EP0976112A1

EP0976112A1 - Smart card with counter, in particular units or gratuities counter, and implementing method

Info

Publication number: EP0976112A1
Application number: EP98921562A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pascal Cooreman; Jean-Paul Kirik
Original assignee: Gemplus SCA; Gemplus Card International SA
Current assignee: Gemplus SA
Priority date: 1997-04-17
Filing date: 1998-04-17
Publication date: 2000-02-02
Also published as: AU7436898A; WO1998048387A1; CN1260893A; FR2762424B1; JP2001524234A; CA2287491A1; KR20010006500A; FR2762424A1; US6698661B1; AR012471A1; BR9808572A

Abstract

In order to monitor statistically the commercial operations carried out by a smart card bearer the bearer's card is provided with auxiliary counters (9-13). The auxiliary counters counts the number of times a credit counter (7) or a gratuity counter are incremented or reduced, and therefore the number of times the bearer has made corresponding purchases. Moreover, a counter of cumulated gratuities not subject to reduction is also taken into account.

Description

CHIP CARD WITH COUNTER, IN PARTICULAR UNIT OR COUNTER

GRATIFICATIONS, AND METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION.

The subject of the invention is a smart card with a counter, in particular a unit or bonus counter. It also relates to a method of implementing such a smart card. This smart card is dedicated to at least one application. The invention is also applicable in the case where the smart card is of the πmlti-applications type: when it can be used by its bearer to obtain services from different service providers (car rental, distribution of drinks, consultation of databases of data) . The object of the invention is to facilitate the commercial dissemination of the goods or services sold and for which payment is made, or accompanied, by the presentation of such smart cards. An application is the set of instructions and actions executed both by a card microprocessor and that of a card reader, or by the peripherals which are functionally linked to it and which lead to the delivery of a good or of a service.

It is known, in particular in European patent application EP-A-0 311 495, a smart card provided with a register or a counter for recording the state of a credit available for payment with the credit card. chip. It is further taught in this document to calculate bonuses which are proportional to the product of the credit available in the card by the period during which this credit has been unused. It is known since other gratification systems where points are awarded as gratuity to card holder, not necessarily in proportion to a residual credit. Points are counted in the card. The state of the art therefore knows smart cards provided with different counters: for example, a credit counter providing information on the available payment units, and / or a bonus counter counting the points allocated to the smart card. When the bearer decides to acquire goods or services conditioned by a point statement, the points consumed are deducted in his bonus counter.

Commercial development requires knowing your customers. When you know your customers, it's easier to make promotional offers. Promotional offers represent a certain cost for a service provider or seller of goods.

These offerings should be made to the best customers, or to selected customers. Indeed, if the offers are made in a random manner, to anyone, customer loyalty will not be as successful as if it were preferably addressed to certain customers, sorted on the basis of numerous and precise criteria. Apart from counting the points available in the bonus counter, it is not currently possible to know sufficiently precisely the behavior of a customer towards the purchase of goods or services offered by a seller to make marketing studies and determine precisely the profile of this client. The object of the invention is to overcome this problem by proposing, in the chip card operating system, either in hardware form or in software form, the creation of one or more auxiliary counters whose accumulations will take take into account changes in the credit counter, and / or the bonus counter, and / or certain auxiliary counters, and / or even the occurrence of certain subroutines of the application program. As a variant, the counters of an application are even modified as a function of another application.

It then becomes possible, for example, to know if a customer who has a given number of bonus points in his bonus counter is a customer who buys little (in this case the balance of his bonus counter corresponds to a balance constituted since the beginning of the existence of his card), or on the contrary to a customer who often benefits from promotional offers. In which case, for the same balance, he took advantage of many service offers during which points were deducted from his bonus counter.

The subject of the invention is therefore a smart card with microprocessor provided with a program for executing a first application, and at least a first counter, characterized in that it comprises at least one auxiliary counter whose content is modified by an action on this first counter or by the counting of actions of the application program. The invention also relates to a method for implementing a bonus counter in a smart card comprising at least one counter block, each counter block comprising a bonus counter and at least one auxiliary counter characterized in that it comprises steps of

- for each bonus counter, define at least one associated auxiliary counter whose content is capable of being modified by an action on the counter corresponding bonuses, or by counting the actions of an application program;

- define rules for modifying the content of said auxiliary counter as a function of said action or said count;

- modify the content of said auxiliary counter as a function of each action on an associated gratuity counter and / or as a function of each count of actions in an application program. The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows and on examining the accompanying figures. These are given for information only and in no way imply the invention. The figures show: - Figure 1: the schematic representation of a smart card provided with a statistical monitoring device according to the invention;

Figures 2a to 2d: essential steps for setting up software auxiliary counters in accordance with the invention;

- Figure 3: a generalization of the definition of auxiliary meters according to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a smart card 1 provided with a statistical monitoring device according to the invention. The chip card 1 represented comprises, in the electronic chip (an electronic integrated circuit), a microprocessor 2 in relation to a program memory 3 via a bus 4. This system comprises in a known manner a memory of data 5 and an interface 6 for exchanges with the outside world, a reader not shown. In the example shown, the interface 6 comprises an electrical connector connected to the bus 4. It may however be for the interface 6 a wireless, infrared or other type of connection. The smart card 1 preferably, but not necessarily, includes a credit counter 7 for containing information relating to consumption units available with the card. For example, the credits can be telephone consumption units in the case where the card 1 is intended to provide such services. Units can also be expressed in monetary form if card 1 is an electronic wallet.

According to the invention, the card 1 may include a counter S for counting gratuities, for example of the type of those mentioned above. These gratuities take the form of points recorded in binary form in the counter S. The counters 7 and 3 are connected by the bus 4 to the microprocessor 2.

The smart card of the invention comprises at least one of these two counters 7 or 8. Optionally, it includes both of them. Or even, it includes several of at least one of these types to count units or gratuities of different types.

According to the essential characteristics of the invention, the operating system of the card also comprises at least one other counter, auxiliary, 9 the content of which is modified by an action on the counter 7 of credits, on the counter 8 of bonuses, or even by the execution of an instruction contained in the application program stored in the memory 3. The auxiliary counter 9 counts down in the latter case the number of executions of these instructions, and is incremented by one each time time. Called counter block one or more auxiliary counters associated with a gratuity counter and / or a unit counter in a application.

In the case where the card includes several gratuity counters, the advantage is to be able to modify the content of an auxiliary counter, not only as a function of the content of a first gratuity counter associated with an application, but also as a function of '' another bonus counter, associated with another application. For example, links are then created between several counter blocks (bonus counter + associated auxiliary counters) for joint commercial development applications known as "co branding" in Anglo-Saxon literature.

Such joint commercial development occurs for example when a number x of loyalty points counted in a gratuity counter for a fuel consumption application produces y points in a gratuity counter for a consumption application in a restaurant chain. In this case, the gratuity counter of the second application can be considered as an auxiliary counter (within the meaning of the invention) of the first application.

In the example shown, the auxiliary counter has four sub-counters: 10 to 13. The counters 10 to 13 respectively represent a counter for visits, a counter for accumulating bonuses, a counter for accumulating redemptions and a counter for accumulating services. The counter 10 of visits records the number of times the counter 7 has been reduced: it counts the number of purchases. The bonus counter 11 counts the accumulated points, without worrying about their possible deduction. The counter 12 for cumulative redemptions counts, as desired, the bonus points consumed, or the number of promotions subscribed, or even both (in this case it is double). The cumulative service counter 13 counts the number of uses of a particular service. These counters 10-13 can be produced in a physical form. In one example, they will be connected by control connections 14 to 17 to the member whose counters are responsible for monitoring the progress. It is known to carry out by filtering circuits the development of a signal which would be added in the counters 10 to 13 at each corresponding request. For example, the credit counter 7 is written off when consumption units are consumed. An operation of locking the counter 7, at the end of the deduction of the units consumed, can therefore reveal particular potentials on certain terminals of this counter 7. It then suffices, with a filtering circuit of decoder type, to introduce the signal resulting from this locking in the corresponding counting circuit (here the visit sub-counter 10).

Preferably, however, it is preferable to organize the auxiliary counters 10-13 in software form. FIGS. 2a to 2d show the principle of making preferred software counters of the invention. It is also possible to also realize the counter 7 of credits and the counter 8 of gratuities in a software form. In this case, these counters comprise on the one hand a non-volatile register which can be represented schematically by the references 7,8 and 10 to 13 in FIG. 1, and on the other hand by a set of instructions present in the program stored in memory 3. In this case, counters 10-13 can be of the abacus type recorded in non-volatile memory.

The counter 10 of visits, FIG. 2a, can for example include in its software implementation a test operation 18 measuring the evolution of the counter 7 of credits. Either the credit counter 7 has not been reduced or it has been reduced. If it has been reduced, this means that the customer has consumed consumption units during a visit to the supplier of goods or services. In this case, independently of the gratuities which could be granted to him and which would possibly correspond to a proportion of the sum purchased (consumption units spent), we will count his visit by increasing the visit counter by one unit. the contents of register 10 to add a unit. This is done in step 19 in the event that test 18 shows that the credit counter has been decreased.

To carry out test 18, it suffices, in an example, at the start of the transaction with the smart card to memorize in one of the registers of the microprocessor the state of the credit counter and to compare it, before the end of the operation (for example at the time of locking), in the state of this credit counter after the transaction. Thus, if the transaction could not be executed (insufficient amount of credits, unavailability of the service or even free service), the credit meter at the end will present the same balance as the one it presented at the start. Otherwise, before releasing the card, the reader causes the counter 10 to be incremented by operation 19. If there is no credit counter, one can simply count the number of times the card is inserted into a reader.

In another case, Figure 2b, we will see if the bonus counter has been increased in step 20. If necessary, in a step 21, the counter 21 for accumulating bonuses will be incremented. In this case, the incrementation will be one or n units depending on whether you want to know the total number of bonuses acquired, or simply the number of times they were acquired. If necessary, there are even two counters 11 for monitoring these two solutions.

In a third case, Figure 2c, during a test 22 we will see if, on the contrary, the counter 8 of bonuses has been reduced. If this is the case during an operation 23, the counter 12 for the accumulation of redemptions will be increased by one unit or by n units, here again depending on the choice made. The counters 10 to 12, preferably, can only evolve in one direction.

More generally still, FIG. 2d, in a test 24, it will be sought to know whether a particular instruction originating from the program stored in the memory 3 has been implemented. We will look in particular if a given service, conditioned by this instruction, has been used. A service can for example be a consultation of an account statement, a consultation of a catalog of products offered by the service provider, or others. By the mere fact that the instruction relating to this service will have been launched, the counter 13 for accumulating services by one unit will be incremented by an operation 25. Test 24 can also be replaced by a complement to the instruction launched and monitored. Indeed, this instruction, which has the effect of making available to the holder of the smart card a particular good or service, includes an instruction code which can be supplemented by an additional instruction code. This additional instruction code can, once entered in the microprocessor 2 instruction register, cause the counter 13 to increment. This additional instruction code corresponds to this additional instruction 25. In this case there is not strictly speaking a test but rather a automatic mandatory operation.

It is possible to organize the monitoring of the movements of the counters 7 and 8 in the same way without having to practice the tests 18, 20 and 22. In this case, the operating system of the chip of the card 1 preferably comprises the corresponding instruction codes.

The state of the counters 10 to 13 can also be stored in a particular register, for example a register 26 of the memory 5. In this way, each time that the card 1 is put in contact with a reader, the latter takes cognizance of the consumption profile of the card holder by prior reading of this register 26. This reader can offer this card holder special services or promotions. It is also possible to count the number of times the card holder has been solicited by promotions, and the number of times he has entered them. In these conditions, special counters will be installed in the card.

In the case of joint commercial developments, with at least two applications, at least one counter block assigned to a first application is produced in a card. According to one of the diagrams in FIGS. 2a to 2d, one of the counters of the other application is then incremented by 1 or n units (for example the gratuity counter) when a counter of the first application (counter of units, of bonuses, visits, cumulative bonuses, accumulation of redemptions or accumulation of services) is requested. This can be achieved with a special circuit. Preferably, when the first application is implemented, it can be carried out with a sequence of instructions from the program of the other application (a subroutine of this other application) launched by the program of this first application. Rather than modifying the gratuity counter of the other application, one can of course also modify any other of its auxiliary counters, or even the unit counter of this other application.

This way of doing things induces the need, with the invention, to be able to create in the chip card other auxiliary counters. In this case, the operation of these counters will not be frozen by the operating system. For this purpose, FIG. 3, we show how the program contained in the memory 3 makes it possible to implement a subroutine for defining the auxiliary counters by an adequate parameterization.

The implementation of this parameterization preferably requires a recognition protocol which authorizes it. An exchange of particular secret code and password between the reader and the card allows for example such recognition. Such protocols are known in the state of the art.

Once the parametrization is authorized, the parametrization program requests by a step 27 from the operator the designation of the name, of the label, of the auxiliary counter. This counter name can be one of those already proposed above or a new name imagined by the operator. The new name imagined can correspond, in clear, to a promotional operation considered. Then, the program, during a step 28, makes it possible to designate which element is monitored by the auxiliary counter that has just been created. As indicated above, the monitored element can be the bonus counter, the credit counter or the address of an instruction contained in the program stored in memory 3. The monitored counter can also be another auxiliary counter which has just been created by a previous configuration or a counter from another application. In this way, if desired, a link is created between the auxiliary counters.

During a subsequent operation, the increment conditions will be defined. Either the increment is defined porally (for example it is monthly), or it occurs every 10 events or more generally every n events monitored. In this case, an intermediate counter counts 10 or n intermediate monitored events before counting a unit in the auxiliary counter concerned. The conditions for incrementing the auxiliary meters can also be linked to the nature of the goods or services purchased. For example, we can decide to count three auxiliary counter units for purchases greater than 100 consumption units and one auxiliary counter unit for purchases below this value. The incrementing conditions can therefore be scenarios already prepared in the program in memory 3. They can also correspond to subroutines downloaded by the reader into memory 3.

Preferably, the auxiliary meters are protected. They are not directly accessible by the reader in modification. They are accessible by him only in reading. Optionally, it can be provided that they are accessible by this reader for a reset of the global counter file 9. When updating the counters, provision may be made to recover memory space, in particular in memory 5, by erasing registers or counter files which are no longer useful. For example, you may decide to delete auxiliary counters in reverse chronological order of their constitution, or delete designated auxiliary counters.

The counter file 9 is protected by specific access conditions for each application. They can be system functions or application functions. The conditions of access can take several values: free access, blocked, authorized under presentation of confidential codes, by prior external authorization, etc. Preferably, the operating system of the card, or of the reader, is capable of producing one or more signatures in order to validate the modifications carried out on the auxiliary meter (s). These signatures may incorporate the current transaction date. A label can be assigned to an auxiliary counter. This makes it possible to identify a particular promotion which takes place over time over a certain period (for example a year). It is thus possible to subsequently identify expired promotions, and possibly to recover the corresponding points to attribute them to a new count. Thus a supplier will be able to provide his readers with a micro-program that specifically accomplishes the instructions 27, 28, 29 of the Figure 3 to create, in each of the cards that are introduced in this reader, a specific counter suitable for a particular promotion. In this case, each counter 10 to 13 created will preferably include indications of the start date of the creation and, if applicable, the end date of the promotion.

At the time of an update, we can simply change the name, the label of the counter, so as to transfer to a new promotional operation the points already acquired for another operation. You can change the dates of the counters, for example, to extend another operation.

The label in practice is stored in memory 9 at a correspondence table providing information on the one hand on the labels and on the other hand on the addresses, in memory 9, where the registers 10 to 13 are located which represent the associated counters to these labels.

Claims

1 - Chip card with microprocessor provided with a first program for executing an application and at least one first counter characterized in that it comprises at least one auxiliary counter whose content is modified by an action on this first counter or by the action count of the first application program.

2 - Card according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with another program to execute another application, with another counter associated with this other application, and with means for modifying this other counter associated with this other application by an action on one of the counters of the first application or by the count of actions of the first application program.

3 - Card according to claim 2, characterized in that the counter associated with this other application is a bonus counter or an auxiliary counter of this other application. 4 - Card according to one of claims l to 3, characterized in that the first counter is a bonus counter and in that the auxiliary counter includes a counter for recording accumulated bonuses. 5 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it includes a credit counter and a bonus counter in that the auxiliary counter includes a counter for recording the number of times the credit counter, or else the bonus counter, is modified in only one given direction. 6 - Card according to claim 5, characterized in that the auxiliary counter includes a counter for recording the number of times the bonus counter is changed in a direction opposite to the only given direction.

7 - Card according to one of claims l to 6, characterized in that the auxiliary counter includes a counter for recording the number of times that an instruction from the first application program is implemented.

8 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the auxiliary counter can only evolve in one direction.

9 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the auxiliary counter is of the abacus type, recorded in non-volatile memory.

10 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a register (26) for storing the state of the auxiliary counter (s). 11 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the program for executing an application comprises a subroutine to define an auxiliary counter.

12 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the auxiliary counter is protected so that it cannot be modified by a reader of the chip card.

13 - Card according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the auxiliary counter is modified under condition, for example under date condition, under condition of condition of another counter, of one of the two counters of credits or gratuities or even another auxiliary meter.

14 - Method for implementing a counter of bonuses in a smart card comprising at least one counter block, each counter block comprising a bonus counter, and at least one auxiliary counter (10613) characterized in that it comprises steps consisting in:

- for each gratuity counter (8), define at least one associated auxiliary counter (11) whose content is capable of being modified by an action on the corresponding gratuity counter, or by counting the actions of a first program of application;

- define rules (18, 20, 22, 24) for modifying the content of said auxiliary counter as a function of said action or said count; - modify (19, 21, 23, 25) the content of said auxiliary counter as a function of each action on an associated gratuity counter and / or as a function of each count of actions of the first application program. 15 - Process according to claim 14, characterized in that

- the smart card is used for a first application, and

the content of the auxiliary counter associated with a gratuity counter of another application is modified, as a function of an action on the gratuity counter of the first application or of a count of actions of the first application program.