JPS6312083A - Information card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the defect of contacting with an external device, the malfunction due to a leak current, the destruction of internal circuits due to static electricity or an external voltage, etc., by inputting a supply power and inputting and outputting signals through an ultrasonic/electric transducer, a transmission signal/electric signal converter, and an electric signal/transmission signal converter which are not exposed to the outside. CONSTITUTION:A transmission signal/electric signal converter 24 which converts a transmission signal to an electric signal, a memory 26 where information is stored, a memory control circuit 25 which controls the operation of the memory based on the electric signal of the transmission signal/electric signal of the transmission signal/electric signal converter, an electric signal/transmission signal converter 27 which converts the electric signal outputted from the memory control circuit to the trasmission signal and outputs it, an ultrasonic/electric transducer 22 which converts the ultrasonic energy for power supply to a power, and a power supply circuit 23 to which the power of the ultrasonic/electric transducer is inputted to supply the supply power to the transmission signal/electric signal converter, the memory, the memory control circuit, and the electric signal/transmission signal converter are stored in a card body 21. Thus, signals are transmitted and received with no power sources without contacting, and the defect of contacting, the malfunction due to the leak current, and the destruction of internal circuits are prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is applicable to office automation.
Automation, OA), 77 Factory Automation
Information cards such as IC cards used in fields such as , FA), etc., especially non-power supply (no built-in battery), non-contact ultrasonic coupled power supply, etc. that do not have contact terminals for power and signal input/output. This relates to an information card that uses a contactless transmission and reception method.

(Prior Art) A general information card has an integrated circuit such as a semiconductor memory built into a card body made of plastic or the like, and a contact terminal for connecting to an external device is provided on the card surface.

Conventionally, technologies in this field include ■Nikkei Mechanical, (1985-10-21) Nikkei McGraw-Hill Co., Ltd.
C card JP, 1B? -170, ■Nikkei Electronics, (1985-12-2) Nikkei McGraw-Hill Inc. rr
Electronics tower manufacturers pouring into the c-card market (
Above) JP, 275-292, ■Nikkei Electronics.

(1985-12-6) Nikkei McGraw-Hill Electronics manufacturers pouring into the RRC card market (Part 2)
P, 249-2132. The configuration will be explained below using figures.

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

In FIG. 2, an external device 2.2 is an information card for reading and writing information, and a DC power source Vc is connected from the external device 1 to the information card 2.

E is supplied, and its external device 1 and information card 2
Input and output signals I10+-I10n are exchanged between them.

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 and signal ports exposed on its surface. A contact terminal 4 is provided, and an electronic integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as IC) 5 is provided inside. The IC 5 includes a semiconductor memory 6 and a microprocessor 7 that controls writing and reading of information to and from the memory 6.
It has

When this type of information card 2 is inserted into the external device 1, the terminals 4 on the card 2 side come into contact with the terminals on the external device 1 side, and the information stored in the memory 6 is transferred to the external device through these terminals 4 etc. 1 or write information on the external device 1 side into the memory 6.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the information card with the above configuration, since the terminal 4 is exposed to the outside, the terminal contact portion may become dirty, oxidized, corroded, worn out, etc., resulting in poor contact or leakage. Malfunctions caused by current, and breakdown of IC5 caused by static electricity and external voltage occurred, resulting in reliability problems.

The present invention provides an information card that solves the problem of low reliability that the prior art had.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides information reading,
Alternatively, an information card for reading and writing includes a transmission signal/electrical signal converter that converts a transmission signal into an electrical signal, a memory that stores information, and an operation of the memory based on the electrical signal of the transmission/electrical signal converter. an electric signal/transmission signal converter that converts the electric signal output from the memory control circuit into a transmission signal and outputs it, and an ultrasonic/electrical converter that converts ultrasonic energy for power supply into electric power. a transducer, and a power supply circuit that inputs the power of the ultrasonic/electrical transducer and supplies power to the transmission signal/electrical signal converter, memory, memory control circuit, and electrical signal/transmission signal converter. , which is housed within the card body.

(Function) According to the present invention, since the information card is configured as described above, the ultrasonic/electrical converter receives electric power in the form of ultrasonic energy from an external device, and similarly the transmission signal/electrical signal converter and Electrical signal/transmission signal converters function to send and receive output signals in the form of optical signals or the like. The power supply circuit also serves to supply the internal circuitry with power provided through the ultrasound/electrical transducer. This allows signals to be exchanged without power and without contact. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem can be eliminated.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information card showing an embodiment of the present invention.

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

The external device 10 includes an electric/ultrasonic wave converter 11 that converts electric power into an ultrasonic wave S, and converts an input signal S1 into a transmission signal Sx such as an optical signal.
1 Electrical signal/transmission signal converter (E/Xt)
12, and a transmission signal/electrical signal converter (X/Et) 13 that converts a transmission signal Sx2 such as an optical signal into an electrical signal and sends out an output signal So.

On the other hand, the information card 20 has a substantially rectangular card body 21 made of plastic or the like.
Inside are an ultrasonic/electrical converter 22, a power supply circuit 23, a transmission signal/electrical signal converter (X/Ec), a memory control circuit 25, a memory 26. and electrical signal/transmission signal converter (E
/Xc) 27 is provided.

Here, the ultrasonic/electric converter 22 is a circuit that converts the ultrasonic wave S supplied from the electric/B sonic converter 11 on the external device 10 side into electric power, and the electric power is stabilized by the power supply circuit 23. It is converted into a DC voltage Vdc, and the card body 21
The voltage is supplied to each circuit within the circuit as a power supply voltage. The transmission signal/electrical signal converter 24 converts a transmission signal Sx such as an optical signal output from the electrical signal/transmission signal converter 12 on the external device 10 side.
This circuit converts l into an electrical signal and provides it to the memory control circuit 25. The memory control circuit 25 includes, for example, a microprocessor having functions such as a central processing unit (CPU) and an input/output device, and includes a transmission signal/electrical signal converter 24.
This is a circuit that inputs the output signal of and controls reading and writing of the memory 2B. The memory 2B is a circuit that stores various types of information, such as read-only memory (ROM), write-in rotary ROM (PRON), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEFROM), ultraviolet erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), etc. It consists of Further, the electrical signal/transmission signal converter 27 converts the output signal of the memory control circuit 25 into a transmission signal SX2 such as an optical signal,
Transmission signal/electrical signal converter 13 on the external device 10 side
This is the circuit that sends the signal to. Each circuit in the card body 21 includes an IC, an optoelectronic integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as OE).
It is made up of etc.

Next, the operation will be explained.

The input signal Si in the external device 10 is the information card 20
The initial set (initial setting) of the memory control circuit 25 on the side, control signals for reading and writing information, and signals to be written to the memory 2B are serialized.

When the information card 20 is inserted into such an external device 10, the electric power on the external device filO side is converted into ultrasonic waves S by the electric/ultrasonic converter 11, and then the ultrasonic waves/
The air is sent to the TL converter. The ultrasonic wave S is converted into the original electric power by the ultrasonic/electrical converter 22, and then the power source circuit 2
After being converted into the stabilized DC voltage Vde at step 3, the voltage is supplied to each circuit in the card body 21 as a power source. moreover,
The input signal S1 of the external device IO is converted into a predetermined transmission signal SX+ by the electrical signal/transmission signal converter 12, and then supplied to the transmission signal/electrical signal converter 24 on the information card 20 side.

The transmission signal SX+ input to the information card 20 is converted into an electrical signal by the transmission signal/electrical signal converter 24 and then provided to the memory control circuit 25 . The memory control circuit 25 specifies an address and reads stored information from the memory 2B based on the input electrical signal, if the signal includes read information, for example. This stored information is converted into a predetermined transmission signal SX2 by the electric signal/transmission signal converter 27.
and sent to the transmission signal/electrical signal converter 13 on the external device 10 side.

The transmission signal/electrical signal converter 13 converts the input transmission signal into an electrical signal, and outputs an output signal S which serializes the readout information of the memory 26, the operation confirmation signal inside the information card, etc.
Send o.

FIGS. 4 to 12 show specific configuration examples of the information card shown in FIG. (N)(
iii) FIGS. 7 to 12 show information cards using an ultrasonic coupling power feeding/ultrasonic transmission/reception method, and their configurations will be described below.

(i) Information card of ultrasonic coupling power feeding/optical transmission/reception system shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the circuit configuration. In the external device 10, the electric/ultrasonic converter 11 includes an oscillation circuit 11-1, an ultrasonic generation element drive circuit 11-2 that amplifies the AC output of the oscillation circuit 11-1, and an electrostrictive circuit that outputs the ultrasonic wave S. It is composed of an ultrasonic generating element 11-3 such as a vibrator. Further, the electric signal/transmission signal converter 12 is connected to the light emitting element drive circuit 1
2-1, a light emitting element 12-2 such as a light emitting diode that generates an optical signal OPT 1, and a lens 12-3 for transmitting light; 1. A light receiving element 13-2 such as a photodiode that receives the optical signal 0PT2, and a light receiving amplifier circuit 13-
It consists of 3.

The ultrasonic/electrical converter 22 on the information card 20 side corresponding to the external device 10 is composed of an ultrasonic receiving element such as an electrostrictive transducer that inputs the ultrasonic wave S, and a transmission signal/electrical signal converter 24
is composed of a light-receiving element 24-1 that receives the optical signal OPT 1 and a light-receiving amplification circuit 24-2, similar to the external device 10 side, and the electric signal/transmission signal converter 27 also includes a light-emitting element drive circuit 27-1, and a light emitting element 27-2 that generates an optical signal 0PT2. Each of these circuits 22, 24
．． All circuits inside the card body 21 including 27 are, for example, 0E.
Consists of IG30-1.

5 is a perspective view showing a mounting example of the information card 20 in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the 0EIC 30-1 in FIG. In the card body 21 made of plastic etc. that houses the 0EIC30-1,
The passages for the optical signals 0PTI and 0PT2 are provided with holes, transparent films, ultrasonic wave passing layers, etc., so that the structure allows the passage of ultrasonic waves and light beams.

In the above configuration, when the information card 20 is inserted into the external device IO, the oscillation circuit 11-1 is
The AC power outputted from the drive circuit 11-2 is amplified, and the ultrasonic generating element 11-3 converts the AC power into ultrasonic waves S, which are sent to the ultrasonic/electrical converter 22 on the information card 20 side. At the same time, the drive circuit 12-1 causes the light emitting element 12-2 to emit light based on the input signal S1, converts the input signal S1 into an optical signal OPT 1, and then passes it through the lens 12-3 to the light receiving element 24 on the information card 20 side. -1.

In the information card 20, the input ultrasonic wave S is converted into the original electric power by the ultrasonic/electrical converter 22 and then sent to the power supply circuit 2.
given to 3. Then, the power supply circuit 23 generates a stabilized DC voltage Vdc and applies it to each circuit in the 0EIC 30-1 as a power supply. Furthermore, since the light receiving element 24-1 receives the optical signal 0PTI and converts it into an electrical signal, the electrical signal is amplified by the light receiving amplifier circuit 24-2 and then provided to the memory control circuit 25. The memory control circuit 25 writes information into the memory 26, for example, and provides a write confirmation signal to the light emitting element drive circuit 27-1. The drive circuit 27-1 causes the light emitting element 27-2 to emit light, converts the write confirmation signal into an optical signal 0PT2, and sends it to the lens 13-1 of the external device 10.

The optical signal OP'r2 that has passed through the lens 13-1 is converted into an electrical signal by the light receiving element 13-2, and then sent to the light receiving amplification circuit 13-3.
The signal is amplified and output as an output signal SO.

(ii) Information card of ultrasonic coupling power feeding/ultrasonic transmission/reception method shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a circuit configuration. The difference from Figure 4 is the electrical signal/transmission signal converter! 2, 27, and the transmission signal/electrical signal converters 13 and 24 are of ultrasonic transmission type.

That is, each electric signal/transmission signal converter 12.27 outputs a modulation circuit 12-11.27-11, an ultrasonic generation element drive circuit 12-12.27-12, and ultrasonic signals Sa and Sb. Each transmission signal/electrical signal converter 13.24 includes an ultrasonic receiving element 13-11 such as an electrostrictive transducer. .24-11 and a demodulation circuit 13-12.24-12. The power supply circuit 23, memory control circuit 25, and memory 26 in the card body 21, including these circuits 24-12.27-11.27-12, are configured with an IC 30-2.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a mounting example of the information card 20 in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of the main part configuration of FIG. The card body 21 that houses the IC 30-2, the ultrasonic/electrical converter 22, the ultrasonic receiving element 24-11, and the ultrasonic generating element 27-13 contains ultrasonic waves s, sa, and Sb as in (i) above. It has a structure that allows ultrasonic waves to pass through by making holes in the passages or providing an ultrasonic wave passage layer.

In the above configuration, the modulation circuit 12-
11 converts the input signal S1 into a transmission signal, and based on the signal, the drive circuit 12-12 converts the ultrasonic wave generating element 12-13.
The ultrasonic signal Sa is outputted from. Then, the ultrasonic receiving element 24-11 on the information card 20 side converts the ultrasonic signal Sa into an electric signal, and the electric signal is sent to the demodulation circuit 24-12.
The signal is demodulated and provided to the memory control circuit 25. Similarly, the output signal of the memory control circuit 25 is
1 and sent out as an ultrasound signal Sb by the drive circuit 27-12 and the ultrasound generation element 27-13. This signal Sb is converted into an electrical signal by the ultrasonic receiving element 13-11, demodulated by the demodulation circuit 13-12, and sent out in the form of an output signal So.

(iii) Information card of ultrasonic coupled power feeding/ultrasonic transmission/reception method shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. 1θ is a circuit configuration block diagram, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of mounting the information card 20 in FIG. , FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of the main part configuration of FIG. 11.

This circuit differs from the above (ii) in that the card body 21
All the circuits housed in the device were constructed using IC30-3.

Each of the above embodiments has the following advantages.

■ The internal circuit terminals are not exposed to the outside as in the past,
Since power can be supplied and signals can be input and output without contact, there is no contact failure caused by dirt, oxidation, corrosion, wear, etc. on the terminal contact parts as in conventional methods, and there is no possibility of failure or malfunction due to leakage current. In addition, there is no need to protect internal circuits from external voltage or static electricity, and therefore high reliability can be achieved.

■ Completely sealed structure improves explosion-proof and waterproof properties. Therefore, in addition to normal OA type equipment such as FAa equipment,
It can also be applied to installations in adverse environments or locations requiring explosion-proof measures.

■ Improved usability as there is no need to replace batteries.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can be modified in various ways. It is also possible to configure each circuit within with other circuits.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, power is input through an ultrasonic/electrical converter, a transmission signal/electrical signal converter, and an electric signal/transmission signal converter that are not exposed to the outside. Since the input, output, and power input and output signals are performed, it is possible to prevent poor contact with external devices, malfunctions due to leakage current, and destruction of internal circuits due to static electricity or external voltage, improving reliability.

Furthermore, since it has a completely sealed structure, it is explosion-proof and waterproof, and it is expected that there will be no need to change batteries.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information card showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a conventional information card, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an implementation example of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of an information card using ultrasonic coupled power feeding and optical transmission/reception system embodying FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an implementation example of the information card of FIG. 4, and FIG. A perspective view showing an example of the configuration of main parts, FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of an information card using an ultrasonic coupled power supply/ultrasonic transmission/reception method that embodies the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is an example of implementation of the information card shown in FIG. 7. Figure 59 is a perspective view showing an example of the main part configuration of Figure 8;
The figure is a block diagram of the configuration of an information card using an ultrasonic coupled power supply/ultrasonic transmission/reception system that embodies the one shown in FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the main part of the figure. IO...external device, 11...electric/ultrasonic converter, 12.27...electric signal/transmission signal converter, 13.24... Transmission signal/electrical signal converter, 20...Information card, 21...
・Card body, 22... Ultrasonic/electrical converter,
30-1...Optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC), 3
0-2.30-3...Electronic integrated circuit (rc). Applicant's agent: Takashi Kakinoki Nariki Schematic diagram of the configuration of the information card invented by Nariki Figure 1 Configuration block diagram of the conventional information card Figure 17: Knocking down the Seikai car in Figure 10

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transmission signal/electrical signal converter that converts a transmission signal into an electrical signal; a memory that stores information; and an operation of the memory based on the electrical signal of the transmission signal/electrical signal converter. A memory control circuit to control, an electric signal/transmission signal converter to convert the electric signal output from the memory control circuit into a transmission signal and output it, and an ultrasonic/electrical converter to convert ultrasonic energy for power supply into electric power. a power supply circuit that inputs the power of the ultrasonic/electrical converter and supplies power to the transmission signal/electrical signal converter, memory, memory control circuit, and electrical signal/transmission signal converter; An information card characterized by being housed within a card body. 2. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the transmission signal/electrical signal converter, memory, memory control circuit, electrical signal/transmission signal converter, and power supply circuit are constructed from an integrated circuit. 3. The ultrasonic/electrical converter is an ultrasonic receiving element, the transmission signal/electrical signal converter is a light receiving element and a light receiving amplification circuit, and the electric signal/transmission signal converter is a light emitting element driving circuit and a light emitting element. 2. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the memory, memory control circuit, and power supply circuit including these circuits are each constructed from an optoelectronic integrated circuit. 4. The ultrasonic/electrical converter is an ultrasonic receiving element, the transmission signal/electrical converter is an ultrasonic receiving element and a demodulation circuit, and the electric signal/transmission signal converter is a modulation circuit and an ultrasonic generation element drive. Each consists of a circuit and an ultrasonic generation element,
2. The information card according to claim 1, wherein the memory including the demodulation circuit, the modulation circuit, and the ultrasonic wave generation element drive circuit, the memory control circuit, and the power supply circuit are constructed of an electronic integrated circuit. 5. Claim 4, wherein the ultrasonic/electrical converter, transmission signal/electrical signal converter, electrical signal/transmission signal converter, memory, memory control circuit, and power supply circuit are constructed of electronic integrated circuits. information card.