JP2005107653A - Portable apparatus with electronic tag, server device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable apparatus with an electronic tag that can be rewritten according to instructions from the outside. <P>SOLUTION: An ID management server sends a request for the rewrite of tag information to the portable apparatus via a communication line. On receiving the request from an antenna 9, the portable apparatus causes a control part 6 to rewrite information in an RF-ID circuit part 1a. Thereby the RF-ID circuit part 1a can be provided with versatility for its function as an electronic tag. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique using an electronic tag such as a non-contact type electronic tag (RFID: Radio Frequency ID), and more particularly to a portable device such as a mobile phone or a PDA that includes the electronic tag inside.

With the spread of non-contact type electronic tags as data carriers, various systems using electronic tags have been proposed and put into practical use.
For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a ticket issuance system using an electronic tag. In this system, an electronic tag is used as a data carrier for storing a member ID, and this is attached to a ticket to enter a venue. It is used for checking.

In addition, a method of using an electronic card with a built-in electronic tag for a commuter pass has been realized.
JP 2003-223525 A (paragraphs [0030] to [0037])

  Currently used or proposed methods of using electronic tags are considered to be attached to articles or built into IC cards, but these methods of use are based on the use of a single electronic tag. It is limited to a specific method of use. For example, in the case of a card with a built-in electronic tag, the electronic tag is read by a card reader, the card owner is specified, and a service is provided to the card owner.

Services using electronic tags as data carriers are expected to become more and more popular in the future, but with the proposed usage of electronic tags, as the types of services increase, many cards will be owned accordingly. Will have to do.
Further, in the case of the conventional type, it is not possible to deal with the case where it is desired to make the electronic card unusable for card theft.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable device, a server device, a program, and a usage pattern thereof having an electronic tag that solves the above problems.

The present invention is premised on a portable device having an electronic tag, and includes communication means and access means in order to solve the above problems.
The communication means is connected to a communication line such as an Internet network or a telephone network via a wired or wireless public line, a dedicated line, or the like.

The access means accesses the tag information stored in the electronic tag based on an instruction received by the communication means from the communication line.
With this configuration, tag information in the electronic tag can be rewritten based on an instruction received from the outside via a communication line.

In addition to the above-described electronic tag, a configuration may be further provided with a second electronic tag that cannot access the tag information by the access means. With this configuration, two types of electronic tags can be used properly according to the required level of security.
Further, the communication unit may be further configured to transmit a request for deleting the tag information and to further stop the tag information in the electronic tag if a response to the request for deletion is received. With this configuration, tag information that is no longer needed can be erased and the storage area in the electronic tag can be used effectively.

The present invention also includes within its scope a server device connected to a portable device having the above-described electronic tag by a communication line.
The server device includes database means for storing an ID code, which is an identification code for identifying each electronic tag, in association with information for the portable device, and authentication means for authenticating the portable device via the communication line; If authentication of the portable device is obtained, the portable device is requested to write tag information including the ID code to the electronic tag, and registration means for registering the ID code in the database means.

With this configuration, tag information in the portable device can be rewritten according to an instruction from the server device, and the tag information is managed in the server device. The service can be stopped by
The present invention also includes a program executed in a portable device having an electronic tag or a server device connected to the portable device via a communication line.

According to the present invention, tag information in an electronic tag can be rewritten based on an instruction from the outside of the portable device, so that the function as an electronic tag can be versatile. Therefore, the user does not need to have a plurality of cards having an electronic tag inside.
Since the tag information is stored in a server outside the portable device, it is possible to cope with theft by stopping the service.

An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the following example, the case where the present invention is applied to a mobile phone is shown as an example. However, the mobile device according to the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone or PSH, but may be an information processing device such as a PDA or a portable game device. Any other portable device having a function and a communication function may be used.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example when the mobile device according to the present embodiment is configured as a mobile phone.
The mobile phone in FIG. 1 includes a high frequency circuit unit 3, a voice control unit 4, a voice input / output unit 5, a control unit 6, a display unit 7, and an input unit 8.

  The high-frequency circuit unit 3 is a unit that performs transmission / reception processing of radio waves having a frequency corresponding to a designated channel. The high-frequency circuit unit 3 sends a signal received on the channel designated by the control unit 6 to the control unit 6 in the case of a non-voice signal such as a calling signal or channel information, and to the voice control unit 4 in the case of a voice signal. The high-frequency circuit unit 3 converts a non-voice signal such as an incoming call response signal, a call request signal, or dial data output from the control unit 6 or a voice signal output from the voice control unit 4 into a corresponding high-frequency electric signal. And output from the antenna 9. The audio control unit 4 is a unit that outputs the audio electric signal from the high frequency circuit unit 3 to the audio input / output unit 5 and outputs the audio electric signal from the audio input / output unit 5 to the high frequency circuit unit 3. The voice input / output unit 5 is a unit that sends the voice electric signal from the voice control unit 4 to the speaker 52 and outputs the voice electric signal from the microphone 51 to the voice control unit 4 under the control of the control unit 6. . The speaker 52 is a unit that converts a sound electric signal from the sound input / output unit 5 into sound and outputs the sound to the outside. The microphone 51 converts an input sound wave into an electric signal and outputs the signal to the sound input / output unit 5. Is a unit. The control unit 6 controls the entire mobile phone shown in FIG. 1, and sends a control signal to each circuit unit in the device based on a control program stored therein as firmware, and instructs and controls their operations. To do. The display unit 7 is a display unit composed of liquid crystal or the like, and performs display by driving the liquid crystal based on a control instruction from the control unit 6. The input unit 8 is an input unit composed of a dial switch or the like operated by the user. An operation on the input unit 8 is notified to the control unit 6, and the control unit 6 is based on the user's operation instruction from this notification. Instruct each unit to realize the operation. The antenna 9 is a unit that receives a received radio wave, sends a corresponding electrical signal to the high frequency circuit unit 3, converts the electrical signal from the high frequency circuit unit 3 into a radio wave, and outputs it to the outside.

1 has two RF-ID circuit portions 1a and 1b that function as electronic tags and antennas 2a and 2b thereof.
The RF-ID circuit units 1a and 1b generate electric power by the radio waves received from the antennas 2a and 2b, and output an ID code or the like from the antennas 2a and 2b as a response to the received radio waves. Functions as a tag.

  Of these two RF-ID circuit units 1a and 1b, the RF-ID circuit unit 1a can rewrite the tag information stored therein by an instruction from the control unit 6. Therefore, the RF-ID circuit unit 1a can connect the portable device to a communication line and perform various settings as tag information from the outside via the line. Thereby, the RF-ID circuit unit 1a can have versatility as a function of the electronic tag, and can deal with a plurality of services and service providers.

  The RF-ID circuit unit 1b (and the antenna 1b) is independent of other units in the portable device and is used as a conventional electronic tag. Therefore, the RF-ID circuit unit 1b is used for services that require higher security than the RF-ID circuit unit 1a such as electronic money, and the RF-ID circuit unit 1a is used for security such as attending seminars, advertising information, incidental information, and the like. Can be used for things that are not so required. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which one independent RF-ID circuit portion 1b is provided, a configuration having two or more independent RF-ID circuit portions 1b may be adopted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the RF-ID circuit portions 1a and 1b shown in FIG. The figure shows the configuration of the RF-ID circuit unit 1a, but the difference in configuration between the RF-ID circuit unit 1a and the RF-ID circuit unit 1b will be described later.
The RF-ID circuit unit 1 in FIG. 2 includes a storage unit 11, a rectifying / smoothing unit 12, a transmission / reception unit 13, a CPU 14, an EEPROM 15, and a switch 16.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 detects the radio wave received by the antenna 2a, and modulates the information stored in the EEPROM 15 and outputs it from the antenna 2a at the time of transmission. The rectifying / smoothing unit 12 converts the signal detected by the transmission / reception unit 13 into a DC voltage or a DC current. The accumulating unit 13 accumulates electric energy obtained by the received radio wave and uses it as electric energy used when transmitting radio waves. The CPU 14 controls the entire RF-ID circuit unit 1 based on a control program stored therein as firmware. The CPU 14 analyzes the signal received from the antenna 2a, and based on the result, converts the information in the EEPROM 15 into the antenna. The data is output to the outside via 2a, or the information in the EEPROM 15 is rewritten. The CPU 14 is connected to the control unit 6 of the cellular phone by the bus line 17. Based on an instruction from the bus line 17, the CPU 14 sends the data in the EEPROM 15 to the control unit 6, and rewrites the data in the EEPROM 15. To do. The EEPROM 15 is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and stores tag information necessary for use as an electronic tag such as an ID code serving as a tag identification code. The switch 16 is for supplying electric power, and the storage unit 11 and the power supply line are switched ON / OFF by a switch control line from the control unit 6. The switch 16 is turned on to supply power to the storage unit 11 when the CPU 11 reads and writes data from the EEPROM 15 according to an instruction from the control unit 6, and the storage unit 11 supplies power to the CPU 14 and the EEPROM 15. As a result, the electronic tag can be accessed from the control unit 6 of the cellular phone even in a situation where radio waves from a tag reader / writer (not shown) cannot be received by the antenna 2a.

  In FIG. 2, the difference between the RF-ID circuit unit 1a and the RF-ID circuit unit 1b in FIG. 1 is that the RF-ID circuit unit 1b is electrically independent of other circuits in the portable device as a circuit. The switch 16 is not provided and is not connected to the power supply line from the outside of the RF-ID circuit portion 1b. The CPU 14 is also independent of the control unit 6 and is not connected to the bus line 17.

  In FIG. 2, the RF-ID circuit unit 1 is configured to be driven by power obtained from the received radio wave except when the switch 16 is turned on. Power may be supplied from a battery or the like of the portable device at all times or at the time of transmission / reception from an electronic tag, and may be driven by this power.

  With such a configuration, the RF-ID circuit unit 1a receives not only the tag information in the EEPROM 15 by receiving the radio wave from the tag reader / writer by the antenna 2a, but also by an instruction from the control unit 6, Can be accessed. Thereby, the instruction control from the portable device side, for example, the portable device is connected to the network, and the tag information in the EEPROM 15 is displayed by the instruction through the network or the instruction from the input / output device provided in the portable device. Can be accessed.

An example of the use of an electronic tag by the portable device having such a configuration is shown below.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system for setting tag information in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a in the portable device.
In the system shown in the figure, the portable device 31 described above is connected to an ID management server 32, an ID issuing device 33, and a service providing server 34 through a communication line communication line 35 of the Internet network or telephone network.

  The ID management server 32 is a network server that issues an ID code and manages the ID code. The ID management server 32 registers the ID code in the ID tag in the portable device 31 and the ID code 36 in response to a request from the service providing server. Manage. The ID issuing device 33 issues a new ID and passes it to the ID management server in response to a request from the ID management server. The service management server 34 is a server of a service provider that provides various services to the user of the mobile device 31. When providing the service, the service management server 34 requests the ID management server 32 to register an ID code, and has an electronic code having this ID code. Various services are provided for tags.

In the configuration shown in the figure, the ID issuing device 33 and the ID management server 32 may not be provided independently, but the ID issuing device 33 may be realized as a part of the function of the ID management server 32.
An ID code issuing process in such a system will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation process of the ID management server 32 during the ID issuing process and the ID stop process described later.

First, the operation during the ID issuing process will be described.
The ID issuance process starts when an ID code issuance is requested from the service providing server, and in step S1, the ID management server 32 is newly used by the ID issuance apparatus 33 via the communication line 35. Is requested to obtain an ID code.

  Next, in step S2, the ID management server 32 stores information received together with the ID code issuance request from the service providing server 34, for example, authentication information such as a service name and a user telephone number, and electronic data in the ID database 36 in step S1. It is stored in association with the ID code obtained.

  In step S3, the ID management server 32 transmits an RF-ID write request to the portable device 31 to notify that the ID is issued, and performs user authentication from the response content from the portable device 31 in response to this notification (step S4). ). If the mobile device 31 (and its user) is not authenticated as a result of this authentication (step S4, NG), the mobile device 31 is notified that the mobile device 31 has not been authenticated, and the ID database 36 registered in step S2 as step S10. The record in is deleted, and the process ends.

  If the portable device 31 is authenticated in step S4 (step S4, OK), the ID code and the IC data are transmitted to the portable device 31 as step S5, and the response from the portable device 31 is waited (step S6, N: Step S9, N). If there is no response after a predetermined time (step S9, Y), the record in the ID database 36 registered in step S2 is deleted as step S10, and the process is terminated.

  If there is a response from the portable device 31 in step S6 and the ID code and IC data written in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a are received as a response (Y in step S6), the portable device received in step S6 as step S7 Whether the ID code and IC data written in 31 are correct is verified. If correct (step S7, OK), the issue date and deadline date are set at the corresponding positions in the record of the ID database 36, and the process is terminated.

  If there is a problem with the received ID code and IC data as a result of the collation in step S7 (step S7, NG), a request for deleting the data written in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a as step S12 is sent to the portable device ID management server 32. In step S13, the stop date is set in the corresponding record in the ID database 36, and the process is terminated.

Next, the processing operation during ID stop processing will be described.
When receiving an ID stop processing request from the portable device 31, the ID management server 32 first notifies that it is connected to the portable device 31 in step S11.
Next, the ID management server 32 transmits a deletion request to the portable device 31 that has transmitted the stop processing request in step S12. In step S13, the stop date is set in the corresponding record in the ID database 36, and the process is terminated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a record configuration of the ID database 36.
The information registered as a record in the ID database 36 is used as management information about the electronic tag, and is compared with the tag information read from the electronic tag by the reader when the service provider provides the service. It is used to identify the device user).

In the figure, an ID code, authentication information, issue date, deadline date, stop date, and IC data are stored in the record.
The ID code is a unique code stored in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a of the portable device 31, and the service company performs a service using this code. The authentication information is information that can uniquely identify the mobile device 31 such as a telephone number or an IP address of the mobile device 31, and performs authentication processing using this information. The issue date is the date when the ID code is issued, and the expiration date is the date indicating the effective date of the ID code. The stop date is stored when the ID code becomes invalid. The IC data is a data item used by the service provider, and various information used when providing the service is written in the IC data portion.

  As described above, in this embodiment, tag information such as an ID code and IC data is held and managed in the IC database managed by the ID management server 32. By setting the stop date, the service provided by the electronic tag can be stopped.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the system environment of the information processing apparatus that constitutes the ID management server 32.
As shown in FIG. 6, the ID management server 32 in this embodiment includes a CPU 61, a main storage device 62, an auxiliary storage device 63 such as a hard disk, an input / output device (I / O) 64 such as a display and a keyboard, a communication line 35, and the like. A network connection device 65 such as a modem and a medium reading device 66 for reading out the stored contents from a portable storage medium 67 such as a disk or a magnetic tape, which are connected to each other via a bus 68. .

6 reads out a program and data stored in a storage medium 68 such as a magnetic tape, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM, and an MO by means of a medium reader 66, and reads this out from the main storage device 62. Alternatively, it is downloaded to the auxiliary storage device 63. Then, the CPU 61 performs an execution process based on this program and data, thereby realizing the functions of the ID issue process, the stop process, the access process to the ID database 36 at the time of service provision, etc. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by the apparatus 31 side. The processing in FIG. 7 is realized by executing a control program stored in the control unit 6 in the portable device 31.

The processing shown in FIG. 7 shows processing when a processing request is received from the ID management server 32 and processing when a request for stopping the ID code is sent to the ID management server 32.
First, processing when a processing request is received will be described.
When receiving the processing request from the ID management server 32, the control unit 6 first determines the content of the processing request, and when the request is a write request of the RF-ID circuit unit 1a (step S21, Y), the ID management server 32. If the authentication information such as the telephone number is transmitted to the ID management server 32 and authentication is not obtained from the ID management server 32 (step S22, NG), the process is terminated.

  If the authentication permission notification is obtained from the ID management server 32 in step S22 (step S22, OK), the ID code and IC data to be written in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a are received from the ID management server 32 as step S23, This is written in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a as tag information (step S24).

  Thereafter, in step S24, the portable device confirms whether the ID code and the IC data have been normally written in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a. In step S24, the portable device receives the ID code and the IC data from the RF-ID circuit unit 1a. This is read and transmitted to the ID management server 32 as step S26, and the process is terminated.

  Thereafter, if writing to the RF-ID circuit unit 1a is normally performed and there is no problem in the ID code and IC data sent to the ID management server 32 in step S26, there is no response from the ID management server 32. Hereinafter, the portable device 32 can be used as an IC tag. However, if there is a problem in the ID code and the IC data read from the RF-ID circuit unit 1a as a result of the collation check by the ID management server 32 (step S7 in FIG. 3), the ID management server 32 sends an RF signal to the portable device 31. -A deletion request for requesting deletion of data in the ID circuit unit 1a is transmitted.

  If the processing request received from the ID management server 32 is a deletion request (step S21, N: step S28, Y), the process ends after deleting the data in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a as step S29. If the processing request received from the ID management server 32 is neither an RF-ID write request nor a deletion request (step S21, N: step S28, N), after performing processing corresponding to the processing request as step S30, The process ends.

Next, an ID code stop request will be described. This stop request is made from the portable device 31 side when the service is finished or unnecessary, and the tag information is deleted.
If the use of the ID code is to be stopped, the portable device 31 transmits an ID code stop request to the ID management server 32 in step S27, and then ends this process. Upon receiving this stop request, the ID management server 32 performs the ID stop processing described above and transmits a deletion request to the mobile device 31, so that the mobile device 31 performs the above-described steps S28 and S29 to perform RF processing. -The data in the ID circuit unit 1a is deleted and the process is terminated.

As described above, the portable device of the present embodiment can rewrite the tag information in the RF-ID circuit unit 1a according to an instruction from the outside. Therefore, by rewriting the tag information as necessary, one portable device 31 can It can correspond to various services.
The above-described processing is based on the premise that the connection between the portable device 31 and the ID management server 32 is performed by the communication line 35. However, the portable device 31 and the ID management server 32 directly using the telephone line. You may make it connect between.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the portable apparatus by this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a RF-ID circuit part. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system using ID code in a portable device. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement process of an ID management server at the time of ID issuing process and the stop process of ID mentioned later. It is a figure which shows the record structure of ID database. It is a figure which shows the system environment of the information processing apparatus which comprises ID management server. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed with a portable apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, 1b RF-ID circuit part 2a, 2b Antenna 3 High frequency circuit part 4 Voice control part 5 Voice input / output part 6 Control part 7 Display part 8 Input part 11 Accumulation part 12 Rectification smoothing part 13 Transmission / reception part 14 CPU
15 EEPROM
16 switches 17 bus lines

Claims (9)

A communication device that is a portable device having an electronic tag and is connected to a communication line;
Access means for accessing tag information stored in the electronic tag based on an instruction received from the communication line by the communication means;
A portable device comprising:   The portable device according to claim 1, further comprising a second electronic tag that cannot access the tag information by the access means.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising stop means for causing the communication means to transmit a request for erasing the tag information and erasing the tag information in the electronic tag if there is a response to the erasure request. 2. The mobile device according to 2.   The portable device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication line is the Internet.   The portable device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication line is a telephone line. A server device connected to a mobile device having an electronic tag by a communication line,
Database means for storing an ID code, which is an identification code for identifying each electronic tag, in association with information on the portable device;
An authentication means for authenticating the portable device via the communication line;
If authentication of the portable device is obtained, a registration unit that requests the portable device to write tag information including the ID code to the electronic tag, and registers the ID code in the database unit;
A server device comprising:   7. The server apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising stop means for registering that the requested ID code is stopped in the database means in response to an ID stop request. A program executed in a mobile device having an electronic tag,
A function to connect to a communication line;
A function of accessing tag information stored in the electronic tag based on an instruction received from the communication line;
A program that realizes A program executed by a server device connected to a mobile device having an electronic tag via a communication line,
A function of storing an ID code, which is an identification code for identifying each electronic tag, in association with information on the portable device;
A function of performing authentication of the portable device via the communication line;
If authentication of the portable device is obtained, a function of requesting the portable device to write tag information including the ID code to the electronic tag and registering the ID code;
A program that realizes

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