JP5260974B2 - Modem device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a modem which can be easily used without the user having to wait long before starting to use it, which is suitable for personal use allowing for Internet connection, and which has an automatic charging function for IC cards for electronic money. <P>SOLUTION: A reader/writer of an IC card is connected to the modem. Once the IC card is detected, a modulation/demodulation function is connected to a dedicated communication line to communicate with an electronic money server to authenticate the IC card and charge electronic money. Once the IC card is no longer detected, the modulation/demodulation function is connected to an Internet communication line. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a modem device and a program having a function of charging when the balance of electronic money stored in an IC card becomes small, and is particularly suitable for personal use such as in the home.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a method of charging electronic money that is charged using a reader / writer that reads and writes an IC card connected to a personal computer when the balance of electronic money stored in the IC card decreases (for example, a patent) Reference 1).
JP 2006-134195 A

  Since the above-described charging method uses a reader / writer connected to a personal computer, when using this charging method when the personal computer is turned off, it is necessary to wait for the time to start up the personal computer. There was a problem that it took a long time.

  In addition, this charging method is used in public places and can be operated by third parties, such as limiting the installation location mainly to stations, limiting the computers used, and limiting the time of use. It is suitable for installation of a dedicated charger for electronic money, but it is not suitable for personal use such as home use in which a personal computer is also connected to the Internet line because a dedicated line is used as the communication line between the personal computer and the electronic money server. There was a problem.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a modem device and program having a charging function for an IC card for electronic money suitable for personal use considering a short waiting time until the start of use and connection to the Internet line The purpose is to do.

To achieve the above object, a modem device according to the present invention is connected to a dedicated communication path and an Internet communication path, modulates a transmission carrier by a transmission signal from a personal computer, and receives a received signal from a modulated reception carrier. A modulation / demodulation function for demodulating and transmitting to the personal computer, a reader / writer for reading / writing electronic money information of an IC card holding electronic money, the modulation / demodulation function, and the reader / writer to control the electronic card A control function for charging money and a power source different from the power source of the personal computer are provided.

  In the modem device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control function manages the electronic money information by connecting the modulation / demodulation function to the dedicated communication path in response to the reader / writer detecting the IC card. And connecting to an electronic money server.

Also, the present invention provides a modulation / demodulation function for connecting a computer to a dedicated communication channel and an Internet communication channel, modulating a transmission carrier wave by a transmission signal from a personal computer , demodulating the reception signal from a modulated reception carrier wave, and transmitting it to the personal computer A reader / writer that reads and writes electronic money information of an IC card that holds electronic money, the modulation / demodulation function, and a control function that charges the IC card with electronic money by controlling the reader / writer ; This is a program for causing a modem device to have a power source different from the power source .

  According to the modem device of the present invention described in claim 1, the user can easily and safely charge electronic money using the dedicated communication path only by bringing the IC card close to the reader / writer. There is. Compared to the case where the user uses a similar function using a reader / writer connected to a personal computer, the electronic money can be charged immediately without waiting for the personal computer to start up even when the personal computer is not powered on. There is an effect that can.

  According to the modem device of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, there is an effect that it is possible to access the Internet by a personal computer by being connected to the Internet communication path only by separating the IC card from the reader / writer, and is particularly suitable for personal use such as at home. It is.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a modem device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The modem device 1 includes a modulation / demodulation function 11, a control function 12, an authentication function 13, a power supply 15, and an AC plug 16. The modem device 1 is connected to a reader / writer 4 having a function of reading and writing an electronic money IC card. ing.

  The modulation / demodulation function 11 is connected to the personal computer 2 and the dedicated communication path 31 or the Internet communication path 32, and according to an instruction from the control function 12, optical transmission, wireless transmission, and wired transmission according to the characteristics of the respective communication paths 31 and 32. A communication signal corresponding to a communication method such as transmission is modulated and demodulated and transmitted to the personal computer 2.

  The reader / writer 4 reads the balance of electronic money stored in the IC card 5 by bringing the IC card 5 close to the reader / writer 4 or writes and charges the electronic money instructed to the control function 12 to charge the proximity IC card reader It is a writer and incorporates a display 41 and operation keys 42.

  In the figure, the personal computer 2, the IC card 5, the dedicated communication path 31, the Internet communication path 32, and the electronic money server 6 are not part of the present invention, but the functional operation of the modem device 1 will be described simply and clearly. Shown for.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the electronic money charging operation and the Internet line connection operation of the control function 12. Hereinafter, the operation of the control function 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The IC card detection determination procedure S <b> 1 is always or intermittently operated, and the control function 12 monitors the proximity of the IC card 5 by the reader / writer 4.

  When the IC card 5 is not detected, the control function 12 executes the Internet connection procedure S2 by following the NO side of the IC card detection determination procedure S1, and connects the modulation / demodulation function 11 to the Internet communication path 32. The person can access the Internet with the personal computer 2.

  When the IC card 5 is detected, the control function 12 starts the card processing procedure S3 following the YES side of the IC card detection determination procedure S1.

  In the authentication procedure S31, the control function 12 connects the modulation / demodulation function 11 to the dedicated communication path 31. The authentication function 13 communicates with the electronic money server 6 via the control function 12, the modulation / demodulation function 11, and the dedicated communication path 31, reads the stored contents of the IC card 5 in accordance with the instruction from the electronic money server 6, and transmits it to the electronic money server 6. The IC card 5 is authenticated by receiving the result of the authentication test performed by the electronic money server 6, and the authentication result is transmitted to the pass determination process S32.

  If the authentication result is unsuccessful in the pass determination process S32, the control function 12 follows the NO side and ends the card process S3.

  In the pass determination process S32, the control function 12 starts the balance display process S33 following the YES side if the authentication result is pass.

  In the balance display procedure S33, the control function 12 reads the stored contents of the IC card 5 to the reader / writer 4 and displays the balance of electronic money on the display 41. The user can know the balance of electronic money stored in the IC card 5 from the display content of the display device 41.

  In the charge determination procedure S34, the control function 12 displays a question as to whether or not to charge the IC card 5 with electronic money on the display 41, and identifies the operation of the operation key 42 of the user corresponding to this.

  When it is identified that the user's operation does not charge the electronic money, the control function 12 follows the NO side and ends the card processing procedure S3.

  When it is identified that the user's operation is to charge electronic money, the control function 12 follows the YES side and activates the charging procedure S35.

  In the charging procedure S35, the control function 12 informs the electronic money server 6 of the operation contents of the operation key 42 via the modulation / demodulation function 11 and the dedicated communication path 31, and receives the charge instruction of the electronic money server 6 corresponding thereto, The reader / writer 4 is operated to charge electronic money to the IC card 5 and the charge result is displayed on the display 41.

  As described above, the user can easily and easily use the dedicated communication path 31 by bringing the IC card 5 close to the reader / writer 4 and operating the operation key 42 while referring to the display content of the display 41. Electronic money can be charged safely, and then the modem function 11 is connected to the Internet communication path by the procedure S1 simply by removing the IC card 5 from the reader / writer 4, so that the PC 2 can access the Internet.

  It should be noted here that the steps S1 to S35 are performed by the modem device 1, the IC card 5, and the reader / writer 4, and the personal computer 2 is not involved.

  That is, in the modem device 1 according to the present invention, the AC plug 16 is always connected to a commercial power source and the power source 15 is turned on, so that the power source 15 is connected via the AC plug 16 even when the personal computer 2 is not turned on. Since power is supplied to the inside of the modem device 1, the modem device 1 operates, and the user can immediately charge electronic money without waiting for the personal computer 2 to start up.

  As described above in detail, according to the modem device of the present invention, there is an effect that the waiting time until the start of use is short, and the connection between the Internet line and the dedicated line is switched to bring the IC card 5 close to the reader / writer 4. Since it can be performed only by releasing or releasing, there is an effect that it is suitable for personal use that accesses the Internet such as in the home.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the authentication procedure S31 shown in FIG. 2, the authentication function 13 communicates with the electronic money server 6, reads the stored contents of the IC card 5 in accordance with the instruction from the electronic money server 6, and transmits it to the electronic money server 6. The electronic money server 6 The IC card 5 is authenticated by receiving the result of the authentication test to be performed, and the authentication result is transmitted to the pass judgment determination procedure S32. However, the authentication function 13 has a built-in authentication list and the IC card is referred to by referring to this authentication list. 5, the operation of the electronic money server 6 is simplified by communicating with the electronic money server 6 after the preliminary authentication is performed, the time required for the certification inspection is shortened, and the operation load of the dedicated communication path 31 and the electronic money server 6 is reduced. Can be reduced.

  In this case, in step S31, the authentication function 13 reads the stored contents of the IC card 5 via the control function 12, compares the stored contents with the contents of the authentication list, and performs a preliminary authentication inspection of the IC card 5, and the inspection. The electronic money server 6 is communicated only when the result is acceptable.

  The electronic money server 6 does not inspect all the authentication information contained in the IC card 5, but instead simplifies certification such as whether or not the IC card 5 is an illegal one on a so-called black list. Since it is only necessary to perform the inspection and notify the authentication function 13 of the result, the time required for the certification inspection can be shortened and the operation load on the dedicated communication path 31 and the electronic money server 6 can be reduced.

  When the preliminary authentication of the IC card 5 is performed with reference to the authentication list built in the authentication function 13, it is desirable that the electronic money server 6 periodically communicates with the authentication function 13 and updates the stored contents of the authentication list. Needless to say.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the IC card 5 is a proximity IC card and the reader / writer 4 is a proximity reader / writer. However, the IC card is a contact type, a proximity type, a long distance type, etc. It goes without saying that the writer needs only to correspond to each.

  In addition, the reader / writer 4 includes the display 41 and the operation key 42. However, a method that does not necessarily require the user's operation, such as automatically charging the electronic money up to the maximum allowable amount, is adopted. In this case, it goes without saying that the display 41 can be used as a buzzer sound, the operation key 42 can be used as a single operation button, or one or both of these can be deleted.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the dedicated communication path 31 and the Internet communication path 32 are described as two independent communication paths. However, if the independence of both the communication paths is ensured. For example, it goes without saying that a part of these communication paths may be a common line such as a home line or a public line.

  The modem device of the present invention is also realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the modem device. This program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.

  The recording medium on which the program is recorded may be the ROM itself of the modem device 1 shown in FIG. 1, or a program reading device such as a CD-ROM drive is provided as an external storage device. It may be a CD-ROM or the like that can be read by inserting.

  The recording medium may be a magnetic tape, a cassette tape, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an MO / MD / DVD, or a semiconductor memory.

It is a block diagram of the modem apparatus by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a control function.

Explanation of symbols

1 Modem Device 4 Reader / Writer 11 Modulation / Demodulation Function 12 Control Function 13 Authentication Function 15 Power Supply

Claims (3)

A modulation / demodulation function connected to a dedicated communication path and an Internet communication path, modulating a transmission carrier wave by a transmission signal from a personal computer , demodulating a reception signal from a modulated reception carrier wave, and transmitting it to the personal computer ;
A reader / writer that reads and writes electronic money information of an IC card holding electronic money;
A control function for controlling the modulation / demodulation function and the reader / writer to charge the IC card with electronic money ;
A modem device comprising: a power source different from the power source of the personal computer .   The control function is configured to connect the modulation / demodulation function to an electronic money server that manages electronic money information by connecting the modulation / demodulation function to the electronic money server in response to the reader / writer detecting the IC card. 2. The modem apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the modem is returned to connection to the Internet communication path in response to completion of the transmission. Computer
An IC card connected to a dedicated communication path and an Internet communication path, which modulates a transmission carrier wave by a transmission signal from a personal computer , demodulates the reception signal from a modulated reception carrier wave, and transmits it to the personal computer, and an IC card that holds electronic money A reader / writer for reading and writing electronic money information; a modulation / demodulation function; a control function for controlling the reader / writer to charge electronic money to the IC card; and a power supply different from the power supply of the personal computer. A program for functioning as a modem device.

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