Device for transparent interaction between an IC card and a remote terminal
First Claim
1. Apparatus for use in conjunction with an IC card to provide transparent communication, through a communications facility, between the card and a remote terminal connected to the facility, the apparatus comprising:
- circuitry adapted to interface to and for establishing communication with the IC card;
an acoustic interface for acoustically coupling to the communications facility and bidirectionally communicating information to and from the facility; and
a control circuit connected to the circuitry and said acoustic interface so as to exchange the information, without altering data contents thereof, between the communication facility and the IC card, wherein the apparatus transparently transfers the information between the IC card and the communications facility such that the IC card communicates, transparently through the apparatus, with the remote terminal so as to facilitate a transaction, occurring through the facility, involving the IC card and the remote terminal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a device (1) for providing a transparent exchange of commands and data between an IC card (11) and a remote terminal (42) via a communication network (41). The device (1) acoustically couples the IC card (11) with a telephone set (43). In order to speed up the exchange of data and commands, the device (1) preferably utilizes high level commands which represent several low level card commands. However, low level commands may also be transparently passed as a special high level command. The device (1) is inexpensive but allows an efficient use of IC cards for, e.g., payment and identification purposes.
127 Citations
21 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use in conjunction with an IC card to provide transparent communication, through a communications facility, between the card and a remote terminal connected to the facility, the apparatus comprising:
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circuitry adapted to interface to and for establishing communication with the IC card; an acoustic interface for acoustically coupling to the communications facility and bidirectionally communicating information to and from the facility; and a control circuit connected to the circuitry and said acoustic interface so as to exchange the information, without altering data contents thereof, between the communication facility and the IC card, wherein the apparatus transparently transfers the information between the IC card and the communications facility such that the IC card communicates, transparently through the apparatus, with the remote terminal so as to facilitate a transaction, occurring through the facility, involving the IC card and the remote terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for effectuating electronic payment transactions comprising:
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a telecommunications network; a remote terminal, coupled to the network and associated with a service provider, for performing an electronic payment transaction; a communications device coupled to the network; an electronic IC card capable of initiating secured transactions; and apparatus, communicatively interposed between said IC card and the communications device, for transparently exchanging information between the IC card and the communications device without altering data contents of the information so as to facilitate the payment transaction, occurring through said network, between the IC card and the remote terminal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. Apparatus for performing a financial transaction through a communications facility comprising:
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an electronic IC card capable of initiating the financial transaction; and a device, for use in conjunction with the IC card to provide transparent communication, through the communications facility, between the card and a remote terminal connected to the facility, the device having; circuitry adapted to interface to and for establishing communication with the IC card; an acoustic interface for acoustically coupling to the communications facility and bidirectionally communicating information to and from the facility; and a control circuit connected to the circuitry and said acoustic interface so as to exchange the information, without altering data contents thereof, between the communication facility and the IC card, wherein the apparatus transparently transfers the information between the IC card and the communications facility such that the IC card communicates, transparently through the device, with the remote terminal so as to facilitate the transaction, occurring through the facility, involving the IC card and the remote terminal. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification