JP2007158436A - Wireless communication device capable of switching wireless output - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication device capable of suppressing consumption of a battery attended with near field wireless communication. <P>SOLUTION: A SIM holder being the wireless communication device is provided with two wireless output circuits 14a, 14b with different wireless outputs. When no high output (10mW) is required depending on an application using the SIM holder, the user of the SIM holder carries out near field wireless communication with a low output (1mW), resulting in that the consumption of the battery built in the SIM holder caused by the near field wireless communication can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication device in which a card-like information storage medium such as a SIM is mounted and used, and more particularly to a wireless communication device capable of switching wireless output.

  An IC card mounted with a small IC chip can store confidential information (for example, a certificate from a certificate authority) in the IC chip's memory in a secret manner, so it can be used for various purposes such as network login management and door gate entry / exit management. in use.

  However, when an IC card is used, a reader / writer that communicates data with the IC card is indispensable. Therefore, at least a USB (Universal Serial) for easy connection to a computer is required to improve the convenience of the IC card. A device having a reader / writer function for data communication with a Bus (Bus) interface and a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) mounted therein is disclosed (for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

  A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) and a SIM folder disclosed in Patent Document 1 are a reader / writer conforming to the ISO 7816 standard, an antenna for wireless communication based on the ISO 14443 standard, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus). The SIM holder having at least an interface is used by mounting a dual interface SIM inside.

  The SIM holder disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a SIM folder provided with short-range wireless communication means (for example, Bluetooth) as means for wirelessly communicating with a computer in addition to the above-described functions.

In addition, the SIM holder disclosed in Patent Document 3 is a SIM holder capable of transmitting data at a constant time interval by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or ZigBee.
JP 2004-118771 A JP 2004-264915 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-324005

  As disclosed in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3, the SIM holder includes short-range wireless communication, so that wireless communication with a communication distance of 10 m or more is possible. Since wireless communication uses the power of the battery built in the SIM holder, there is a problem that the battery is consumed quickly.

  In particular, when a SIM holder is used in a position detection system (LPS: Local Positioning System), such as when a communication distance of 10 m or more is required, the power required to transmit radio waves increases, so the battery is consumed. It will be faster.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention has at least a short-range wireless communication function like the SIM holder disclosed in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3, and a card-shaped information storage medium is mounted inside. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication device that can suppress battery consumption associated with short-range wireless communication in the wireless communication device to be used.

  A first invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a wireless communication device having a card-like information storage medium and having a wireless data communication function, wherein the wireless communication device is connected to the information storage medium that is mounted. Short-distance wireless communication means that operates using a power source built in the wireless communication device, as means for communicating, and means for wirelessly communicating with an external device that uses data or an application stored in the information storage medium The wireless communication device further includes wireless output changing means for changing the wireless output of the short-range wireless communication means.

  Furthermore, the second invention is the wireless communication device according to the first invention, wherein the wireless output changing means provided in the wireless communication device includes a plurality of wireless output circuits each having a different wireless output, and a plurality of wireless output circuits. And a wireless output selection means for setting one of the wireless output circuits to be used among the wireless output circuits.

  Furthermore, a third invention is the wireless communication device according to the second invention, wherein the wireless communication device includes information display means for displaying information and a plurality of information displayed on the information display means. The wireless output selection means causes the information display means to display wireless output information indicating wireless outputs corresponding to the plurality of wireless output circuits, respectively. The wireless output circuit corresponding to one piece of the wireless output information selected / determined by the operation button is set as the wireless output circuit used in the short-range wireless communication means.

  Furthermore, a fourth invention is the wireless communication device according to the third invention, wherein the information display means provided in the wireless communication device is a liquid crystal display.

  In the first invention, the card-shaped information storage medium is preferably an IC card or a SIM (Subscriber Identify Module), and the information storage medium communication means is preferably a communication means conforming to the ISO7816 standard. . In addition, the short-range wireless communication means is preferably infrared communication, or a means using a 2.4 GHz band such as Bluetooth or ZigBee.

  According to the present invention, when the wireless communication device includes the output voltage changing means, the output voltage of the short-range wireless communication means can be changed depending on the use of the wireless communication device, so that high output is not required. By performing short-range wireless communication with low output, as a result, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery built in the wireless communication device accompanying short-range wireless communication.

  Further, according to the present invention, the wireless communication device includes a plurality of the wireless output circuits and the wireless output selection means to be used, so that the wireless output can be set in a plurality of stages. Setting of output becomes easy.

  Furthermore, by displaying the wireless output information regarding the plurality of wireless output circuits, the user of the wireless communication device can easily set the wireless output to be used according to the application. In addition, by using a liquid crystal display as the information display means for displaying information, the user's recognizability can be improved, and the power consumption required for displaying information can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by using an IC card or SIM (Subscriber Identify Module) as the information storage medium, it is possible to use an IC card or SIM that is used for various purposes such as financial use and user authentication.

  From here, the SIM holder which is the radio | wireless communication device of this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring a figure. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a SIM holder.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the left side of the SIM holder 1, there is a slot 17 for inserting a SIM 2 in which personal information of the owner of the SIM holder 1 is stored. It is provided on the right side of the holder 1.
By inserting the SIM 2 from the slot 17, the SIM 2 is mounted in the SIM holder 1 and can be used as a SIM holder as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 3 and the like.

  In FIG. 1, the USB connector 150 is an A connector (male), but the USB connector 150 may be a mini B connector (female). By making the USB connector 150 a mini-B connector (female), the protrusion of the USB connector 150 of the SIM holder 1 can be eliminated.

  Furthermore, the SIM holder 1 includes wireless communication means for wirelessly communicating with an external device, and components (for example, an electric circuit and an antenna) necessary for realizing the wireless communication means are incorporated in the SIM holder 1, and the SIM holder 1 The structure is invisible from the outside of the holder 1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the outside of the SIM holder 1, in addition to the USB connector 150 described above, a liquid crystal display 110 for displaying information, a power button 163 for turning on / off the power, and a display on the liquid crystal display 110 A selection button 161 used when selecting one piece of information from the menu information to be displayed, and a determination button 162 used when determining information selected by the selection button 161.

  In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display 110 is a low cost STN liquid crystal (Super Twisted Nematic liquid crystal). As the display of the SIM holder 1, a thin display with low power consumption is desirable. TFT liquid crystal (Thin Film Transistor) and DSTN liquid crystal (Dual-scan Super Twisted Nematic), which have better display performance than STN liquid crystal but are expensive. A display such as an organic EL display (organic electroluminescence display) can also be used as the display of the SIM holder 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing components that are electrically connected by the SIM holder 1. As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the USB connector 150, the liquid crystal display 110, the power button 163, the selection button 161, and the decision button 162 shown in FIG. 1, the SIM holder 1 includes a holder controller 10, a USB controller 15, Electrical components such as the liquid crystal controller 11, SIM controller 12, connection terminal board 120, wireless communication controller 14, antenna 140, and battery 13 are incorporated.

  FIG. 2 shows only parts necessary for explaining the SIM holder 1 according to the present invention. The SIM holder 1 can also be provided with other electrical components (for example, a fingerprint sensor) not shown.

  The battery 13 is provided to supply electric power to each electrical component provided in the SIM holder 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a power button 163 is provided between the battery 13 and the power supply line 13a. When the power button 163 is turned on, each electric component shown in FIG. Is supplied.

  In the present embodiment, the battery 13 employs a secondary battery (for example, a small lithium battery). While the USB connector 150 is connected to the USB port of the computer, the battery 13 is switched from the USB bus power. The system is charged with electricity.

  In FIG. 2, a holder controller 10 is an electrical component composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and the like, and plays a role of controlling each electrical component provided in the SIM holder 1.

  A program for operating the CPU of the holder controller 10 is stored in a memory. The memory includes a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) for storing a program executed by the CPU and an SRAM (Static Random Access for temporarily storing data being processed. Memory) and the like.

  The liquid crystal controller 11 is an electrical component provided to drive the liquid crystal display 110 and display information transmitted from the holder controller 10 on the liquid crystal display 110.

  The SIM controller 12 and the connection terminal board 120 are electrical components provided for the SIM holder 1 to perform data communication with the SIM 2 mounted on the SIM holder 1 and to use the SIM 2.

  FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the SIM 2 inserted from the slot 17 of the SIM holder 1 and attached to the SIM holder 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the SIM2 has a shape obtained by cutting the vicinity of the IC chip of the contact IC card into a strip shape, and the UIM (User Identify Module) has the same shape as the card shape shown in FIG. is doing.

In the present embodiment, the SIM2 IC chip 20 has eight contact terminals 21 conforming to the ISO7816 standard, and supports contact communication conforming to the ISO7816 standard.
Further, the IC chip 20 has data for identifying the owner of the SIM holder 1 (hereinafter referred to as owner identification data), network login system use, door gate use and position detection system (LPS: Local Positioning System) use. At least an application program necessary for the storage is stored.

  In the present embodiment, SIM2 supports only contact communication conforming to the ISO7816 standard. However, if the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 relating to the present applicant is applied to SIM2, it conforms to ISO14443 standard. Communication by compliant non-contact proximity communication is also possible. In addition, in the present invention, there is no limitation on the type of OS (Operating System) and application programs mounted on the IC chip 20.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the SIM 2 is mounted on the SIM holder 1. As shown in FIG. 1, by providing a stopper 18 or the like, the SIM 2 inserted from the slot 17 of the SIM holder 1 stops at a predetermined position in the SIM holder 1. A connection terminal plate 120 is provided at a position facing the surface of the SIM2 IC chip 20 set at a predetermined position.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, eight connection terminals 121 are provided on the surface of the connection terminal plate 120, and when the SIM 2 is inserted, the eight connection terminals 121 are eight of the IC chip 20. The SIM holder 1 and the SIM 2 are electrically connected.

  The SIM controller 12 in FIG. 2 is a circuit that controls communication with the SIM 2 mounted on the SIM holder 1 and generates functions necessary for operating the SIM 2, for example, electrical signals such as a clock signal and a reset signal. And a function for controlling a communication protocol (for example, T = 1) compliant with ISO7816.

  By controlling the SIM controller 12, the holder controller 10 can perform data communication with the SIM 2 and can use data and applications stored in the SIM 2.

  The USB controller 15 provided in the SIM holder 1 uses the USB connector 150 to communicate data with the computer not shown in the figure in accordance with the USB standard, and the SIM 2 mounted on the SIM holder 1 is not shown in the figure. Provided for computer use.

  The wireless communication controller 14 provided in the SIM holder 1 is a means for performing short-range wireless communication with the computer system (for example, LPS) (not shown) using the antenna 140 and mounted on the SIM holder 1. The SIM2 is provided so that it can be used in a door gate system or LPS (not shown).

  In the present embodiment, the frequency band used in short-range wireless communication is the 2.4 GHz band. By using the power of the battery 13 built in the SIM holder 1 and wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication standard (for example, Blue Tooth or ZigBee) using a frequency of 2.4 GHz band, a communication distance of up to about 30 m can be achieved. realizable.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the wireless communication controller 14 in detail. The wireless communication controller 14 of the SIM holder 1 according to the present embodiment has two wireless output circuits 14a and 14b and an I / O that communicates with the holder controller so that two types of wireless outputs can be set in short-range wireless communication. An O port 14c is provided.

  The first wireless output circuit 14a is a circuit in which the wireless output is adjusted so that the wireless output becomes 1 mW, and can achieve a communication distance of about 2 to 3 m with an output of 1 mW, and requires a communication distance such as a door gate. Suitable for applications that don't.

  The second wireless output circuit 14b is a circuit in which the wireless output is adjusted so that the wireless output becomes 10 mW, and can achieve a communication distance of up to 30 m with an output of 10 mW, and requires a communication distance of 10 m or more such as LPS. Suitable for applications that

  The reason why the wireless communication controller 14 includes two types of wireless output circuits 14a and 14b having different wireless outputs is to prevent wasteful consumption of the battery 13 provided in the SIM holder 1.

  In the present embodiment, the SIM holder 1 can be used for LPS applications, and a wireless output of 10 mW is required to secure a communication distance required for the LPS. However, when wireless communication is always performed with a wireless output of 10 mW, even when a communication distance such as a door gate is not necessary, wireless communication is performed with a wireless output of 10 mW, so that the battery 13 is consumed quickly.

  Therefore, the SIM holder 1 according to the present invention includes two wireless output circuits 14a and 14b with wireless outputs of 1 mW and 10 mW, and the battery 13 is consumed by switching the wireless output to be used depending on the use of the SIM holder 1. suppress.

That is, when the SIM holder 1 is used for a log-in application to the network, the radio output circuit 14a having a radio output of 1 mW is used. When the SIM holder 1 is used for an LPS application, the radio output is 10 mW. The wireless output circuit 14b is used.
Thus, by switching the wireless output depending on the application, unnecessary power can be suppressed and consumption of the battery 13 can be suppressed.

  Whether the wireless communication controller 14 communicates using one of the two wireless output circuits 14a and 14b is indicated by a setting signal input to the I / O port 14c of the wireless communication controller 14 by the holder controller 10.

  When data using the 1 mW wireless output circuit 14a is input to the I / O port 14c, the wireless communication controller 14 performs proximity wireless communication using the 1 mW wireless output circuit 14a, and the I / O port When data using the 10 mW wireless output circuit 14b is input to 14c, the wireless communication controller 14 performs proximity wireless communication using the 10 mW wireless output circuit 14b.

  The SIM holder 1 is provided with means for switching the wireless output so that the owner of the SIM holder 1 can switch the wireless output, and this means is provided by electrical components such as the liquid crystal display 110, the selection button 161 and the decision button 162. Realized.

FIG. 6 is an example of information displayed on the liquid crystal display 110 when the owner of the SIM holder 1 switches the wireless output.
The memory of the holder controller 10 stores at least a program for setting the wireless output of short-range wireless communication. When this program is operated, the holder controller 10 instructs the liquid crystal controller 11 to display the information of FIG. send.

In the information of FIG. 6, the wireless output information regarding the wireless output is displayed for each wireless output circuit (in this case, the wireless output circuits 14a and 14b) provided in the SIM holder 1, and the owner of the SIM holder 1 is displayed. The wireless output to be used can be determined by operating the selection button 161 and the determination button 162 while referring to the wireless output information displayed on the liquid crystal display 110.
In addition, when displaying the information regarding the liquid crystal display 110, it is good to indicate the maximum communication distance that can be realized by the wireless output to be used.

  When the information of FIG. 6 on the liquid crystal display 110 is displayed, when the owner of the SIM holder 1 presses the selection button 161, a trigger indicating that the selection button 162 has been pressed is input to the holder controller 10.

  Each time the selection button 161 is pressed, the holder controller 10 moves the triangular figure displayed in FIG. 6, and the holder can select the wireless output to be used. In addition, by pressing the enter button 162, a command for setting the circuit for wireless output indicated by the triangular figure is transmitted from the holder controller 10 to the I / O port 14c of the wireless communication controller 14, and the wireless output of the SIM holder 1 is transmitted. Is set to the wireless output indicated by the triangular figure.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of using the SIM holder 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining how to use the SIM holder 1 in the office. The SIM holder 1 has a wireless output of 1 mW in the office door gate, and the gate 30 and the SIM holder 1 communicate with each other and are stored in the SIM 2. The entrance / exit management of the holder of the SIM holder 1 is performed using the door gate application.

  When logging in to the in-house network system using the personal computer 31 in the office, the computer 31 and the SIM holder 1 communicate with each other using the USB interface, and a login application stored in the SIM 2 is used. The login of the owner is managed.

  Furthermore, when the holder of the SIM holder 1 is in the security room of the office, the aerial wireless output is 10 mW, the position detection terminal 32 and the SIM holder 1 communicate, and the LPS application stored in the SIM 2 is used. Location management of the SIM holder 1 is performed.

The figure which showed an example of the external appearance of a SIM holder. The figure which showed the components electrically connected by a SIM holder. The figure explaining SIM. The figure explaining the state with which SIM was mounted | worn with the SIM holder. The figure explaining a radio | wireless communication controller in detail. An example of information displayed on a liquid crystal display. The figure explaining the utilization method of a SIM holder.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 SIM holder 10 Holder controller 11 LCD controller 110 Liquid crystal display 13 Battery 14 Wireless communication controller 14a Wireless output circuit (1mW)
14b Wireless output circuit (10mW)
14c I / O port 140 Antenna 2 SIM

Claims (6)

  A wireless communication device equipped with a card-like information storage medium and having a wireless data communication function, wherein the wireless communication device is stored in the information storage medium and means for communicating with the attached information storage medium As a means for wirelessly communicating with an external device that uses data or an application, a short-range wireless communication means that operates using a power source built in the wireless communication device, the wireless communication device includes the short-range A wireless communication device comprising wireless output changing means for changing the wireless output of the wireless communication means.   2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless output changing unit included in the wireless communication device is used from among a plurality of wireless output circuits each having a different wireless output and the plurality of wireless output circuits. A wireless communication device comprising at least wireless output selection means for setting one wireless output circuit.   The wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication device selects and determines one information from information display means for displaying information and a plurality of information displayed on the information display means. The wireless output selection means displays wireless output information indicating wireless outputs corresponding to the plurality of wireless output circuits on the information display means, and is selected / determined by the operation buttons. A wireless communication device, wherein the wireless output circuit corresponding to one piece of the wireless output information is set as the wireless output circuit used in the short-range wireless communication means.   4. The wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein the information display means provided in the wireless communication device is a liquid crystal display.   5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication means is one of infrared communication, Bluetooth, or ZigBee. 6. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the card-shaped information storage medium attached to the wireless communication device is an IC card or a SIM. device.

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