JPH07320005A - Ic card reader writer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the possibility that data on an IC card are destroyed even when user makes the equipment eject a the IC card by mistake during a communication process by providing a lock part for an IC card holding part and a position detection part for the lock part. CONSTITUTION:If a card lock button 17 is moved to an unlock position during a communication process, the IC card reader writer device detects the button 17 being operated to the unlock position from the signal of the position detection switch 19 of the button 17 after ending one unit of the communication process. Consequently, a nonactivation process is performed. Then the communication process which is currently performed is ended within the time difference between the operation of the button 17 and the operation of a card ejection button 16 and the nonactivation process is performed to place the IC card 2 in a safe state when the IC card 2 is ejected, thereby reducing the possibility that data on the IC card 2 are destroyed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable IC card read / write device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional IC card read / write device will be described below with reference to FIGS.

17 and 18, reference numeral 1 denotes an IC card read / write device, which is inserted into the IC card read / write device 1 by pushing the exposed portion 2a of the IC card 2 backward in the direction indicated by an arrow H by hand. . Then, the front end portion 2b of the IC card 2 contacts the contact portion 3a of the slider 3 and moves together with the slider 3 in this state. further,
When the IC card 2 is inserted, the front end 2 of the IC card 2
b is sandwiched between the leaf spring 4 at the end of the movement of the slider 3 and the projection 5a protruding from the main body 5, and the IC card 2 is held and the insertion is completed. At this time, the terminal 2c provided on the IC card 2 and the contact 6 provided so as to interlock with the slider 3 are electrically connected, and the IC card read / write device 1 and the IC card 2 are connected to each other. Communication is carried out.

When the communication between the IC card 2 and the IC card read / write device 1 is completed, as shown in FIG.
The exposed portion 2a of the IC card 2 is pinched with a fingertip, and the IC card 2 is pulled out in the card ejection direction indicated by the arrow K and ejected. At this time, since the slider 3 is biased toward the IC card ejection side by the wire spring 7 as shown in FIG. 17, the IC card 2 moves to the ejection side in conjunction with the slider 3.

When the IC card 2 is ejected from the IC card read / write device 1, the IC card read / write device 1
Returns to the standby state before the IC card 2 is inserted.

A technique similar to this is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
22785, and the IC card read / write device 1 is used as a portable terminal device 8 as shown in FIG.
It was installed and used (not shown). In this case, IC
In the inserted state of the card 2, it is necessary to hold the IC card 2 with a fingertip, so that it is necessary to project the exposed portion 2a of a size that can be pinched with a fingertip from at least the card insertion opening 8a of the portable terminal device 8. .

[0007]

However, in such a conventional configuration, when the IC card read / write device 1 (not shown) is mounted on a handheld device such as the portable terminal device 8 or the like. The exposed portion 2a of the IC card 2 protrudes from the card insertion opening 8a.
There is a possibility that the user may accidentally pick up the exposed portion 2a and pick up the IC card 2 during communication with the IC card. Especially, if the user accidentally picks up the IC card 2 during the writing process to the IC card 2, it is valuable. There was a problem that there is a risk of destroying the data. Further, since the IC card 2 is held only by the sandwiching force between the leaf spring 4 and the protrusion 5a of the main body 5, when a strong impact force is applied to the main body, the IC card 2 outperforms the impact force by the card sandwiching force. Sometimes it jumped out of the device. Also in this case, IC
If impact force is applied during the writing process to the card 2, the IC
There was a problem that important data in the card could be destroyed.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. Even if the user mistakenly tries to eject the IC card 2 from the device during communication processing or if a strong impact force is applied to the device, the IC card 2 It is an object of the present invention to provide an IC card read / write device which is extremely unlikely to destroy the data of the above.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the IC card read / write device of the present invention holds the rear end of the IC card when the insertion of the IC card is completed.
C card holding portion, an IC card discharging portion for releasing the holding state of the holding portion to discharge the IC card, and a movement operation of the holding portion by a movement operation of a card lock button from an unlock position to a lock position. Then, the IC card holding unit has a lock unit for preventing the holding state from being released by the holding unit, and a lock unit position detection unit for detecting the position of the lock unit. After detecting that the lock unit has moved to the lock position, the card activation process and communication process are started, and after the unit communication process is completed, the detection unit constantly monitors the locked or unlocked state of the lock unit. When the lock unit is at the lock position, the communication process is continuously executed, and when it is at the unlock position, the deactivation process for the IC card is executed. Those were.

[0010]

With this configuration, the user must always move the locking means to the unlock position in order to remove the card, and this moving operation can be detected by the position detecting portion of the lock portion. Therefore, if the user mistakenly operates the card ejection button, the deactivation process of the IC card can be completed by utilizing the time difference until the card ejection, which is a valuable part of the IC card. It is possible to prevent the destruction of data.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an IC card read / write device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 and FIG.
Is a plan view and side view of the appearance of the IC card read / write device, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views showing the internal structure of the IC card read / write device during and after the completion of card insertion, and FIGS. 11 is a side sectional view showing the same internal structure, and FIGS. 12 to 15 are enlarged views of main parts of FIGS. 8 to 11, respectively. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the IC card read / write device for the ISO7816 compliant IC card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 11 denotes a card insertion path provided in the IC card read / write device,
The IC card 2 is manually inserted by the user through the opening 11a (FIGS. 1 to 3). A contact terminal 18 is electrically connected to the contact 2a of the IC card 2 when the insertion of the IC card 2 is completed. Reference numeral 3 denotes a slider, and when the insertion of the IC card is completed, an L-shaped bent card contact portion 3a is held in contact with the front end portion of the inserted IC card 2, and when the IC card is ejected, the IC card is held by the spring member 13. 2 slides in the card insertion path 11 while being pushed out in the ejection direction (arrow A). Reference numeral 14 is a lever, which rotates about the support shaft 22. As shown in FIG. 8, the lever 14 is rotated by the spring member 15 in the direction of arrow C.
When the insertion of the C card 2 is completed, the C card 2 is rotated as shown in FIG.
1a is moved downward and the rear end of the IC card 2 is held.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a card ejection button, which is operated by the user by moving the card ejection button 16 in the direction of arrow E.
The card 2 can be ejected. Reference numeral 17 is a card lock button for locking the holding portion of the IC card,
After the insertion of the IC card 2 is completed, the IC card 2 is ejected by the card eject button 16 by moving (in the direction of arrow E) from the unlock position (shown in FIG. 4) to the lock position (shown in FIG. 5). Can be stopped. A card lock button position detection switch 19 can detect whether the card lock button 17 is in the lock position or the unlock position.

The operation procedure of the IC card read / write device configured as described above will be described below.

First, the user inserts the IC card 2 through the insertion port 11a of the card insertion path 11. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the inserted IC card 2 contacts the card contact portion 3a of the slider 3 and is further pushed to the insertion completion position. During this time, the card contact portion 3a of the slider 3 contacts the front end portion of the IC card 2 and slides in the insertion direction while urging the IC card 2 in the ejection direction. The lever 14 is biased by the spring member 15 in the direction of arrow C, and the protrusion 14b of the lever 14 contacts the slider 3 during this time, and maintains the lever position when the card is inserted. When the IC card 2 reaches the insertion completion position, the lever 14 rotates in the arrow C direction due to the step of the cut portion 3b of the slider 3.
The card holding portion 14a of the lever 14 located above the card insertion path 11 moves below the insertion opening 11a and holds the rear end portion of the IC card 2. Therefore, the IC card 2 is positioned and fixed at the insertion completion position. At this time, the contact terminal 18 is electrically connected to the contact of the IC card 2. Then, when the insertion of the IC card 2 is completed and the lever 14 is rotated in the direction of the arrow C, the operation of moving the card lock button 17 to the lock position becomes possible, and then the user moves the lock button 17 to the lock position. Manipulate. As a result of this operation, as shown in FIGS.
4 under the protrusion 14b and the lever 14 is rotated to prevent the card from being ejected out of the apparatus. At the same time as this lock operation, the lock button 17 turns off the position detection switch 19 of the card lock button. Subsequently, when the user operates the keyboard provided in the IC card read / write device to execute communication processing with the IC card 2, for example, the operation according to the operation procedure of FIG. 16 is performed on the IC card conforming to ISO7816. To do. Although not shown, this operation procedure can be performed by incorporating an electronic circuit such as a microcomputer in the IC card read / write device. According to this operation procedure, the IC card read / write device can start the activation process and the communication process of the IC card 2 through the contact terminal 18 only after the position detection switch 19 of the card lock button is turned off. I am doing it. That is,
Just insert the IC card 2 and the card lock button 1
If 7 is not moved to the lock position, the operation moves to P15 after the operation of P1 in FIG. 16 and only an error is displayed on the display unit 24. I don't know. In this way, the required communication processing with the IC card 2 is executed with the card lock button 17 always moved to the lock position.

Next, the operation when the card is ejected after the required communication processing is completed will be described. First, the user moves the card lock button 17 to the unlock position. By this operation, the lever rotation preventing portion 17a of the lock button 17 is disengaged from the lower portion of the protrusion 14b of the lever 14, and the lever 14 can be rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow C. At the same time, the position detection switch 19 of the card lock button is turned on. When in the ON state, the IC card read / write device does not perform subsequent communication processing as shown in the operation procedure of FIG. However, if the communication process is being executed when the card lock detection switch 19 shifts from the OFF state to the ON state, after the completion of the one unit communication process, as shown in P9 of FIG. That is, the state of No. 3 is monitored, the deactivation process of P13 and P14 is executed, and the error of P15 is displayed, and no new communication process after that is accepted. After the operation of moving the card lock button 17, the user
Is operated in the direction of arrow E. By this operation, the card holding portion 14a of the lever 14 is pushed up above the card insertion path, and the holding state of the IC card 2 is released. At the same time, the protrusion 14b of the lever 14 is disengaged from the cut portion 12b of the slider. Therefore, the IC card 2 is ejected to the extent that it can be manually picked up from the opening 11a of the card insertion path 11 by the urging force of the card contact portion 3a of the slider 3. The card ejection button 16 is returned to its original position by the urging force of the spring member 21.

With the above structure, the IC
The dimension B of the exposed portion from the IC card read / write device at the insertion completion position of the card 2 may be the minimum dimension (about 1-2 mm) necessary to completely insert the IC card 2,
It is almost unlikely that the user will pinch the exposed portion of the IC card 2 and try to pinch it. Further, the IC card 2 is securely held by the lever 14 and the slider 3, and the lever 14 is fixed so as not to rotate by moving the card lock button 17 to the lock position for use. Should the user mistakenly use the IC card 2
You can't pinch your fingers. Moreover, even if an external force such as an impact force is applied due to a drop or the like, the IC card 2 does not pop out. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that the IC card 2 is ejected during communication due to carelessness and the important data in the IC card 2 is destroyed. As shown in FIG. 13, the card holding portion 14a of the lever 14 is lowered below the lower surface of the IC card 2, and the dimension B in the drawing is set to about 0.5 mm or more, so that the IC card The holding of 2 is sure.

Further, suppose that the user accidentally moves the card lock button 17 to the unlock position during communication with the IC card 2 and tries to eject the IC card 2. For example, assume that the card lock button 17 is moved to the unlock position during the communication process of P8 in FIG. The IC card read / write device detects that the card lock button 17 has been operated to the unlock position after the completion of the communication processing of one unit, by the signal of the position detection switch 19 of the card lock button. This makes P1
Moving to the operation of 3, the deactivation processing is executed. There is no standard upper limit on the time required for one unit of communication such as ISO,
Generally, the time required to complete and deactivate one unit of communication is about 0.3 seconds at maximum. If the user subsequently operates the card eject button 16, the card lock button 17
It takes about 0.5 seconds from the operation. Therefore, the communication process currently being executed is completed within the time lag between the operation of the card lock button 17 and the operation of the card eject button 16, and the IC card 2 is placed in a safe state when the IC card 2 is ejected by deactivating the IC card 2. The possibility of destroying the data in 2 can be extremely reduced. Also,
As shown in FIG. 16, even during the activation processing, after each processing of power supply voltage (hereinafter abbreviated as Vcc) / clock supply, reset signal High supply, and answer-to-reset signal (hereinafter abbreviated as ATR) reception. Also monitors the state of the position detection switch 19 of the card lock button, and if the card lock button 17 is in the unlocked position, it shifts to the deactivation process, thereby attempting to eject the IC card 2 by mistake during the activation process. Even in the case, the possibility of destroying the data can be extremely reduced.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the insertion of the IC card 2 is completed, the lever 14 is rotated to move the IC card holding portion for holding the rear end portion of the IC card 2 and the card ejection button 16. When the lever 14 is rotated by operation, the holding state of the holding means is released to eject the IC card 2, and the lever is operated by moving the card lock button 17 from the unlock position to the lock position. The IC card holding unit has a lock unit for preventing the rotation of the IC card 14, and a position detecting unit for the lock unit for detecting the locked state of the IC card when the card lock button 17 is moved. To remove the IC card 2, be sure to use the card lock button 17
Needs to be moved to the unlock position, and this moving operation can be detected by the position detection unit of the lock unit. Therefore, the time difference until the user next ejects the card by operating the card ejection button 16 is increased. The IC card 2 deactivation process can be accurately terminated by using the IC
It is possible to prevent important data in the card 2 from being destroyed.

Further, in this embodiment, the operation direction of the card lock button 17 and the card ejection button 16 at the time of card ejection.
Since the operation directions of are different, the time difference between the operation of the card lock button 17 and the operation of the card ejection button 16 can be reliably lengthened. At the same time, the operation button may move due to impact force when it is accidentally dropped from a high position, but by setting the operation directions to different directions, the two buttons do not move at the same time, The IC card 2 does not pop out. The same effect can be obtained by setting the operation directions of the two buttons at right angles to each other if they are not in the same direction. Also, the card lock button 17
2m stroke between lock position and unlock position
By taking about m or more, it is possible to ensure a long operation time difference. Or the position of two buttons is 2
Even if the distance is increased by about 0 mm or more, the operation time difference can be surely lengthened.

Further, in the present embodiment, the card lock button position detection switch 19 is turned on when the card lock button 17 is in the unlock position, but if the operation of the card lock button 17 can be detected, the reverse operation is performed. Needless to say, it may be turned on at the lock position.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure for an IC card conforming to ISO7816.
For cards other than those conforming to ISO7816, the status of the card lock detection switch 19 is monitored after the completion of the communication processing for each unit, and if the card lock button 17 is in the unlocked position, it is activated by moving to the deactivation processing. It goes without saying that the possibility of destroying the data can be extremely reduced even if the IC card 2 is mistakenly ejected during the erasing process.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the insertion of the IC card 2 is completed, the lever 14 is rotated to move the IC card holding portion which holds the rear end portion of the IC card 2 and the card ejection button 16. The lever 14 is rotated by a lever 14 by rotating the lever 14 to release the holding state of the holding portion and discharging the IC card 2, and by moving the card lock button 17 from the unlocked position to the locked position. In order to prevent the user from pulling out the IC card 2, the IC card holding unit is provided with a lock unit for preventing the rotation of the IC card holding unit and a position detecting unit for the lock unit for detecting the position of the card lock button 17. It is necessary to move the card lock button 17 to the unlock position without fail, and this moving operation can be detected by the position detection unit of the lock unit. , Then the user card eject button 1
The communication process with the IC card 2 can be completed by utilizing the time difference until the card is ejected by the operation of 6.
It is possible to realize an excellent IC card read / write device capable of preventing important data in the C card 2 from being destroyed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an IC card read / write device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an internal structure when a card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an internal structure after a card is inserted in the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an internal structure when a card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the internal structure after inserting the card into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 8 is another side view showing the internal structure when the card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 9 is another side view showing the internal structure after inserting the card into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an internal structure when a card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the internal structure after inserting the card into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side view showing an internal structure when a card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side view showing an internal structure after a card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side view when the lock button is set to the unlock position after the card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side view when the lock button is set to the lock position after the card is inserted into the IC card read / write device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the IC card read / write device of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a conventional IC card read / write device.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a main part when a card is inserted into a conventional IC card read / write device.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a main part when a card is ejected from a conventional IC card read / write device.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing an apparatus including a conventional IC card read / write device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 IC card read / write device 2 IC card 3 Slider 11 Card insertion path 14 Lever 14a Card holder 16 Card ejection button 17 Card lock button 19 Card lock button position detection switch

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for inserting and ejecting an IC card to read and write data in the IC card, wherein a contact terminal electrically connected to a contact of the IC card and an IC card are inserted, A card insertion path having an opening for ejecting, a slider that comes into contact with the front end portion of the inserted IC card and moves with the insertion of the IC card, and interlocks with the slider when the insertion of the IC card is completed. Of the IC card by the IC card holding unit, an IC card holding unit for holding the rear end of the IC card, an IC card discharging unit for releasing the holding state of the IC card by the holding unit, and discharging the IC card. A lock part of the IC card holding part for maintaining the holding state, and a lock for detecting whether the lock part is in the lock position or the unlock position. IC card read-write apparatus having a position detection unit of the. 2. When the lock part of the IC card holding part is in the lock position, the IC card activation process and communication process are performed, and after the communication process is completed, the lock part is locked by the position detecting part of the lock part. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication process is continuously executed when the lock position is present or the unlock position is detected, and the deactivation process for the IC card is executed when the lock position is set. IC card read / write device. 3. A power supply voltage / clock signal supply process and a reset signal output process in an IC card activation process, a reset signal output process and an answer-to-reset signal reception start, and an answer-to-two process. At least one place between the completion of the reception of the reset signal and the start of the communication process, the lock detecting means monitors the lock / unlock position of the lock means, and when the lock position is present, the next process is continuously executed. I when in unlocked position
The IC card read / write device according to claim 1, which executes a deactivation process for the C card.