Semiconductor memory card

• US 20070101143A1
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takao, Naoya, Nishio, Toshiro, Oashi, Masahiro, Iwata, Yoshiaki, Endo, Yasuo, Tsukidate, Ryota
• Application Number:
  US10/571,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20070101143A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0622 in relation to access
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0637 Permissions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• 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 20/3576 Multiple memory zones on card
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

A memory card 13 includes wireless network communication unit for having electronic equipment to access a storage server 11 on a network. The storage server 11 includes at least a non-authentication area 111. Data such as contents is written into a non-authentication area of the memory card 13 or the non-authentication area 111 of the storage server 11. In other words, an area of a storage area to which data can be written is expanded by the non-authentication area 111 of the storage server 11. Thus, the non-authentication area of the memory card 13 increases apparently. Encoding key used for encoding and decoding contents protected by copyrights is written to an authentication area on the memory card 13. Anyone can access content data in the non-authentication area 111 of the storage server 11, but an encoding key required for decoding the content is in the memory card 13. Thus, only a person who has the memory card 13 and valid electronic equipment can decode, reproduce and output the content using the encoding key. In this way, the storage capacity of the memory card 13 can be increased apparently while security of data protected by copyrights is guaranteed.

Claims

1. A semiconductor memory card attachable and removable to and from electronic equipment, comprising:

a first rewritable nonvolatile memory;

first access control unit for controlling access by the electronic equipment to the first nonvolatile memory;

communication unit for controlling access by the electronic equipment to a storage device on a network which has a second rewritable nonvolatile memory;

second access control unit for controlling access by the electronic equipment to the second nonvolatile memory; and

space unification unit for forming a virtual unified memory space including the first nonvolatile memory and the second nonvolatile memory.

2. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, further comprising contention determination unit for determining whether data to be accessed by the second access control unit is being written or read by other semiconductor cards, and for starting, stopping, or delaying writing and/or reading by the second access control unit based on the determination result.

3. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit stores address of the storage device on the network.

4. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit accesses the storage device using identification information of the semiconductor memory card.

5. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, further comprising:

encoding unit for generating an encoding key for encoding the data and for encoding the data with the encoding key; and

authentication unit for verifying validity of the electronic equipment, wherein;

the first nonvolatile memory includes a first authentication area and a first non-authentication area which are predetermined storage areas;

the first access unit controls access by the electronic equipment to the first non-authentication area and permits the access by the electronic equipment to the first authentication area when the authentication unit authenticates the validity of the electronic equipment;

the second access unit controls access by the electronic equipment to second non-authentication area which is a predetermined storage area included in the second nonvolatile memory; and

the space unification unit allocates address of the second non-authentication area in the second nonvolatile memory to the data encoded with the encoding key, and allocates the address of the first authentication area in the first nonvolatile memory to the encoding key.

6. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 5, wherein the space unification unit determines which of the addresses of the first non-authentication area in the first nonvolatile memory and the second non-authentication area in the second nonvolatile memory is allocated to the data encoded with the encoding key, and allocates the address to the data in accordance with the determination.

7. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 5, wherein the second access unit permits access by the electronic equipment to the second authentication area which is a predetermined storage area in the second nonvolatile memory when the authentication unit authenticates validity of the electronic equipment.

8. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, wherein:

the first nonvolatile memory includes a management area;

the space unification unit allocates address in the first nonvolatile memory or the second nonvolatile memory to data, and writes data identifier for identifying the data into the management area with being associated with the allocated address;

the first access unit and the second access unit receives a request for writing the data to the first nonvolatile memory or the second nonvolatile memory, and write the data to a storage area corresponding to the address allocated to the data.

9. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 8, wherein the second access unit receives a request for reading data, reads address of the second nonvolatile memory on which the data is written from the management area, and accesses the read out address via the communication unit to read out the data.

10. A semiconductor memory card according to claim 8, further comprising encoding unit for generating an encoding key for encoding or decoding the data, and for encoding the data with the encoding key, wherein:

the second access unit reads out address of the second non-authentication area on which the data encoded with the encoding key is written from the management area, and accesses the address of the second non-authentication area to read out the encoded data via the communication unit; and

the first access unit reads out address of the first non-authentication area on which the encoding key is written from the management area, and accesses the address of the first non-authentication area to read out the encoding key.

11. A memory space management method, comprising:

a first access control step for controlling access by electronic equipment to a first rewritable nonvolatile memory;

a communication step for controlling access by the electronic equipment to a storage device on a network which has a second rewritable nonvolatile memory;

a second access control step for controlling access by electronic equipment to the second nonvolatile memory; and

a space unification step for forming a virtual unified memory space including the first nonvolatile memory and the second nonvolatile memory.

12. A memory space management program which is recorded on a semiconductor memory card which is attachable and removable to and from electronic equipment and includes a computer, causing the computer to function as:

first access control unit for controlling access by electronic equipment to a first rewritable nonvolatile memory;

communication unit for controlling access by the electronic equipment to a storage device on a network which has a second rewritable nonvolatile memory;

second access control unit for controlling access by electronic equipment to the second nonvolatile memory; and

space unification unit for forming a virtual unified memory space including the first nonvolatile memory and the second nonvolatile memory.