JP2006004066A - Reader/writer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate survey on a cause of abnormal communication for normal operation of its own and to contribute to normal system development. <P>SOLUTION: This reader/writer 1 performing radio communication with an IC card 2 is provided with communication factor measurement parts 9 and 10 measuring communication factors in movement, a control circuit 3, and a memory 7. The control circuit 3 is provided with a function for comparing measurement data of the communication factors, which are measured and recorded by the measurement parts 9 and 10, with a previously decided reference value and determining whether the measurement data are abnormal or not and a function for determining whether communication with the IC card 2 is successfully carried out or not. The memory 7 allows removal of the storage data to the outside and stores the measurement data when an abnormal condition is determined or when it is determined that the communication fails. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a reader / writer that wirelessly communicates with a non-contact information carrier such as a non-contact IC card and can identify the cause of an abnormality.

The reader / writer performs wireless communication with a non-contact IC card (including a non-contact IC tag), which is a non-contact information carrier, via radio waves or electromagnetic fields, and information stored in a memory built in the non-contact IC card. Can be read or new information can be written. In the reader / writer, the state of communication with the non-contact IC card is usually determined in three ways: “communication success”, “no response from card”, and “card communication abnormality”. Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are examples of notifying a host device of a reading failure when card information cannot be read correctly.
JP 11-242726 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 63-211083

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when reading the contents of a magnetic card, if the read data does not match the specified format, a technique is reported to notify that the data does not match. There is described a technique for determining whether or not it is normal and notifying it. Therefore, it is possible to recognize the presence or absence of an abnormality, but it is impossible to detect the detailed cause of the abnormality. In particular, when a contactless IC card authentication system using a reader / writer is first constructed, the cause of the trouble is investigated using an oscilloscope or monitor when trouble occurs in communication. It was difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a reader / writer that facilitates the investigation of the cause of communication abnormality, can achieve its normal operation, and can contribute to normal system development. is there.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the communication factor is measured and recorded by the measurement recording unit during operation, and the measurement data of the communication factor is compared with the predetermined reference value by the abnormality determination unit, and the measurement data is abnormal. Determine whether or not. Then, the communication success determining means determines whether or not the communication with the non-contact information carrier is successful. When an abnormality is determined by the abnormality determining unit or when it is determined by the communication success determining unit that communication is not successful, the measurement data of the measurement recording unit is stored by a storage unit. Therefore, it is easy for the user to investigate the cause at the time of abnormality or communication failure by taking out the measurement data of the communication factor stored in the storage means to the outside, and normal system development can be achieved. Can also contribute.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the abnormality is determined by the abnormality determining means or when it is determined that the communication is not successful by the communication success determining means, the measurement data of the measurement recording means is measured by the measurement data communicating means. Therefore, it is easy for the user to investigate the cause of an abnormality or communication failure by the host device, so that the reader / writer can operate normally and contribute to normal system development.

In this case, as in claim 3, the measurement recording means may measure and record the communication factor regardless of whether it is in communication with the non-contact information carrier or not in communication. It is possible to easily investigate the cause of the abnormality not only at the time but also when not communicating.
Further, as in claim 4, the reference value may be different between non-communication and communication. In other words, at the time of non-communication before the start of communication, if the reference value of the communication factor of the device is the reference value set by the reader / writer provider (before actual use), an error before communication (an error due to installation environment etc.) ) Is easy to judge. In communication, if measurement data of communication factors before communication is used as a reference value, it is easy to determine a communication abnormality or the like. Therefore, if the reference value is different between the non-communication time and the communication time, the abnormality can be judged well.

  The communication factor may be the impedance of the transmission / reception antenna coil for the reader / writer to communicate with the non-contact information carrier (Claim 5), or may be the electromagnetic field intensity or frequency generated by the transmission / reception antenna coil. Good (claim 6). Alternatively, it may be a value obtained by sampling a received signal from the non-contact information carrier at a predetermined time interval over a predetermined time (Claim 7).

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a reader / writer 1 and a non-contact IC card (hereinafter simply referred to as an IC card) 2 as a non-contact information carrier. The reader / writer 1 includes a control circuit 3, a modulation circuit 4, an antenna 5 corresponding to a transmission / reception antenna coil for communicating with an IC card, a demodulation circuit 6, a memory 7 serving as storage means, an upper communication unit 8, a measurement The first communication factor measurement unit 9 corresponding to the recording unit and the second communication factor measurement unit 10 corresponding to the measurement recording unit are also provided.

  The control circuit 3 controls the overall operation of the reader / writer 1, has a CPU, and is connected to an external host device such as a computer. The modulation circuit 4 modulates the data from the control circuit 3 on a carrier wave, and transmits the modulation signal (data) and the power supply signal from the antenna 5. The demodulation circuit 6 amplifies the return data (received signal) from the IC card 2 (amplifies by the operation 6a in FIG. 2), detects and demodulates it (data demodulation processing unit 6b in FIG. 2). The memory 7 manages control firmware storage and measurement data recording and storage, and is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile memory. The memory 7 stores an initial reference value K of each communication factor (impedance, reception data, etc.) that is initially set by the reader / writer provider (manufacturer) before shipment. The measurement data stored in the memory 7 can be read (taken out) to the host device by a command from the host device.

  The first communication factor measurement unit 9 is provided in the vicinity of the antenna 5 and measures communication factors such as electromagnetic field strength and frequency (a prescribed value of the center frequency is 13.56 MHz, for example), and the impedance of the antenna 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the second communication factor measurement unit 10 includes an A / D converter 10a and a data sampling unit 10b provided on the output side of the operational amplifier 6a of the demodulation circuit 6. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the received signal from the IC card 2 in this case is sampled over a predetermined time at a fixed time interval (time timing at which the received waveform can be reproduced). The acquired data d (n), d (n + 1),... D (n + α) is supplied to the control circuit 3, and the control circuit 3 stores it in the memory 7. The data d (n), d (n + 1),... D (n + α) is read by the user and reproduced to the original waveform by a waveform reproduction device or the like. This reproduced waveform is as shown in FIG. In this case, noise can be recognized as the cause of abnormality by the part a in FIG.

  The IC card 2 also includes an antenna 11 that transmits and receives data using a power carrier wave from the reader / writer 1, a demodulation circuit 12 that detects and demodulates carrier wave data, and a DC signal from the power signal received by the antenna 11. A power supply circuit 13 that generates power, a memory 14 that controls control firmware and data storage, a control circuit 15 that controls the overall operation of the IC card 2, and a carrier wave that is modulated by information from the control circuit 15 And a modulation circuit 16 for transmitting from the antenna 11.

The above-described control circuit 3 of the reader / writer 1 functions as an abnormality determination unit and a communication success determination unit. The control contents of the control circuit 3 will be described below with reference to FIG.
The operations of the reader / writer 1 and the IC card 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The reader / writer 1 operates when a power switch (not shown) is turned on. First, the reference value K of each communication factor (electromagnetic field strength, frequency, antenna coil impedance, etc.) initially set before shipment in step S1 is set. Read from the memory 7. In step S2, the first communication factor measurement unit 9 and the second communication factor measurement unit 10 respectively measure the communication factor (in the first communication factor measurement unit 9, the electromagnetic field strength, frequency, impedance, and second communication factor measurement). The unit 10 measures received signal sampling data), and temporarily stores the measurement data (electromagnetic field strength, frequency, and impedance) of each communication factor as an activation reference value A.

  Next, in step S3, the initial reference value K of each communication factor is compared with each measurement data. If there is measurement data that deviates from the corresponding reference value K in step S4, that is, it is determined that there is an abnormality ("YES" In step S5, all the measurement data described above are stored in the memory 7, and the process proceeds to step S6. When each measurement data does not deviate from the corresponding reference value K, it is determined that the measurement data is normal, and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, communication with the IC card 2 is performed. That is, the operation starts according to the program stored in the memory 7. The control circuit 3 transmits a power supply signal supplied to the IC card 2 and a polling signal from the antenna 5. This signal is transmitted as an electromagnetic wave (for example, a center carrier frequency of 13.56 MHz). Next, when the IC card 2 comes close to the reader / writer 1, when the antenna 11 receives the power supply signal and normally receives the command from the reader / writer 1, it performs processing internally and returns a response.

  The response is received by the reader / writer 1 through the antenna 5, amplified by the demodulation circuit 6, detected and demodulated, and transferred to the host device. Then, the upper card recognizes that the IC card 2 conforms to the standard. As a result, communication is performed between the reader / writer 1 and the IC card 2 thereafter in accordance with commands from the host device. In this case, the reader / writer 1 communicates with the host device via the host communication unit 8.

In step S7, the reader / writer 1 measures and records each communication factor during communication. In step S8, it is determined whether or not the communication is successful. If the communication is unsuccessful ("NO"), all the measurement data in step S7 is stored in the memory 7 in step S9.
When communication success is determined in step S8 described above, in step S10, each measurement data in step S7 and the reference value A corresponding to the measurement data are set in advance in a predetermined range (larger than the activation reference value A). And the margin of the measurement data is determined to be small when the measurement data deviates from the allowable value. If it is determined in step S11 that the margin is small, the measurement data in step S7 is stored in the memory 7 in step S9.

  According to the present embodiment, when the communication factor is measured and it is determined in step S4 that an abnormality has occurred or when it is determined in step S8 that communication has not been successful, the measurement data of each communication factor is obtained. Since it is stored in the memory 7, when the user notices an abnormality, or arbitrarily reads out (takes out) the measurement data of the communication factor stored in the memory 7 based on, for example, the operation of the host device, Or it becomes easy to investigate the cause at the time of communication failure, and it can contribute to normal system development etc. while being able to aim at normal operation of itself.

In addition, as can be seen from step S2 and step S7, the communication factor is measured and recorded regardless of whether it is communicating with the IC card 2 or not. Can also be easily investigated.
In addition, since the reception data from the IC card 2 is acquired at a time timing at which the received waveform can be reproduced, in this case, the received waveform can be reproduced, which is effective for investigating the cause of the abnormality. Become.

  Furthermore, even if the communication is successful, the tolerance value determined within a predetermined range with respect to the reference value is compared with the measurement data, and the measurement data is determined to have a small margin when the measurement data deviates from the tolerance value. When it is determined that the margin is low, the measurement data is stored in the memory 7, so that the measurement data can be known in a situation where communication is successful but failure may occur, and the communication factor is changed. It is possible to respond such as. The allowable value may be set by the user, and in this way, the user can obtain a margin suitable for the use situation.

Further, in the present embodiment, the reference values K and A are made different between the non-communication time and the communication time, so that the abnormality determination at the non-communication time and the communication time can be performed satisfactorily.
The memory 7 may be a memory that can be taken out from the reader / writer 1. Further, in the above embodiment, when an abnormality is determined or when it is determined that the communication is not successful, the measurement data is stored in the memory 7. However, the measurement data communication is not performed in the memory 7. The measurement data of the communication factor may be added to the response and communicated to the host device each time by the host communication unit 8 as a means. In this way, it becomes easy for the user to investigate the cause of an abnormality or communication failure by the host device, and the normal operation of the reader / writer 1 itself can be achieved and it can contribute to normal system development.

1 is a block diagram of a reader / writer and an IC card showing an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd communication factor measurement part. Flow chart showing control contents of control circuit of reader / writer (A) The figure which shows an example of the received waveform from an IC card, and a data sampling timing, (b) The figure which shows the waveform produced based on the taken-out data

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a reader / writer, 2 is an IC card (non-contact information carrier), 3 is a control circuit (abnormality determination means, communication success determination means), 7 is a memory (storage means), 8 is a higher-level communication unit, 9 is A first communication factor measurement unit (measurement recording unit) and 10 indicate a second communication factor measurement unit (measurement recording unit).

Claims (7)

A reader / writer that performs wireless communication with a non-contact information carrier,
Measuring and recording means for measuring and recording the communication factor during operation;
An abnormality determination unit that determines whether the measurement data is abnormal by comparing the measurement data of the communication factor measured and recorded by the measurement recording unit with a predetermined reference value;
Communication success judging means for judging whether or not communication with the non-contact information carrier is successful;
Saved data can be externally taken out, and when the abnormality is determined by the abnormality determination unit or when it is determined that the communication is not successful by the communication success determination unit, the measurement data stored in the measurement recording unit is stored. A reader / writer characterized by means. A reader / writer that performs wireless communication with a non-contact information carrier,
Measuring and recording means for measuring and recording the communication factor during operation;
An abnormality determination unit that determines whether the measurement data is abnormal by comparing the measurement data of the communication factor measured and recorded by the measurement recording unit with a predetermined reference value;
Communication success judging means for judging whether or not communication with the non-contact information carrier is successful;
A measurement data communication unit that communicates measurement data of the measurement recording unit to a host device when an abnormality is determined by the abnormality determination unit or when it is determined by the communication success determination unit that communication is not successful. A reader / writer characterized by that.   3. The reader / writer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurement recording means measures and records the communication factor regardless of whether the measurement recording unit is in communication with the non-contact information carrier or not.   4. The reader / writer according to claim 3, wherein the reference value is different between non-communication and communication.   5. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the communication factor is an impedance of a transmission / reception antenna coil for the reader / writer to communicate with a non-contact information carrier.   5. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the communication factor is an electromagnetic field intensity or a frequency generated from a transmission / reception antenna coil for the reader / writer to communicate with a non-contact information carrier. Reader / writer. 5. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the communication factor is a value obtained by sampling a received signal from a non-contact information carrier over a predetermined time at a constant time interval.

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