Computing device with an embedded microprocessor or micro-controller

• US 7,182,250 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2001
• Issued: 02/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smart Card Solutions Limited
• Original Assignee: Smart Card Solutions Limited
• Inventors: Strauch, Martin, Fisher, Simon, Wenham, Steven James, Kelly, Martin Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US10/451,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20040078798A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,896 Days
• Field of Search: 235/487, 235/492, 235/375, 235/379, 719/331, 709/220, 709/223, 370/352, 370/401
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• 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 20/3552 Downloading or loading of personalisation data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3563 Software being resident on card
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3576 Multiple memory zones on card
• 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 computing device with an embedded microprocessor or micro-controller, including a software stack which comprises a content manager, and a runtime environment positioned in the stack above or together with a hardware abstraction layer. The content manager is not specific to any one design of runtime environment or hardware abstraction layer, so that several different designs of runtime environment and/or hardware abstraction layer can each operate with the same content manager. This de-couples the content manager from the runtime environment and/or hardware abstraction layer (e.g. a Java Virtual machine; elements of the operating system). The core advantage is that a single content manager can be used across multiple runtime environments and/or hardware abstraction layers; runtime environments and OSs can therefore be swapped without needing to re-write the content manager.

Claims

1. A computing device with an embedded microprocessor, in which a software stack comprises a content manager, programmed to manage one or more executable software applications over the lifecycle of said one or more software applications, including at least the loading of the or each application, and a runtime environment, wherein said content manager is located in said software stack below said runtime environment and is programmed to operate with a plurality of runtime environments, and to execute directly on the host microprocessor.

2. The computing device of claim 1 in which said content manager resides below at least some of said hardware abstraction layer in said stack and further including an interface capable of performing a data transfer between said content manager and said runtime environment such that said data transfer is operable with said plurality of runtime environments.

3. The computing device of claim 2 in which said data transfer is a command chosen from the group consisting of select, deselect, process, defragment and loading.

4. The computing device of claim 1 wherein said content manager executes directly on said embedded microprocessor.

5. The computing device of claim 1 further including an applet and a thin wrapper, such that said applet is capable of communicating with said content manager via said thin wrapper.

6. The computing device of claim 1 in which said hardware abstraction layer comprises a Java Virtual Machine and an operating system.

7. The computing device of claim 1 wherein said content manager is a first plug-in content manager having a first interface capable of operating with said runtime environment;

and further including a second plug-in content manager having an alternative procedural behavior and a second interface capable of operating with said runtime environment, such that said first plug-in content manager and said second plug-in content manager can be exchanged.

8. The computing device of claim 1 in which said content manager is written in a programming language specifically for the development of applications in a format which is readily portable across different microprocessors.

9. The computing device of claim 1 in which said content manager can be used with a runtime environment chosen from the group consisting of a JavaCard runtime environment, a Small Machine Operation System (SMOS), a Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) runtime environment and a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) runtime environment.

10. The computing device of claim 1 in which said runtime environment is implemented as a plug-in.

11. The computing device of claim 1 comprising a plurality of runtime environments.

12. A method of loading an applet, comprising the steps of:

a) providing an embedded microprocessor, in which a software stack comprises a content manager programmed to manage one or more executable applets over the lifecycle of said one or more applets, including at least the loading of the or each applet; and

a runtime environment, said content manager being located in said software stack below said runtime environment such that said content manager is programmed to operate with a plurality of runtime environments and to execute directly on the embedded microprocessor; and

b) loading said applet using a set of instructions, said instructions being operable with said plurality of runtime environments.

13. The method of claim 12 in which said content manager resides below at least some of said hardware abstraction layer in said stack and further including the step c) of providing an interface capable of performing a data transfer between said content manager and said runtime environment such that said data transfer is operable with said plurality of runtime environments.