JP2010015415A - Reader/writer, service providing system, portable recording medium operation discriminating method, and service providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service providing system specifying desired services to be provided including personal authentication according to the way of holding a portable recording medium over a reader/writer by operating only the portable recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The reader/writer 10, which reads and writes content recorded in a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card 20 by electromagnetic induction, comprises an antenna coil 1 asymmetric in the vertical or lateral direction, a reflection detection part 2 which detects a change in the reflection power from the antenna coil 1 generated when the non-contact IC card 20 is moved near the antenna coil 1, and a discrimination part 5 which discriminates the change in the reflected power detected by the reflection detection part 2 as a pattern of a change in the reflected power indicating the direction of holding the non-contact IC card 20. By notifying an upper level device 50 of the pattern of the change in the reflected power discriminated by the discrimination part 5, the upper level device 50 specifies the service to be provided corresponding to the direction of holding the non-contact IC card 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reader / writer, a service providing system, a portable recording medium operation determination method, and a service providing method. In particular, the present invention is suitably applied in the fields of information processing apparatuses, information communication apparatuses, and the like that provide services related to portable recording media such as non-contact IC cards and RF (Radio Frequency) tags possessed by users.

  Conventionally, when trying to realize a service related to a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card or an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, the user presses a service identification button for designating a desired service, etc. Use of performing a two-step operation of holding a portable recording medium over a reader / writer (portable recording medium reader / writer) after selecting a desired service (for example, electronic money payment, balance reference, etc.) by some means Was the way.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-091702, “Non-contact IC card and non-contact IC card position detection method”, both sides of the IC card are used properly and the surface of the IC card is held over a reader / writer. There has also been proposed a method of selecting a service that is different from when the back side is held over a reader / writer. However, if you want to use personal authentication when using a non-contact IC card, perform personal authentication using a method other than the operation of holding the IC card, such as entering a password using a numeric keypad or authentication by reading a fingerprint. Had to do.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-091702

  As described above, in the conventional technology, a service related to a portable recording medium such as a contactless card or an RF tag (for example, an application service such as balance inquiry or electronic money payment or a personal authentication service) is selected and executed. In this case, there is no idea to specify the desired application service or to specify the user's authentication process depending on how the portable recording medium is held over the reader / writer (such as the direction and speed) It is necessary to press the button for identifying the service to be performed, or to authenticate the person using a password input method such as a numeric keypad, and hold the portable recording medium over the reader / writer. It was necessary to perform an operation different from the operation.

  Further, in the non-contact IC card position detection method described in Patent Document 1, the front and back of the non-contact IC card is separated by a magnetic material, and a function of discriminating which surface is held by the reader / writer is provided. There is a problem that it is necessary to be incorporated in a non-contact IC card, the structure of the non-contact IC card becomes complicated, and the cost of the non-contact IC card that normally has to issue a large number of sheets increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a reader / writer that allows a specified service to be specified and implemented among various services including authentication by only operating a portable recording medium, A service providing system, a portable recording medium operation determination method, and a service providing method are provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a desired application service (depending on how a portable recording medium (non-contact IC card, RF tag, etc.) is held over a reader / writer (portable recording medium reader / writer). The main features are selecting a service (such as balance inquiry and electronic money payment) and specifying personal authentication processing. Specifically, the user of the portable recording medium changes the direction in which the portable recording medium is held over the reader / writer (from the upper side to the lower side of the reader / writer or from the right side to the left side) once. In addition, when the operation is performed multiple times, the reader / writer can determine how the portable recording medium is held by the user, thereby identifying the service requested by the user. It has a mechanism that makes it possible.

  Here, in order to enable the reader / writer to determine how the portable recording medium is held by the user, the antenna coil on the reader / writer side that is electromagnetically coupled to the portable recording medium held close to the reader / writer is used. The portable recording medium approaches or moves away from the reader / writer by making the shape asymmetrical vertically such as a triangle, or by asymmetrical arrangement of the antenna coil into a plurality of asymmetrical coils. The characteristic is that the reader / writer detects and discriminates the direction when the signal is reflected as the difference in the change in the reflected power in the antenna coil.

  Specifically, the present invention comprises the following technical means.

  According to a first technical means, in a reader / writer for reading and writing recorded contents of a portable recording medium by electromagnetic induction, an antenna coil wound so as to be vertically asymmetrical or laterally asymmetrical; and the portable recording medium is attached to the antenna coil. A detection unit that detects a change in reflected power from the antenna coil that is generated when the vicinity is moved, and a determination unit that determines a pattern of a change in reflected power detected by the detection unit. Features.

  According to a second technical means, in the reader / writer according to the first technical means, the shape of the antenna coil is a triangular shape in which one of the top and bottom or left and right is a vertex and the other is a side, or top and bottom or left and right Eccentric shape where one coil density is sparse and the other coil density is dense, or divided into a plurality of coils where the number of turns of one of the upper and lower or left and right coils is small and the other coil is large It is any shape of the shape.

  According to a third technical means, in the reader / writer according to the first or second technical means, the determination unit compares the rise time and the fall time of the signal waveform of the reflected power detected by the detection unit. The result is output as a discrimination result of the reflected power change pattern.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the reader / writer according to the third technical means, one or a plurality of times until a predetermined time limit elapses after the detection unit detects the first change in the reflected power. When the change in the reflected power is detected for the first time, the determination unit calculates a rise time and a fall time of the signal waveform of the reflected power for each of the one or more changes in the reflected power detected by the detection unit. In comparison, the obtained combination of one or more comparison results is output as a discrimination result of the reflected power change pattern.

  According to a fifth technical means, in the reader / writer according to any one of the first to fourth technical means, the determination unit includes an AD converter that converts the reflected power detected by the detection unit into a digital signal; And a discriminating controller for discriminating a change pattern of the reflected power converted into a digital signal by the AD converter.

  A sixth technical means is a communication interface unit that performs communication with a host device that executes various services related to the portable recording medium in the reader / writer according to any one of the first to fifth technical means. And a pattern of a change in the reflected power, which is a determination result of the determination unit, is notified to the host device via the communication interface unit.

  Seventh technical means includes a display unit composed of a liquid crystal panel or a lamp for displaying various types of information in the reader / writer described in the sixth technical means, and from the host device that has transmitted the discrimination result of the discrimination unit, When a notification command for instructing display of specified information is received via the communication interface unit, the information instructed by the notification command is displayed on the display unit.

  An eighth technical means is the reader / writer according to any one of the first to seventh technical means, wherein the portable recording medium is a non-contact IC card or an RF tag.

  Ninth technical means includes: a reader / writer that reads and writes the recorded contents of a portable recording medium by electromagnetic induction; and the portable recording that moves in the vicinity of the reader / writer among various services related to the portable recording medium. In a service providing system including a host device that executes a service desired by a user of a medium and updates the recorded contents of the portable recording medium as necessary, the reader / writer is configured to perform the first to eighth techniques. The reader / writer according to any one of the means, wherein the host device determines a service to be executed based on the determination result of the determination unit received from the reader / writer, and executes the determined service The content of the portable recording medium held over the reader / writer is updated as necessary.

  According to a tenth technical means, in the service providing system according to the ninth technical means, two application services of a balance inquiry service and an electronic money payment service are provided as various services related to the portable recording medium executed by the host device. It is characterized by including at least.

  The eleventh technical means is the service providing system according to the ninth or tenth technical means, in which various services related to the portable recording medium executed by the host device are used by the user of the portable recording medium. It includes at least a personal authentication service for performing authentication.

  A twelfth technical means is a portable recording medium operation determination method for determining how to hold a portable recording medium that reads / writes recorded contents by electromagnetic induction with a reader / writer to the reader / writer, the portable recording medium comprising: Detecting a change in the reflected power from the antenna coil that occurs when the antenna is moved so as to move in the vicinity of the antenna coil having a vertically asymmetrical or asymmetrical shape, and a change in the reflected power detected by the detecting step. And a determination step of determining a pattern.

  A thirteenth technical means is the portable recording medium operation discrimination method according to the twelfth technical means, wherein the antenna coil has a triangular shape in which one of the top and bottom or left and right is a vertex and the other is a side, or An eccentric shape in which one of the upper and lower or left and right coils is sparse and the other coil is dense, or a plurality of windings of one of the upper and lower or left and right coils are small and the number of turns of the other coil is large. It is any one of divided shapes divided into coils.

  A fourteenth technical means is the portable recording medium operation discrimination method according to the twelfth or thirteenth technical means, wherein the detection step detects the reflected power change pattern discrimination result in the discrimination step. A comparison result between the rise time and fall time of the reflected power signal waveform is output.

  According to a fifteenth technical means, in the portable recording medium operation determination method according to the fourteenth technical means, a predetermined time limit elapses after the first change in the reflected power is detected in the detection step. When one or a plurality of changes in the reflected power have been detected before, as a result of determining the reflected power change pattern in the determination step, each of the one or more changes in the reflected power detected by the detection step. And comparing the rise time and fall time of the signal waveform of the reflected power and outputting a combination of one or more obtained comparison results.

  Sixteenth technical means provides the portable recording medium operation determination method according to any one of the twelfth to fifteenth technical means, with respect to a host device that executes various services related to the portable recording medium. In addition to transmitting the recorded content read from the portable recording medium, a pattern of the change in the reflected power, which is the determination result in the determination step, is notified.

  The seventeenth technical means executes a service desired by a user of the portable recording medium held so as to move in the vicinity of the reader / writer among various services related to the portable recording medium, and records the portable recording medium. 17. The portable recording medium according to any one of the twelfth to sixteenth technical means, wherein a method for determining how to hold the portable recording medium over the reader / writer is a service providing method for updating contents as necessary. An operation determination method, wherein a service to be executed is determined based on a pattern of a change in the reflected power that is a determination result in the determination step, the determined service is executed, and is held over the reader / writer The content recorded on the portable recording medium is updated as necessary.

  The eighteenth technical means in the service providing method according to the seventeenth technical means, includes at least two application services of a balance inquiry service and an electronic money payment service as various services related to the portable recording medium. Service providing method.

  Nineteenth technical means is the service providing method according to the seventeenth or eighteenth technical means, wherein a personal authentication service for authenticating a user of the portable recording medium as various services relating to the portable recording medium. It is characterized by including at least.

  According to the reader / writer, service providing system, portable recording medium operation determination method and service providing method of the present invention, by changing the way the portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card or RF tag is held over the reader / writer, It is possible to select a desired service (application service such as balance inquiry and electronic money payment) or to perform personal authentication, which is a kind of service related to portable recording media. Without using other means such as a service identification selection button or a numeric keypad, services can be selected and personal authentication can be performed using only a portable recording medium, which improves the convenience of users of portable recording media. It can be greatly improved.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Exemplary embodiments of a reader / writer, a service providing system, a portable recording medium operation determining method, and a service providing method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Features of the present invention)
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the features of the present invention will be described first. In the present invention, the shape of an antenna coil of a reader / writer that reads and writes the recorded contents of a portable recording medium such as a non-contact type IC card or an RF tag is an asymmetrical shape (triangle) as shown in FIG. , An eccentric type, a divided type, etc.), and as a result, the reader / writer antenna is generated due to the difference in the manner in which the portable recording medium is held over the reader / writer (the holding direction and the holding speed). By determining the pattern of change in input impedance of the coil based on the result of measuring the reflected power from the antenna coil, it is possible to identify how the portable recording medium is held over the reader / writer, and thus , Services desired by the user of the portable recording medium (application services such as balance inquiry and electronic money payment, and personal authentication services) It is to any of these services) of such possible embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shape of an antenna coil of a reader / writer according to the present invention. As an example of a vertically asymmetric coil shape, an antenna coil 1a in FIG. The antenna coil 1b shown in FIG. 1 (b) has a thin triangular shape with a narrow apex and a wide bottom side, and the coil density on the upper side in FIG. The antenna coil 1c shown in FIG. 1 (c) has a dense eccentric shape, and is divided into a plurality of coils. As an example, the antenna coil 1c is divided into two coils, a first coil 1c ₁ and a second coil 1c ₂ above and below in FIG. In this example, the upper first coil 1c ₁ has a small number of turns, and the lower second coil 1c ₂ has a large number of turns.

  When the antenna coil having an asymmetrical shape in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 1 is operated to move the portable recording medium in the asymmetrical direction of the antenna coil, the input impedance in the antenna coil is portable recording. It changes according to the operation of the medium.

  Therefore, by providing the reader / writer with the function of determining the change in the input impedance, the user can use only a portable recording medium (non-contact IC card, RF tag, etc.) A user's desired service can be discriminated by the reader / writer or a higher-level device connected to the reader / writer simply by changing the operation method of the portable recording medium such as the direction and speed of approaching or moving away from the reader / writer. Therefore, for example, in a higher-level device that executes the service, it is possible to select and execute a service to be provided (application service such as balance inquiry or electronic money payment, or a personal authentication service).

  Further explanation is as follows.

  Generally, when a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card or an RF tag is brought close to an antenna coil of a reader / writer, electromagnetic coupling between the antenna coil of the reader / writer and an antenna coil on the portable recording medium, for example, the non-contact IC card side The mutual inductance changes due to the change in the degree (that is, the coupling coefficient). As a result, the input impedance of the antenna coil of the reader / writer as viewed from the transmitter side of the reader / writer changes, so that the reflected power with respect to the transmission power from the transmitter to the antenna coil also changes according to the change of the input impedance. To do.

  The rate of change of the reflected power is proportional to the rate of change of the coupling coefficient. That is, when a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card is moved closer to or away from the reader / writer, the reflected power from the antenna coil changes according to the approach speed or the separation speed. In addition, when the antenna coil of the reader / writer is formed in an asymmetric shape such as a triangular shape, a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card approaches or leaves in the direction of the apex of the triangular antenna coil, Since the change in electromagnetic coupling is gradual, the change in reflected power is also gradual, but when a portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card approaches or moves away from the direction of the side of the antenna coil, the change in electromagnetic coupling is On the contrary, it becomes abrupt and the change in reflected power also becomes abrupt.

  A mechanism for detecting the difference in the reflected power change and determining the reflected power change pattern is given to the reader / writer, and the discriminant result determined using this mechanism (of the reflected power change). Pattern) to an external host device (for example, a service providing server that performs a service related to a portable recording medium) to which the reader / writer is connected. The higher-level device that has received the determination result from the reader / writer selects an application service to be implemented or authenticates the person who holds the device according to the determination result.

  Therefore, by changing the operation method of the portable recording medium, such as the direction of the portable recording medium such as a contactless IC card and the speed at which it is held, it can be used as a service providing system to which the reader / writer as described above is connected. A service desired by the user can be easily selected by operating only the portable recording medium, and the corresponding application service can be executed, or the person who holds the portable recording medium such as a non-contact IC card can be specified.

(Configuration example of service providing system according to the present invention)
Next, a specific configuration example of a service providing system using a reader / writer including an antenna coil having an asymmetrical shape in the vertical and horizontal directions as shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a service providing system using a reader / writer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a case where a non-contact IC card 20 is used as a portable recording medium possessed by a user, and an antenna coil installed in the reader / writer 10 so as to be asymmetrical vertically and horizontally. As an example of FIG. 1, a case is shown in which a vertically asymmetrical triangular coil shown in FIG. 1A (that is, the antenna coil 1a in FIG. 1A) is used.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, as an example in which different services can be selected depending on how the contactless IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10, the user of the contactless IC card 20 can select the service. An example of the operation when the host device 50 is requested to provide a desired application service via the reader / writer 10 by changing the holding direction to the reader / writer 10 once and changing the direction of the holding is shown.

Here, as a direction in which the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10,
(1) For example, in order to provide an application service such as a balance inquiry service, when approaching from the apex direction of the antenna coil in the reader / writer 10 and holding it up toward the side (that is, from above in FIG. 2) When holding the non-contact IC card 20 downward)
(2) For example, in order to provide an application service such as an electronic money payment service, the antenna coil in the reader / writer 10 is moved closer to the side of the antenna coil and pulled out toward the apex (that is, the downward direction in FIG. 2). To move the non-contact IC card 20 from the top to the top)
These two cases are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recorded contents of the non-contact IC card 20 are electromagnetically coupled to enable the host device 50 to provide different services to the user using only the non-contact IC card 20. The reader / writer 10 that reads / writes at least includes an antenna coil 1 having a triangular shape, a reflection detection unit 2, a transmission unit 3, a reception unit 4, a determination unit 5, a controller 6, a communication interface unit 7, and a display unit 8. ing. The feature of the present invention is that the reader / writer 10 includes an antenna coil 1 having a special shape, a reflection detection unit 2, and a discrimination unit 5, and includes a transmission unit 3, a reception unit 4, a controller 6, and communication. About each component of the interface part 7 and the display part 8, you may be the same circuit structure as the normal reader / writer which exists conventionally.

  As described above, the antenna coil 1 has an asymmetric triangular shape in the vertical direction in FIG. 2, and transmits / receives data using a magnetic field to / from the adjacent non-contact IC card 20. The reflection detection unit 2 is configured by, for example, a directional coupler, and is a detection unit that measures the reflected power from the antenna coil 1 and branches and outputs a voltage signal corresponding to the measured change in the reflected power to the determination unit 5. . The discriminating unit 5 discriminates the change pattern of the reflected power based on the voltage signal corresponding to the change of the reflected power measured by the reflection detection unit 2. The approaching direction of the IC card 20 (that is, the direction in which the IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10) can be determined.

  The transmission unit 3 modulates and amplifies transmission data to be transmitted from the antenna coil 1 to the non-contact IC card 20, and the reception unit 4 transmits from the non-contact IC card 20 via the antenna coil 1. The received data is demodulated.

  Further, the controller 6 performs transmission / reception operations (read / write operations) with the non-contact IC card 20 of the transmission unit 3 and the reception unit 4 and operations of each unit in the reader / writer 10 in accordance with an instruction by a command from the host device 50. It is something to control.

  The communication interface unit 7 provides an interface for performing communication with a host device 50 (a service providing server that executes a service related to the non-contact IC card 20) including an information processing device and an information communication device. The determination result of how to hold the non-contact IC card 20 over the reader / writer 10, that is, the determination result of the reflected power change pattern in the determination unit 5, is notified to the host device 50, or the host device IC card communication for instructing a display / reading operation on the display unit 8 of the reader / writer 10 for a reader / writer control command for instructing a read / write operation from the 50 to the non-contact IC card 20 or a notification to a user of the non-contact IC card 20 Command is transferred to the controller 6.

  The display unit 8 includes a liquid crystal panel, a lamp, and the like, and displays information to be notified to a user who holds the non-contact IC card 20 over the reader / writer 10.

  The discriminating unit 5 includes an AD converter 5a and a discriminating controller 5b. The AD converter 5a converts an analog voltage signal corresponding to a change in reflected power from the reflection detecting unit 2 into a digital signal. The input analog voltage signal (that is, reflected power) is sampled and quantized so that it can be digitally processed.

  The discriminating controller 5b discriminates the change pattern of the voltage signal converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 5a (that is, a signal corresponding to the change in the reflected power), and the voltage value (that is, the reflected power). The direction in which the non-contact IC card 20 is held is determined by determining the pattern of the speed at which the value) changes. That is, by measuring the rise time and fall time of the signal waveform of the voltage signal (that is, reflected power) digitized by the AD converter 5a, and comparing the two, the non-contact IC card 20 becomes the antenna coil 1. When approaching from the apex direction of the antenna coil (in the case of (1) shown in FIG. 2), or approaching from the side direction of the antenna coil 1 and exiting in the apex direction (shown in FIG. 2) (In the case of (2)).

  In the present embodiment, the case where the non-contact IC card 20 is held only once is shown, but the non-contact IC card 20 is attached to the reader / writer 10 a plurality of times within a predetermined time limit. Similarly, the pattern of the change in the reflected power is determined even in the case where it is held over. That is, each change in the reflected power that occurs each time the non-contact IC card 20 is held over is detected, the voltage signal corresponding to the change in the reflected power is digitized, and the signal waveform of each digitized voltage signal (reflected power). By comparing the rise time and the fall time, it is possible to determine how to hold each non-contact IC card 20 over a plurality of times, that is, the pattern of the reflected power change, from the comparison results over a plurality of times. .

  The discrimination result regarding the pattern of the change in reflected power in the discrimination controller 5b of the discrimination unit 5 (that is, the result of discriminating how to hold the non-contact IC card 20) is notified to the host device 50. The host device 50 determines how to hold the contactless IC card 20 based on the determination result regarding the change pattern of the reflected power notified from the reader / writer 10, and provides various services (balance inquiry, electronic money) that can be provided. The application service such as payment or the service of the personal authentication process), the service designated / selected by the user of the non-contact IC card 20, that is, the service corresponding to the method of holding the non-contact IC card 20 is executed, and the non-contact An information processing apparatus / information communication apparatus (that is, a service) having a processing function for providing a desired service to a user of the contactless IC card 20 by updating the recorded contents of the contact IC card 20 as necessary. Providing server).

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the host device 50 determines the balance inquiry service and electronic money related to the non-contact IC card 20 based on the determination result of the reflected power change pattern notified from the reader / writer 10. One of the two application services of the payment service is implemented.

  In order to be able to implement such application services, the host device 50 provides a reader / writer control command for instructing the controller 6 of the reader / writer 10 to read / write the recorded contents of the non-contact IC card 20 or a non-contact IC. A notification command for instructing communication of control information with the card 20 and information notification to the user of the contactless IC card 20 (for example, notification for displaying the designated information on the display unit 8 on the reader / writer 10), that is, A function of transmitting an IC card communication command to the reader / writer 10 is provided.

(Operational principle of the present invention)
Next, the operation principle of the reader / writer according to the present invention will be described based on the apparatus configuration of FIG.

  When the non-contact IC card 20 is brought close to the asymmetrical antenna coil 1 above and below the reader / writer 10, the coupling coefficient between the antenna coil 21 of the non-contact IC card 20 and the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10 changes, and the reader / writer is changed. The ten antenna coils 1 are more affected by the mutual inductance from the antenna coil 21 of the non-contact IC card 20.

  As a result, the input impedance to the transmitter 3 of the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10 changes and changes from the matching state with the transmitter 3 when the non-contact IC card 20 does not exist in the vicinity. The reflected power returning to 3 changes. The aspect in which the reflected power changes is detected by the reflection detection unit 2 configured by a directional coupler, and a voltage signal corresponding to the magnitude of the reflected power is branched and output to the determination unit 5. FIG. 3 shows the results of experiments on the change in the magnitude of reflected power when the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the asymmetrical triangular antenna coil 1 above and below the reader / writer 10.

  3A is a schematic diagram showing a state where the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the antenna coil 1, and as shown by reference numeral (1) in FIG. 3A, a triangular antenna is shown. When approaching from the direction of the apex of the coil 1 and exiting in the direction of the side, and as indicated by reference numeral (2) in FIG. 3A, approaching from the direction of the side of the triangular antenna coil 1 and exiting in the direction of the apex Shows the case.

  FIG. 3B is a characteristic diagram showing an experimental result of the magnitude of the reflected power of the antenna coil 1 when two types of holding methods as shown in FIG. As indicated by reference numeral (1) in FIG. 3A, when the triangular antenna coil 1 approaches the apex of the antenna coil 1 and exits in the direction of the side, as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is gentle and has a steep fall. On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral (2) in FIG. 3 (a), when coming closer to the apex direction from the side of the triangular antenna coil 1, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 (b), The rise is steep and the fall is gradual.

  Therefore, in the discriminating unit 5 of FIG. 2, the AD converter 5a performs AD conversion (analog / digital conversion) on the voltage signal from the reflection detection unit 2 (a signal corresponding to the reflected power change pattern) for discrimination. The controller 5b determines the direction in which the non-contact IC card 20 is approaching by determining the rising speed and falling speed of the digitally converted voltage signal (that is, a signal corresponding to a signal waveform indicating a change in reflected power). can do.

  That is, in the discrimination controller 5b, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the rising speed of the voltage signal corresponding to the change in the reflected power is slow and the falling speed is steep, no contact is made. It is determined that the IC card 20 is approaching from the apex direction of the triangle of the antenna coil 1 (direction from above in FIG. 2: sign (1)). Conversely, the rising speed of the voltage signal according to the change in the reflected power Is steep and the falling speed is slow, it is determined that the non-contact IC card 20 is approaching from the side of the triangle of the antenna coil 1 (the direction from the bottom in FIG. 2: sign (2)). be able to.

  That is, in the discrimination controller 5b, as shown in the experimental result of FIG. 3B and the change of the reflected power of reference numerals (1) and (2) of FIG. When the fall time is shorter than the rise time, it is determined that the non-contact IC card 20 is approaching from the apex direction of the triangle of the antenna coil 1, and conversely, the voltage signal corresponding to the change in the reflected power is determined. When the fall time is longer than the rise time, it can be determined that the non-contact IC card 20 is approaching from the side of the triangle of the antenna coil 1.

  Further, each time the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10, the direction in which the non-contact IC card 20 is held is compared with the rise time and fall time of the voltage signal corresponding to the change in reflected power. If it is determined to be used, even if an operation of holding the non-contact IC card 20 is performed once or a plurality of times within a predetermined time limit, it can be obtained correspondingly. As a combination of one or a plurality of comparison results, a pattern of change in reflected power can be determined. Thus, by using a combination of one or more comparison results, it is possible to identify which service is designated from a plurality of two or more services, not limited to two. be able to.

(Operation example in the system configuration of FIG. 2)
Next, the operation in the system configuration of FIG. 2 will be described in more detail using the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the system configuration of FIG. 2, which is an embodiment according to the present invention, and illustrates an example of a portable recording medium operation determination method and a service providing method according to the present invention.

  In the service providing system shown in FIG. 2, for example, a desired service is provided to the user as follows.

  First, a user who requests the implementation of a service related to the non-contact IC card 20 moves the non-contact IC card 20 from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top on the reader / writer 10 in FIG. 2 according to the requested service. Hold it over (step S21). Here, in the following embodiment, as described above, the service requested by the user is one of the two application services of the balance inquiry service and the electronic money payment service. 2, the contactless IC card 20 is held only once so as to move from the top to the bottom of the reader / writer 10 of FIG. 2, and in the case of an electronic money payment service, FIG. As shown by reference numeral (2), it is only necessary to perform an operation of holding the non-contact IC card 20 only once so as to move it from the bottom to the top of the reader / writer 10 in FIG.

  When the non-contact IC card 20 is moved over the reader / writer 10 of FIG. 2 from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top, the reader / writer 10 is electromagnetically coupled to the antenna coil 1 having an asymmetric triangular shape. As a result of the coupling, a change in the reflected power of the antenna coil 1 is detected by the reflection detection unit 2, converted into a voltage signal indicating the change in the reflected power, and branched and output to the determination unit 5 by the directional coupler (step S 11: reflection). Means a detection step of detecting a change in power).

  Here, as indicated by reference numeral (1) in FIG. 2, the non-contact IC card 20 is moved from the upper direction to the lower direction of the reader / writer 10 in FIG. When it is held close to the pointed apex direction so that the width of the antenna coil 1 is extended toward the lower side, as described above, the antenna coil 21 of the non-contact IC card 20 and the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10 Since the change in the coupling coefficient is gentle when approaching the apex of the antenna coil 1 and becomes steep when moving away from the lower side of the antenna coil 1, the voltage representing the signal waveform of the reflected power output from the reflection detector 2. The change in signal is as shown in the characteristic diagram of FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral (2) in FIG. 2, the non-contact IC card 20 is moved from the downward direction to the upward direction of the reader / writer 10 in FIG. If it is held close to the direction of the wide lower side and pulled out in the direction of the thin and sharp apex of the antenna coil 1, the antenna coil 21 of the non-contact IC card 20 and the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10 are, as described above. The change in the coupling coefficient is steep when approaching the lower side of the antenna coil 1 and becomes gentle when moving away from the apex of the antenna coil 1, so that the voltage signal representing the signal waveform of the reflected power output from the reflection detector 2 is reduced. The change is as shown in the characteristic diagram of FIG.

  Here, FIG. 5 is a characteristic showing a change state of a voltage signal representing a signal waveform of reflected power detected by the reflection detection unit 2 of the reader / writer 10 when the non-contact IC card 20 is brought close to the reader / writer 10. It is a figure and has shown typically the aspect of the change of the reflected electric power shown in the experimental result of FIG. FIG. 5A shows a case where the non-contact IC card 20 is held close to the apex direction of the antenna coil 1 and pulled out in the direction of the side of the antenna coil 1 as indicated by reference numeral (1) in FIG. FIG. 5 (b) shows the state of change in the voltage signal representing the signal waveform of the reflected power, and conversely, as shown by reference numeral (2) in FIG. The state of the change of the voltage signal showing the signal waveform of the reflected power when the antenna coil 1 is held close to the apex of the antenna coil 1 is shown.

  Therefore, the reader / writer 10 is provided with the asymmetrical triangular antenna coil 1 in the vertical direction, so that the non-contact IC card 20 is held in the direction of the reader / writer 10 from top to bottom (reference (1)). As shown in FIG. 5, the rise of the voltage signal according to the change in the reflected power, depending on whether it is moved (in the direction) or from the bottom to the top (in the direction of reference numeral (2)) in FIG. The time (t1) and the fall time (t2) show different aspects, and it is possible to determine the requested service based on the difference between the two aspects.

  As described above, the operation of holding the non-contact IC card 20 over the reader / writer 10 is not limited to one time, but may be held over a plurality of times. 2) by generating a plurality of combinations of changes in the reflected power and defining a service to be requested corresponding to each combination of changes in the reflected power. An arbitrary number of services can be selected without being limited to the number.

  A voltage signal corresponding to the change in the reflected power output from the reflection detection unit 2 is input to the AD converter 5a of the determination unit 5 and converted from an analog format to a digital signal format. 5b is input (step S12).

  The discrimination controller 5b of the discrimination unit 5 compares the rise time t1 and the fall time t2 of the voltage signal (that is, the signal waveform of the reflected power of the antenna coil 1) converted into the digital signal format by the AD converter 5a. (Step S13). The comparison result between the rise time t1 and the fall time t2 is discriminated as a reflected power change pattern (step S14: means a discriminating step for discriminating the reflected power change pattern), and the discriminated reflected power change is determined. The pattern is notified to the higher-level device 50 externally connected to the reader / writer 10 via the communication interface unit 7 (step S15).

Here, as shown by reference numeral (1) in FIG. 2, when the non-contact IC card 20 is moved close to the apex direction of the antenna coil 1 so as to come out in the direction of the side of the antenna coil 1, FIG. As shown in (a),
t1> t2
2 is received by the user requesting the desired service in the host device 50 that has received the discrimination result regarding the pattern of the change in the reflected power from the discrimination controller 5b of the discrimination unit 5. It can be determined that the method of (1) is held (that is, the method of moving from the top to the bottom in FIG. 2).

On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral (2) in FIG. 2, when the non-contact IC card 20 is moved close to the side of the antenna coil 1 and pulled out in the direction of the apex of the antenna coil 1, FIG. As shown in (b)
t1 <t2
2 is received by the user requesting the desired service in the host device 50 that has received the discrimination result regarding the pattern of the change in the reflected power from the discrimination controller 5b of the discrimination unit 5. It can be determined that the method of (2) is held (that is, the method of moving from the bottom to the top in FIG. 2).

  That is, in the host device 50, the discrimination result from the discrimination unit 5 of the reader / writer 10 (the comparison result between the rising time t1 and the falling time t2 of the reflected power change pattern, that is, the signal waveform of the reflected power of the antenna coil 1). When received (step S51), based on the determination result (the determination result of the reflected power change pattern), the service type (service type such as application service or personal authentication processing) to be provided to the user is determined ( In step S52, the determined service type is notified to the reader / writer 10 as an IC card notification command for notifying the user of the service to be performed (step S53).

  In the case of the present embodiment, since the number of operations for holding the non-contact IC card 20 over the reader / writer 10 within a predetermined time limit is only one, the host device 50 is configured as described above. It is determined which of the two application services of the balance inquiry service for the card 20 and the electronic money payment service is selected and executed.

  Here, in the host device 50, for example, as described above, the balance inquiry service is the one-time holding method in the direction indicated by reference numeral (1) in FIG. 2, and the direction indicated by reference numeral (2) in FIG. Assuming that the one-time holding method is an electronic money payment service, the service type of the application service to be implemented is determined in advance and is known to users of the contactless IC card 20. As a result, the user of the non-contact IC card 20 does not use any means other than the non-contact IC card 20 (for example, without pressing a service identification button for designating an application service). A desired service can be selected and executed simply by operating the non-contact IC card 20.

  That is, the user of the non-contact IC card 20 can select and carry out the balance inquiry service only by holding the direction indicated by the reference numeral (1) in FIG. The electronic money payment service can be selected and implemented simply by holding the direction shown in 2).

  As described above, the service type selected in the host device 50 is notified to the controller 6 of the reader / writer 10 as an IC card communication command, so that the controller 6 of the reader / writer 10 is placed on the reader / writer 10. By displaying the notified service type on the display unit 8 such as a lamp that is arranged, the service type to be implemented by the host device 50 can be presented to the user of the non-contact IC card 20 ( Step S16).

  The user of the non-contact IC card 20 can confirm the type of service to be implemented in the host device 50 based on the display content of the display unit 8 such as a lamp on the reader / writer 10. By holding the contactless IC card 20 over the reader / writer 10, it is possible to receive a desired service (for example, any application service for balance inquiry or electronic money payment).

  As described above, the user can specify a desired service and receive provision of the service simply by changing how the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10.

(Other embodiments)
In the description of the above-described embodiment, the user of the contactless IC card 20 in the host device 50 performs the balance inquiry service and the electronic money payment service according to how the contactless IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10. Although the case where one of the two application services is selected and the provision of the selected service is shown, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the mechanism as described in the above-described embodiment is used for authentication of the user of the contactless IC card 20 as one of the services provided to the contactless IC card 20 user. Alternatively, it is not limited to selecting two application services, and any one of two or more application services may be selected.

  That is, the number of times the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10 is not limited to one, but after the first change in the reflected power is detected by the reflection detection unit 2 of the reader / writer 10, In addition, it is also possible to perform an operation such as holding it several times. When the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10 for a plurality of times within the time limit, the holding method and the symbol (1) shown in FIG. It is possible to specify and specify any one of two or more services (application service, personal authentication processing service, etc.) by combining with the method shown in 2). is there.

  For example, when used for user authentication relating to the user of the non-contact IC card 20, as an example, as shown in FIG. After the approaching is performed twice so that the antenna coil 1 is pulled out in the direction of the side of the antenna coil 1, the holding method as shown by reference numeral (2) in FIG. It is determined in advance on the higher-level device 50 side that the method of holding the antenna coil 1 away from the antenna coil 1 in the direction of the apex of the antenna coil 1 is performed once.

  Here, the user of the non-contact IC card 20 performs the above-described operation (how to hold the non-contact IC card 20) registered in the host device 50 for user authentication within a predetermined time limit. Then, the host device 50 determines that the personal authentication service is designated, and the host device 50 notifies the user that the user authentication process is to be executed by an IC card communication command. Then, the notification is given to the controller 6 of the reader / writer 10, and the fact can be displayed on the display unit 8 (such as a personal authentication lamp) on the reader / writer 10.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the example in which the determination unit 5 that compares and determines the magnitude of the reflected power of the antenna coil 1 is mounted in the reader / writer 10 has been described. You may mount on the side. In such a case, the AD converter 5a and the determination controller 5b of the determination unit 5 are separated, and the AD converter 5a is mounted on the reader / writer 10 side, and the determination controller 5b is mounted on the host device 50 side. You may do it.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the antenna coil 1 having an asymmetrical shape on the left and right or top and bottom is provided on the reader / writer 10 side for reading / writing recorded contents of a portable recording medium such as the non-contact IC card 20. Although the case where it is provided has been described, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, as an antenna coil not on the reader / writer 10 side but on a portable recording medium side composed of a non-contact IC card 20 or an RF tag (for example, as the antenna coil 21 of the non-contact IC card 20), the upper and lower sides as shown in FIG. Or you may make it provide the antenna coil of an asymmetrical shape on either side. Alternatively, both the reader / writer side and the portable recording medium side are provided with antenna coils having asymmetric shapes in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a plurality of types of services are discriminated by using a combination of both. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the non-contact IC card 20 is held over the reader / writer 10 fixedly installed has been described. However, the reader / writer may be a handy type. In the case of a handheld reader / writer, as long as the change in the relative positional relationship between the non-contact IC card 20 and the reader / writer is the same as in the above-described embodiment, the antenna coil (depending on the case) In the portable recording medium side antenna coil), the handheld reader / writer is held in one hand, and the non-contact IC card 20 held in the other hand is held by the reader / writer. It is natural that the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained by performing an operation so as to trace either direction.

(Further different embodiments)
Further, like touch and go, a user of a portable recording medium, for example, a non-contact IC card 20, touches the non-contact IC card 20 from the front of the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10, and the same front as the touched direction. Even in the case of holding the screen away in the direction, it is possible to select a different service or perform personal authentication.

  As described above, in the case of holding the camera away from the reader / writer 10 in the same direction as the touched direction, the approach speed when the portable recording medium such as the non-contact IC card 20 is touched to the reader / writer 10 and the distance from the reader / writer 10 are separated. By explicitly changing the separation speed by the user of the contactless IC card 20, one of a plurality of service types (application service, personal authentication processing, etc.) may be designated. .

  As described above, when the approach speed and the separation speed of the non-contact IC card 20 with respect to the reader / writer 10 are explicitly changed, the antenna coil 1 of the reader / writer 10 is moved vertically or horizontally as shown in FIG. It is not necessary to perform the asymmetric winding method, and even a uniform winding method can be realized.

(Effect of the embodiment according to the present invention)
As described in detail above, in the embodiment according to the present invention, a service identification button or the like can be obtained by changing how the portable recording medium such as the non-contact IC card 20 or the RF tag is held over the reader / writer 10. It becomes possible to select a desired application service and perform personal authentication without using other means, and the convenience of the user of the portable recording medium is greatly improved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the shape of the antenna coil of the reader / writer by this invention. It is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a service providing system using a reader / writer according to the present invention. It is a characteristic view showing the result of experimenting the change in the magnitude of the reflected power when the non-contact IC card is held over the asymmetrical triangular antenna coil above and below the reader / writer. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the system configuration of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing a change in voltage signal representing a signal waveform of reflected power detected by a reflection detection unit of a reader / writer when a non-contact IC card is brought close to the reader / writer.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... antenna coil, 1a ... antenna coil, 1b ... antenna coil, 1c ... antenna coil, 1c 1 _... first coil, 1c 2 _... second coil, 2 ... reflection detection unit (detection unit), 3 ... transmission unit, 4 RECEPTION UNIT, 5 ... DISCRIMINATION UNIT, 5A ... AD CONVERTER, 5B ... DISCOVERY CONTROLLER, 6 ... CONTROLLER, 7 ... COMMUNICATION INTERFACE, 10 ... READER / WRITER, 20 ... NON-CONTACT IC CARD, 21 ... ANTENNA CIL Host device.

Claims (19)

  In a reader / writer for reading and writing recorded contents of a portable recording medium by electromagnetic induction, an antenna coil wound so as to be vertically asymmetrical or laterally asymmetrical, and the portable recording medium is moved in the vicinity of the antenna coil. A reader / writer comprising at least a detection unit that detects a change in reflected power from the antenna coil that is generated when the antenna coil is detected, and a determination unit that determines a pattern of the change in reflected power detected by the detection unit.   2. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the antenna coil has a triangular shape in which one of the top and bottom or left and right is a vertex and the other is a side, or one of the top and bottom or left and right coil density is sparse, Either an eccentric shape with a high coil density, or a split shape divided into a plurality of coils with a small number of turns on one of the upper and lower or left and right coils and a large number of turns on the other coil Reader / writer.   3. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit uses a comparison result between a rising time and a falling time of the signal waveform of the reflected power detected by the detection unit as a pattern of a change in the reflected power. A reader / writer characterized by outputting as a discrimination result.   The reader / writer according to claim 3, wherein the detection unit detects one or more changes in the reflected power until a predetermined time limit elapses after the first change in the reflected power is detected. In this case, the determination unit compares the rise time and the fall time of the signal waveform of the reflected power with respect to each of the one or more changes in the reflected power detected by the detection unit. A reader / writer characterized in that a combination of the comparison results of times is output as a discrimination result of the reflected power change pattern.   5. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit converts an AD converter that converts the reflected power detected by the detection unit into a digital signal, and the AD converter converts the digital signal into a digital signal. A reader / writer comprising at least a discrimination controller for discriminating a change pattern of the reflected power.   6. The reader / writer according to claim 1, further comprising a communication interface unit that performs communication with a host device that executes various services related to the portable recording medium, and is a determination result of the determination unit. A reader / writer that notifies the host device of the reflected power change pattern via the communication interface unit.   7. The reader / writer according to claim 6, further comprising a display unit including a liquid crystal panel or a lamp for displaying various types of information, and a notification unit for instructing display of specified information from the host device that has transmitted the determination result of the determination unit. A reader / writer characterized in that, when a command is received via the communication interface unit, information indicated by the notification command is displayed on the display unit.   8. The reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the portable recording medium is a non-contact IC card or an RF tag.   A reader / writer that reads and writes the recorded contents of a portable recording medium by electromagnetic induction and a user of the portable recording medium that moves the vicinity of the reader / writer among various services related to the portable recording medium desires 9. A service providing system comprising a host device that executes a service and updates the recorded contents of the portable recording medium as needed, wherein the reader / writer is the reader / writer according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The higher-level device determines the service to be executed based on the determination result of the determination unit received from the reader / writer, executes the determined service, and holds the passable over the reader / writer. A service providing system for updating the recording content of a portable recording medium as needed.   10. The service providing system according to claim 9, wherein the various services related to the portable recording medium executed by the host device include at least two application services of a balance inquiry service and an electronic money payment service. system.   11. The service providing system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the various services related to the portable recording medium executed by the host device include at least a personal authentication service for authenticating a user of the portable recording medium. Characteristic service provision system.   A portable recording medium operation determination method for determining how to hold a portable recording medium that reads / writes recorded content by electromagnetic induction with a reader / writer to the reader / writer, wherein the portable recording medium is vertically asymmetrical or laterally asymmetrical. A detection step for detecting a change in reflected power from the antenna coil that occurs when the antenna coil is moved so as to move in the vicinity of the antenna coil; and a determination step for determining a pattern of the change in reflected power detected by the detection step; A portable recording medium operation determination method characterized by comprising:   The portable recording medium operation determination method according to claim 12, wherein the antenna coil has a triangular shape in which one of the top and bottom or left and right is a vertex and the other is a side, or one of the top and bottom or left and right coil densities is Either a sparse eccentric shape with a dense coil density, or a split shape divided into multiple coils with a small number of turns on one of the top and bottom or left and right coils and a large number of turns on the other coil A portable recording medium operation discrimination method characterized by the following shape.   14. The portable recording medium operation determination method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a rise time and a rise time of the reflected power signal waveform detected by the detection step are determined as a determination result of the reflected power change pattern in the determination step. A portable recording medium operation determination method, comprising: outputting a comparison result with a fall time.   15. The portable recording medium operation determination method according to claim 14, wherein after the first change in the reflected power is detected in the detection step, one or more times of the reflected power is detected until a predetermined time limit elapses. When a change is detected, the rise time of the signal waveform of the reflected power for each of one to a plurality of changes in the reflected power detected by the detection step as a discrimination result of the reflected power change pattern in the discrimination step And a fall time and a combination of one or more obtained comparison results is output.   16. The portable recording medium operation determination method according to claim 12, wherein the recording content read from the portable recording medium is transmitted to a host device that executes various services related to the portable recording medium. In addition, the portable recording medium operation determining method, wherein the reflected power change pattern as a determination result in the determining step is notified.   Of the various services related to portable recording media, execute the services desired by the users of portable recording media that move around the reader / writer, and update the recorded contents of the portable recording media as necessary The service providing method for determining whether or not the portable recording medium is held over the reader / writer is the portable recording medium operation determining method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein: Based on the change pattern of the reflected power as the determination result, the service to be executed is determined, the determined service is executed, and the recorded contents of the portable recording medium held over the reader / writer are required. A service providing method characterized by updating in response.   18. The service providing method according to claim 17, wherein the various services related to the portable recording medium include at least two application services of a balance inquiry service and an electronic money payment service.   19. The service providing method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the various services related to the portable recording medium include at least a personal authentication service for authenticating a user of the portable recording medium. .

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