Secure electronic entity integrating life span management of an object

• US 10,134,217 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2003
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEMIA France (Advent International Corporation)
• Original Assignee: IDEMIA France (Advent International Corporation)
• Inventors: Abgrall, Renan, Geffrotin, Bernard
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/536,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 5,478 Days
• Field of Search: 235377, 235380, 235487, 235492, 368109
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 1/005 using electronic timing, e.g. counting means pulse time delay arrangements H03K5/13; modifications of electronic switches for introducing a time delay before switching H03K17/28
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 10/00 Apparatus for measuring unknown time intervals by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4093 Monitoring of device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/10 together with the recording, indicating or registering of other data, e.g. of signs of identity
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/084 Additional components relating to data transfer and storing, e.g. error detection, self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A secure electronic entity, adapted to store at least one object, includes a unit for measuring the passage of time as from a reference date associated with the object. It includes a unit for storing a life span assigned to the object co-operating with the time measuring unit so as to compare the time elapsed and the life span. It further includes an updating and invalidating unit, to update the object life span or to temporarily or permanently disable the object if the comparison shows that the time elapsed exceeds the life span. The invention is in particular applicable to smart cards.

Claims

1. A secure electronic entity, comprising:

a microprocessor;

a memory apparatus having stored therein at least one object that comprises content including any of data and/or functions, said object constituting an application, operable by said microprocessor to cause the microprocessor to operate in a predetermined manner, stored in the memory apparatus having a lifespan associated therewith;

a time measuring apparatus that measures a time that has elapsed from a reference time associated with said object, the time measuring apparatus comprising one or more subsystems, each subsystem of said one or more subsystems comprising

a capacitive component subject to leakage across a dielectric space of the capacitive component,

a coupling structure that couples said capacitive component to an electrical power supply to be charged by said electrical power supply, and

a charge measuring device that measures a residual charge in the capacitive component, said residual charge being at least in part representative of a time that has elapsed since the capacitive component was decoupled from the electrical power supply; and

a storage apparatus that stores a value of said lifespan associated with said object in the memory apparatus, the storage apparatus co-operating with the time measuring apparatus to compare the elapsed time and said lifespan,

said time measuring apparatus configured to, upon a result of said comparison being that the elapsed time has reached or passed the lifespan of the object in the memory apparatus, perform any of i) update said lifespan of the object stored in the memory apparatus and ii) render the content of the object stored in the memory apparatus unusable, and

said time measuring apparatus being configured to provide a measurement of the time that has elapsed from the reference time associated with said object when said electronic entity is not supplied with electrical power.

2. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein said lifespan corresponds to a total time of real use of the object.

3. The secure electronic entity according to claim 2, wherein the time measuring apparatus is adapted to supply a measurement of the time that has elapsed since the reference time upon the electronic entity not being supplied with electrical power.

4. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein said lifespan is a time period independent of a total time of real use of the object.

5. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the time measuring apparatus is adapted to provide a measurement of the time that has elapsed since the reference time upon the electronic entity not being supplied with power by an external power supply.

6. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the time measuring apparatus is adapted to supply a measurement of the time that has elapsed since the reference time independently of any external clock signal.

7. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the time measuring apparatus is configured to compare two times of day.

8. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the memory apparatus that stores the lifespan includes another secure entity situated inside or outside said secure electronic entity.

9. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the reference time is a time of day of creation of the object.

10. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein said charge measuring device is included in said time measuring apparatus.

11. The secure electronic entity according to claim 10, wherein the capacitive component is a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor whose dielectric space consists of a silicon oxide.

12. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the capacitive component is a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor whose dielectric space consists of a silicon oxide.

13. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1,

wherein the charge measuring device comprises a field-effect transistor having an insulative layer,

wherein the capacitive component includes an insulative layer, and

wherein a thickness of the insulative layer of the field-effect transistor is greater than a thickness of the insulative layer of the capacitive component.

14. The secure electronic entity according to claim 13, wherein the thickness of the insulative layer of the capacitive component is from 4 to 10 nanometers.

15. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1,

wherein the time measuring apparatus comprises at least two of said subsystems,

wherein said capacitive components of said at least two subsystems have different leaks across respective dielectric spaces of said capacitive components, and

wherein the time measuring apparatus also includes a charge information processor that measures respective measured residual charges in said at least two capacitive components to extract information from said measurements independent of heat input to said electronic entity during the time that has elapsed since the reference time.

16. The secure electronic entity according to claim 15, wherein said charge information processor is in communication with a data store having software stored thereon for causing the charge information processor to calculate a predetermined function for determining said information as a function of said measurements and substantially independently of heat input.

17. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, configured as a microcircuit card.

18. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, configured as a Personal Computer Memory Card International Architecture (PCMCIA) card.

19. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, configured as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card.

20. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the reference time is set at the creation of the object.

21. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the coupling structure is adapted to only couple once to the capacitive component to the electrical power supply.

22. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the coupling structure is adapted to couple the capacitive component to the electrical power supply each time the secure electronic entity is energized.

23. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1, comprising more than one object stored in the memory apparatus, and a respective time measuring apparatus for each of said more than one object.

24. The secure electronic entity according to claim 1,

wherein said electrical power supply is an external power supply,

and

wherein said residual charge decreases as a function of time from a moment when said capacitive component is decoupled from the external power supply.

25. A secure electronic entity, comprising:

a microcircuit card, having provided thereon

a memory device having stored therein an object comprising content constituting an application, operable by said microprocessor to cause the microprocessor to operate in a predetermined manner,

a time measuring device that measures a time that has elapsed from a reference time associated with the content of any of said object, said time measuring device comprising

a capacitive component subject to leakage across a dielectric space of the capacitive component,

a coupling structure that couples said capacitive component to an electrical power supply to be charged by said electrical power supply, and

a charge measuring device that measures a residual charge in the capacitive component, said residual charge being at least in part representative of a time that has elapsed since the capacitive component was decoupled from the electrical power supply,

and a storage device having stored therein a lifespan assigned to the content of any of said object, the storage device co-operating with the time measuring device to compare the elapsed time and said lifespan,

said time measuring device configured to update said lifespan of the content of the application upon a result of said comparison being that the elapsed time has reached or passed the lifespan, and

said time measuring device being adapted to provide a measurement of the time that has elapsed from the reference time associated with said application when said electronic entity is not supplied with electrical power,

wherein said microcircuit card is any of a bank card, an access control card, an identity card, a SIM card, or a removable memory card.

26. A secure electronic entity, comprising:

a memory device having stored therein code, readable by a microprocessor, that corresponds to at least one data object that comprises content including data stored in the memory device, and a lifespan associated therewith, said at least one data object constituting access rights required for a user to access to digital content in the form of either a fixed-charge subscription to the content of predetermined duration or a fixed time-limit imposed upon use to the content;

a time measuring apparatus that measures a time that has elapsed from a reference time associated with the content of said object in the memory device, said time being independent of a total real time or real use of the content of the object in the memory device, said time measuring apparatus configured to function whether or not said electronic entity is supplied with electrical power, said time measuring apparatus comprised of one or more subsystems, each subsystem of said one or more subsystems comprising

a capacitive component subject to leakage across a dielectric space of the capacitive component,

a coupling structure that couples said capacitive component to an electrical power supply to be charged by said electrical power supply, and

a charge measuring device that measures a residual charge in the capacitive component, said residual charge being at least in part representative of a time that has elapsed since the capacitive component was decoupled from the electrical power supply;

and a data storage apparatus that stores data corresponding to said lifespan associated with the content of said object in the memory device, the time measuring apparatus configured to co-operate with the data storage apparatus to perform a comparison of the elapsed time and said lifespan,

wherein the time measuring apparatus is configured to, upon a result of said comparison being that the elapsed time has reached or passed said lifespan, write to the memory device in order to cause the content of the at least one data object in the memory device to become temporarily or permanently unusable.