JPH03122788A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute the self-diagnosis of an off-line function by executing the application of a prescribed signal to a contact terminal part or the input of a prescribed key to a key entry part at the time of an off-line mode, deciding a test mode, executing a previously stored self-diagnosis program based upon the decided result, and displaying the executed result on a display part. CONSTITUTION:When the prescribed signal is applied to the contact terminal part 5 by the fixing of a text crip e.g. or the prescribed key is inputted from the key entry part in the off-line mode, a mode deciding means 18 decides whether the test mode, i.e. the self-diagnostic mode of the off-line function is specified or not. A test mode execution means 18 starts the self-diagnostic program previously stored in a memory 26 and outputs the self-diagnostic result on a display part 3, or outputs the result to the terminal part 5. Thus, the self-diagnosis of the IC card can be accurately executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an IC card having a self-diagnosis function for detecting a fault when a card fault occurs.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, there has been a technology related to an IC card incorporating an IC (an integrated circuit including an IC, LSI, VLSI, etc.) as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 80483/1983.

This type of IC card has a built-in microprocessor with a self-diagnosis function, a display element consisting of a light emitting diode, a solar cell, etc., and while it is connected to a terminal device such as a reader/writer (online or online). (referred to as "mode"), data access, etc. is performed according to instructions from the terminal device.

During the period when the IC card is disconnected from a terminal device such as a reader/writer (this is called offline mode), the microprocessor continues to self-diagnose whether or not there is a malfunction in the card. If this occurs, the display element will light up to indicate the failure. Therefore, maintenance can be performed in advance in the event of a card failure, and even if a card failure occurs, it is possible to solve the inconvenience of not being able to know whether or not there is a failure until the card is used in a terminal device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the IC card having the above configuration has the following problems.

In conventional IC carts, the IC card performs its original functions only when it is in online mode when it is connected to a terminal device such as a reader/writer, but when it is in offline mode, it performs the IC card's original functions. It only performs a self-diagnosis of the offline function.

Therefore, with conventional IC cards, in order to check the record contents or enter a password to confirm the holder, the IC card must be connected to a terminal device such as a reader/writer, and then the terminal device must be operated. There must be. Therefore, in order to inquire about the memory contents of an IC card, there is the inconvenience of having to go to the location where the terminal device is located.In addition, since the password must be entered on the terminal device, it is not possible to share the password with another person. There was a drawback that there was a risk of being seen by someone else.

The present invention provides an IC card that solves the problem of the prior art in that the original function of the IC is executed only in online mode.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a key input section, a memory, a display section for displaying data, and a microcontroller for controlling the key input section, the memory, and the display section. An IC card comprising a contact terminal section for transmitting and receiving signals between a processor and the outside, and a power supply section for supplying power to the key input section, memory, display section and microprocessor, as follows. This means that a means has been established.

That is, mode switching means detects the presence or absence of an external power supply supplied to the contact terminal section, and switches the mode between online mode and offline mode according to the detection result; mode determining means for determining the test mode by applying a predetermined signal to the key input section or by executing a predetermined key input to the key input section; The IC card is provided with test mode execution means for executing a diagnostic program (for example, a self-diagnosis program with an offline function) and outputting a self-diagnosis result to the display section or the contact terminal section.

Further, application of a predetermined signal to the contact terminal portion is performed by
For example, this is done using a test clip device for an IC card.

(Function) According to the present invention, since the IC car is configured as described above, the mode switching means detects the presence or absence of external power supply to the contact terminal section, and when external power is supplied, the mode switching means detects the presence or absence of external power supply to the contact terminal section, and when external power is supplied, the mode switching means detects the presence or absence of external power supply to the contact terminal section. The microprocessor is placed in online mode and executed in response to commands from an external terminal device.Furthermore, when external power is not supplied, the mote switching means places the microprocessor in offline mode, allowing the IC card to perform its original functions.
In other words, off-line functions such as verifying the contents of the IC card and verifying the owner by entering a password are executed. In this offline mode, if a predetermined signal is applied to the contact terminal section by attaching a test clip, or a predetermined key input is performed from the key input section, the mode determination means switches to the test mode, that is, It is determined that the self-diagnosis mode of the offline function has been specified.

Then, depending on the determination result, the test mode execution means starts a self-diagnosis program (for example, a self-diagnosis program for the offline function) stored in the memory in advance, and displays the self-diagnosis result on the display section, or or output to the contact terminal section. Therefore, the above problem can be solved.

(Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of an IC card showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 2 (A) and (B) are schematic external views of the IC cart. Surface view of one side, and the same view (
B) is a surface view of the opposite side.

First, Figure 2 (A) shows the appearance of this IC card.

This will be explained with reference to (B).

The surface of the IC card 1 is provided with a key input section 2 for inputting a password, input for instructing the IC card to operate, etc., as well as a display section 3 and a power supply section 4. There is. The display unit 3 is used to display a display for confirming input keys, a guidance display for teaching key operation procedures, etc., and is composed of a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as an LCD) or the like. Power supply section 4
When the IC card 1 is separated from the terminal device and operated alone, that is, when operated with the offline function,
It is for supplying power to each circuit section of the IC card 1, and is composed of a solar cell or the like.

On the opposite surface of the IC card 1, there is a contact terminal section 5.
is provided. The contact terminal section 5 connects the IC card 1 to a terminal device such as a card reader/writer.
A group of terminals used when operating with the online function that exchanges data with the terminal device, when instructing the start of the test mode, that is, the self-diagnosis mode of the offline function, and when outputting the self-diagnosis results. I'll go.

Further, embedded within the IC card 1 is an IC 6 which has peripheral circuits such as a microprocessor, a memory, and a voltage detection circuit built into one chip for performing various controls. The internal functional blocks such as the IC 6 are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the contact terminal portion 5 is a power supply terminal Vc
c/NC, ground terminal GND/GND, clock terminal CLK/NC, reset terminal R3T/NC, write voltage terminal Vpp/ER3, non-contact terminal NC/
It consists of ER1, NC/ER2, and input/output terminals SIO/NC.

The symbol /NC of each terminal is open state in test mode, the symbol NG/ is open state in online mode, and the symbol /E
R1, /ER2, and /ER3 each indicate that a test command signal is applied in the test mode.

IC6 detects the presence or absence of external power supply and performs online
Voltage detection circuit 10 and changeover switch 1 which are mode switching means for switching modes or offline mode
1 and an AND gate (hereinafter referred to as AND gate) 12
, 13, 15. 16° 22, signal selection means consisting of an OR gate (hereinafter referred to as OR game 1-) 14.17 and an inverter 19, and a microprocessor 18 having control functions such as mode determination means and test mode execution means. ,
Oscillation circuit 20, input/output port 21, and encoder 2
3.

The microprocessor 18 is connected via a data bus and an address bus 25 to a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 26 for storing programs such as a self-diagnosis program.
, electrically rewritable programmable ROM (hereinafter referred to as E
An EPROM (hereinafter referred to as EPROM) 27 and a memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 28 that can be read and written at any time are connected. Further, a driver 29 for driving the display section 3 is connected to the microprocessor 18 .

Each operation of the IC card 1 configured as described above in (1) online mode, (2) offline mode, and (3) test mode will be explained.

(1) Operation in online mode When the IC card 1 is connected to a terminal device such as a card reader/writer, a voltage of 5, for example, is supplied from the terminal device to the terminal Vcc/NC, so the voltage detection circuit 10 detects that it is in online mode and outputs an online mode signal 510. As a result, switch 11
is switched to the terminal VCC/NC side, an external voltage of 5V is supplied to the microprocessor 18, and the AND gate 13.16 is opened. When the AND gates 13 and 16 open, the clock signal and reset signal supplied from the terminal device are output to the terminals CLK/NC, respectively.

R3T/NC is supplied to the microprocessor 18 via AND gate 13.16 and OR gate 14.17. Then, the microprocessor 18 inputs data supplied from the terminal device via the terminal SIO/NC1 input/output port 21 and the data bus 24, and executes online operations according to the program stored in the ROM 26.

(2> Offline mode operation If IC cart 1 is not connected to the terminal device, terminal VCC/
NC becomes open. Therefore, the voltage detection circuit 10 detects that it is not in the offline mode, and the switch 11
is switched to the power supply unit 4 side, and the output voltage of the power supply unit 4 is supplied to the microprocessor 18, and the inverter 19
AN by outputting an offline mode signal S19 via
Open D gate 12.15. When the AND gates 12 and 15 open, the clock signal output from the firing circuit 20 becomes
It is supplied to the microprocessor 18 via an AND gate 12 and an OR gate 14. At this time, when the "start" key, for example, of the key input unit 2 is pressed, an offline reset signal S2 is output from that key, and the AND gate 1
5 and microprocessor 18 via OR gate 17
supplied to Then, the microprocessor 1B
Perform offline operations according to the program stored in OM26.

For example, when displaying the withdrawal history stored in the EEPROM 27, the card operator operates the key input section 2 to input a password or the like. This code is transmitted to the microprocessor 1 via an input/output port 21 and a data bus 24.
It is input to B. The microprocessor 18 determines whether the input code matches/mismatches the registered code stored in the EEPROM 27 in advance, and if they match,
The transaction history stored in the EEPROM 27 is displayed on the display unit 3 via two drivers.

(3) Operation in test mode In the above-mentioned offline mode, when an input to instruct self-diagnosis is input from the key input unit 2, for example, the ``test'' key is pressed, the input/output port 21 and data bus 24 are is transmitted to the microprocessor 18 via the .

The microprocessor 18 decodes the input "' test pass key signal and outputs a test command signal 521a through the input/output port 21. This test command signal 521
a becomes a test mode signal 322 via AND gate 22 and enables encoder 23.

At this time, as described above, when the microprocessor 18 decodes the test command signal, it starts executing the self-diagnosis program stored in the ROM 26 in advance, and if an error is found as a result of the self-diagnosis, the input/output port 2 The error information 321b is output via the . This error information 321
b is encoded by the encoder 23 and sent to the terminal NC/ER.
1, NC/ER2, and VDp/ER3 are driven by a driver 29 as necessary to display appropriate error information on the display section 3. Therefore,
The card operator can check the terminals NC/ER1, NC/ER2, Vpp/ER3 by visually checking the display section 3 or
By monitoring with a synchroscope, tester, etc., it is possible to easily and accurately grasp the error situation.

Here, as the content of the self-diagnosis, for example, the driver 29
It is better to mainly focus on diagnosing the off-line function. This is because, regarding the online function, in response to a command to the IC card 1, a status signal indicating an error situation can be included in the response sent from the IC card 1 back to the terminal device via the terminal 310/NC. . Therefore, while it is possible to diagnose a certain culm degree with the online function, there is no diagnostic method for the offline function.

As described above, the method of instructing the activation of self-diagnosis by key operations on the key input unit 2 has been explained.
A method of instructing the activation of self-diagnosis by applying a predetermined signal to /ER1, NC/ER2, Vpp/ER3, etc. may also be used. Examples are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (A) and (B).

Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of an IC card showing another embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 (A>, (B)) shows a test clip for the IC cart, and (A) shows the test clip and FIG. 2B are diagrams showing an example of the inner surface pattern of the test clip.

In the IC card 1A of FIG. 3, the IC card 1 of FIG.
In place of S3, test command terminals NC/TSI, NG
/TS2. Vpp/TS3 is provided. Roughly,
AND gate 22 and encoder 2 in IC6 in FIG.
3, a switch 30, pull-up resistors 31 to 33, and a decoder 23A are provided in the ICeA of FIG.

In the test mode, the test clip 40 attached to the IC card 1A has terminals GND/GND, Vpp/ TS3,310/NC,
NC/TSI, Vcc/NC, R3T/NC, CLK/
NC and NC/TS2 are respectively provided. In the example of the inner surface pattern in FIG. 4(B), each terminal GND/GN
D, Vpp/TS3. NC/TS1 are commonly connected and T
SI=”O”, TS2=’“1”, TS3-OP
An example is shown for case j. This test clip 40
The terminal group is connected to a terminal extension lead 50.

In the above configuration, the operation in test mode will be explained.

When the test clip 40 is inserted into the IC card 1A as shown in FIG. Execution of the self-diagnosis set by pressing the internal button is started.For example, when the test clip 40
If the inner surface pattern of is made as shown in Figure 4 (B), the terminal V
pp/eng 33. Since NC/TS1 is connected to terminal GND/GND, it becomes a “01 level signal” and roughly connects to terminal N.
Since G/D S2 is pulled up by the resistor 32 inside the IC card 1A, it becomes a "1" level signal, so execution of the corresponding self-diagnosis is started.

That is, referring to FIG. 3, the terminals pp/TS3 and NC/
Since the terminal S1 is "O" and the terminal NC/TS2 is II 1 II, decode 2 is output from the decoder 23A,
It is applied to the microprocessor 1B via an input/output port 21 and a data bus 24. Thereby, the microprocessor 18 instructs the execution of the corresponding self-diagnosis program stored in the ROM 26, so that self-diagnosis is started and the diagnosis result is displayed on the display unit 3. Therefore, substantially the same advantages as in the previous embodiment can be obtained.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Examples of such modifications include the following.

(i) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a case has been described in which error information is encoded by the encoder 23 and output to the contact terminal section 5, but main signals of the circuit section, such as output signals of the driver 29, etc. Contact terminal part 5
You can also output it directly to .

(ii) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a test clip 40 with an inner surface different from that shown in FIG.
By inserting it into A, you can also run other self-diagnoses. It is also possible to make the inner surface pattern of the test clip 40 only a terminal and to connect the terminal extension lead 50 of FIG. 4(A) to the extension lead of the terminal GND/GND as appropriate without making any connection. Furthermore, if there is only one type of self-diagnosis program, it is sufficient to simply activate the self-diagnosis using the test clip 40.

(iii) If the test clip 40 shown in FIG. 4 is equipped with, for example, a battery and an oscillation circuit, self-diagnosis of the online function is also possible without a terminal device such as a card reader/writer.

(iv) In Figure 4, if it is necessary to tighten the test mode starting conditions for security reasons,
For example, the test clip 40 has a two-step insertion structure,
It may be configured to insert one step to determine whether or not to permit the test mode by checking the logic of the internal terminal pattern, and if it is permitted, to start the test mode by inserting two steps. .

(V> In the above embodiment, the case where only error information is output to the contact terminal section 5 or displayed on the display section 3 is explained below, but it is also possible to output or display that the self-diagnosis result is good. You can also

(1> IC6 and IC6A in FIGS. 1 and 3 may have a similar circuit configuration or may be configured with a number of chips.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, since the mode switching means, the mode determining means, and the test mode execution means are provided, the mode switching means allows the IC card to be used even in the offline mode. It is possible to perform the original functions, that is, off-line functions such as checking the memory contents of the IC card and verifying the owner by entering a password. Furthermore, the mode determining means determines the test mode, and based on the determination result, the test mode execution means executes a self-diagnosis of the offline function, and outputs the self-diagnosis result to the contact terminal section or the display section. Since the configuration is simple, self-diagnosis of the IC card can be performed accurately. This is especially effective for self-diagnosis of offline functions, since there was no check method in the past.

You can also use test clips to more easily run test mode.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an IC card showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (A>, (B) is an external view of the IC card shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an IC card showing an embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B show a test clip, FIG. 4A is a configuration diagram, and FIG. 1.1△...IC card, 2...key input section, 3...display section, 4...power supply section, 5... ...Contact terminal section, 6,6A...
・・IC110・・・・・・Voltage detection circuit, 18...
...Microprocessor, 26...RO0

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A key input section for data input, a memory for storing data, a display section for displaying data, a microprocessor for controlling the key input section, the memory, and the display section, and an external An IC card comprising: a contact terminal section for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the IC card; and a power supply section for supplying power to the key input section, memory, display section, and microprocessor; mode switching means for detecting the presence or absence of an external power source and switching the mode between online mode and offline mode according to the detection result; and applying a predetermined signal to the contact terminal portion or the key in the offline mode a mode determining means for determining a test mode by executing a predetermined key input to an input unit; and a self-diagnosis program stored in advance in the memory is executed based on the output of the mode determining means to obtain a self-diagnosis result. An IC card comprising: test mode execution means for outputting to the display section or the contact terminal section. 2. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the self-diagnosis program is a self-diagnosis program with an offline function. 3. The IC card according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the application of a predetermined signal to the contact terminal portion is performed by attaching a test clip to the IC card.