KR20060080388A - Clock control device and method for multi interface card between smart card and memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

A clock control device for a multi-interface card that performs an authentication function and a multimedia data storage function includes a signal detector, a clock mode detector, and a clock signal generator. The signal detector detects each power supply voltage and each clock signal of the smart card host and at least one memory card host having a different clock speed from the smart card host. The clock mode detector generates a clock mode signal indicative of a predetermined clock mode based on the respective power supply voltages and the respective clock signals of the smart card host and the memory card host. The clock signal generator generates a low speed clock signal or a high speed clock signal based on the clock mode signal and provides the system block to process both the interface with the smart card host and the interface with the memory card host. By monitoring the clock of the smart card host and the clock of the memory card host with different clock speeds, the system clock can be converted to low or high speed based on the predetermined clock operation mode to reduce power consumption of the multi interface card system. have.

Description

Apparatus and method for controlling a clock for a multi-interface card between a smart card and a memory card {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CLOCK SIGNAL FOR MULTI-INTERFACE CARD BETWEEN SMART CARD AND MEMORY CARD}

1 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-interface card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a clock mode according to a clock activation state of a card host according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a clock control apparatus of the card controller of FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

200: multi interface card 230: card controller

300: clock control device 320: clock mode detector

330: Oscillator 340: System Block

The present invention relates to a clock control device and a clock control method for a multi-interface card in which a smart card and a memory card are integrated into one card.

A smart card, such as a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card, is mounted in the back card holder of a mobile phone and has subscriber information, including the subscriber's phonebook information, so that when the SIM card is plugged into another mobile phone, the subscriber Can be used like its own terminal.

In mobile phones, there is a need to simultaneously use a SIM card that is responsible for the functions of a mobile phone such as an authentication function and a memory card for multimedia data storage.

As described above, when the SIM card and the at least one memory card are to be used simultaneously in the mobile phone, the SIM card and the memory card are separately installed in the existing mobile phone. In this case, the manufacturing cost of the mobile phone is high and the area of use of the SIM card and the memory card in the mobile phone is increased.

SIM cards and memory cards operate at different clock speeds. That is, the SIM card operates at a low speed clock of about 5 MHz or less, and the memory card operates at a high speed clock of about 20 MHz or more for large-capacity multimedia data transmission.

In addition, the SIM card host and the at least one memory card host operate independently of each other. Thus, the SIM card host and the at least one memory card host may stop each clock output or output each clock at the same time. In addition, the SIM card host and the at least one memory card host may use different power voltages, and may independently cut off each power voltage or provide each power voltage at the same time.

When implementing a card controller that supports simultaneous operation of a plurality of different multi-interface cards, an internal block includes a system block supporting all of a plurality of multi-interface cards and blocks supporting only each SIM card interface and a memory card interface. Separated by.

It is necessary to control the clock supplied to each block depending on the state of the external card host such as the SIM card host and the memory card host.

Existing multi-interface cards have a problem that it is difficult to simultaneously support a SIM card interface that operates at a low speed clock and a memory card interface that operates at a high speed clock.

Conventional multi-interface cards use a control register to control the clock supplied to each block when multiple interfaces must be supported simultaneously. As a result, the efficiency of the operating performance of the entire card controller is reduced.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for controlling a clock of a multi-interface card for simultaneously supporting a plurality of card interfaces with one card.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a clock control method of a card for a multi-interface for simultaneously supporting a plurality of card interfaces with one card.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clock control apparatus for a multi-interface card according to an aspect of the present invention, wherein each of a smart card host and at least one memory card host having a different clock speed from the smart card is provided. A signal detector for detecting a power supply voltage and each clock signal; A clock mode detector for generating a clock mode signal indicative of a predetermined clock mode based on respective power supply voltages and respective clock signals of the smart card host and the at least one memory card host; And generating a first clock signal of a first clock frequency or a second clock signal of a second clock frequency higher than the first clock frequency based on the clock mode signal to interface with the smart card host and the at least one memory. It includes a clock signal generator for providing a system block for processing all interfaces with the card host.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clock control method for a multi-interface card according to an aspect of the present invention, wherein each of a smart card host and at least one memory card host having a different clock speed from the smart card is provided. Detecting a power supply voltage and each clock signal; Generating a clock mode signal indicative of a predetermined clock mode based on respective power supply voltages and respective clock signals of the smart card host and the at least one memory card host; And generating a first clock signal of a first clock frequency or a second clock signal of a second clock frequency higher than the first clock frequency based on the clock mode signal to interface with the smart card host and the at least one memory. Providing a system block that handles all interfaces with the card host.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-interface card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The multi-interface card 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention implements an interface with the smart card host 130 and an interface with at least one memory card host 150 in one card. For example, the smart card host 130 and at least one memory card host 150 may be installed in a portable device such as a mobile phone.

For example, the smart card may be a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card. The SIM card, for example, stores the subscriber's phonebook information and personal identification number (PIN) and performs mainly an authentication function.

The memory card may be, for example, an MMC card, a Secure Digital ^™ card, a Memory Stick ^™ card, a Compact Flash ^™ card, or a Smart Media ^™ card. One or more memory cards may be installed in the portable terminal. For example, a SIM card host for performing an authentication function and one MMC card host for data storage may be installed in the portable terminal. Also, for example, a SIM card host and a plurality of memory card hosts for storing data, that is, an MMC card host, a Secure Digital ^TM card host, and a Memory Stick ^TM card host, may be installed in the portable terminal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal 100 includes a smart card host 130, a smart card bus 112, at least one memory card host 150, and a memory card bus 114. The multi interface card 200 includes a smart card bus 212, a memory card bus 214, a card controller 230, and a memory module 250. The memory card buses 114 and 214 may have one or more buses corresponding to the type and number of the memory card hosts 150.

The smart card host 130 and the multi interface card 200 communicate via the smart card buses 112 and 212 according to the ISO 7816 protocol, a contact smart card standard. The smart card host 130 and the multi interface card 200 may communicate by a contactless smart card standard protocol.

The memory card host 150 and the multi interface card 250 communicate with each other via a protocol corresponding to the corresponding memory card bus through the memory card buses 114 and 214.

Since the authentication smart card interface must respond to the authentication request within a certain time at any time, a response operation within a limited time is required. The memory card interface for mass data storage requires a high speed of operation because of the large amount of data packets.

The SIM card host 130 and the memory card host MC host 150 use different clock frequencies when transmitting data. That is, the smart card host 130 operates at a low speed clock of 5 MHz or less, and the memory card host 150 operates at a high speed clock of about 20 MHz or more. For example, smart card host 130 uses a clock of 3.25 MHz. For example, at least one memory card host 150 may use a clock of 20 MHz, 25 MHz, or 52 MHz.

The card controller 230 supports simultaneous operation of a plurality of different multi interface cards. That is, the card controller 230 communicates with the smart card host 130 operating at a low speed clock of 5 MHz and at least one memory card host 150 operating at a high speed clock of about 20 MHz or more using different protocols. Operate to maintain compatibility between the card and the at least one memory card.

In addition, the card controller 230 may be a clock signal and a power signal from a plurality of card hosts to enable multi-interface simultaneously with the smart card host 130 operating at a low speed and the at least one memory card host 150 operating at a high speed. And efficient management of reset signals and internal and external memories.

The card controller 230 controls a clock signal from a plurality of card hosts to enable multiple interfaces simultaneously with the smart card host 130 operating at a low speed and the at least one memory card host 150 operating at a high speed. Device (or clock manager).

The memory module 250 may include, for example, an SRAM, a flash memory, a magneto-resistive RAM (MRAM), a ferro-electric RAM (FRAM), a phase-change RAM (PRAM), or an EEPROM. The memory module 250 stores multimedia data. The memory module 250 may store authentication data for authentication. The memory module may be provided outside the card controller 230 or may be provided inside the card controller 230 although not shown in the drawing.

2 is a diagram illustrating a clock mode according to a clock activation state of a card host according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a clock mode may be classified into four modes according to a power supply state and a clock activation state of the SIM card host 130 or the memory card host 150.

The clock mode 1 indicates a state in which both the low speed SIM CLK and the high speed memory clock MC CLK provided from the external SIM card host and the memory card MC are activated. In this case, a high speed system clock is provided to the system block. For example, when the smart card host 130 operates at a low clock of 3.25 MHz, and the memory card host 150 operates at a high clock of about 20 MHz or more, the smart card host 130 operates at a high clock of 20 MHz, 25 MHz, or 52 MHz. Can be provided as a block.

In clock mode 2, the low speed SIM CLK is inactivated and the high speed MC CLK is activated. In this case, for example, a high system clock of 20 MHz, 25 MHz, or 52 MHz is provided to the system block.

Clock mode 3 indicates that the SIM CLK is activated and the memory clock MC CLK is detected to be inactive. In this case, a slow system clock is provided to the system block. For example, when the smart card host 130 operates at a low clock of 3.25 MHz and the memory card host 150 operates at a high clock of about 20 MHz or more, the smart card host 130 may provide a low clock of 3.25 MHz to the system block. have.

Clock mode 4 detects that both SIM CLK and MC CLK are disabled. In this case, the system block 340 cuts off the system clock supply.

In the SIM card host 130 or the memory card host 150, the clock may be first deactivated before the power voltage is cut off, and the power voltage supply may be cut off after a predetermined period of time.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the clock mode is divided into 16 modes as shown in Table 1 according to the power supply voltage and the clock activation state of each of the SIM card host 130 and the memory card host 150. Can be distinguished.                     

The MMC in Table 1 represents a memory card host, and ISO7818 represents a smart card host.

'-' In Table 1 indicates an undefined state when the power supply voltages of the SIM card host 130 and the memory card host 150 are not applied (states 11, 12, 15, and 16). .

 For example, state 1 is a state in which the power voltages of both the SIM card host 130 and the memory card host 150 are applied, and the clocks of both the SIM card host 130 and the memory card host 150 are applied. A high speed system clock is provided to system block 340.                     

For example, state 4 is a case where the power supply voltage of the memory card host 150 is applied and the clock is activated, and the clock signal is not applied even when the power supply voltage of the SIM card host 130 is not applied. Since the high speed clock of the card host 150 is activated, a high speed system clock is provided to the system block 340.

For example, state 7 is a case where the clock signal is activated while the power voltage of the SIM card host 130 is not applied, and the clock is deactivated when the power voltage of the memory card host 150 is applied. Since the power supply voltage of the memory card host 150 is applied, the system clock generation is stopped.

On the contrary, for example, in the state 10, the clock signal is activated when the power voltage of the memory card host 150 is not applied, and the clock is deactivated when the power voltage of the SIM card host 130 is applied. In this case, since the power supply voltage of the SIM card host 130 is applied, the system clock generation is stopped.

For example, state 16 is when both the clocks of the memory card host 150 and the SIM card host 130 are detected to be inactive, but the power voltages of the memory card host 150 and the SIM card host 130 are both low. Since it is not authorized, it is not defined.

The card controller 200 supporting the plurality of multi-interface cards includes a system block 340 for processing both an interface with the smart card host 130 and an interface with at least one memory card host 150. The smart card block 360 supports only each SIM card interface and the memory card block 350 processes only the memory card interface.

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a clock control apparatus of the card controller of FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The clock control device 300 controls the clock signal of the card controller 230 by detecting a power supply voltage and / or a state of a clock of the SIM card host 130 and at least one memory card host 150.

Referring to FIG. 3, the clock control device 300 includes a signal detector 310, a clock mode detector 320, and a clock generator 330.

The signal detector 310 includes a memory card voltage detector 312, a smart card voltage detector 314, a memory card clock detector 316, and a smart card clock detector 318.

The signal detector 310 detects a power supply voltage and a state of each clock signal of the smart card host 130 and the memory card host 150.

The memory card voltage detector 312 and the smart card voltage detector 314 detect power supply voltages of the memory card host 150 and the smart card host 130, respectively.

The memory card clock detector 316 and the smart card clock detector 318 detect an activation state / deactivation state of clock signals of the memory card host 150 and the smart card host 130, respectively.

The clock mode detector 320 uses the outputs of the memory card voltage detector 312, the smart card voltage detector 314, the memory card clock detector 316, and the smart card clock detector 318. A clock mode signal indicating which clock mode among the 16 clock modes is generated is generated. For example, the clock mode signal may consist of two bits. For example, when operating in the four clock modes of FIG. 2, the clock mode signal may be configured to block a first state of generating a high speed system clock, a second state of generating a low speed system clock, and blocking generation of the system clock. May indicate a third state.

For example, when operating in the sixteen clock modes shown in Table 1, the clock mode signal may include a first state to generate a high speed system clock, a second state to generate a low speed system clock, and a second signal to block the system clock. 3 states and a not defined fourth state.

That is, when the power supply voltages of the memory card host 150 and the smart card host 130 are both off, the clock mode signal indicates a fourth state not defined.

The clock generator 330 receives the clock mode signal from the clock mode detector 320 to generate a high speed clock or a low speed clock and provide the generated clock signal to the system block 340. For example, the internal clock generator 120 consists of an oscillator. For example, the high speed clock may have a clock speed of 20 MHz, 25 MHz, or 52 MHz. For example, the low speed clock may have a clock speed of 3.25 MHz.

That is, the clock control device 300 generates a clock signal of a high speed or a low speed based on the four clock modes or the 16 clock modes of the memory card host 150 and the smart card host 130. )

In addition, the clock signal of the memory card host 150 is provided to the memory card block 350, and the clock signal of the smart card host 130 is provided to the smart card block 360.

According to the clock control apparatus of a card controller supporting the multi-interface card as described above, the SIM card block in the card controller is generated by generating a clock signal according to the operation mode by hardware detection of an operation mode of the smart card and at least one memory card. Provided with each memory card block and system block.

Therefore, the operating performance of the card controller can be improved as compared with the case of controlling the clock signal by the conventional software.

In addition, by monitoring the clock of the smart card host and the clock of the memory card host having different clock speeds to convert the clock speed of the system clock to a low or high speed based on the operating mode of the card controller to reduce the power consumption of the multi-interface card system. Can be reduced.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

Claims (10)

A signal detector for detecting a power supply voltage and a clock signal of each of the smart card host and at least one memory card host having a different clock speed from the smart card host; A clock mode detector for generating a clock mode signal indicative of a predetermined clock mode based on respective power supply voltages and respective clock signals of the smart card host and the at least one memory card host; And An interface with the smart card host and the at least one memory card by generating a first clock signal of a first clock frequency or a second clock signal of a second clock frequency higher than the first clock frequency based on the clock mode signal; Clock control device for a multi-interface card comprising a clock signal generator for providing a system block for processing all interfaces with the host. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clock control device Providing a clock signal of the smart card host to a smart card block that processes only an interface with the smart card host, and providing a clock signal of the memory card host to a memory card block that processes only an interface with the memory card host. A clock control device for a multi interface card. The clock mode signal of claim 1, wherein the clock mode detector generates the clock mode signal according to whether a power supply voltage is applied to each of the smart card host and at least one memory card host and whether each clock signal is activated. Clock control unit for multi interface cards. The method of claim 5, wherein the clock mode signal is a first mode for generating the first clock signal, a second mode for generating the second clock signal, the first clock signal provided to the system block or the And a third mode instructing to block the second clock signal and an undefined fourth mode. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the undefined fourth mode corresponds to a state in which power voltages of the smart card host and the memory card host are not applied. 2. The clock control device of claim 1, wherein the clock mode detector comprises an oscillator. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the smart card uses an ISO 7816 protocol, which is a contact smart card standard. The clock control device of claim 1, wherein the memory card comprises one of an MMC card, a Secure Digital ^TM card, a Memory Stick ^TM card, a Compact Flash ^TM card, and a Smart Media ^TM card. Detecting respective power supply voltages and respective clock signals of the smart card host and at least one memory card host having a different clock speed than the smart card host; Generating a clock mode signal indicative of a predetermined clock mode based on respective power supply voltages and respective clock signals of the smart card host and the at least one memory card host; An interface with the smart card host and the at least one memory card by generating a first clock signal of a first clock frequency or a second clock signal of a second clock frequency higher than the first clock frequency based on the clock mode signal; A method of controlling a clock for a multi-interface card, comprising the step of providing a system block that processes all interfaces with a host. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the clock control method Providing a clock signal of the smart card host to a smart card block that processes only an interface with the smart card host; And And providing a clock signal of the memory card host to a memory card block that processes only an interface with the memory card host.

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