Registers – Records – Conductive
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-08
2003-07-08
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Records
Conductive
C235S379000, C235S380000, C235S383000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06588673
ABSTRACT:
APPENDIX
An appendix containing a source code listing of control files of a pre-production data preparation (P3) and card personalization application program written in C program language for providing in-line pre-production data preparation and personalization solutions for transaction cards such as smart cards according to an embodiment of the present invention. The appendix contains subject matter that is copyrighted. A limited license is granted to anyone who requires a copy of the program disclosed therein for purposes of understanding or analyzing the present invention, but no license is granted to make a copy for any other purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention generally relates to data storage devices, and more specifically, relates to a method and system providing in-line pre-production data preparation and personalization solutions for transaction cards.
BACKGROUND
Transaction cards have been widely used for cardholders to gain access to a particular application service provided by card issuers such as banks and organizations which maintain databases of cardholder records. The service provided by card issuers may be the use of a credit or debit account, access to health care services, or a monetary value stored on the card to be used to purchase services, just to name a few.
Traditional transaction cards are standard magnetic strip based credit or debit cards which usually contain information pertaining to the cardholders, such as names and account numbers, printed and/or embossed on the surface of the cards. These transaction cards also contain a magnetic strip on the back of the cards which is encoded with data pertaining to the cardholders.
Recently developed transaction cards are integrated circuit (IC) cards, known as smart cards, which also contain one or more embedded computer chips capable of storing various types of information in electronic form supporting multiple applications with sophisticated security mechanisms. The computer chips can either be micro-controller chips with internal memory or memory chips with non-programmable logic. The smart cards may be available as either contact smart cards which require insertion into a smart card reader with a direct connection to a conductive micro-module on the surface of the smart cards, or contact-less smart cards which require only close proximity to a smart card reader and use respective antenna for radio frequency transmission through the surface of the smart cards. These cards can interface with a point-of-sale terminal, an automatic teller machine (ATM), or a card reader integrated into a telephone, a computer, a vending machine, or any other appliance for a wide variety of applications. Example smart card applications include, but are not limited to: (1) banking and finance market for credit/debit cards, electronic purse (stored value cards) and electronic commerce; (2) network based transaction processing such as mobile phones (GSM cards), pay-TV (subscriber and pay-per-view cards), communication highways (Internet access and transaction processing); (3) transportation and ticketing market (access control cards for mass transit ticketing, urban parking and electronic toll collection); (4) government cards (ID cards and driver licenses); (5) healthcare market (health insurance cards and medical file access cards).
The micro-controller chip embedded in each smart card allows the card to undertake a range of computational operations, protected storage, encryption and decision making. Such a micro-controller chip typically includes a microprocessor, memory, and other functional hardware elements, and may be programmed with various types of functionality, including applications such as stored-value; credit/debit; loyalty programs, etc.
FIG. 1
illustrates one example of a smart card implemented as a processor card. As shown in
FIG. 1
, such a smart card
10
has an embedded micro-controller chip
12
that includes a microprocessor
14
, a random access memory (RAM)
16
, a read-only memory (ROM)
18
, a non-volatile memory
20
, a cryptographic module
22
, and a card reader interface
24
. Other features of the micro-controller may be present but are not shown, such as a clock, a random number generator, an interrupt control, a control logic, a charge pump, power connections, and interface contacts that allow the card to communicate with the outside world.
Microprocessor
14
may be any suitable central processing unit (CPU) for executing commands and controlling the device. RAM
16
may serve as storage for calculated results and as stack memory. ROM
18
may store the operating system, fixed data, standard routines, and look up tables. Non-volatile memory
20
, such as EPROM or EEPROM, may serve to store information that must not be lost when the card is disconnected from a power source but that must also be alterable to accommodate data specific to individual cards or any changes possible over the card lifetime. This information may include a card identification number, a personal identification number, authorization levels, cash balances, credit limits, etc. Cryptographic module
22
may be an optional hardware module used for performing a variety of cryptographic algorithms. Card reader interface
24
may include the software and hardware necessary for communication with the outside world. A wide variety of interfaces are possible. By way of example, interface
24
may provide a contact interface, a close-coupled interface, a remote-coupled interface, or a variety of other interfaces. With a contact interface, signals from the micro-controller chip
12
are routed to a number of metal contacts on the outside of the card which come in physical contact with similar contacts of a card reader. Various mechanical and electrical characteristics of smart card
10
and aspects of its interaction with a card reader are defined by the following specifications, all of which are herein incorporated by reference. Visa Integrated Circuit Card Specification, (Visa International Service Association 1996). EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specification for Payment Systems, (Visa International Service Association 1996). EMV Integrated Circuit Card Terminal Specification for Payment Systems, (Visa International Service Association 1996). EMV Integrated Circuit Card Application Specification for Payment Systems, (Visa International Service Association 1996). International Standard, Identification Cards—Integrated Circuit(s) Cards with Contacts, Parts 1-6 (International Standards Organization 1987-1995).
Prior to issuance of a smart card to a cardholder, smart cards that have applications that use information about an individual cardholder or an account must go through card personalization. Generally, those smart cards must be initialized and/or personalized typically at the same time with data that is specific to a card application and an individual cardholder. “Initialization” may refer to the process of programming the micro-controller chip with data that is common to a large number of cards while also including a minimal amount of card unique terms (e.g., card serial number and personalization keys). For example, during initialization or pre-personalization, the smart card may be loaded with at least one application, such as credit or stored cash value, a file structure initialized with default values, and some initial cryptographic keys for transport security. “Personalization” may refer to the process of printing or embossing data on the surface of the card (such as printed characters with metallic or colour tipping, color and black/white photographs, graphics and bar codes), encoding the magnetic strip on the card, and programming data into micro-controller chip of the card. Once a card is initialized, the smart card may be loaded with data which uniquely identifies the card during personalization. For example, personalization data may include a maximum value of the card, a personal identification number (PIN), the currency in which the card is valid, the expiration date of the card, and cryptographic keys for
Chan Victor
Ho Francis
Frech Karl D.
Mist Inc.
Walsh Daniel
LandOfFree
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