JPS62296287A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute the memory writing inspection in a short time at the time of the shipment inspection of an IC card by having a function to set the writing time to a memory to plural different values at the microprocessor in the IC card. CONSTITUTION:A timer control part 4 controls a timer 5, has a function to determine the writing time to an EEPROM 2, and when an electric power source is turned on to an IC card, a standard value assured by the maker of the EEPROM2 is set. When a microprocessor 1 receives a memory writing time updating command to have a new memory writing time at a parameter from an external equipment through a serial data communicating line 6, the value is set to the timer control part 4. The writing designation to the succeeding EEPROM2 is executed by the updated memory writing time. By updating the memory writing time to a free value, the memory writing time can be set in accordance with the inspection environment of the IC card.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an IC card used for cash cards, credit cards, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional IC card has, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 2, in which 1 is a microprocessor, 2 is an EEPROM, 3 is a communication control section, 5 is a timer, and 6 is a serial data communication line. , 7 is an address bus, 8 is a data bus, and 9 is a memory control bus. The operation of the IC card configured as described above will be explained below. The microprocessor 1 receives operation commands from an external device via the serial data communication line 6, such as commands to read or write data from or to a specific address in the EEPROM 2, and executes a predetermined operation. EEPR
Writing to OM2 requires extra time, and timer 5
manages this memory write time. This memory write time is a constant value depending on the type of EEPROM 2 used.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention With such a conventional configuration, it takes several hours to write one byte of memory, so it takes a very long time to inspect the entire memory area during shipping inspection of IC cards. The problem was that it took a long time. One possible way to reduce the time required for memory write inspection is to inspect only a portion of the memory area instead of inspecting the entire memory area, but if the information stored in the IC card memory is financial or medical Since it contains important content such as related data, it is desirable to perform a write check on the entire area of the scratch memory.

Therefore, the current situation is that it takes a very long time to test the memory writing, resulting in an inefficient shipping test. Moreover, in addition to the shipping inspection of the card, it is necessary to inspect the chip multiple times, and each time it takes a long time, which is a big problem.

The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and aims to provide an IC card that can perform a memory write test in a short period of time.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides the microprocessor in the IC card with a function of setting the write time to the memory to a plurality of different values. .

Effect: With this configuration, the memory write time can be set short only during inspection, so it is possible to perform efficient inspection. In fact, the standard value for memory write time is set with a considerable margin, so one-tenth of this value
It is possible to perform a write operation almost normally in a write time of , and in most cases it is possible to screen out pass/fail by testing with this short write time. The reason for allowing some leeway in the standard values is mainly to ensure reliability.

If only the cards (or chip modules) that failed this test are tested again using the actual writing time, the test time can be significantly shortened.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an IC card in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a microprocessor, 2
is an EEPROM, 3 is a communication control unit, 4 is a timer control unit,
5 is a timer, 6 is a serial data communication line, 7 is an address bus, 8 is a data bus, and 9 is a memory control "B bus." The operation of the IC card in this embodiment configured as above will be explained below. The timer control unit 4 has a function of controlling the timer 5 to determine the write time to the EEPROM 2, and when the IC card is powered on, the standard value guaranteed by the manufacturer of the EEPROM 2 is set. When the microprocessor 1 receives a memory write time update command with a new memory write time as a parameter from an external device via the serial data communication line 6, it sends the value to the timer control unit 4. The write command is executed with the updated memory write time.If the memory write time can be updated to a free value, the memory write time can be set according to the IC card inspection environment. Therefore, it is convenient.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, by providing the microprocessor in the IC card with the function of setting the write time to the memory to a plurality of different values, it is possible to save a short time during shipping inspection of the IC card. You can perform a memory write check with . Furthermore, since the memory writing time is only made variable, there is no need for much effort when creating an IC card control program, which is of great industrial value.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional IC card. 1...Microprocessor, 2...E
EPROM. 3... Communication control unit, 4... Timer control unit, 5... Timer, 6... Serial data communication line, 7...... Address bus, 8...
...Data bus, 9...Memory control bus.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An IC card comprising a microprocessor and an EEPROM, the microprocessor having a function of setting a write time to the EEPROM to a plurality of different values.