across different vendors'cards. In other words, designing a card reader to work with one vendor's smart cards will not ensure that another vendor's smart cards can be used in the reader. Other inventors have proposed features which would allow certain hardware-specific differences to be accommodated (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,233, which proposes a circuit allowing different clock frequencies among smart cards to be used). However, more serious incompatibilities remain in that different operating systems, functions, and software interfacing techniques are used across different vendors' smart cards. For example, one vendor's cards may provide certain file security features, while another vendor's cards do not, or provide them in a different (and incompatible) manner. One vendor's cards may provide on-card stored-value purse debit and credit functions, while another vendor's cards do not. One vendor's cards may provide file-level access features, while another vendor's cards do not. These incompatibilities present a barrier to using the newer smart card technology, because integrators may become dependent on a particular vendor for smart cards, preventing price reductions due to lack of competition. Accordingly, there exists a problem in that remaining incompatibilities across smart card vendors inhibit the use of a standard interfacing technique for smart cards.
Finally, conventional smart card readers cannot be readily modified to add new features. Adding new features or compatibility modes typically requires changes to the card reader hardware or requires that the unit be removed for servicing. Thus, modifications become expensive and inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems by providing an intelligent card reader which can replace existing magnetic stripe readers, bar code readers, and Wiegand effect readers without the need for expensive retrofitting of existing computer systems which are coupled to the existing readers. In particular, it is one object of the present invention to provide an intelligent card reader which can replace the aforementioned readers and yet remain compatible with their existing interfaces by emulating a magnetic card reader, a Wiegand effect reader, or a bar code reader. In various embodiments, the present invention thus allows smart cards to be used with existing systems while retaining the infrastructure of the existing systems.
The present invention also solves the aforementioned problems by providing an intelligent card reader which can accept smart cards having different functions and/or interfacing techniques. It is thus another object of the present invention to provide a smart card reader which can overcome such differences in functions and interfacing techniques, so that different types of smart cards can be used in the same reader.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an intelligent card reader which can be easily reprogrammed to support new features and smart card types without rewiring or removing the unit.
As shown in
FIG. 1A
, a conventional bar-code based library book check-out system comprises a library computer
100
which receives input from a bar code reader
101
. A library patron provides a bar-coded card
102
to a library staff member, who swipes the card in bar code reader
101
, which may be a wand-type device or a scanning laser device. Each book
103
to be checked out by the patron includes a bar code label
104
which is also scanned by bar code reader
101
. In this manner, library computer
100
quickly and accurately receives information pertaining to each book check-out operation. Library computer
100
may be connected to other computers, and it may accept input from more than one bar code reader. It is one object of the present invention to provide user account information by way of a smart card reader instead of bar code reader
101
, without the need to modify or replace library computer
100
. Thus, there would be no need for a separate user bar-coded card
102
.
FIG. 1B
shows a conventional access control application which makes use of a Wiegand effect card reader. Access to door
106
is controlled by Wiegand effect card reader
107
, which operates a locking device (not shown). Access control computer
105
, which may be coupled to more than one Wiegand effect reader, stores information regarding authorized cards which may be used to open door
106
. A user tenders a Wiegand effect card
108
into card reader
107
, which reads the precoded information on the card and transmits the information to access control computer
105
. If the precoded information matches information stored in access control computer
105
, door
106
is unlocked to allow access to the user. It is one object of the present invention to allow
Chu-Jeng Caroline
Johnson Randall E.
Renner G. Fred
Cybermark, Inc.
Frech Karl D.
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur
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