JP2845095B2 - IC card system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card system, and more particularly, to an IC card system which is capable of exchanging data between IC cards by giving a reader / writer function to the IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an IC card system using a non-contact type IC card (non-contact card),
For example, the one described in JP-A-59-212949 is known. This device uses a magnetic signal of a clock frequency to supply a clock signal and power to an IC card. At the same time, bidirectional data transmission between an IC card and a reader / writer is performed using a magnetic signal for data transmission / reception separately. The magnetic signal of the power and the clock is a frequency based on the operating frequency of the microcomputer in the IC card, that is, the same or an integral multiple thereof, for example, 4 MHz.

When this IC card system is used for various types of applications, the reader / writer executes the application program by, for example, replacing a ROM card for each application. The ROM card stores a program for the application.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional IC card system, the IC card exchanges data via a reader / writer R / W. For this reason, data cannot be directly exchanged between IC cards (without intervening a reader / writer), which is inconvenient. It could not be used for outdoor data communication without a reader / writer set, for example, competitions for go, shogi, etc., spot sales, races such as horse racing, and medical treatment. Also, I
Since data is exchanged between C cards via a reader / writer, if security is not ensured in the reader / writer, the data may be leaked or falsified. Further, in order to be applicable to many applications, a reader / writer requires a readout circuit of a ROM card, a connector,
It is necessary to temporarily include a storage RAM or the like, and the configuration is complicated as a whole.

Accordingly, the present invention makes it possible to use an IC card outdoors where no reader / writer is installed,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an IC card system in which the security of data transfer is improved and the configuration of a reader / writer is simplified.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IC card system including a reader / writer and a plurality of non-contact type IC cards capable of performing data communication with the reader / writer. The reader / writer uses each of the above I
A data transmitting / receiving means for enabling data communication with the C card in a non-contact state, and a power supply means for supplying power to each IC card in a non-contact state;
The C card operates by being supplied with power by the power supply means, and operates between a memory means capable of storing a program, an arithmetic means capable of executing the program, and the reader / writer or another IC card. Having data transmitting and receiving means for enabling data communication in a non-contact state,
An IC card system in which one IC card executes a program stored in its memory means to write data to or read data from another IC card.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, during communication between the IC cards, a reader / writer and an I / O
2. The IC card system according to claim 1, wherein communication with a C card is prohibited.

In the IC card system according to the third aspect, transmission and reception of data and power supply are performed by vibration energy such as electromagnetic waves and electromagnetic induction, or power supply is performed by vibration energy such as electromagnetic waves and electromagnetic induction. The transmission and reception are performed by electrostatic coupling.
2. An IC card system according to (1).

In the IC card system according to the present invention, the memory means of one IC card stores an application program capable of operating a program stored in another IC card. 3
The IC card system according to any one of the above.

[0010] In the IC card system according to the present invention, the reader / writer may be connected to another IC card via one IC card.
The IC card system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein data communication is possible with a C card.

[0011]

In the IC card system according to the present invention, one I
The C card can perform data communication with a reader / writer in a non-contact state, and can also perform data communication with another IC card in a non-contact state. That is, one IC card can directly perform data communication with another IC card without using a reader / writer. This is because one IC card can exhibit a reader / writer function. As a result, even when this IC card system is applied to various types of application programs, the reader / writer only needs to supply power and does not need to store a large number of application programs. The configuration of the writer itself can be simplified. Further, during communication between the IC cards in a non-contact state, communication between the IC cards and the reader / writer is prohibited. As a result, security for writing data to the IC card can be enhanced.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 illustrate an embodiment of an IC card system according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an IC card system according to this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the reader / writer 103 can perform data communication with the host device 104 via, for example, RS-232C. Non-contact type I
In this configuration, C cards (card 1 and card 2) 101 and 102 are connected to enable data communication. Reader / writer 10
In No. 3, data transmission and reception between the IC cards 101 and 102 is performed by electromagnetic waves using a transmission / reception circuit, an antenna coil, and the like, which will be described later.

The reader / writer 103 has a data conversion circuit and a power supply circuit. IC cards 101 and 102
Is composed of a non-contact type IC card.
It has a PU, a memory (ROM, RAM), an antenna coil, a power supply circuit, a data reproduction circuit, and a data transmission circuit. Then, power is supplied from the reader / writer 103 to the IC cards 101 and 102 using electromagnetic waves such as radio waves.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the IC card and the power supply area 201 in this embodiment. That is, the area 201 in which power can be stably supplied to the IC card by electromagnetic waves or the like is defined, for example, inside the main body of the reader / writer and in the vicinity thereof. The width of the area 201 differs depending on the data communication method between the IC card and the reader / writer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the IC card system. The reader / writer 103 is connected to the host device 104 by a cable or the like. On the other hand, the IC card 101 can be mounted on the reader / writer 103. When the IC card 102 is carried into a position and space separated by a predetermined distance from the reader / writer 103, the IC card 102 and the reader / writer 103 or the IC card 1
01 can be transmitted and received. That is, the power supply area 201 is defined in a space separated from the reader / writer 103 by a predetermined distance. Note that the reader / writer 103 and the IC cards 101 and 102 each have three coils for power supply, data transmission, and reception, but have a two-coil configuration for transmitting and receiving data with one coil. Is also good.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the IC card system according to this embodiment. In this system, it is assumed that non-contact type cards 1 and 2 are used. A description will be given below according to this flowchart.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the card 1 is put into the stable power supply area 201 (S401). For example I
The C card 101 is inserted into the card insertion slot of the reader / writer 103. As a result, the card 1 is activated by receiving power supply. The card 1 inserted first is a card having a reader / writer function. That is, it is a card corresponding to a certain application program. For example, assuming that the card 1 is a time card, the card 1 records the time of entering and leaving the room, a person's name, etc., and confirms whether the card 2 is for a time card application. Update of the
Normally, a function program assigned to the reader is installed in the memory of the card 1.

Reader / writer 103 into which card 1 is inserted
Waits for the setting of the card 2 (for example, the card 2 is brought into the power supply area). When the card 2 is set (S402), the reader / writer 103 converts the host data into card data. This set of the card 2 is inserted into the insertion slot of the reader / writer 103 similarly to the card 1, or an IC card is brought near the reader / writer 103.

When set, the card 2 is activated by receiving power supply and transmits an identification code. This identification code is transmitted to the reader / writer 103 and the card 1. The card 1 determines this identification code (S40).
3). It is determined whether the signal is a signal transmitted to the card or a signal transmitted to the reader / writer. If the signal is a signal transmitted to the card (S404)
Is YES), the card 1 switches to the card transmitting / receiving circuit (S406). Then, the card 1 starts communication with the card 2 (S407). That is, the card 1 that has received the data switches to the inter-card communication circuit, and the card 1 transmits to the card 2 that the inter-card communication is to be performed. At this time,
Communication between the reader / writer 103 and each card is temporarily disabled. As a result, when inter-card communication is being performed, even if data or the like is communicated from the reader / writer 103, data interference does not occur between the cards. Similarly, when a third card is inserted into an area during communication between cards, data interference is similarly prevented.

More specifically, the card 1 communicates with the card 2 that the logic is to be converted for the card transmitting / receiving circuit, and changes the logic. The card 2 receives the notification of the logic conversion of the card 1 and changes the logic to that for the card transmitting / receiving circuit. By converting the logic to a logic different from the logic for the reader / writer in this way, interference of data with another card 3 is prevented. For example, if the inter-card communication is performed with the logic unchanged, if another card 3 enters the stable power supply area 201 during communication between the card 1 and the card 2, the identification code of the card 3 and the card 1, card 2
This is because there is a possibility that data different from the original communication data may be transmitted and received by being combined with the communication data between them.

Further, as in the present invention, a method of using an amplitude modulation method for communication between an IC card and a reader / writer, a method of using a frequency modulation method for communication with another IC card, and a method of using a frequency modulation method between reader / writers and cards Although the amplitude modulation method is used, there is a method of changing the frequency between communication with a reader / writer and communication between cards. In each of these frequency modulation and amplitude modulation, a frequency obtained by multiplying or dividing the clock frequency is used. For example, about 9.8M
Hz, about 4.9 MHz, and the like.

Thereafter, when the data communication between the cards 1 and 2 is completed, the card 1 is switched to a transmission / reception circuit for a reader / writer (S408). Note that the card 2 is on standby in the card communication circuit. Also, reader / writer 1
03 is performed without changing the above logic (S405).

The procedure of data communication in this system will be described below with reference to FIG. First, the reader / writer 10
3 and waits for data transfer (S501). It monitors whether the card is set. When the approach and setting (card insertion) of the card are detected by an optical sensor or the like (S502), the reader / writer starts power supply to the card (S503).

When the IC card is supplied with sufficient power, it transmits an identification signal to the reader / writer. The reader / writer confirms the completion of the card set by receiving the identification signal (YES in S504). Next, the card 2 is inserted into the area (S505). After confirming the setting of the card 2 (YES in S506), the host 104 starts data transmission (S507). The reader / writer 103 receives data from the host 104 via a cable such as RS-232C.

Then, the reader / writer 103 converts the transmitted data into card communication data (S50).
8) The data is transmitted to the card 1. Card 1
Receives this data (S509), switches the transmission / reception circuit for communication with the card 2 (S510).

At this time, the card 1 communicates with the card 2 to perform the inter-card communication. The card 2 receives this and switches the transmission / reception circuit to that for the IC card (S51).
1) Communicate the preparation to the card 1. In response, the card 1 transmits and receives data to and from the card 2 (S512).

When the communication between the cards 1 and 2 is completed, the transmission / reception circuit of the card 1 and the card 2 are returned to those for the reader / writer communication, and the operation returns to the normal system. When the inter-card communication is completed, the card 1 temporarily switches to the communication circuit for the reader / writer 103. This is for returning data to the host. That is, the card 1 switches the transmission / reception circuit for the reader / writer (S513), data is transmitted from the host (S514), and the card 1 receives data (S514).
515).

When the application is not terminated by communicating with the host, the host further receives data from the host, switches to the card communication circuit, and starts communication with the card 2. At this time, since the card 2 is already set in the communication circuit for the card, the inter-card communication can be performed smoothly. That is, the data received from the host is
If so, the card 1 switches the transmission / reception circuit (S516), and data transmission / reception between the card 1 and the card 2 is executed (S517).

When the application program between the cards is completed (YES in S518), the card 1 returns this to the reader / writer 103 and notifies the host. The host returns the end of the application program to the card 1. Therefore, the card 1 transmits a transmission / reception circuit switching signal to the card 2 and
Also switches the transmission / reception circuit, and this routine ends (S
519). As described above, in this system, the application program is executed by the CPU on the IC card side, while the reader / writer normally only transmits and receives data.

[0031]

According to the present invention, communication between IC cards becomes possible, and the convenience is enhanced. In addition, when data is copied from an IC card to another IC card, data tampering can be completely prevented. Furthermore, an IC card can be used corresponding to various applications, and in that case, the configuration of the reader / writer can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an IC card system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a power supply area of an IC card according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a relationship between an IC card and a reader / writer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the IC card system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the IC card system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101, 102 IC card 103 Reader / writer 104 Host device

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-287783 (JP, A) JP-A-2-59885 (JP, A) JP-A-3-144823 (JP, A) JP-A-3-120918 (JP) JP-A-2-44389 (JP, A) JP-A-61-277495 (JP, A) JP-A-62-93779 (JP, A) JP-A-3-193398 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G06K 17/00 G06K 19/07

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of non-contact type IC cards capable of data communication between a reader / writer and the reader / writer are provided.
In the above IC card system, the reader / writer is in non-contact with each of the IC cards.
And data communication means for enabling data communication in the state, the
An electric power supply for supplying electric power to the IC card in a non-contact state.
And a supply means, said plurality of IC card, powered by said power supply means
And a memory means capable of storing a program, an arithmetic means capable of executing the program, and enabling data communication in a non-contact state with the reader / writer or another IC card. An IC card system having data transmission / reception means, wherein one IC card executes a program stored in its memory means to write data to or read data from another IC card. 2. The IC card system according to claim 1, wherein communication between the reader / writer and the IC card is prohibited during communication between the IC cards. 3. Data transmission / reception and power supply are performed by vibration energy such as electromagnetic waves and electromagnetic induction , or
Power is supplied by vibration energy such as electromagnetic waves and electromagnetic induction.
3. The IC card system according to claim 1 , wherein data transmission and reception are performed by electrostatic coupling. 4. The memory means of one IC card has
The program stored in the C card can be operated
2. An application program storing the application program.
The IC card system according to claim 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reader / writer is connected via one IC card.
IC card system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 are possible communication with other IC card in.