Data storage device, apparatus and method for using same

摘要

A data storage device serving as a portable card, magnetically encodeable card, or a magnetic credit card is shown. The data storage device includes a substrate having at least one surface. A high density, magnetically coercive material layer is disposed on or is deposited on the substrate for storing magnetic signals. The magnetically coercive material may have an axis of magnetization that is oriented in a predetermined direction relative to the at least one surface of the substrate. A layer of non-magnetically material is disposed on the substrate for defining an exchange break layer. A relatively hard, abradeable protective coating is formed on the magnetic material layer and has a thickness between a maximum thickness that materially attenuates magnetic signals passing between the magnetic material layer and a transducer and a minimum thickness enabling the protective coating to be abraded by usage in an ambient natural atmosphere operating environment.

主权项

1. A method for producing a portable card for use in a card processing system including a data processing station, the method comprising:
forming a data storage device on a substrate having a generally rectangular shape such that the data storage device includes a hard disk drive recording medium including:
depositing at least one layer of high density, high coercivity magnetic material on said substrate such that said high density, high coercivity magnetic material includes a plurality of magnetic domains configured to store magnetic signals, said plurality of magnetic domains having an areal density of between 2 megabits per sq. in. to about 10 gigabits per sq. in. and having a storage capacity of more than 500 megabytes and being adapted to operably interact with said data processing station when the data storage device and the data processing station are moved relative to each other; anddepositing a hard, abradeable protective coating on said magnetic material layer, wherein the protective coating has at least one layer which includes a magnetically permeable, magnetically saturable material; physically affixing the data storage device on a protective housing of a standard credit card size as specified by ANSI/ISO/IEC 7810 such that said data storage device is one of (a) rigidly affixed to the protective housing and (b) movably disposed inside the protective housing, whereby said combined storage data device and said protective housing form said portable card, said protective housing having at least one housing section that is movable relative to the data storage device such that said data storage device is shielded by said at least one housing section when said at least one housing section is in a first configuration, and said data storage device is operably exposed for interaction with the data processing station when said at least one housing section is in a second configuration.