WO2001013320A2

WO2001013320A2 - Magnetic card

Info

Publication number: WO2001013320A2
Application number: PCT/EP2000/007754
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Joachim Ahrens; Andreas Czech; Friedrich Knapp; Franz Schmitt
Original assignee: Ahrens Hans Joachim; Andreas Czech; Friedrich Knapp; Franz Schmitt
Priority date: 1999-08-11
Filing date: 2000-08-09
Publication date: 2001-02-22
Also published as: WO2001013320A3; EP1203338A2; DE29914038U1; AU7509000A

Abstract

The invention relates to a magnetic card that can be associated with a client's account. Said magnetic card is substantially produced from an unbreakable, rubber-like material and comprises at least one magnetic strip (12).

Description

magnetic card

description

The invention relates to magnetic cards and compound cards that can be assigned to a customer account, an additional device for connection to a payment device, an electronic cash register and a check card or credit card device.

Magnetic cards are known which are essentially formed from a relatively rigid plastic material, have an essentially rectangular shape and have a magnetic stripe on one side in the longitudinal direction of the card. These cards are mainly used as check cards or credit cards and can therefore be assigned to a current account of a bank customer.

The known magnetic cards have a number of disadvantages by which the area of application is restricted. First of all, due to the material of the known magnetic cards, it is not without problems to carry the card with you without a storage container provided specifically for this purpose. First, there is a risk that the card will be damaged or even broken. On the other hand, with regard to its relatively sharp edges, the card also harbors a not insignificant risk of injury, which can only be avoided by storing it in an appropriate container such as a pencil case. In practice, the mechanical properties of known magnetic cards therefore lead to certain inconveniences and are completely unsuitable for use by children, above all because of their risk of injury. Known magnetic cards also have a uniform shape and a more or less uniform print, so that, apart from a personalized part of such a print on the card, no information inherent in the card can be found without the use of a magnetic card reader.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic card with improved handling and an expanded area of use. The magnetic card according to the invention is characterized in a first aspect of the invention in that the magnetic card is essentially formed from an unbreakable, rubber-like material and has at least one magnetic strip. Such a magnetic card can be carried without any problem and handled without any special storage means. The card is completely child-friendly and can be carried in your pocket, for example.

The card can be partially or completely formed from a plastic material, paper, hard paper or cardboard material, in particular a composite material such as a paper / plastic composite.

Thermoplastic elastomers such as e.g. Polyurethane (PUR), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA), and polyether amides. Such materials are available, for example, under the trade names Desmopan, Lefaflex, Pebax and Santoprene. Also suitable is e.g. vulcanized rubber and silicone.

The hardness, especially of the latter plastic materials, can e.g. measure according to ISO 868 and DIN 53505. A card according to the invention can e.g. Have values in the range from Shore A 40 (relatively soft) to Shore D IOO (relatively hard). The hardness is preferably in the range from Shore A 60 to Shore A 80.

Elasticity modules (E-modules) from the tensile test according to DIN 53457 of particularly suitable materials or cards are between 10 N / mm ² and 1 x 10 ³ N / mm ² . An elastic modulus in the range from 50 to 200 N / mm ² is preferred.

With the materials or material constants specified above, magnetic cards can be realized, for example, which have a format customary for credit cards (length: approx. 86 mm, width: approx. 54 mm, thickness: approx. 0.7 - 0.8 mm, possibly with rounded corners). Surprisingly, the rigidity of such a card is still sufficient for reading and writing to the magnetic strip with a conventional magnetic card reader / writer. Finally, regardless of the selected magnetic card dimensions, it is favorable for a magnetic card according to the invention if the buckling load when clamped on any two, but diametrically opposite, outer edges of the card is less than 5 N (Euler's buckling load).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a magnetic card which can be assigned to a customer account and has at least one magnetic strip is provided, at least part of the outer edge of the magnetic card essentially following a rectangle, the magnetic card covering at least 50% of this rectangle, and

a) another part of the outer edge of the magnetic card deviates from the rectangle to form at least one indentation and / or at least one indentation, and / or

b) the magnetic card has at least one recess completely enclosed by card material.

The decisive factor here is that the shape of the magnetic card differs significantly from the shape previously used for magnetic cards. Thus part of the information of the magnetic card according to the invention is already given by its special shape. This part of the information can therefore also be obtained without using a magnetic strip reader / writing device. The shape of the card can be used, for example, to "code" the origin, the area of application or the recipient group. The indentations, bulges or recesses can represent complete trademarks or simply elements of trademarks. In the latter case, those of indentations, bulges or recesses trademark elements shown can be supplemented by further trademark elements, for example by printing (directly on the map material or on a cover layer) to complete trademarks. The magnetic card can be formed or reworked using punching and / or sawing and / or cutting out, in particular laser cutting or water jet cutting.

In order to ensure sufficient mechanical stability of the card, the area of the indentations should be less than 40%, preferably less than 30%, of the area of the underlying rectangle. If, instead, the area of the bulges is considered, this area should also be less than 40%, preferably less than 30%, of the area of the rectangle. The rectangle itself preferably essentially has a format customary for bank cards.

In all of the magnetic cards according to the invention specified above, two or more magnetic strips can also be provided. These magnetic strips preferably each run parallel and at a predetermined distance from a substantially straight part of the outer edge of the magnetic card. This ensures the safe readability and writability of a magnetic card according to the invention, e.g. by conventional read / write devices. Two magnetic strips can be arranged together on one side of the magnetic card, in particular along straight outer edge sections which are opposite to one another. However, the two magnetic strips can also be provided on different sides of the magnetic card, for example congruently and at a predetermined distance from a part of the outer edge of the magnetic card that is just running. However, the two magnetic strips preferably run at a predetermined distance from opposite, straight-running parts of the outer edge of the magnetic card.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a composite card is provided which has at least one magnetic strip and a hinge for the collapsible connection of two composite card sections. The hinge can be designed as a film hinge in terms of manufacturing technology. In addition to the pure magnetic card function, the composite card according to the invention can also perform other functions that can be implemented in particular on one of the composite card sections that has no magnetic stripe. It is advantageous if at least one of the composite card sections is designed as a magnetic card with one of the special features described above.

A composite card section, a magnetic card formed therefrom or the underlying rectangle of a magnetic card formed therefrom can essentially have a format customary for check cards. Both composite card sections can also have such a format, in which case the hinge can advantageously be arranged along adjacent narrow sides of the two composite card sections.

The composite card according to the invention can be conveniently stowed in the folded state, it being expedient if the composite card is provided with closure means for releasably holding the two composite card sections in a folded state, in particular in a state with flat composite card sections.

A first closure element on one of the composite card sections and a second closure element on the other of the composite card sections can cooperate as the closure means. In order to achieve a large holding effect, the closure elements should each be arranged in the vicinity of a non-hinge outer edge of the corresponding composite card section.

Suitable interlocking closure elements are e.g. a locking protrusion like a push button and a matching locking recess. A Velcro fastener can also be provided.

The magnetic or composite cards according to the invention have, as already explained above, an expanded area of application and are particularly appealing to young users or children.

Of course, a magnetic card according to the invention can replace an ordinary magnetic card in all conventional fields of application. Furthermore The design of a card according to the invention is particularly well suited for a completely new application, namely as a special savings card or savings account card, in particular for children and adolescents, as explained below.

It was recognized that, on the one hand, the financial resources of children and adolescents are generally relatively limited, but on the other hand that parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends of these persons are willing to provide financial support in many cases, and this can be used to advantage by: a partial amount of a payment (for example an adult) is credited to a savings account of another (for example a child) using a magnetic card (savings card) to be assigned to the savings account.

Accordingly, according to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an additional device or an additional device for connection to a payment device for processing a payment, which is designed to transmit information about a partial amount of the payment to a magnetic card. With such an additional device, the above-described method of transferring partial amounts can be implemented easily and conveniently for the persons concerned.

The additional device can itself be provided with a magnetic strip writing device, by means of which the information about the partial amount is transmitted to the magnetic card provided for this purpose. Alternatively, the additional device can also be designed in such a way that a magnetic stripe writing device used in the context of an existing payment device, such as an ec card reader or credit card reader, is used for this new application.

The additional device according to the invention can be designed to store the information about the partial amount on a magnetic card according to the invention and / or a composite card according to the invention. The advantages of these cards considerably increase the attractiveness of the partial amount transfer procedure. It is advantageous if the additional device can be connected to an electronic cash register and / or to an electronic check card or credit card reader (for example as an additional device). An electronic cash register or a credit card or credit card reader device can also contain the additional device according to the invention already integrated (for example as a retrofit module).

The invention is described below by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Thereby represent.

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a magnetic card according to the invention,

2 shows a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card,

3 shows a plan view of a third exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card,

4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 3,

5: a top view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card,

6: a sectional view along the line C-C in Fig. 5,

7: a top view of a fifth exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card,

8: a top view of a sixth embodiment of a magnetic card,

9: a top view of a seventh embodiment of a magnetic card,

10: a top view of a first exemplary embodiment of a composite card according to the invention, 11: a sectional view along the line AA in FIG. 10,

12 is a side view of the magnetic card of FIG. 10,

13: another side view of the magnetic card of FIG. 10,

14: a top view of a second exemplary embodiment of a composite card,

15: a side view of the composite card of FIG. 14,

16: a further side view of the composite card of FIG. 14,

17 is a perspective view of the composite card of FIG. 14,

18: a top view of a third exemplary embodiment of a composite card,

19 is a side view of the composite map of FIG. 18,

20: a further side view of the composite map of FIG. 18,

2 shows a plan view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a composite card,

22 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 21,

23 is a side view of the composite map of FIG. 21,

FIG. 24: a further side view of the composite card from FIG. 21, and

25: a perspective view of the composite card of FIG. 22. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card 10 according to the invention, which has a format customary for credit cards and is formed from an unbreakable, rubber-like material (here: polyurethane with a Shore A 70 hardness). Due to the dimensions and the material of the card, it can be carried with you without any special storage means and can be handled safely. In particular, the magnetic card kinks even when a relatively low pressure load is applied. If a pressure load is exerted on the card 10, for example in the direction of the arrows F, a force of approximately 4 N is already sufficient to bend the card elastically.

The card 10 has two magnetic strips 12 and 12 ', which are arranged on different sides of the magnetic card 10. The magnetic stripe 12 runs at a distance that is conventional for conventional credit card readers and parallel to a straight edge section 14 of the card 10. The magnetic stripe 12 ′, however, runs at the same distance and parallel to another edge section 14 ′ that is opposite the edge section 14 and also straight runs. In the example shown, the edge sections 14 and 14 'run parallel to one another. Alternatively, the magnetic strips 12, 12 'could be arranged on different sides, but congruently, e.g. along the edge section 14.

In the following, further exemplary embodiments of magnetic cards or compound cards according to the invention are described, the same reference numbers being used for analog components, but supplemented with a small letter, and essentially only the differences from the or the previously described exemplary embodiments are dealt with , For the rest, reference is hereby expressly made to the description of the exemplary embodiment or embodiments described above.

2 shows an elastic magnetic card 10a with two magnetic strips 12a and 12'a, which are arranged on one side of the card 10a. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of a magnetic card 10b according to the invention with a magnetic strip 12b. The card 10b is made of a plastic material that is common for check cards. For the most part, the outer edge of card 10b essentially follows a rectangle R (shown as a dash-dot line) and card 10b covers this rectangle by more than 90%. The upper part 14'b in FIG. 3 of the edge, however, deviates from the rectangle R to form two indentations 20b and 20b ', the area of these indentations 20b, 20b' being less than 10% of the area of the rectangle R. The special contour of the card 10b was achieved by laser beam cutting.

The indentations of 20b and 20b 'here represent the letters "N" and "Y" and thus represent a sequence of letters as a whole (here: a trademark).

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5, the entire outer edge of the card essentially follows a rectangle R (a more or less pronounced rounding of the corners, as can be seen in the figure, does not constitute a significant deviation from the rectangular edge profile in the sense of the invention). The card 10c has two cutouts 24c and 24'c which are completely enclosed by the material of the card 10c. The two recesses 24c, 24'c together again form a sequence of letters.

7-9 show magnetic cards 10d, 10e and 10f according to the invention, each with a magnetic strip which is provided on the side of the cards which is not visible in these figures and runs at a predetermined distance and parallel to the lower edge section 14d, 14e and 14f , The cards are designed as a hard paper-plastic composite (the inner layer consists of printed hard paper). The outer edge of the cards again essentially follows a rectangle R and the magnetic cards cover a large part of the respective rectangle R.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7, a part 14'd of the map edge runs significantly differently from the underlying rectangle R and thereby forms two Bulges 22d and 22'd, which represent elements of a symbol and together with imprint elements 26d and 26'd result in a complete image symbol.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8, the entire outer edge of the card 10b shown essentially follows a rectangle R. The card 10e has a cutout 24e in the upper half of the card 10e shown, which is supplemented by an imprint 26e to form a symbol.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 9, a recess 24f is provided which represents part of the letter “Y”, the remaining part of this letter being represented by part of an imprint 26f and the recess 24f together with the imprint 26f representing a trademark.

The magnetic cards shown in Figs. 7-9 have other imprints, such as. B. marked at 28b, 28e and 28f.

Up to now, magnetic cards 10 according to the invention, each with a number of special features with regard to

- the choice of materials, - the number and arrangement of magnetic strips, and

- The shape and printing arrangement described.

It is readily understandable that the special features explained above can be combined almost arbitrarily, so that there is a large number of design variants within the scope of the invention, of which only a part has been illustrated above with the aid of examples, and the following are exemplary embodiments of a composite card according to the invention described with two interconnected composite card sections and it should be noted at this point that the aforementioned variety of design variants of the magnetic card 10 can also be used for a composite card 40 according to the invention in that each of the composite card sections can be designed as a magnetic card of a type described above. 10-13 show a first exemplary embodiment of a composite card 40 according to the invention with two composite card sections 42 and 42 ', which are connected to one another by a film hinge 44 (folding axis X). The card 40 shown is made of a plastic material (here: rubber-elastic), which makes the construction of the hinge 44 as a film hinge particularly easy to manufacture. Deviating from the example shown, however, another suitable hinge could be provided, for example a pin and sleeve arrangement.

The two composite card sections 42, 42 'here have a format customary for check cards and are connected to one another along the narrow side by the film hinge 44.

To detachably hold the two composite card sections 42, 42 'in the folded state, an integrally molded locking push button 46 is provided on the card section 42, which cooperates with a locking through hole 48 provided in the other card section 42' in the folded state. For this purpose, the diameter of the push button 46 is selected to be slightly larger than the diameter of the hole 48. If, as shown, the composite card has only one magnetic stripe 12, it is preferred that this magnetic stripe is not exposed to the outside after the card 40 has been folded up, but is located inside the card.

14-17 show a second exemplary embodiment of a composite card 40a according to the invention, which differs from the previously described composite card 40 in that the card 40a is formed from a plastic material which is customary for check cards and is therefore relatively rigid, and in addition to the magnetic strip 12a second magnetic strip 2'a is provided. The two magnetic strips 12a, 12'a are arranged here as in the magnetic card shown in FIG. 1.

18-20 illustrate a third exemplary embodiment of a composite card 40b, which differs from the embodiment according to FIGS. 10-13 only as a result distinguishes that both card sections 42b and 42'b each have two recesses 24, 24'b and 24 "b, 24"'b, which partially overlap in the folded state and thereby give a different impression compared to the opened state. In very general terms, it can be provided that a mutual supplementation of trademark elements only takes place when the composite card is folded (see, for example, FIG. 21) or only when it is opened. For this purpose it can also be provided that at least one of the card sections is transparent.

21-25 illustrate a fourth exemplary embodiment of a composite card 40c, which differs from the previously described one in that the card section 42'c provided with the magnetic strip 12c is provided with an imprint 26c which represents a trademark element which is characterized by the recess 24 provided in the card section 42c is completed to form a complete trademark when the card 40c is folded and the characters 24c, 26c form a unit when viewed from the outside.

The magnetic cards or composite magnetic cards described above can be used in many ways and are particularly suitable for use as a savings card, in particular for children and adolescents. The cards according to the invention are therefore particularly suitable for carrying out the method of partial amount transfer described above, according to which information about a partial amount of a payment is transferred to a savings account card.

Claims

Expectations

1. A customer account assignable magnetic card, characterized in that the magnetic card is essentially formed from an unbreakable, rubber-like material and has at least one magnetic strip (12).

2. Magnetic card according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic card is at least partially formed from a plastic material, in particular from a thermoplastic elastomer and / or vulcanized rubber and / or silicone.

3. Magnetic card according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the magnetic card is at least partially formed from paper, hard paper or cardboard.

4. Magnetic card according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the material of the magnetic card has a hardness in the range from Shore A 40 to Shore D 100, preferably in the range from Shore A 60 to Shore A 80.

5. Magnetic card according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the material of the magnetic card has an elastic modulus of less than 1 x 10 ³ N / mm ² , in particular less than 5 x 10 ² N / mm ² and preferably in the range from 50 to 200 N. / mm ² .

6. Magnetic card according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the buckling load of the magnetic card for a pressure load (F) on any two, but diametrically opposite outer edges is less than 5 N.

7. A magnetic card that can be assigned to a customer account and has at least one magnetic strip (12), in particular according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least part (14) of the outer edge of the magnetic card is essentially one Rectangle (R) follows, the magnetic card covers at least 50% of this rectangle (R), and

a) another part (14 ') of the outer edge of the magnetic card deviates from the rectangle to form at least one indentation (20) and / or at least one indentation (22), and / or

b) the magnetic card has at least one recess (24) completely enclosed by card material.

8. Magnetic card according to claim 7, wherein the area of the indentations (20) is less than 40%, preferably less than 30% of the area of the rectangle (R).

9. Magnetic card according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the area of the bulges (22) is less than 40%, preferably less than 30% of the area of the rectangle (R).

10. Magnetic card according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the magnetic card is formed using punching and / or sawing and / or cutting, in particular laser cutting or water jet cutting.

11. Magnetic card according to one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the indentations (20), bulges (22) or recesses (24) represent elements of trademarks or complete trademarks.

12. Magnetic card according to claim 1, wherein the elements of trademarks represented by indentations (20), bulges (22) or recesses (24) are supplemented by further, in particular by an imprint (26) on the card material of the trademarks to complete trademarks become.

13. Magnetic card according to one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the rectangle (R) has essentially a format customary for check cards.

14. Magnetic card according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the magnetic card has two magnetic strips (12, 12 "), each running parallel and at a predetermined distance to a straight part of the outer edge of the magnetic card.

15. Magnetic card according to claim 14, wherein the two magnetic strips (12, 12 ') on one side of the magnetic card at a predetermined distance from opposite, straight parts (14, 14 ") of the outer edge of the magnetic card.

16. Magnetic card according to claim 14, wherein the two magnetic strips (12, 12 ") on different sides of the magnetic card at the predetermined distance from opposite, straight parts (14, 14 ') of the outer edge of the

Magnetic card run.

17. A composite card that can be assigned to a customer account and has at least one magnetic strip (12), the composite card being a hinge (44), in particular a film hinge, for the collapsible (X) connection of two

Composite card sections (42, 42 ") of the composite card.

18. Composite card according to claim 17, wherein at least one of the composite card sections (42 ') is designed as a magnetic card according to one of claims 1 to 16.

19. Composite card according to claim 17 or 18, wherein both composite card sections (42, 42 ') essentially have a format customary for check cards and are hinged together (X) by the hinge (44) along a narrow side of the composite card sections.

20. Composite card according to one of claims 17 to 19 with closure means (46, 48) for releasably holding the two composite card sections (42, 42 ') in a folded state.

21. A composite card according to claim 20, wherein the closure means are formed by a first closure element (46) on one (42) of the composite card sections and a second closure element (48) cooperating with the first closure element (46) on the other (42 ') of the composite card sections , and wherein the closure elements (46, 48) are each arranged in the vicinity of a non-hinge outer edge of the corresponding composite card section (42, 42 ').

22. Composite card according to claim 21, wherein the first closure element is a latching push button (46) and the second closing element is a latching recess, in particular a latching through hole (48), which is dimensioned for holding the push button in a latching manner.

23. Additional device for connection to a payment device for processing a payment, characterized in that the additional device is designed to transmit information about a partial amount of the payment to a magnetic card.

24. Additional device according to claim 23, wherein the information can be stored on a magnetic strip of the magnetic card.

25. Additional device according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the information on a magnetic strip (12) of a magnetic card (10) and / or a composite card (40) according to one of claims 1 to 16 or 17 to 22 can be stored.

26. Additional device according to one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the additional device can be connected to an electronic cash register.

27. Additional device according to one of claims 23 to 26, wherein the additional device can be connected to an electronic check card or credit card reader.

28. Electronic cash register with an additional device according to one of claims 23 to 27.

29. Check card or credit card reader device with an additional device according to one of claims 23 to 27.