Mobile Magnetometer Magnetic Stripe Reading Calibration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile devices with built-in magnetometers primarily use magnetic fields for navigation and do not effectively read magnetic information from magnetic stripe cards, which limits their functionality in applications requiring data extraction from these cards.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device with an integrated surface for swiping magnetic stripe cards, utilizing a built-in magnetometer to detect and decode magnetic information, calibrating for environmental factors like the Earth's magnetic field, ionosphere, temperature, and metal distortions, and processing the signals to provide digital output for various applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mobile device uses a built-in magnetometer for navigation purposes, then the device can determine direction and orientation, but the device cannot effectively read magnetic information from magnetic stripe cards
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational parameters of the magnetometer by implementing calibration procedures that adjust for environmental magnetic fields (Earth's magnetic field, ionosphere, temperature, metal distortions). This allows the same magnetometer hardware to reliably detect both navigation-related magnetic fields and magnetic stripe card data by adapting its measurement parameters to the specific application context
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the magnetometer universal by enabling it to perform multiple functions: traditional navigation/compass functionality and magnetic stripe card reading. Through software control and calibration, the single magnetometer component serves dual purposes, eliminating the need for separate dedicated readers while maintaining reliability for both applications
2Measurement precision
If environmental magnetic factors are not calibrated, then the magnetometer can detect magnetic fields quickly, but the reading accuracy is compromised due to interference from Earth's magnetic field, ionosphere, temperature, and metal distortions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration actions before actual magnetic stripe reading. The calibration process pre-characterizes the environmental magnetic factors (Earth's field, temperature effects, metal distortions) so that when reading occurs, the magnetometer can compensate for these known interference patterns, improving accuracy without adding complexity during the actual reading operation
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration system uses feedback mechanisms to measure and account for environmental magnetic factors. By continuously monitoring and adjusting for temperature, metal distortions, and other magnetic interferences, the system maintains high reading accuracy while managing complexity through automated feedback-based compensation rather than manual adjustment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the mobile device to read and process magnetic information from magnetic stripe cards, allowing for diverse applications such as financial transactions, identification, and medical data retrieval, while minimizing interference from other magnetic sources.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetometer for detecting magnetic information from a magnetic swipe card and other magnetic sources
Data Source
AI summary
In various example embodiments, a system and method for reading magnetic information by a mobile device are presented. In example embodiments, the mobile device comprises a housing having an integrated surface for swiping a magnetic swipe card and a magnetometer positioned within the housing to produce digital magnetometer output signals. The digital magnetometer output signals represent magnetic information derived from the magnetic swipe card and from the Earth's magnetic fields (or other sources). In some aspects, the digital magnetometer output signals may be filtered to determine which of the signals are derived from the Earth's magnetic fields and which may be derived from other sources. In some aspects, the filtering is based on a range, with those signals falling within a particular range being determined to be derived from the Earth's magnetic field.