JPH10307901A - Ic card reader and writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and compact IC card reader/writer which consumes small electric power and can perform the insertion/ejection and the connection control of the IC cards without building in any attached battery nor requiring the connection to a power supply. SOLUTION: The power necessary for the operation of a card reader/writer and the read/write operations of an IC card 11 are supplied just by taking a power supply out of a control signal line contained in a cable connected to a PC(personal computer) and without using any auxiliary power supply (battery, AC adaptor). The ER and RS lines are led to a power circuit 24 from a PC 20, and the power supplies of 5V and 3V are taken out of both lines and supplied to the VCC terminal of the card 11. A CPU 22 of the IC card reader/writer receives a correct ATR signal from the card 11 and turns on a through mode to secure the direct connection between the card 11 and the PC 20 via a multiplexer 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for generating power from signals exchanged with a computer.
The present invention relates to an IC card reader / writer which does not require a built-in power supply or a connection power supply and can reduce power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art IC cards having an IC embedded in a card include a card having a microcomputer and a memory, a card having only a memory, and other cards having an analog circuit and the like. In particular, the above IC
Since the card has the ability to operate within the card,
Confirmation of personal identification number and encryption processing can be performed in the card. Therefore, even if the IC card reader / writer is provided, it can be used for many transactions even in financial institutions such as banks and stores, and most recently in ordinary households. For example, if this is used for a bank card or the like of a bank, the amount of transfer can be reduced by improving the security and transferring data to the other party with a short code. By the way, a conventional IC card reader / writer consumes a considerable amount of power by itself, so that it is usually connected to a power source or has a built-in power source such as a battery. That is, usually, IC
The card reader / writer has a magnet and a motor for automatically inserting an IC card from an insertion slot, and a solenoid and an eject lever for automatically ejecting the IC card. Since these facilities consume a lot of power, it was necessary to incorporate a battery attached to the IC card reader / writer or connect an auxiliary power supply. At the same time, the device itself has become larger and more complicated.

[0003]

As described above, the conventional I
Since the C card reader / writer was provided with a magnet, a motor, a solenoid, an eject lever, and the like for automatically inserting and ejecting the IC card, it was difficult to miniaturize and simplify the IC card reader / writer itself. . In addition, since the power consumption of the device itself is large, it is necessary to always connect an auxiliary power supply to the IC card reader / writer or to incorporate an attached battery. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these problems, to enable insertion / ejection and connection control operation of a card without incorporating an attached battery or connecting a power supply, and to reduce the size with low power consumption. , And a simplified IC card reader / writer.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, in an IC card reader / writer of the present invention, a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) is connected.
It is possible to insert and eject an IC card and supply power to the IC card side without using an auxiliary power supply (battery, AC adapter) only by taking power from the control signal line in the S-232C cable. I did it. More specifically, the current of the signal lines (two control lines ER and RS) other than the communication lines SD and RD for exchanging data among the upper PC side output signals is used as a power supply. The control line (ER / RS) is turned ON when the IC card reader / writer is made usable by the software of the host PC. This eliminates the need for a power supply for the IC card reader / writer, thereby improving operability, increasing ease of installation, and lowering costs. When the PC is turned off, the control line (ER
RS) is also turned off, so that there is no need to synchronize with the power supply of the PC. The power energy that can be extracted from the host PC depends on the PC, but is 30 to 35 mW for each signal of ER and RS. Therefore, the power that can be extracted from the two signal lines is 60 to 70 mW. The power consumption of an IC card inserted into an IC card reader / writer
Although it depends on the C chip, it is up to 50 mW,
It is necessary to reduce the power consumption of the IC card reader / writer itself to about 10 mW. The circuit in the IC card reader / writer is divided into two systems, and the interface between the IC card and the RS232C is set to a high voltage level (5V system), and the other circuits are set to a low voltage level (3V system) to reduce power consumption. I'm measuring. The interface with the IC card is configured to be switchable between 5 V and 3 V by software so as to be compatible with a 3 V rated card.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of an IC card reader / writer showing one embodiment of the present invention.
1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a side view. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an IC card / reader / writer main body, 11 denotes an IC card, 12 denotes a cable connector (for example, an RS232C connector) connected to a PC, and 13 denotes a cable (RS232C cable). The numbers in parentheses in the drawing are the dimensions (mm) of the actually manufactured IC card reader / writer, and are thin and have no extraneous projections, and have a very convenient shape. In the IC card reader / writer 10 according to the present invention, a heart-cam type latch mechanism is provided instead of a conventionally used mechanism such as a motor, a magnet, a solenoid, and an eject lever, and a push-in / push-out type is used. Power consumption, low cost, and thinness have been made possible. In addition, the card insertion slot is formed in a V-shaped slit so that the exposed portion of the IC card is formed in a triangular shape, so that it is difficult to grasp, so that the IC card is not hooked on clothes or pulled out by mischief.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a signal line between an IC card reader / writer and a PC according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the PC 30 and the IC card reader / writer 10 are connected by an RS232C cable,
Signals are exchanged between two communication lines (transmission data line SD, reception data line RD) and two control lines (request-to-send line RS, data terminal ready line ER, clear-to-send line CS). Do. Turning on the RS line turns on the power to the IC card reader / writer 10. Then, the IC card reader / writer 10
Turn on the line and confirm that the connection with PC 30 is normal.
Notify C30. After the PC 30 confirms the connection with the IC card reader / writer 10, the ER line is turned on to notify the IC card reader / writer 10 that the PC 30 can receive data. Originally, the fact that the IC card reader / writer 10 can receive data is P
Although a signal for notifying C30 is required, this signal is omitted in the present invention in order to reduce power consumption, and when both the RS line and the ER line are on, the signal is treated as being always receivable.
After these procedures are completed, two communication lines (SD line, RD) are connected between the PC 30 and the IC card reader / writer 10.
Exchange data using lines). In the present invention,
The power supply of the IC card reader / writer 10 is extracted from the current flowing through two control lines, the ER line and the RS line, from the PC 30. When the ER line and the RS line are on, 9
~ 12V, and -9 ~ -12 when off
V or so. Considering the load on the IC card reader / writer 10, a current of 6 to 7 mA flows through each line for a voltage of +5 V or more. After all, PC30 to I
ER line and RS transmitted to C card reader / writer 10
Since a total of 12 to 14 mA of current flows through the two wires, this precious current is extracted and used as a power source for the IC card reader / writer 10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between an IC card reader / writer and a PC and an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 20 denotes a connection terminal on the PC side for RS232C, and reference numeral 11 denotes a connection terminal on the IC card side. In the IC card reader / writer 10, a CPU 22 for controlling connection with the IC card 11 and connection with the PC 20 is provided.
A level conversion circuit 23 for converting a signal level between the C20 side and the IC card reader / writer 10, a multiplexer 25 for distributing signals to two signal lines, an RS line, an ER
A power supply circuit 24 for extracting power from the wires, and an IC card 11
Power supply control circuit 26 for switching and connecting the power supply on the side
And an oscillation circuit 27 for supplying a clock to the IC card 11
And the state in which the IC card 11 can be activated (STANDB
A circuit 28 for displaying a state (ACTIVE) while the IC card 11 is being activated is provided. As described above, the power of the two signal lines ER and RS sent from the PC 20 (60 to 70 mW, 12 to
14 mA), the power of the IC card reader / writer 10 is taken out. When the IC card 11 is inserted into the IC card reader / writer 10, the IC card 11 needs a maximum of 50 mW of power for the memory read / write operation. .
Since this power needs to be supplied from the IC card reader / writer 10, the remaining power available for the IC card reader / writer 10 is only about 10 to 20 mW. In the IC card reader / writer 10, low power consumption is realized by adopting a heart-cam type latch mechanism, lowering the voltage, and reducing the circuit (solenoid drive circuit etc.). The device can be operated within the range (10 to 20 mW).

FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the power supply circuit in FIG. The output impedance of the signal line of the RS232C cable connector is about 600Ω, and the open circuit voltage is as high as 9 V or more. In the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Of the signal lines in the S232C cable, the ER signal and RS
Power of about 30 mW is taken out from each of the two signal lines of the signal to generate a stable power supply of 5 V and 12 mA in total. By combining the RS signal via the backflow prevention diode D1 and the ER signal via the backflow prevention diode D2, a 5V power supply is generated by the 5V constant voltage IC 31,
This voltage is held by the capacitor C2. Note that the capacitor C1 has a function of stabilizing the input voltage of the constant voltage IC31. + 5V is output from the output terminal to the IC card 11 side. Next, a 3V power source is generated by the 3V constant voltage IC 32, this voltage is held in the capacitor C3, and the IC card 11 side or the IC card reader / writer 1 is output from the output terminal.
Output within 0. Switching between 5V and 3V for supplying to the IC card 11 is performed by the power control circuit 26.
Done in

Next, the operation of the IC card reader / writer 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the power is turned on by the PC 20, the request-to-send line RS is turned on to send a connection request signal (indicating that the PC 30 can receive data) from the PC 20 to the IC card reader / writer 10 side. In this case, when the IC card is connected, reading and writing are performed. On the other hand, by applying a reset signal from the CPU 22 of the IC card reader / writer 10 to the RST terminal of the IC card 11, the contact on the IC card 11 is set to zero voltage. At this time, power is not supplied to the contacts on the IC card 11 side. When the IC card 11 is inserted, a switch indicating that the IC card 11 has been inserted is turned on, and the activation procedure of the IC card 11 is started. The +5 V and +3 V output terminals of the power supply circuit 24 are connected to the input terminal side of the IC card 11, and are supplied with a VCC control signal from the CPU 22 to the power supply control circuit 26 to supply 5 V or 3 V.
And the power is supplied to the VCC and VPP terminals. Further, by supplying a clock control signal from the CPU 22 to the oscillation circuit 27, the CL of the IC card 11 is
A clock is supplied to the K terminal. When the CPU 22 turns off the reset signal, the procedure for activating the IC card ends, and the procedure for controlling transmission and reception to the IC card 11 starts. First, the CPU 22 waits for the return of a signal from the I / O terminal, thereby returning the answer-to-reset signal (A
TR) is returned from the IC card 11.

The IC card reader / writer 10 of the present invention
Receives signals from all inserted IC cards 11, there are erroneous cards that cannot be handled by the PC 20, correct cards may be inserted in the opposite direction, and chips may be destroyed. Because there is a PC
No ATR signal is sent directly to the 20
After the signal is received, the direct communication mode (through mode) with the PC 20 is turned on. ATR from IC card 11
The signal is received once by the ATR receiving terminal of the CPU 22 and the content is confirmed. Also, no signal may be returned. If a correct signal is received, the through mode is turned on, and the IC card 11 and the PC 20 are directly connected via the multiplexer 25 and the level conversion circuit 23.
The ATR signal is transferred to the PC 20. The PC 20 reads and writes data in the internal memory by transmitting a control signal and data directly to the correct IC card 11 which can be traded by itself. That is, the IC card 11 is operated by the application of the PC 20. During this time, the IC card reader / writer 10 prepares for a deactivation request (ER line off) from the PC 30 or a sudden incident such as occurrence of a trouble or occurrence of a failure. When these occur, the IC card 11 side is immediately deactivated.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Built-in battery attached to IC card reader / writer,
The card insertion / ejection and connection control operations can be performed without connecting a power supply, and there is an effect that a small-sized and simplified IC card reader / writer with low power consumption can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an IC card reader / writer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal connection diagram of an IC card reader / writer, a PC (personal computer), and an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a power supply circuit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an IC card reader / writer and a P in the present invention.
It is a signal connection diagram between C.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: IC card reader / writer, 11: IC card,
12 cable connector, 13 cable, 23 level conversion circuit, 20 personal computer (PC) 2
4 Power supply circuit, 25 Multiplexer, 26 Power supply control circuit, 27 Clock oscillation circuit, 28 Standby state display circuit, 29 Active state display circuit, 3
1 ... 5V constant voltage IC, 32 ... 3V constant voltage IC, 30
... PC, D1,2 ... Backflow prevention diode, C1,2,3 ...
Capacitor, SD, RD: communication line, ER, RS, CS: control line.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An IC that inserts an IC card containing a microcomputer and a memory, an IC card containing only a memory, and another IC card, and electrically connects the IC card to a computer coupled to the other. card·
A power supply circuit for generating power from a control signal line in a cable connecting the computer, and supplying the power to an inserted IC card using only the power generated by the power supply circuit A power supply control circuit, a control of a latch mechanism for inserting and ejecting an IC card using only a power supply generated by the power supply circuit, and a central processing circuit for controlling the IC card and the computer. An IC card reader / writer. 2. The IC card reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the power supply circuit generates two kinds of power supplies of a high voltage level and a low voltage level from a control signal line in the cable, and supplies the power supply circuit to the IC card. An IC card reader / writer, wherein one of the two types of power is switched and supplied, and a low-voltage level power is supplied as power in the device.