Abstract:
A device that is adapted to receive a card including information, such as confidential information, in machine-readable form is disclosed. The device includes a body, wherein at least a portion of the body is made of a material that is adapted to attenuate or disrupt an interrogating signal sent toward the card or a return signal sent from the card to thereby at least reduce the likelihood that the confidential information is read from the card.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The current disclosure is generally related to the field of electronic data information exchange, and, more particularly, to a device for reducing or preventing the exchange of information, including confidential information. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Congress has recently passed legislation that provides that individuals will be required to carry cards that contain a variety of confidential information in machine-readable format. See the articles entitled “House Backs Major Shift to Electronic IDs” and “Senate Approves Electronic ID Card Bill,” which are submitted herewith by Applicants on an Information Disclosure Statement. According to the first article referenced above, the Department of Homeland Security will be charged with drafting the details of any regulations regarding the new electronic ID card. 
         [0005]    Such electronic ID cards will undoubtedly include information that the card owner would like to prevent unauthorized access to by unauthorized personnel or entities. Such information may be confidential in nature. The confidential information may be personal information or business-related information. For example, information such as home address, country of citizenship, Social Security number, driver&#39;s license number, etc. may be part of the information contained in the electronic ID card. The legislation mandates that the electronic ID card employ machine-readable technology, although the precise form of such machine-readable technology is not specified. However, such machine-readable technology may include the use of magnetic strips or an RFID tag, for example. 
         [0006]      FIGS. 1A-1B  schematically depict the theory behind one form of accessing electronically stored data by use of non-contact techniques. As shown in these figures, an interrogating device  10  seeks to access information in electronic form from an interrogated device  12 . To do so, the interrogating device  10  generates a signal  14  that is directed toward the interrogated device  12 . In some cases, the signal  14  powers up the interrogated device  12  such that it generates a return signal  16  with the required information to the interrogating device  10 . Such systems are frequently employed in many aspects of modern life, e.g., toll booths on highways, etc. Bar code scanners are another example of where information may be read from a device without the interrogating device  10  actually contacting the interrogated device  12 . In such systems, the bar code scanner simply recognizes a pattern of bar codes on the interrogated device  12  that corresponds to certain information, e.g., the type of product and its price. 
         [0007]    Given the ease with which machine-readable information may be accessed, personal and/or confidential information maintained in such a format may be readily accessed by unauthorized personnel and used for unauthorized reasons. For example, maintaining confidential information in machine-readable form may facilitate identity theft by criminals that access the machine-readable information without the knowledge of the card holder. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The present disclosure may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: 
           [0009]      FIGS. 1A-1B  depict illustrative examples of prior art systems that exchange information electronically; 
           [0010]      FIGS. 2A-2D  depict various embodiments of a device disclosed herein; and 
           [0011]      FIGS. 3A-3C  depict yet another embodiment of the device disclosed herein. 
       
    
    
       [0012]    While the subject matter disclosed herein is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation of the device disclosed herein are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. For purposes of clarity and explanation, the relative sizes of the various features depicted in the drawings may be exaggerated or reduced as compared to the actual size of those features or structures. Nevertheless, the attached drawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples of the present invention. 
         [0014]    As shown in  FIGS. 2A-2B , a shielding device  20  is provided for receiving a card  22  that contains electronic information that is stored in a format such that the information may be read from the card  22  using non-contact interrogating devices or systems, e.g., RFID, active or passive tags, etc. In the embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 2A-2B , the shielding device  20  has a generally rectangular body  21  with a front surface  24 , a back surface  26 , an end surface  28  and side surfaces  32 . The shielding device  20  is provided with an opening  30 . The shielding device  20  is adapted to have the card  22  inserted through the opening  30  and positioned in the cavity  25  defined by the body  21 . The precise form of the card  22  itself may vary as well as the format of the data stored on the card  22 . 
         [0015]    At least a portion of the body  21  is made from a material that is adapted to disrupt an interrogating signal sent toward the card  22  and/or disrupt a return signal sent from the card  22  to an interrogating device (not shown), or disrupt both signals. The material may also disrupt the ability of the interrogated device to send a return signal, e.g., it may prevent the interrogated device from powering up. It should be understood that, as used herein, the term “interrogating signal” means any form of signal that is used in an attempt to extract electronic information (in any form) from the card  22 , e.g., light, radio signals, a signal falling within the electromagnetic spectra, etc. Similarly, it should also be understood that the term “return signal” as used herein means any form of signal by which the card  22  transmits electronic information (in any form) back to an interrogating device. The disruption of the interrogating signal and/or the return signal may be due, at least in part, from the use of a material that absorbs, reflects, or otherwise changes at least a portion of the interrogating signal and/or the return signal. 
         [0016]    The material of the body  21  that is used to disrupt an interrogating signal and/or return signal, its thickness, and its location on the shielding device  20  may vary depending upon the particular application. In one embodiment, the entirety of the body  21  of the shielding device  20  may be made of such material. In other cases, only a portion of the body  21 , e.g., a portion or the entirety of the front surface  24 , may be comprised of such material. Additionally, the material of the body  21  may be opaque or transparent, depending upon the particular material selected. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment, the body  21  may be comprised of a metal, such as silver, copper, aluminum, and alloys thereof, and it may have a thickness  34  of approximately 1 Å—2500 μm. The body  21  may be manufactured using a variety of known techniques, e.g., casting, welding, etc. In another example, at least a portion of the body  21  may be made of an electrically conductive transparent material that is adapted to disrupt an interrogating signal and/or a return signal, e.g., indium-tin-oxide (ITO), copper-tin-oxide (CTO), or other similar materials. The thickness and composition of such a transparent material may vary depending upon the particular application. 
         [0018]    In general, the body  21  described herein may comprise sufficient material to attenuate the interrogating signal, the return signal or both signals to prevent, hamper or disrupt the transfer of information using such signals. In one example, the body  21  may be designed of a material and configured so as to attenuate a signal by approximately 1-1000 dB. As an even more specific example, the materials of the body  21  and the configuration of the body  21  may be designed so as to attenuate an interrogating or return signal by at least approximately 92 dB. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the exact materials employed in all or a portion of the body  21 , as well as the thickness and positioning of such materials, may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as anticipated strength of the interrogating and/or receiving signal, the type of device employed (active or passive device), the distance between the source of the signal and the body  21  during anticipated interrogating operations, etc. Of course, these illustrative factors are by no means exhaustive. The type, characteristics and thickness of the material selected to attenuate the signal(s) may be determined based on the characteristics and strength of the anticipated interrogating system, the interrogating signal and the return signal. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2C  depicts one particularly illustrative example of the shielding device  20  wherein a portion  36  of the body  21  is comprised of a transparent material like that described above. The remainder of the body  21  shown in  FIG. 2C  may be comprised of a metal or other material. By having a portion  36  of the shielding device  20  transparent, the owner of the card  22  may quickly determine that the card  22  is inside the shielding device  20  by visual inspection and/or show the card  22  to authorized personnel when required to do so without removing the card  22  from the shielding device  20 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 2D  depicts yet another illustrative embodiment of the shielding device  20 . As shown therein, a door  38  is provided to cover the opening  30 . The door  38  is hinged to the body  21  by a spring-loaded hinge  40 . The presence of the door  38  reduces the likelihood that the card  22  may inadvertently fall out of the shielding device  20 . However, the shielding device  20  may be provided with other mechanisms to aid in retaining the card  22  in the shielding device  20 . For example, a strap may be positioned across the opening  30  wherein one end of the strip is removably coupled to a portion of the body  21  by a variety of techniques, e.g., a Velcro attachment, a button, etc. In general, the cavity  25  of the shielding device  20  is sized in an effort to secure maintain the card  22  within the device  20  without damaging the card  22 . 
         [0021]      FIGS. 3A-3C  depict yet another illustrative example of the shielding device  20 , having a pouch-type configuration as opposed to the generally box-shaped design depicted in  FIGS. 2A-2B . More specifically, the shielding device  20  depicted in  FIGS. 3A-3C  comprises first and second layers of material  33 ,  35  that are coupled or joined together along the edges  37  of those layers of material. The edges  37  may be joined by a variety of known techniques, e.g., welding, brazing, gluing, etc. The card  22  is adapted to be positioned within the device  20  via the opening  30 . A door or flap (not shown) may be provided over the opening  30  if desired. 
         [0022]    Through use of the present shielding device  20 , the owner of the information contained on the card  22  may limit or prevent unauthorized access to the information contained on the card  22 . When the owner is convinced that an authorized person or entity is appropriately seeking the information on the card  22 , the owner of the card  22  may then remove the card  22  from the shielding device  20  and present it to the authorized person. 
         [0023]    The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. For example, the process steps set forth above may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.