JP2001283163A - IC card reader / writer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] Some sequence unit accesses from a reader / writer of a batteryless non-contact type IC card include a reading step. For example, in a sequence having a reading step and a writing step, the communicable range on the IC card side is different, and the sequence processing may fail. I want to eliminate this. SOLUTION: In a sequence including a reading step, in the case of a sequence having a writing step or the like, the transmission output to the IC card at the time of the reading step is reduced to a communicable range for writing. This prevents the sequence processing from failing. The control unit 1 controls so that the output of the transmission amplifier 3 is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a reader / writer for a battery-less contactless IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art IC cards are used as telephone cards, memory cards, financial cards, and the like. Among IC cards, there are a contact type and a non-contact type, a built-in battery type and a non-battery built-in type (batteryless). The contact type is used by inserting it into an IC card reader (reader / writer device) or the like (that is, in contact with a machine) for access to an IC card. The non-contact type is used by freely carrying around. Access is automatically made possible when approaching the reader. The built-in battery type has a power supply inside the IC card,
The battery-less type has no power supply in the IC card and receives power wirelessly from the reader and uses it as its own power supply. IC cards are also called tags.

[0003]

In the current battery-less non-contact type IC card, reading (reading) is performed by an instruction of a reader / writer (a reader / writer device).
/ Authentication (authentication) / writing (writing). The IC card is supplied with power from the reader / writer for each of these three types of processing.
There is a reality that the size of the communication sensitive area of the IC card differs for each of the three types of processing. This is because there is a difference in power required for each process. For example, the power at the time of writing is larger than the power at the time of reading from the internal memory of the IC card. Therefore, lead, when fed the same power value in both write, communication sensitive area E ₁ of the IC card in the lead is larger than the communication sensitive region E ₂ in the light. Accordingly, when an IC card is present in the area E where E ₁ ≧ E> E ₂ , writing fails in writing due to writing even if reading data from the IC card is successful in reading in the above three types of processing. Also, in the case of performing writing, even in a sequence example having three types of processing of “read (detection) / write / read (verify; verify)”, even if the read processing succeeds, the write processing fails. May be.

In order to use such an IC card, the IC card must be moved from a reader / writer at a predetermined distance (E ≦ E ₂ ).
It was used with local restrictions to make it exist.
However, the location restrictions have been added at the time of use, and it is a burden on the user, and it is necessary to make it more user-friendly.

An object of the present invention is to provide an IC having improved usability.
A card reader / writer device is provided.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a reader / writer device for transmitting and receiving data to and from a battery-less non-contact IC card capable of writing and reading data. It is checked whether or not the sequence has another step. When the sequence having the other step is processed, the transmission output in the reading step is set to be the narrowest communicable range in the other step. A reader / writer device for an IC card is disclosed.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an IC card system according to the present invention. The IC card system includes a reader / writer 100 and a battery-less non-contact type IC.
It consists of a card 200. The reader / writer 100 includes at least a control unit 1, a modulation circuit 2, a transmission amplifier 3 with an output adjustment function, an antenna 4, a filter 5, and a demodulation circuit 6. The IC card 200 includes an antenna 7, a modulation / demodulation circuit 8,
At least a control unit 9 and a memory 10 are provided. The control unit 1 of the reader / writer 100 outputs a carrier signal, a clock, and a command (including data). Further, it outputs carrier power data. The modulation circuit 2 modulates the carrier signal with a command and modulates the carrier signal so as to have carrier power, and then sends the modulated carrier signal to the transmission amplifier 3. The output of the transmission amplifier 3 is emitted as a radio wave via the antenna 4.
The IC card 200 receives the data via an antenna, and the modulation / demodulation circuit 8 demodulates and extracts power, a command, and a clock. The carrier power is used as a power source for the supply elements 9 and 10.
Elements 9 and 10 start up based on this power supply. Control unit 9
Performs access to the memory 10 based on the demodulated command. The result of the access is transmitted to the modulation / demodulation circuit 8 via the control unit 9.
And modulated on the same carrier, and sent from the antenna 7 to the reader / writer 100.

With this configuration, the output of the transmission amplifier 3 is adjusted by the control signal C ₁ from the control unit 1. Control signal C ₁
Is a signal that reflects the difference in power consumption depending on the operation mode (function) of the IC card and adjusts the output of a sequence in which a plurality of operation modes are used continuously so that communication is not disabled due to a difference in the communication sensitive area. is there. Here, the sequence refers to a group of a series of steps having a certain purpose for the IC card. For example, it indicates such as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 described below. Specific examples include a read sequence, a write sequence (for example, FIG. 5), a detection-only sequence (FIG. 6), and the like. Controller 1 generates the control signal C ₁ that determination and its corresponding these sequences.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the transmission amplifier 3 with an output adjustment function of the present invention. The transmission amplifier 3 includes an attenuator 30,
Capacitor 31, resistors 32, 33, 34, transistor 35, is composed of a capacitor 36, it is obtained by attenuation control attenuator 30 by the control signal C _1. The output of the amplifier 3 is adjusted by this attenuation control.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show how the communication sensitive area changes from the IC card side before and after the output adjustment. FIG.
Shows a state in which output adjustment is not performed, and FIG. 4 shows a state after output adjustment. In Figure 3, area E ₁ is read range, E ₂ is the authentication range, E ₃ is writable range, the size thereof is _{E 1> E 2> E 3} . From this figure, if the IC card exists in the area E where E ₃ ≧ E with respect to the area E ₃ , all the steps of reading / authentication / writing can be executed correctly, but in the area E where E ₂ ≧ E> E ₃ I
If the C card is present, the reading / authentication steps can be executed, but the writing step cannot be executed. Furthermore, if the IC card exists in the area E where E ₁ ≧ E> E _2, only the reading step can be executed,
The authentication / writing steps cannot be performed. E>
If E _1, all of the steps are not feasible.
Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Communication sensitive area E ₁ of the C card, 'as will become, from E ₁ E _1' E ₃ ≧ E ₁ decide to change to. As a result, the transmission output from the reader / writer 100 at the time of reading becomes IC
On the card side, the area becomes an area E ₁ ′, and authentication and writing can be reliably performed in the readable range.

A specific embodiment will be described. This embodiment is an example in which an IC card is used to prevent theft of books in a library (including a library). The IC card is attached to the spine or back cover of the book to be managed. The IC card is provided with a mode capable of responding to the anti-theft command as a function. In addition, a gate antenna and reader / writer will be installed at the entrance and exit of the library. The reader / writer has a theft check function that can continuously transmit an anti-theft command via a gate antenna and check the response. The following processing is performed when lending a book. Set the reader / writer to the theft check function. The IC card of the book whose lending has been confirmed is set to a mode in which the IC card does not respond to the anti-theft command. Therefore, the IC card of the book whose lending is not confirmed remains in a mode in which it can respond to the anti-theft command. Therefore, when a user passes through the gate while holding a book, a book that does not respond to the anti-theft command is normally lent, and a book that responds to the anti-theft command is a book that has not been checked for lending. Is determined by the lead writer,
The book can be checked for theft.

In the lending process, a sequence including the following four steps (2) to (5) is used. (1) placing a book with an IC card at a predetermined position or a predetermined range near the antenna or near the antenna; (2) detecting (reading) an IC card attached to the book;
(3) setting a mode in which the IC card does not respond to the anti-theft command (writing); (4) reading the card again to check whether the rewriting has succeeded (reading); When the confirmation is completed, the lending process is terminated. In (1) to (5), writing is performed in (3) on the IC card detected in (2). If the communicable range of writing is narrower than the communicable range of reading, even if it is detected in (2), the writing in (3) will fail. Therefore, the transmission output is adjusted at the time of reading (2) to make the communicable range the same as or smaller than the communicable range of writing, which is the narrowest. Thus,
Writing can be reliably performed on the IC card detected in (2).

The steps (2) to (5) are performed.
The sequence is shown in FIG. Flow F ₁And the transmission output is
To be 50% of the current communication distance (E₁
→ E₁'), The control unit 1 controls the control signal C₁Output and send
Control output. With this transmission output, the flow F_TwoRead in
Sampling is performed (step (2)). Flow F_Threeso
Check if IC card is detected.
Flow F₁And if detection is detected, flow F_FourMove on to Flow
-F_FourThen, without controlling the transmission output, the original communication distance
Return to (100%) (or 100% transmission output)
Control). Next, flow F_FiveIn this IC card
Write the anti-theft function stop (step (3) above)
H). Flow F₆And the flow F₇Belif in
Check whether the authentication (authentication) was successful (see (5) above)
Steps). F if impossible₈And perform error handling,
If possible, terminate. The flow F_FiveAnd F₆Between
-F₁If you insert the same processing steps as
Decrease.

FIG. 6 shows a sequence in which functions are limited only to IC card detection. In this sequence, only the reading of the IC card is performed, and there is no narrowest communicable range to be selected.
0%. In the flow F _1, the transmission output, the communication distance is made to be 100% (the same processing as the flow F ₄ in FIG. 5), a flow F _2, reads, Returning to the flow F ₂ if undetectable, detectable if yes, performs detection data processing flow F _4, back to the flow F _2. According to this figure, in the case where only the IC card is detected by the gate antenna, a wide range of detection can be performed by setting the transmission output to the maximum. Such a sequence is applied when it is desired to know only the presence or absence of a label added for theft prevention. Since only reading is performed, the communicable range is wide and reliable detection is possible. As described above, in the batteryless non-contact IC card system, most of the processing sequence is a sequence of “IC card detection → target processing”. Therefore, when the IC card is detected, the transmission output of the reader / writer is adjusted to the narrowest communication range among the operation modes used in the subsequent sequence. As a result, the subsequent sequence can be reliably executed on the detected IC card.

Next, a description will be given of a sequence in which a series of processes for a series of IC cards generated in one ticket gate processing when the reader / writer is installed in a ticket gate of a station. This series of steps includes "check for bad cards", "get balance",
Assuming that it is necessary to perform “writing of a boarding station” and “deduction of an entrance fee”, the sequence is as shown in FIG. Even in this sequence, the transmission output is controlled in the same way as in FIG.

The transmission power from the reader / writer is based on electromagnetic induction, but may be based on light energy or microwaves.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the communication sensitive range at the time of detecting a non-contact IC card (tag) is smaller than the narrowest communication sensitive range in the operation mode (function) of the sequence executed after the detection. By adjusting the transmission output at the time of detection, the detected non-contact IC card (tag) can always communicate until the end of the sequence. Further, the transmission output at the time of detection, which accounts for most of the operation, is suppressed, so that power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an IC card system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit example diagram of a transmission amplifier for controlling transmission output according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a sensitive area viewed from the IC card side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram in which transmission output control is performed on a sensitive area viewed from the IC card side.

FIG. 5 is a processing flow chart in a certain sequence of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a processing flowchart in another sequence of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a process of another sequence of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 control unit 2 modulation circuit 3 transmission amplifier with output adjustment function 4 antenna 5 filter 6 demodulation circuit 100 reader / writer 200 IC card

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuo Funakubo 3-14-20 Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo International Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2C005 MA23 NA08 SA30 TA22 5B058 CA02 CA15 CA22 CA27 YA01

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reader / writer device for transmitting and receiving data to and from a battery-less non-contact IC card capable of writing and reading data, comprising: a sequence having another step of accessing the IC card in addition to the reading step IC card for controlling whether or not the transmission output in the reading step is in the narrowest communicable range in the other steps when the sequence having the other steps is processed. Reader / writer device.