PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electromagnetically opaque or reflective sleeves that are used to protect devices that emit electromagnetic radiation. More particularly, the invention focuses on electromagnetically opaque or reflective sleeves that are used to protect radio frequency identification (RFID) cards, contactless smart cards or other non-contact readable cards against electromagnetic radiation or other reading sources in order to to prevent unauthorized wireless access to data stored on these devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Contactless smart card systems and RFID smart card systems are used in a wide range of applications. Contactless smart cards are devices the size of a credit card that have an integrated microchip that stores data including financial data, health data, and other data. Contactless smart cards communicate information wirelessly with a smart card reader using radiation
magnetic, radiofrequency (RF), infrared, microwave, light and / or ultraviolet radiation. For contactless smart cards that use magnetic radiation, RF radiation, or microwave radiation, smart cards can be read from the owner's pocket, purse, bag, or something else that is located away from the reader. RFID smart cards communicate information wirelessly with a reader using radiofrequency radiation that can be read from the owner's pocket, purse, bag or something else that is located far from the reader. As a result, contactless smart card data and / or RFID smart cards can be accessed and read without the owner's knowledge. Smart card readers and / or commercially available RFID smart card readers are designed to read from a standard 1 meter range. However, readers can be designed with greater field strength. Readers can be designed with greater magnetic field strength in order to increase an effective range for reading smart cards and / or RFID smart cards. Although software encoding technology is available to protect the data stored on the smart cards without
contact and / or RFID smart cards, it is possible to compromise the various software coding techniques. There are other drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The embodiments presented herein are provided solely for purposes of illustration and as an introduction to the detailed description of the present application. These are not considered as a limitation of the scope of the invention in any way. In an exemplary embodiment, a device is provided to prevent intrusive reading of a contactless smart card. The device comprises a flexible sleeve having closed and open ends opposite each other. The sleeve can be dimensioned and configured to receive, removably, and hold a contactless smart card. The sleeve can be formed through a process of folding a laminated paper to form the first, second and third flaps, wherein the first and second flaps are opposite each other and connected to the third flap to define the open end. The laminated paper comprises a protective material and a paper product, and the protective material prevents reading of the contactless smart card when the
Smart card is at least substantially surrounded by the sleeve. In another exemplary embodiment, a device is provided to prevent intrusive reading of a contactless smart card. The device comprises a sleeve having open and closed ends opposite each other. The sleeve can be sized and configured to receive, removably, and hold the smart card without contact. The sleeve can be formed through a process of folding a laminated paper to form first, second and third flaps, wherein the first and second flaps are opposed to each other and connected to the third flap to define the sleeve. The laminated paper comprises a protective material, a paper product, a first layer of polyethylene and a second layer of polyethylene. The protective material is placed between the first and second layers of polyethylene and the protective material prevents reading of the contactless smart card when the smart card is substantially surrounded by the sleeve. The sleeve may also comprise a fourth flap, where the fourth flap can be folded over, and connected to the sleeve in order to seal the smart card without contact within the sleeve.
The paper product can be at least one of paper, spinning, meltblowing, agglomerated carded meshes, sheets or sheets of metal, films, hydro-interlacing materials, woven materials, spin-melt-spinning laminates, laminates of spinning film, and combinations thereof. The paper product can be a spun olefin. The open end of the device may have a cut to leave a portion of the contactless smart card exposed for removal from the sleeve. The protection material can be aluminum, stainless steel, a nickel-iron alloy having a high magnetic permeability, a metallized polyethylene terephthalate plastic and any combination thereof. The laminated paper may comprise a polyethylene layer. The laminated paper may comprise first and second layers of polyethylene with the protective material placed between the first and second layers of polyethylene. The first and second flaps may be concatenated to the third flap by means of adhesive, thermal bonding, thermal tapping, and combinations thereof. The first and second flaps may have a greater length than the third flap. The first and second flaps have substantially the same size.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method is provided for manufacturing a protection device to prevent intrusive reading of a contactless smart card. The manufacturing method comprises laminating a paper product with an electromagnetic protection material to form a laminated paper; folding the laminated paper along three sides to form the first, second and third flaps; and connecting the first and second flaps to the third flap to define an open end for inserting the contactless smart card. The method can also include folding the laminated paper along a fourth side to form a fourth flap, wherein the fourth flap can be connected to the sleeve in order to seal a contactless smart card inside the sleeve. The method may also comprise cutting a portion of the laminated paper near the open end to define a cut in order to facilitate the removal of the contactless smart card. The method may also comprise forming the electromagnetic protection material from a material selected from the group consisting essentially of aluminum, a nickel-iron alloy having a high magnetic permeability, a metallized polyethylene terephthalate plastic and any combination of the
same. The method may also comprise laminating the paper product and the electromagnetic protection material with a polyethylene layer. The paper product can be laminated to the electromagnetic protection material with first and second layers of polyethylene. The electromagnetic protection material can be placed between the first and second layers of polyethylene.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 illustrates a paper product that is electrically opaque and includes printed images, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 illustrates the back of a sleeve that is configured to receive a device in the form of a card, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 illustrates the front of the sleeve illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 4 illustrates a laminated paper having multiple layers according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 5 illustrates a non-folded, pre-cut laminate paper to make a sleeve having a
portrait orientation, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 illustrates a non-folded, pre-cut laminate paper to make a sealable sleeve having a portrait orientation, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 7 illustrates a non-folded, pre-cut laminate paper for making a sleeve having a landscape orientation, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 8 illustrates a non-folded, pre-cut laminate paper to make a sealable sleeve having a landscape orientation, according to one embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Although the detailed description concludes with the claims defining the characteristics of the embodiments of the invention that are seen as novel, it is believed that the device, method and other modalities will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the figures, where similar reference numbers appear in the document. As required, the following describes the
detailed modalities of the present method and system. However, it will be understood that the described modalities are simply exemplary and can be incorporated in various forms. Therefore, specific functional and structural details described herein will not be construed as a limitation, but simply as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the embodiments of the present invention. virtu any appropriately detailed structure. In addition, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be a limitation but rather to provide an understandable description of the present embodiment. The terms "a" or "an" as used herein are defined as one or more than one. The term "plurality", as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term "other", as used herein, is defined as at least one second or more. The terms "including" and "having", as used herein, are defined as comprising (ie, open language). The invention provides electromagnetic protection for radio frequency RFID smart cards and / or contactless smart cards. This protection can be used to avoid
Wireless communications with smart cards, such as to prevent unauthorized wireless access to data stored on smart cards. The present description describes a sleeve used to protect RFID smart cards placed therein. It should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates sleeves to protect other types of electronic devices that are remotely accessible through electromagnetic energy such as RFID tags, as well as protection from other non-contact portable devices, such as electronic passports. Accordingly, as used herein "contactless smart cards" and "smart cards" include electronic devices that are remotely accessible for reading data therein through electromagnetic energy including, but not limited to, mini-tates, key chains, credit cards, security identification cards, such as RFID passports, ATM cards, and payment cards, such as those used for public transit, public telephones, and collection of electronic booths, and other portable non-contact devices. As used herein, "paper product" is used to refer to materials provided
in a sheet and refers to sheets of material regardless of whether or not the sheet contains cellulose fibers characteristic of the paper. A "paper product" can be completely free of any cellulose-based fibers. Therefore, the paper products can be sheets in any way including, but not limited to, paper, spinning, meltblowing, agglomerated carded meshes, metal sheets, films, hydro-interlacing materials, woven materials, and combinations thereof. layers thereof, for example, sheets such as spin-blown-melt-spin and spin-film. As used herein, "laminated paper" refers to two or more paper products bonded together, either directly or indirectly, for example, by lamination. The term "protection" is not intended to be limited and includes the interaction between the sleeve device and the electromagnetic radiation that prevents reading of the smart card. Therefore, the protection can include a sufficient reduction of the electromagnetic radiation reaching the antenna of the smart card to avoid a readable data transmission from the smart card. For example, "protection" includes both attenuation and reflection as long as there is sufficient reduction of the electromagnetic radiation reaching the antenna of the
smart card to avoid a readable data transmission from the smart card. The invention provides electromagnetically opaque sleeves that protect radio frequency RFID smart cards and / or contactless smart cards against electromagnetic radiation in order to prevent unauthorized wireless access to data stored in these devices. Figure 1 illustrates a laminated paper 10 having the design 12 printed thereon prior to assembling the laminated paper 10 into a sleeve. The laminated paper 10 is electromagnetically opaque. The laminated paper 10 can be cut, folded or pasted, or otherwise connected, to create a sleeve of any desired shape. According to another embodiment of the invention, the laminated paper 10 can be made in a tube shape, then it can be flattened out and cut. According to a modality illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the invention may include a sleeve 20 that is sized to receive RFID smart cards, contactless smart cards, and / or other card-shaped devices having exchange capabilities of electromagnetic data. According to one embodiment of the invention, the card-shaped sleeves 20 that are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3
They can be sized to receive credit cards. In this aspect, the sleeve 20 can measure approximately 85.6 mm x 53.98 mm x 0.76 mm. According to another embodiment, the invention may include sleeves 20 that are configured and sized to receive RFID passports and / or other passports having electromagnetic data exchange capabilities. In this aspect, sleeve 20 can measure approximately 8.63 centimeters x 12.44 centimeters x 0.25 centimeters. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that smart cards having other sizes and configurations are intended to be encompassed by the invention. Regardless of the size and configuration of the smart card, the protection device can be sized to securely receive the smart card. According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 may include visually translucent portions, visually transparent portions, or both to see a surface of an RFID smart card and / or contactless smart card provided therein. As illustrated in Figure 2, the sleeve 20 may include a plurality of flaps (22, 24 and 26) which can be folded and fixed to form the sleeve 20. For example, the flaps 22, 24 and 26 can be fixed
using hot, cold and / or physical fastening, such as glue, thermal sealing, thermal stacking, sonic welding, Velero® and / or other fasteners. Sleeve 20 can be configured without sharp edges that can damage products, such as clothing, purses, bags, or other items. The sleeve 20 can also be designed to receive commercially available accessories, such as laces and / or other accessories. According to one embodiment, sleeve 20 protects RFID smart cards, contactless smart cards, RFID passports and / or other wireless devices against magnetic and / or electronic fields. According to another embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 protects the wireless devices against electromagnetic radiation including magnetic, radiofrequency, infrared, microwave, light, ultraviolet and / or other electromagnetic radiation. According to one embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, an upper portion 25 of the sleeve 20 may include a sealing mechanism, such as a seal type seal or other sealing mechanism. According to still another embodiment of the invention, which is shown in figures 6 and 8, a fourth flap 27 can be included in an upper portion 25 of the sleeve
. The fourth flap 27, or any other flap 22, 24, 26 can be secured using a clamping mechanism 29 including, but not limited to, Velero®, double-sided tape, adhesive adhesive, glue or other fastening mechanism. According to one embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, the electromagnetically opaque laminated paper 10 can be formed from multiple portions or layers of paper product. According to one embodiment of the invention, the multiple layers can be accommodated to include a paper product layer 32, a polyethylene layer 34, an electromagnetically opaque layer 36, and a second polyethylene layer 38, among other layers. According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque layer 36 preferably includes at least one of aluminum, stainless steel, uMetal®, Toppan paper, metallized sheet, other electromagnetically opaque or reflective material, or a combination thereof. . According to another embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque laminated paper 10 can include any magnetic or electrical type material that is laminated to the paper product layer, for example a layer of Tyvek®. According to another embodiment of the invention, laminated paper
Electromagnetically opaque 10 may or may not include the polyethylene layers 34, 38. According to another embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque laminated paper 10 can be configured to reduce the scraping of a surface of RFID smart cards and / or smart cards without contact placed in it. According to another embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque laminated paper 10 is water resistant and may or may not be waterproof. According to one embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque laminated paper 10 can include electromagnetically opaque materials on one side of a Tyvek® 32 layer or both sides of a Tyvek® 32. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the layer of the paper product 32 may be rigid or flexible. Although Tyvek®, a polyolefin yarn, is an exemplary paper product layer 32, the paper product layer 32 may comprise one or more additional materials including, but not limited to, paper, spun material, meltblown material, agglomerated carded meshes, metal foils, films, hydro-entangled materials, woven materials, and layered combinations thereof, for example foils such as spin-blow-melt-spin and spin-
movie. According to another embodiment of the invention, the multiple layers can be accommodated to include a polyethylene layer 34, an electrically opaque layer 36, and a second layer of polyethylene 38, among other layers, without a Tyvek® 32 layer. With another embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetically opaque layer 36 can be constructed from metallized polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or other metallized moldable plastic. Another useful electromagnetically opaque layer 36 may include EMI protection material manufactured by Chomerics (a division of Parker Hannifin Corp.), such as the "Premier" and "Win-Shield" protective materials. The protective material can be incorporated into a thermoplastic composite, for example, a thermoplastic matrix that includes one or more of a protective material such as carbon fiber, stainless steel fiber or carbon fiber coated with nickel. Although the present description contemplates several processes to provide the sleeve with the protective material. The sleeve 20 of the present invention can be formed from a die piece of laminated paper 10. Figure 5 shows a laminated die paper 10 prior to folding the laminated paper to form a sleeve 20. The laminated paper 10 includes a first flap 22, one
second flap 24, a third flap 26, and a connection mechanism 28. Connection mechanism 28 may include, but is not limited to, glue, adhesive, Velero® and / or other fasteners. The connection mechanism 28 may include a process of heat sealing, thermal stacking, and / or sonic welding. Combinations of any of these or other mechanisms and / or processes can also be used for the assembly of the sleeve 20. The connection mechanism 28 can be a double-sided tape. The connecting mechanism 28 can also be double-sided tape with a removable strip to detach and adhere the assembly. To make the sleeve 20 using the die-casting paper 10, the third flap 26 can be folded after folding the first flap 22 and the second flap 24. The first flap 22 and the second flap 24 would be connected to the third flap 26 for complete the sleeve assembly 20. The laminated paper may include slots 50 or other slots to facilitate the assembly of the sleeve 20. Various processes can be used to form the slots 50. The third flap 26 may have a length such that the third flap extends near the open end of sleeve 20 when in a folded position. The size and shape of the third flap 26 facilitate the insertion of the smart card in the
sleeve 20 by positioning the edge of the third flap so that it is less likely to be caught by the smart card during insertion. As shown in figures 5-8, the first flap 22 and the second flap 24 can have substantially the same size. For example, the area of the first flap 22 and the area of the second flap 24 may differ by less than 30% and preferably less than 15%. Therefore, although there is a cutout a the first flap 22, it substantially still has the same size as the second flap 24. As shown in Figure 6, the laminate paper 10 may also include a fourth flap 27 and a flap mechanism. connection 29. After the sleeve is assembled, a contactless smart card can be inserted into the sleeve 20. The fourth flap 27 can be bent over, and connected to the sleeve 20 using the connection mechanism 29, such as, for example , double-sided tape with a removable strip and which is readherible on one side. After connecting the fourth flap 27 to the sleeve 20, the smart card can be sealed inside the sleeve 20. This mode can be useful to prevent intrusive reading when the smart card is transported from one location to another. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate sleeves that have a
portrait orientation. In other embodiments shown in Figures 7 and 8, the sleeve may be designed so that the smart card is inserted along the width of the smart card, i.e., in a landscape orientation. The clamping mechanisms in the above-described embodiments can also be applied directly to the flaps, to the flap support areas, or both. Although Figures 6 and 8 illustrate the fourth flap 27 with a cut portion, another embodiment may include a fourth flap 27 without some cut portion. According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 can be configured to block all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 can be configured to block selective frequencies or ranges of frequencies, such as 13.56 Hz, 915 MHz, and / or other frequencies. According to one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 can be configured to block all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation against access to RFID smart cards, contactless smart cards, RFID passports and / or other wireless devices that are placed in a 5 meter range from a reader to direct contact with a reader. From
according to another embodiment of the invention, the sleeve 20 can be configured to block selective frequencies or frequency ranges, such as 13.56 MHz, 915 MHz, and / or other frequencies of electromagnetic radiation against access to RFID smart cards, smart cards contactless, RFID passports and / or other wireless devices that are placed within a range of 5 meters from a reader to direct contact with a reader. Although the preferred forms of the invention have been discussed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made that will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention will be determined solely by the claims that are added.