System and apparatus for smart card personalization

Abstract

A smart card personalization system maintains a database containing card issuer data format templates, card applications, card operating system commands, and personalization equipment specifications and provides a centralized interface of inputs and outputs to a card issuing process which dynamically adjusts to changes in the issuing process to easily permit a card issuer to change data formats, card applications, card operating systems and/or personalization equipment in a card issuing process. The system interfaces to any card issuer management system, manages the transfer of cardholder data and card applications to the particular personalization equipment used, and maintains statistics for real-time and off-line inquiries to support critical management and reporting functions. Furthermore, the system works with a variety of security methodologies to prevent fraud.

1 . A method of processing data for a portable programmed data carrier comprising:
 acquiring personalization data for a cardholder;   acquiring personalization equipment characteristics for particular personalization equipment;   creating instructions for an internal script from the personalization data; and   translating the internal script into a data stream in accordance with the personalization equipment characteristics.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transferring the data stream to the particular personalization equipment to issue the data carrier.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein creating the instructions comprises mapping the personalization data into a plurality of variables for the instructions. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein translating the internal script into a data stream comprises translating the instructions into personalization equipment program commands specified by the personalization equipment characteristics. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the internal script specifies a sequence in which the program commands will be performed by the personalization equipment. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising acquiring information for a card application, and wherein at least one of the plurality of variables holds data for the card application. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the internal script includes instructions for a card operating system and further comprising:
 acquiring programming control commands for a card operating system; and   translating the instructions for the card operating system into the programming control commands.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the internal script specifies a sequence in which the programming control commands will be executed by the card operating system. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 acquiring a security function; and   adding the security function to the internal script.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions for the internal script are specified in a set of database records. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions to cause a computer to perform a method to issue a portable programmable data carrier, the method comprising:
 determining if cardholder data is in an internal format;   interpreting cardholder data into a internal format if it is not in the internal format;   mapping the internal format of the cardholder data into a plurality of data fields used by a card application;   creating a plurality of program commands for a particular personalization equipment using the data fields, and   streaming the plurality of program commands to the particular personalization equipment to issue the portable programmable data carrier.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of program commands reference data defining a microprocessor chip structure. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , further comprising streaming programming control commands for a card operating system to the particular personalization equipment. 
     
     
         14 . A computer system comprising:
 a processing unit;   a computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the processing unit; and   a smart card personalization system executing in the processing unit from the computer-readable medium, wherein the smart card personalization system causes the processing unit to acquire a smart card definition, a card application definition, program commands for a particular personalization equipment, and cardholder data, and further causes the processing unit to map the cardholder data into data fields specified by the card application definition to create a script, to interpret the script into the program commands using the smart card definition, and to transfer the program commands to the particular personalization equipment to issue a smart card.   
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the smart card personalization system further causes the processing unit to acquire a format definition and to translate the cardholder data into a format specified by the format definition. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the smart card personalization system further causes the processing unit to acquire a card operating system definition and to interpret the script into programming control commands specified by the card operating system definition. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the smart card personalization system further causes the processing unit to acquire a security function and to add the security function into the script. 
     
     
         18 . A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a smart card framework data structure comprising:
 a chip field containing data representing an identifier for a microprocessor; and   a master file field containing data representing information for the microprocessor identified by the chip field;   a system file field containing data representing an address for a file in the microprocessor identified by the chip field; and   a equipment field containing data representing an identifier for personalization equipment used to program the microprocessor identified by the chip field.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 an application field containing data representing an identifier for an application to be programmed into the microprocessor identified by the chip field.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 a security field containing data representing a security function for the application identified by the application field.