U.S. patent application number 12/148413 was filed with the patent office on 2009-10-22 for dielectric smart card protector sleeve.
This patent application is currently assigned to ID Armor Inc.. Invention is credited to James Noel Roth, William Joel Roth.
Application Number | 20090260731 12/148413 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41200112 |
Filed Date | 2009-10-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090260731 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Roth; William Joel ; et
al. |
October 22, 2009 |
Dielectric smart card protector sleeve
Abstract
A smart card holder or passport holder has two sides sealed
together at three edges to leave an interior space dimensioned and
configured to hold a smart card or passport. The sides have
multiple layers: a first layer of dielectric material which
substantially covers entirety of both sides, a second layer of
structural material to add strength, and a third layer of soft
material which protects any magnetic stripe on a card or the like
from the dielectric material. The sides may be sealed by means of
RF welding in order to minimize gaps between the sides. In use, the
device prevents unauthorized RF remote access to the smart card
chip or passport chip.
Inventors: |
Roth; William Joel; (Las
Vegas, NV) ; Roth; James Noel; (Las Vegas,
NV) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BARBER LEGAL
P.O. BOX 16220
GOLDEN
CO
80402-6004
US
|
Assignee: |
ID Armor Inc.
|
Family ID: |
41200112 |
Appl. No.: |
12/148413 |
Filed: |
April 18, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
150/147 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 3/001 20130101;
A45C 13/002 20130101; A45C 11/182 20130101; A45C 2001/065 20130101;
A45C 1/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
150/147 |
International
Class: |
A45C 11/00 20060101
A45C011/00 |
Claims
1. A smart card holder comprising: a body dimensioned and
configured to hold a standard size smart card in an interior space,
the body having first and second sides having rectangular planforms
and four edges, the first and second sides joined at a plurality of
the edges; the first and second sides having first and second
layers of material, the first layer being a flexible transparent
dielectric material covering substantially the entire rectangular
planform of each side.
2. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the second layer is a
decorative material and the first layer is disposed adjacent the
interior space.
3. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the second layer is a
strong structural material and the first layer is disposed adjacent
the interior space.
4. The smart card holder of claim 1, further comprising a third
layer of material, wherein the third layer is a soft material and
the third layer is disposed adjacent the interior space.
5. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the first and second
layers are joined at a plurality of edges by RF welding.
6. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the first layer is a 5
mil thickness of a plastic film sputter sprayed with silver and
indium.
7. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the first and second
sides are joined at three edges.
8. The smart card holder of claim 1, wherein the body is
approximately 3.5 inches by 2.25 inches.
9. A passport holder comprising: a body dimensioned and configured
to hold a standard size passport in an interior space, the body
having first and second sides having rectangular planforms and four
edges, the first and second sides joined at a plurality of the
edges; the first and second sides having first and second layers of
material, the first layer being a flexible transparent dielectric
material covering substantially the entire rectangular planform of
each side.
10. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the second layer is a
decorative material and the first layer is disposed adjacent the
interior space.
11. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the second layer is a
strong structural material and the first layer is disposed adjacent
the interior space.
12. The passport holder of claim 9, further comprising a third
layer of material, wherein the third layer is a soft material and
the third layer is disposed adjacent the interior space.
13. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the first and second
layers are joined at a plurality of edges by RF welding.
14. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the first layer is a 5
mil thickness of a plastic film sputter sprayed with silver and
indium.
15. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the first and second
sides are joined at three edges.
16. The passport holder of claim 9, wherein the body is
approximately 5 inches by 3.5 inches.
17. A smart card holder for use with a wallet having a pocket, the
holder comprising: at least one page dimensioned and configured to
hold a standard size smart card in an interior pocket, the page
having first and second sides having rectangular planforms and four
edges, the first and second sides joined at a plurality of the
edges and having at least one unjoined edge; the first and second
sides having first layers of flexible dielectric material covering
substantially the entire rectangular planform of each side; and an
insert portion attached to the page, the insert portion dimensioned
and configured to be inserted into such wallet pocket.
18. The smart card holder of claim 17, further comprising: at least
a second page dimensioned and configured to hold a standard size
smart card in an interior pocket, the second page having first and
second sides having rectangular planforms and four edges, the first
and second sides joined at a plurality of the edges; the first and
second sides having first layers of flexible transparent dielectric
material covering substantially the entire rectangular planform of
each side, the second page attached to the first page.
19. The smart card holder of claim 18, further comprising: a cover
sheet attached to the first page, the cover sheet having a first
layer of flexible dielectric material, the cover sheet disposed so
as to cover the unjoined edge of the first page.
Description
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] N/A
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] This invention relates generally to wallets, and
specifically to credit card/smart card holders.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
[0004] This invention was not made under contract with an agency of
the US Government, nor by any agency of the US Government.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Smart cards are credit card sized plastic cards containing
embedded integrated circuitry. In general, smart cards are
multiplying rapidly, with tens of millions in use in the US,
hundreds of millions believed to be in use in Europe and more
spreading rapidly in other parts of the world. For example, in
Malaysia it is believed that there are already 20 million smart
cards in use. Normally, standard credit card sizes are used, such
as ISO/IEC 7810 defines a standard size card (ID-1) as 85.6
millimeters by 53.98 millimeters, or a bit more than 3 inches by 2
inches or other popular sizes. Almost as important, the US
government and other governments have begun issuing passports with
similar chips in them, as well as health insurance cards, driver's
licenses and the like.
[0006] In general, the chips may be "contact only" types, or they
may be contactless types, which offer greater convenience. The
contactless cards use RFID (radio frequency identification)
technology: the circuit on the card/passport is a transponder which
may receive energy from a radio transmission and then respond,
usually at a throughput such as 100 to 800 kbits per second and
with a short range, usually a few yards/meters.
[0007] Obviously, these parameters can define an enormous security
issue, a fact not lost on manufacturers and users. One response is
to limit range. ISO/IEC 14443 defines a maximum range of 10
centimeters (about 4 inches) while ISO/IEC 15693 defines a longer
range of about 50 centimeters (about 1/2 yard). In use,
unfortunately, the actual ranges vary from cards that won't even
respond in contact to times when cards can be accessed from a
considerable range, in fact, from ranges which may make users
unaware that they are even being targeted.
[0008] Another response has been encryption of the card
information. DES, 3DES, RSA and other algorithms have been used for
this, however, even with encryption, card content may still be
vulnerable to a determined attack, and not all cards are actually
encrypted as yet.
[0009] Normal card holders and passport folders do nothing to
present such remote access. In fact, one common sales feature of
the cards is that they can make payments without even being removed
from the user's handbag or pocket. This is for the obvious reason
that most common materials for clothing and accessories are
completely transparent to radio waves.
[0010] Various US patents attempt to address security in credit
cards, particularly in reference to protecting magnetic stripes on
credit cards. U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,544 to Petsinger on Sep. 19, 2000
shows a smart card protector, however, the structure of the device
is a hard sided case which uses metal inserts, not soft films. In
use, the device would be bulky and hard to retrofit to a wallet.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,152, Jan. 16, 2007 to Osborn, U.S. Pat. No.
6,845,863 to Riley on Jan. 25, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,610
Leblanc et al on Jul. 25, 1989, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,375 to
Kamens et al on Aug. 24, 1999 all show various attempts to protect
credit card magnetic stripes from de-magnetization and the like,
but not using structures which would be sufficient to protect a
smart card from illicit radio access.
[0011] Thus the references shown do not generally adequately deal
with the issue of illicit access by means of a convenient structure
for users.
[0012] Searching shows several other items not in patent
publication record of the US PTO. Smartcardfocus.com,
idstronghold.com, and cardsafeonline.com all teach sleeves for
protecting cards from either RF or magnetic influences. However,
these sleeves are all apparently made of some sort of single layer,
unattractive, opaque, fiber material. These products also serve
only a single card with a single pocket and have no structure to
cover the open end of the sleeve.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a PRIOR ART block diagram of a smart credit card
showing authorized and unauthorized access possibilities. Smart
card 310 has RFID capable chip 312, which may have thereon credit
card numbers, passport vital information, actual electronic cash
values, medical information or the like. Now as legitimately used,
an authorized RF device 314 such as a POS (point of sale) station
may read the card with the user's knowledge and consent, for
example, when boarding a subway or the like. Authorized RF access
316 would consist of broadcasting radio frequency energy and
inquiry to the card, which would then "power up", identify the
query as legitimate (if the card has security features built in),
and respond, also by RF.
[0014] However, illicit/furtive RF device 318 may be further away
or disposed in a concealed manner, and it might also engage in
illicit/furtive RF access 320, which would, from the perspective of
the smart card, follow the exact same sequence: reception of RF
energy and signal, security check (if any) and response. This could
result in considerable lose of privacy or currency by the unwitting
card "user".
[0015] FIG. 4 is a PRIOR ART side view of a limited use of a
"window" of material in a credit card holder. Credit card holder
422 is designed to protect a credit card magnetic stripe by means
of a window 424 of refractory material over the magnetic stripe. If
the dielectric or RF refractory window 424 is transparent in the
visible spectrum of light, then the device body must be
non-transparent in order to protect the credit card numbers and
name printed on the side of the card elsewhere, resulting in the
"window" configuration shown.
[0016] Unfortunately, the choice of either refractory window 424 or
visible blocking material means that only that which is directly
under the window will be protected. Looking at the smart card of
FIG. 3, it will be seen that the IC circuit of that card would not
be positioned so as to be protected by the material of window
424.
[0017] The card is also weakened by the window section.
[0018] It would be preferable to provide a device not having these
deficiencies.
[0019] It would be preferable to provide a device which can protect
a card from RF access at all angles and regardless of the location
of the IC chip on the card.
[0020] Finally, it would be preferable to provide a device which is
simple to manufacture and low cost to produce in quantity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] General Summary
[0022] The smart card holder or passport holder of the invention
has two sides sealed together at three edges to leave an interior
space dimensioned and configured to hold either a smart card or
passport. The RF blocking material of the invention may be flexible
and transparent film sputtered with silver or indium metal, and the
sides may have multiple layers, for example, a first layer of
dielectric material which substantially covers of both sides and a
second layer of structural or decorative material to add strength
or a tidy appearance. Either material might be on the outside of
the card or inside, although in the case of decorative material,
placing outside of the dielectric material is obviously preferable.
An optional third layer of soft material might protect any magnetic
stripe on a card or the like from the dielectric material, or may
protect the IC chip from direct contact with the dielectric
material or may merely protect the appearance of the card.
[0023] Flaps on the device may cover the open edge of the body, so
that there is no route for RF waves to penetrate, unlike reference
designs with open ends, and the device may be manufactured with a
"book" configuration having multiple pages, each page being one
card holder and the front and back covers being flaps either for
covering the edges of the front or back holders or for insertion
into a typical slot in a wallet or purse, by which means a normal
wallet or purse may be retrofitted to securely hold multiple smart
cards with complete RF security.
[0024] The sides may be sealed at the edges by means of RF welding
or other secure methods in order to minimize gaps between the
sides.
[0025] In use, the device prevents unauthorized RF remote-access to
the smart card chip or passport chip.
[0026] Summary in Reference to Claims
[0027] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed
previously, to provide a smart card holder comprising: [0028] a
body dimensioned and configured to hold a standard size smart card
in an interior space, the body having first and second sides having
rectangular planforms and four edges, the first and second sides
joined at a plurality of the edges; [0029] the first and second
sides having first and second layers of material, the first layer
being a flexible transparent dielectric material covering
substantially the entire rectangular planform of each side.
[0030] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed
previously, to provide a smart card holder wherein the second layer
is a decorative material and the first layer is disposed adjacent
the interior space.
[0031] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed
previously, to provide a smart card holder wherein the second layer
is a strong structural material and the first layer is disposed
adjacent the interior space.
[0032] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder further
comprising a third layer of material, wherein the third layer is a
soft material and the third layer is disposed adjacent the interior
space.
[0033] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder wherein
the first and second layers are joined at a plurality of edges by
RF welding.
[0034] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder wherein
the first layer is a 5 mil thickness of a plastic film sputter
sprayed with silver and indium.
[0035] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder wherein
the first and second sides are joined at three edges.
[0036] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder wherein
the body is approximately 3.5 inches by 2.25 inches.
[0037] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder
comprising: [0038] a body dimensioned and configured to hold a
standard size passport in an interior space, the body having first
and second sides having rectangular planforms and four edges, the
first and second sides joined at a plurality of the edges; [0039]
the first and second sides having first and second layers of
material, the first layer being a flexible transparent dielectric
material covering substantially the entire rectangular planform of
each side.
[0040] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the second layer is a decorative material and the first layer is
disposed adjacent the interior space.
[0041] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the second layer is a strong structural material and the first
layer is disposed adjacent the interior space.
[0042] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder further
comprising a third layer of material, wherein the third layer is a
soft material and the third layer is disposed adjacent the interior
space.
[0043] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the first and second layers are joined at a plurality of edges by
RF welding.
[0044] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the first layer is a 5 mil thickness of a plastic film sputter
sprayed with silver and indium.
[0045] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the first and second sides are joined at three edges.
[0046] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a passport holder wherein
the body is approximately 5 inches by 3.5 inches.
[0047] It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder for use
with a wallet having a pocket, the holder comprising: [0048] at
least one page dimensioned and configured to hold a standard size
smart card in an interior pocket, the page having first and second
sides having rectangular planforms and four edges, the first and
second sides joined at a plurality of the edges and having at least
one unjoined edge; [0049] the first and second sides having first
layers of flexible transparent dielectric material covering
substantially the entire rectangular planform of each side; and
[0050] an insert portion attached to the page, the insert portion
dimensioned and configured to be inserted into such wallet
pocket.
[0051] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder further
comprising: [0052] at least a second page dimensioned and
configured to hold a standard size smart card in an interior
pocket, the second page having first and second sides having
rectangular planforms and four edges, the first and second sides
joined at a plurality of the edges; [0053] the first and second
sides having first layers of flexible dielectric material covering
substantially the entire rectangular planform of each side, the
second page attached to the first page.
[0054] It is therefore yet another aspect, advantage, objective and
embodiment of the invention to provide a smart card holder further
comprising: [0055] a cover sheet attached to the first page, the
cover sheet having a first layer of flexible dielectric material,
the cover sheet disposed so as to cover the unjoined edge of the
first page.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0056] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of
the device, showing dual layers of material and RF-bonding of the
sides.
[0057] FIG. 2 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device,
showing a triple layered construction.
[0058] FIG. 3 is a PRIOR ART block diagram of a smart credit card
showing authorized and unauthorized access possibilities.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a PRIOR ART side view of a limited use of a
"window" of material in a credit card holder.
[0060] FIG. 5 is a frontal perspective view of a preferred
embodiment of the invention which may easily be retrofitted to most
wallets and which could be used to hold multiple smart cards.
INDEX TO REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0061] 100 Smart card holder [0062] 102 Interior space [0063] 104
First structural or decorative layer [0064] 106 Transparent
dielectric layer [0065] 108 RF weld of layers to form holder [0066]
200 Smart card holder [0067] 204 First structural or decorative
layer [0068] 206 Transparent dielectric layer [0069] 208 Second
structural layer [0070] 310 Smart card [0071] 312 RF chip [0072]
314 Authorized RF device [0073] 316 Authorized RF access [0074] 318
Illicit/furtive RF device [0075] 320 Illicit/furtive RF access
[0076] 422 Credit card holder [0077] 424 Window [0078] 500
Insert/retrofit smart card protector [0079] 550 Page [0080] 552
Opening [0081] 554 Front cover [0082] 556 Second page [0083] 558
Back cover
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0084] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of
the device, showing dual layers of material and RF bonding of the
sides.
[0085] Smart card holder 100 has interior space 102 which is
dimensioned and configured to accept a standard size of credit
card. Note that there are various standard credit card sizes, any
may be used: ID-1, ID-000, etc. Interior space 102 is entirely
surrounded on both sides and three edges out of four by the several
layers of the invention. A seal or weld 108 may be used in order to
provide a gapless securing of the edges together, or the material
of the device may be manufactured in a flat tube or the like. One
common method of sealing is "dielectric" or "RF" welding, which
coincidentally uses the same terms (dielectric and RF) as those
used to describe the material of one of the layers of the
invention. The two usages of the terms should not be confused:
dielectric or RF welding is merely a convenient way to secure
together two sides having therein a dielectric or RF material.
[0086] The first structural or decorative layer 104 may be anything
from alligator skin to plastic, as desired. It may be the inner
layer or the outer layer. It may be secured to the other layers of
the invention, for example by welding or adhesive, or it may be
unsecured but contained.
[0087] Transparent dielectric layer 106 may be a material
impervious to RF/electrical transmission. One example of such
materials is the class of flexible clear plastic films available in
various thicknesses from less than one mil to considerably thicker
materials. Such plastic films may be coated with silver or iridium
or similar materials, metallic or not. A more specific material is
CLEAR-SHIELD.TM. (trademark owner not affiliated with present
applicant) brand transparent RF/electric shielding film, which may
be used in 5 mil thickness.
[0088] FIG. 2 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device,
showing a triple layered construction.
[0089] Smart card holder 200 has three layers: first structural or
decorative layer 202, second flexible transparent dielectric layer
206 and a third structural or soft protective layer 208. Note that
the numbering convention used may be varied, as may placement of
the layers.
[0090] Soft protective layer 208 may be used to protect the
appearance or magnetic stripes on a card, and thus should be on the
inner side, much like decorative materials should be on the outer
side.
[0091] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment
and best mode of the invention which may easily be retrofitted to
most wallets and which could be used to hold multiple smart cards.
Insert/retrofit smart card protector 500 is designed to hold a
plurality of smart cards in pages such as page 550 or second page
556, etc. Each page may have an opening 552.
[0092] Security, in particular blocking of all radio frequency (RF)
signals from all directions, is enhanced by the fact that each page
covers the opening of the page behind it, and front cover 554 in
turn covers the opening 552 on the front page 550. Back cover 558
may have a pocket like other pages do, or it may be an insert part
for placing the device securely into a wallet having small pockets:
back cover 558 may be inserted into a small pocket, thus holding
the entire device in a wallet while using up only one pocket of the
wallet.
[0093] Note that in this embodiment, the device may be protected by
the body of the wallet it is retrofitted to, thus allowing the
elimination of a structural layer. In such embodiments, a single
layer construction may be used: the layer material may be the film
sputter coated with silver/indium/etc to make a flexible dielectric
material. Thicker films, such as 5 mil film, may allow a fairly
strong construction.
[0094] Use of transparent materials allows a user to SEE the card
they are about to remove from the sleeve. This is important as the
invention structure allows a user to have multiple protected
smartcards, unlike the references cited in the Background, which
are individual sleeves structured on the assumption that users have
only a single card and sleeve.
[0095] In the presently preferred embodiment and best mode
presently contemplated for carrying out the invention, the
dimensions and configuration of TABLE I and TABLE II may be
used.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE ONE Length: 3.5 inches Width: 2.25 inches
Thickness: 0.125 inches Dielectric material: 5 mil transparent
plastic film sputter sprayed with silver and iridium Layers: 2 or 3
END TABLE ONE
[0096] Obviously, this embodiment corresponds in planform and size
to a presently common standard credit card size and shape,
particularly the interior space. It is anticipated that such cards
will be more numerous than passports, as many people have no
passport while the typical individual has several cards: driver's
licenses, medical cards, credit cards and so on. Other sizes of
credit cards may also be used merely by changing the dimensions
above.
[0097] TABLE TWO shows an alternative embodiment suitable for
passport use.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE TWO Length: 5 inches Width: 3.5 inches
Thickness: 0.125 inches Dielectric material: 5 mil transparent
plastic film sputter sprayed with silver and iridium Layers: 2 or 3
END TABLE TWO
[0098] The disclosure is provided to allow practice of the
invention by those skilled in the art without undue
experimentation, including the best mode presently contemplated and
the presently preferred embodiment. Nothing in this disclosure is
to be taken to limit the scope of the invention, which is
susceptible to numerous alterations, equivalents and substitutions
without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The
scope of the invention is to be understood from the appended
claims.
* * * * *