JP2003101679A - Portable communication terminal device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To allow a user to make up for the remaining balance of a SIM card in real time, and to eliminate an unusable state due to the absence of the remaining balance. A mobile communication terminal device includes a non-contact IC card unit having a payment function, and detachably mounts a SIM card that can be used as a prepaid card for communication or call charges. In the portable communication terminal device 100, when the remaining balance in the SIM card 17 decreases, the non-contact IC card unit 2 having a payment function is provided in accordance with a user's instruction or automatically.
Make up from the balance in 0.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal device represented by a mobile phone, and more particularly to a mobile communication terminal device having a non-contact IC card function and having a SIM card detachably mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile phones mainly used in Europe are SIM (Subscriber Identification Mod).
ule) card. The SIM card is a module that stores information related to the user of the mobile phone and is detachably mounted on the mobile phone.
entification Module) card. In Japan, it is planned to adopt such a SIM card in the next generation mobile phone. With this SlM card, the telephone subscriber is not specified on the telephone itself, but the telephone subscriber is specified by the SIM card attached to the telephone.

[0003]

By storing money information that can be used for calls and communications in the SIM card, it becomes possible to use any mobile phone as a prepaid card type mobile phone. The balance in the SIM card is
You can use a special machine at a specific place to make up the balance.

However, since the place where the balance of the SIM card can be compensated is limited to a specific place and a dedicated machine must be used for that purpose, the mobile phone cannot be used until the balance is exhausted. There is a problem in the convenience of the user because it cannot be done. In addition, there is a problem that the equipment cost becomes high to provide dedicated machines at various places.

On the other hand, in recent years, mounting a non-contact IC card function on a mobile phone has been considered. The contactless IC card has been standardized in IS014443 and the like, and is generally an IC (integrated circuit) embedded in a plastic card, which is superior in storage capacity and security to a magnetic card. Therefore, the electronic money can be held and used for payment at automatic ticket gates for boarding tickets and commuter tickets, shop terminals, vending machines, and the like. The non-contact type IC card is designed to be able to send and receive data while being separated from a relatively close partner device by radio waves such as electromagnetic waves. However, if the mobile phone is within range of radio waves, The balance in the IC card can be compensated by accessing a server such as a bank on the network.

According to the present invention, by utilizing the IC card function, the user can compensate the remaining amount of the SIM card in real time and eliminate the unusable state due to the remaining amount of the remaining amount, and a computer program. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal device and a computer program capable of eliminating the need to provide a dedicated machine for replenishing the SIM card with a balance in each place.

[0008]

A portable communication terminal device according to the present invention comprises a non-contact IC card section having a payment function, and a SIM card which can be used as a prepaid card for communication or call charges is detachably mounted. The mobile communication terminal device is provided with means for compensating the balance in the SIM card from the balance in the non-contact IC card unit.

The user of this portable communication terminal device is required to
When the balance in the card decreases, it is possible to transfer the balance (a part of the balance) in the non-contact IC card section to the SIM card by the user's operation without having to go directly to a specific place.

This mobile communication terminal device has a balance check means for checking the balance in the SIM card at a predetermined time point, and a warning to warn the user when the balance is below a threshold value as a result of the balance check. Means may further be provided. As a result, it is possible to prevent the situation where the balance becomes zero during communication or communication without noticing that the balance in the SIM card has decreased.

In this case, the user may further include means for variably setting the threshold value. This makes it possible to set an appropriate threshold value for each user.

A computer program according to the present invention is
A computer program that operates in a mobile communication terminal device that includes a non-contact IC card unit having a payment function and detachably mounts a SIM card that can be used as a prepaid card for communication or call charges. It is possible to realize a function of compensating the remaining amount of the remaining amount from the remaining amount in the non-contact IC card section.

The present invention can also be understood as a recording medium recording a computer program.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile phone 100 as a mobile communication terminal device according to the present invention. The mobile phone 100 has a control unit 5 as a center, to which a digital signal processing unit 3, a display unit 6, an operation unit 7, an external I / F unit 8, and a non-contact IC card unit 20 are connected. It The control unit 5 is a main unit for realizing the functions of the mobile phone, and although not shown, a CPU,
It is composed of an EEPROM, a flash ROM, an SRAM, and the like.

The digital signal processing unit 3 is connected to a voice input unit 1 to which a microphone 15 is connected, a voice output unit 2 to which a speaker 16 is connected, and an RF input / output unit 4 to which an antenna 12 is connected, respectively, and encodes a digital voice signal. ,and,
This is a part for performing decoding into a digital audio signal, and convolutional coding centered on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), slot interleave, differential detection,
It is composed of dedicated circuits such as convolutional decoding. The voice input unit 1 is a unit that converts an analog voice signal from the microphone 15 into a digital signal, and includes a microphone amplifier, a filter,
It is composed of an A / D converter and the like. The audio output unit 2 is a unit for driving the received digital audio signal into a speaker, and includes a D / A converter, a filter, a speaker amplifier, and the like. The RF input / output unit 4 is a part that performs high-frequency transmission / reception, and includes a quadrature modulator, a gain amplifier, a power amplifier,
It is composed of diversity, mixer, IF demodulator, etc.

The display section 6 is a section for displaying and outputting information to the user, and is composed of an LCD driver, an LCD display device, and the like. The operation unit 7 is operated by the user on the mobile phone 1.
00 is a part for inputting operation information, and includes a keyboard, a JOG dial, a JOY stick, and the like. The external I / F unit 8 is a unit that provides an interface with an external device, and includes a communication interface circuit, a 16-pin connector, and the like. Power supply 9
Is a portion for generating and supplying electric power required for each block based on the battery power source, and is composed of a power supply circuit, a battery charging circuit, an overcurrent overvoltage protection circuit, and the like.

The SIM card 17 is connected to the control unit 5 via the connector 18. The SIM card 17 itself may have a publicly known configuration, in which a non-volatile memory such as a flash ROM for non-volatilely storing user information, balance, etc. is stored.

The non-contact IC card section 20 is connected to the card interface module 51 of the control section 5, has a dedicated CPU 21 inside, and a flash ROM (MEM) 2 which is a non-volatile memory for holding data and programs.
2, a reader / writer (R / W) module 23, and other interfaces (not shown). The non-contact IC card unit 20 exchanges data and the like with an external terminal 30 (or an equivalent IC card) compatible with an IC card via an antenna 11 for wireless communication of the non-contact IC card.

The card interface module 51 is
It is incorporated as a part of the control unit 5, and the SIM
This is a part for interfacing with the card 17 and the non-contact IC card part 20.

The non-contact IC card section 20 can exchange commands and data by electromagnetic waves with a reader / writer (R / W) module of an external device (not shown) via the antenna 11.

Next, a specific operation example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a mobile phone 1.
00 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of No. 00, and FIG. 3 shows an example of screen contents of the display screen 150 in each scene.

In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the main menu (SC1 of FIG. 3) is displayed (S1
0), if the user selects "IC card menu" from the options (S11, Yes), the IC
The card menu screen (SC2 in Fig. 3) is displayed (S
12). In this state, when the user selects "card transfer" (S13, Yes), the password input screen (SC3 in FIG. 3) is displayed (S14). When the user inputs a predetermined password on this screen, the content of the input password is hidden by a predetermined mark "*" in the input area within the screen. This password is collated with the password stored in advance in the control unit 5, and if the password collation is NG (S15, N
o), display an error screen (not shown) (S16),
Return to step S12. In the figure, the error screen display is returned to step S12.
It is possible to return to step S14 and re-enter the password until is continued for a predetermined number of times.

If the password verification is OK (S15, Y
es), and an amount input screen (SC4 in FIG. 3) is displayed (S17). When the user inputs the amount of compensation to the SIM card on this screen, this input amount is compared with the current amount held (remaining amount of money) in the IC card. If the input amount exceeds the balance in the IC card (S18, No), after displaying an error screen (not shown) (S19), the screen returns to the screen of step S17. If the input amount is within the balance in the IC card, the amount is transferred to the SIM card (S20). During this time, "S
A message such as “Transferring to IM” is displayed (S in FIG. 3).
C5). If this transfer fails (S21, No),
After displaying the error screen (not shown) (S23), the control returns to step S12.

If the transfer succeeds (S21, Ye
s), the transfer success screen (SC6 in FIG. 3) is displayed (S2
2), control returns to the first menu screen SC1.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the balance check processing in the SIM card. In this process, the balance check process is performed periodically or at a predetermined time. The predetermined time point is, for example, after or before an operation that reduces the SIM balance, such as at the end or start of a call or communication. When such a check timing arrives (S31, Yes),
Confirm the balance in the SIM card (S32). Then,
The confirmed balance is compared with a predetermined threshold value (S3).
3). When the balance is equal to or less than the threshold value, a warning message is generated to let the user recognize the necessity of SIM balance compensation (S34). Instead of or in addition to this warning message, the user is inquired as to whether or not the balance transfer from the IC card unit is more positively performed, or a part of the processing of FIG. 3 (for example, step S14) is executed. Other processing may be performed. If the balance is greater than the threshold value in step S33, the process bypasses step S34 and returns to the first step S31. The threshold may be variably set by the user. By setting this threshold high for users who make relatively long calls or communications,
It is possible to prevent a situation where the remaining money becomes zero during a call or communication. For users who are not so, the frequency of troublesome warnings can be reduced by setting a low threshold value.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but various modifications and changes can be made. For example,
Although the user specifies the amount of the balance to be transferred to the SIM card, a predetermined amount may be transferred for each instruction of the user. Alternatively, the user may select a specific mode in advance so that the control unit automatically executes a transfer of a predetermined amount when the balance is less than or equal to a threshold value in the SIM balance check in that mode. May be.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the user does not have to go to a specific place to replenish the SIM card with money. As a result, convenience is significantly improved, and prepage card type mobile communication terminals can be spread.
Further, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated machine for compensating the remaining amount of the SIM card, and it is possible to eliminate the need for providing a dedicated machine for compensating the remaining amount of the SIM card in each place. Also in this sense, the pre-page card type mobile communication terminal can be popularized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile phone as a mobile communication terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram showing an example of screen contents of a display screen in each scene of the operation procedure of the mobile phone of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of balance check processing in the SIM card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 ... control part, 17 ... SIM card, 18 ... connector, 2
0 ... Non-contact IC card section

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109J

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication terminal device comprising a non-contact IC card unit having a payment function and detachably mounting a SIM card usable as a prepaid card for communication or call charges, wherein the SIM card A mobile communication terminal device comprising means for compensating the remaining amount of the remaining amount from the remaining amount in the non-contact IC card section. 2. A balance check means for checking the balance in the SIM card at a predetermined time point, and a warning means for warning the user when the balance is below a threshold value as a result of the balance check. The mobile communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The mobile communication terminal device according to claim 2, further comprising means for allowing a user to variably set the threshold value. 4. A computer program operating in a mobile communication terminal device, comprising a non-contact IC card unit having a payment function, and detachably mounting a SIM card usable as a prepaid card for communication or call charges. A computer program, which realizes a function of compensating the remaining money in the SIM card from the remaining money in the non-contact IC card unit.