JPS63159993A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the testability, and to quickly cope with addition of a function of diversified IC cards by providing a microprocessor and a memory consisting of a ROM and programmable memory, loading a program code from an external device and executing it. CONSTITUTION:An IC card 1 is provided with a microprocessor 2, a memory consisting of a read-only memory (ROM) 3 and a programmable memory 4. In this state, a program code of the microprocessor 2 is loaded from an external device 5, the loaded program code is written in the programmable memory 4, and the written program code is executed by the microprocessor 2. In such a way, a flexible function inspection can be executed, it is possible to cope with diversified IC card application, and especially, it can be utilized for manufacturing the card in case of utilizing a small quantity of IC cards.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an IC card having various complex functions.

[Conventional technology]

I, which is close to 1 and has a built-in microcomputer, memory, etc.
C cards have been proposed and are becoming popular. In particular, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) used in an IC card is a so-called one-chip microcomputer that includes a built-in ROM, RAM, and peripheral circuits thereof. The operation of the microcontroller is controlled by a program stored in the built-in ROM, but the contents of the ROM are usually formed during the IC manufacturing process, and once it is built into an IC card, the contents cannot be read or rewritten. It is possible. On the other hand, RAM is normally used as various registers and flags necessary for microcomputer operation, and external memory stores data used in the IC card system and data for managing the memory. Both are RO
Reading and writing are controlled by a program in M.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventional IC cards are configured as described above, so
Once the IC card manufacturing process is completed, it is impossible to add or change the program built into the one-chip microcomputer.

Additionally, it would be convenient to incorporate an inspection program into the IC card and use this program in the inspection process to perform the function inspection, but due to program capacity limitations, the above It is also difficult to incorporate such a test program into an IC card.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and after the manufacturing process of the IC card is completed, the
To obtain an IC card capable of loading and executing a program executed by a microcomputer built in the C card from an external device connected to the IC card at any time.

[Means for solving problems]

An IC card according to the present invention includes a microprocessor;
A memory consisting of a read-only memory and a programmable memory, means for loading the program code of the microprocessor sensor from an external device, a means for writing the loaded program code into the programmable memory, and a means for loading the program code of the microprocessor sensor from an external device; This method realizes means for switching to a mode executed by a processor.

[Effect]

In this invention, a program code loaded from an external device is stored in a built-in programmable memory,
The program code is stored by a built-in microcomputer.

Since the method is executed in advance, flexible functional tests can be performed, and it can also be used to respond to diversifying IC card applications, especially in the manufacture of cards for use in small quantities of IC cards.

〔Example〕

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

In FIG. 1, 1 is an IC card, 2 is a microprocessor, 3 is a read-only memory (ROM), 4 is a programmable memory, and 5 is an external device.The microprocessor 2 loads program codes from the external device. Loading means (corresponding to step 11 in Figure 2)
, a writing means (corresponding to step 12) for writing the program code into the programmable memory 4, and a switching means (corresponding to step 12) for switching between the writing mode and the execution mode.
(corresponding to step 13) is configured.

Next, the operation when loading and executing program code from an external device will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 10, a write address is set. Next, in steps 11 and 12, the program code is input and written to the above address. Here, the presence or absence of data, that is, a program code, is determined in step 13. If not, an execution address is set and the above program is executed (step 14.15), and if data is present, the write address is determined in step 16. is incremented and the above steps 11 to 13 are repeated again.

In addition, the ROM in the above embodiment is mask RO.
M, EPROM, EEPROM, etc. can be used, and EEPROM, CMOSR, etc. can be used as programmable memory.
AM, EPROM, etc. can be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a microprocessor and a memory consisting of a ROM and a programmable memory are provided, and the program code is loaded from an external device and executed, thereby improving testability. This has the effect of quickly responding to the addition of increasingly diverse functions to IC cards.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart for loading and executing a program code from an external device to the IC card. 1...IC card, 2...microprocessor, 3
...ROM, 4...Programmable memory, 5...
・External device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An IC comprising a microprocessor, a programmable memory section into which a program code from an external device is written, and a read-only memory section into which a program code to be executed by the microprocessor is recorded. A card, comprising loading means for loading a program code of the microprocessor from an external device connected to the IC card, a writing means for writing the loaded program code into the programmable memory section, and a writing means for writing the loaded program code into the programmable memory section. An IC card characterized by comprising a switching means for switching between a program code write mode and an execution mode in which the microprocessor executes the written program code. (2) The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the read-only memory is a mask ROM. (3) The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the read-only memory is an EPROM. (4) The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the read-only memory is an EEPROM. (5) The IC card according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the programmable memory is an EEPROM. (6) The IC card according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the programmable memory is a CMOSRAM. (7) The IC card according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the programmable memory is an EPROM.