Removable Weighted Component for Transaction Card Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transaction cards are either too heavy, feel insubstantial, and/or fail to adequately secure sensitive cardholder information, limiting cardholder options for weight and thickness and compromising security.
Innovation Solution
A transaction card assembly comprising a core card component and a removable and replaceable weighted card component, allowing cardholders to use the card in a lighter, thinner configuration or with added weight, and providing enhanced security by obscuring sensitive information when the weighted component is coupled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a weighted card component is added to provide substance and security, then card security and perceived quality are improved, but card weight and thickness increase making it cumbersome to carry
Solution Approach 1:
The card is divided into two separate components: a lightweight base card containing sensitive information and a removable weighted component providing security. This segmentation allows users to separate the information-bearing element from the weight-providing element, resolving the contradiction between security and portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The card configuration is made dynamic and adjustable through the removable weighted component. Users can attach or detach the weighted component based on situational needs, transforming the card from a static single-weight design to a dynamic multi-state design that adapts between secure and portable modes.
2Reliability
If a weighted card component is added to provide substance and security, then card security and perceived quality are improved, but the number of cards that can be carried is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the card into a base card and a removable weighted component, the system enables users to carry only the essential base card when security is not needed, while the weighted component can be stored separately. This increases overall carrying capacity and versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The base card serves multiple functions: it can be used alone for lightweight carrying, combined with the weighted component for secure transactions, or have the weighted component reused across multiple base cards. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between security and carrying capacity.
3Reliability
If the weighted card component is coupled to the card body, then security is enhanced by obfuscating EMV chip and cardholder information, but the card becomes thicker and less versatile
Solution Approach 1:
The card thickness becomes a dynamic parameter that changes based on whether the weighted component is attached. When security is needed, the card is thicker with the component attached; when versatility is needed, the card is thinner with the component removed, resolving the contradiction between security and thinness.
Data Source
AI summary
A transaction card assembly is disclosed, comprising a card body, an EMV chip, visible cardholder information, and a receiving portion disposed on the card body; a weighted card component comprising an attachment portion, the weighted card component being heavier than the card body and wherein, in a first configuration, the weighted card component is coupled to the card body via engagement between the receiving portion and the attachment portion, and in a second configuration, the weighted card component is uncoupled from the card body by disengagement between the attachment portion and the receiving portion, and wherein, in the first configuration, the weighted card component obfuscates the EMV chip and the visible cardholder information.