Method and apparatus for interfacing with a smartcard

• US 8,622,312 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2011
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Multi-Flex Circuits Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Blackbird Technology Holdings, Inc (Haystack Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Norair, John Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mikels, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US13/297,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20120118952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 235/487, 235/492
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07769 the further communication means being a galvanic interface, e.g. hybrid or mixed smart cards having a contact and a non-contact interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

A device may be configured such that a smartcard may be physically mounted in, on, and/or to the device. The device may comprise one or more circuits that enable communicating over a far-field communication link and that enable communicating with a smartcard when the smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to the device. The far-field communication link may be an ISO 18000-7 link. The device may communicate with a smartcard via contacts and/or via near-field communications. The device may be operable to relay data between a near-field communication link between the device and a smartcard and a far-field communication link between the device and another device. The device may be generally rectangular in shape, less than one centimeter thick, than one centimeter longer than an ISO 7816 compliant smartcard, and less than one centimeter wider than an ISO 7816 compliant smartcard.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a device comprising one or more circuits that are operable to communicate over a far-field communication link and that are operable to communicate with a smartcard when said smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device, wherein said device is configured such that, when said smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device, said smartcard is in physical contact with said device and said smartcard is physically retained to said device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

dimensions of said smartcard are in compliance with ISO 7816; and

when said smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device, said device can be rotated 360°

along any and all axes without said smartcard losing physical contact with said device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more circuits are operable to communicate with said smartcard via a wireless, near-field communication link.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said far-field communication link is an ISO 18000-7 link.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said one or more circuits comprise one or more conductive surfaces which come into conductive contact with one or more conductive surfaces of said smartcard when said smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device; and

said communicating with said smartcard is via said one or more conductive surfaces of said smartcard and said one or more conductive surfaces of said device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said device comprises a non-volatile memory operable to store information communicated to a smartcard and/or information received from a smartcard.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said device is operable to read information out of a smartcard utilizing a near-field communication link and transmit said read-out information to a card reader utilizing said far-field communication link.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said device is operable to receive information from a card reader via a near-field communication link and store said received information to a smartcard utilizing a contact-based communication link.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said device is configured such that a plurality of smartcards can be physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device; and

said device is operable to selectively communicate with said plurality of smartcards when said plurality of smartcards are physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said device is generally rectangular in shape;

said device is less than one centimeter thick;

said device is less than one centimeter longer than an ISO 7816 compliant smartcard

said device is less than one centimeter wider than an ISO 7816 compliant smartcard.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one or more circuits extend a range at which a smartcard physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device can communicate by operating as a repeater that translates between near-field and far-field communications.

12. A method comprising:

in a device that comprises one or more circuits, and that is configured such that a smartcard may be physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device so as to be in physical contact with said device and physically retained to said device;

communicating, via said one or more circuits, over a far-field communication link; and

communicating, via said one or more circuits, with a smartcard that is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

said smartcard is an ISO 7816 compliant smartcard; and

when said smartcard is physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device, said device can be rotated 360°

along any and all axes without said smartcard losing physical contact with said device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said communicating with said smartcard is via a wireless, near-field communication link.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said far-field communication link is an ISO 18000-7 link.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein said communicating with said smartcard is via one or more conductive surfaces of said smartcard which physically contact one or more conductive surfaces of said device.

17. The method of claim 12, comprising storing information communicated to and/or information received from said smartcard in a non-volatile memory of said device.

18. The method of claim 12, comprising reading information out of said smartcard utilizing a near-field communication link and transmitting said read-out information to a card reader utilizing said far-field communication link.

19. The method of claim 12, comprising receiving information from a card reader via a near-field communication link and storing said received information to said smartcard utilizing a near-field communication link.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein:

said device is configured such that a plurality of smartcards can be physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device; and

said device is operable to selectively communicate with said plurality of smartcards when said plurality of smartcards are physically mounted in, on, and/or to said device.