IC card including a memory, a password collating means and an access permitting means for permitting access to the memory

• US 5,719,387 A
• Filed: 07/14/1995
• Issued: 02/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor Software Company Limited
• Inventors: Fujioka, Shuzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRECH, KARL D
• Application Number:
  US08/502,729
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 235/381, 235/382, 235/382.5, 235/383, 235/385, 235/488, 235/492, 235/493
• 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 20/357 Cards having a plurality of specified features
• 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: G07F 7/1025 Identification of user by a PIN code

Abstract

A non-contact type IC card includes a programmable memory divided into a user area for storing application data, and a system area for storing a system password and a system password effective code indicating requirement of collation of the system password. If the system area of the memory includes the system password effective code, access to the system area by an external apparatus is permitted only when passwords are identical as a result of password collation. If the system area does not include the system password effective code, the access by the external apparatus can be permitted without the password collation.

Claims

1. An IC card for communicating with an external apparatus, the IC card comprising:

a memory divided into a system area and a user area, the system area having a system password storage area for storing a system password used for collation when the external apparatus accesses the system area, and a password information storage area for storing first information indicating that collation of the system password stored in the system password area is required when the system area is accessed;

password collating means for, when the first information is stored in the password information storage area of the memory, collating a password sent from the external apparatus when the system area is externally accessed with the system password stored in the system password storage area; and

access permitting means for, if the first information is stored in the password information storage area, permitting access by the external apparatus only when the passwords are identical as a result of collation by the password collating means, and for permitting access by the external apparatus without password collation if the first information is not stored in the password information storage area.

2. An IC card according to claim 1, wherein the system area further includes an extended system area information storage area for storing second information indicating that an area having a predetermined size in the user area is used as an extended system area, and wherein the access permitting means permits, if the second information is stored in the extended system area information storage area, access by the external apparatus when an inputted password is identical with the system password stored in the system password storage area as a result of collation by the password collating means when access is made to the extended system area by the external apparatus.

3. An IC card according to claim 2, wherein the extended system area has a user area password storage area for storing a user area password used for collation when access is made to the user area, wherein the IC card further having user area password collating means for, when the external apparatus accesses the user area with a password, collating the password with the user area password stored in the extended system area, and wherein the access permitting means permits the access to the user area when the passwords are identical with each other as a result of collation by the user area password collating means.

4. An IC card according to claim 3, wherein the user area password storage area includes a read password used for collation when a read command is sent together with a password from the external apparatus, and a write password used for collation when a write command is sent together with a password from the external apparatus, and wherein the user area password collating means collates the password with any one of the read password and the write password depending upon a type of a command inputted from the external apparatus.

5. An IC card according to claim 4, wherein the first information has a bit pattern other than a bit pattern appears on the memory immediately after the memory is fabricated.