MACHINE HAVING A CARD PROCESSING ASSEMBLY
A machine having a card processing assembly. The card processing assembly has a card drive and a heating device. The heating device is operable to cause a human-readable symbol to be viewable on a data card.
1 . A card processing assembly including:
at least one processor;
at least one card drive operatively coupled to the at least one processor;
at least one security feature reader operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one security feature reader including a capacitance sensor;
at least one heating device in addition to the security feature reader, the at least one heating device operatively coupled to the at least one processor; and
at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport one of a plurality of data cards from one location to another location,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to:
(i) detect a capacitance associated with a security feature of said data card, the security feature including a capacitor structure having at least one capacitor, and
(ii) after detecting the capacitance, generate a security signature signal associated with the detected capacitance, and
(c) cause the at least one heating device to apply heat to said data card, the applied heat resulting in a human-readable symbol that is viewable on said data card, wherein said data card includes the security feature before the at least one heating device applies heat to the data card.
2 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the generated security signature signal corresponds to the structure of the capacitor structure.
3 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor structure is embedded within said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a capacitance of the embedded capacitor structure.
4 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor structure includes metallic capacitive ink, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a capacitance of the metallic capacitive ink.
5 . The card processing assembly of claim 4 , wherein the metallic capacitive ink is imprinted on said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a capacitance of the imprinted metallic capacitive ink.
6 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor structure includes a plurality of capacitors, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a capacitance of the plurality of capacitors.
7 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the generated security signature signal is capable of uniquely identifying said data card.
8 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport said data card across the capacitance sensor,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to, while said data card is being transported across the capacitance sensor, detect changes in the capacitance of the capacitor structure, and
(c) cause the at least one security feature reader to generate the security signature signal based on the detected changes in the capacitance of the capacitor structure.
9 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the human-readable symbol is associated with the generated security signature signal.
10 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , which includes a display device operatively coupled to the at least one processor.
11 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , which includes a print head operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the print head including the at least one heating device, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) receive card information for printing onto said data card;
(b) generate printable indicia using the received card information; and
(c) cause the print head to employ the at least one heating device to print the generated printable indicia onto said data card.
12 . The card processing assembly of claim 1 , which is included in a gaming device configured to operate a game upon a wager.
13 . A card processing assembly including:
at least one processor;
at least one card drive operatively coupled to the at least one processor;
at least one security feature reader operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one security feature reader including a light source and an optical sensor;
at least one heating device in addition to the security feature reader, the at least one heating device operatively coupled to the at least one processor; and
at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport one of a plurality of data cards from one location to another location,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to:
(i) detect an optical characteristic associated with a security feature of said data card, the security feature including at least one of:
(A) a structure having a variable optical density, and
(B) a structure having a variable optical reflectivity, and
(ii) after detecting the optical characteristic, generate a security signature signal based on the detected optical characteristic, and
(c) cause the at least one heating device to apply heat to said data card, the applied heat resulting in a human-readable symbol that is viewable on said data card, wherein said data card includes the security feature before the at least one heating device applies heat to the data card.
14 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the generated security signature signal is a time-varying security signature signal.
15 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the generated security signature signal is capable of uniquely identifying said data card.
16 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the light source is a laser generating device.
17 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport said data card across the security feature reader,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to, while said data card is being transported across the security feature reader:
(i) activate the light source such that light generated by the light source interacts with the security feature of said data card, and
(ii) detect fluctuations in the intensity of the light generated by the light source caused by the security feature of said data card, and
(c) cause the at least one security feature reader to generate a time-varying security signature signal based on the detected fluctuations in the intensity of the light generated by the light source.
18 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the human-readable symbol is associated with the generated security signature signal.
19 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , which includes a display device operatively coupled to the at least one processor.
20 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , which includes a print head operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the print head including the at least one heating device, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) receive card information for printing onto said data card;
(b) generate printable indicia using the received card information; and
(c) cause the print head to employ the at least one heating device to print the generated printable indicia onto said data card.
21 . The card processing assembly of claim 13 , which is included in a gaming device configured to operate a game upon a wager.
22 . A card processing assembly including:
at least one processor;
at least one card drive operatively coupled to the at least one processor;
at least one security feature reader operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one security feature reader including a radio frequency sensor and an excitor;
at least one heating device in addition to the security feature reader, the at least one heating device operatively coupled to the at least one processor; and
at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport one of a plurality of data cards from one location to another location,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to:
(i) detect a radio frequency signal associated with a security feature of said data card, and
(ii) after detecting the radio frequency signal, generate a radio frequency security signal based on the detected radio frequency signal, and
(c) cause the at least one heating device to apply heat to said data card, the applied heat resulting in a human-readable symbol that is viewable on said data card, wherein said data card includes the security feature before the at least one heating device applies heat to the data card.
23 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , wherein the security feature includes radio sensitive fibers, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the radio sensitive fibers.
24 . The card processing assembly of claim 23 , wherein the ratio sensitive fibers are embedded in said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the embedded radio sensitive fibers.
25 . The card processing assembly of claim 24 , wherein the radio sensitive fibers are randomly embedded in said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the randomly embedded radio sensitive fibers.
26 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , wherein the security feature includes radio sensitive inks, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the radio sensitive inks.
27 . The card processing assembly of claim 26 , wherein the ratio sensitive inks are imprinted on said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the imprinted radio sensitive inks
28 . The card processing assembly of claim 27 , wherein the radio sensitive inks are randomly imprinted on said data card, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the at least one security feature reader to detect a radio frequency signal associated with the randomly imprinted radio sensitive inks.
29 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , wherein the generated radio frequency security signal is capable of uniquely identifying the data card.
30 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) cause the at least one card drive to transport said data card across the security feature reader,
(b) cause the at least one security feature reader to, while said data card is being transported across the security feature reader:
(i) activate the excitor to cause the excitor to transmit radio waves such that the transmitted radio waves interact with the security feature of said data card, and
(ii) detect a time-varying radio frequency signal based on the interaction of the transmitted radio waves with the security feature of said data card, and
(c) cause the at least one security feature reader to generate a time-varying radio frequency signature signal based on the detected time-varying radio frequency signal.
31 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , wherein the human-readable symbol is associated with the generated radio frequency security signal.
32 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , which includes a display device operatively coupled to the at least one processor.
33 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , which includes a print head operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the print head including the at least one heating device, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
(a) receive card information for printing onto said data card;
(b) generate printable indicia using the received card information; and
(c) cause the print head to employ the at least one heating device to print the generated printable indicia onto said data card.
34 . The card processing assembly of claim 22 , which is included in a gaming device configured to operate a game upon a wager.