IC card having state marker for record access

• US 4,829,169 A
• Filed: 06/27/1986
• Issued: 05/09/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toppan Moore Company Limited (TOPPAN Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toppan Moore Company Limited (TOPPAN Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US06/879,287
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/492
• US Class Current: 235/492
• 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 20/35765 Access rights to memory zones
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An IC card including a control section and a writable memory, wherein the memory is provided with an index section and a storage area section for recording data. Storage areas are allocated in the memory by use of indices, namely, parameters including a start address of each storage area, a number of records, and a record length are written in each index and the control section calculates an address of each storage area by use of the parameters according to an address calculation program.

Claims

1. An IC card having a control section and a writable memory, comprising:

means for receiving external data input;

said control section comprising means for receiving a plurality of external data parameters and for calculating addresses where the external data is to be stored from said parameters;

a plurality of index areas arranged in said memory for receiving a plurality of parameters that define addresses for the external data input;

means for writing the plurality of parameters into said index areas;

a plurality of data storage areas allocated to a blank region in said memory when said writing means has written the parameters into said index areas, each of said data storage areas including a plurality of records, each of said records being capable of storing data that has an arbitrary data length as received from the external data input;

means for marking a state of each record in said data storage areas whenever data is written in one of said records so as to indicate the state of the record;

means for receiving an external instruction to read data recorded in said storage area; and

means for selecting records that have been written based on the state of the record as indicated by the marking means.

2. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein said marking means comprises means for inverting a logic level of a marking bit in each of said data storage areas to indicate that data has already been written into the record.

3. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein said marking means comprises means for indicating an address for another record in which data can be written when data has already been written in the record.

4. An IC card according to claim 3, further comprising reading means for accessing a record based on the address indicated by said address indication means.

5. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein said parameters include a start address of a storage area, a record length, and a number of records.

6. An IC card according to claim 1 wherein said parameters include a start address of a storage area and an end address thereof.

7. An IC card according to claim 2, wherein each index parameter is arranged to correspond to an application of said IC card.

8. An IC card according to claim 3, wherein each index parameter is arranged to corresponding to an application of said IC card.

9. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein said index areas further comprise an index close bit for indicating whether a parameter has been written in the given index area, thereby checking for completion of a written operation in said index area.

10. An IC card according to claim 5, wherein said index area further comprise an index close bit for indicating whether a parameter has been written in the given index area, thereby checking for completion of a write operation in said index area.

11. An IC card according to claim 6, wherein said index areas further comprise an index close bit for indicating whether a parameter has been written in the given index area, thereby checking for completion of a write operation in said index area.

12. An IC card according to claim 7, wherein said index areas further comprise an index close bit for indicating whether a parameter has been written in the given index area, thereby checking for completion of a write operation in said index area.

13. An IC card according to claim 8, wherein said index areas further comprise an index close bit for indicating whether a parameter has been written in the given index area, thereby checking for completion of a write operation in said index area.

14. An IC card according to claim 9, wherein said writing means further comprises means for writing a parameter into an index area when said index close bit indicates that the index area has not been written.

15. An IC card according to claim 10, wherein said writing means further comprises means for writing a parameter into an index area when said index close bit indicates that the index area has not been written.

16. An IC card according to claim 11, wherein said writing means further comprises means for writing a parameter into an index area when said index close bit indicates that the index area has not been written.

17. An IC card according to claim 12, wherein said writing means further comprises means for writing a parameter into an index area when said index close bit indicates that the index area has not been written.

18. An IC card according to claim 13, wherein said writing means further comprises means for writing a parameter into an index area when said index close bit indicates that the index area has not been written.

19. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein:

said memory comprises a plurality of first index areas an a plurality of second index areas;

means for writing index parameters into said first index areas are provided to define an address for each of said storage areas; and

said marking means records the state of each record in said second index area to allow access to the data based on the state of each record, said marking means further comprising means for changing the state of the record in response to processing executed on the data.

20. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said parameters include a start address of a storage area, a record length, and a number of records.

21. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said parameters include a start address of a storage area an end address thereof.

22. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said IC card is a complex IC card to which said index parameters and said control mark are arranged corresponding to each one of said enterprises.

23. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said marking means further comprises a counting means for counting the number of occurrences of a predetermined state associated with the data processing and means for changing the value of the count when the count value of said count means satisfies a predetermined condition.

24. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said masking means comprises a flat setting means for recording data indicating a predetermined state associated with the data processing.

25. An IC card according to claim 19, wherein said marking means comprises a pointer means for recording information indicating a relationship between data items associated with the data processing.