JP3891077B2 - IC card reader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an IC card reader that receives and reads a radio wave signal transmitted from a non-contact type IC card.
[0002]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Communication between the non-contact type IC card and the IC card reader can be carried out even if the non-contact type IC card is in an area where communication is possible according to the specifications, and the delicate positional relationship between the two and the antenna on the card reader side. A so-called null point may occur due to the influence of the impedance value of the card reader, and the card reader may not be able to receive the response signal of the IC card.
[0003]
That is, the non-contact type IC card has a plurality of communication types. Therefore, in particular, when the card reader side is configured to be able to handle any of the plurality of communication types, the adjustment on the receiving side becomes delicate, so that a null point tends to occur. Conventionally, such a case has been dealt with by switching the impedance on the transmission circuit side on the card reader side.
[0004]
In the conventional method, the impedance on the transmission circuit side is switched when it is determined that reception is impossible. However, when the inquiry to the IC card cannot be made again due to the protocol of the communication processing sequence (for example, authentication processing) The communication sequence must be re-executed from the beginning, and the overhead required for the processing has become a problem.
[0005]
FIG. 25 partially shows a configuration of a transmission circuit in the IC card reader. The collector of the NPN transistor T1 to which the transmission signal is applied to the base is connected to the power source via the coil L0, and the transmission / reception antenna (C5, resistance R1, L2) via the capacitor C0, coils L1, L2 and capacitor C4. Connected to the coil L3).
[0006]
Capacitors C1, C2, and C3 are respectively connected between the common connection points between the capacitor C0, the coil L1, the coil L2, and the capacitor C4 and the ground. In order to switch the impedance on the transmission circuit side, for example, the capacitor C1 ′ is connected to or disconnected from the capacitor C1 in parallel by the switch SW. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare an extra element for impedance switching, and there is a problem that the circuit scale increases accordingly.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is to perform reception without re-execution of reception processing even in a state where reception of a signal transmitted from a non-contact type IC card is inherently impossible. Is to provide an IC card reader capable of continuing the process.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  According to the IC card reader of claim 1,The edge detection filter circuit performs filtering so as to detect an edge where the level of the radio signal transmitted from the non-contact type IC card changes according to transmission data, and the toggle processing unit is based on the output signal of the edge detection filter circuit. The signal level is toggled based on the edge timing obtained in this way. Then, the comparison circuit obtains, as a reception result, a combination of the reception data demodulated by the first reception circuit and the data output from the toggle processing unit.
[0012]
That is, in a certain type of non-contact type IC card, modulation is performed by giving data meaning to the edge change of the transmission signal, and the modulation signal waveform in this case corresponds to all edge changes ( Contains higher frequency components (than the modulation frequency of the signal). Since this frequency component can be observed even in a received signal waveform when a null point occurs, it can be extracted by filtering with an appropriate frequency characteristic.
[0013]
  Then, when the signal level is toggled based on the extracted timing signal of the frequency component, a signal equal to the original modulated data signal waveform is reproduced. Therefore, normal reception path(First receiving circuit)Received result and the above receiving route(Second receiving circuit)If the obtained reception results are obtained in parallel and are combined, the received data can be obtained even when a null point is generated in the normal reception path.
[0014]
  Claim2According to the described IC card reader, the toggle processing unitRiseas well asFalling edgeWhen the toggle processing is performed at the timing when one of the detection signals output from the detection circuit is received, the next toggle processing is performed at the timing when the other detection signal is received. That is, the filter output at the rising edge timing has a peak on the positive side, and the filter output at the falling edge timing has a peak on the negative side. Therefore,Riseas well asFalling edgeIf toggle processing is performed by alternately receiving the detection signals output from the detection circuits, it is possible to more reliably prevent erroneous determination even when the filter output waveform has a plurality of peaks. The received data can be reproduced with high accuracy.
[0015]
  Claim3According to the described IC card reader, the toggle processing unit detects an edge., ToggledAccording to the data transmission rate of the radio signal transmitted from the contactless IC card from the timingIgnore edges detected within the specified period. That is, the output signal of the edge detection filter circuit cannot always obtain only the necessary frequency component depending on the characteristics of the filter. Therefore, the data transmission rateIgnore edges detected within the time periodIf the toggle processing is performed, unnecessary frequency components can be ignored, so that data can be reliably reproduced.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. A reader / writer (IC card reader) 1 shown in FIG. 2 is connected to a host device (host, not shown) such as a personal computer via a serial interface or the like, and based on an application program instruction on the host device side. Thus, communication is performed with the IC card 2 shown in FIG.
[0020]
That is, the reader / writer 1 performs polling to intermittently transmit a calling code to the IC card 2 in order to detect that the IC card 2 has approached its own communication area (request). When the user carrying the IC card 2 is located within the communication area, the IC card 2 responds by generating an operation power supply and a clock from a signal transmitted by the reader / writer 1.
[0021]
In FIG. 2 showing the electrical configuration as functional blocks, a CPU (control circuit) 3 performs serial communication with a host device via a host interface (I / F) unit 4. The reset IC 5 outputs a reset signal for turning the CPU 3 on and off. The encoding unit 6 encodes transmission data given serially from the CPU 3 by, for example, the NRZ (Non Return to Zero) method and outputs the encoded data to the modulation unit 7.
[0022]
The carrier oscillator 8 supplies an oscillation signal of 13.56 MHz as a carrier wave signal to the encoding unit 6 and the modulation unit 7 and to the CPU 3 as a clock signal. The CPU 3 uses a frequency obtained by appropriately dividing the oscillation signal as an operation clock. The modulation unit 7 is configured to ASK-modulate a carrier wave with encoded transmission data, and is configured to be able to adjust the degree of modulation in that case.
[0023]
The modulated signal modulated by the modulation unit 7 is output to the transmission / reception antenna (transmission / reception shared antenna) 50 via the amplification unit 9 and the coupling capacitor 10, and transmitted to the outside as a radio wave signal. The transmission / reception antenna 50 is composed of a loop of a capacitor 51, a resistor 52 and a coil 53. The common connection point of the capacitor 51 and the resistor 52 is connected to the coupling capacitor 10, and the common connection point of the capacitor 51 and the coil 53 is connected to the ground.
[0024]
On the other hand, when the antenna 50 receives a signal transmitted from the IC card 2 side, the received signal is output to the receiving circuit unit 11. The reception data demodulated and decoded by the reception circuit unit 11 is output to the CPU 3.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration inside the IC card 2. The IC card 2 includes an antenna (LC resonance circuit coil) 12, a rectification unit 13, a clock extraction unit 14, a CPU 15, a memory 16, a modulation unit 17, and the like.
[0026]
When the antenna 12 receives the radio wave signal transmitted from the reader / writer 1, the rectifying unit 13 rectifies and smoothes the received signal to supply power to the CPU 15 and the like, and supplies demodulated data obtained by demodulating the received signal to the CPU 15. Output to. The clock extraction unit 14 supplies a clock signal extracted from the signal received by the antenna 12 to the CPU 15. The CPU 15 reads / writes data from / to a non-volatile memory 16 such as an FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM).
[0027]
Further, the CPU 15 serially outputs transmission data to the modulation unit 17. The modulation unit 17 includes a series circuit of a switch 18 and a modulation load 19, and the series circuit is connected in parallel to the antenna 12 together with the resistor 54. The switch 18 is load-modulated on the carrier wave by being turned on / off according to the transmission data output by the CPU 15 and transmits data using Manchester code.
[0028]
The memory 16 of the IC card 2 stores ID data of the IC card 2, a code used for authentication processing at the time of communication, data relating to the user of the IC card 2 that is originally intended to be read by the reader / writer 1 and the like. .
[0029]
Here, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the receiving circuit unit 11 of the reader / writer 1. When the signal received by the antenna 50 is detected by the detection circuit 20, it is output to the two filter circuits 21 and 22. These filter circuits 21 and 22 are both bandpass filters, and the center frequencies of the passbands are set to 212 kHz and 1 MHz, respectively.
[0030]
The output signal of the filter circuit 21 is given to the comparison circuit 25 via the amplifier circuit 23 and the binarization circuit 24. On the other hand, the output signal of the filter circuit (edge detection filter circuit) 22 is given to the comparison circuit 25 via the amplifier circuit 26, the binarization circuit 27, and the toggle processing circuit (toggle processing unit) 28. The binarization circuits 24 and 27 binarize the level of the analog signal by comparing the signals output from the amplifier circuits 23 and 26 with different predetermined threshold values. The toggle processing circuit 28 performs toggle output processing in which the output signal level is alternately changed between high and low every time a high level signal binarized by the binarization circuit 27 is input.
[0031]
  The comparison circuit 25 outputs the result of logical sum of the signal levels given from the binarization circuit 24 and the toggle processing circuit 28 to the logic processing circuit 29. The logic processing circuit 29 performs logic processing on the data signal output from the comparison circuit 25 so that the data is output.DecryptionIt is what makes it. The filter circuit 21 side is connected to the reception path 30A (FirstReceiving circuit) and the filter circuit 22 side receive path 30B (Second(Receiving circuit).
[0032]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4A shows a normal reception waveform of a signal transmitted from the IC card 2 by a simulator (the horizontal axis is time, the vertical axis is amplitude), and a negative waveform having a symmetrical waveform on the positive side and the negative side. Only the side is shown. Note that the amplitude change due to load modulation is slightly emphasized. Further, the rectangular wave shown in the figure is a data waveform of 212 kHz (more precisely, 211.875 kHz which is 1/64 of 13.56 MHz) as a signal modulation frequency.
[0033]
FIG. 4B shows a waveform (unreceivable waveform) when the reader / writer 1 receives a signal transmitted from the IC card 2 at the null point. In this waveform, the change in amplitude due to load modulation cannot be observed. However, as shown in the circled portion in the figure, a slight signal change appears. This change in signal corresponds to an edge change in the modulated signal.
[0034]
Here, FIG. 6 shows a signal waveform example of Manchester code. In the Manchester code, for example, the falling edge of the signal at the determination timing is “0”, and the rising edge is “1”. Accordingly, the frequency of the edge appearing in the entire signal waveform is higher than the modulation frequency of 212 kHz of the signal. Further, the change in the edge is delayed due to the impedance of the signal transmission path, and as a result, it is estimated that the change is observed as a frequency change of about 1 MHz.
[0035]
Therefore, the center frequency of the pass band in the filter circuit 21 is set to 212 kHz in order to detect the reception data in the normal reception state, and the center frequency of the pass band in the other filter circuit 22 is in the reception disabled state. It is set to 1 MHz in order to detect the edge change component of the signal.
[0036]
For the filter circuit 21, since the signal change frequency is 106 kHz in the case of a pattern in which “0” and “1” are alternately switched in the Manchester code, the pass bandwidth is set to include 106 kHz. Is preferable (or a low-pass filter whose cutoff frequency is around 212 kHz may be used).
[0037]
FIG. 5 (a) shows an enlarged waveform of the unreceivable waveform (positive side), and FIG. 5 (b) shows an output signal waveform of the filter circuit 22. FIG. As described above, when the waveform that cannot be received is passed through the 1 MHz band-pass filter, a signal having a sharp peak corresponding to the rising and falling edge change positions can be obtained. Therefore, the toggle processing circuit 28 matches the timing of each peak. If the signal level is toggled, the original data waveform can be reproduced. In this case, the binarization circuit 27 performs binarization using a threshold value indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG.
[0038]
In the receiving circuit unit 11, the comparison circuit 25 is configured to take the logical sum of the signal levels given from the binarization circuit 24 and the toggle processing circuit 28. Therefore, in the normal state, both the receiving paths 30A and 30B are in the normal state. In the unreceivable state in which the same output result is generated and a null point is generated, a correct reception result cannot be obtained from the reception path 30A, but reception data can be obtained in the reception path 30B.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 5, since the output signal waveform of the filter circuit 22 includes a peak unnecessary for data reproduction, the threshold value in the binarization circuit 27 is set so as to eliminate the unnecessary peak. To do.
[0040]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the reader / writer 1 receives radio signals transmitted from the IC card 2 through the plurality of reception paths 30A and 30B in different states, and synthesizes reception results obtained from them. I tried to get it. Specifically, the filter circuit 22 performs filtering to detect an edge in which the level of the radio signal transmitted from the IC card 2 changes according to the transmission data, and the toggle processing unit 28 detects the detected edge. The received data is reproduced by toggling the signal level based on the timing. Then, the reception data demodulated by the reception path 30A and the reception data reproduced by the toggle processing unit 28 are compared and synthesized by the comparison circuit 25 to obtain a reception result.
[0041]
  That is, even if the reception signal that should have been obtained by the reception path 30A in the normal reception state falls into a null point and cannot be received, the reception path 30BThe reception data reproduced on the side can be obtained. Accordingly, it is possible to always reliably receive a signal regardless of whether or not a null point actually occurs, so that it is not necessary to redo the communication processing sequence.
[0042]
In particular, when the reader / writer 1 is configured to be compatible with any type of IC card of various types (for example, ISO14443 Type A to C), redundancy occurs in tuning and the null point is generated. Therefore, the present invention is extremely effective.
[0043]
  (Second embodiment)
  7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Only different parts will be described below. In the configuration of the second embodiment, the binarization circuit 27 of the first embodiment is replaced with a positive peak detection circuit.(Positive edge detection circuit)31P and negative peak detection circuit(Negative edge detection circuit)The reception path 30Ba is configured by replacing the toggle processing circuit 28 with the toggle processing circuit 32 while replacing with 31N.
[0044]
As shown in FIG. 8B, the output signal waveform of the filter circuit 22 (via the amplifier circuit 26) has a large peak on the positive side at the timing corresponding to the rising edge of the data signal, and corresponds to the falling edge. There is a large peak on the negative side at the timing.
[0045]
Therefore, the positive peak detection circuit 31P sets a threshold so as to detect only the positive peak, and the negative peak detection circuit 31N sets the threshold so as to detect only the negative peak. When the toggle processing circuit 32 performs the toggle processing (L → H) in accordance with the detection signal of the positive peak detection circuit 31P, the next toggle processing (H → L) is performed by the negative peak detection circuit 31N. This is performed according to the detection signal. That is, toggle processing is performed by alternately receiving the detection signals of the two detection circuits 31P and 31N.
[0046]
Therefore, even if one of the detection circuits 31 detects two peaks according to one edge change timing depending on the threshold setting state, the toggle processing circuit 32 detects the two detection circuits 31P and 31N. Timing identification errors are eliminated by performing toggle processing by alternately receiving signals.
[0047]
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the toggle processing circuit 33 performs the toggle processing at the timing when one of the detection signals output from the positive side and negative side peak detection circuits 31P and 31N is received. Since the next toggle processing is performed at the timing when the other detection signal is received, even if the waveform of the filter output has a plurality of peaks, it is possible to more reliably prevent erroneous determination, and the received data Reproduction can be performed with high accuracy.
[0048]
(Third embodiment)
9 and 10 show a third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described below. The configuration of the third embodiment is configured by replacing the toggle processing circuit 28 of the first embodiment with a toggle processing circuit (toggle processing unit) 33. The toggle processing circuit 33 is supplied with a frequency signal of 212 kHz which is a data rate of the reception signal, and a reception path 30Bb is configured.
[0049]
The toggle processing circuit 33 performs a toggle output process with reference to a given frequency signal. In other words, the transmission / reception system between the reader / writer 1 and the IC card 2 performs all signal processing in synchronization with the 13.56 MHz main carrier wave generated and output on the reader / writer 1 side. Therefore, even if the binarization processing in the binarization circuit 27 is insufficient and a plurality of pulse signals are output for one edge change timing (see FIG. 10A), it becomes a reference. If it is configured to ignore a pulse signal that is input within a period of about 4.7 μs, which is a 212 kHz signal period from the time when the pulse signal is input (see FIG. 10B), an unnecessary pulse signal is recognized. Thus, erroneous timing is prevented (see FIG. 10C).
In practice, the high level period in which the pulse signal is ignored is preferably set to about 4 μs, for example, with a margin so as not to ignore the next pulse signal input at the beginning.
[0050]
  According to the third embodiment configured as described above, the toggle processing circuit 33 detects the edge., Toggle output processingAccording to the data transmission rate of the radio signal transmitted from the IC card 2 from the timingIgnore edges detected within the specified periodSince the toggle processing is performed, the data can be reliably reproduced.
[0051]
(Fourth embodiment)
FIGS. 11 to 13 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Only different parts will be described below. In FIG. 11 showing the electrical configuration of the reader / writer 34, there are two input points of the reception signal to the reception circuit unit 35. One point is a common connection point P1 between the transmission side amplifier 9 and the capacitor 10 as in the first embodiment, and the other point is the other end side P2 of the capacitor 10.
[0052]
  In FIG. 12 showing the internal configuration of the reception circuit unit 35, the detection circuit 36, the filter circuit 37, the amplification circuit 38, and the binarization circuit 39 are in parallel two systems (A, B) corresponding to two input points, respectively. Is provided. The logic processing circuit 40 receives the output signals of the binarization circuits 40A and 40B, respectively.DecryptionIt is comprised so that a process may be performed. Accordingly, there are substantially two reception paths (reception circuits) 41A and 41B.
[0053]
Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 13 (a), when a reception-impossible waveform is observed at the same signal input point as in the first embodiment, the reception-side impedance is different at the other signal input point. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13B, the waveform is such that the signal change accompanying the load modulation can be observed. However, in this waveform, the high and low change levels are reversed with respect to the normal received waveform shown in FIG.
[0054]
  Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the signal transmitted from the IC card 2 is received and demodulated in parallel by the two signal input points P1 and P2,DecryptionThe received data as a result of the comparison is compared (logical OR operation) within 0 to obtain final received data.
[0055]
  The received signal obtained by the signal input point P2 has the change level reversed compared to the normal reception state at the signal input point P1, but in the logic processing circuit 40DecryptionThere is no problem in the conversion process. That is, for example, in the case of Type C, a preamble that repeats high and low level changes a predetermined number of times is arranged at the beginning of the received signal, and synchronization is performed at the stage of receiving the preamble, and the initial level of the received data is This is because it is determined whether it starts from high or low, and “1, 0” is read by the subsequent edge change.
  Therefore, even if one signal input point P1 is in a state where reception is impossible, reception can be performed by the other signal input point P2, and therefore reception can be performed regardless of whether or not a null point has occurred.
[0056]
According to the fourth embodiment configured as described above, the radio signals transmitted from the IC card 2 are received in different states by the plurality of reception paths 41A and 41B, and the reception results obtained from them are synthesized. As a result, when a null point is generated in the reception path of the radio signal in one reception path 41 and the reception is disabled, the impedance in the reception path in the other reception path 41 is different, so the null point is simultaneously set. It does not occur. Accordingly, it is possible to always reliably receive a signal regardless of whether or not a null point actually occurs, so that it is not necessary to redo the communication processing sequence.
[0057]
(5th Example)
FIGS. 14 to 16 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Only the different parts will be described below. The reader / writer (IC card reader) 42 of the fifth embodiment has a configuration in which a reception antenna (reception dedicated antenna) 43 is separately provided and connected instead of the signal input point P2 in the fourth embodiment. In such a configuration, the observed waveform of the signal received by the antenna 43 is substantially the same as the normal received waveform shown in FIG.
[0058]
When the reception-only antenna 43 is provided in this way, if the received signal is rectified, the modulation waveform can be grasped in a DC level as shown in FIGS. When the modulation is not applied, the transmission signal level on the IC card 2 side can be grasped, and when the modulation is applied, the modulation degree can be observed. Therefore, it is also possible to perform correction control by adjusting the output level of the main carrier on the reader / writer 42 side so that the modulation degree is optimized as necessary.
[0059]
According to the fifth embodiment configured as described above, the reception dedicated antenna 43 is provided separately from the transmission / reception antenna 50, and the two reception paths 41A and 41B are received signals obtained by these two antennas 50 and 43. Since the impedance of each receiving path is different, null points are not generated at the same time in both. Therefore, as in the fourth embodiment, signal reception can always be performed reliably.
[0060]
(Sixth embodiment)
17 to 20 show a sixth embodiment of the present invention. For example, it is connected to a host device (host, not shown) such as a personal computer via a serial interface or the like, and communicates with the IC card 62 shown in FIG. To do.
[0061]
That is, the reader / writer 61 performs polling to intermittently transmit a call code to the IC card 62 in order to detect that the IC card 62 has approached its own communication area (request). When the user who carries the IC card 62 is located in the communication area, the IC card 62 responds by generating an operation power supply and a clock from a signal transmitted by the reader / writer 61.
[0062]
In FIG. 17 in which the electrical configuration inside the reader / writer 61 is shown as a functional block, a CPU (control circuit) 63 performs serial communication with a host device via a host interface (I / F) unit 64. The reset IC 65 outputs a reset signal for turning the CPU 63 on and off. The encoding unit 66 encodes transmission data given serially from the CPU 63 using, for example, the NRZ (Non Return to Zero) method, and outputs the encoded data to the modulation unit 67.
[0063]
The carrier oscillator 68 supplies an oscillation signal of 13.56 MHz as a carrier wave signal to the encoding unit 66 and the modulation unit 67 and to the CPU 63 as a clock signal. The CPU 63 uses a frequency obtained by appropriately dividing the oscillation signal as an operation clock. The modulation section 67 is configured to perform ASK modulation on the carrier wave with encoded transmission data, and is configured to be able to adjust the degree of modulation in that case.
[0064]
The modulated signal modulated by the modulation unit 67 is output to the transmission / reception antenna 71 via the amplification unit 69 and the coupling capacitor 70, and transmitted to the outside as a radio wave signal. The transmission / reception antenna 71 is composed of a loop of a capacitor 72, a resistor 73 and a coil 74. The common connection point of the capacitor 72 and the resistor 73 is connected to the coupling capacitor 70, and the common connection point of the capacitor 72 and the coil 74 is connected to the ground.
[0065]
On the other hand, when the antenna 71 receives a signal transmitted from the IC card 62 side, the received signal is output to the receiving unit 76 via the changeover switch 75. The demodulated signal demodulated by the receiving unit 76 is supplied to the decoding unit 78 via the amplification unit 77 and decoded, and then output to the CPU 63.
[0066]
The changeover switch 75 is provided to change the power supply point of the received signal. That is, the fixed contact 75 a is connected to a common connection point between the amplifying unit 69 and the coupling capacitor 70, the fixed contact 75 b is connected to a common connection point between the coupling capacitor 70 and the resistor 73, and the fixed contact 75 c is connected to the resistor 73. And the coil 74 are connected to a common connection point. The movable contact 75 d is connected to the input terminal of the receiving unit 76. In the normal state, the movable contact 75d is connected to the fixed contact 75a, and the selector switch 75 is switched by the CPU 63 as necessary, as will be described later.
[0067]
FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration inside the IC card 62. The IC card 62 includes an antenna (LC resonance circuit coil) 79, a rectifier 80, a clock extractor 81, a CPU 82, a memory 83, a modulator 84, and the like.
[0068]
When the antenna 79 receives the radio wave signal transmitted from the reader / writer 61, the rectifying unit 80 rectifies and smoothes the received signal and supplies power for operation to the CPU 82 and the demodulated data obtained by demodulating the received signal is output to the CPU 82. Output to. The clock extraction unit 81 supplies a clock signal extracted from the signal received by the antenna 79 to the CPU 82. The CPU 82 reads / writes data from / to a non-volatile memory 83 such as an FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM).
[0069]
Further, the CPU 82 serially outputs transmission data to the modulation unit 84. The modulation unit 84 is configured by a series circuit of a switch 85 and a modulation load 86, and the series circuit is connected in parallel to the antenna 79 together with the resistor 87. The switch 85 is configured to load-modulate the carrier wave by being turned on / off according to the transmission data output by the CPU 82, and transmit the data using the Manchester code.
[0070]
The memory 83 of the IC card 62 stores ID data of the IC card 62, a code used for authentication processing at the time of communication, data related to the user of the IC card 62 originally intended to be read by the reader / writer 61, and the like. .
[0071]
Next, the operation of the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 19A shows a normal received waveform of a signal transmitted from the IC card 62 by a simulator, and shows only the negative side of a waveform that is symmetrical between the positive side and the negative side. Note that the amplitude change due to load modulation is slightly emphasized. Further, the rectangular wave shown in the figure is a data waveform of 212 kHz (more precisely, 211.875 kHz which is 1/64 of 13.56 MHz) as a signal modulation frequency.
[0072]
FIG. 19B shows a waveform (unreceivable waveform) when the reader / writer 61 receives a signal transmitted from the IC card 62 at the null point. In this waveform, the change in amplitude due to load modulation cannot be observed. However, in this case, when the received signal waveform is observed at the fixed contact 75b of the changeover switch 75, the impedance on the receiving side is different. Therefore, as shown in FIG. ing. However, in this waveform, the high and low change levels are reversed with respect to the normal received waveform shown in FIG. The received signal waveform observed at the fixed contact 75c is substantially the same.
[0073]
Therefore, the CPU 63 of the reader / writer 61 operates according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 20 when performing communication processing with the IC card 62. First, when signal transmission to the IC card 62 side is started (step S1), it is determined whether or not a signal transmitted from the IC card 62 side is in a receivable state (step S2). If it is in a receivable state (“YES”), the determination in step S2 is continued until the communication process is completed (step S3, “YES”).
[0074]
If it is determined in step S2 that the signal waveform as shown in FIG. 19B is received and reception is impossible (“NO”), the CPU 63 ends the communication process (step S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the movable contact 75d of the changeover switch 75 at that time is connected to the fixed contact 75a side (step S5), and if it is connected to the fixed contact 75a side ("YES"), the movable contact 75d is determined. 75d is switched to the fixed contact 75b side (step S6). Then, the process returns to step S1, and communication processing is started again.
[0075]
That is, when the fixed point 75a is received and reaches the null point, the impedance of the reception circuit changes when the power supply point of the reception signal to the receiving unit 76 is switched to the fixed point 75b side, so that the null point is avoided. Is possible.
[0076]
Even when the communication process is performed again by switching the changeover switch 75 as described above, if the reception impossible state cannot be resolved (step S2, “NO”), the CPU 63 similarly executes step S4. Since the movable contact 75d is connected to the fixed contact 75b side, “NO” is determined in step S5, and “YES” is determined in step S7, and the CPU 63 switches the movable contact 75d of the changeover switch 75 to the fixed contact 75c side. (Step S8). Then, the impedance of the receiving circuit further changes. Then, the process returns to step S1, and communication processing is started again.
[0077]
Further, if it is determined in step S2 that reception is not possible ("NO"), since the movable contact 75d is connected to the fixed contact 75c, it is determined "NO" in steps S5 and S7. In this case, it is determined that communication is impossible and corresponding processing is performed (step S9).
[0078]
As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the CPU 63 of the reader / writer 61 receives the radio wave signal transmitted from the IC card 62 and determines the signal input point in the receiving circuit for demodulating the received data as the radio signal. Depending on the reception state, the changeover switch 75 switches to a different location for reception.
[0079]
Specifically, when it is determined that reception is not possible due to the occurrence of a null point in the normal reception path (fixed contact 75a), the signal input point in the reception circuit is changed to a different location (fixed contacts 75b, 75c). ). Therefore, as compared with the conventional method of changing the impedance on the transmission circuit side, it is possible to perform reception without the null point without providing an extra element.
[0080]
(Seventh embodiment)
FIGS. 21 to 24 show a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described. When load modulation is performed to transmit a signal on the IC card 2 side, the reactance component of the transmission circuit actually changes, so that the phase of the carrier signal transmitted from the reader / writer also changes simultaneously with the amplitude. And even if a null point occurs between the IC card 2 and the reader / writer and the amplitude change of the modulated signal becomes unobservable, the phase change state is maintained as it is and can be detected on the receiving side. It is.
[0081]
FIG. 21 shows an example of the simulation result. This is a phase difference between a reference clock signal for generating a carrier wave signal inside the reader / writer and a carrier wave signal load-modulated by the IC card when a null point is generated between the IC card and the reader / writer. . The horizontal axis represents a range corresponding to one period of the response frequency of 212 kHz of the IC card, that is, 64 carriers of the main carrier of 13.56 MHz. In this example, a phase difference of about 5 deg is observed.
[0082]
FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed electrical configuration of the receiving circuit unit in the reader / writer (IC card reader) 88. The reception path 30A side is exactly the same as in the first embodiment. The other reception path 89 includes a phase comparison circuit (phase difference detection circuit) 90, a filter circuit 21, an amplification circuit 92, and a binarization circuit (data reproduction unit) 93.
[0083]
The phase comparison circuit 90 has the same function as that used in a PLL (Phase Locked Loop), and a 13.56 MHz reference clock signal output from the carrier oscillator 8 and a carrier wave that is load-modulated by the IC card 2. The phase with the signal is compared and a phase difference signal is output to the filter circuit 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the card reader 88 transmits a carrier wave signal to the IC card 2 via the transmission circuit constituted by the modulation unit 7 and the amplification unit 9 and the antenna 50 based on the reference clock signal output from the carrier oscillator 8. Send.
[0084]
FIG. 23 illustrates the operation of the phase comparison circuit 90 with a digital concept. That is, the phase comparison circuit 90 outputs a phase difference signal having a pulse width corresponding to the phase difference between two input signals. In a digital concept, the phase comparison circuit 90 takes an exclusive OR of the two input signals. Is equivalent to output. In actual operation, these processes are performed in an analog manner.
[0085]
FIG. 24A shows a modulation signal of the IC card 2, and FIG. 24B shows a signal waveform when the reader / writer 88 receives a signal subjected to load modulation by the IC card 2 at the null point. (C) shows an output signal waveform of the phase comparison circuit 90. The waveform corresponds to the maximum and minimum phase change amounts corresponding to the rise and fall of the modulation signal (actually, the phase change occurs as a result of the change of the modulation signal at the previous timing. ) Incidentally, (d) shows a demodulated signal waveform at a null point by a conventional reader / writer for reference.
[0086]
Therefore, if the binarization circuit 93 sets a threshold value having hysteresis characteristics (the threshold level decreases when changing from high to low) with respect to the output signal waveform of FIG. 24C, a modulation signal and reception data are generated. Is possible.
[0087]
According to the seventh embodiment configured as described above, the phase comparison circuit 90 detects the phase difference between the reference clock signal inside the reader / writer 88 and the carrier wave signal that has been load-modulated by the IC card 2. The valuation circuit 93 reproduces the received data based on the output signal of the phase comparison circuit 90. Then, since the reception data obtained from the two reception paths 30A and 89 is synthesized by the comparison circuit 25, even if the positional relationship between the reader / writer 88 and the IC card 2 falls into the null point, it is included in the reception signal. Data can be reproduced from the phase change state according to the modulation being performed, and the reader / writer 88 can reliably reproduce the data.
[0088]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and the following modifications or expansions are possible.
In the first embodiment, the passband center frequency of the filter circuit 22 may be set to 847.5 kHz. That is, since the type A and B IC card defined in ISO 14443 uses 847.5 kHz as a subcarrier, the reader / writer corresponding to type A and B has a bandpass filter having a center frequency of 847.5 kHz in the receiving circuit in advance. I have. Therefore, with this configuration, the configuration of the present invention can be obtained using the bandpass filter.
Further, in the first embodiment, instead of the configuration in which the comparison circuit 25 compares the digital data, the output signal obtained from the binarization circuit 24 and the toggle processing circuit 28 is added in an analog manner to the logic processing circuit. You may enter.
[0089]
In the fourth embodiment, instead of the connection point P2, the feeding point of the received signal may be a common connection point between the resistor and the coil.
In the sixth embodiment, the changeover switch 75 may have a two-point changeover configuration, and may be switched between the fixed contacts 75a and 75b or the fixed contacts 75a and 75c.
The present invention is not necessarily limited to a reader / writer, and may be applied to an IC card reader having at least a function of reading IC card data.
Moreover, it is not necessarily limited to an IC card reader configured to be compatible with a plurality of types of IC cards, and may be configured to be compatible with one type.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed electrical configuration of a receiving circuit unit in a reader / writer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the reader / writer.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the IC card.
4A is a diagram showing a normal received waveform of a signal transmitted from an IC card by a simulator, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a waveform when a reader / writer receives a signal at a null point.
5A is an enlarged view showing a waveform that cannot be received (positive side), and FIG. 5B is a view showing an output signal waveform of the filter circuit.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal waveform of Manchester code.
FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is equivalent to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram showing the state of signal processing in the toggle processing circuit.
FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.Figure1 equivalent
13A is a diagram showing a received signal waveform at a feeding point P1, and FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a received signal waveform at a feeding point P2.
FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a waveform of a signal received by a receive-only antenna
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state of a received signal waveform before rectification (a) and after rectification (b);
FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the reader / writer according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of an IC card.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a received signal waveform at each feeding point
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing control contents performed by the reader / writer CPU;
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention, in which a phase difference between a carrier wave signal transmitted from a reader / writer and a carrier wave signal transmitted from an IC card is detected when a null point is generated; Showing an example of simulation results
22 is equivalent to FIG.
FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the phase comparison circuit based on a digital concept.
24A is a modulation signal of an IC card, FIG. 24B is a signal waveform when a reader / writer receives a transmission signal of the IC card at a null point, FIG. 24C is an output signal waveform of a phase comparison circuit, d) is a diagram showing a demodulated signal waveform at a null point by a conventional reader / writer;
FIG. 25 is a view showing a conventional technique and showing only a part of the configuration of the reader / writer on the transmission circuit side;
[Explanation of symbols]
  1 is a reader / writer (IC card reader), 2 is an IC card, 8 is a carrier oscillator, 22 is a filter circuit (edge detection filter circuit), 28 is a toggle processing circuit (toggle processing unit), 30AIs the receiving path (first receiving circuit),30BIs the receiving path (second receiving circuit),30BaIs the receiving path (first receiving circuit),30Bb is the receiving path (SecondReceiver circuit), 31P is a positive peak detection circuit(Rising edge detection circuit), 31N is a negative peak detection circuit(Falling edge detection circuit), 32 and 33 are toggle processing circuits (toggle processing units), 34 is an IC card reader, 41A and 41B are reception paths (reception circuits), 43 is a reception-only antenna, 50 is a transmission / reception antenna (transmission / reception shared antenna), and 61 is a reader. Writer (IC card reader), 62 is an IC card, 63 is a CPU (control circuit), 75 is a changeover switch, 88 is a reader / writer (IC card reader), 90 is a phase comparison circuit (phase difference detection circuit), and 93 is A value conversion circuit (data reproduction unit) is shown.

Claims (3)

In an IC card reader in which a non-contact type IC card receives a signal obtained by load-modulating a carrier wave with transmission data,
An antenna for receiving the load modulation signal;
A detection circuit for removing a carrier wave component from a load modulation signal received by the antenna;
A first receiving circuit provided on the output side of the detection circuit and provided with a filter circuit having a modulation frequency of the load modulation signal as a passband;
A second receiving circuit including an edge detection filter circuit provided on an output side of the detection circuit and having a frequency characteristic for detecting an edge of a detection waveform that changes according to the transmission data;
A toggle processing unit for performing a toggle output process for alternately changing the output signal level between high and low based on the timing of the edge obtained as the output signal of the second receiving circuit;
An IC card reader comprising: a comparison circuit that outputs a reception result obtained by comparing and synthesizing reception data demodulated by the first reception circuit and data output from the toggle processing unit . A rising edge detection circuit for detecting a rising edge for an output signal of the edge detection filter circuit;
A falling edge detection circuit for detecting a falling edge for an output signal of the edge detection filter circuit;
When the toggle processing unit performs the toggle processing at the timing when one of the detection signals output from the rising and falling edge detection circuits is received, the next toggle processing is performed at the timing when the other detection signal is received. The IC card reader according to claim 1. 2. The IC according to claim 1, wherein the toggle processing unit ignores an edge detected within a period corresponding to a transmission rate of the transmission data from a timing at which the edge is detected and toggle processing is performed. Card reader.

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