JP2001060902A - Non-contact ic card device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a non-contact IC card which pays attention to communication speed that becomes more important in its future applications and realizes higher speed communication between R/W and an IC card. SOLUTION: The transmission line 12 of R/W 1 and the transmission line of an IC card 2 are closely arranged and are connected. A stationary signal is transmitted from an R/W 1-side and a connection element is set to a resonance state. In an IC card 2-side, a switch changing over a resonance characteristic is installed and the R/W-1 side detects the change of the resonance characteristic. Thus, data of the IC card 2 are received. Then, the connection element for power supply on the IC card 2-side is installed, the battery of the IC card 2 is eliminated and circuit constitution can be simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card device, and particularly to a reader / writer (hereinafter abbreviated as R / W).
And a non-contact type IC card device having no electrical contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, IC card devices capable of reading and writing data without contact with R / W have become widespread. There are several types of these non-contact IC card devices, but a device using an AC magnetic field and a device using a microwave are typical. FIG. 10A shows an electromagnetic induction type device, and FIG. 10B shows a microwave type device. FIG. 10 (a) and (b)
, 101 is an R / W, 102 is an IC card, 10
Reference numeral 3 denotes an R / W antenna coil, 104 denotes a microwave antenna, 105 denotes an oscillation circuit, 106 denotes a modulation circuit, 107 denotes a demodulation circuit, 110 denotes an antenna coil of an IC card, 111 denotes a microwave antenna, and 112 denotes a power supply circuit. ,
113 is a modulation circuit, 114 is a demodulation circuit, 115 is a control circuit, 116 is a memory, 117 is a battery, 11
8 is an induction electromagnetic field created by the antenna coil, 119
Is a microwave radiated from the microwave antenna.

In these non-contact IC card devices, R / W
R / W 10 is used for communication from 101 to the IC card 102.
1 is transmitted by directly modulating the carrier. On the other hand, the communication from the IC card 102 to the R / W 101 uses a coil 1 of the IC card 102 by a carrier in the case of the electromagnetic induction type.
The communication is carried with information by changing the amount of current induced in 10 and changing the magnetic field strength of the carrier. In the case of the microwave type, the reflection coefficient of the antenna inside the IC card 102 is changed, whereby the amount of re-radiated power from the IC card 2 is changed, and the received power of the carrier radiated by the R / W 101 is changed. The communication is carried by carrying information by giving a change to the electric field strength of the device. As described above, in the non-contact IC card device, the IC card 102 does not have a function of transmitting a signal by itself, and the IC card 102 is characterized by putting information on a carrier generated by the R / W 101 and performing communication. In particular, in an electromagnetic induction type device using an AC magnetic field, power required for the operation of the IC card 102 can be supplied from the R / W, and a device without a battery mounted on the IC card can be relatively easily configured, and its spread is remarkable. . Currently, international standardization work is underway. Non-contact IC card devices are often used in open spaces such as entry / exit management where a certain communication distance is required. However, as the distance increases, the antenna input power naturally increases. R / W
The carrier radiated from 101 is regulated by the Radio Law or the like. As described above, in both the microwave type and the electromagnetic induction type, since the IC card 102 transmits information using the carrier transmitted by the R / W 101, the carrier transmitted by the R / W 101 is regulated by the Radio Law. If you are restricted by
Not only the communication distance between the R / W 101 and the IC card 102 is shortened, but also the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N) cannot be increased, so that the communication speed is limited. In addition, in order to supply energy to an IC card, an electromagnetic induction type device uses a magnetic field in a traveling direction that rapidly attenuates with respect to a distance, and as a result, a relatively low frequency band such as 125 kHz or 13.56 MHz is used. Communication speed has been reduced as a result.

[0004] As non-contact IC card devices have become widespread, the methods of using the devices have been diversified, and the required technologies have also been diversified. For example, in the above-mentioned entry / exit, a considerable communication distance is required, but the information to be sent is often sufficient only with the ID code, and when linked with opening and closing of doors and gates, the communication speed is so high. Does not require. However, high-speed processing including communication speed is important for application to railway ticket gates and the like.
On the other hand, when the present invention is applied to electronic money or the like which is currently considered, a communication with higher security is required while a long communication distance is not required. When high-security encryption processing is required, communication at a certain high speed is required. Furthermore, when using the IC card to store information such as images having a large memory capacity, a higher communication speed is required.

As described above, as the application range of the IC card device is expanded, it is desired to improve the communication speed and the distance between the IC card 102 and the R / W 101, and the current ID card device cannot necessarily cope with the problem. It's gone. Furthermore, there has been an idea to configure a small terminal that can be easily customized at a hardware level by applying the communication technology of an IC card (Japanese Patent Application No. 11-024332).
There is a need for a non-contact IC card device that realizes higher-speed communication.

[0006]

As described above,
While non-power-supply type IC cards are becoming more widespread, limitations in performance, such as communication distance and communication speed, have been pointed out with the expansion of applications. That is, as described above, in the conventional electromagnetic induction type IC card device, the communication distance was about several cm to 10 cm due to restrictions of the Radio Law, and the communication speed was about several hundred kbps. Further, in the case of the microwave type, the communication distance can be as long as about 1 to 3 m, but there is little difference from the case of the electromagnetic induction due to the problem of the communication system in terms of the communication speed.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a non-contact type IC card device which focuses on a communication speed which becomes more important in future applications and enables higher-speed communication between the R / W and the IC card. And

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses the following means.

In claim 1, an R / R having a circuit for transmitting and receiving signals for transmitting and receiving signals via a transmission line is provided.
W, an electrical contact including a coupling element that resonates at a specific frequency, a circuit that receives a signal from the R / W superimposed on the resonance frequency of the coupling element, and a switching element that switches resonance characteristics of the coupling element Non-contact type I without
A non-contact IC card device is constituted by a C card and a coupler is constituted by a coupling element of the R / W transmission line and the IC card.

According to a second aspect, in the IC card device of the first aspect, a signal modulated from R / W is transmitted, and
By receiving this signal through the coupling element of the C card, information is transmitted from the R / W to the IC card, and
R / W transmits an unmodulated signal to the transmission line, and
The C card changes the resonance characteristic of the coupling element by a built-in switching element, detects a change in the signal strength received by the R / W receiving circuit, and transmits information from the IC card to the R / W. It specifies a non-contact IC card device.

A third aspect of the present invention is the non-contact IC card device according to the first or second aspect.
/ W specifies a non-contact IC card device in which the transmission line is formed using any one of a microstrip line, a coplanar line, a slot line, a coplanar strip line, and a parallel line.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the non-contact IC card devices according to the first to third aspects, the first coupling element of the IC card is different from the first coupling element. It specifies the specifications of an IC card having two sets of coupling elements with two coupling elements.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the contactless IC card device, power required for operating the IC card is supplied from a transmission line on the R / W side via a coupling element of the IC card. Stipulates the use of an IC card that can be used.

[0013]

By using an ultra-high-frequency and wide-band transmission line as a transmission medium between the R / W and the IC card, it is possible to eliminate restrictions on the communication system and to enable high-speed communication.
Here, the unmodulated signal sent from the R / W side is converted to an IC
By changing the resonance state of the coupling element on the card side, I
Modulates the amplitude of the re-radiated radio wave from the C card,
Information on the C card can be sent. In addition, since electromagnetic coupling is used, energy can be supplied from the R / W to the IC card, thereby realizing a non-contact IC card device that operates without a battery and has no electrical contact. .

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention in which a linear microstrip line is used as an R / W transmission line and a rectangular element is used as a coupling element of an IC card. Show.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an R / W, 2 is an IC card, 3 is a controller computer, and 11 is an R / W1.
, R / W1 transmission line, 13 R / W1
A transmission circuit section of W1, 14 is a reception circuit section of R / W1, 17
Is the ground plane of the transmission line of R / W1, 21 is the IC
A circuit section of the card 2, a control circuit section 22 of the IC card 2,
24 is a receiving circuit section of the IC card 2, 26 is an IC card 2
Reference numeral 27 denotes a reflection end for a coupling element, 27 denotes a switching circuit of the IC card, 30 denotes a battery, and 40 denotes a coupling element of the IC card.

In the present embodiment, R / W1 is
An electric signal including information to be sent to the C card 2 is transmitted to the transmission line 12 formed of a microstrip line, and the electric signal including the information is transmitted to the receiving circuit of the IC card 2 via the coupling element 40 of the IC card 2. Sent to the unit 24, R / W
Communication from 1 to the IC card 2 is completed. On the other hand, in the communication from the card 2 to the R / W1, the R / W1 continues to send an electric signal of a constant amplitude containing no information to the transmission line 12,
With the coupling element 40 on the IC card 2 side in a resonance state,
On the IC card 2 side, the switching circuit 27 switches one end of the coupling element 40 to the reception circuit 24 or the reflection end 26 side, thereby giving a change to the intensity of the electric signal reaching the reception circuit 14 of the R / W1 and transmitting information to the R / W1. Tell W1. In this case, since the transmission circuit 12 of the R / W 1 and the coupling element 40 of the IC card 2 are electromagnetically coupled to each other at a short distance to form a coupler, there is no influence from the communication system or the like. Since signals can be directly transmitted and received, high-speed communication can be performed by using electromagnetic waves in a high frequency range.

As for the modulation / demodulation method, in addition to a method of directly changing the intensity of an electric signal in accordance with information transmitted by the IC card 2 and carrying the information, a change in the signal intensity is periodically generated. , R / W1 generates an electric signal that does not include information serving as transmission data, that is, a second wave (subcarrier) having a frequency lower than the frequency serving as a carrier, and modulates the frequency and phase of the subcarrier. Communication from the IC card 2 to the R / W 1 can be performed by a method of performing modulation depending on the presence or absence of a carrier. Also, R / W1 and IC
The frequency of an electric signal used for communication between the cards 2 is not limited as long as the electric signal passes through the transmission line 12 and generates electromagnetic coupling with the coupling element 40 of the IC card 1. In the present embodiment, the R / W 1 is configured to transmit an electric signal from one end of the microstrip transmission line 12 and receive the electric signal at the other end.

FIG. 2 shows one end of the transmission line 12 connected to the non-reflection end 15.
An example in which the transmission / reception circuit 16 is configured at the other end will be described. In FIG. 2, 1 is an R / W, 2 is an IC card, 11 is a control circuit section of the R / W1, 12 is a transmission line of the R / W1, 15 is a non-reflection end of the transmission line, 16 is a transmission / reception circuit section, and 17 is a transmission / reception circuit section. Is the ground plane of the transmission line, 21 is the circuit section of the IC card 2, 22
Is a control circuit section, 24 is a reception circuit section, 26 is a reflection end, 27
Is a switching circuit of the IC card 2, 30 is a battery, 40
Is a coupling element of the IC card 2. Thus, R / W
There is no problem with a configuration in which one end of the transmission line 12 in 1 is the non-reflection end 15 and the transmission / reception circuit 16 is provided at the other end, and it goes without saying that communication between the R / W 1 and the IC card 2 can be performed. . Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a microstrip line (FIG. 3a) is used for the transmission line 12 of the R / W1, but a coplanar transmission line b, a coplanar strip line transmission line c shown in FIG. If the line through which the electric signal passes, such as the slot-type transmission line d and the parallel-type transmission line e, is not covered with the ground, the R / W1 transmission line 12 can be configured without any problem. In FIG. 3, 35 and 38 indicate transmission lines, 36 indicates a dielectric, and 37 indicates a ground plane serving as a ground potential. Further, the transmission line 12 is not limited to the straight line shape shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the folded transmission line (a) and the meander line (b) shown in FIG. No problem arises even with the structure formed as described above. Although FIG. 4A shows a curved U-shaped folded line, a U-shaped square shape does not pose a problem. Further, the shape of the coupling element 40 in FIG. 1 or FIG.
It goes without saying that the shape is not limited as long as a standing wave is generated by electromagnetic coupling with the transmission line 12 of the R / W1 as in the example shown in FIG. Therefore, any shape such as an elliptical shape (or a circular shape) in FIG. 5A, a square shape in FIG. 5B, and a rectangular (strip type) shape in FIG. 5C is applicable. Further, the coupling element 40 ′ of the IC card 2 has shown the structural example of the IC card 2 in which the microstrip line having the ground plane 41 includes the circuit section 21, but is configured on the IC card 2 as shown in FIG. The shapes and arrangements of the circuit unit 21 and the coupling element 42 are as follows: a circle shown in (a), an ellipse shown in (b), a square shown in (c), a rectangle (strip) shown in (d), or ( There is no problem even if it is constituted by various single strip lines having no ground plane as in the IC card side arrangement shown in e).

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
An example of communication with three IC cards having the same configuration as the first embodiment will be described. Thus, even when a plurality of IC cards 2 are present at the same time, the transmission line 12 of the R / W 1 and the IC
Unless the degree of coupling between the coupling elements of the card 2 is extremely high, it is possible to send a signal of a strength enough to establish communication to all the IC cards 2. Communication similar to that of the first embodiment becomes possible. As for the method by which the R / W 1 controls a plurality of IC cards 2, the ID of the IC card 2 is the same as the current electromagnetic induction type non-contact IC card device specified in IS014443.
A method for selecting an IC card by detecting a collision in units of bits at the time of acquiring a number, and a method of dividing a response time of the IC card into a plurality of time zones to stochastically avoid collision of data transmitted by the IC card 2 and I by the method of sorting
By identifying the C card 2 and assigning a temporary number to the multiple IC cards after identification and communicating with each IC card, the R / W 1
Can communicate with a plurality of IC cards 2. FIG. 8 shows an external view of the case where the plurality of IC cards are applied to the folded transmission line of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the IC card 2 is provided with another coupling element 40 'in addition to the coupling element 40 used for communication.
0 'via the R / W1 via the rectifier circuit unit 3
An example in which power required for the operation of the IC card 2 is supplied through the power supply circuit 2 and the power supply circuit unit 33 will be described. In this figure,
1 is R / W, 2 is an IC card, 3 is a controller, 11
Is an R / W control circuit, 12 is an R / W transmission line, 13
Is a transmission circuit section, 14 is a reception circuit section, 21 is an IC card circuit section, 22 is an IC card control circuit section, 24 is an IC card reception circuit section, 26 is a reflection end, and 27 is an IC card 2
28, a non-reflection end; 29, a ground plane of a transmission line; 32, a rectifier circuit unit; 33, a power supply circuit unit; and 40, 40 'coupling elements of an IC card.
In the present embodiment, R / R is connected via the coupling element (40 ').
The configuration is such that power is received from W1 and power required for the operation of the IC card is supplied through the rectifier circuit unit 32 and the power supply circuit unit 33. R / W1 to IC card 2, IC
The communication from the card 2 to the R / W 1 is the same as in the first embodiment. The method of selecting and controlling the plurality of IC cards 2 can be performed by the same method as that described in the second embodiment. In the present embodiment,
Similarly to the first embodiment, the transmission line 12 of the R / W1 may use each transmission line shown in FIG. 4 without any problem, and the shape of the transmission line 12 may be any of the shapes shown in FIG. There is no problem.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the R / W1 transmission line 12 and the coupling element 40 corresponding to the transmission line on the IC card 2 side are brought into close proximity to each other so that R
/ W1 and the IC card 2 are electromagnetically coupled to enable high-frequency, wideband communication. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the restriction on the communication system, and furthermore, the resonance state of the coupling element on the IC card side is switched in time series to perform amplitude modulation and R / W
By re-radiating to the side, a high communication speed is realized. Further, by providing a coupling element 40 'different from the above, a batteryless IC card capable of supplying power to the IC card from the R / W side has been realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an apparatus configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is an external view of the apparatus configuration, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a layout diagram showing a connection state between the IC card and the IC card.

FIG. 2 is an arrangement diagram in a case where one end of an R / W transmission line is a non-reflection end and a transceiver is connected to the other end.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of various transmission lines applicable to the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a microstrip line type transmission line, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a coplanar transmission line, and FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view of a coplanar stripline transmission line,
(D) is a sectional view of a slot-type transmission line, and (e) is a sectional view of a parallel-type transmission line.

4A and 4B are external views showing the shapes of other transmission lines applicable to the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is an external view of a curved folded transmission line, and FIG. 4B is an external view of a transmission line on a meander line. .

FIG. 5 is an external view showing a shape of a coupling element having a ground plane applicable to the IC card according to the present invention;
(A) is an external view in the case of an elliptical shape, (b) is an external view in the case of a square, and (c) is an external view in the case of a rectangle (strip shape).

6A and 6B are external views showing the shape of a coupling element in an IC card when a ground plane is not used; FIG. 6A is an external view of a circular coupling element; FIG. 6B is an external view of an elliptical coupling element;
(C) is an external view of a square coupling element, (d) is an external view of a rectangular (strip-shaped) coupling element, and (e) is an external view of a case where the coupling element is provided on a side surface of an IC card.

FIG. 7 shows a plurality of sheets (three sheets in the case of FIG. 1) in the apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a card layout diagram when processing the IC card of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a card layout diagram in the case of processing a plurality of (three in this case) IC cards in the folded transmission line of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a non-contact type IC card having a coupling element for power supply in addition to a coupling element for data transmission.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a conventional non-contact type IC card;
(A) is a block diagram in the case of an electromagnetic induction type, (b) is a block diagram in the case of a microwave type.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: reader / writer (R / W) 2: IC card 3: controller 11: control circuit of R / W 12: transmission line of R / W 13: transmission circuit of R / W 14: reception circuit of R / W Unit 15: Non-reflection end of transmission line 16: Transmission / reception circuit unit 17: Ground plane of R / W transmission line 21: Circuit unit of IC card 22: Control circuit unit of IC card 24: Receiving circuit unit of IC card 26: Reflecting end of IC card 27: Switching circuit of IC card 30: Battery of IC card 32: Rectifying circuit of IC card 33: Power supply circuit of IC card 35: Central conductor 36: Dielectric substrate 37: Ground plane 38: Line 39: slot 40, 40 ': coupling element of IC card having ground plane 41: ground plane of coupling element of IC card 42: ground plane Coupling element of IC card not having 101: R / W 102: IC card 103: R / W antenna coil 104: Microwave antenna 105: Oscillation circuit 106: Modulation circuit 107: Demodulation circuit 110: IC card antenna coil 111 : Microwave antenna 112: Power supply circuit 113: Modulation circuit 114: Demodulation circuit 115: Control circuit 116: Memo 117: Battery 118: Induction electromagnetic field created by antenna coil 119: Microwave radiated from microwave antenna

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01Q 1/38 G06K 19/00 K (72) Inventor Hideaki Yamamoto 2-3-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo No. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Nagai 2-3-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 5B035 AA02 BA03 BB09 CA23 5B058 CA15 KA02 KA04 YA20 5J046 AA03 AB11 PA07 5J047 AA03 AB11 FD06 5K012 AB03 AB05 AB19 AC08 AC10

Claims (5)

[Claims] A transmission line for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, and a circuit for transmitting and receiving an electromagnetic wave propagated through the transmission line.
An electrical circuit comprising: a C card reader / writer; a coupling element that resonates at a unique frequency; a circuit that receives a signal from the reader / writer superimposed on the resonance of the coupling element; and a switching element that switches resonance characteristics of the coupling element. A non-contact IC card device comprising a non-contact IC card having no contact, wherein a coupler is formed by the transmission line and the coupling element. 2. The IC card device according to claim 1, wherein the modulated signal is transmitted from the reader / writer, and the signal is received from the reader / writer to the IC card by receiving the signal via the coupling element of the IC card. While transmitting, the reader / writer transmits an unmodulated signal to the transmission line, and the IC card changes the resonance characteristic of the coupling element by the switching element, thereby receiving a signal received by the reception circuit of the reader / writer. A non-contact IC card device that detects a change in intensity and transmits information from the IC card to the reader / writer. 3. A non-contact IC according to claim 1 or 2.
In any of the card devices, the transmission line of the reader / writer may be a microstrip line, a coplanar line,
A non-contact IC card device characterized by using one of a slot line, a coplanar strip line, and a parallel line. 4. The non-contact IC card device according to claim 1, wherein the first coupling element of the IC card and a second coupling element different from the first coupling element are provided. Non-contact IC card device characterized by having. 5. The non-contact IC card device according to claim 1, wherein electric power required for operating the IC card is coupled from the transmission line of the reader / writer to the IC card. A non-contact IC card device supplied via an element.