JPH0721819B2 - IC card - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an IC card, and more particularly to a functional test of the IC card.

[Conventional technology]

Here, the IC card is used in place of the conventional card with a magnetic stripe, and has a memory IC, CPU, and other semiconductor chips built into the base of the card, and is several digits larger than a conventional card with a magnetic stripe. In addition to being able to have the above-mentioned large-capacity storage capacity, it can be provided with an arbitrary calculation function.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In such an IC card, in order to improve the reliability of the card, it is desirable to test whether the control program or the data in the memory is normal. If this happens, the test is impossible and it is not possible to externally judge whether the card is normal or not. In addition, it is possible to perform a test before mounting, but in this case, it is necessary to put a micron-scale needle on the IC chip alone and use a large-scale test device, which is very troublesome. Furthermore, the test in the previous stage of mounting is only a test of the IC chip itself, and it is not possible to find defects in actual use.

Therefore, as a solution to such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-3082 discloses that, in addition to the processing as a normal IC card, processing according to a test command input from an external inspection device is performed on the IC card. There is proposed an IC card in which a program to be executed inside is stored in ROM.

However, in this IC card, the test operation program is added to the normal operation program and stored in the ROM in the card, and the test operation is performed by the external inspection when the data can be transmitted between the external inspection device and the card. It is performed by inputting a test command from the device to the card. Therefore, the command code of the test command at this time needs to be distinguished from the command code of the command for the normal operation of the user who uses the card shipped after the test, and the command specifications of the user are limited. There was a point.

In addition, if the command code of the user command and the command code of the test command are not distinguished by mistake and they match, when the user uses the card,
There is a problem that the test processing program is mistakenly operated by inputting the user command.

Furthermore, since the test operation program is added to the normal operation program and stored in memory,
For example, if you want to change the test operation program to extend the test process, you must modify or replace the entire program, including the normal operation program, in the memory, which complicates the work and increases productivity. However, there is a problem in that

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and it is possible to easily replace and modify a program for test operation, and to limit the command specifications of commands used by a user. It is to provide an IC card having a test operation function that is not added.

[Means for solving problems]

The IC card according to the present invention stores the normal operation program and the test operation program individually in different areas in the memory, sets the card in the card reader, and immediately after power is supplied to the card. The test operation program or the normal operation program is executed by a mode signal given from the card reader.

[Action]

According to the present invention, since the normal operation program and the test operation program are individually stored in the memory, the test operation program can be easily modified or replaced without affecting the normal operation program. Moreover, after the card is set in the reader, the test operation or the normal operation is executed by the mode signal given from the card reader immediately after the power is supplied to the card. There are no restrictions on specifications.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an IC card 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The IC card 10 comprises a CPU 4, a memory section 1, an interface 5, and a terminal 6. The memory unit 1 includes a normal operation program area 1a in which a program for performing a normal operation is stored, and a test program area 1 in which a program for performing a test such as an operation check is stored.
b, and a data area 1c in which data is stored. Further, in the CPU 4, 2 is a mode signal detecting means for detecting a mode signal for specifying a normal operation mode or a test operation mode, which is input from a card reader (not shown) (not shown), and 3 is in accordance with the detection result. It is an operation control means for controlling the operation mode. In addition, the above terminal 6
Are provided in conformity with ISO standards and the like, and the terminal 6a at the bottom in the figure is the terminal to which the mode signal from the reader is applied. The memory unit 1 and the CPU 4 may be provided as separate chips or may be provided as one chip.

Next, the operation will be described.

Here, in the case of the present embodiment, after the IC card is manufactured at the factory and before the card is shipped to the user, the IC card is first tested to confirm whether the card is normal,
The operation in the case of shifting to the normal operation mode after confirming is described.

The operation flow as described above is shown in FIG. First, when the IC card is inserted into the reader, a power supply voltage is supplied from the reader to the card, and the mode signal detecting means 2 reads the mode signal from the card (step 11). Here, a mode signal for controlling the operation mode of the card is applied from the reader to the terminal 6a, and the mode signal detection means 2 detects the level of the terminal 6a and sends it to the operation control means 3. give. Since the mode signal "0" (test mode) is now output from the reader, the operation control means 3 receives this and sets the operation mode to the test mode (step 1
2) In step 13, the IC card is tested according to the test program stored in the memory unit 1. That is, the IC card performs self-diagnosis.

Here, as the contents of the test, there are a test of whether the data in the memory section 1 is normal, a test of whether the normal operation program of its own is normal by taking the bit sum, and so on. (Steps 13 and 14) If it is normal, a signal to that effect is sent to the reader side via the interface 5 and the terminal 6. As a result, the display "OK" of the reader is displayed, and the reader switches the mode signal to "1". The card reads the mode signal "1" (step 11), switches the operation mode to the normal mode, and performs a predetermined operation (steps 12 and 17).

Further, if there is an abnormality in the program or the like as a result of the above test, a signal indicating that is abnormal is sent to the reader, and the reader receives this signal, displays "NG" on the display device, and ejects the card. After being tested in this way, non-defective products are selected and shipped to users.

Note that the user normally operates the card.In this case, the card is set in the reader, power is supplied to the IC card, and data can be transmitted between the IC card and the reader in the same manner as in the past. Then, a desired operation is performed by a user command.

In this embodiment, the test operation program is stored in an area different from the normal operation program of the memory in the card, the card is set in the card reader, and when the power is supplied to the card, the card reader reads it. Since either the test operation program or the normal operation program is executed by the given mode signal, an inspection process is performed to check whether the memory function in the card and the normal operation program are normal. Moreover, when it is desired to change the contents of the test operation, the test operation program can be easily modified or replaced without affecting the normal operation program. Also, after setting the card in the card reader, the mode signal provided from the card reader immediately after the power is supplied to the card causes the test operation or normal operation to be executed. It is also possible to prevent the test operation program from being erroneously executed when the user normally operates by a user command.

Although the mode signal is "0" or "1" in the above embodiment, this may be coded using a plurality of terminals.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the IC card of the present invention, the normal operation program and the test operation program are separately stored in different areas of the memory.
If you want to change the contents of the test operation program as in the past, you only have to modify or replace the test operation program without modifying the entire program including the normal operation program. There is an effect that the content of the test operation can be changed without being accompanied. In addition, since the normal operation program or the test operation program is configured to be executed by the mode signal given from the card reader, the command specification of the command to execute the normal operation program used by the user as in the past is required. There is no problem that restrictions are added and that a test operation program is accidentally executed by a user command, and an IC card that is highly reliable and versatile for the user can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the IC card. 1 ... memory section, 2 ... mode signal detecting means, 3 ... operation control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory in which a normal operation program and a test operation program are stored in different areas, and a card body is inserted into a card reading device, and a power supply voltage is supplied to the card from the card reading device. Immediately after that, a mode signal is received from the card reading device,
A mode signal detecting means for detecting whether the mode signal is in a normal mode or a test mode, and a normal mode or a test operation for executing the normal operation program according to a detection result from the mode signal detecting means. An IC card comprising: an operation control unit for setting a test mode for executing a computer program.