JPH0754541B2 - Information card - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Industrial Field of the Invention The present invention relates to office automation (Office Autom).
ation, OA), Factory Automation (Factor)
Information cards such as IC cards used in fields such as y Automation, FA), especially non-powered (no built-in battery) / non-contact type transmitted light method that does not have contact terminals for power supply and signal input / output. The present invention relates to an insertion direction freeform information card.

(Prior Art) In a general information card, an integrated circuit such as a semiconductor memory is built in a card body made of plastic or the like, and a contact terminal with an external device is provided on the card surface.

Conventionally, as the technology in this field, Nikkei Mechanical, (1985-10-21) Nikkei McGraw-Hill "IC card"
P.167-170, Nikkei Electronics, (1985-12-
2) Nikkei McGraw-Hill “Electronics manufacturer that sinks into the IC card market (above)” P.275-292, Nikkei Electronics, (1985-12-6) Nikkei McGraw-Hill “Electronics manufacturer that sinks into the IC card market (below)” Some of them are described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-109166, P.249-262. The configuration will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional information card, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the embodiment.

In FIG. 2, an external device 1 for reading and writing information and an information card 2 are provided.
DC power supply V _C , E is supplied from the
Input / output signal I / O between the external device 1 and the information card 2
1 to I / O n are given and received.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the information card 2 has a rectangular card body 3 made of plastic or the like, and the card body 3 has a plurality of power sources and signals exposed on its surface. The contact type terminal 4 is provided, and an electronic integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as IC) 5 is provided inside.
The IC 5 has a semiconductor memory 6 and a microprocessor 7 that controls writing and reading of information to and from the memory 6.

When this type of information card 2 is inserted into the external device 1, the terminal 4 on the card 2 side comes into contact with the terminal on the external device 1 side, and the information stored in the memory 6 is passed through these terminals 4 and the like to the external device 1. 1 or read the information on the external device 1 side into the memory 6.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the information card having the above configuration, since the terminal 4 is exposed to the outside, contact failure due to dirt, oxidation, corrosion, wear, etc. of the terminal contact portion, and leakage current. There was a problem in reliability due to malfunctions caused by, and IC5 breakdown due to static electricity and external voltage.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-10
A contactless information card having no terminal 4 is also proposed in Japanese Patent No. 1886. However, since electric power transmission and signal transmission / reception are performed via one coil device, a circuit for separating electric power, a reception signal, and a transmission signal is required, which complicates the circuit configuration. Further, the coil device is arranged in the central portion of the front surface of the card body so as to have a degree of freedom in the card insertion direction to improve the operability, but there is a restriction on the forming position of other electronic parts and the like.

Therefore, it is possible to obtain an information card which has a high degree of freedom in designing, manufacturing, and using the information card, has high mechanical and electrical reliability, and is still technically sufficiently satisfactory in terms of downsizing and thinning. It was difficult.

(Means for Solving Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention reads information,
Alternatively, in an information card for reading and writing, a substantially rectangular card body, a receiving medium arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line of each side of the card body and receiving electric power and signals from the outside without contact, A power supply circuit for converting electric power input through a receiving medium into direct-current power for power supply, a demodulation circuit for demodulating a signal input through the receiving medium, a memory for storing information, and the aforesaid output circuit based on the output of the demodulating circuit. It has a memory control circuit for controlling the operation of the memory, and a transmitted light type optical medium arranged substantially in the center of the card body, and the light from the outside is modulated by the optical medium by the output of the memory control circuit and transmitted. A light modulation circuit for controlling the light modulation circuit is housed in the card body.

(Operation) According to the present invention, since the information card is configured as described above, the receiving medium is not restricted in the insertion direction of the information card, is supplied with electric power and signals from the outside, and is the same as the optical medium. Also, without being restricted in the insertion direction, it functions to output an internal signal by modulating and transmitting a light beam from the outside. This allows signals to be transmitted and received without power supply and in a non-contact manner without any restriction in the insertion direction while giving a certain degree of freedom to the formation position of electronic components and the like. Therefore, the above problems can be eliminated.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an insertion direction free-form information card of a transmitted light type information reading system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an information card 20 is inserted into the external device 10.

The external device 10 includes an electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit (E / X) 11 that converts electric power and an input signal S _i into a transmission medium X, a light source 2 such as a lamp or a light emitting diode that emits light OPT _i , and transmitted light.
Optical signal demodulation circuit for demodulating the OPT ₀ based on the output signal S ₀ (P
D) have 13.

On the other hand, the information card 20 has a substantially rectangular card body 21 made of plastic or the like, and in the card body 21, a transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit (E / X) 22 and a power supply circuit 2 are provided.
3, a memory control circuit 24, a memory 25, and a transmission type optical modulation circuit (XOM) 26 are housed. These card bodies 21
Each circuit inside is composed of, for example, an IC.

The transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 receives the transmission medium X and demodulates it into the original signal, and the power supply circuit 23 stabilizes the output of the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 by a direct current voltage V.
It is a circuit that converts to _dc . The memory control circuit 24 is composed of, for example, a microprocessor, and is a circuit that controls reading and writing of the memory 25 based on the output of the transmission signal / electrical signal converter 22 and performs serial / parallel conversion of data. The memory 25 is a medium that stores various kinds of information, and is a read-only memory (ROM), a writable ROM (PROM), an electrically erasable and writable ROM (EEPROM), an ultraviolet erasable and writable ROM (EPROM), and the like. It is composed of. The light modulation circuit 26 has a transmitted light type optical medium, and a memory control circuit 24
Is a circuit that modulates the light OPT _i from the light source 12 based on the output of and outputs the transmitted light OPT ₀ .

Note that the input signal S _i in the external device 10 is the information card 20
The initial setting (initial setting) of the memory control circuit 24 on the side, control signals for reading and writing information, and signals to be written in the memory 25 are serialized. Further, as the output signal S ₀ , read information of the memory 25, an operation confirmation signal inside the information card, and the like are stored in the memory control circuit.
It was serialized within 24.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the optical system of FIG.
The optical medium of the light modulation circuit 26 on the side of the card main body 21 is disposed substantially at the center, and the receiving medium of the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 is also the center line of the long side and the short side of the card body 21. They are arranged in contrast to X and Y. An electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit 11, a light source 12, and an optical signal demodulation circuit 13 are provided at positions facing these optical medium and receiving medium.
And are arranged on the external device 10 side.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the information card 20 is inserted into the external device 10, the electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit 11 on the external device 10 side converts the electric power and the input signal S _i into the transmission medium X and supplies it to the information card 20 side.

The electric power in the transmission medium X supplied to the information card 20 side is converted into the DC voltage V _dc stabilized by the power supply circuit 23 through the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22, and the power is supplied to each circuit in the card body 21. Supplied as. Also, information card 20
The signal in the transmission medium X supplied to the side is converted into the original input signal S _i by the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 and given to the memory control circuit 24. The memory control circuit 24 writes the information in the memory 25 by designating an address based on the information contained in the input signal S _i , for example, the write information, and then outputs the write completion signal to output the light modulation circuit 26. Give to.

The optical modulation circuit 26 modulates the light OPT _i from the light source 12, and supplies the modulated transmitted light OPT ₀ to the optical signal demodulation circuit 13. Then, the optical signal demodulation circuit 13 demodulates the transmission OPT ₀ and outputs the output signal S _0.
Is sent.

Here, the optical medium (26) on the information card 20 side is the card body.
Since the receiving medium (22) is provided almost at the center of the card 21 and the receiving medium (22) is symmetrically arranged with respect to the center lines X and Y of the card body 21, the information card 20 can be positioned in any direction, that is, up / down, left / right, front / back Even if the above is reversed and inserted into the external device 10, the coupling state of the optical medium (26) with the light source 12 and the optical signal demodulation circuit 13, and the coupling of the receiving medium (22) with the electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit 11 Since the state is constant, the above operation is always possible.

5 to 10 show another embodiment of the present invention in which FIG. 1 is further embodied.

Among them, FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of an information card of an optical coupling power supply / reception system using a solar cell for power supply and signal reception.

In this circuit, an electric signal // transmission signal conversion circuit 11 on the external device 10 side is a modulation circuit (MOD) 11-1, which converts an input signal S _i into a transmission signal, a light emitting element drive circuit 11-2, a transmission medium X. Is formed of a light emitting element 11-3 such as a light emitting diode that emits light OPT _i 1 and OPT _i 2, and a lens 11-4 for transmitting light. Here, the light emitting element 11-3 and the lens 11-4 have a function as the light source 12 in FIG. Further, the optical demodulation circuit 13, composed of a lens 13-1, a light receiving element 13-2 such as a photodiode for converting the transmitted light OPT ₀ into an electrical signal, and the demodulation circuit (DET) 13-3 for receiving the transmitted light OPT ₀ Has been done.

Corresponding to this, the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 on the information card 20 side has a function as a receiving medium, and the solar cells 22-1, 22-2 for converting the optical OPT _i 2 into an electric signal, and the transmission. It is composed of a demodulation circuit (DEM) 22-3 that demodulates the use signal to the original signal S _i . The light modulation circuit 26 includes a liquid crystal light valve drive circuit 26-1 and a liquid crystal light valve 26-2 which is one of optical media. These demodulation circuits 22
-3 and the drive circuit 26-1, the power supply circuit 23, the memory control circuit 24, and the memory 25 are composed of, for example, an IC 30-1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a mounting example of the information card 20 in FIG. The liquid crystal light valve 26-2 is arranged at the intersection of the center lines X and Y in the card body 21, and the solar cells 22-1 and 22 are located above and below the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 and coaxially.
-2 is arranged.

In the above configuration, the input signal S _i on the external device 10 side is modulated into the transmission signal by the modulation circuit 11-1 and further the drive circuit.
After being converted into light OPT _i 1 and OPT _i 2 by 11-2 and the light emitting element 11-3, the solar cells 22-1 and 22-2 and the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 on the information card 20 side are passed through the lens 11-4. Transmitted to.

One optical OPT _i 2 is converted into electric energy by the solar cells 22-1 and 22-2, and then supplied to the power supply circuit 23 and the demodulation circuit 22-3. Then, the power supply circuit 23 converts the supplied electric energy into the stabilized DC voltage V _dc , and the IC 30-1
Applied to each circuit inside. In addition, the demodulation circuit 22-3 uses only the signal component of the supplied electric energy as the original signal S _i.
Are demodulated and are given to the memory control circuit 24. The memory control circuit 24 reads the information in the memory 25, for example, based on the input signal S _i , and supplies it to the drive circuit 26-1. Drive circuit 26
-1 operates the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 based on the read information, modulates the amount of transmitted light of the other light OPT _i 1 radiated to the liquid crystal light valve 26-2, and outputs the transmitted light OPT ₀ .

The transmitted light OPT ₀ is converted into an electric signal by the light receiving element 13-2 through the lens 13-1, then demodulated by the demodulation circuit 13-3 and sent as an output signal S ₀ .

In this information card 20, the solar cells 22-1 and 22-2 and the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 are coaxially arranged, so that the same operation is possible no matter which direction the information card 20 is inserted. Becomes

FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of an information card of a magnetic coupling power feeding / receiving system using a magnetic coil for power supply and signal reception.

In this circuit, the electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit 11 on the external device 10 side is composed of a transmission circuit (TX) 11-11 for converting the input signal S _i into a transmission signal and a magnetic coupling coil 11-12. ing. Further, the light source 12 is composed of a light emitting element 12-1 such as a light emitting diode and a light transmitting lens 12-2.

Correspondingly, the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 on the information card 20 side is composed of a magnetic coupling coil 22-11 and a reception circuit (RX) 22-12 that demodulates the transmission signal into the original signal. Has been done. And all the circuits in the card body 21 except the magnetic joining coil 22-1 and the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 are, for example, IC30.
-2.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a mounting example of the information card 20 in FIG. Similar to FIG. 6, the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 is arranged at the intersection of the center lines X and Y in the card body 21, and the substantially rectangular magnetic coupling coil 22-11 is arranged coaxially with the intersection. ing. These liquid crystal light valves 26
-2 and the magnetic coupling coil 22-11, the light source 12, the optical signal demodulation circuit 13 and the magnetic coupling coil 11-12 are arranged at the position on the side of the external device 10.

In the above configuration, the input signal S _i on the external device 10 side is converted to a transmission signal by the transmission circuit 11-11 and then applied to the information card 20 side through the magnetic coupling coils 11-12 and 22-11. On the information card 20 side, the power of the transmission signal input through the magnetic coupling coil 22-11 is the DC voltage in the power supply circuit 23.
Although converted into V _dc , the signal portion is supplied to the memory control circuit 24 after being converted into the original signal S _i in the reception circuit 22-12. By the output of the memory control circuit 24, the liquid crystal light valve 26-2 modulates the light OPT _i from the light emitting element 12-1 and the lens 12-2 through the drive circuit 26-1, and the transmitted light OPT ₀ is converted into the lens 13-1. To the light receiving element 13-2. As a result, the same operation and effect as those in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be obtained.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information card of a capacitive coupling power supply / reception system using a capacitive coupling electrode plate for power supply and signal reception, and FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an example of mounting the information card in FIG. It is a figure.

In this circuit, the electric signal / transmission signal conversion circuit 11 on the external device 10 side includes a transmission circuit (TX) 11-21 for converting the input signal S _i into a transmission signal, and a capacitive coupling electrode plate 11-23. , And a return electrode plate 11-23. Corresponding to this, the transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit 22 on the information card 20 side includes an electrode plate 22-21 for capacitive coupling, an electrode plate 22-22 for return line, and a receiving circuit (RX) 22-23. It consists of and. Here, the electrode plate 22−
21 and 22-22 are symmetrically arranged on the center line X with respect to the center point of the card body 21, and correspondingly, the electrode plates 11-22, 11-23 on the external device 10 side are also arranged. ing. Also,
Those polar plates 22-21, 22-22 and liquid crystal light valve 26-
Except for 2, all circuits inside the card body 21 are, for example, IC30-3
Composed of.

In the above configuration, power transmission and signal transmission from the external device 10 to the information card 20 are performed through the electrode plates 11-22 and 22-21, and otherwise, the same operation and effect as in FIGS. 7 and 8 are performed. Play.

The above embodiments have the following advantages.

Unlike conventional contact type information cards, the terminals of the internal circuit are not exposed to the outside and power can be supplied and signals can be input and output in a contactless manner, so that the terminal contact part becomes dirty, oxidized, corroded, worn, etc. There is no influence of poor contact due to. Furthermore, not only is there no failure or malfunction due to leakage current, but there is no need to protect the internal circuit due to external voltage or static electricity. Therefore, high reliability can be obtained.

The completely sealed structure improves explosion-proof and waterproof properties. Therefore, it can be applied not only to ordinary OA equipment and FA equipment, but also to equipment in locations where adverse effects or explosion protection measures are required.

Since the battery is not built in, it is not necessary to replace the battery, and the card body 21 can be thinned by the space for installing the battery.

Since the receiving medium and the optical medium on the information card 20 side are arranged symmetrically and coaxially with respect to the center lines X and Y of the card body 21, some degree of freedom should be given to the formation position of other electronic parts and the like. On the other hand, the operation is possible even if the information card 20 is inserted into the external device 10 in any direction, that is, the top, bottom, left, right, and front and back are reversed. In this way, since the insertion direction of the information card 20 is not restricted, usability is improved.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the shapes and structures of the receiving medium and the optical medium can be modified to those other than those shown.

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the receiving medium is arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line of each side of the card body, and the transmitted light type optical medium is provided in the card body. Since it is arranged almost at the center, it is possible to give a certain degree of freedom to the formation position of other electronic parts and the like, which facilitates the design and manufacture of the information card. Moreover, the receiving medium is supplied with electric power and signals from the outside without being restricted in the insertion direction of the information card, and similarly, the optical medium is not restricted in the insertion direction and modulates the light beam from the outside. It is possible to improve the usability. Moreover, since the input system for the power and received signals and the output system for the transmitted signals are separated, there is no need to electrically separate these two systems using a filter or the like, and the circuit configuration can be simplified. . Therefore, the mechanical and electrical reliability can be improved, and the size and thickness can be reduced.

In addition, for example, when the receiving medium is formed of solar cells and they are arranged around the optical medium and the signals are overlapped and irradiated, a single light source transmits and receives signals and supplies power. Therefore, the configuration of the device can be further simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free-direction insertion direction type information card of a transmitted light type information reading system showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional information card, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a mounting example of the drawing, FIG. 4 is a view showing the optical system of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 5 to 10 are other embodiments of the present invention in which FIG. 1 is further embodied. Among them, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the optical coupling power feeding / receiving system of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 6 (1) and 6 (2) are a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view showing the mounting example of FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the magnetic coupling feeding / receiving system of FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an implementation example of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a capacitive coupling feeding / receiving of FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the method, and FIGS.
It is the top view and longitudinal section which show the example of mounting of a figure. 10 …… External device, 11 …… Electrical signal / transmission signal conversion circuit,
12 ... Light source, 13 ... Optical signal demodulation circuit, 20 ... Information card, 21 ... Card body, 22 ... Transmission signal / electrical signal conversion circuit, 23 ... Power supply circuit, 24 ... Memory control circuit, 25 ......
Memory, 26 ... Optical modulation circuit.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A card body having a substantially rectangular shape, a receiving medium arranged symmetrically with respect to a center line of each side of the card body, for receiving electric power and signals from the outside in a non-contact manner, and inputting through the receiving medium. A power supply circuit for converting the generated power into a direct current power for power supply, a demodulation circuit for demodulating a signal input through the receiving medium, a memory for storing information, and an operation of the memory based on an output of the demodulation circuit And a light modulation circuit that has a transmitted light type optical medium disposed substantially in the center of the card body and that modulates an external light beam by the optical medium by the output of the memory control circuit and transmits the light beam. An information card, characterized in that the card is housed in the card body. 2. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the receiving medium is formed of a solar cell, and the solar cell is arranged around the optical medium to superimpose and irradiate a signal. 3. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the optical medium is a liquid crystal light valve, and the receiving medium is a solar cell arranged on the front surface and the back surface of the card body. 4. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the optical medium is a liquid crystal light valve, and the receiving medium is a magnetic coil. 5. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the optical medium is a liquid crystal light valve, and the receiving medium is a pair of capacitive coupling plates.