JP2001014432A - Non-contact card reading/writing system, non-contact card, reader/writer and non-contact card reading/ writing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the read/write of digital data on plural non-contact cards and to easily read/write a lot of digital data. SOLUTION: In addition to the transmission of digital data through electromagnetic coupling a reader/writer 12 and plural non-contact cards 11 transmit control information or the like for controlling the reading/writing operation of the non-contact cards 11 by transmitting/receiving optical signals. Besides, the part of the non-contact card 11 for transmitting/receiving the optical signal is arranged at a position where the optical signal can be exchanged with the adjacent non-contact card 11 when plural non-contact cards 11 are piled up. The reader/writer 12 parallel houses the plural non-contact cards 11 and executes reading/writing by transmitting the digital data through electromagnetic coupling while controlling the reading/writing operation of the non-contact cards 11 by the optical signals.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contactless card reading system for reading and writing data on a card capable of recording digital data in a contactless manner, and more particularly to a noncontact card reading / writing system capable of reading and writing data on a plurality of contactless cards. Related to contact card reading system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a contactless card reading system in which digital data is transmitted in a contactless manner by electromagnetic coupling between a card and a reading device to read / write the card. In such a system, when the card is brought close to the reading unit of the reading device, an alternating magnetic field formed by a coil provided in the reading device electromagnetically couples the card and the reading device, thereby supplying power to the card and digital data. Is transmitted. Thus, digital data recorded in the memory provided in the card can be transmitted and read without contact, and digital data can be transmitted and written in the memory provided in the card without contact.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-104943 discloses a technique for transmitting information between an information recording medium and a driver by electromagnetic coupling.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-271928 discloses a technique for transferring data at high speed using a non-contact multi-bit parallel transfer method using electromagnetic coupling.

[0005]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
In the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 104943/1995 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-271928, data can only be read / written from / to one card, and a plurality of cards cannot be read / written at the same time.

When a non-contact card can record a large amount of data, it is necessary to define a data recording position and a timing for reading and writing data. Therefore, in a contactless card reading system that transmits and receives data only by electromagnetic coupling between the reading device and the contactless card, there has been a problem that a circuit configuration and a structure of data to be transmitted are complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and provides a contactless card reading system, a contactless card, a reading device, and a contactless card reading method capable of reading and writing data from and to a plurality of cards. The purpose is to provide. It is another object of the present invention to provide a contactless card reading system, a contactless card, a reading device, and a contactless card reading method capable of easily reading and writing a large amount of data.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a contactless card reading system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of contactless cards for recording digital data, and the plurality of contactless cards. A reading device that transmits and reads / writes the digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the non-contact card, wherein the reading device supplies power and transmits the digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the plurality of contactless cards. And transmitting control information for instructing reading and / or writing of the digital data to and from the plurality of contactless cards by an optical signal, wherein the plurality of contactless cards receive the control information by an optical signal and perform the control. Transmits an optical signal for transmitting information to another contactless card, and reads or reads the digital data according to the control information. Run the inclusive can, for transmitting the digital data by electromagnetic coupling, characterized in that.

According to the present invention, in addition to transmitting digital data by electromagnetic coupling with a plurality of non-contact cards, the reading device transmits control information for instructing reading or writing of digital data to or from the non-contact cards by an optical signal. send. The contactless card can read and write digital data according to the control information sent from the reading device. As a result, even when a large amount of data is read or written, since only digital data is transmitted by electromagnetic coupling, the circuit configuration and the structure of the transmitted data are simplified, so that a large amount of data can be easily read and written. Can be. In addition, since the contactless card transmits an optical signal for transmitting control information to another contactless card, data can be read from and written to a plurality of contactless cards.

A non-contact card reading system according to a second aspect of the present invention transmits a plurality of non-contact cards for recording digital data and the digital data by electromagnetic coupling between the plurality of non-contact cards. A reading device for reading and writing, wherein the reading device includes a holding unit that stores and holds the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, and the plurality of non-contact cards that the holding unit holds. A first electromagnetic coupling means for supplying power and transmitting the digital data by electromagnetic coupling, and a first electromagnetic signal transmitting and receiving optical signal between one of the plurality of contactless cards held by the holding means. The plurality of contactless cards receive power supply by electromagnetic coupling between the recording means for recording the digital data and the reading device. A second electromagnetic coupling means for transmitting Rutotomoni said digital data, a second transmitting and receiving optical signals
Optical communication means, operation control means for executing reading and writing of the digital data with respect to the recording means in accordance with the optical signal received by the second optical communication means, and causing the second electromagnetic coupling means to transmit the digital data; The second optical communication means, when the holding means stores the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, the second optical communication means provided in an adjacent non-contact card or the first optical communication means provided in the reading device The optical communication means is installed at a position where an optical signal can be transmitted / received to / from the optical communication means.

According to the present invention, the holding means stores and holds a plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, and transmits the data to the operation control means of the non-contact card using optical signals by the first and second electromagnetic wave transmitting / receiving means. Can read and write.
This makes it possible to easily read and write data from and to a plurality of contactless cards. Also, the first and second electromagnetic coupling means transmit only digital data to be read and written to the recording means, and control information and the like are transmitted by optical signals, so that a large amount of data can be easily read and written. be able to. Note that the parallel storage includes not only a case where the contactless cards are set and stored in a tray or a slot, but also a case where the non-contact cards are stacked and stored.

More specifically, the first optical communication means comprises:
First receiving means for receiving specific information unique to each of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding means by receiving an optical signal, and the plurality of holding means held by the holding means by transmitting an optical signal; A first transmitting unit for transmitting control information for instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the contactless card, wherein the second optical communication unit is configured such that the holding unit includes the plurality of contactless cards in parallel. A second and third transmitting means for transmitting the specific information by transmitting an optical signal to the second optical communication means or the first receiving means provided in the adjacent non-contact card when stored, and When the means stores the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, the second
It is preferable to include second and third receiving means for receiving the specific information by receiving an optical signal from the optical communication means or the first transmitting means. Thereby, the holding means can store the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, transmit and receive optical signals, regulate the operation of the non-contact cards, and execute data reading and writing on the plurality of non-contact cards. In addition, a large amount of data can be easily read and written.

[0013] The second transmitting means and the second receiving means are provided on the same surface of the plurality of contactless cards, and the third transmitting means and the third receiving means are provided on the second contact card. It is desirable that the transmitting means and the second receiving means are installed on the back of the surface on which they are installed. Thereby, reading and writing of digital data can be executed by stacking a plurality of contactless cards.

The control information sent by the first transmitting means includes the specific information unique to a card which reads or writes the digital data among the plurality of contactless cards, Determines whether or not the control information received by the second optical communication unit includes the specific information unique to the contactless card. It is desirable to read or write data. With this, it is possible to specify a card that reads and writes digital data from among the plurality of contactless cards, and to execute more flexible reading and writing of digital data to and from the plurality of contactless cards.

Further, a non-contact card according to a third aspect of the present invention is capable of transmitting and reading digital data in a non-contact manner, receives power by electromagnetic coupling with a reading device, and receives the power. Electromagnetic coupling means for transmitting digital data, recording means for recording the digital data, communication by transmitting and receiving optical signals, sending specific information specific to the card to the reading device, and transmitting the digital data to the recording means; An optical communication unit for receiving control information for instructing reading or writing, and in accordance with the control information received by the optical communication unit, transmitting the digital data to the electromagnetic coupling unit and transmitting the digital data to the recording unit. Operation control means for executing reading or writing.

[0016] The optical communication means may be installed at a position facing the optical communication means of an adjacent non-contact card when a plurality of the non-contact cards are stacked.

The optical communication means includes a first optical signal transmitting optical signal.
Transmitting means, and a first receiving means installed on the back side of the surface on which the first transmitting means is installed, for receiving an optical signal, and an optical signal installed on the same surface as the first receiving means. A second transmitting means for transmitting, and a second receiving means installed on the back of the surface on which the second transmitting means is installed, for receiving an optical signal, the first and second transmitting means; The first and second receiving means may be installed at a position that bisects a long side of the card.

A reading apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention transmits and reads / writes the digital data by electromagnetically coupling with a card having a memory for recording digital data. Receiving specific information specific to the card by receiving an optical signal, transmitting control information instructing reading or writing of the digital data with respect to the card by transmitting an optical signal, and performing electromagnetic coupling. Transmitting and receiving the digital data in a non-contact manner with the card to execute reading and writing of the digital data.

A reading device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a reading device, comprising: holding means for holding and holding a plurality of non-contact cards in parallel; A first electromagnetic coupling unit for transmitting data; and an optical communication unit for transmitting and receiving an optical signal to and from one of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding unit for communication. It is characterized by. Note that the parallel storage includes not only a case where the contactless cards are set and stored in a tray or a slot, but also a case where the non-contact cards are stacked and stored.

The optical communication means includes receiving means for receiving specific information unique to each of the plurality of contactless cards held by the holding means by receiving an optical signal, and transmitting means for transmitting the optical signal to the holding means. And transmitting means for sending control information for instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the plurality of contactless cards held by the communication device.

It is preferable that the control information transmitted by the transmitting means includes the specific information unique to a card which executes reading or writing of the digital data among the plurality of contactless cards.

Further, according to a non-contact card reading method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of non-contact cards are stored and held in parallel, a power is supplied to the plurality of non-contact cards by electromagnetic coupling, and a digital Performing data transmission, sending and receiving an optical signal between one of the plurality of contactless cards, and sending control information instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the plurality of contactless cards, It is characterized by the following. Here, it is desirable to transmit and receive the control information by transmitting and receiving an optical signal between the plurality of non-contact cards. For parallel storage,
This includes not only the case where the card is set and stored in a tray or a slot, but also the case where a non-contact card is stacked and stored.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a contactless card reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a contactless card reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown, the contactless card reading system includes a signal processing device 10, a plurality of contactless cards 11, a reading device 12, and a remote controller RC.

The signal processing device 10 is composed of a personal computer, an audio / visual device, etc., and performs signal processing of data read / written by the reading / writing device 12 with respect to the contactless card 11 to provide service contents such as video / audio. This is a device for performing reproduction or the like.

Hereinafter, the contactless card 11 used in the contactless card reading system will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the contactless card 11 includes an antenna coil 101, a power supply circuit 102, a data demodulator 103, a data modulator 104, a memory 105,
A control circuit 106, a first light emitting element 107, a second light emitting element 108, a first light receiving element 109, and a second light receiving element 110 are provided.

The antenna coil 101 is composed of a sheet-like thin-film coil or the like, and is used for receiving power supply and transmitting digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the reading device 12.

The power supply circuit 102 is a circuit for generating a predetermined DC voltage from the power received by the antenna coil 101 and supplying it to each part of the contactless card 11.

The data demodulator 103 includes the antenna coil 1
Numeral 01 is for demodulating the digital data from the modulated carrier wave received for transmitting the digital data, and sends the demodulated digital data to the control circuit 106.

The data modulator 104 modulates a predetermined carrier wave according to digital data received from the control circuit 106 to generate a modulated carrier wave, and supplies the generated modulated carrier wave to the antenna coil 101. Then, the digital data is transmitted to the reading device 12 or another contactless card 11.

The memory 105 is composed of a semiconductor memory chip or the like, and is for recording digital data indicating video and audio as service contents, identification information for identifying the contactless card 11, and the like. . Here, the identification information recorded by the memory 105 is information including index information indicating recording contents such as the number of tracks and the recording data amount of the non-contact card 11 in addition to the ID code unique to each non-contact card 11. .

The control circuit 106 is composed of a microprocessor or the like, and controls the operation of the contactless card 11 as a whole.

The light emitting elements 107 and 108 are composed of a light emitting diode, a semiconductor laser, and the like, and convert an electric signal received from the control circuit 106 into an optical signal.
The optical signal generated by the conversion is transmitted to the reading device 12 or another contactless card 11. Thereby, the light emitting element 107,
Reference numeral 108 enables communication by a light signal between the reading device 12 and the other contactless card 11.

The light receiving elements 109 and 110 are composed of photodiodes and the like, are for receiving optical signals and converting them into electric signals, and send the electric signals generated by the conversion to the control circuit 106.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating the arrangement of each part of the non-contact card 11 having the above configuration. FIG. 3 (a)
FIG. 3B is a front view showing an example of the arrangement of the non-contact card 11, and FIG. 3B is a rear view thereof. Here, the front and back are reversed with the short side of the non-contact card 11 as an axis.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ shown in FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating the arrangement of the antenna coil 101, the light emitting elements 107 and 108, and the light receiving elements 109 and 110 in a cross section when the non-contact card 11 is cut by the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the contactless card 1
The first light emitting element 107 and the first light receiving element 109 are
On the front of the non-contact card 11, the antenna coil 101 is disposed at a position where the long side of the non-contact card 11 is approximately bisected. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the second light emitting element 108 and the second light receiving element 110 of the non-contact card 11 divide the long side of the non-contact card 11 into approximately two on the back surface of the non-contact card 11. At a position where the antenna coil 101 is interposed. Thereby, when the front and back sides and the long side and the short side of the non-contact card 11 are stacked together, the first
The light emitting element 107 of the second contactless card 11
Of the light receiving element 110. At this time, the first light receiving element 109 faces the second light emitting element 108 of the adjacent non-contact card 11. Therefore, the contactless card 11
Are stored in parallel in the card holder 126 of the reading device 12, and the light-emitting elements 107, 108 and the light-receiving elements 109, 1
10 enables communication with an adjacent contactless card 11 by transmitting and receiving an optical signal.

When the non-contact card 11 in which the light emitting elements 107 and 108 and the light receiving elements 109 and 110 are arranged as described above is stacked upside down with the long side as an axis, the light emitting elements 107 and 108 are respectively Adjacent contactless card 1
It faces one light receiving element 109, 110. At this time, the light receiving elements 109 and 110 face the light emitting elements 107 and 108 of the adjacent non-contact card 11, respectively. Thus, even if the non-contact card 10 is stored in the card holding unit 126 of the reading device 12 with its long side being turned upside down, the light emitting elements 107 and 108 and the light receiving elements 109 and 11 can be stored.
With 0, an optical signal can be transmitted and received to and from the adjacent contactless card 11.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, a reading device 12 which supplies power by electromagnetic coupling with the contactless card 11 having the above structure and transmits digital data will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The reading device 12 includes an antenna coil 111 and a pulse generator 112, as shown in FIG.
, A power supply circuit 113, a data demodulator 114, a decoder 115, and a DAC (Digital / Analog Converter).
116 and ADC (Analog / Digital Converter) 117
, An encoder 118, a data modulator 119, a control circuit 120, a light emitting element 121, a light receiving element 122,
It has an operation key 123, a display 124, a remote control light receiving element 125, a card holder 126, a digital input terminal Di, an analog input terminal Ai, a digital output terminal Do, and an analog output terminal Ao.

The antenna coil 111 forms a magnetic field,
This is for supplying power and transmitting digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the antenna coil 101 of the non-contact card 11.

The pulse generator 112 has the antenna coil 1
This is a device for generating a pulse-like voltage for causing the contactless card 11 to supply power by forming a magnetic field in the contactless card 11.

The power supply circuit 113 is composed of a switching regulator and the like, and is a power supply circuit that regulates a voltage for supplying power taken from outside such as a commercial power supply to each part.

The data demodulator 114 has the antenna coil 1
Numeral 11 is for demodulating digital data from the modulated carrier wave received for transmitting the digital data, and sends the demodulated digital data to the decoder 115.

The decoder 115 is for decoding digital data received from the data demodulator 114, and converts the decoded digital data to SPDIF (Sony / Phi
lips Digital Interface), IEEE (Institute of E)
digital output terminal Do as a digital signal conforming to 1394 or the like.
To the signal processing device 10 or the DAC 116
Send to

The DAC 116 converts the digital data decoded by the decoder 115 into an analog signal, and outputs the analog signal generated by the conversion to the signal processing device 10 from the analog output terminal Ao.

The ADC 117 converts an analog signal input from the signal processing device 10 through the analog input terminal Ai into digital data, and sends the digital data generated by the conversion to the encoder 118.

The encoder 118 compresses or encodes digital data input from the signal processing device 10 via the digital input terminal Di or digital data received from the ADC 117. To the data modulator 119.

The data modulator 119 is composed of an oscillating circuit, a mixer, and the like, and modulates a carrier with digital data received from the encoder 118.
To transmit digital data.

The control circuit 120 is composed of a microprocessor or the like, and controls the operation of the reading apparatus 12 as a whole.

The light emitting element 121 is composed of a light emitting diode, a semiconductor laser, and the like, and converts an electric signal received from the control circuit 120 into an optical signal. Send. Here, when the card holder 126 stores and holds the non-contact card 11, the light-emitting element 121 is installed at a position where a light signal can be transmitted facing the light receiving element 109 or 110 of the non-contact card 11.

The light receiving element 122 is constituted by a photodiode or the like, and is for converting an optical signal received from the non-contact card 11 into an electric signal, and sends the electric signal generated by the conversion to the control circuit 120. Here, the light receiving element 1
Reference numeral 22 is provided at a position where the card holder 126 can receive an optical signal in opposition to the light emitting element 107 or 108 of the non-contact card 11 when the non-contact card 11 is stored and held.

The operation keys 123 are composed of a keypad or the like, and are a key input unit for a user to input a command for instructing the reading device 12 to operate.

The display 124 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal).
Display) and the like, for displaying predetermined information such as the number of tracks of the non-contact card 11 and the recording data amount on the screen in accordance with an instruction from the control circuit 120.

The remote control light receiving element 125 includes a remote control RC
For converting the electric signal generated by the conversion into an electric signal.
Send to 20.

The card holder 126 is for holding a plurality of non-contact cards 11 in parallel and holding them.
And the slot SL illustrated in FIG.
And to enable reading and writing of data while holding the non-contact card 11. Here, since the non-contact card 11 can transmit and receive an optical signal even when the non-contact card 11 is stacked upside down, the card holding unit 126 stacks the non-contact card 11 as illustrated in FIG. It may be a holder HO that stores it. By providing such a holder HO, the handling of the non-contact card 11 is simplified, and the user's convenience is good.

The operation of the contactless card reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In this non-contact card reading system, the reading device 12 stores a plurality of non-contact cards 11 in parallel, transmits and reads digital data by electromagnetic coupling while controlling reading and writing operations of the non-contact cards 11 by optical signals, and executes reading and writing. Thus, the system enables reading and writing of digital data from and to a plurality of contactless cards 11. The non-contact card reading system is a device that can easily read and write a large amount of digital data by transmitting control information and the like for controlling the reading and writing operation of the non-contact card 11 by an optical signal.

The contactless card 11 has a unique ID code assigned to each card and is recorded in the memory 105.

In the following, as shown in FIG.
The non-contact cards 11a and 11b are
The following description is based on the setting of In addition, in the following, a code indicating each part of the non-contact card 11a is appended with a suffix a after a code indicating each part of the non-contact card 11, and a code indicating each part of the non-contact card 11b is Contact Card 1
A subscript b is added after the reference numeral indicating each part of No. 1 to distinguish each part of the non-contact cards 11a and 11b.

The non-contact card 11a includes a card holder 12
6, the second light receiving element 110a
Faces the light emitting element 121 of the reading device 12, and the second light emitting element 108a faces the light receiving element 122 of the reading device 12. Also, the first light emitting element 107 of the non-contact card 11a
a faces the second light receiving element 110b of the non-contact card 11b and the first light receiving element 109a of the non-contact card 11a.
Faces the second light emitting element 108b of the non-contact card 11b. At this time, the contactless cards 11a, 11b
May be set on the card holder 126 with the long side as an axis.

The power supply circuit 113 of the reading device 12 supplies power to each part of the reading device 12 and
The pulse generator 112 which has been supplied with the electric power from 3 generates a pulsed voltage and supplies it to the antenna coil 111. The antenna coil 111 forms a magnetic field by the voltage received from the pulse generator 112, and
Power is supplied by electromagnetic coupling with a and 11b. When power is supplied to the contactless cards 11a and 11b in this manner, the control circuit 120 transmits an optical signal from the light emitting element 121 and sends a signal for requesting reading of the identification information to the contactless card 11a.

The antenna coils 101a and 101b of the contactless cards 11a and 11b are supplied with power by the magnetic field formed by the antenna coil 111 of the reading device 12.
The antenna coils 101a and 101b send the supplied power to the power supply circuits 102a and 102b, respectively. The power supply circuits 102a and 102b each include an antenna coil 10
A predetermined DC voltage is generated by the electric power received from 1a, 101b and supplied to each part of the contactless cards 11a, 11b.

Thereafter, the second light receiving element 110a of the non-contact card 11a receives an optical signal from the light emitting element 121 of the reading device 12, converts it into an electric signal, and sends it to the control circuit 106a.

Control circuit 106a of contactless card 11a
Since the electric signal received from the second light receiving element 110a is a signal for requesting the reading of the identification information, the second light emitting element 108a
The identification information recorded by a is read by the light receiving element 122 of the reading device 12.
Send to The identification information includes, in addition to the ID code unique to the non-contact card 11a, index information indicating the recorded contents of the non-contact card 11a, such as the number of tracks and the amount of recording data. Further, the control circuit 106a controls the first light emitting element 1
07a transmits an optical signal, and sends a signal requesting reading of identification information to the second light receiving element 110b of the non-contact card 11b.

The reading device 12 detects the optical signal received by the light receiving element 122 by the control circuit 120 and
1a is received.

Second light receiving element 11 of non-contact card 11b
0b is the first light emitting element 107a of the contactless card 11a.
The control circuit 106 converts the optical signal received from the
Send to b. The control circuit 106b of the contactless card 11b
Since the optical signal received by the second light receiving element 110b is a signal requesting the reading of the identification information, the optical signal is output to the second light emitting element 108b, and the identification information recorded by the memory 105b is transferred to the contactless card. 11a to the first light receiving element 109a. This identification information is stored in the contactless card 11b.
In addition to the ID code unique to the non-contact card 11b, index information indicating the recorded contents such as the number of tracks and the recorded data amount of the non-contact card 11b is included.

Here, the control circuit 1 of the contactless card 11b
06b controls the first light emitting element 107b to transmit an optical signal requesting reading of identification information. But,
As shown in FIG. 9, there is no other non-contact card 11 above the non-contact card 11b, and the first light receiving element 109b
Does not receive an optical signal in response to a signal requesting reading of identification information. Therefore, after transmitting the identification information of the non-contact card 11b, the control circuit 106b of the non-contact card 11b causes the second light emitting element 108b to output an optical signal indicating that the reading of the identification information has been completed. This notifies the reading device 12 that the reading of the identification data has been completed, and that the reading and writing of the digital data has become possible.

First light receiving element 10 of non-contact card 11a
9a is the second light emitting element 108b of the contactless card 11b.
The control circuit 106 converts the optical signal received from the
Send to a. The control circuit 106a of the contactless card 11a
Since the optical signal received by the first light receiving element 109a indicates the identification information of the contactless card 11b, the optical signal is output to the second light emitting element 108a, and the reading device 12
The identification information of the non-contact card 11b is sent to the light receiving element 122 of.

The reading device 12 detects the optical signal received by the light receiving element 122 by the control circuit 120 and
1b is received.

As a result, the control circuit 120 can acquire the identification information of the contactless cards 11a and 11b, and can instruct the contactless cards 11a and 11b to read and write digital data. The control circuit 120 causes the display 124 to display index information such as the number of tracks and the amount of recorded data of the non-contact cards 11a and 11b.

Thereafter, the user operates the operation keys 123 or the remote controller RC to instruct reading and writing of digital data on the contactless cards 11a and 11b. The control circuit 120 includes the operation key 123 or the remote control light-receiving element 12.
In response to the signal from 5, the controller starts reading and writing data to and from the contactless cards 11a and 11b.

For example, when the user instructs the non-contact card 11b to write digital data, the control circuit 1
Reference numeral 20 designates the contactless card 11b in which data is to be written, based on the ID code of each contactless card 11a, 11b indicated in the identification information received from the contactless cards 11a, 11b.

The control circuit 120 controls the light emitting element 121 to transmit an optical signal in order to write data to the non-contact card 11b, and the second light receiving element 1 of the non-contact card 11a
10a, a control data block CB as shown in FIG.
Send. As shown in FIG. 10, the control data block CB
Is an ID data frame DF1 indicating the ID code of the contactless card 11b, a request data frame DF2 indicating a request to write data to the contactless card 11b, and a data writing position (address number, track number, etc. of the memory 105b). And a position data frame DF3.

Second light receiving element 11 of non-contact card 11a
0a receives an optical signal from the light emitting element 121, converts it into an electric signal, and sends it to the control circuit 106a. Control circuit 106a
Receives the control data block CB transmitted by the optical signal received by the second light receiving element 110a, and reads that the ID data frame DF1 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11b. Since the ID data frame DF1 indicates the ID code of the non-contact card 11b, the control circuit 106a controls the first light emitting element 107a and transmits the control data block CB without causing the data demodulator 103a to demodulate. To transmit an optical signal for the transmission. First
The light emitting element 107a converts the electric signal received from the control circuit 106a into an optical signal and outputs the second signal of the non-contact card 11b.
To the light receiving element 110b.

Second light receiving element 11 of non-contact card 11b
Ob receives an optical signal from the first light emitting element 107a, converts it into an electric signal, and sends it to the control circuit 106b. The control circuit 106b receives the control data block CB transmitted by the optical signal received by the second light receiving element 110b,
It is read that the D data frame DF1 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11b. The control circuit 106b has an ID
Since the data frame DF1 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11b, the request data frame DF2 is read to determine whether the request is a write request or a read request.

Since the request data frame DF2 indicates a write request, the control circuit 106b reads the recording position (track number, address number, etc.) indicated by the position data frame DF3, and writes the corresponding recording position in the memory 105b. It is determined whether or not it is possible. Then, the control circuit 106b controls the second light emitting element 108b to transmit an optical signal, and sends response data indicating whether writing of digital data to the memory 105b is possible to the first light receiving element of the non-contact card 11a. The signal is transmitted to the element 109a.

Control circuit 106a of contactless card 11a
Controls the second light emitting element 108a to transmit an optical signal similar to the optical signal received by the first light receiving element 109a to the light receiving element 122 of the reading device 12.

The control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 reads the response data transmitted by the optical signal received by the light receiving element 122 and determines whether digital data can be written to the non-contact card 11b.

When the control circuit 120 determines that the response data indicates that digital data cannot be written to the contactless card 11b, the display circuit 124
To display a message such as "Write is prohibited"
Warn the user.

On the other hand, when the control circuit 120 determines that the response data indicates that digital data can be written to the non-contact card 11b, the control circuit 120 controls the encoder 118 to write the digital data to the non-contact card 11b. Create digital data.

At this time, the encoder 118 creates digital data to be written to the non-contact card 11b.
A signal sent from the signal processing device 10 is taken in via the digital input terminal Di or the analog input terminal Ai.
Here, the analog signal taken in from the analog input terminal Ai is sampled by the ADC 117 and converted into a digital signal, and then sent to the encoder 118.

The encoder 118 executes processing such as compression and encoding of digital data, creates digital data for writing, and sends the created digital data to the data modulator 119. The data modulator 119 modulates a carrier according to the digital data received from the encoder 118 to generate a modulated carrier, and generates a modulated carrier.
Is supplied to the antenna coil 111 while being superimposed on the output voltage of the digital signal, thereby transmitting digital data.

The control circuit 120 inserts a signal indicating that transmission of digital data for writing is started immediately before the encoder 118 starts supplying a modulated carrier to the antenna coil 111 and supplies the signal to the antenna coil 111. I do.

The antenna coil 111 is connected to the pulse generator 1
12 and generates a magnetic field corresponding to the voltage received from the data modulator 119, transmits a modulated carrier to the non-contact card 11b, and transmits digital data.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
Controls the data demodulator 103b to demodulate digital data from the modulated carrier received by the antenna coil 101b, detects a signal indicating that transmission is started, and starts writing to the memory 105b.

Thereafter, the reading device 12 and the non-contact card 11
b is the antenna coil 111 and the antenna coil 101b
The digital data is transmitted by transmitting and receiving the modulated carrier to and from the memory 105b.
At this time, the control circuit 106b controls the second light emitting element 108b
, An optical signal for transmitting response data indicating the completion of writing may be appropriately transmitted, and the writing status of digital data to the memory 105b may be notified to the reading device 12 via the contactless card 11a. Thus, the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 can determine whether a large amount of digital data has been transmitted to the contactless card 11b without any trouble, and can appropriately write the large amount of data.

When the transmission of digital data to the contactless card 11b is completed, the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 sends a signal indicating the end of writing to the antenna coil 111.
To supply.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
Detects that the antenna coil 101b has received the signal indicating the end of the writing, and ends the writing of the digital data to the memory 105b.

As described above, this non-contact card reading system transmits and receives optical signals in addition to transmitting digital data by electromagnetic coupling between the reading device 12 and the non-contact card 11 to read and write the non-contact card 11. Can be controlled. Thereby, the reading device 12 and the non-contact card 1
Since the data transmitted by electromagnetic coupling with 1 is substantially only digital data related to reading and writing, a large amount of data can be easily transmitted and read / written to / from the contactless card 11. Also, the reading device 12 can acquire the identification information of the contactless card 11 by an optical signal and transmit a control data block CB specifying the contactless card 11 for reading and writing data to the contactless card 11 by an optical signal. it can. Thus, the reading device 12 can easily read and write data by storing a plurality of non-contact cards 11 in parallel.

Here, when writing the same digital data to a plurality of non-contact cards 11, the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 receives the identification information from the non-contact cards 11, and then, as shown in FIG. The optical signal for continuously transmitting the control data blocks CB1 and CB2 is
21 may be transmitted.

For example, the contactless card 11a shown in FIG.
When writing the same digital data to 11b, ID
The data frame DF11 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11a, and the ID data frame DF21 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11b. The request data frames DF12 and DF22 both indicate a write request, and the position data frames DF13 and DF23 indicate recording positions (track numbers, address numbers, etc.) according to the recording contents of the non-contact cards 11a and 11b, respectively.

The control circuit 120 controls the light emitting element 121 to transmit an optical signal for transmitting such control data blocks CB1 and CB2, and to control the contactless cards 11a and 11b.
And response data indicating whether or not writing is possible. When the control circuit 120 receives the response data indicating that writing is possible, the non-contact card 11
By transmitting the digital data in the same manner as when writing to b, the same digital data can be written to the contactless cards 11a and 11b.

Further, this contactless card reading system is
Digital data can be transmitted and received between a plurality of contactless cards 11 to read and write. Hereinafter, as a specific example, an operation when the digital data recorded by the contactless card 11b shown in FIG. 9 is copied to the contactless card 11a and the service content is reproduced by the signal processing device 10 will be described.

In this case, the control circuit 120 receives the identification information of the contactless cards 11a and 11b,
1 to transmit an optical signal transmitting control data blocks CB1 and CB2 as illustrated in FIG.

Here, the ID data frame DF11 provided in the control data block CB1 indicates the ID code of the contactless card 11a, and the ID data frame DF21 provided in the control data block CB2 is the I / O card of the contactless card 11b.
Shows the D code. The request data frame DF12 indicates a write request, and the request data frame DF22 indicates a read request. Further, the position data frame DF1
3 and DF23 are contactless cards 11a and 11b, respectively.
Indicates the recording position (track number, address number, etc.) according to the recorded contents of the above. As a result, the reading device 12 instructs the non-contact card 11b to read digital data recorded in the memory 105b.
A can be instructed to write the digital data read from the contactless card 11b to the memory 105a.

The control data blocks CB1, C
After transmitting B2 to the contactless cards 11a and 11b by an optical signal, the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 causes the antenna coil 111 to transmit a signal instructing the start of the reading / writing operation.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
The data demodulator 103b demodulates digital data from the modulated carrier received by the antenna coil 101b, detects a signal instructing the start of read / write operation, starts reading digital data from the memory 105b, Send to 104b.

The data modulator 104b includes a control circuit 106
b) modulates a carrier with the digital data received from b to generate a modulated carrier, and supplies the generated modulated carrier to the antenna coil 101b to be transmitted to the contactless card 11a and the reading device 12, thereby transmitting digital data. Let it.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
Controls the data demodulator 103b, demodulates digital data from the modulated carrier received by the antenna coil 101b, detects a signal instructing the start of the read / write operation, and starts writing to the memory 105a.

Further, the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12
A signal for instructing the start of the read / write operation is transmitted to the antenna coil 111, and the decoder 115 is controlled to
The signal processing device 10 starts creating a signal for transmitting the service content to be reproduced.

The decoder 115 sends the antenna coil 11 to the data demodulator 114 in accordance with an instruction from the control circuit 120.
1 demodulates digital data from the received modulated carrier.

The decoder 115 receives the digital data demodulated by the data demodulator 114, executes processes such as decoding and decompression, and outputs the digital data from the digital output terminal Do to the signal processing device 10, or
After converting the digital data into an analog signal at 116, the digital data is output from the analog output terminal Ao to the signal processing device 10. As a result, the signal processing device 10
According to the digital data or analog signal received from the contactless card 11b, the contactless card 11b can reproduce service contents such as video and audio.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
Controls the data modulator 104b to generate a modulated carrier wave for transmitting a signal indicating that the data reading has been completed when the reading of the digital data from the memory 105b is completed. The data modulator 104b supplies the generated modulated carrier to the antenna coil 101b and transmits it to the antenna coil 111 of the reading device 12.

When the control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 receives a signal indicating that data reading has been completed from the antenna coil 111, the control circuit 120 causes the antenna coil 111 to transmit a signal indicating that data writing is completed.

Control circuit 106b of contactless card 11b
Controls the data demodulator 103b to demodulate digital data from the modulated carrier received by the antenna coil 101b, and detects a signal indicating that writing is completed,
The writing to the memory 105a ends.

As described above, in the contactless card reading system, when digital data is transmitted and received by electromagnetic coupling between the reading device 12 and the contactless card 11, the operation of the plurality of contactless cards 11 is controlled by optical signals. The read / write of digital data can be executed by designating the non-contact card 11 which transmits and receives the control information to be executed. The light emitting elements 107 and 108 and the light receiving element 10
Reference numerals 9 and 110 are arranged at positions where optical signals can be transmitted and received when a plurality of contactless cards 11 are stacked. This makes it possible to easily read and write data from and to the plurality of contactless cards 11. That is, handling of the non-contact card 11 is simplified. In addition, a large amount of data can be easily read from and written to the non-contact card 11.

Further, since data is exchanged between the non-contact cards 11 and between the non-contact card 11 and the reading device 12 in a non-contact manner, aging of the contacts as in the case of using a contact-type connector is performed. No failure occurs due to

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, reading and writing of digital data are performed on two non-contact cards 11a and 11b. However, digital data can be read and written on more non-contact cards 11. . In this case,
The control circuit 120 of the reading device 12 receives the identification information from the plurality of contactless cards 11, creates a control data block CB corresponding to each contactless card 11, transmits the control data block CB by an optical signal transmitted by the light emitting element 121, and By defining the operation of the contactless card 11, digital data can be read and written to more contactless cards 11.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reading device 12
The control circuit 120 transmits data instructing the start of the read / write operation from the antenna coil 111 to the non-contact card 11, but the present invention is not limited thereto. May be transmitted.

Further, the light emitting element 10 of the contactless card 11
The installation positions of 7, 108 and the light receiving elements 109, 110 are as follows.
When the non-contact cards 11 are stacked, any position where an optical signal can be transmitted and received between adjacent non-contact cards 11 may be used.

Also, the light emitting elements 107, 108 and 121
Has been described as transmitting an optical signal, but an electromagnetic signal such as an infrared signal may be transmitted.

[0110]

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to transmitting data by electromagnetic coupling between a reading device and a non-contact card, an optical signal is transmitted and received to perform a read / write operation of the non-contact card. Control information to be controlled can be transmitted. Thus, a large amount of digital data can be easily read and written. In the non-contact card, a portion that transmits and receives an optical signal is arranged at a position where an optical signal can be transmitted and received between adjacent non-contact cards when a plurality of non-contact cards are stacked, Digital data is transmitted by electromagnetic coupling while reading / writing operation of the card is controlled, and reading / writing is executed. This makes it possible to easily read and write digital data from and to a plurality of contactless cards.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a contactless card reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a contactless card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of each part of the non-contact card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section of the non-contact card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a reading device in the contactless card reading system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a card holder.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a card holder.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a holder.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific example for explaining the operation of the contactless card reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a control data block.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a control data block.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 signal processing device 11 non-contact card 12 reading device 101, 101a, 101b, 111 antenna coil 102, 102a, 102b power supply circuit 103, 103a, 103b, 114 data demodulator 104, 104a, 104b, 119 data modulator 105, 105a , 105b Memory 106, 106a, 106b, 120 Control Circuit 107, 107a, 107b, 108, 108a, 10
8b, 121 Light emitting element 109, 109a, 109b, 110, 110a, 11
0b, 122 Light receiving element 112 Pulse generator 113 Power supply circuit 115 Decoder 116 DAC 117 ADC 118 Encoder 123 Operation key 124 Display 125 Remote control light receiving element RC Remote control Ai Analog input terminal Ao Analog output terminal Di Digital input terminal Do Digital output terminal HO Holder TR Tray SL Slot

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A contactless card reading system comprising: a plurality of contactless cards for recording digital data; and a reading device for transmitting and reading and writing the digital data by electromagnetic coupling of the plurality of contactless cards. The reading device supplies power and transmits the digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the plurality of contactless cards, and reads and / or writes the digital data from and to the plurality of contactless cards by an optical signal. The plurality of contactless cards receive the control information by an optical signal, transmit an optical signal for transmitting the control information to another contactless card, and transmit the control information according to the control information. Reading or writing digital data, and transmitting the digital data by electromagnetic coupling. Non-contact card reading system that. 2. A contactless card reading and reading system comprising: a plurality of contactless cards for recording digital data; and a reading device for transmitting and reading and writing the digital data by electromagnetic coupling of the plurality of contactless cards. The reading device includes: a holding unit that stores and holds the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel; and supplies power and transmits the digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding unit. A first electromagnetic coupling unit that performs transmission; and a first optical communication unit that transmits and receives an optical signal to and from one of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding unit; A contact card, a recording unit that records the digital data, and a power unit that receives power by electromagnetic coupling with the reading device and transmits the digital data. An electromagnetic coupling unit, a second optical communication unit for transmitting and receiving an optical signal, and reading and writing the digital data with respect to the recording unit according to the optical signal received by the second optical communication unit. An operation control unit that causes the electromagnetic coupling unit to transmit the digital data, wherein the second optical communication unit is configured such that when the holding unit stores the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, the second optical communication unit includes the second non-contact card. A non-contact card reading system, wherein the non-contact card reading system is installed at a position where an optical signal can be transmitted and received between the optical communication unit and the first optical communication unit of the reading device. 3. The first optical communication means includes: first reception means for receiving specific information unique to each of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding means by receiving an optical signal; And first transmission means for transmitting control information for instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the plurality of contactless cards held by the holding means, by transmitting the second optical communication means. When the holding unit stores the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, the specific information is transmitted by transmitting an optical signal to the second optical communication unit or the first receiving unit included in an adjacent non-contact card. A second and a third transmitting means for transmitting a plurality of non-contact cards in parallel when the holding means stores the plurality of non-contact cards in parallel; Contactless card reading system of claim 2, wherein and a second and third receiving means receives the identification information, and wherein the by receiving an optical signal from signal means. 4. The non-contact card, wherein the second transmitting means and the second receiving means are provided on the same surface of the plurality of non-contact cards, and wherein the third transmitting means and the third receiving means comprise 2
The contactless card reading system according to claim 3, wherein the contactless card reading system is installed on a rear surface of a surface on which the transmitting unit and the second receiving unit are installed. 5. The operation control means, wherein the control information sent by the first transmission means includes the specific information unique to a card which reads or writes the digital data among the plurality of contactless cards. Determines whether or not the control information received by the second optical communication means includes the specific information unique to the contactless card. The contactless card reading system according to claim 3, wherein reading or writing of digital data is performed. 6. A non-contact card capable of transmitting and reading digital data by contactlessly transmitting and reading digital data, comprising: electromagnetic coupling means for receiving power supplied by electromagnetic coupling with a reading device and transmitting the digital data; Communication means for transmitting and receiving optical signals to and from the recording means for recording data, transmitting specific information specific to the card to the reading device, and receiving control information for instructing the recording means to read or write the digital data; Means for transmitting the digital data to the electromagnetic coupling means in accordance with the control information received by the optical communication means, and an operation control means for reading or writing the digital data with respect to the recording means. A non-contact card, characterized in that: 7. The optical communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the plurality of non-contact cards are stacked, the optical communication device is disposed at a position facing the optical communication device provided in an adjacent non-contact card. 7. The contactless card according to 6. 8. The optical communication unit includes: a first transmitting unit that transmits an optical signal; and a back surface of a surface on which the first transmitting unit is installed,
A first receiving unit that receives an optical signal; a second transmitting unit that is installed on the same surface as the first receiving unit and that transmits an optical signal; and a back surface on which the second transmitting unit is installed. Installed in
A second receiving unit for receiving an optical signal, wherein the first and second transmitting units and the first and second receiving units are installed at positions where a long side of the card is approximately bisected. The non-contact card according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: 9. A reading device for transmitting said digital data and reading / writing said memory by electromagnetic coupling with a card having a memory for recording digital data, wherein said reading device receives an optical signal. Receiving specific information specific to the card, transmitting control information instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the card by transmitting an optical signal, and transmitting the digital data in a non-contact manner with the card by electromagnetic coupling And reading and writing the digital data. 10. A holding means for storing and holding a plurality of non-contact cards in parallel, a first electromagnetic coupling means for supplying power and transmitting digital data by electromagnetic coupling with the plurality of non-contact cards, An optical communication unit for transmitting and receiving an optical signal to and from one of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding unit to perform communication. 11. An optical communication unit comprising: a receiving unit for receiving specific information specific to each of the plurality of non-contact cards held by the holding unit by receiving an optical signal; The reading device according to claim 10, further comprising: transmission means for transmitting control information for instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the plurality of contactless cards held by the holding means. 12. The control information transmitted by the transmitting means includes the specific information unique to a card which executes reading or writing of the digital data among the plurality of contactless cards. Item 12. A reading device according to Item 11. 13. A plurality of non-contact cards are stored and held in parallel, and power is supplied to said plurality of non-contact cards by electromagnetic coupling and digital data is transmitted. A control signal for instructing reading or writing of the digital data to the plurality of contactless cards by transmitting and receiving optical signals to and from the plurality of contactless cards. 14. The non-contact card reading method according to claim 13, wherein the control information is transmitted and received by transmitting and receiving an optical signal between the plurality of non-contact cards.