JPS6341193A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an IC card.

[Prior Art] With the progress in thinning of semiconductor ICs, so-called IC cards have been known in which a CPII, memory, etc. are built into the card.

This IC card can store a larger amount of information than a 6n card or the like, and can also be provided with arithmetic capabilities, so the range of its use has tended to expand in recent years.

However, due to the nature of things that each person carries around, it is common to use a battery as a power source, and the various information stored on the card is retained by backup using the battery.

Therefore, when the heavy oil is consumed, the information that has been manually input will also be lost, so it is necessary to periodically back up the contents of the cart on another medium, but the timing varies depending on the type of battery installed in the cart. It is also inconvenient to set a uniform time.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and prevent information from disappearing by appropriately notifying the user of the time for backup or battery replacement. With,
To provide an IC card in which the number of times of battery life measurement processing is reduced to the utmost so that it does not interfere with other information processing, and furthermore, information that has been painstakingly inputted is not wasted.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery life measuring means for measuring the life of the battery in an IC card having a battery as a power source for electronic equipment built into the card. , measurement instruction means for issuing an instruction to operate the battery life measuring means at a predetermined cycle; measurement result determining means for determining the result of measuring the battery life; The present invention is characterized by comprising an alarm means for issuing a warning.

[Effect] The present invention having the above configuration will be explained in detail.

When an instruction is issued from the measurement instruction means, the battery life measurement means measures the voltage or current of the battery, and sends the measurement result to the measurement result determination means.

If the battery life according to this measurement result is less than a predetermined value, the alarm means issues an alarm for backup or battery replacement. By following the warning and backing up or replacing the battery, the user can prevent information from being lost.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

Here, 10 is a battery as a power source for the IC card, and 20 is a battery life measuring means for measuring the life of the battery 10, which measures the voltage between the two poles of the battery 10 or measures the current value. If particular rigor is required, a dummy load for testing may be inserted into the circuit and the voltage drop value measured at that time may be used.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a measurement instruction means for issuing an instruction to the battery life measurement means 20 to perform a measurement operation at a predetermined cycle, which will be described later. Reference numeral 40 denotes a battery life measurement cycle setting means for setting the measurement cycle instructed by the measurement instruction means 30. .

The setting method is to use a timer and set the time to the timer.

For example, if the battery life is normally about one and a half years, the measurement cycle is set to be one year from the start of use to the first battery life measurement. Therefore, the set cycle value is changed sequentially such that the second time is three months after the first time, the third time is two months after the second time, and the fourth time is one month after the third time. Make it shorter as the time progresses. this is,
This is done by storing a timer setting value in advance in memory in accordance with the number of times the battery life is measured, that is, the number of times the timer is set. ``In this way, the number of processing times for actual measurement is reduced as much as possible so as not to interfere with other information processing.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a measurement result judgment means that makes a judgment by comparing, for example, the voltage value measured by the battery life measurement means 20 with a set value. In this embodiment, two values are set as the first and second setting values. For example, if a voltage drop of 10% with respect to the rated voltage is considered to be the end of the life, the first setting value is, for example, a voltage drop of 8%, that is, 92% constant tf! ! The voltage value is determined, and the 90% rated voltage value is determined as the second set value that is considered as the life span.

Reference numeral 60 denotes means for prohibiting writing to the IC card when the voltage value is within a predetermined range as a result of the determination by the measurement result determining means 50.

Similarly, 70 is an alarm means for giving a warning to the user based on the judgment result of the measurement result judgment means 50.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, 1 is a card body, 2 is a display device such as an LCD as the alarm means 70 shown in the first diagram, and 3 is a connection terminal.

FIG. 3 shows a force diagram of block 41 of another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, 4 is a memory such as RAM or ROM, 5 is a CPo, 10 is a battery, 7 is an LCD driver, and the means shown in the first diagram are 20, 30, 40, 50, 80.
is composed of a memory 4 and a CPII 5.

The control procedure of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 is configured, for example, in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, and this control procedure is stored in the ROM in the memory 4 in advance.

Here, the control procedure of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, at the start of use with the battery IO set,
When the timer is set, the number of times the timer is set is checked in step 51. In this case, the number of sets is 0, so
In step S2, the timer setting value at this time is retrieved from the memory 4 to obtain, for example, one year.

In step S3, a timer is set with the timer setting value, and in step S4, the timer set count value is rewritten.

In this case, since the previous time was O, N=1.

In step S5, the clock signal of the CPU 5 is counted, and in step S5 it is determined whether the count value exceeds the above-mentioned timer setting value. Counting in step S5 continues unless the count exceeds the limit.

When the timer setting value is exceeded, the battery life is measured based on the voltage of the battery IO in step S7.

In step S8, it is determined whether or not the measured value is higher than the first set value. If it is higher, it is assumed that the battery life still remains, and the process returns to step S1, and the processes of steps S1 to S7 described above are performed. However, in this process,
As described above, since the timer is set for the second time, the measurement period is shortened. However, step S8
If the measured value is lower than the first set value, step S9
Then, it is further determined whether or not it is higher than the second set value.

If it is higher than the second set value, that is, if the measured value is between the first set value and the second set value, the process advances to step 510 and writing to the IC card is prohibited.

This is to avoid wasted write operations. In other words, if the battery life runs out or the battery operation becomes unstable during the operation of writing information to the IC card, and incorrect information is stored, the operation of writing this information is completely useless. This is because, after replacing the battery, there is no choice but to use manual labor again.

Note that this write-inhibited state is displayed on the display device 2 to notify the user.

After the process in step S10, the process returns to step S1.

As a result of the determination in step S9, if the measured value is lower than the second set value, it is determined that backup or battery replacement is necessary, and the process proceeds to step Sll, where a warning process is performed. The alarm means 70 sends the information in the memory 4 to the LCD driver 7,
A message to that effect is displayed on the display device 2. In addition, the display device lO
When using an LED as the LCD driver 7, the LCD driver 7 is not necessary, so the circuit configuration becomes inexpensive.

As shown in this embodiment, by providing a display device on the rc card body, it is possible to check the status of information communication between the IC card and an external device using the card. Reduce risk.

In the embodiment described above, the timer setting value of the battery life measurement cycle setting means is predetermined according to the number of times the timer is set. Set the timer setting value to perform the first measurement, and from the second time onwards, calculate the voltage or current reduction rate from the measured value and the rated value, and determine the next timer setting value according to this reduction rate. In this case, when a defective battery is used, it is particularly effective in finding it.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the time for backup or battery replacement is automatically displayed and alerted on the display section of the IC card, so that stored information can be prevented from disappearing. It can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the number of times the battery life measurement process is performed can be significantly reduced, so that it is less likely to interfere with other information processing.

Furthermore, in the present invention, writing is distinguished from mere exchange of information, and writing is prohibited when the battery life is within a predetermined range, so that it is possible to prevent wasted writing operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view of an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. , FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control procedure in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1... IC card body, 2... Display device, 3... Connection terminal, 4... Memory, 5... CPU. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Battery, 20...Battery life measuring means, 30...Measurement instruction means, 40...Battery life measurement cycle setting means, 50...Measurement result judgment means, 60...Writing prohibition means , 70...Alarm means. Figure 1 of the pro-tsuku map of this release

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) In an IC card having a battery as a power source for electronic devices built into the card, the IC card includes: a battery life measuring means for measuring the life of the battery; and a battery life measuring means operating at a predetermined cycle. measurement instruction means for issuing an instruction to perform the battery life measurement; measurement result determination means for determining the result of measuring the battery life; and alarm means for issuing a warning when the determination result of the measurement result determination means indicates that the battery life is less than a predetermined value. An IC card that is characterized by: 2) The measurement instruction means issues an instruction according to a set cycle value of a battery life measurement cycle setting means that sets a battery life measurement cycle, and the set cycle value is changed and set as time passes. IC according to claim 1
card. 3) The measurement result determining means has first and second set values, and when the measured value is lower than the first set value and higher than the second set value, the means for inhibiting writing is activated. An IC card according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: