JP5957970B2 - Non-contact communication medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing communication with the outside in a non-contact manner.

  Conventionally, as an IC card with a display, there is a card type one-time password generator (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such an IC card supplies power from an internal power source to drive the display unit.

JP 2010-257422 A

However, it is desired to drive the display unit without an internal power source in order to simplify the configuration of the IC card and reduce costs.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card that can drive a display unit without a battery.

In order to solve the above problems, in one aspect of the present invention, the first interface and the second interface that mutually input and output data are mutually exclusive, the storage unit that stores data, and the first interface An IC chip having an arithmetic processing unit that processes data and outputs the processed data to the storage unit; a contactless communication antenna that receives at least the data in a non-contact manner and sends the received data to the first interface; A switching unit that switches between permission and restriction of transmission of data from the contact communication antenna to the first interface, a display unit that is driven by the transmitted power, and the second power that operates by the transmitted power. When data can be input / output to / from the arithmetic processing unit via the interface, the data is stored in the storage unit. Power transmission that transmits the supplied power to the display unit and the control unit, and the control unit that controls the display content of the display unit based on the acquired data An antenna, and when the switching unit restricts data transmission from the non-contact communication antenna to the first interface, the second interface is electrically connected to the control unit, and the switching unit Thus, even if the transmission restriction is released, the electrical connection between the second interface and the control unit is maintained.

In the aspect of the invention, the arithmetic processing unit performs a predetermined arithmetic processing on the data input from the first interface and outputs the data to the storage unit, and the control unit includes the storage unit It is preferable that the display content of the display unit is controlled based on the data obtained by the arithmetic processing unit obtained from the above-described arithmetic processing.
In the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the switching unit performs the switching according to an operation from the outside.

In the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the switching unit restricts a permission state of the data transmission when a preset condition is satisfied.
In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the display unit retains display content when transmission of the power is stopped.
In the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the non-contact communication antenna also serves as the power transmission antenna.
In the aspect of the invention, the control unit supplies power to the second interface when the switching unit restricts the permission state of the data transmission, so that the data can be input / output through the second interface. It is preferable to make it possible.

  According to the present invention, the state in which the transmission of data from the non-contact communication antenna to the first interface is permitted is restricted by the switching unit, so that the transmission is permitted via the first interface during the period in which the transmission is permitted. The display content of the display unit driven by the power from the power transmission antenna can be controlled based on the data input and stored in the storage unit. As a result, according to the present invention, the display unit can be driven without a battery only by the power supplied from the reader / writer, and the display content of the display unit can be controlled based on the data from the reader / writer.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the IC card of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an external appearance structure of the IC card of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a series of operation | movement in an IC card. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the IC card of the modification of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of the IC card of the modification of this embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, an IC card is used as the non-contact communication medium. As a non-contact IC card, there are generally cards such as Type A, Type B and ISO / IEC 18092 defined by ISO / IEC14443 depending on the communication method. For example, the IC card of the present embodiment is FeliCa (registered trademark) or the like that employs a communication method defined by ISO / IEC 18092.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an IC card 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the IC card 1 has a non-contact communication antenna 2, a power supply securing antenna 3, a rectifier circuit 4, a display unit 5, a push button 6, a switch 7, a control microcomputer 10, and an IC chip 20. doing.
The non-contact communication antenna 2 is an antenna that performs non-contact communication with an external reader / writer. The non-contact communication antenna 2 receives an electromagnetic wave emitted from an external reader / writer, converts it into energy, supplies power to the IC chip 20 side, and generates a current generated by non-contact wireless communication with the external reader / writer. (Current in which data is modulated) is output to the IC chip 20 side. For example, the non-contact communication antenna 2 is a wound antenna, an etching antenna, or a printed antenna. The contactless communication antenna 2 is intermittently connected to the contactless interface 21 of the IC chip 20 when the switch 7 is turned on and off.

A power securing antenna (also referred to as a microcomputer power securing antenna) 3 is an antenna to which power is supplied from the reader / writer by non-contact communication with an external reader / writer. The power securing antenna 3 is electrically connected to the rectifier circuit 4.
The rectifier circuit 4 rectifies the high-frequency signal from the power securing antenna 3 and supplies a direct current (electric power) to the control microcomputer 10.

  The control microcomputer 10 performs various processes on the IC card 1. The control microcomputer 10 operates with electric power supplied (transmitted) from the rectifier circuit 4. The control microcomputer 10 can be electrically connected to the contact interface 22 of the IC chip 20. When the control microcomputer 10 is electrically connected to the contact interface 22, the control microcomputer 10 exchanges data with the non-contact OS 23 via the contact interface 22. Further, the control microcomputer 10 has a display control unit 11 for controlling the display contents of the display unit 5.

The display control unit 11 drives the display unit 5 by applying a voltage to the display unit 5 with the electric power supplied from the rectifier circuit 4. The display control unit 11 controls the display content of the driven display unit 5 based on data stored in the memory 25 of the IC chip 20 acquired via the contact interface 22 as described later.
The display unit 5 displays various information. The display unit 5 is connected to the I / O terminal 12 of the control microcomputer 10 and is driven by electric power (voltage application) supplied from the control microcomputer 10. The display unit 5 is configured by a non-volatile display device, and can retain display contents even when power supply is stopped. For example, the display unit 5 includes an electrophoretic method, an electronic paper such as a ferroelectric liquid crystal or a cholesteric liquid crystal, an electrochromic liquid crystal, or the like.
The push button 6 is arranged on the IC card 1 so that a pressing operation from the outside is possible. The switch 7 is a physical switch that is turned on and off according to the pressed state of the push button 6.

  Since the contactless communication antenna 2 and the contactless interface 21 of the IC chip 20 are connected to each other by input / output terminals, the switch 7 is arranged as a short-circuit switch between the input / output terminals. As a result, the switch 7 is turned off when the push button 6 is not pressed, and the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 of the IC chip 20 are electrically connected without short-circuiting the input / output terminals. To do. As a result, data can be exchanged between the contactless communication antenna 2 and the contactless OS of the IC chip 20 via the contactless interface 21. On the other hand, the switch 7 is turned on when the push button 6 is pressed, and the input / output terminals are short-circuited to disconnect the electrical connection state between the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 of the IC chip 20. .

The IC chip 20 has two interfaces. For example, the IC chip 20 is a so-called dual chip mounted on an IC card that enables communication with the outside by non-contact or contact, that is, a so-called dual interface card. The dual chip is an IC chip configured to be able to access one memory through two interfaces. The dual interface card may also be referred to as a composite IC card or a combination IC card.
The IC chip 20 which is such a dual chip has a non-contact interface 21, a contact interface 22, a non-contact OS 23, a contact OS 24, and a memory 25.

The non-contact interface 21 is intermittently connected to the non-contact communication antenna 2 by switching the switch 7 between ON and OFF.
The contact interface 22 is connected to the I / O terminal 26 of the IC chip 20, and the control microcomputer 10 is connected via the I / O terminal 26. As will be described later, since the contact interface 22 is used to output data for display control of the display unit 5 to the control microcomputer 10, it can also be said to be a display data output interface.

  The IC chip 20 has a connection state between the contact interface 22 and the outside (non-contact communication antenna 2 in this embodiment), and a connection state between the non-contact interface 21 and the outside (control microcomputer 10 in the present embodiment). Are controlled exclusively or asynchronously. Alternatively, the IC chip 20 controls the non-contact interface 21 and the contact interface 22 so that data input / output is mutually exclusive. Thereby, the contact interface 22 is controlled when the non-contact interface 21 and the non-contact communication antenna 2 are electrically connected, that is, when the non-contact interface 21 inputs and outputs data. Electrical connection with the microcomputer 10 is prohibited, that is, input / output of data of the contact interface 22 is prohibited. On the other hand, the contact interface 22 permits electrical connection with the control microcomputer 10 when the contactless interface 21 and the contactless communication antenna 2 are not electrically connected. Allow data input and output.

  In general, dual interface cards include a method that prioritizes contact communication and a method that prioritizes the first communication (entered priority method). The method of giving priority to contact communication is a method of invalidating communication of the non-contact interface when the contact interface starts communication with the outside even when the non-contact interface is communicating with the outside. In addition, the method that gives priority to the one that performs communication first is a method that maintains the communication state of the data of the interface that started communication first among the non-contact interface and the contact interface. In the present embodiment, the IC card 1 employs the latter method in which the first connection is prioritized. Thus, for example, when the non-contact interface first starts communication, specifically, when power is supplied, communication of the non-contact interface is maintained unless the non-contact interface ends communication. That is, in the present embodiment, the exclusive control described above is always prioritized, and the connection state or data input / output state of the non-contact interface 21 and the contact interface 22 is controlled.

  Here, in the present embodiment, at the timing when the IC card 1 is held over the reader / writer, the non-contact communication antenna 2 starts to supply power to the non-contact interface 21, and the power securing antenna 3 is a rectifier circuit. 4, supply of power to the control microcomputer 10 is started. As a result, power is supplied to the contact interface 22 via the control microcomputer 10. In this embodiment, under such a situation, the non-contact interface 21 starts communication first (becomes electrically connected to the non-contact communication antenna 2). For example, this is because the power supply timing to the contact interface 22 is the power supply to the non-contact interface 21 due to the structural reason that the control microcomputer 10 is interposed between the power securing antenna 3 and the contact interface 22. This is because it is later than the timing.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the contactless communication antenna 2 and the contactless interface 21 are first electrically connected at the timing when the IC card 1 is held over the reader / writer (the contactless interface 21 is the data). The contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 are electrically connected unless the electrical connection state between the contactless communication antenna 2 and the contactless interface 21 is disconnected by the switch 7. There is no.

The non-contact OS 23 performs control and arithmetic processing based on data output from the non-contact interface 21. Specifically, the non-contact OS 23 processes data output from the non-contact interface 21 (data modulated into current) and writes it in the memory 25. Here, the memory 25 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, or the like.
Further, the non-contact OS 23 performs predetermined arithmetic processing (arithmetic processing such as addition and subtraction) on the data stored in the memory 25, and writes the data subjected to the arithmetic processing in the memory 25. For example, when the contactless OS 23 acquires deposit / withdrawal data from the output of the contactless interface 21, the balance data stored in the memory 25 is added / subtracted to the final balance data using the acquired deposit / withdrawal data. Is calculated.

Further, the non-contact OS 23 outputs the data stored in the memory 25 to the control microcomputer 10 via the contact interface 22 by the cross-access function when the contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 are electrically connected. Yes (sweep out).
Here, the cross-access function is a function that enables access from the non-contact interface 21 to the contact OS 24 and further enables access from the contact interface 22 to the non-contact OS 23.

  In this embodiment, on the premise of this cross access function, the control microcomputer 10 outputs an instruction command for inducing cross access to the non-contact OS 23 to the contact interface 22 at a preset time interval (for example, 500 ms). For this reason, when the electrical connection state between the non-contact interface 21 and the non-contact communication antenna 2 is cut and the contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 are electrically connected by exclusive control. The contact interface 22 electrically connects the non-contact OS 23 and the control microcomputer 10 at the timing when the instruction command from the control microcomputer 10 is input.

Therefore, in a state where the non-contact interface 21 is electrically connected to the outside, the non-contact OS 23 executes processing such as writing data to the memory 25, and even when the contact interface 22 is electrically connected to the outside, The non-contact OS 23 executes processing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the contact OS 24 does not actually execute processing such as writing data in the memory 25. That is, the contact OS 24 has a function of performing control and arithmetic processing based on the current output from the contact interface 22 as a function similar to that of the non-contact OS 23. In the present embodiment, such a process is performed. And so on.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of the IC card 1 of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the IC card 1 has a thin card shape, the display surface of the display unit 5 is exposed to the outside, and the press button 6 is disposed on the surface so as to be pressed.

(Operation, action, etc.)
Next, the operation of the IC card 1 and its operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the IC card 1.
When the IC card 1 is held over the reader / writer, the non-contact communication antenna 2 starts non-contact wireless communication with the reader / writer (step S1). As a result, in the IC card 1, data from the non-contact communication antenna 2 is input into the IC chip 20 via the non-contact interface 21 and stored in the memory 25. In the IC card 1, the power supplied from the reader / writer to the power securing antenna 3 is input to the control microcomputer 10 simultaneously with the start of the non-contact wireless communication. As a result, the non-contact communication antenna 2 starts non-contact wireless communication with the reader / writer, and at the same time, the control microcomputer 10 is activated (step S2). Then, the control microcomputer 10 starts outputting an instruction command for inducing cross access to the non-contact OS 23 to the contact interface 22. At this time, the control microcomputer 10 outputs an instruction command at a preset time interval (for example, 500 ms).

  In the IC card 1, when the push button 6 is pressed and the switch 7 is turned on, the electrical connection state between the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 is cut off. By the connection control, the contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 are electrically connected (step S3, step S4). As a result, in the IC card 1, the contact interface 22 is applied by the control microcomputer 10. As a result, since the instruction command for the contact interface 22 becomes valid, the control microcomputer 10 can access the memory 25 via the contact interface 22 by cross access (step S5). As a result, the control microcomputer 10 can control the display of the display unit 5 based on the data stored in the memory 25 (step S6).

  Further, even when the pressing operation on the pressing button 6 is released and the switch 7 is turned off, such display control of the display unit 5 by the control microcomputer 10 is maintained. This is because, under the above-described exclusive control in the IC chip 20, even if the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 are electrically connected by turning off the switch 7, the electrical connection is effective. This is because the electrical connection between the contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 is maintained (that is, data input / output of the contact interface 22 is validated and maintained).

  Here, in the above-described embodiment, the non-contact interface 21 configures a first interface, for example. Moreover, the contact interface 22 comprises a 2nd interface, for example. Further, the non-contact OS 23 constitutes an arithmetic processing unit, for example. Further, the push button 6 and the switch 7 constitute, for example, a switching unit. Here, the switching unit switches between permission and restriction (including prohibition) of data transmission from the non-contact communication antenna to the first interface. The power securing antenna 3 constitutes, for example, a power transmission antenna. Moreover, the control microcomputer 10 or the display control part 11 comprises a control part, for example.

(Effect in this embodiment)
The non-contact OS 23 performs preset arithmetic processing on the data input from the non-contact interface 21 and stores the data in the memory 25. And the control microcomputer 10 controls the display content of the display part 5 based on the data which non-contact OS23 acquired from the memory 25 performed the arithmetic processing.
Thereby, in this embodiment, the display content of the display unit 5 can be controlled based on the data calculated by the non-contact OS 23.

In addition, the push button 6 and the switch 7 perform switching of permission / prohibition of data input / output in accordance with an external operation.
Thereby, in this embodiment, it can display on the display part 5 at the timing which a user intends by operation by a user. Therefore, in this embodiment, the user can display information such as a balance on the display unit 5 of the IC card 1 by holding the IC card 1 over the reader / writer and then pressing the pressing button 6.

Moreover, the display part 5 is comprised with a non-volatile display apparatus, and can hold | maintain a display content even if supply of electric power is stopped.
Thereby, in this embodiment, even if supply of electric power is stopped, for example, even if the IC card 1 is separated from the communication area of the reader / writer, the display content of the display unit 5 can be retained.
In the present embodiment, a dual chip can be used as the IC chip 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, the IC card 1 can be provided at a reduced cost.
The dual chip is a secure chip that realizes high security such as FeliCa. Therefore, the IC card 1 of the present embodiment can realize a high level of security by using a dual chip as the IC chip 20.

(Modification of this embodiment)
In the present embodiment, a dual chip is cited as an example of the IC chip 20. However, the IC chip 20 is not limited to a dual chip, and has two interfaces, one being a non-contact interface 21 and the other being an interface whose operation is controlled exclusively with the non-contact interface 21. It should be. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 23 is not limited to the configuration including the contact OS and the non-contact OS, and it is sufficient that the non-contact communication can be performed from the non-contact interface and the memory can be accessed from both the non-contact interface and the other interface.

In the present embodiment, the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the power securing antenna 3 may be configured integrally.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration in which the non-contact communication antenna 2 also serves as a power securing antenna.
As shown in FIG. 4, the non-contact communication antenna 2 is connected to the non-contact interface 21 and connected to the rectifier circuit 4. As a result, the contactless communication antenna 2 is turned on and off of the switch 7 while supplying current to the rectifier circuit 4, and the electrical connection with the contactless interface 21 is interrupted.

In the present embodiment, any one of the memories of the control microcomputer 10 and the IC chip 20 may be used for data processing. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the data on the IC chip 20 side is calculated and stored in the memory 25. However, in the modified example of the embodiment, the data is calculated on the control microcomputer 10 side and stored in the memory of the control microcomputer 10. May be. In this case, the control microcomputer 10 performs arithmetic processing on the data acquired from the memory 25 of the IC chip 20 at the timing when it is electrically connected to the contact interface 22, and stores the data of the calculation result in its own memory. Then, the control microcomputer 10 drives the display unit 5 based on the data stored in its own memory to control the display contents.
Thus, in the present embodiment, the non-contact communication antenna also serves as the power securing antenna, so that the number of components can be reduced and the IC card 1 can be downsized.

In the present embodiment, the control microcomputer 10 may be included in the IC chip 20, and the IC chip 20 and the control microcomputer 10 may be integrated.
In the present embodiment, the control microcomputer 10 outputs an instruction command for inducing cross access at a preset time interval. In this case, an ON / OFF signal of the switch 7 may be adopted according to the pressing operation of the pressing button 6 and used as an input signal to the control microcomputer 10.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in which an ON signal of the switch 7 is used as an input signal of the control microcomputer 10 as an example.

  When the push button 6 is pressed and the switch 7 is turned on, the electrical connection state between the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 is cut. Then, with the configuration in which the push button 6 and the control microcomputer 10 as shown in FIG. 5 are electrically connected, an ON signal of the switch 7 (or a signal that the push button 6 is pressed) at the disconnection timing. Is input to the control microcomputer 10. The control microcomputer 10 uses the ON signal of the switch 7 as an input signal, and applies a voltage (supplies power) to the contact interface 22 at the input timing of the signal. Thereby, the contact interface 22 and the control microcomputer 10 are electrically connected for the first time. As a result, the instruction command for the contact interface 22 becomes valid, so that the control microcomputer 10 can access the memory 25 via the contact interface 22 by cross access.

In the present embodiment, the display unit 5 may be configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. In this case, since the display of the LCD or the like disappears when the power supply is lost, the display may be maintained with the current from the capacitor when the power is not supplied by storing the power in the capacitor or the like.
In this embodiment, the switch 7 may be a physical switch, but may be a soft switch realized as software. For example, in the modification of the present embodiment, the communication between the reader / writer and the non-contact communication antenna 2 is disconnected by shifting the resonance frequency of the non-contact communication antenna 2. The electrical connection state with the non-contact interface 21 is disconnected. The disconnection of the connection state between the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 is performed when a preset condition is satisfied. In this case, in the present embodiment, display on the display unit 5 can be automatically performed at an appropriate timing.

Here, as a method of shifting the resonance frequency, there is a method of connecting a capacitor (a capacitor of about several pF to several tens of pF) in parallel with the switch. Further, as a preset condition, a preset time (for example, 10 ms) has elapsed from the time when the non-contact communication antenna 2 and the non-contact interface 21 are electrically connected, or reading is performed from a reader / writer. For example, the processing of the non-contact OS 23 for data (for example, storage processing in the memory 25) has been completed.
Further, the present embodiment is not limited to being applied to the IC card 1. For example, the present embodiment may be applied to an IC tag or a mobile phone.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 IC card, 2 Non-contact communication antenna, 3 Power supply securing antenna, 4 Rectifier circuit, 5 Display part, 6 Press button, 7 Switch, 10 Control microcomputer, 11 Display control part, 20 IC chip, 21 Non-contact interface, 22 Contact interface, 23 Non-contact OS 24 Contact OS, 25 Memory

Claims (7)

A first interface and a second interface that mutually input and output data; a storage unit that stores data; and an arithmetic processing unit that processes data input from the first interface and outputs the processed data to the storage unit An IC chip having
A non-contact communication antenna for receiving at least data by non-contact and sending the received data toward the first interface;
A switching unit that switches between permission and restriction of data transmission from the non-contact communication antenna to the first interface;
A display that is driven by the transmitted power;
When the input / output of data to / from the arithmetic processing unit via the second interface becomes possible by operating with the transmitted power, the data stored in the storage unit is acquired, and based on the acquired data A control unit for controlling display contents of the display unit;
A power transmission antenna that is fed in a non-contact manner and transmits the fed power to the display unit and the control unit ;
When transmission of data from the non-contact communication antenna to the first interface is restricted by the switching unit, the second interface is electrically connected to the control unit, and the transmission restriction is released by the switching unit. Even if this is done, the electrical connection between the second interface and the control unit is maintained . The arithmetic processing unit performs a predetermined arithmetic processing on the data input from the first interface and outputs the data to the storage unit,
The non-contact communication according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls display content of the display unit based on data obtained by the arithmetic processing unit obtained from the storage unit and performing the arithmetic processing. Medium.   The non-contact communication medium according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit performs the switching according to an operation from outside.   The non-contact communication medium according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit restricts a permission state of the data transmission when a preset condition is satisfied.   The non-contact communication medium according to claim 1, wherein the display unit retains display contents when transmission of the power is stopped.   The contactless communication medium according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the contactless communication antenna also serves as the power transmission antenna.   The control unit supplies power to the second interface when the switching unit restricts the permission state of the data transmission so that the second interface can input and output data. The contactless communication medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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