Jürgen Dethloff

Jürgen Dethloff (12 May 1924 in Stettin – 31 December 2002) was a German inventor and engineer.

Achievements
Together with German inventor Helmut Gröttrup he invented the smart card (chip card). A successor of the original chip is now used in tens of millions of credit cards.

Patent
Dethloff and Gröttrup filed an application for a patent on 13 Sep 1969. However, the patent was only granted on 1 April 1982.


 * "Einrichtung zur Durchführung von Bearbeitungsvorgängen mit wenigstens einem Identifikanden und einer Vorrichtung", Patentschrift DE-2760486C2

Awards

 * 1997: Rudolf-Diesel-Medaille