Data communication transponder and communications system employing it

• US 6,747,546 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2000
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ikefuji, Yoshihiro, Hikita, Junichi, Taguchi, Haruo
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, NAM V
• Application Number:
  US09/513,164
• Time in Patent Office: 1,565 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.21, 340/5.22, 340/5.4, 340/5.41, 340/5.54, 340/5.8, 340/5.81, 340/5.86, 340/10.31, 340/10.51, 340/10.52, 340/5.65, 340/825.77, 713/169, 709/229, 709/219
• US Class Current: 340/10.31
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

An IC card 3 has an ID number ID0, for permitting itself to be identified, stored in memory provided therein. The IC card also has additional ID numbers ID1 to IDn stored in memory areas 17-1 to 17-n that are secured therein so as to be allocated to the individual providers that manage the reader/writers with which the IC card communicates. These additional ID numbers ID1 to IDn are used to prevent unauthorized use of the IC card, and are issued so as to be unique to the IC card by the individual providers that use the memory areas 17-1 to 17-n. Thus, the additional ID numbers ID1 to IDn differ from one IC card to another.

Claims

1. A transponder for data communication, comprising:

a plurality of storage areas for storing data used when the transponder communicates individually with a plurality of interrogators managed by different managing parties, the storage areas corresponding one-to-one to the different managing parties;

a plurality of storage-area-specific key signals, unique to the transponder and stored so as to correspond one-to-one to the storage areas, for permitting use of only a particular storage area corresponding to an interrogator with which the transponder is currently communicating;

a device-specific key signal for distinguishing the transponder from another transponder;

an authentication circuit for checking whether the interrogator is authentic or not on a basis of a first authentication signal that is generated in the interrogator by performing a calculation operation according to a first calculation formula on a second authentication signal included in a response signal transmitted from the transponder, which is added to a command signal transmitted from the interrogator; and

a calculation circuit for generating, by performing a calculation operation according to a second calculation formula on the first authentication signal, a second authentication signal with which to request the interrogator to authenticate the transponder,

wherein, when the transponder receives the command signal from the interrogator,

if the first authentication signal included in the command signal is not one generated on a basis of the second authentication signal included in the response signal from the transponder, the transponder, in the authentication circuit, does not authenticate the interrogator, but in the calculation circuit, generates the second authentication signal from the first authentication signal according to the second calculation formula, and transmits to the interrogator the response signal including the second authentication signal and the device-specific key signal, and

if the first authentication signal included in the command signal is one generated on a basis of the second authentication signal included in the response signal from the transponder, the transponder, in the authentication circuit, authenticates the interrogator, and checks whether or not the storage-area-specific key signal included in the command signal coincides with the storage-area-specific key signal stored so as to correspond to a specific storage area allocated to the managing party that manages the interrogator so that, if the two storage-area-specific key signals coincide with each other, the transponder becomes communicable with the interrogator by using only that specific storage area.

2. A transponder for data communication as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the device-specific key signal is common to all the managing parties, and there is stored only one device-specific key signal.

3. A transponder for data communication as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, for the different managing parties, different device-specific key signals are stored so as to correspond to the storage areas.

4. A transponder for data communication as claimed in claim 1,

wherein at least one of the storage areas is composed of a count storage member in which a count is stored that is updated in response to a count updating command transmitted from the interrogator when the transponder communicates with the interrogator by using that storage area.

5. A transponder for data communication as claimed in claim 4,

wherein the device-specific key signal is common to all the managing parties, and there is stored only one device-specific key signal.

6. A transponder for data communication as claimed in claim 4,

wherein, for the different managing parties, different device-specific key signals are stored so as to correspond to the storage areas.

7. A transponder for data communication, as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, when the transponder receives a radio wave from the interrogator, the transponder starts up by using electric power of the radio wave and starts an authentication operations.

8. A non-contact communications system, comprising:

a plurality of interrogators each including;

a first authentication circuit for checking whether a transponder is authentic or not on a basis of a second authentication signal included in a response signal from the transponder;

a first calculation circuit for generating a first authentication signal by performing a calculation operation according to a first calculation formula on the second authentication signal; and

a memory for storing a device-specific key signal and a plurality of storage-area-specific key signals for each of different transponders;

the interrogators each transmitting a command signal including the first authentication signal and the storage-area-specific key signal;

the interrogators being managed by different managing parties; and

a plurality of transponders each including;

a plurality of storage areas for storing data used when the transponder communicates individually with the interrogators, the storage areas corresponding one-to-one to the different managing parties;

the plurality of storage-area-specific key signals, unique to the transponder and stored so as to correspond one-to-one to the storage areas, for permitting use of only a particular storage area corresponding to a particular interrogator with which the transponder is currently communicating;

the device-specific key signal for distinguishing the transponder from another transponder;

a second authentication circuit for checking whether the interrogator is authentic or not on a basis of the first authentication signal added to the command signal; and

a second calculation circuit for generating, by performing a calculation operation according to a second calculation formula on the first authentication signal, a second authentication signal with which to request the interrogator to authenticate the transponder itself;

the transponder transmitting the response signal including the second authentication signal and the device-specific key signal,

wherein, when the transponder receives the command signal from the interrogator,

if the first authentication signal included in the command signal is not one generated on a basis of the second authentication signal included in the response signal from the transponder, the transponder, in the second authentication circuit, does not authenticate the interrogator, but in the second calculation circuit, generates the second authentication signal from the first authentication signal according to the second calculation formula, and transmits to the interrogator the response signal including the second authentication signal and the device-specific key signal, and

if the first authentication signal included in the command signal is one generated on a basis of the second authentication signal included in the response signal from the transponder, the transponder, in the second authentication circuit, authenticates the interrogator, and checks whether or not the storage-area-specific key signal included in the command signal coincides with the storage-area-specific key signal stored so as to correspond to a specific storage area allocated to the managing party that manages the interrogator so that, if the two storage-area-specific key signals coincide with each other, the transponder becomes communicable with the interrogator by using only that specific storage area, and

when the interrogator receives the response signal from the transponder,

if the second authentication signal included in the response signal is one generated on a basis of the first authentication signal included in the command signal from the interrogator, the interrogator, in the first authentication circuit, authenticates the transponder, and in the first calculation circuit, generates the first authentication signal from the second authentication signal according to the first calculation formula, and confirms the storage-area-specific key signal corresponding to the device-specific key signal included in the response signal, and transmits to the transponder the command signal including the first authentication signal and the storage-area-specific key signal.

9. A non-contact communications system as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the transponder stores only one device-specific key signal as common to all the managing parties.

10. A non-contact communications system as claimed in claim 8,

wherein the transponder stores different device-specific key signals for the different managing parties as corresponding to the storage areas.

11. A non-contact communications system as claimed in claim 8,

wherein, in the transponder, at least one of the storage areas is composed of a count storage member in which a count is stored that is updated in response to a count updating command transmitted from the interrogator when the transponder communicates with the interrogator by using that storage area.

12. A non-contact communications system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the transponder stores only one device-specific key signal as common to all the managing parties.

13. A non-contact communications system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the transponder stores different device-specific key signals for the different managing parties as corresponding to the storage areas.

14. A non-contact communications system, as claimed in claim 8,

wherein, when the transponder receives a radio wave from the interrogator, the transponder starts up by using electric power of the radio wave and starts an authentication operations.