Secure device and information processing apparatus

• US 20050127166A1
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Minemura, Atsushi
• Application Number:
  US11/011,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20050127166A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07769 the further communication means being a galvanic interface, e.g. hybrid or mixed smart cards having a contact and a non-contact interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking

Abstract

An IC card including a first communications unit, a second communications unit and a card application unit further includes an information passing unit accessible to all card applications. The card application generates transmit information based on an instruction from an external R/W received via the first communications unit and writes the information into the information passing unit. The information passing unit passes the transmit information to a cell phone based on an instruction from the cell phone received via the second communications unit. The cell phone, after completion of the card processing of the IC card, may access the information passing unit to acquire information on the card processing. The IC card passes transmit information based on an instruction from the cell phone, which processing conforms to international standards.

Claims

1. A secure device for passing information to an information processing apparatus, said secure device comprising:

a first communications unit;

a second communications unit;

at least one card function unit; and

a information passing unit accessible to each of said at least one card function unit;

wherein each of said at least one card function unit is operable to write a transmit information generated based on an instruction from an external reader/writer received via said first communications unit to said information passing unit; and

said information passing unit is operable to pass the transmit information to the information processing apparatus based on an instruction from the information processing apparatus received via said second communications unit.

2. The secure device according to claim 1,

wherein said first communications unit is operable to perform contactless communications and said second communications unit is operable to perform contact communications.

3. The secure device according to claim 1,

wherein the transmit information includes information to identify a processing unit of the information processing apparatus and information to be passed to the processing unit.

4. The secure device according to claim 3, wherein the transmit information further includes information to identify said at least one card function unit.

5. An Information processing apparatus including the secure device according to claim 1, said information processing apparatus comprising:

a middleware operable to access the information passing unit of the secure device via the second communications unit of the secure device and acquires the transmit information retained by said information passing unit;

wherein said middleware is operable to perform control so as to allow the processing requested by the transmit information to be performed using said information processing apparatus.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said middleware is operable to acquire the transit information when the processing operation is performed.

7. An information processing apparatus including the secure device according to claim 1, said information processing apparatus comprising:

a state supervision unit operable to supervise an end of communication by the first communications unit of the secure device; and

a middleware operable to, after said state supervision unit has detected the end of the communication, access the information passing unit of the secure device via the second communications unit of the secure device and acquires the transmit information retained by said information passing unit;

wherein said middleware is operable to perform control so as to allow the processing requested by the transmit information to be performed using said information processing apparatus.

8. An information processing apparatus including the secure device according to claim 1, said information processing apparatus comprising:

a state supervision unit operable to supervise an exit from an electromagnetic field which disables a communication by the first communications unit of the secure device; and

a middleware operable to, after said state supervision unit has detected the exit from the electromagnetic field, access the information passing unit of the secure device via the second communications unit of the secure device and acquires the transmit information retained by said information passing unit; and

wherein said middleware is operable to perform control so as to allow the processing requested by the transmit information to be performed using said information processing apparatus.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the secure device is attached to said information processing apparatus in a detachable fashion.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the secure device is attached to said information processing apparatus in a detachable fashion.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the secure device is attached to said information processing apparatus in a detachable fashion.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the secure device is integrally embedded into said information processing apparatus.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the secure device is integrally embedded into said information processing apparatus.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the secure device is integrally embedded into said information processing apparatus.