JPH11213112A - Card with shock detecting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic lock function capable of detecting the loss of a card by the card itself, generating an alarm and locking an original func tion inherent in the card to prevent the card from being used by a third person. SOLUTION: A card includes a shock detecting function (acceleration sensor) 1 in its inside to detect a drop shock, to generate an alarm as a sign leading to loss and to lock the original function inherent in the card. The sensitivity of the sensor is controlled within a range capable of sensing a drop shock but of preventing it from sensing vibrations or shocks in normal life so as to reduce the generation of a false alarm and the card is also provided with a means for enabling a regal owner of the card to release the lock of the original function.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an information processing card such as a bank card or a memory card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information processing cards such as bank cards and memory cards are information processing media that are conveniently handled due to their portability, but on the other hand, they become inconvenient when dropped or misplaced and lost. In addition, there is a risk of being misused by others. Therefore, in the conventional card operation, unauthorized use is guarded by inputting a personal identification code known only to a proper owner. However, if the security code is set to be easy for the owner to remember, it is easy for hackers to guess and the risk of leakage increases.On the other hand, if the security setting is difficult for the person to remember, it is more likely to be left on memos, etc. Is not perfect.
In addition, an effort is made to reduce the damage caused by misuse by notifying the owner of the loss and notifying the center that the card has been lost. However, it is not uncommon for owners to notice the loss late, and the danger of abuse during that time cannot be ignored.

There is a danger that portable devices other than cards may be lost or misused by others. For example, as measures against loss and misuse of portable telephones, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 6-326659, 7-87559, and 9-64967. There is. With these measures, the legitimate owner has a weak radio oscillator that always emits, which is paired with the mobile phone, and has this radio receiver built into the mobile phone side, and if there is no legitimate radio wave reception for a certain period of time, it is lost. A method is disclosed in which a deemed mobile phone displays an alarm and locks the telephone function, or locks the subsequent functions by making a specific call to the mobile phone when the owner notices the loss. .

However, when these methods are applied to an information processing card such as an information processing card which often has a plurality of cards,
It is necessary to carry several corresponding radio oscillators separately,
In addition, it is expensive to install the receiving function in the card,
It should be difficult to apply to thin, inexpensive, mass-issued ones such as information processing cards.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional information processing cards such as bank cards and memory cards are immediately lost as a countermeasure at the time of loss in consideration of the risk of leakage of the personal identification code and the delay of human awareness. The problem is to make the security more noticeable after the loss and take the conventional countermeasures after the loss. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic lock function in which when a card is lost, the card itself can detect the loss and issue an alarm, and an original function unique to the card is locked, and is not used by others. I do.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned problem is solved by a card having an impact detection function constructed as shown in FIG. That is, as a cause of the loss of the card, the card case is dropped indoors or on the street, or left behind in a train. Among them, the one that is hard to notice and hard to return is due to the fall. 1 has an impact detecting means 1 for detecting an impact applied to the card due to the drop, and generates an impact detection signal 131 when the card is dropped, so that the lock control means 3 generates a lock signal 321 based on the detected signal. The operation of the card specific function unit 2 which expresses the specific function of the lock is locked. In addition, the lock signal 321 can provide a means for blinking the LED of the card by the lock display unit 6 or calling the owner or the surrounding people who dropped by emitting an alarm sound.

Further, the lock control means 3 receives the correction signal and sends the unlock signal 322 to the card-specific function unit 2.
The lock display unit 6 releases the lock, and the lock display unit 6 displays that the lock has been released, so that the card can be used again.

The built-in timer 5 is started by the shock detection signal 131 from the shock detection means 1 and issues a correction signal 531 to the lock control means 3 after a certain time. And can be used again.

Further, the card has a structure for receiving a correction signal 31 from the outside, and the card can be used again by giving a secret correction signal at a card issuer such as a bank. In addition, the card has a validity judging means 4 for receiving an authorization signal 41 known only to a valid card owner from outside, and can receive the authorization signal 41 from a card writer connected to a personal computer or the like. The validity judging means 4 analyzes the authorization signal 41 to judge whether or not it is the intended one, and issues a correction signal 431 to the lock control means 3 only when it is the intended one. It becomes possible.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a card with an impact detection function will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional information processing card has an interface for transmitting and receiving a unique function signal 21 to and from a card reader / writer such as an ATM, and has a card unique function unit 2 through which the card performs its original function. I have. The embodiment of the card with a shock detection function of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 additionally has a shock detection means 1, a lock control means 3, a validity judgment means 4, a built-in timer 5, and a lock display section 6. Further, as an interface with the outside of the card, a structure is provided in which a correction signal 31 and an authorization signal 41 are received from a card reader / writer such as an ATM. In addition, the battery built in the card is omitted in the figure.

The operation of the card with an impact detection function will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the impact detection means 1. FIG. 2A shows a functional configuration. When the output vo of the acceleration sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value vt, an impact detection signal 131 is output via a comparator and a shaper. As the acceleration sensor, a commercially available semiconductor sensor such as a piezoresistive sensor or a capacitive sensor is used, which is small and moldable and has a thickness that can be built into a card. FIG. 2B shows the relationship between the drop impact and the output of the acceleration sensor. Generally, the maximum typical value of acceleration applied to the card in daily life for vehicles running on uneven terrain is about 25G, and the acceleration applied when the object inside the cushioning material falls freely for 1m is at least 30G regardless of the thickness of the cushioning material. Considering the threshold
If vt is set to a sensor output equivalent to 30G, the impact detection signal 131 can be handled as a signal associated with loss and drop.

Thus, the shock detecting means 1 detects the shock 11 caused by the drop and generates a shock detecting signal 131 to generate the lock control means 3.
And the built-in timer 5 is started at the same time. The lock control means 3 issues a lock signal 321 to the card-specific function unit 2 to lock the card-specific function. As a method of locking by the card specific function unit 2, for example, a lock flag is held in the card specific function unit 2 and transmitted to the signal 21 for the specific function by sensing from a card reader / writer such as an ATM, The power supply to the unique function unit 2 may be stopped. Also lock signal
321 is transmitted to the lock display section 6, and the lock display section 6 displays this. Examples of the display method include blinking of an LED and sounding of an alarm. Although the stop of the ringing is not described in this embodiment, it is possible to automatically stop the music box by the end of one piece of music or automatically stop after a fixed time by the built-in timer 5. In any case, the LED must represent the locked state, such as maintaining the lighting state until the lock is released. By the above operation, the owner notices the flashing of the lock display of the card and the sound of the alarm at the time of loss due to the fall, and can quickly know the fall of the card.

There are various methods shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 for releasing the locked state of the card-specific function unit 2, but all of them must prevent abuse by anyone other than the authorized owner. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the card once locked is never released and is disposable. In this case, the legitimate owner proves the legitimacy by some means and obtains a reissue of the locked card. In the case of very important cards, this is possible.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a card with a shock detection function of a lock release system using a built-in timer. The built-in timer 5 starts with the shock detection signal 131 and issues a correction signal 531 after a predetermined time has elapsed. As a result, the lock control means 3 issues a lock release signal 322 to the card unique function unit 2, and the locked state is released. The unlocking method corresponds to the locking method described above. In this embodiment, the rightful owner notices the loss within the time set by the timer and leaves the possibility of being misused by another person unless he / she registers the card and invalidates it. With a small number of cards, it is possible to store the card that was accidentally dropped and wait for automatic recovery.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a card with an impact detection function of a lock release system using an external signal. External signal is usually A
It is added through a card reader / writer such as TM. In this embodiment, a cardholder who has accidentally dropped and locked the card is provided, and a valid owner makes an offer to a bank counter or the like, and performs an unlocking procedure at a nearby ATM. At the bank counter, the validity of the offer is determined by documents and identification, and when it is determined to be valid, an operation of giving the correction signal 31 to the brought card by a card reader / writer such as an ATM provided is performed. In order to perform the unlocking procedure at the nearest ATM, a system that assumes the function from the time of issuing the card is required. That is, the legitimate owner registers in advance an unlock password used only for unlocking in addition to a normal password at the time of card issuance application, and keeps this secret.
Then, when requesting an unlocking operation to the ATM,
The ATM prompts for an unlock password, and the ATM checks this input, and if this is expected, sends an amendment signal 31 to the card lock control means 3 to deem that the action is valid, and to provide a card-specific function. The lock of the unit 2 is released. The above-described registration of the unlock password is an example, and may be a registration of a passphrase that is easy for the owner to remember, or a second code created as a result of encrypting the personal identification code at the bank. The password may be distributed as the unlock password. In any case, in this method, the owner who locks by mistake cannot release the lock unless he or she goes to an authorized institution such as a bank or the nearest ATM with a lock release service.

Finally, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the card with the impact detection function has the validity judging means 4. When an authorization signal 41 is given to this card from the outside, the validity judging means 4 checks this, and if this signal is expected, this action is regarded as valid and the correction signal 431 is given.
To the lock control means 3 to unlock the card-specific function unit 2. This method requires an external signal for unlocking, as in the case of FIG. 5 described above. However, in FIG. 5, the correction signal 31 can be given only by an authorization organization such as a bank, whereas in FIG. 6, the owner himself gives the authorization signal 41 to the card through a card writer device connected to a personal computer at the owner's house. Can be. That is, the authorization institution function described in FIG. 5 is provided to the home personal computer. In this case, in order to prevent fraud, a signal cannot be read out from the validity judging means 4 but only a signal can be written. The validity determination means 4 has a function of reading the unlock password from the card specific function unit 2 which can be written and read only by the issuing source such as a bank and compares it with the authorization signal 41.
The lock release password is given to the validity determination means 4 as follows. The method for setting the unlock password is the same as that described in the embodiment of FIG.

[0017]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when a conventional information processing card such as a bank card or a memory card is lost, the card itself can detect this and issue an alarm. Significant industrial effect that the card's inherent function is locked, providing an automatic lock function that is not used by others, double security in addition to the PIN code, reducing lost cards and preventing misuse There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a card with an impact detection function.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of an impact detection unit.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a card with an impact detection function without unlocking.

FIG. 4 is a card with a shock detection function of a lock release system using a built-in timer.

FIG. 5 is a card with a shock detection function of an unlocking method using an external signal.

FIG. 6 is a card with an impact detection function of a lock release system using an authorization signal.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional information processing card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shock detection means 2 Card specific function part 3 Lock control means 4 Validity judgment means 5 Built-in timer 6 Lock display part 11 Shock 21 Signal for specific function 31 Correction signal 131 Shock detection signal 321 Lock signal 322 Lock release signal

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: shock detecting means for detecting a shock applied to a card; and lock control means for locking output of information in the card by receiving an input of a shock detection signal from the shock detecting means. Card with shock detection function. 2. The card with an impact detection function according to claim 1, wherein said lock control means locks a card-specific function unit for outputting information in the card. 3. The card with an impact detection function according to claim 2, wherein the lock control means releases the locked state of the card-specific function unit by receiving a correction signal. 4. The card with an impact detection function according to claim 3, further comprising a card built-in timer for inputting a correction signal to the lock control means. 5. The card with an impact detection function according to claim 3, wherein the lock control means receives a correction signal from outside the card. 6. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a validity judging means for receiving an authorization signal from outside the card, wherein the validity judging means judges this signal and inputs a correction signal to the lock control means. Card with shock detection function.