Abstract:
The inventive plastic card ( 1 ) is provided with electric contacts ( 4 ) and an electric circuit ( 3 ) incorporated therein and is embodied in such a way that it is foldable ( 6 ) and insertable from the fold side into the plug socket of an external reading device. The reliable application of the card contacts to the plug socket contacts, in particular of an UBS socket, is secured by the fold flexibility and the selection of a number of parallel folds.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to storage media devices such as plastic cards having electrical contacts and embedded microcircuits. 
       TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A prior art plastic card described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,678 of Apr. 6, 2004, which has electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit, is designed to be inserted into a port of an external reading device. The prior art card (closest prior art of the first embodiment of this invention) is disadvantageous because it requires an intermediate reading device to be inserted into the USB interface of a computer. 
         [0003]    Another prior art plastic (memory) card disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,718 of Apr. 26, 2005, which has electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit, is designed to be inserted into the interface socket of an external reading device, in particular, the USB interface of a computer. The prior art memory card (closest prior art of the first embodiment of this invention) is disadvantageous because its portion intended for insertion into a USB interface has a thickness differing from that of the remaining portion of the card, creating inconveniences when the memory card is used, for example, as a visiting card or as a storage card. 
         [0004]    Yet another plastic card described in International Application WO 2005/124932 of Dec. 29, 2005, has electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit and can be folded and inserted in a folded state into the interface socket of an external reading device. The prior art card (closest prior art of the first embodiment of this invention) is disadvantageous because its electrical contacts are not resilient enough when inserted into the interface socket of the external reading device and cannot ensure a reliable contact fit. Another disadvantage of the prior art card is that its applications are restricted by its lateral dimensions, that is, the card cannot be wider than the socket of the matching interface of the external reading device. 
         [0005]    The plastic card described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,678 of Apr. 6, 2004, has electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit on one side of the card made in the form of a strip to be inserted into the interface of an external reading device. The card (which is the closest prior art of the second embodiment of this invention) is disadvantageous because it requires an intermediate reading device to be inserted into the USB interface of a computer. 
         [0006]    A still further plastic card described in EP No. 1,429,283 of Apr. 6, 2004, has electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit on one side of the card that is made in the form of a strip to be inserted into the interface socket of an external reading device. The prior art card (closest prior art of the second embodiment of this invention) is disadvantageous because it has a thickness matching a USB port, requiring extra quantities of material and besides it does not conform to the accepted thickness standards of cards used, for example, as visiting cards. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The claimed invention is designed to allow information to be read from plastic cards commonly used for various purposes directly through the interface of an external reading device, and, in particular, through the USB interface of a computer, requiring a medium provided with electrical contacts to be inserted into the interface and having a thickness several times the thickness of the plastic card. As a result, the electrical contacts of the card are pressed firmly against the USB interface contacts by increasing the resilience of the flexible electrical contacts and/or selecting an adequate number of folds of the plastic card to be inserted into the USB interface. 
         [0008]    This technical effect is achieved in a plastic card having electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit and insertable in a folded state into the interface socket of an external reading device. The card itself is provided with a groove or grooves along the fold line, and the electrical contacts are arranged relative to the folding line in a way that allows them to be connected to the contacts of the interface of the external reading device when the card is inserted into the socket thereof from the fold side. To put it differently, the electrical contacts are arranged relative to the fold line so as to be connected to the contacts of the external reading device interface when the card is inserted into the socket thereof from the fold side. 
         [0009]    The plastic card can be provided with a coating to prevent its cracking on folding. Coating can be applied in the form of a strip extending along the fold line. 
         [0010]    The plastic card can have several parallel folds to be inserted in a multiple-fold state into the interface socket of an external reading device. 
         [0011]    The grooves along the fold line can be provided by various methods. The plastic card can have perforations or cuts along the fold line. The plastic card may further be provided with recesses along the fold line. 
         [0012]    The above technical effect is achieved in a plastic card having electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit provided on the card portion that is inserted into the interface socket of an external reading device. The plastic card portion inserted into the interface socket of the external reading device can be provided with a groove or grooves along the fold line, and the electrical contacts are arranged relative to the fold line so as to be connected to the contacts of the external reading device interface when the folded portion of the card is inserted into the socket thereof from the fold side. In other words, the electrical contacts are arranged relative to the fold line in such a way as to be connected to the interface contacts of the external reading device upon insertion into the socket thereof. 
         [0013]    The plastic card portion having electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit can be designed as a strip that can be reshaped into several parallel folds and be inserted, in a multiple-fold state, into the interface socket of an external reading device. 
         [0014]    The plastic card portion that is inserted into the interface socket of an external reading device is recessed along the fold line. 
         [0015]    The plastic card portion that is inserted into the interface socket of an external reading device can be provided with a coating to prevent its cracking on folding. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a view of the plastic card having electrical contacts and an embedded microcircuit. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a view of the plastic card folded for insertion from the fold side into the socket of a USB interface. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a view of the plastic card with a strip folded out for insertion into the socket of a USB interface. 
       
    
    
     PERFORMANCE OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]      FIG. 1  illustrates a plastic card  1  made of polyvinylchloride and provided with a slot  2  for a microcircuit (chip)  3 , in particular, a microprocessor, to be embedded therein. A contact group  4  is placed above the microcircuit. The plastic card has a groove in the form of a recess (cut)  5  on the surface thereof along a fold line  6 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the plastic card is in a folded state, in which it can be inserted into the socket of a USB interface. Recess  5  defines the position of fold line  6  on the plastic card. For this purpose, too, the recesses can be replaced with several grooves in the form of card perforations along the fold line or cuts on the opposite sides of the card. Contacts  4  are arranged relative to the fold line so that when the plastic card is inserted from the fold side into the socket of the USB interface the contacts are connected to the contacts of the USB interface. In this position, the fold line is pressed against the wall of the socket of the USB interface. 
         [0020]    To prevent card cracking along the fold line after multiple insertions into the interface socket, it can be coated with an elastic and tension-resistant material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The coating can be applied as a strip covering fold line  6 . 
         [0021]    The plastic card fits into the socket of the USB interface owing to the folded portion  7  ( FIG. 2 ) of the card that provides the required thickness to flexibly press contacts  4  against the contacts of the USB interface. The thickness of the plastic card folded twice or a larger number of times can be selected to provide reliable fitting of its contacts in the interface socket. 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  illustrates a plastic card  8  having a cut  9  separating a portion of the card in the form of a strip  10  provided with electrical contacts  11 . Strip  10  insertable into the USB interface can be folded out away from the remaining portion of the card and be folded along a fold line  12  defined by a groove  13 . Strip  10  is held in normal position before use by a bridge  14 . Strip  10  can be detached from the rest of the card along perforations  15  and be used separately thereafter. 
         [0023]    Applications of plastic cards manufactured in accordance with this invention depend on the type of microcircuit embedded therein. Applications such as visiting cards, labels, or insertions in published materials suggest storage and reading of relatively small volumes of information, whereas smart card applications require a microprocessor to be embedded into the card. In both instances, though, this invention allows a card user to rely on an ordinary computer to perform required operations.