JP2003346100A - Ic card reader/writer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an IC card reader/writer device from receiving electromagnetic waves (non-contact function) which it radiates as noises and malfunctioning its own function (non-contact function) by preventing the electromagnetic waves radiated by a reader/writer electromagnetic antenna 2 from intruding a circuit board 4 as noises when the non-contact function is used. <P>SOLUTION: An electromagnetic shield 9 by which the electromagnetic waves radiated by the reader/writer electromagnetic antenna 2 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a card electromagnetic antenna provided on an IC card are blocked from intruding the circuit for communicating with a common IC card 10 is positioned between the circuit board 4 and the reader/writer electromagnetic antenna 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an IC card reader / writer used for an IC card system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The role of cards in the information society in recent years is extremely large. The role of passbooks in financial institutions, the role of cash in the distribution process, the role of tickets in transportation, and much more. As a result, it has become a natural society to carry many cards alone.
In order to improve this state as much as possible, IC cards having a large storage capacity have been widely used.

[0003] At the same time, technology development is being pursued to improve convenience when using IC cards. One example is a non-contact IC card using electromagnetic waves. On the other hand, in terms of applications employing an IC card, there is a case where convenience at the time of use is strongly required, but there are also applications at which accuracy is required even if convenience at the time of use is sacrificed to some extent.

For example, in the case of an IC card that requires the role of a passbook in a financial institution, accuracy is strongly required even if convenience at the time of use is sacrificed to some extent. On the other hand, in the case of an IC card which is required to play the role of a ticket in transportation, convenience and speed that a user can pass through a ticket gate simply by approaching the ticket gate with a commuter pass in a case are strongly required.

As a result, a contact / non-contact common IC card (hereinafter referred to as a common IC card) having both a contact required for a contact type and an electromagnetic antenna required for a non-contact type in one IC card has recently been developed. It is starting to hit the market. An outline of a method of using the shared IC card will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of use of a conventional shared IC card. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram in a case where a shared IC card 101 communicates information with a non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106 or a contact type IC card reader / writer device 104. As shown in FIG. 4, the shared IC card 101 includes an electromagnetic antenna 102 and a contact 103. The shared IC card 101 is a shared IC card used for adapting both an application that requires strong convenience in use and an application that requires accuracy even if convenience in use is sacrificed to some extent.

The electromagnetic antenna 102 transmits and receives high-frequency electromagnetic waves to and from the non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106. Normal shared IC card 101
It is constituted by a winding loop inside. Alternatively, it may be formed on a flexible print boat using a photo-etching technique. The frequency of the electromagnetic wave is usually 1
It is set to 3.56 MHz.

[0008] Through this 13.56 MHz high frequency, information is exchanged with a non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106 having an electromagnetic antenna 107 inside. A power supply circuit (not shown) provided inside the shared IC card 101 obtains a DC power supply required internally by rectifying the high-frequency electromagnetic wave.

The contact 103 comes into contact with the contact 105 of the contact type IC card reader / writer device 104,
From the C card reader / writer device 104 to the shared IC card 1
Reference numeral 01 denotes a portion for receiving a supply of DC power required internally. Similarly, contact type IC card reader / writer device 1
It is also a part that mediates information communication between the shared IC card 101 and the shared IC card 101.

Contact type IC card reader / writer device 104
Is a part that mediates information communication between the shared IC card 101 and a higher-level device (not shown). In order to mediate communication of information of the shared IC card 101 with a higher-level device (not shown), the shared IC card 101 supplies a DC power internally required.

This contact type IC card reader / writer device 1
The information communication device 04 communicates information with the shared IC card 101 via the contact point 105, so that the accuracy of information communication is higher than that of the non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106 described later. Therefore, when the shared IC card 101 is required to serve as a passbook in a financial institution, the contact IC card reader / writer device 104 is often used.

Non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 10
Reference numeral 6 denotes a portion that mediates information communication between the shared IC card 101 and a higher-level device (not shown). In order to mediate information exchange between a higher-level device (not shown) and the shared IC card 101, the shared IC card 101 supplies a DC power required internally.

The non-contact type IC card reader / writer 106 communicates information with the shared IC card 101 via the electromagnetic antenna 107, and is therefore more convenient than the contact type IC card reader / writer 104. . Therefore, the shared IC card 101 is often used when the role of a ticket in transportation is required.

The above description is based on the shared IC card 101,
This is a description of a case where the contact type IC card reader / writer device 104 or the non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106 mediates communication with a higher-level device that handles the same type of application. That is, a shared IC
This is a description of a case where the card 101 uses only one of a contact type and a non-contact type function.

However, the applications of the IC card system are expanding in various ways at present. A shared IC having both functions of the contact type IC card reader / writer device 104 and the non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106 in the near future.
It is anticipated that the need for a card reader / writer device will arise and the need will increase. Therefore, the inventor of the present application prototyped a shared IC card reader / writer device having both functions of the contact type IC card reader / writer device 104 and the non-contact type IC card reader / writer device 106.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer device according to a prototype example. From FIG. 5, the IC card reader / writer device 110 according to the prototype example includes a reader / writer-side contact 111, a reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112,
It includes an IC card holder 113, a circuit board 114, an input / output adapter 115, a conductor 116, and an IC card contact 117.

The contact 111 on the reader / writer side is a contact type IC.
This is a portion that forms a contact-type transmission / reception path by contacting a card-side contact provided on the card. The reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112 is a part that forms a non-contact transmission / reception path via an electromagnetic wave together with the card-side electromagnetic antenna 119 provided on the non-contact type IC card.

The IC card holder 113 is a part for holding the contact type IC card and the non-contact type IC card at the same position to form the contact type transmission / reception path and the non-contact type transmission / reception path. Further, for example, when a shared IC card is mounted, the function of the non-contact IC card is operated first, and immediately thereafter, the function of the contact IC card is operated without moving the position of the shared IC card. It is the part that holds it as possible. It is usually composed of a polymer material or the like.

The circuit board 114 is a printed board on which a control circuit and an information processing circuit necessary for communicating with the contact type IC card and the non-contact type IC card are mounted.
The input / output adapter 115 is a portion connected to a higher-level device (not shown) to receive information communication and supply of DC power. Usually, a dedicated adapter such as RS232C is used.

The conductor 116 is connected to the circuit board 114 and the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112 or the reader / writer-side contact 11.
This is a portion for connecting the first and the second, and usually a conductive wire or a flexible printed board is used. IC card contact 1
Reference numeral 17 denotes a portion for holding the reader / writer contact 111.

When a shared IC card is mounted on the IC card reader / writer device 110 according to the prototype example described above, information communication and power supply are performed between the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112 and the card-side electromagnetic antenna 119. Further, if necessary, communication of information and power supply are performed between the reader / writer contact 111 and the card contact 120. The present invention is based on this prototype. Note that this prototype is merely an inventor's prototype and is clearly different from the prior art.

[0022]

Problems to be solved in the above-mentioned prototypes have the following problems to be solved. Problem 1 When using the non-contact type function, the electromagnetic wave radiated from the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112 (FIG. 5) enters the circuit board 114 (FIG. 5) as noise. This noise may cause the function of the non-contact type reader / writer to malfunction. That is, since the electromagnetic wave has a high frequency of 13.56 MHz, part of the circuit pattern operates as an antenna,
Electromagnetic waves emitted by the self (non-contact type function) are received as noise, and the self (non-contact type function) malfunctions.

Problem 2 When using the non-contact type function, the electromagnetic wave may cause the function of the contact type reader / writer to malfunction. That is, since the electromagnetic wave has a high frequency of 13.56 MHz, a part of the circuit pattern serving as a contact reader / writer may operate as an antenna and receive the electromagnetic wave as noise. As a result, the function of the contact-type reader / writer that should have been stopped may malfunction. This malfunction immediately leads to a malfunction of the non-contact type function. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to obtain a compact and highly accurate contact / contactless shared IC card reader / writer device.

[0024]

The present invention employs the following structure to solve the above problems. <Configuration 1> A reader / writer-side contact for contacting a card-side contact provided on an IC card, a reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna for transmitting / receiving signals between a card-side electromagnetic antenna provided on the IC card, and the reader When the writer side contact is provided and the IC card is inserted so that it can be inserted and removed,
A contact type transmission / reception path is formed between the card side contact of the card and the reader / writer side contact, and a non-contact type transmission / reception path is formed between the card side electromagnetic antenna of the card and the reader / writer side electromagnetic antenna. An electromagnetic shield material that includes an IC card holder and a circuit board on which a circuit for communicating with the IC card is mounted, and that shields electromagnetic waves emitted from the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna from entering the circuit; An IC card reader / writer device disposed between a substrate and the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna.

<Structure 2> In the IC card reader / writer device according to Structure 1, the resonance coil of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna is separated from the coil portion of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna and separated by the electromagnetic shield material. An IC card reader / writer device arranged on the circuit board side.

<Structure 3> Any one of Structures 1 and 2
3. The IC card reader / writer according to claim 1, further comprising a noise removal filter in a path from the circuit board to the reader / writer-side contact.

<Structure 4> In the IC card reader / writer device according to Structure 3, the noise elimination filter is a trap for blocking passage of a signal of a specific frequency, and the contact of the reader / writer is connected to the IC card reader / writer. An IC card reader / writer device comprising an operating voltage supply contact.

<Operation> By disposing the electromagnetic shielding material between the circuit board and the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna, the circuit board is shielded from the electromagnetic waves radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna. As a result, the IC card reader / writer does not receive the electromagnetic wave radiated by the IC card reader / writer as noise during communication with the non-contact type IC card and does not malfunction its function.

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using specific examples. <Example 1> FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer device of Example 1. From FIG. 1, the IC of the specific example 1 is shown.
The card reader / writer device 13 includes the reader / writer contact 1
, Reader / writer side electromagnetic antenna 2, IC card holder 3, circuit board 4, input / output adapter 5, conductor 6
, An IC card contact 7, a resonance capacitor 8,
And an electromagnetic shielding material 9.

The contact 1 on the reader / writer side is a part for forming a contact-type transmission / reception path by contacting the contact 11 on the card provided in the contact type IC card and the shared IC card. The reader / writer-side contact 1 is accurately arranged at a position where it comes into contact with the card-side contact 11 when the shared IC card 10 or the like is inserted into the IC card holder 3 described later.

The reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 is a part that forms a non-contact type transmission / reception path via an electromagnetic wave together with the card-side electromagnetic antenna 12 provided on the non-contact type IC card and the shared card. Usually, it is constituted by a winding coil or a pattern coil formed on a printed circuit board by using a photo-etching technique. Usually, it is held in close contact with an IC card holder 3 described later on the drawing.

The IC card holder 3 is a portion for holding the contact type IC card, the non-contact type IC card, or the illustrated shared IC card 10 at the same position to form the contact type transmission / reception path and the non-contact type transmission / reception path. is there. That is, for example, when the shared IC card 10 is inserted into the IC card holder 3, first, the non-contact type transmission / reception path is formed to operate the function of the non-contact type IC card. To form the non-contact transmission / reception path, the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2
Since the relative position between the card and the card-side electromagnetic antenna 12 is an extremely important factor, the shared IC card 10 is held at a predetermined position by the IC card holder 3.

Immediately after that, the function of the contact type IC card may be required without changing the position of the shared IC card 10. In order to form the contact type transmission / reception path, it is necessary to make the reader / writer contact 1 and the card contact 11 contact. Therefore, the IC card holder 3 is configured to be able to hold the shared IC card 10 at a position where both the non-contact type transmission / reception path and the contact type transmission / reception path can be formed. Furthermore, in order to be able to form any path without changing the position of the shared IC card 10, the reader / writer side contact 1 and the reader / writer side
The C card holder 3 is accurately arranged at a predetermined position. It is usually composed of a polymer material or the like.

The circuit board 4 is a print boat on which a control circuit and an information processing circuit for communicating with the contact type IC card, the non-contact type IC card or the shared IC card 10 are mounted. Usually, it is fixed above the electromagnetic shield member 9 by screws or the like. The circuit board 4 includes a CPU for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus and a reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2.
A high-frequency oscillator and the like to be supplied to the device are also mounted. That is, this is a print boat in which digital circuits and analog circuits are mixed on the same substrate.

The input / output adapter 5 is a portion connected to a host device (not shown) to receive information communication and supply of DC power. Usually, a dedicated adapter such as RS232C is used. The conductor 6 is a portion that connects the circuit board 4 to the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 and the reader / writer-side contact 1, and is usually made of a conductor or a flexible printed board.

The IC card contact 7 is a part for holding the reader / writer contact 1. The resonance capacitor 8 is
This part forms a resonance circuit together with the inductance component of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 at the frequency of the electromagnetic wave transmitted and received by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 to improve the antenna gain. In the prior art, it is held integrally with the inductance component of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2, but in the present invention, it is disposed separately. The reason will be described later.

The electromagnetic shielding material 9 is provided between the circuit board 4 and
It is disposed between the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 and the reader / writer-side contact 1, and shields electromagnetic waves emitted by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 from entering a control circuit or the like mounted on the circuit board 4. Electromagnetic shielding material. Usually, a plate-like electromagnetic shielding material obtained by solidifying a magnetic powder such as ferrite with a polymer material is used. The function of the electromagnetic shielding material 9 will be described in detail with reference to other drawings.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the basic principle of the present invention. (A) is an explanatory view of a prototype example, and (b) is an explanatory view of the present invention. (A), in the IC card reader / writer device according to the prototype, when the non-contact type function is operating, the high-frequency current (normally 13.56 MHz) supplied from the circuit board 114 to the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112
z) is converted into an electromagnetic wave by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 112. This electromagnetic wave is radiated to the surrounding space.

At this time, the electromagnetic wave is also radiated to the circuit board 114 from the card-side electromagnetic antenna 119 mounted on the shared IC card 118. Circuit board 11
Various circuit patterns are arranged on 4. Therefore, a part of the circuit pattern operates as an antenna, and the electromagnetic wave becomes a noise current and enters the control circuit. This noise may cause the function of the non-contact reader / writer device to malfunction. When an analog circuit and a digital circuit are mixed on the same substrate as in the present apparatus and are operated at the same time, a malfunction is likely to occur.

That is, the electromagnetic wave radiated by the self (non-contact type function) is received as noise, and the self (non-contact type function) malfunctions. Further, the noise current may cause a function of the contact reader / writer to malfunction. That is, the function of the contact-type reader / writer that should have been stopped may be erroneously operated. This malfunction immediately leads to a malfunction of the non-contact type function.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
In the card reader / writer device, an electromagnetic shield material 9 is arranged between the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 and the circuit board 4. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave radiated toward the circuit board 4 is absorbed by the electromagnetic shield material 9. That is, the circuit board 4 is shielded from the electromagnetic waves radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 by the electromagnetic shield material 9. In this case, by arranging the resonance capacitor 8 on the circuit board 4 side with the electromagnetic shielding material 9 therebetween, further effects can be obtained.

In the above description, only the function of shielding the circuit board 4 from the electromagnetic waves radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 by the electromagnetic shielding material 9 has been described.
However, the function of the present invention is not limited only to such a case. In other words, there is an effect of shielding the electromagnetic wave radiated by the card-side electromagnetic antenna 12, and further, an effect of shielding digital noise generated from a digital circuit mounted on the IC card.

<Effects of Specific Example 1> As described above, the following effects can be obtained by disposing the electromagnetic shielding member 9 between the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 and the circuit board 4. 1. When the non-contact type function is used, the electromagnetic wave radiated by the reader / writer side electromagnetic antenna does not enter the circuit board as noise, so that the electromagnetic wave radiated by itself (non-contact type function) This eliminates the possibility of receiving the noise and causing the self (non-contact type function) to malfunction. 2. When the non-contact type function is used, the function of the contact type reader / writer, which should have been stopped, malfunctions, and as a result, the non-contact type function does not malfunction. 3. As described in the above items 1 and 2, the circuit board is not limited to the effect of being shielded from the electromagnetic wave radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna, but also the electromagnetic wave radiated by the card-side electromagnetic antenna and further mounted on the IC card. A digital circuit is generated and is also shielded from digital noise radiated as electromagnetic waves.

<Specific Example 2> In specific example 1, an electromagnetic wave directly radiated from the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 (FIG. 1) to the circuit board 4 (FIG. 1) is provided with an electromagnetic shielding material 9 (FIG. 1). The case of shielding has been described. However, there was no protection against noise entering from the reader / writer side contact 1 (FIG. 1). In the specific example 2, the reader / writer side contact 1
In order to protect the circuit board 4 (FIG. 1) from noise entering through (FIG. 1), the following configuration is provided.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the IC card reader / writer device of the second embodiment. From FIG. 3, the IC of the specific example 2 is shown.
The card reader / writer device 20 includes the reader / writer contact 1
, Reader / writer side electromagnetic antenna 2, IC card holder 3, circuit board 4, input / output adapter 5, conductor 6
, An IC card contact 7, a resonance capacitor 8,
An electromagnetic shield material 9 and a noise removal filter 21 are provided.

Only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.
The noise removal filter 21 is a filter that removes noise that enters the circuit board 4 via the reader / writer contact 1. It is arranged on the path from the circuit board 4 to the reader / writer contact 1. The noise includes digital noise generated in the shared IC card 10 rather than the electromagnetic wave radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2.

Digital noise is noise generated when a digital circuit is turned on and off, and is basically attached as a transient phenomenon to an edge portion of a signal waveform. However, in a circuit having a large number of gates, the operating voltage of the circuit is disturbed concentrated on the power supply path and the ground path. The electromagnetic wave radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 has already been described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the noise elimination filter is, for example, an L filter composed of a coil L1 and a capacitor C1.
C / R composed of a C parallel circuit, a capacitor C2 and a resistor R
And a series circuit. This coil L1 and the capacitor C1
By appropriately selecting the values of the capacitor C2 and the resistor R, the electromagnetic wave radiated by the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna 2 is mainly removed, or the operating voltage supplied to the reader / writer-side contact 1 is supplied. Digital noise that enters through the contact can be removed.

<Effect of Specific Example 2> As described above,
Since the IC card reader / writer device of the first embodiment is further provided with a noise removing filter, noise that enters the circuit board through the contact on the reader / writer side, which was insufficient only in the first embodiment, can be removed. Can be further enhanced. As a result, it is small and
A highly accurate contact / contactless IC card reader / writer device can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a basic principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer device of a specific example 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of use of a conventional shared IC card.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer device according to a prototype example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Reader / writer contact 2 Reader / writer side electromagnetic antenna 3 IC card holder 4 Circuit board 5 I / O adapter 6 conductor 7 IC card contacts 8 Resonant capacitor 9 Electromagnetic shielding material 10 Shared IC card 11 Card side contacts 12 Card side electromagnetic antenna 13 IC card reader / writer device of specific example 1

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Fumihiro Nakagawa             2-1260 Owada-cho, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture               UMC Electronics Co., Ltd.             In the formula company F term (reference) 2C005 MA33 MB08 MB10 NA02 NA08                       TA21 TA22 TA40                 5B058 CA13 CA17 KA24 KA29 YA20

Claims (4)

[Claims] A reader / writer contact for contacting a card-side contact provided on an IC card; a reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna for transmitting / receiving signals between a card-side electromagnetic antenna provided on the IC card; When a reader / writer contact is provided and the IC card is removably inserted, a contact-type transmission / reception path is formed between the card contact of the card and the reader / writer contact, and a card-side electromagnetic antenna of the card is formed. An IC card holder for forming a non-contact transmission / reception path between the IC card and the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna; and a circuit board on which a circuit for communicating with the IC card is mounted. An electromagnetic shielding material that shields the electromagnetic wave from entering the circuit, the circuit board, the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna, IC card reader-writer device, characterized in that disposed between. 2. The IC card reader / writer device according to claim 1, wherein a resonance coil of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna is separated from a coil portion of the reader / writer-side electromagnetic antenna and separated by the electromagnetic shield material. An IC card reader / writer device arranged on a circuit board side. 3. The IC card reader / writer device according to claim 1, further comprising a noise removal filter in a path from the circuit board to the reader / writer-side contact. IC to do
Card reader / writer device. 4. The IC card reader / writer device according to claim 3, wherein the noise elimination filter is a trap for blocking passage of a signal of a specific frequency, and the contact of the reader / writer has an operation of the IC card. An IC card reader / writer device comprising a voltage supply contact.