The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 29, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 31, 1996
Terrence R Benson, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Richard Jablonski, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (US);
Lawrence V Maldarelli, Tustin, CA (US);
Howard Siu, South San Gabriel, CA (US);
Mag-Tek, Inc., Carson, CA (US);
Abstract
A card issuing and processing system embodied in a terminal to accomplish issuing and processing operations on cards bearing both human-readable and machine-readable data, e.g., cards bearing visual indicia, one or more magnetic stripes, and/or an integrated circuit ('chip') is provided, having an input hopper mechanism for storing and dispensing new cards, multiple transport mechanisms for transporting the cards, and various processing stations, including a cleaning station, an IC station, a magnetic-write station, a magnetic-read station, and a print station. The cleaning station cleans the surface of the card in preparation for a subsequent operation. The IC station accomplishes electronic data transfer with cards bearing a chip. The magnetic-write and read stations accomplish magnetic data transfer with cards bearing either high and/or low coercivity magnetic medium, and the print station accomplishes the application of visual data, including graphic images, text, background designs, or even bar codes. Input/output devices, including a PIN selection device, or modems may be used with the terminal as appropriate. Image capturing devices may also be used with the terminal to provide pictorial data such as a photo-image or security logo for the card.