JP2015208011A - Wireless communication apparatus and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the occurrence of errors in an authentication result due to an influence of an electromagnetic noise radiated from a radio communication unit.SOLUTION: A radio communication device 20 includes an authentication unit 40 and a radio communication unit 50. The authentication unit 40 performs authentication processing with an external device 30. The radio communication unit 50 performs radio communication. For a part of a period during which the authentication processing is performed by the authentication unit 40, radio waves radiated from the radio communication unit 50 are reduced.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a wireless communication apparatus and a control method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a card device is known in which an authentication unit that performs authentication processing with an external device via wired communication and a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication to transmit and receive data are known.

JP 2010-67060 A

  Here, when performing wireless communication, various electronic circuits are driven, and electromagnetic noise (radio waves) is radiated from these electronic circuits. Therefore, if wireless communication is performed during the execution of the authentication process, there is a possibility that an error may occur in the authentication result due to the influence of electromagnetic noise generated along with the wireless communication. In particular, in a card device equipped with an authentication unit and a wireless communication unit, the authentication unit and the wireless communication unit are arranged close to each other in a narrow space called a card. Noise greatly affects the authentication process executed by the authentication unit. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wireless communication apparatus and a control method capable of reducing the occurrence of an error in the authentication result due to the influence of electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit.

  The wireless communication apparatus according to the embodiment includes an authentication unit and a wireless communication unit. The authentication unit performs authentication processing with an external device. The wireless communication unit performs wireless communication. At least during a part of the period during which the authentication process is performed, radio waves radiated from the wireless communication unit are reduced.

The figure which shows the schematic structural example of the communication system of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the procedure which stops operation | movement of a radio | wireless communication part. The figure which shows the other example of the procedure which stops operation | movement of a radio | wireless communication part. The figure which shows the schematic structural example of the communication system of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the modification of the card apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the card apparatus of 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a wireless communication apparatus and a control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a communication system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes a portable device (equipment) 20 on which a card device 10 is mounted, and an external device 30. The type of the device 20 is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a mobile phone terminal or a card type terminal such as Suica (registered trademark). The external device 30 is a device that can communicate with the device 20, and may be, for example, a server device, or a reader / writer device that can read and write data from and to the card device 10 mounted on the device 20. It may be. FIG. 1 illustrates the case where there is only one external device 30 that can communicate with the device 20, but is not limited thereto, and the number of external devices 30 that can communicate with the device 20 is arbitrary. For example, two or more external devices 30 may exist.

  The card device 10 is an electronic device on which various electronic components are mounted. As shown in FIG. 1, the card device 10 includes an authentication unit 40, a wireless communication unit 50, and a control unit 60. The authentication unit 40 performs an authentication process with the external device 30 via wired communication. The authentication unit 40 may be configured with a secure element, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, the authentication unit 40 is connected to a device-side wireless communication unit 21 provided in the device 20 via a signal line 101 used for wired communication. The device-side wireless communication unit 21 communicates with the external device 30 wirelessly. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the device-side wireless communication unit 21 includes an electronic circuit and an antenna for performing wireless communication. Examples of the antenna included in the device-side wireless communication unit 21 include, but are not limited to, an antenna for NFC (Near Field Communication), a 3G antenna, and the like. Is optional. When an NFC antenna is employed, this portion may be referred to as CLF (Contact Less Frontend). The “authentication process” described above refers to a process for authenticating the card device 10. In the present embodiment, as an example, authentication of the card device 10 is performed by determining whether or not the identification number assigned to the card device 10 matches an identification number registered in advance.

  More specifically, the external device 30 first transmits a request signal for requesting transmission of an identification number to the device 20. The request signal received by the device-side wireless communication unit 21 is transmitted to the authentication unit 40 via the signal line 101. The authentication unit 40 that has received the request signal encrypts the identification number assigned to the card device 10, for example, and transmits it to the external device 30 via the signal line 101 and the device-side wireless communication unit 21. Then, the external device 30 decodes the identification number sent from the device 20 as a response to the request signal, and determines whether or not the identification number obtained by decoding matches the identification number registered in advance. As a result, the card device 10 mounted in the device device 20 is authenticated. Here, the process in which the authentication unit 40 receives the request signal and the process in which the authentication unit 40 transmits the identification number correspond to the authentication process performed by the authentication unit 40, but this is only an example. Various known methods can be employed for the authentication process.

  The wireless communication unit 50 performs wireless communication with the external device 30. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the wireless communication unit 50 includes an electronic circuit and an antenna for performing wireless communication.

  When the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process by the authentication unit 40, the control unit 60 controls the electromagnetic noise (radio wave) radiated from the wireless communication unit 50 to be reduced. Specific contents will be described below. In the present embodiment, the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process based on the state of the signal line 101. Since the authentication unit 40 performs authentication processing with the external device 30 via wired communication, a predetermined signal (a signal used for authentication processing) flows to the signal line 101 when the authentication processing is executed. . More specifically, the current value and voltage value flowing through the signal line 101 change. When wired communication is not performed (that is, when authentication processing is not executed), the current value and voltage value flowing through the signal line 101 do not change, and therefore the current value and voltage value flowing through the signal line 101 are not changed. By detecting, execution of the authentication process can be detected.

  When the execution of the authentication process is detected as described above, the control unit 60 performs control so that electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50 is reduced. As an example, in the present embodiment, when the execution of the authentication process is detected, the control unit 60 controls the wireless communication unit 50 so that the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 stops. By stopping the operation of the wireless communication unit 50, electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50 can be almost eliminated.

  For example, the control unit 60 can also reduce the data transfer rate of the wireless communication unit 50. Generally, as the data transfer rate increases, the power consumption in the electronic circuit tends to increase, and the electromagnetic noise increases accordingly. Therefore, the electromagnetic noise can be reduced by reducing the data transfer rate. .

  For example, the control part 60 can also operate the radio | wireless communication part 50 intermittently. By causing the wireless communication unit 50 to operate intermittently, a period during which the wireless communication unit 50 is stopped occurs, so that the average amount of electromagnetic noise in a predetermined period can be reduced. When the wireless communication unit 50 operates intermittently even during normal times, the cycle of the intermittent operation may be increased. By doing so, the average amount of electromagnetic noise in a predetermined period can be reduced.

  For example, the control unit 60 can also stop supplying power to the wireless communication unit 50. Thereby, the electromagnetic noise radiated | emitted from the wireless communication part 50 can be eliminated completely.

  Next, a procedure for stopping the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 will be described. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the execution of the authentication process is detected, the control unit 60 controls the wireless communication unit 50 so that the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 stops and the external wireless communication included in the external device 30. The wireless communication unit 50 can also be controlled to transmit a stop request for requesting the unit to stop the operation. Further, for example, in the configuration in which the external device 30 includes an external authentication unit that executes the authentication process and an external control unit that stops the operation of the external wireless communication unit when the execution of the authentication process is detected, FIG. As shown, when the execution of the authentication process is detected, the control unit 60 controls the wireless communication unit 50 so that the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 stops, while the external control unit stops the operation of the external wireless communication unit. Thus, the external wireless communication unit can also be controlled.

  For example, the control unit 60 may restart the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 when a certain period has elapsed after stopping the operation of the wireless communication unit 50. For example, the control unit 60 may resume the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 when the period during which the execution of the authentication process is not detected exceeds a predetermined value.

  The above is the procedure when the operation of the wireless communication unit 50 is stopped, but the same applies to the procedure when the data transfer rate of the wireless communication unit 50 is lowered or when the wireless communication unit 50 is operated intermittently, for example. is there.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process, the control unit 60 performs control so that electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50 is reduced. There is an advantageous effect that it is possible to reduce the occurrence of an error in the authentication result due to the influence of the radiated electromagnetic noise.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process based on the state of power supply to the authentication unit 40. Specific contents will be described below. Note that description of portions common to the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of the communication system 100 according to the second embodiment. In this example, when the device 20 is brought close to the external device 30, power is supplied to the device 20 by an electromagnetic induction method using a magnetic force line generated by the external device 30. More specifically, the device-side wireless communication unit 21 includes a coil, and a magnetic field generated from the external device 30 passes through the coil included in the device-side wireless communication unit 21 to generate a current in the coil. To do. The generated current is rectified and smoothed by the power supply unit 22 provided in the device 20 and is supplied to the authentication unit 40 via the power line 102. Then, after the power is supplied to the authentication unit 40 and the authentication unit 40 is activated, the authentication process is started.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process based on the state of the power line 102. More specifically, the control unit 60 can detect whether or not power is being supplied to the power supply line 102 from the current value or voltage value flowing through the power supply line 102. And when the control part 60 detects that the electric power supply with respect to the power supply line 102 is performed, it detects execution of an authentication process, and electromagnetic waves radiated | emitted from the radio | wireless communication part 50 similarly to 1st Embodiment. Control to reduce noise.

  Here, as described above, the authentication unit 40 starts the authentication process after being activated by receiving the power supply, and thus the authentication process is not yet performed when the power supply to the power supply line 102 is started. For this reason, when the control part 60 detects that the electric power supply with respect to the power supply line 102 was started, it is preferable to control so that the electromagnetic noise radiated | emitted from the radio | wireless communication part 50 reduces. Thereby, since noise emitted from the wireless communication unit 50 can be reduced before the authentication process is started, compared with a configuration that reduces noise emitted from the wireless communication unit 50 during the authentication process. There is an advantage that the occurrence of errors in the authentication result can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the authentication unit 40 executes the authentication process after receiving the power supply. Therefore, the method of detecting the execution of the authentication process based on the state of the power line 102 is based on the state of the signal line 101. As compared with the method of detecting the execution of the authentication process, there is an advantage that the execution of the authentication process can be detected at an earlier timing.

  In addition, power is not supplied to the device 20 by the electromagnetic induction method described above, but a power supply unit 70 including, for example, a battery is provided in the card device 10 as shown in FIG. Also good. The power from the power supply unit 70 is supplied to the authentication unit 40 via the power supply line 71. The control unit 60 can also control the power supply unit 70 to execute supply of power to the authentication unit 40 when detecting that a signal used for the authentication process is output to the signal line 101. Even in such a configuration, the control unit 60 can detect the execution of the authentication process by detecting that power is being supplied to the power supply line 71.

  Even with the configuration described above, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of an error in the authentication result due to the influence of electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, when executing the authentication process, the authentication unit 40 outputs a signal indicating that the authentication process is being executed (hereinafter referred to as an “indicator signal”) to the control unit 60. Is different from the first embodiment in that the execution of the authentication process is detected when the indicator signal is received. Specific contents will be described below. Note that description of portions common to the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the card device 10 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, it differs from 1st Embodiment by the point further provided with the indicator line 103 which connects the authentication part 40 and the control part 60. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the authentication unit 40 outputs an indicator signal when executing the authentication process. The indicator signal is transmitted to the control unit 60 via the indicator line 103. When receiving the indicator signal, the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process, and controls the electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50 to decrease as in the first embodiment. Even with this configuration, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of an error in the authentication result due to the influence of electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof. For example, the type of the card device 10 is arbitrary, and may be an SD card, a micro SD card, a SIM card, an IC card, or the like.

  Further, for example, when the control unit 60 detects the execution of the authentication process, the control unit 60 may control the wireless communication unit 50 so as to perform only a connection process for connecting to a device that communicates after the authentication process and not to transmit / receive data. it can. The device that communicates after the authentication processing may be the external device 30 that has executed the authentication processing, or may be another external device 30. Here, when data transmission / reception is performed by wireless communication, it is necessary to perform connection processing in the previous stage, but generally, connection processing is less processing than data transmission / reception, so wireless communication is performed. The amount of electromagnetic noise radiated from the communication unit 50 tends to decrease. In addition, when data is transmitted / received to / from a predetermined external device 30 after the authentication process is completed, a connection process with the predetermined external device 30 is executed during the execution of the authentication process. The data transmission / reception after the authentication process can be started immediately. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to quickly start transmission / reception of data after the authentication process while reducing the occurrence of an error in the authentication result due to the influence of electromagnetic noise radiated from the wireless communication unit 50. There is an effect. Note that the connection processing with the external device 30 refers to processing for enabling communication with the external device 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Card apparatus 20 Device 21 Device side wireless communication part 22 Power supply part 30 External apparatus 40 Authentication part 50 Wireless communication part 60 Control part 70 Power supply part 71 Power supply line 100 Communication system 101 Signal line 102 Power supply line 103 Indicator line

Claims (20)

An authentication unit that performs authentication processing;
A wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication,
At least during a part of the period during which the authentication process is performed, radio waves radiated from the wireless communication unit are reduced.
Wireless communication device. At least one of the stop of power supply to the wireless communication unit, the intermittent operation of the wireless communication unit, and the reduction of the data transfer rate of the wireless communication unit is performed, and is emitted from the wireless communication unit The radio wave is reduced,
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1. At least during a part of the period during which the authentication process is performed, radio waves radiated from the wireless communication unit are stopped.
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1. The authentication process is performed via wired communication.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. When detecting the execution of the authentication process, comprising a control unit that controls so that radio waves radiated from the wireless communication unit decreases,
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The wireless communication unit is driven by power supplied from a power supply unit provided in the wireless communication device or a device connected to the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1. The power supply unit includes a battery,
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 6. When the control unit detects execution of the authentication process, the control unit performs only a connection process for connecting to a device that communicates after the authentication process, and controls the wireless communication unit so as not to transmit and receive data.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7. The control unit detects execution of the authentication process based on a state of a signal line used for the wired communication.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8. A power line connected to the authentication unit and used to supply power to the authentication unit;
The control unit detects execution of the authentication process based on a state of the power line.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8. The authentication unit, when executing the authentication process, outputs a signal indicating that the authentication process is being performed to the control unit,
When the control unit receives the signal, the control unit detects execution of the authentication process.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8. The wireless communication unit includes an antenna,
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The wireless communication device is mounted on a device,
The authentication unit performs the authentication process with an external device.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12. The wireless communication device is one of an SD card, a micro SD card, a SIM card, and an IC card.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13.   15. A device on which the wireless communication device according to claim 1 is mounted. The device is a mobile phone terminal;
The device according to claim 15. Including at least a control step of controlling so that radio waves radiated from a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication are reduced during a part of a period during which authentication processing is performed,
Control method. At least one of the stop of power supply to the wireless communication unit, the intermittent operation of the wireless communication unit, and the reduction of the data transfer rate of the wireless communication unit is performed, and is emitted from the wireless communication unit The radio wave is reduced,
The control method according to claim 17. At least during a part of the period during which the authentication process is performed, radio waves radiated from the wireless communication unit are stopped.
The control method according to claim 17. The authentication process is performed via wired communication.
The control method according to any one of claims 17 to 19.

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