HK1073002B - Set of microcircuit cards precut in a common plastic support and comprising complementary functions - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to microcircuit boards pre-cut into a plastic support.

In the field of microcircuit cards, also called chip cards, the size and shape of the cards is defined by standards widely used in the industry.

The manufacturing and logistics costs of an ID-000 card are theoretically significantly lower than those of an ID-1 card, due in particular to the savings in plastic material, printing surface area, volume and weight of transport and storage.

However, in the field of mobile telephony, the cards are marketed as microcircuit boards in ID-000 format pre-cut into a card body in ID-1 format. Before inserting it into their mobile phone, the subscriber then detaches the microcircuit board in ID-000 format from the ID-1 format holder.

This is because such a card, with its card body, is compatible with older mobile phone models that used ID-1 cards. This also allows the card manufacturer to standardize the card manufacturing steps up to pre-cutting the ID-000 card as much as possible, since the microcircuit of the ID-000 card is located in the microcircuit of an ID-1.

The invention proposes a new configuration in that it proposes a set of at least two microcircuit boards for telephone devices which are mobile relative to each other, these boards being pre-cut into the same plastic support, at least one of these microcircuit boards containing means of implementing a specific function of another of the microcircuit boards.

It is true that, according to document EP - A - 0 495 216, an identification card with a pre-cut miniature card is known and that it is envisaged to provide for another pre-cut miniature card, but such miniature cards are functionally completely independent of each other, regardless of any mobile phone context.

In addition, according to EP - A - 1 065 633, a mobile telephone device is known to contain several chip-based devices, but these are of different types, having specific functions not present in the others (one of the devices is used to establish communications, the other contains an independent application while the third manages the implementation of this application), so that these card holders cannot be installed in mobile telephone devices relative to each other.

Finally, a board with several microcircuit modules is known from US - A 2002/023963, but these modules are joined together on a single support and are arranged so that only one module can be in use at a time, the others not being connected.

The invention arises from an original approach to needs, which led to several findings, the first being that the interest in such compatibility between ID-1 and ID-000 format has become almost nil, because, in particular, the older models of mobile phones have virtually disappeared. This should lead to the conclusion that the positioning support constituting the ID-1 format card body in use in an older model of mobile phone no longer has any reason to be and can therefore be removed, with the advantages of reducing matter, mass and volume that can be associated with such a removal.Finally, the needs analysis showed that it is useful to introduce, during manufacture or marketing, a concept of a set of cards intended to be complementary; finally, it was found that the concept of a set of cards did not preclude the continued provision of the card body for the positioning of one of the microcircuit boards in a telephone of an older model.

Thus, according to the invention, the board body is given the new function of supporting several microcircuit boards.

For example, if two microcircuit boards are placed on the same support instead of one microcircuit board per plastic support, 50% of the plastic material on the plastic support is saved, 50% of the costs of printing on the plastic support; the volume and weight of the cards are also halved. It should be noted here that in the field of microcircuit boards, the volumes are significant, the production of an average manufacturing unit (300 people) can easily wait several million units. The impact of such costs is easily understood.

It is advantageous that the plastic support is in a standard format, preferably ID-1 format. Thanks to such a support, which is the most common format, it is then possible to continue using conventional manufacturing processes without the need to invest in new means of production. It can be noted here that the location of the microcircuit of an ID-1 format board (which is the same for the above compatibility reasons as that of an ID-1 format card pre-cut into a ID-1 format support) is not central: it is therefore easy to use conventional manufacturing processes, with minor modifications, to implant microcircuits on the same support (and therefore two small pre-cut boards), for example by reversing the direction of the support before implanting the second microcircuit of 1000.

The small size of the board makes it easier to mount two boards on the same support (in combination with the non-central location of the microcircuits, see above).

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Apart from these physical aspects of microcircuit boards, in the field of mobile telecommunications in particular, it is possible to see, in the embryonic state, the interest of equipping a microcircuit board with a specific function of one (or more) other microcircuit boards, i.e. to establish a privileged link from one card to another card.

Therefore, microcircuit boards carried on a common support are advantageously linked to each other, in at least one direction, by a function of one that is specific to the other; of course the other board may have a specific function of the first, each of these functions contributing to the fulfillment of a common function (reciprocal or not), making them complementary to each other. Thus, from production to marketing, as they are mounted on the same support, the two microcircuit boards connected by the same function remain physically linked. They can be processed by torque, without complex management, and without the risk of confusion or separation, especially during customization or transport.

The field of mobile telecommunications is particularly well suited to the implementation of the invention, since the subscribers of each operator, typically subscribers or prepaid card holders, generally have microcircuit identification cards.

For example, this specific function can implement joint management of telecommunications costs. This can be advantageous where a subscriber has a mobile phone and a laptop computer using a modem adapted to communicate with a mobile telecommunications network. The subscriber can place one of the microcircuit boards in the computer modem and the other in his mobile phone, and benefit from joint management of the costs of the computer and mobile phone communications on a single account with the telecommunications operator; this can be analysed as a common account which allocates the costs generated by one card to the other (this corresponds to the notion of a single function specific to the subscriber) or as a common account which allocates the costs generated by the cards, in the same sense as in the case of a single function of the cards.

Such specific functions can be managed, for example, at the mobile operator's server level. This is the case today for reduced-rate telecommunications. The operator's server has a database that matches each subscriber with a list of reduced-rate numbers. In such a configuration, there is not necessarily any special adaptation of the cards to ensure this shared function.

However, the advantage is that at least one of these microcircuit boards has the means to implement this specific function, thus limiting the disadvantages of centralized management by the operator's server (such centralized management is expensive and complex in terms of communications and database management).

In particular, the means of implementing these specific functions may be initialized in one (or more) of the microcircuit boards at the time of customization or pre-customization.

Thus, as a particularly simple example, at the time of marketing of such microcircuit boards, at least one of them may have an identifier of the other in a memory area.

In the case of mobile communications, the GSM system (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the most widely used in the world today. In this standard, the identifier of a microcircuit card is called the MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network), which is actually the 10-digit telephone number of the subscriber.

But there may also be on the other card (or on another card, if there are more than two in total) additional means to help the specific function, even if it is a one-way function.

Regardless of the way a link between the cards is established, many possibilities for specific function can be conceived.

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In addition, the means of implementing this specific function are advantageously provided by means of which information specific to one of the microcircuit boards can be accessed by a second microcircuit board, so that the microcircuit boards can exchange information and interact with each other in a preferred way, at least in one direction.

In order to prevent fraudulent access, these means of access are advantageously secured by cryptographic means, which may be achieved by using various cryptographic means, well known to the artisan in the field of microcircuit boards, which ensure that access to the information is properly authorised.

The advantage of such access is that they use a Multimedia Messaging Services or similar protocol, which is particularly well suited to communication between two microcircuit boards integrated into two mobile phones.

Such means of access may be of various kinds; in particular, such means of access may include means of simple communication by the first microcircuit board of information to the second microcircuit board; such means of access may also include means of modifying that information.

It is also advantageous that the means of access may be triggered in a number of ways: in particular, the means of access may include means of triggering on request of the second microcircuit board, for example, at the request of the subscriber of that card; the means of access may also, as an alternative or complement, include means of automatic triggering, for example, when the first card changes state (e.g. on or off).

These means of access can allow for many applications by linking the two microcircuit boards in a privileged way.

In particular, those means of access may include means of informing the second card whether the first card is in operation or not. For example, in the morning, when the subscriber holding the first microcircuit card switches on his mobile phone, the first microcircuit card automatically sends a message informing the second microcircuit card holder that the first card holder has just switched on his mobile phone.

The means of access may also include means of controlling the telecommunications costs of the subscriber of the first microcircuit board by means of the second microcircuit board. For example, the holder of the second microcircuit board may be informed as soon as the telecommunications consumption of the holder of the first microcircuit board exceeds a certain threshold for a given period. Such a shared function is a typical example of a one-way function.

Another example of a specific function is when the holder of the second card may find it useful to know the geographical position of the first card, for example to know the approximate location of the cardholder.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages will be more clearly seen in the light of the following description, given as a non-limiting illustrative example and made by reference to the attached drawings in which: Figure 1 is a top view of a microcircuit board conforming to the previous technique; Figure 2 is a top view of a set of microcircuit boards in a possible embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a top view of another set of microcircuit boards conforming to the invention; Figure 4 is a block diagram of the microcircuit board of Figure 1, conforming to the previous technique; Figure 5 is a block diagram analogous to Figure 4 of the microcircuits of the chipboard set of Figure 2.

Figures 1 and 4 show the physical appearance of a conventional circuit board and the block diagram of its microcircuit.

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The module is normally installed at the time of commissioning either by leaving it attached to the card 100 or by detaching it from its support using the 131 cuts.

It may be noted that the location of this module is eccentric with respect to map 100.

The module actually consists of a microcircuit proper and contacts (not shown). Figure 4 shows a schematically possible structure of this microcircuit 40. It thus consists of a CPU associated, in a classical way, with a cryptographic computing unit 42, an input-output interface E/S 41, and RAM, ROM and EEPROM.

The ROM part is normally installed, the operating system and computer programs implementing the various functions of the card.

In the EEPROM part are usually implanted, the personalization data of the card, for example in the field of mobile telephony, the MSISDN of the card stored in the memory area MSISDN_40.

The RAM part is typically a working memory for the CPU.

Figures 2 and 3 show two examples of sets of microcircuit boards conforming to the invention, which have in common that they consist of sets of two microcircuit boards, the modules of which, the microcircuits, are implanted on one side of the common support.

More specifically, Figure 2 shows a support 200 bearing a set of two cards 211 and 212, each containing a module 221 or 222, surrounded by cutouts 231 or 232 to facilitate their separation from the rest of the support.

In the example shown, the support 200 has the same ID-1 format as the card 100 in Figure 1 and the smaller ID-000 card 211 and module 221 occupy in this support 200 the same positions as card 111 and module 121 in the support 100. It is understood that the manufacture of support 200 and card 211 can be achieved by the conventional methods of manufacturing a card such as that in Figure 1.

It should be noted, however, that the support 200 has a centre of symmetry marked O and that the card 212 is in a symmetrical position in this support 200 with respect to the centre of the card 211 and that the assembly can be manufactured in two phases, each consisting of making a small card such as the card 111 in Figure 1 in the support 200 with a simple 180° rotation of the centre O of the support 200 between the two phases.

In the unrepresented variant, the cards may have other formats adapted to the needs; they may also be any number greater than 2 and occupy any places.

Figure 3 shows a deck of 311 and 312 cards, here also in ID-000 format, but arranged symmetrically with respect to an axis (here vertical, not represented) of their support.

Figure 5 shows together the two schematics of the microcircuits 501 and 502 of modules 221 and 222 respectively of the deck of cards in Figure 2. In the example considered here, one of the cards (211) is a server, while the other (212) is a client.

Specifically, microcircuits 501 and 502 here comprise, as in Figure 4, a CPU associated with a cryptographic computing unit 42, an input/output interface 41, and RAM, ROM and EEPROM.

The EEPROM of 501 also has an MSISDN_211 zone which contains the MSISDN of the card 211 Similarly, the EEPROM of the 502 microchip has an MSISDN_212 zone which contains the MSISDN of the card 212. The MSISDN_211 and MSISDN_212 memory zones are created and initialized at the time of the customization step of the 211 and 212 microchip cards pre-cut into the same plastic support.

On the other hand, the microcircuit 501 has a server that provides the card 212 with the information of the card 211. This server consists of a COMP_SER unit of programs, stored in a zone of the ROM memory, and a COMP_SER set of data, stored in a zone of the EEPROM memory.

In the example shown, the program unit COMP_SER consists of: a COUT_SER program for managing the cost of the 211-based microcircuit board; a GEO_SER program for geolocation of the 211-based microcircuit board; a TENS_SER program for informing the 212 board at each power-on or power-off of the 211 board; a REQ_SER program for managing requests received from the 212 microcircuit board.

The microcircuit 501's COMP_SER dataset includes, in a MSISDN_212 memory area, the MSISDN phone number of the card 212. The EEPROM of the microcircuit 212 card also includes a REG_SER file defining the rules for access to the mobile telecommunications network. This file contains keywords, understandable by the COUT_CLI program, prohibiting or allowing, for example, international calls or calls to special-rate numbers made by the 212 microcircuit card.

On the other hand, the microcircuit 502 has the client part for accessing information from the microcircuit board 211. This client part consists of a COMP_CLI unit of programs, stored in a ROM area, and a COMP_CLI data set, stored in an EEPROM area.

In the example shown, the program unit COMP_CLI consists of: a COUT_CLI program for managing the cost of the card 211 ;a GEO_CLI program for requesting the geolocation of the microchip card 211 ;an INI_CLI program for rapid initiation of communication to the card 211 ;a REQ_CLI program for sending to the card 211 requests for access to information.

Similar to the 501 microcircuit, the 502 microcircuit's COMP_CLI dataset includes in a memory area MSISDN_211 the MSISDN telephone number of the card 211.

The program units COMP_SER and COMP_CLI of the two microcircuit boards 211 and 212 communicate with each other using means of implementing an SMS protocol ( Short Message Service), not represented, included in such a card in a classic way in the field of mobile telecommunications.

Mobile operators will be able to charge a special fee for SMS exchanged between the COMP_CLI and COMP_SER units so that the cost of these is not prohibitive for the subscribers of the 211 and 212 microcircuit boards.

Both 211 and 212 cards also feature the unrepresented STK (English: SiM Tool Kit) functionality, also classic in the field of mobile telecommunications.

In operation, the INI_CLI program which initiates a telephone call to the microcircuit board 211 is accessible from the root of the STK menu of the microcircuit board 212. The subscriber holding the microcircuit board 212 can thus call the subscriber holding the microcircuit board 211 by pressing the selection button of the mobile phone twice: once to select the root of the STK menu of the microcircuit board 212 and a second time to initiate the call to the holder of the microcircuit board 211.

When the subscriber of the 211 card is travelling with the mobile phone in which the 211 card is inserted, the operator's server can determine its geographic position in a manner known to the user. The subscriber can thus know its position by launching, via the STK menu of the 211 microcircuit board, the GEO_SER program. The latter then queries the operator's server, displays the resulting geographic position on the mobile phone screen. The GEO_SER program suggests that the user send this geographic position to the 212 card by SMS.

When the subscriber of the card 212 wants to know the position of the microcircuit board 211 (and therefore of his subscriber), he can launch the GEO_CLI program via the STK menu of the card 212 which transmits a query request from the GEO_SER program on the card 211 to the REQ_CLI program. The latter then uses the CLEF_501 key and the cryptographic computing unit 42 to encrypt the request. The REQ_CLI program then places this request in the form of an envelope command launching the REQ_SER program, before sending it by SMS to the microcircuit card 211 by reading the phone number of the latter in the EEPROM EEPROM EEPROM EEPROM EEPROM2N11 area.When the 211 card receives the SMS sent by the 212 microcircuit card, the REQ_SER program, activated by the envelope command, decrypts the query request and checks its syntax; this makes it possible to authenticate that it was indeed sent by the 212 card. The REQ_SER program then transmits the query request to the GEO_SER program. The latter then queries the operator's server to obtain the position of the 211 card, and then sends the response to the 212 card by SMS.The data is added to each new request sent or received by one of the cards to prevent fraudulent reuse of an intercepted message, for example on the network.

Alternatively, the card 212 can directly query the operator's server for the card 211's position by authenticating itself with the CLEF_501 key and the cryptographic computing unit 42.

The microcircuit boards 211 and 212 have other functions specific to each other, so that each time the board 211 is turned on or off, the TENS_SER program automatically sends an SMS message informing the card 212 subscriber.

The cardholder of card 212 can also manage the costs of card 211. This can be useful, for example, when card 211 is used by a child and the cardholder of card 212 is a parent. Before each call from the child, the COUT_SER program reads the REG_SER memory to verify that the call is authorized. At the end of each communication, the COUT_SER program automatically sends an SMS to card 212 informing the parent of the number called by the child and the duration of the communication. The parent can use the COUT_CLI program, a mechanism similar to the one described above for geolocation, to send a request to card 211 to change the contents of the REG_SER memory and the rules for access to the child's telecommunication network.

Thus, the microcircuit board 211 has means of implementing a specific function of the microcircuit board 212, and the microcircuit board 212 has means of implementing a specific function of the microcircuit board 211.

In an unrepresented variant, some of these functions are duplicated, i.e. each user can be server or client to the other; this is particularly the case with the geolocation and query sending and receiving functions implemented by the GEO_CLI, GEO_SER and REQ_CLI, REQ_SER programmes respectively.

Of course, the structure of microcircuits is given above as a non-limiting example.

Claims (14)

1. Set of at least two microcircuit cards (211, 212) for telephony devices that are mobile one relative to the other, these cards being precut (231, 232) in the same plastic support (200), at least one of said microcircuit cards (211) including means (COMP_SER) for implementing a specific function of another of the microcircuit cards.
2. Set of microcircuit cards (211, 212) according to claim 1, characterised in that said plastic support (200) conforms to the ID-1 format.
3. Set of microcircuit cards (211, 212) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that these cards conform to the ID-000 format.
4. Set of microcircuit cards (211, 212) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that their microcircuits form part of modules (221, 222) that are mounted on the same face of said plastic support (200).
5. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that each of these cards constitutes an identification card (211, 222) of a subscriber of a mobile telecommunications operator.
6. Set of microcircuit cards according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that at least a first of said microcircuit cards (212) includes an area (MSISDN 211) for storing an identifier of a second of said microcircuit cards (211).
7. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that said means for implementing said specific function (COMP_CLI) include means (INI_CLI) for rapid initialisation of communication between one and another of said microcircuit cards.
8. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that said means for implementing said specific function (COMP_SER, COMP_CLI) include access means (GEO_SER, GEO_CLI) to information specific to a first of said microcircuit cards (212) by a second of said two microcircuit cards (211).
9. Set of microcircuit cards according to claim 8, characterised in that said access means are made secure by cryptographic means (CLEF_501).
10. Two microcircuit cards according to claim 8 or claim 9, characterised in that said access means use the SMS type protocol.
11. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 8 to 10, characterised in that said access means include means (REC_SER) for receiving or (REC_CLI) for sending an access request.
12. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterised in that said access means include means (TENS_SER) for informing said second card (212) whether said first card (211) is operating or not.
13. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterised in that said access means include means (COUT_SER, COUT CLI) for monitoring the costs of calls of the subscriber of said first microcircuit card by said second card.
14. Set of microcircuit cards according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterised in that said access means include means (GEO_SER) for informing said second card of the geographical position of said first card.