Control system and method of controlling information written into storage media

• US 6,592,032 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2000
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Okamoto, Chikashi, Takaragi, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRANKLIN, JAMARA ALZAIDA
• Application Number:
  US09/515,700
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 455/550, 455/557, 455/558, 455/403-466, 455/575
• US Class Current: 235/382
• 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 21/78 to assure secure storage of data address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A method is adopted in a control apparatus for controlling ID information stored in a storage medium in conjunction with a terminal for reading the ID information from the storage medium and used to catalog information for the storage medium into a memory employed in the control apparatus. In an operation to catalog information into the memory of the control apparatus, the terminal receives the information, reads the ID information from the storage medium and transmits the information and the ID information to the control apparatus and the control apparatus catalogs the information and the ID information in the memory by associating the information with the ID information. In an operation to examine information already cataloged in the memory employed in the control apparatus, the terminal reads the ID information from the storage medium and transmits the ID information to the control apparatus; and the control apparatus transmits the information already cataloged in the memory and associated with the ID information to the terminal for displaying the information.

Claims

1. A control method for storing and/or retrieving information in association with ID information of a storage medium in a system having a control apparatus and a terminal coupled to the storage medium:

in an operation of storing the information to be stored;

the terminal accepts input of the information to be stored;

reads out the ID information from the storage medium;

transmits the inputted information to be stored and the ID information to the control apparatus;

the control apparatus stores the information to be stored therein in association with the ID information;

in an operation of retrieving information already stored,

the terminal reads out the ID information from the storage medium and transmits the ID information to the control apparatus;

the control apparatus retrieves the information already stored therein based on the ID information; and

transmits the retrieved information to the terminal; and

the terminal receives the retrieved information.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein:

the storage medium further stores authentication information in advance for authenticating the ID information by using a key owned by the control apparatus;

in the operation of storing the information further reads out the authentication information from the storage medium and transmits the authentication information to the control apparatus;

the control apparatus checks the ID information on the basis of the authentication information by using the key, wherein

when the validity of the ID information is checked, the information is stored therein in association with the ID information,

in the operation of retrieving information already stored,

the terminal further reads out the authentication information from the storage medium and transmits the authentication information to the control apparatus;

the control apparatus checks the ID information on the basis of the authentication information by using the key; and

when the validity of the ID information is checked, the information already stored therein is retrieved based on the ID information.

3. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the storage medium further stores attribute information along with the ID information in advance;

wherein the control apparatus stores pieces of ID information of the storage medium and pieces of information in association with the attribute information stored in the storage medium;

wherein the terminal stores some of the pieces of ID information and some of the pieces of stored information that are stored in the control apparatus and are associated with at least one attribute information;

wherein the terminal reads out ID information and attribute information from the storage medium, checks whether or not the ID information that has been read out and is associated with the attribute information read out is included in the some of the pieces of the ID information,

if the terminal does not store the ID information that has been read out, the terminal executes the steps of;

acquiring ID information and stored information associated with the attribute information from the control apparatus;

using the ID information and the stored information acquired from the control apparatus to update the some of the pieces of ID information and the some of the pieces of stored information;

displaying the acquired stored information associated with the acquired ID information;

if the terminal stores the ID information that has been read out, the terminal executes the steps of;

searching the some of the pieces of ID information based on the ID information read out from the storage medium; and

displaying the stored information associated with searched the ID information.

4. The control method according to claim 1, wherein:

the information to be stored may include user ID number of the storage medium.

5. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal displays the retrieved information.

6. A control system for storing and/or retrieving information in association with ID information of a storage medium stored therein comprising:

a terminal and a control apparatus,

where the control apparatus comprises;

a data base for storing the information to be stored in association with the ID information;

means for storing, in an operation of storing, the information to be stored received from the terminal in the data base by associating with the ID information;

means for retrieving, in an operation of retrieving, stored information from the data base based on the ID information received from the terminal;

means for transmitting, in the operation of retrieving, the retrieved information to the terminal;

wherein the terminal comprises;

means for reading out ID information from the storage medium;

means for transmitting, in the operation of storing, the ID information to the control apparatus;

means for receiving, in the operation of retrieving, the retrieved information transmitted from the control apparatus;

means for accepting, in the operation of storing, information to be stored for the storage medium, and

wherein the means for transmitting further transmits, in the operation of storing, the information to be stored together with the ID information to the control apparatus.

7. The control system according to claim 6;

wherein the storage medium comprises;

an electronic circuit chip used for storing the ID information in advance;

an antenna device used for generating a power by using an electric wave received from the terminal for reading out the ID information from the electronic circuit chip and transmitting the information, and

wherein the means for reading out of the terminal transmits the electric wave to the storage medium.

8. The control system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal further comprises means for displaying the information received by the receiving means.

9. The control system according to claim 6:

wherein the storage medium further stores authentication information in advance for authenticating the ID information by using a key owned by the control apparatus;

wherein the terminal further reads out the authentication information from the storage medium and transmits the authentication information to the control apparatus;

wherein the means for reading out further reads out the authentication information from the storage medium;

wherein the means for transmitting further transmits the authentication information to the control apparatus;

wherein the control apparatus further comprises means for checking the ID information on the basis of the authentication information by using the key;

wherein the means for storing stores, when the validity of the ID information is checked, the information to be stored therein in association with the ID information; and

wherein the means for retrieving retrieves, when the validity of the ID information is checked, the information already stored therein based on the ID information.

10. The control system according to claim 6;

wherein the storage medium further stores attribute information along with the ID information in advance, the attribute information being used for classifying the storage medium and the ID information being unique to each of the storage medium;

wherein the means for reading out of the terminal further reads out the attribute information from the storage medium;

wherein the database of the control apparatus stores the information to be stored and the ID information in association with the attribute information;

wherein the means for retrieving of the control apparatus retrieves the stored information and the ID information based on the attribute information; and

wherein the means for transmitting of the terminal transmits the attribute information and the ID information.

11. The control system according to claim 6:

wherein the information to be stored may include user ID number of the storage medium.

12. A control system for storing and/or retrieving information in association with ID information of a storage medium and attribute information stored in the storage medium comprising:

a terminal and a control apparatus;

wherein the control apparatus comprises;

a data base for storing the information to be stored in association with the ID information and the attribute information;

means for retrieving, in an operation of retrieving, the ID information and stored information from the data base based on the attribute information received from the terminal;

means for transmitting, in the operation of retrieving, the retrieved ID information and the stored information to the terminal,

the terminal comprises;

a temporary data base for storing some of the pieces of ID information and some of the pieces of stored information both stored in the data base of the control apparatus in association with the attribute information;

means for reading out the ID information and the attribute information from the storage medium;

means for searching the temporary data base for the ID information and the stored information based on the attribute information; and

means for transmitting the attribute information to the control apparatus to retrieve ID information and stored information to update the temporary data base in case the temporary data base neither store the ID information nor stored information in association with the attribute information.