SUPPLEMENTARY CODING ON INDUCTIVE DEBIT CARDS AND READING PROCESS

摘要

Supplementary coding on inductive debit cards and reading process refers to supplementary information regarding variables such as date of issue and country in which the card is valid, which are included without any change in the number of credits on the card by using the front and back handling strips (17, 18). Such an encoding comprises the division of said strips, in a number of segments or tracks (41, 42, ... 49) equal to the number of cell columns on the card, coinciding the center of said tracks with the axes (31, 32, ... 39) of said columns; the metallized tracks correspond to bit "1" and the non-metallized tracks to bit "0", the four tracks located at the corners of the card (41, 49, 41', 49') being always metallized. The reading of the information on the card is carried out during the insertion of the card (30) into the reading head by the row of sensors (64) the farthest away from the entrance slot (69). On detecting the presence of a pair of metallized tracks on the corner of the card, the bits contained in either strip are read and stored in a temporary register for a later interpretation.