Methods of performing electrostatic discharge testing on a payment card

Abstract

Methods of performing electrostatic discharge testing on a transaction card (405) are disclosed. A transaction card may be placed on an insulated surface (410). A grounding probe (415) may be placed at a first location on the transaction card. A discharge probe may be charged to a known voltage level. The discharge probe (420) may then be discharged at a second location on the transaction card. Adischarge wave shape may be recorded from the ground probe, and one of a pass condition and a fail condition may be assigned based on at least the value of the known voltage level as compared to a reference voltage level. The first location and the second location may each be selected from a plurality of areas on the transaction card.

Description

[0001] Related application data [0002] This application claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60 / 885,764 filed on January 19, 2007, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Background technique [0003] Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden instantaneous current that occurs when excessive charges stored on electrically insulated or non-insulated objects flow to objects with different potentials (such as ground). In solid-state electronic devices, ESD is a serious problem, especially when instantaneous harmful currents damage electronic devices. [0004] One object that can accumulate charge is transaction cards, such as credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, contactless cards, membership cards, payment cards, and so on. Such cards generally come into contact with electronic devices such as point-of-sale terminals. Therefore, if charge is accumulated on the transaction card, the electrostatic discharge from the transaction card...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In some cases, electrostatic discharge can cause electronic devices to temporarily or permanently disable payment transactions

Images