Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K13/00—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism
  • G06K13/02—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism the record carrier having longitudinal dimension comparable with transverse dimension, e.g. punched card
  • G06K13/08—Feeding or discharging cards
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
  • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
  • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
  • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
  • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
  • G06K19/07716—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier comprising means for customization, e.g. being arranged for personalization in batch

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a smart card graphical and electrical personalization module used in a fabrication process of a smart card. More precisely, the present invention concerns the module itself and the method of graphical and electrical personalization for smart cards.
• one of the last operation is the graphical and electrical personalization of said smart card.
• the graphical personalization consists in marking the personal information corresponding to the smart card on one or two sides of the smart card for example by a laser printing
• the electrical personalization consists in recording said personal information on the electronic chip of the smart card and/or on the magnetic tracks of the smart card.
• the actual process of personalization consists on firstly proceeding to the electrical personalization of the smart card, verifying if the recorded information are properly recorded and after that, proceed to the graphical personalization. However, for certain clients it is important to provide the smart cards in an ordered and determined sequence.
• An object of the invention is thus to provide an improved smart card graphical and electrical personalization module and a method of graphical and electrical personalization, in order to produce an ordered and determined sequence of personalized smart cards with a high production rate and reduce costs.
• the present invention thus consists in a smart card graphical and electrical personalization module comprising a dispensing unit, a graphical personalization unit, an electrical personalization unit and conveyors to transport smart cards from one unit to the other, said units are placed in a predetermined order to proceed to the graphical and electrical personalization of smart cards, the graphical personalization unit being placed between the dispensing unit and the electrical personalization unit.
• the graphical personalization unit comprises a single print device and a flip over system of the smart card in order to print both sides of the smart card by the single print device.
• the single print device is a laser printing device.
• the graphical personalization unit comprises an optical character verification device to verify the graphical personalization of the smart card.
• the electrical personalization unit comprises a rotating plate provided with a plurality of connection devices).
• the invention also consists in a method of graphical and electrical personalization for smart card comprising the following steps:
• the second step of graphical personalization comprises the following steps:
• the step of verification of the graphical personalization comprises the following steps:
• a non-compliant smart card is detected during the step of verification of the graphical personalization, the non-compliant smart card is rejected in a step, and a new smart card is re-graphically personalized with the same graphical personalization as the rejected smart card during said step of verification of the graphical personalization.
• all smart cards graphically personalized between the rejected smart card and the re-graphically personalized smart card are stored in buffer connection devices placed on the last quarter of turn of a rotating plate, keeping available the empty connection device originally intended in receiving the rejected smart card.
• the third step of electrical personalization comprises the following intermediate steps:
• the third step of electrical personalization comprises the following intermediate steps:
• FIG. 1 represents a schematic view of a smart card graphical and electrical personalization module according to the invention
• FIG. 2 represents a flowchart of the method of graphical and electrical personalization of smart cards according to the invention.
• the figure 1 depicts a schematic view of a smart card graphical and electrical personalization module 100 according to the invention.
• the graphical and electrical personalization module 100 comprises a dispensing unit 102 linked to a graphical personalization unit 120 and an electrical personalization unit 140.
• the dispensing unit 102 for example a magazine filled with smart cards 110, delivers a smart card 110 which is transported by a conveyor 150 to the graphical personalization unit 120, where the smart card 110 is graphically personalized by a printing device 122. Then, the graphical personalization of the smart card 110 is verified for example by an optical character verification (OVC) device. Non-compliant smart cards 110 are rejected and compliant smart cards 110 are transported to the electrical personalization unit 140 by conveyor 151.
• OVC optical character verification
• the graphical personalization unit 120 may comprise a single printing device 122, for example a laser printing device, and in order to proceed to the graphical personalization of both sides 110a and 110b of the smart card 110, the graphical personalization unit 120 could also contain a flip over system 124.
• the OVC device 126 could also have a flip over system 124 to verify the graphical personalization on both sides 110a and 110b of the smart card 110.
• the electrical personalization unit 140 comprises a rotating plate 142 provided with a plurality of connection device 144.
• a smart card 110 coming from the graphical personalization unit 120 via the conveyor 151 is inserted into a connection device 144 and said smart card 110 is electrically personalized and verified. If the smart card 110 is compliant, at the end of the three quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142, said smart card 110 is ejected from the connection device 144 to a conveyor 152 and stored in a storage station 160. If the smart card 110 is non-compliant, said smart card 110 is rejected and ejected in a rejection storage (not represented) during the last quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142.
• the rotating plate 142 may comprise forty eight connection devices 144. So thirty seven of these connection devices 144 situated in the three quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142 are connected to a smart card 110 for their electrical personalization and verification. In the last quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142, eleven connection devices 144 are empty, without any smart card 110 connected to them, except in case of rejection of a non-compliant smart card 110 after the verification of the electrical personalization.
• a smart card 110 could be randomly selected to be sampled and ejected during the last quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142. So if as above, the rotating plate 142 comprises forty eight connection devices, the last quarter of turn may contain one connection device 144 for the rejection of a non-compliant smart card 110, another connection device 144 for the sampling and nine empty connection devices 144. These empty connection devices 144 located in the last quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142 are used as buffering connection device 144 in order to keep the graphically and electrically personalized smart cards 110 in an ordered and determined sequence in the storage station 160.
• the smart cards 110 could be for example credit card form (IFF) smart card or other form of smart cards like SIM cards (2FF), micro-SIM cards (3FF) or other form of smart cards demanded by a client.
• IFF credit card form
• 2FF SIM cards
• 3FF micro-SIM cards
• the invention also concerns the method of graphical and electrical personalization for smart card 110 shown in figure 2. Said method comprises the following steps according to the smart card graphical and electrical personalization module 100 described above:
• the second step 2 of graphical personalization of the smart card 110 also comprises several steps. These steps are:
• the last step 24 of verification of the graphical personalization comprises the following steps:
• a non-compliant smart card 110 is detected during the step 24 of verification of the graphical personalization, the non-compliant smart card 110 is rejected in a step 25 and a new smart card 110 is re- graphically personalized with the same graphical personalization as the rejected smart card 110 during the step 24 of verification of the graphical personalization.
• This graphical personalization of a new smart card 110 with the same graphical personalization as the rejected smart card 110 permits to keep the smart cards 110 in an ordered and determined sequence without any intervention of an operator.
• smart cards 110 are graphically personalized between the rejected smart card 110 and the re-graphically personalized smart card 110, said smart cards 110 are stored in the buffer connection devices 144 placed on the last quarter of turn of the rotating plate 142 during a step 29 of buffering.
• the empty connection device 144 originally intended in receiving the rejected smart card 110 is kept available, in order to receive later the re- graphically personalized smart card 110.
• the rotating plate 142 turn on it-self in order to place said re-graphically personalized smart card 110 in the empty connection device 144 originally intended in receiving the rejected smart card 110 in order to keep the graphically personalized smart cards 110 in an ordered and determined sequence.
• the third step 3 of electrical personalization comprises the following intermediate steps:
• the third step 3 of electrical personalization comprises the following intermediate steps:

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
• Supply And Installment Of Electrical Components (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=48536865

Family Applications (2)

Family Applications Before (1)

Country Status (1)

Cited By (1)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2012
  • 2012-05-30 WO PCT/CN2012/076268 patent/WO2013177762A1/fr not_active Ceased
• 2013
  • 2013-05-28 WO PCT/EP2013/060923 patent/WO2013178606A1/fr not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (4)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events