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:
Feb. 15, 2000
Filed:
Oct. 21, 1997
James Frederick Bradley, Middletown, NJ (US);
Joanna Bradley, Middletown, NJ (US);
Paul W Cooper, Red Bank, NJ (US);
AT&T Corp, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A smart card having a planar surface is provided. A plurality of sectors extend over the planar surface. Each sector includes a set of transaction processing electronics for performing account transactions in a manner independently operable from every other sector. The transaction processing electronics typically include a processor and memory for processing and storing data, a power coupler for transmitting power to the processor and memory, and a data coupler for transmitting data between the processor and memory and a smart card reader. The smart card serves as a substitute for a plurality of single-application cards. In one particular example, the smart card maintains up to four individual accounts, where each account is associated with a different quadrant of the card. The user simply selects the appropriate account by properly orienting the card upon inserting it into a smart card reader. The smart card is labeled with the individual account names to ensure correct orientation when inserted into the reader. The card reader may display the currently active account so that the user can very that the desired account has been accessed.