Patent ID: 6431453
Filing Date: 2002-08-13
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
In an automatic card insertion system for inserting into carriers, smart cards, each having a card body with machine readable account information on the body, and an integrated circuit computer chip permanently mounted to the card body and containing account information corresponding to that of the machine readable account information on the body, a forms memory for storing, apart from the chip, the card and the carrier, carrier information used to print carrier data on the carriers corresponding to the encoded information stored in the chip, the improvement being a verification system, comprising:means for reading encoded information stored in an the integrated circuit computer chip carried by each card of the smart cards to be inserted; and means for determining whether a smart card has been correctly prepared for insertion into a corresponding carrier including means responsive to the encoded information stored in the integrated circuit computer chip reading means for deciding whether the information stored in the chip has been correctly encoded, means responsive to the deciding means for rejecting incorrect cards; and means responsive to the determining means for inserting correctly prepared cards into a matching carrier with printed carrier information corresponding to that of the chip, said means for determining includes means for comparing the encoded information read from the chip with the corresponding carrier information stored in the forms memory to determine if there is a match, said determining means determining that the card is incorrect if there not a match, means for reading magnetic stripe information encoded on a magnetic stripe carried by each card, and in which said determining means includes means responsive to the magnetic stripe reading means for comparing the magnetic stripe information read from each card with carrier information stored in the forms memory corresponding to the encoded information stored in the chip of the card being used, a card transport mechanism for moving the card along a card track, and said magnetic stripe information reading means includes a magnetic stripe read head, means for releasably mounting the magnetic read head in the one position to enable the read head to read magnetic stripe information from one side of the cards, and means for mounting the magnetic read head in another position relative to the card track to read magnetic stripe information from another side of the cards which is opposite said one side.