Read/write method by a non-contact system and between a storage substrate and read/write unit

• US 4,791,285 A
• Filed: 02/12/1988
• Issued: 12/13/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koatsu Gas Kogyo Company Limited, Nippon LSI Card Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Koatsu Gas Kogyo Company Limited, Nippon LSI Card Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ohki, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAFTON, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US07/158,075
• Time in Patent Office: 305 Days
• Field of Search: 235/441, 235/449, 235/492, 235/493, 235/436
• US Class Current: 235/449
• 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 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07779 the inductive antenna being a coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/29 Combinations of different interacting antenna units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q25/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

A read/write method using a non-contact system and used between a storage substrate and a read/write unit, the method including a storage substrate providing a memory at a card or other substrates, and a read/write unit, the storage substrate providing a coil for power supply, a coil for receiving data to be recorded in a memory, a coil for outputting toward the read/write unit the data recorded in the memory, and a coil for receiving a mode command, the read/write unit providing coils corresponding to four coils at the storage substrate, so that the respective corresponding coils at the storage substrate are insertably positioned in the magnetic flux generated by each coil at the read/write unit, whereby the read/write unit writes data in the memory at the storage substrate, or the data stored in the memory at the storage substrate is read by the read/write unit.

Claims

1. A system for transferring data between a read/write unit (R/W) and a storage substrate, which comprises:

an IC card composing said storage substrate formed of an insulating material and having four coils therein positioned to be coupled electromagnetically with coils in the R/W unit and electronic circuits embedded therein, said coils comprising a first coil, a second coil, a third coil and a fourth coil, and said electronic circuits comprising a rectifier circuit, a serial/parallel (S/P) convertor, a parallel/serial (P/S) convertor, and input/output (I/O) conversion circuit, a memory, a timing circuit, a mode switching circuit and a chopper circuit;

said IC card first coil being arranged to couple with a first coil of the R/W unit to receive alternating current power from the R/W unit in order to drive the IC card electronic circuits except for the rectifier;

said IC card second coil being arranged to couple with a second coil of the R/W unit to serially output data stored in the IC card memory to the R/W unit;

said IC card third coil being arranged to couple with a third coil of the R/W unit to receive serial data from the R/W unit to be stored in the IC card memory;

said IC card fourth coil being arranged to couple with a fourth coil of the R/W unit to receive mode commands from the R/W unit in order to sequentially switch operations of the I/C card;

said rectifier circuit being connected to rectify power from the IC card first coil and to supply rectified power to the other electronic circuits of the IC card;

serial data received at the IC card third coil from the R/W unit being converted to parallel form by the S/P convertor and written in the IC card memory, via the I/O conversion circuit;

data written in the IC card memory being converted under control of the I/O conversion circuit and chopper circuit to serial data by the P/S convertor and output to the R/W second coil by the IC card second coil;

said mode commands received at the IC card fourth coil being sent to the IC card memory by the mode switching circuit to set timings for write-in memory and read-out memory of the data;

said timing circuit being connected to receive clock signals from the rectifier and convert them to shift clock signals which are supplied to the IC card S/P convertor, P/S convertor and mode switching circuit, and also supplied to select addresses in the IC card memory for the data to be written-in and read-out;

the read/write unit (R/W) being connected to a computer and comprising a card holder for insertion of said IC card, and also comprising said R/W first coil, R/W second coil, R/W third coil and R/W fourth coil which are respectively positioned to be magnetically connected to said IC coils upon insertion of the IC card, and further comprising electronic circuits;

said electronic circuits of the R/W unit comprising an oscillator, a coil driving circuit, a timing circuit, a memory, and input/output (I/O) conversion circuit, a parallel/serial (P/S) convertor, a serial/parallel (S/P) convertor, an interface and a mode switching circuit;

said oscillator being caused to oscillate by application of DC power supplied from said computer outside the R/W unit, said oscillation being amplified by the coil driving circuit and coupled to the R/W first coil;

said interface being connected to send data read-out signals to the R/W memory and to send mode commands to the mode switching circuits;

said R/W memory upon read-out sending parallel data stored therein to the P/S convertor via the I/O convertor, serially converted data from the P/S convertor being applied to the R/W third coil;

said serial data received by the R/W second coil from the I/C second coil being converted to parallel data by the R/W S/P convertor and written into the R/W memory via the I/O convertor;

said R/W timing circuit receiving clock signals from the oscillator in the form of interruptions of the oscillator signal and converting them to shift clock signals, which are supplied to the P/S convertor, S/P convertor and mode switching circuit in the R/W unit;

said R/W mode switching circuit, in response to the shift clock signals, converting mode commands and sending them to the R/W fourth coil; and

said R/W timing circuit selecting addresses in the R/W memory for the data to be read out of and written into.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said IC card coils consists of only a coiled electrical conductor embedded in said insulating material.

3. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein said coil holder is of a U-like shape in section forming a pair of parallel plate members, and each said coil of said read/write unit consists of two portions, a portion of each coil being embedded in each of said parallel plate members.

4. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein said IC card coils and said coil holder coil portions are each spirally wound in a plane.