JPH11175668A - Ic card read/write device and radio communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize the size of the main body of a radio communication equipment in spite of having a constitution in which an IC card can be used by providing a communication line derived from a read/write device main body, and connected with the outside connection terminal part of a radio communication equipment so as to be attachable and detachable. SOLUTION: An SIM card is adopted as an IC card. The right edge part of a device main body 11 of an IC card read/write device 10 is provided with a card slot 12. An SIM card 13 is inserted into this card slot 12. When an operation lever 14 is pushed into this main body, the SIM card 13 is ejected to the outside. A slot cover 15 covering the card slot 12 is provided so as to be rotatable. A communication line 16 is derived from the left edge part of the main body 11. A connector 17 is provided at the top end part of the communication line 16, and the connector 17 is connected with the outside connection terminal part of a portable telephone set so as to be attachable and detachable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card read / write device and a wireless communication device having a function of reading data stored in an IC card and a function of writing data to the IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the advance of telecommunication technology, wireless communication devices such as mobile phones and pagers have become widespread. One of them is a mobile phone using an IC card. I have. This device employs a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card in which specific information such as a subscriber number (ID code) is stored as an IC card, and the SIM card is inserted into a mobile phone to be stored in the SIM card. It is possible to make a call (communication) using the subscriber number. SIM above
The specific information stored in the card is data such as a subscriber number, a mobile station number, location registration information, a memory dial, the last call time, and a call history. The size of the SIM card is the same as that of a credit card, a bank card, or the like.

[0003]

In the portable telephone having the above-described structure, it is necessary to provide a card insertion portion for inserting and removing a SIM card inside the main body. For this reason, the size of the mobile phone body needs to be large enough to insert a SIM card. On the other hand, recent advances in semiconductor technology and storage battery technology have made it possible to make the body of a mobile phone extremely small. The size of the mobile phone thus reduced is reduced to such a size that it is almost impossible to dispose the card insertion portion of the SIM card. Therefore, SIM
A mobile phone into which a card can be inserted, that is, a mobile phone compatible with a SIM card, has a problem that the configuration becomes considerably large as compared with an unsupported mobile phone.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card read / write device and a wireless communication device capable of reducing the size of the main body of the wireless communication device while having a structure capable of using an IC card. It is in.

[0005]

According to the present invention, an IC card read / write device is provided separately from a wireless communication device, and a communication line is provided between the IC card read / write device and the wireless communication device. It was configured to be removably connected via Thus, the wireless communication device
The configuration is such that an IC card can be used via an IC card read / write device. Since the IC card does not need to be provided in the main body of the wireless communication device, the size of the main body of the wireless communication device can be reduced.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a portable telephone will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, for example, a SIM (Subscriber I
(dentity Module) card. First, a schematic overall configuration of a mobile phone will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a main body (housing) 2 of a mobile phone 1 is provided.
Are formed in an elongated rectangular box shape. 1 of this body 2
A key operation unit 3 on which various keys are arranged, a display 4 for displaying a message, a telephone number, and the like, a microphone (transmitter) 5 and a speaker (receiver) 6 are provided on a surface portion, which is one side portion. ing.

The various keys of the key operation unit 3 include a "start" key, an "end" key, numeric keys "0" to "9", and a "scroll" key. An antenna 7 protrudes from an upper left end of the main body 2 in FIG.
Further, an external connection terminal portion 8 (see also FIG. 4) is provided at a central portion in a lower portion of FIG. 1 of the main body 2, and the external connection terminal portion 8 is covered by a cover 9. This cover 9
Is detachably provided on the main body 2 (external connection terminal section 8). The external connection terminal section 8 is composed of, for example, a 16-core connection terminal (connector).

Next, a schematic overall configuration of the IC card read / write device will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the device main body 11 of the IC card read / write device 10 is configured as a wide rectangular box as a whole. At the right end in FIG. 2 of the apparatus main body 11, for example, a card slot
Is provided. In this card slot 12, SI
It is configured such that the M card 13 can be inserted and removed (inserted).

An operation lever 14 is provided at one end of the card slot 12 of the apparatus main body 11 so as to be able to be pushed. In this configuration, when the SIM card 13 is inserted into the card slot 12 (substantially the entire SIM card 13 is inserted) and the operation lever 14 is pushed in, the card slot 1 is pressed.
2 so that the SIM card 13 can be ejected from the inside, that is, the SIM card 13 can be taken out. The SIM card 13 has a built-in IC chip that stores or can store various data as described below.

Further, a slot cover 15 for covering the card slot 12 is rotatably provided at the right end in FIG. In this case, the slot cover 1
5 are pivotally supported by the apparatus main body 11, and are manually operated by the user to open from the closed position shown in FIG. 3 to the open position shown in FIG. 2 and from the open position shown in FIG. The closing operation is performed to the closing position shown in FIG.

Further, from the left end of the apparatus main body 11 in FIG. 2, for example, a 16-core communication line 16 is led out. A connector 17 is provided at a distal end of the communication line 16.
Is configured to be detachably connected to the external connection terminal section 8.

Next, the electrical configuration of the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the control circuit 18 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and functions as control means for controlling the operation of the mobile phone 1 (control program for realizing this function).
have. The control circuit 18 includes an audio processing unit 1
9, data conversion unit 20, transmission / reception unit 21, and storage unit 2
2 is connected, and the above-mentioned key operation unit 3 and display 4 are connected. The audio processing unit 19 is connected to the microphone 5 and the speaker 6 described above, and is also connected to the data conversion unit 20. The data conversion unit 20 is connected to the transmission / reception unit 21 and the transmission / reception unit 2
1 is connected to the antenna 7 described above.

In the case of this configuration, the voice processing unit 19 generates voice data by encoding a reception signal given from the microphone 5, and converts the voice data into the data conversion unit 2.
It is configured to output 0. Data converter 20
Is configured to convert the voice data provided from the voice processing unit 19 into communication data and output the communication data to the transmission / reception unit 21. The transmission / reception unit 21 is configured to modulate the carrier with the communication data provided from the data conversion unit 20 to transmit the communication data as a transmission signal from the antenna 7 to the base station.

The transmission / reception unit 21 demodulates communication data provided as a reception signal from the base station to the antenna 7 and converts the demodulated communication data to the data conversion unit 20.
Is configured to be output. Data converter 20
Is configured to convert communication data provided from the transmission / reception unit 21 into audio data and output the audio data to the audio processing unit 19. Then, the audio processing unit 19
It is configured to generate a transmission signal by decoding the voice data given from the data conversion unit 20 and output the transmission signal to the speaker 6.

On the other hand, in a predetermined storage area in the storage unit 22, essential information essential for communication such as a subscriber number (ID code), a mobile station number, and location registration information, a memory dial, a previous call time, and a call history Specific information, such as optional information that is not indispensable for communication, is stored in a predetermined data format. Then, when the control circuit 18 is set to communicate with the base station based on the specific information stored in the storage unit 22, that is, when the control circuit 18 is set to the self mode,
The specific information stored in the storage unit 22 is read, and telephone communication is performed based on the read specific information.

Further, a communication interface unit 23 is connected to the control circuit 18, and the external connection terminal unit 8 is connected to the communication interface unit 23. Then, the control circuit 18 controls the IC card read / write device 1
0 when the connector 17 of the communication line 16 is inserted and connected to the external connection terminal 8, the IC card read / write device 1 is connected via the communication interface 23.
It is configured to detect that an electrical connection with 0 has been made.

Further, in a state where the communication line 16 of the IC card read / write device 10 is connected to the external connection terminal section 8, the control circuit 18 transmits and receives data to and from the IC card read / write device 10 through the communication line 16. Has a function. The transmission and reception of the data is configured to be performed by, for example, serial communication (specifically, a standard of 16-core serial communication standardized by an organization of a mobile phone or the like). In this case, the control circuit 18 and the communication interface unit 23 constitute communication means on the mobile phone side (wireless communication device side) of the present invention.

Next, the electrical configuration of the IC card read / write device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the control circuit 24 includes a CPU, a ROM, and an RA.
M and the IC card read / write device 1
0 (a control program for realizing this function). The control circuit 24 includes:
The communication interface unit 25 and the SIM card interface unit 26 are connected. The communication interface 16 is connected to the communication line 16.

In the case of this configuration, with the connector 17 of the communication line 16 connected to the external connection terminal 8 of the mobile phone 1, the control circuit 24 of the IC card read / write device 10 It has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from the control circuit 1 (the control circuit 18). The transmission and reception of the data is executed by the serial communication described above. In this case, the control circuit 24 and the communication interface unit 25 constitute communication means on the IC card read / write device side of the present invention.

Further, the control circuit 24 controls the SIM card 13
Is inserted into the card slot 12, it is configured to detect that an electrical connection with the SIM card 13 has been made via the SIM card interface unit 26. Then, the detected information (data) is transmitted to the communication interface unit 25 and the communication line 16.
Is transmitted to (the control circuit 18 of) the mobile phone 1 through the network. Thus, the control circuit 18 of the mobile phone 1 is configured to detect whether the SIM card 13 has been inserted into the card slot 12 of the IC card read / write device 10.

Further, the SIM card 13 stores specific information in the same data format as the specific information stored in the storage unit 22 of the mobile phone 1. And IC
When receiving a command to read data stored in the SIM card 13 from the mobile phone 1, the control circuit 24 of the card read / write device 10
3 is read out via the SIM card interface unit 26, and the read data is transmitted to (the control circuit 18 of) the mobile phone 1 through the communication interface unit 25 and the communication line 16. ing. Thus, the control circuit 18 of the mobile phone 1
Can read data stored in the SIM card 13. In this case, the control circuit 24 and the SIM card interface unit 26 constitute reading means of the IC card reading / writing device of the present invention.

The control circuit 24 of the IC card read / write device 10 receives the data from the mobile phone 1 and, when receiving a command to write (store) the data in the SIM card 13, stores the data in the SIM card 13.
It is configured to write to the SIM card 13 via the IM card interface unit 26. Thus, the control circuit 18 of the mobile phone 1 transmits the data to the SIM card 1
3 can be stored (written). in this case,
The control circuit 24 and the SIM card interface unit 26 constitute the writing means of the IC card read / write device of the present invention.

The control circuit 18 of the portable telephone 1
When it is set to communicate with the base station based on the specific information stored in the SIM card 13, that is, when it is set to the SIM card mode,
The specific information stored in the SIM card 13 is stored in an IC
It is configured to read through the card read / write device 10 and to perform telephone communication (wireless communication) based on the read specific information. The setting of the self mode or the SIM card mode in the control circuit 18 of the mobile phone 1 is configured to be set by, for example, a user performing a predetermined key operation on the key operation unit 3.

According to this embodiment having such a structure, the IC
The card read / write device 10 is provided separately from the mobile phone 1, and the IC card read / write device 10 and the mobile phone 1 are detachably connected via the communication line 16. As a result, the mobile phone 1
SI through the C card read / write device 10
The configuration is such that the M card 13 can be used. In the case of this configuration, the SIM card 1 is
Since it is not necessary to dispose the card insertion section 3, the size of the main body 2 of the mobile phone 1 can be reduced.

Further, in the case of the above embodiment, the same hardware configuration as that conventionally manufactured and sold can be used as the hardware configuration of the mobile phone 1. That is, it is only necessary to replace the control program (software configuration) for operating the control circuit 18 of the mobile phone 1 with the control program used in the present embodiment. Specifically, a ROM or the like for storing the control program is used. S
It is possible to use an IM card compatible mobile phone.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication line 16 is led out from the device main body 11 of the IC card read / write device 10. Instead, the communication line 16 is connected to the device main body 11 via a connector or the like. And may be configured to be detachably connected. Further, in the above embodiment, the external connection terminal 8 of the mobile phone 1, the communication line 16 and the connector 17 of the IC card read / write device 10 are configured by a 16-core serial communication standard connector and a communication line. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, a 10-wire serial communication standardized connector and communication line standardized by an organization of a mobile phone or the like may be used. A communication line may be used. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the wireless communication device is applied to the mobile phone 1, but is not limited to this, and may be applied to, for example, an in-vehicle mobile phone or a pager.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile phone showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an IC card read / write device and a SIM card.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an IC card read / write device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of a mobile phone.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of an IC card read / write device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a mobile phone, 2 is a main body, 3 is a key operation section, 8 is an external connection terminal section, 9 is a cover, 10 is an IC card read / write device, 11 is a device main body, 12 is a card slot (card insertion section), 13 Is a SIM card (IC card), 14
Is an operation lever, 15 is a slot cover, 16 is a communication line, 17 is a connector, 18 is a control circuit (data communication unit), 23 is a communication interface unit, 24 is a control circuit (data communication unit), 25 is a communication interface unit, 2
Reference numeral 6 denotes a SIM card interface unit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A read / write device main body having a card insertion portion for inserting and removing an IC card; a communication line derived from the read / write device main body and detachably connected to an external connection terminal of a wireless communication device; Data communication means on the read / write device side for transmitting and receiving data to and from the wireless communication device through a communication line; read means for reading data stored in an IC card inserted into the card insertion portion; An IC card read / write device comprising: a write unit for writing data to an IC card inserted into a card insertion unit. 2. An external connection terminal unit to which a communication line of an IC card read / write device can be connected, and data communication means on a wireless communication device side for transmitting / receiving data to / from the IC card read / write device through the communication line. A wireless communication device comprising: 3. A read / write device according to claim 1, and a wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the read / write device and the wireless communication device are detachably connected via a communication line. Wireless communication device with IC card read / write device.