Read Head Slot Design for Torque Reduction in Portable Card Readers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current magnetic stripe card readers are not portable enough to enable financial transactions between individuals using mobile devices, limiting the ability to pay debts or make payments outside of merchant transactions.
Innovation Solution
A miniaturized card reader system that connects to a mobile device via an audio jack or microphone port, featuring a slot designed to reduce torque and ensure accurate data reading from the magnetic stripe, allowing for decoding and processing of financial transactions within the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a miniaturized card reader is designed to connect to mobile devices, then portability and convenience are improved, but reading accuracy and reliability may deteriorate due to smaller size and increased torque on the read head
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the read head movable rather than fixed. The read head is positioned on a movable carriage that can slide along the slot, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position to maintain optimal contact with the magnetic stripe during card insertion and removal. This dynamic positioning ensures reliable reading accuracy despite the compact size of the miniaturized device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes physical parameters to resolve the contradiction. Specifically, it modifies the slot dimensions and orientation to reduce torque applied to the read head, and adjusts the read head's position and angle to optimize magnetic stripe contact. These parameter changes enable the miniaturized device to maintain reading reliability while achieving portability.
2Reliability
If the slot is designed to reduce torque on the read head, then reading reliability is improved, but the slot geometry becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by designing the slot with specific non-symmetric dimensions and orientation. The slot is configured with particular width, length, and angular orientation relative to the mobile device body, creating an asymmetric geometry that naturally reduces torque on the read head during card insertion. This asymmetric design achieves reliability improvement without requiring additional complex mechanical components.
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 secure and reliable financial transactions between individuals using magnetic stripe cards through mobile devices, eliminating the need for separate card readers and providing a convenient payment method.
Implementation Method 1
The read head reads data from the magnetic stripe and produces a signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe
Data Source
AI summary
A read head system has a housing and a read positioned in the housing with a slot for swiping a magnetic stripe of a financial transaction card with the slot utilized to enable a financial transaction between a buyer and seller. The read head reads data on the magnetic stripe and produces a signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe. The read head includes an output jack configured to be coupled to at least one of a audio jack or microphone port of a mobile device. The read head provides the signal to the mobile device.