text: This invention pertains to a novel identification card, sensor, and system.
  A primary objective of any credit system which utilizes individual identification cards must be to guarantee that the user of a card is actually authorized to make credit purchases with the card. Current credit card systems are not fool-proof. Lost or stolen cards are used, often with other false identification, to steal and defraud. Recently, credit cards themselves have been forged. The costs of such unlawful acts of course are ultimately borne by legitimate users and represent a considerable sum of money each year. Yet, the usage of credit cards and systems continues to flourish.
  Moreover, present day credit card transactions in many instances consume considerable time and effort on the part of both vendor and customer. For example, consider the typical situation in a gasoline station. The purchaser presents the credit card to the attendant who uses it to complete the sales slip. This frequently involves the attendant going from the customer's vehicle to the office and back while the customer in the meantime waits in the vehicle. Even in the newer, self-serve stations the customer will have to get out of his vehicle and still go to the office to complete the transaction.
  In one aspect the present invention provides a novel identification card, sensor, and system which utilize thumbprint or fingerprint patterns to confirm that the user of a specific card is in fact authorized to make a credit purchase with the card. The unique construction and arrangement of the identification card of the present invention requires actual presence of the user, and therefore, an unauthorized individual will be precluded from using the card to make a credit purchase. Only in the highly improbable circumstance that an unauthorized individual happens to have a fingerprint pattern exactly like that of the authorized person would the system possibly be fooled. Accordingly, with the present invention enormous amounts of money can be saved to the benefit of legitimate credit card users.
  In another aspect the present invention relates to an improved system which, in addition to providing essentially perfect security, eliminates wasted time and effort in completing transactions. By presenting to a credit purchaser a unique sensor into which he inserts his card, a vendor enables a credit transaction to be conducted essentially entirely electronically and with virtually no risk of tendering credit to an unauthorized person.
  The foregoing features, advantages, and benefits of the present invention, along with additional ones, will be seen from the ensuing detailed description, claims, and accompanying drawings which disclose an exemplary, but presently preferred, embodiment of the invention in accordance with the best mode presently contemplated in carrying out the invention.