JPS63234378A - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate problem caused by the breakage of a control program by providing a means to check the propriety of a control program and a means to output the checking result to outside. CONSTITUTION:A control element 11 is started by the control signal received from a card reader/writer 2 and an IC card 1 checks the propriety in the control program up to the end of a program memory 13. If an improper state is judged during said checking action, the element 11 sends immediately the answer data to the reader/writer 2 to show that the program is not proper and holds the program. Then the element 11 carries out a self-diagnosis program when it is judged that all programs are proper. Thus it is possible to eliminate the problem caused by the breakage of the control program and to obtain the IC card having high reliability.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to non-volatile data memory and CPU
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device called an IC card, which has a built-in IC (integrated circuit) chip having a control element such as a U.

(Prior Art) Recently, as a new portable data storage medium, an IC card containing a built-in IC chip having a nonvolatile data memory and a control element such as a CPU has been developed. This type of IC card accesses a built-in data memory using a built-in control element, and selectively inputs and outputs necessary data in response to a request from an external device.

The control element performs various controls using a built-in control program.

This control program is usually realized by storing program data as a mask pattern in a program memory constituted by a mask ROM when manufacturing the IC card.

Now, recent IC cards perform self-diagnosis immediately after starting up. This self-diagnosis was achieved by including a self-diagnosis program in the control program and executing the self-diagnosis program immediately after startup. However,
This self-diagnosis is to check whether the IC card can operate normally, and mainly checks the operation of the RAM, registers, etc. in the control element, and does not check the validity of the program data. Therefore, for example, if the data that makes up the interface part of the program data is corrupted, and even if the self-diagnosis results indicate that it is operational, it may be impossible to send or receive data to or from an external device. was occurring.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem that problems occur when the built-in control program is damaged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device which can eliminate problems caused by damage and which is highly reliable.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has a data memory section and a control section for reading and writing data to the data memory section, and the control section A portable electronic device that has a program memory section that stores a control program for controlling the device, and that selectively performs input and output from the outside,
The apparatus includes a checking means for checking the validity of the control program stored in the program memory section, and an output means for outputting the check result of the checking means to the outside.

(Function) Since the validity of the built-in control program can be checked, the above-mentioned problems that occur when the control program is damaged can be eliminated, and a highly reliable product can be obtained.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal device that handles an IC card as a portable electronic device according to the present invention. That is, this terminal device connects the IC card 1 to a card reader.
It is possible to connect to the control section 3 consisting of a CPU etc. via the writer 2, and the IIJ m1 section 3 is equipped with a keyboard 4,
It is constructed by connecting a CRT display device 5, a printer 6, and a floppy disk device 7.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the IC card 1 includes a control element (for example, CPLJ) 11 as a control section, a nonvolatile data memory 12 as a data memory section whose storage contents can be erased, and a program as a program memory section. It is composed of a memory 13 and a contact part 14 for obtaining electrical contact with the card reader/writer 2. Of these, the part within the broken line (control element 11, data memory 12, program memory 13) is one It is composed of an IC chip and is embedded within the IC card body. The data memory 12 is used to store various data, and is composed of, for example, an EEPROM.

The program memory 13 is composed of, for example, a mask ROM, and as shown in FIG. etc.). As shown in FIG. 3, the control program stored in the program memory 13 includes a plurality of check codes and a subprogram for checking the validity of program data based on the check codes. When a program is executed, the program data is read out, and the validity of the program data within the read range is checked using the check code. In FIG. 3, for example, the check code for range A corresponds to a, the check code for range B corresponds to b1, and the check code for range C corresponds to C. Here, the check code is checksum data of program data within the corresponding range.

The card reader/writer 2 sends and receives data between the IC card 1 and the control section 3.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the transport mechanism 21 transports the IC card 1 inserted into a card insertion slot (not shown) to a predetermined position, and the contact part 14 of the IC card 1 set at the predetermined position. A contact part 22 that is electrically contacted, a control part 23 consisting of a CPtJ, etc. that controls the whole body, and an input/output part for exchanging command data and response data between the control part 23 and the control part 3. It is composed of an interface circuit 24, a data memory 25 for storing data, and the like.

Next, the operation of such a configuration will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. After the IC card 1 is supplied with power and a clock from the card reader/writer 2, the IC card 1 is released from reset by being supplied with a reset signal, which is a control signal for activation, and the control element 11 is activated. Then, the control element 11 checks the validity of the control program by executing a subprogram within the control program. That is, first, program data in range A is read out and sequentially added, and validity is determined based on whether the result matches check code a. This checking operation is performed until the end of the program memory 13, that is, up to range C in the example of the third cause, and if it is determined that the program is invalid during the check, the control element 11 immediately sends response data indicating that the program is incorrect to the card reader. It is sent to writer 2 and enters the halt state.

After checking that all programs are valid in this manner, the control element 11 executes a self-diagnosis program within the control program to self-diagnose whether subsequent operations can be performed normally. This self-diagnosis includes, for example, checking whether the RAM, registers, etc. in the control element 11 operate normally. As a result of this self-diagnosis, if it is determined that normal operation is performed, the control element 11 sends the initial response data in the program memory 13 to the card reader/writer 2.
It will be in a state where it has command data from.

At this time, when command data is input from the card reader/writer 2, the control element 11 executes processing according to the command data, sends response data indicating the processing result to the card reader/writer 2, and then commands the card reader/writer 2 again. Return to data holding state. On the other hand, if it is determined that normal operation is not performed as a result of the above self-diagnosis, the control element 11 enters a halt state without transmitting initial response data.

In this way, immediately after startup, the validity of the control program in the program memory is checked, and if it is determined that it is not valid, response data indicating that is output to the outside and the operation is stopped. Then, a self-diagnosis is performed to determine whether normal operation can be performed. Therefore, since the validity of the control program can be checked, the above-described problems that occur when the control program is damaged can be eliminated, and a highly reliable IC card can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, an IC card is used as an example of a portable electronic device, but the present invention is not limited to a card-shaped device, and may be a block-shaped or pencil-shaped device, for example. Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the portable electronic device can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, since the validity of the built-in control program can be checked, problems that occur when the control program is damaged can be eliminated, and the system is highly reliable. It is possible to provide a portable electronic device that provides the following.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a flowchart explaining the operation, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the format in the program memory, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the control program in the program memory. Diagram to explain, Figure 4 is IC
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the card, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the card reader/writer, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of the terminal device. 1...IC card (portable electronic device), 2.
... Card reader/writer, 11 ... Control element (control section), 12 ... Data memory (data memory section), 13 ... Program memory (
program memory section). Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) It has a data memory section, a control section for reading and writing data to the data memory section, and a program memory section that stores a control program for the control section to perform control. A portable electronic device that selectively performs input and output from the outside, comprising: a check means for checking the validity of a control program stored in the program memory section; and a check result of the check means being transmitted to the outside. 1. A portable electronic device comprising an output means for outputting an output. (2) The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the check by the check means is performed immediately after activation of the control section. (3) The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control operation of the control section is stopped when the check result of the check means is negative. (4) A patent characterized in that program check information is present in at least one location in the control program, and the check means is realized using the program check information by a program check subprogram in the control program. A portable electronic device according to claim 1.