JPH06215202A - Method for preventing ic card from being misejected from ic card reader/writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an IC card misejection preventing method capable of preventing an IC card in activation from being misejected and extending the service life of a battery. CONSTITUTION:If a signal from a photosensor 17 is turned off ('low' level), i.e., an eject switch lever is operated to eject an IC card (S3), when a signal from a photosensor 19 is ON ('high' level) and RST-N is 'high', namely when the IC card is being inserted and activated (S1, S2), a CPU turns on a solenoid driving signal to drive a solenoid and actuate a safety lock lever.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC in an IC card reader / writer in which the IC card is manually ejected.
Regarding prevention method of erroneous card ejection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an IC card reader / writer device driven by a battery and manually ejecting the IC card, in order to prevent the IC card from being ejected during activation of the IC card, a conventional IC card reader / writer has been used. A display unit is provided to inform the user that the activation is not in progress, and the user manually discharges the IC card after confirming the display.

[0003]

However, if the user accidentally ejects the IC card during activation without checking the display, the IC card may be physically destroyed or the data in the memory of the IC card may be destroyed. There is a problem that it will occur.
Further, when the IC card is inserted into the IC card reader / writer, a mechanical lock mechanism driven by a solenoid or the like is provided so that the IC card cannot be ejected during activation.
CP that controls the IC card reader / writer after the access processing to the IC card is completed and the IC card is deactivated
By driving the solenoid so that the lock is released by a command from U, it is possible to prevent erroneous ejection of the IC card during activation, but it is necessary to drive the solenoid every time the IC card is ejected, and the battery is driven. The IC card reader / writer has a problem that the life of the battery is shortened.

According to the present invention, the IC card which is being activated is ejected due to the carelessness of the user as described above.
This is done in order to solve the problem that the card is destroyed and the problem that the life of the battery is shortened by driving the solenoid every time the IC card is ejected. That is, a mechanism is provided which operates only when the IC card is about to be ejected during activation and prevents the ejection of the IC card, thereby preventing erroneous ejection of the IC card during activation and extending the life of the battery. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing an erroneous discharge of an IC card that can be performed.

[0005]

To achieve this object, the present invention outputs a detection means for detecting that the IC card is about to be ejected and a signal indicating that the IC card is being activated. I in the state where the signal generating means and the outputs of the detecting means and the signal generating means are inputted and the signal showing that the IC card is being activated is inputted.
When it is detected that you are about to eject the C card,
Interrupt signal output means for outputting an interrupt request signal,
Driven by drive means that operates by receiving power supply,
Ejection prevention means for preventing ejection of the IC card is provided, and the ejection prevention means is driven by operating the driving means only when the interrupt request signal is issued.

[0006]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when it is detected that the IC card is about to be ejected during activation, an interrupt request signal is issued, and only when the interrupt request signal is issued. The ejection preventing means is driven to prevent the ejection of the IC card.

[0007]

Embodiments Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the flow of an IC card erroneous discharge prevention method in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an IC equipped with an IC card erroneous discharge prevention mechanism for executing the IC card erroneous discharge prevention method in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the card reader / writer. First, the structure of the IC card reader / writer will be described with reference to FIG. 2A shows a state in which the IC card is not inserted, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the IC card is inserted.

In the figure, 1 is a case frame of an IC card reader / writer, 2 is a discharge lock lever, 3 is a shaft to which the discharge lock lever 2 is attached, and this shaft 3 intersects the insertion and discharge directions of an IC card 4. Direction, and both ends are fixed to the case frame 1,
The discharge lock lever 2 makes a rotational movement around the shaft 3.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a contact connector attached to one end of the ejection lock lever 2 for establishing electrical connection with the IC card 4. Reference numeral 6 is formed on the opposite side of the contact connector 5 with the shaft 1 interposed therebetween. When the ejection lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of arrow a, the contact connector 5 comes into contact with a contact (not shown) of the IC card 4 and the stopper portion 6 prevents the IC card 4 from being ejected. The IC card 4 hits the card 4 and is sandwiched between the contact connector 5 and the stopper portion 6.

Reference numeral 7 is a transfer lever, 8 is a shaft to which the transfer lever 7 is attached, and the shaft 8 extends in a direction intersecting with the insertion and ejection directions of the IC card 4, and both ends are fixed to the case frame 1. The transfer lever 7 rotates about the shaft 8. Reference numeral 9 abuts on one end side of the discharge lock lever 2 provided with the contact connector 5, and a projection end portion 10 for transmitting a driving force between the discharge lock lever 2 and the transfer lever 7 is formed on the transfer lever 7 in a protruding manner. , IC
When the IC card 4 is inserted at the tip located at the tip in the insertion direction of the card 4, the tip of the IC card 4 strikes the tip 10, and is pushed by the insertion of the IC card 4 to move the transfer lever 7. Rotate in the direction of arrow b. Then, one end of the ejection lock lever 2 provided with the contact connector 5 is pushed down by the projecting end portion 9 to rotate the ejection lock lever 2 in the direction of arrow a.

Reference numeral 11 is a spring.
Is fixed to the case frame 1, the shaft 8 is rotated, and the other end is fixed to one end side of the discharge lock lever 2 provided with the contact connector 5, and the spring 11 centers the discharge lock lever 2 around the shaft 3. Is applied in the direction of arrow c, that is, in the direction in which the contact connector 5 and the stopper portion 6 are separated from the IC card 4.

By the rotation of the discharge lock lever 2 in the direction of arrow c, the transfer lever 7 is moved to the front end portion 10.
Rotates about the shaft 8 in the arrow d direction, which pushes the IC card 4 in the ejecting direction. Reference numeral 12 is a discharge switch lever operated by a user, 13 is a column fixed to the case frame 1, and the discharge switch lever 12 is passed through the column 13 and movable along the column 13.

Reference numeral 14 is a spring that pushes the discharge switch lever 12 in the direction of arrow e, and reference numeral 15 is a spring whose one end is fixed to the discharge switch lever 12 and which rotates the shaft 16 and whose other end is fixed to the discharge lock lever 2. As a result, the discharge switch lever 14 is resisted against the spring 14.
Is moved in the direction of arrow f, the spring 15 is pulled and the tension increases.

Reference numeral 17 is a photo sensor for detecting the position of the ejection switch lever 12, and when the ejection switch lever 12 is moved in the direction of arrow f to eject the IC card 4,
The detection unit 18 attached to the discharge switch lever 12 is detected by the photo sensor 17, and the output of the photo sensor 17 is changed from "ON"("high" level) to "OFF".
("Low" level).

Reference numeral 19 is a photo sensor for detecting the position of the discharge lock lever 2, and the transfer lever 7 is rotated in the direction of arrow b when the IC card 4 is inserted, whereby the discharge lock lever 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow a. When the contact connector 5 and the stopper portion 6 come into contact with the IC card 4, respectively, the detection portion 20 provided at the other end of the ejection lock lever 2 is not detected by the photo sensor 19, and the output of the photo sensor 19 is "OFF"(" from "low" level) to "ON"
("High" level).

Reference numeral 21 is a substrate on which the photosensors 17 and 19 are mounted. 22 is a column fixed to the case frame 1, 23 is a movably mounted along the column 23, and is a safety lock lever that moves in a direction intersecting the surface of the IC card 4, and 24 is one end fixed to the safety lock lever 23. And the other end is fixed to the case frame 1 so that the safety lock lever 23 approaches the IC card 4 with arrow g.
This is a spring that pushes in the direction. When the tip 25 of the safety lock lever 23 hits the IC card 4, friction between the surface of the IC card 4 and the safety lock lever 23 causes the I
The ejection of the C card 4 is prevented.

Reference numeral 26 is a solenoid for moving the safety lock lever 23, 27 is a movable iron core of the solenoid 26, 2
Reference numeral 8 is a spring that pushes the movable iron core 27 toward the safety lock lever 23, and normally pushes the safety lock lever 23 upward in the direction of arrow h against the spring 24. At this time, the movable iron core 27 of the solenoid 26 that is not driven is The tip portion 29 of the movable iron core 27 is pushed by the spring 28 and is caught by the claw portion 30 of the safety lock lever 26, and the movement of the safety lock lever 23 by the force of the spring 24 is suppressed. When the movable iron core 27 is attracted against the spring 28 by driving the solenoid 26 for a predetermined time, the tip portion 29 of the movable iron core 27 and the claw portion 30 of the safety lock lever 23 are attracted.
The safety lock lever 23 moves in the direction of the arrow g by the force of the spring 24, the tip 25 abuts against the surface of the IC card 4, and the ejection of the IC card 4 is prevented.

When the prevention of the ejection of the IC card 4 by the safety lock lever 23 is released, the solenoid 26 is released.
When the safety lock lever 23 is manually pushed up in the direction of the arrow h against the spring 24 in a state where is not driven, the slope of the claw portion 30 of the safety lock lever 23 pushes the slope of the tip portion 29 of the movable iron core 27. Then, the movable iron core 27 is pushed against the spring 28, the claw portion 30 gets over the tip portion 29 and is caught, the movement of the safety lock lever 23 by the force of the spring 24 is suppressed, and the tip portion 25 of the safety lock lever 23 is Move away from the IC card 4.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the IC card reader / writer configured as described above. 31 is a display for displaying the information stored in the IC card 4, 32 is the IC card 4
A keyboard for inputting information necessary for calling up the information stored therein, 33 is the insertion of the IC card 4,
The discharge port 34 is a knob port in which the IC card 4 is easily inserted and a recess is formed in the discharge port 33.

The discharge switch lever 12 and the safety lock lever 23 described above can be operated from the outside of the case frame 1. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the IC card reader / writer in this embodiment. Reference numeral 35 is a CPU that controls the entire IC card reader / writer, and 36 is a CPU 3
A memory for storing programs for driving 5; 37, a power supply circuit for receiving power from a battery 38 to supply power to each part of the IC card reader / writer; 39, IC
It is an IC card control circuit that generates a signal (specified by ISO) necessary for a contact of the card 4.

A solenoid drive circuit 40 drives the solenoid 26, and is connected to the port 1 (P1) of the CPU 35. The solenoid 26 outputs a solenoid drive signal “O” from the port 1 (P1) of the CPU 35.
Only when it becomes N ″, it is driven by the solenoid drive circuit 40 and consumes the battery 38 via the power supply circuit 37.

The display 35 and the keyboard 32 described above are connected to the CPU 35. 41 is a photo sensor 17 for detecting the position of the discharge switch lever 12.
NAND gate to which the output of
This is a 3-input AND gate into which the output of the D gate 41, the RST-N (reset signal) output from the IC card control circuit 39, and the output of the photo sensor 19 that detects the position of the ejection lock lever 2 are input. 3-input AND
The output of the gate 42 is C to which the interrupt request signal is input.
Connected to the INT input of PU35.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer showing the operation of the present embodiment. Below, the flow of the method for preventing an erroneous discharge of an IC card and the operation of each mechanism in the IC card reader / writer having the above configuration will be described. This will be described with reference to FIGS. When the IC card 4 is manually inserted and inserted through the discharge port 33, the tip of the IC card 4 hits the tip 10 of the transfer lever 7, and the IC card 4 remains as it is.
When inserting, the tip 10 is pushed by the IC card 4 and the transfer lever 7 rotates in the direction of arrow b. When the transfer lever 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow b, the protruding end portion 9 of the transfer lever 7 pushes down one end side of the discharge lock lever 2 provided with the contact connector 5, and the discharge lock lever 2 resists the springs 11 and 15. It rotates in the direction of arrow a.

When the discharge lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of arrow a, as shown in FIG.
Electrical contact is achieved by contacting a contact (not shown) of the card 4, and the stopper portion 6 abuts the surface of the IC card 4. A force to rotate the ejection lock lever 2 in the direction of arrow c by the force of the springs 11 and 15 and an attempt to rotate the transfer lever 7 that receives the force and pushes in the direction of ejecting the IC card 4 in the direction of arrow d. By making the frictional force between the stopper portion 6 and the surface of the IC card 4 stronger than the force applied, the IC card 4 is kept stationary without moving in the ejection direction.

Here, the signals of the photosensors 17 and 19 are "ON" at the "high" level (the light is not blocked by the detection portions of the discharge lock lever 2 and the discharge switch lever 12), and the IC card As described above, the transfer lever 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow b, and the discharge lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of the arrow a as described above, and the transfer lever 7 is provided at the other end of the discharge lock lever 2. The detection unit 20 is in a state of not blocking the light of the photo sensor 19, and the signal of the photo sensor 19 is “ON”.
(“High” level), which makes it possible to determine that the IC card 4 is being inserted.

When the card is ejected, the spring 15 is manually moved by manually moving the ejection switch lever 12 in the ejection lock releasing direction shown in FIG. 3, that is, the arrow f direction shown in FIG.
Is pulled to increase the tension of the spring 15. As a result, the force of the springs 11 and 15 that tries to rotate the ejection lock lever 2 in the direction of arrow c, and the transfer lever 7 that receives this force and pushes the IC card 4 in the direction of ejection is rotated in the direction of arrow d. The force to be made stronger than the frictional force between the stopper portion 6 and the surface of the IC card 4, the ejection lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of arrow c, and the contact connector 5 causes the contact point of the IC card 4 (not shown). And the stopper portion 6 separates from the surface of the IC card 4. When the ejection lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of arrow c, the projecting end portion 9 of the transfer lever 7 is pushed up, the transfer lever 7 rotates in the direction of arrow d, and pushes the IC card 4 in the ejection direction. And the knob mouth 34
Pick up a part of the IC card 4 that comes out of and pull it out manually.

Here, as described above, the photo sensor 1
The signal 7 is "ON" at the "high" level (the light is not blocked by the detection unit 18 of the ejection switch lever 12), and the ejection switch lever 12 is moved in the direction of the arrow f in an attempt to eject the IC card 4. When moved, the detection unit 18 attached to the discharge switch lever 12 is in a state of blocking the light of the photo sensor 17, and the photo sensor 1
The signal 7 becomes "OFF"("low" level), the ejection lock lever 2 rotates in the direction of arrow c, the contact connector 5 separates from the contact (not shown) of the IC card 4, and the stopper portion 6 becomes the surface of the IC card 4. It is possible to determine that the IC card 4 is about to be ejected before leaving the device.

The IC card control circuit 39 generates a signal necessary for the contact point of the IC card 4, and the activation state of the IC card 4 means that RST-N (reset signal) is "hi".
gh ”(reset enable at“ low ”) I
When the C card 4 is being inserted and activated, the signal of the photo sensor 19 is “high”, the RST-N (reset signal) is “high”, and the ejection switch lever 12 is normally operated. Therefore, the discharge switch lever 12 is pushed in the direction of arrow e by the spring 14, and the photosensor 17 is not blocked by the detector 18 attached to the discharge switch lever 12.
Signal is "ON"("high" level). As a result, the output of the 3-input AND gate 42 is "low".

The signal of the photo sensor 19 is "high".
At (S1), when RST-N is "high" (S2), that is, when the IC card 4 is being inserted and activated, the ejection switch lever 12 is moved in the direction of arrow f to eject the IC card 4. , The detection unit 18 attached to the discharge switch lever 12 is in a state of blocking the light of the photo sensor 17, and the signal of the photo sensor 17 becomes “OF”.
When it becomes F ”(“ low ”level) (S3), 3 inputs A
The inputs of the ND gate 42 are all "high", which causes the output of the AND gate 42 to be "high", and the INT of the CPU 35 to which the interrupt request signal is input.
An interrupt request signal will be input to the input.

As a result, the CPU 35 determines that the IC card 4 is about to be ejected while the IC card 4 is being inserted and activated, and the CPU 35 determines that the port 1 (P1) is being ejected.
The solenoid 26 is driven for a certain period of time by turning on the solenoid drive signal output from the solenoid (S4) for a certain period of time, the movable iron core 27 is attracted against the spring 28, and the tip 29 of the movable iron core 27 and the safety lock are performed. Lever 26
The hook portion 30 of the safety lock lever 23 is disengaged, and the force of the spring 24 causes the safety lock lever 23 to move in the direction of the arrow g.
The IC card 4 is prevented from being discharged due to the frictional force that strikes the surface of the C card 4 and acts between the tip portion 25 and the surface of the IC card 4.

The frictional force acting between the tip 25 of the safety lock lever 23 and the surface of the IC card 4 causes the discharge lock lever 2 to move in the direction of arrow c due to the force of the springs 11 and 15.
Force to rotate in the direction, and I
Transfer lever 7 that pushes in the direction to eject C card 4
Is stronger than the force to rotate the IC card 4 in the direction of the arrow d, the IC card 4 remains stationary and the ejection lock lever 2 and the transfer lever 7 cannot rotate, so that the contact connector 5 and the IC card 4 are illustrated. The electrical continuity with the contact is maintained.

IC card 4 with safety lock lever 23
Safety lock lever 23
Is manually pushed up in the safety lock releasing direction shown in FIG. 3, that is, in the arrow h direction shown in FIG. 2, the slope of the claw portion 30 of the safety lock lever 23 causes the tip portion 29 of the movable iron core 27 to move.
When the slope 30 is pushed, the claw 30 goes over the tip 29 and is caught, the movement of the safety lock lever 23 due to the force of the spring 24 is suppressed, and the tip 25 of the safety lock lever 23 separates from the IC card 4.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the solenoid is driven to operate the safety lock lever to mechanically operate the IC card only when the IC card is about to be ejected during activation. Since we decided to prevent discharge,
Even if the IC card being activated is tried to be ejected, the ejection of the IC card is mechanically prevented, and the activated IC card is prevented from being ejected. IC will not be
This has the effect of preventing the card from being destroyed.

Further, since the solenoid is driven only when the IC card is attempting to be ejected while it is activated, there is an effect that the battery is not usually consumed and the life of the battery can be extended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of an IC card erroneous ejection prevention method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an IC card reader / writer of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an IC card reader / writer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an IC card reader / writer showing an operation of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 17 Photosensor 23 Safety Lock Lever 26 Solenoid 35 CPU 39 IC Card Control Circuit 42 AND Gate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A detection means for detecting that the IC card is about to be ejected, a signal generation means for outputting a signal indicating that the IC card is being activated, and an output of the detection means and the signal generation means. Entered, I
When it is detected that the IC card is about to be ejected while the signal indicating that the C card is being activated is input, an interrupt signal output means for outputting an interrupt request signal and power supply are received. Driven by a driving means that operates
A discharge preventing means for preventing the discharge of the IC card, wherein the driving means is operated to drive the discharge preventing means only when the interrupt request signal is issued. Accidental discharge prevention method.