Card and card reader apparatus therefor

Claim 1

A card for storing encoded information, comprising: a first opaque, non-magnetic sheet having a fixed form; at least one closed-loop code storing medium of conductive material disposed at a given position on said first opaque sheet and having a constricted portion at a portion of the loop thereof, the surfaces of said at least one closed-loop storing medium being divided into at least two portions, each portion bordering the respective constricted portions thereof; at least one open-loop code storing medium of conductive material and having substantially the same general shape as said at least one closed-loop code storing medium and cut at the constricted portion thereof, the surfaces of said at least one closed-loop code storing medium being divided into at least two portions, each portion bordering the respective constricted portion thereof; and a second opaque, non-magnetic sheet covering said closed-loop and open-loop code storing mediums and being adhered at least to said first sheet with said code storing mediums interposed and sealed between said first and second opaque sheets; one of said portions on one side of at least one of said code storing mediums being adhered to said first opaque sheet, and the opposite surface of the other of said portions thereof being adhered to said second opaque sheet, whereby said at least one of said code storing mediums is broken at the respective constricted portions when said first and second opaque sheets are pulled apart.

Claim 13

A method of producing a card for carrying encoded information comprising the steps of: disposing a plurality of closed-loop code storing mediums of conductive material, each having a constricted portion at a portion thereof, at respective positions on a first opaque, non-magnetic sheet; adhering a half surface, divided at the border of the constricted portion, of each code storing medium to said first opaque sheet; adhering an opposite surface of the other half surface of each of said storing mediums to a second opaque, non-magnetic sheet which covers said code storing mediums; adhering said first and second opaque sheets to each other to seal said code storing mediums between said first and second opaque sheets such that said code storing mediums are broken at the respective constricted portions thereof when said first and second opaque sheets are pulled apart; and causing an electric current to flow through at least said constricted portion of at least one of said closed-loop code storing mediums to heat and melt said constricted portion under the influence of the Joule heat caused by said electrical current flowing therethrough, thereby changing said at least one closed-loop code storing medium to an open-loop code storing medium.

Claim 14

A method of producing a card for carrying encoded information comprising the steps of: disposing a plurality of closed-loop code storing mediums of conductive material, each having a constricted portion at a portion thereof, at respective positions on a first opaque, non-magnetic sheet; adhering a half surface, divided at the border of the constricted portion, of each code storing medium to said first opaque sheet; adhering an opposite surface of the other half surface of each of said storing mediums to a second opaque, non-magnetic sheet which covers said code storing mediums; adhering said first and second opaque sheets to each other to seal said code storing mediums between said first and second opaque sheets such that said code storing mediums are broken at the respective constricted portions thereof when said first and second opaque sheets are pulled apart; and causing an electric current to flow through at least said constricted portion of at least one of said closed-loop code storing mediums to heat and melt said constricted portion under the influence of the Joule heat caused by said electrical current flowing therethrough, thereby changing said at least one closed-loop code storing medium to an open-loop code storing medium.