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US5025141A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Hand-held wand for reading electronic tokens

Assignee: Dallas Semiconductor Corp
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Filing: 1990-07-18
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Granted: 1991-06-18
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Expires: 2010-07-18
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Abstract

Abstract A wand which provides rapid contact to a two-terminal electronic token data module. The wand includes one contact which will make contact to the periphery of an electronic token which the wand is pressed against, and one contact which will make contact to the center of the token. Preferably the wand includes a base portion which is shaped to be worn on the second joint of a user's finger. This wand can be used for very rapid manual contacting of electronic tokens in various physical positions. This can be very advantageous in a variety of data collection/updating applications such as retail checkout, or tracking work-in-progress in a computer-assisted-manufacturing environment.

Inventors

  • 👤 Michael L. Bolan

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-29 03:31
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11C; G11C8/00; G11C8/20; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/03; G06F3/033; G06F3/038; G06F3/0383; G06F3/048; G06F3/0487; G06F3/0489; G06F3/04897; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/04; G06K19/041; G06K19/047; G06K19/06; G06K19/067; G06K19/07; G06K19/0701; G06K19/0702; G06K19/0706; G06K19/077; G06K19/07743; G06K7/00; G06K7/0013; G06K7/0021; G06K7/0086; G11C5/00; G11C5/06; G11C5/066; G11C7/00; G11C7/24

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim 172 words
A wand for rapidly manually contacting two-terminal thin round electronic token data modules, comprising: a body of an nonconductive polymer material, including a base portion shaped to be firmly supported by the hand of a user, and a top portion extending from said base portion; said top portion including a surface positioned so that a user can bring said surface into contact with the token to be contacted, said surface including a recess therein which is shaped to mate with the token to be contacted, the inner perimeter of said recess being bordered by a conductive ring of conductive material, said ring of conductive material being connected to a first lead wire; an additional exposed contact, positioned substantially in the middle of said recess, said additional contact being connected to a second lead wire; whereby said first and second lead wires can be connected to a host computer to provide a data interface to randomly positioned tokens, as quickly as a user can make contact between said recess and the respective tokens.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 172 words
A wand for rapidly manually contacting two-terminal thin round electronic token data modules, comprising: a body of an nonconductive polymer material, including a base portion shaped to be firmly supported by the hand of a user, and a top portion extending from said base portion; said top portion including a surface positioned so that a user can bring said surface into contact with the token to be contacted, said surface including a recess therein which is shaped to mate with the token to be contacted, the inner perimeter of said recess being bordered by a conductive ring of conductive material, said ring of conductive material being connected to a first lead wire; an additional exposed contact, positioned substantially in the middle of said recess, said additional contact being connected to a second lead wire; whereby said first and second lead wires can be connected to a host computer to provide a data interface to randomly positioned tokens, as quickly as a user can make contact between said recess and the respective tokens.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 27 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said base portion is formed as a first molded piece, and said top portion is formed as a second molded piece.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 36 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said base portion is formed as a first molded piece, and said top portion is formed as a second molded piece, and said base and top portions are glued together.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 14 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said base and top portions are glued together.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 21 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said base portion is shaped to be worn on a user's finger as a ring.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 25 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said base portion is shaped to be worn on the second joint of a user's finger as a ring.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 20 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said additional exposed contact is connected to a second lead wire through a through-hole.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 38 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said additional exposed contact is connected to a second lead wire through a first through-hole, and said ring of conductive material is connected to said first lead wire through a second through-hole.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 21 words
The wand of claim 1, wherein said ring of conductive material is connected to said first lead wire through a through-hole.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4717817A Cited
US4780707A Cited
US4948954A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1994-06-17 1994-12-17 1995-06-18 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1998-06-17 1998-12-17 1999-06-18 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2002-06-17 2002-12-17 2003-06-18 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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