Electronic entity with contact and remote communication means

• US 9,111,188 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2006
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oberthur Technologies SA
• Original Assignee: Oberthur Technologies SA
• Inventors: Goyet, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, An T
• Application Number:
  US11/919,551
• Publication Number:
  US 20100060415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,312 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.74, 340 101- 105, 340/5.61, 235/441, 235/451, 235/492, 235/493
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07716 the record carrier comprising means for customization, e.g. being arranged for personalization in batch
• 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 7/10198 setting parameters for the interrogator, e.g. programming parameters and operating modes

Abstract

An electronic entity includes contact communication elements (4) and remote communication elements (6). Members (2, K) are also provided to authorize an exchange of certain data at least via the remote communication elements based on the prior reception of an instruction via the contact communication elements. A terminal for communication with such an electronic entity as well as methods for controlling and for customizing the electronic entity are disclosed.

Claims

1. An electronic entity, comprising:

means for contact communication;

means for contactless communication;

a rewritable non-volatile memory storing activation information; and

a microcircuit configured to set the activation information to a predetermined value upon receipt of an activation instruction via the means for contact communication,

the microcircuit receives the activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information, and

the microcircuit authorizes the exchange of certain data via the means for contactless communication in the presence of the predetermined value of said activation information.

2. The electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the microcircuit inhibits the exchange of said data via the means for contactless communication in the absence of the predetermined value of said activation information.

4. The electronic entity according to claim 1, wherein the electronic entity is a microcircuit card.

22. The electronic entity of claim 1, wherein the electronic entity conforms to one or more of the ISO standard 14443 and the ISO standard 7816.

3. An electronic entity, comprising:

means for contact communication;

means for contactless communication including an antenna; and

a microcircuit configured to

receive an activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in a memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information, and

the microcircuit authorizes an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication as a function of the prior reception of the activation instruction and the configuration information via the means for contact communication, the microcircuit configured to command connection of the antenna to the microcircuit based on the instruction, and

wherein the means for contactless communication is inhibited by default.

5. A method of controlling an electronic entity comprising means for contact communication, means for contactless communication, and a rewritable non-volatile memory storing activation information, the method comprising:

receiving an activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information; and

authorizing the exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication by a microcircuit setting the activation information stored in the non-volatile memory to the predetermined value on reception of said activation instruction, subject to the configuration information.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising exchanging said data via the means for contactless communication conditioned by said authorization.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said conditional exchanging comprises:

verifying that the value of the activation information is equal to the predetermined value, and

exchanging said data via the means for contactless communication only in the case of positive verification.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising setting the activation information to a value that is a complement of the predetermined value at a particular time.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular time corresponds to the reception of an end of communication command by the means for contactless communication.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular time is determined by a time-delay.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular time is reached after reception of a predetermined number of commands via the means for contactless communication.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the particular time corresponds to the completion of communication initialization.

16. The method of claim 5, wherein the electronic entity includes a control program adapted to modify the activation information when a code received with said activation instruction corresponds to a code stored in the electronic entity.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the control program is adapted to lock the electronic entity when the received code is incorrect after a predetermined number of attempts.

19. The method of claim 5, wherein the activation information is set to a value distinct from the predetermined value during an initialization step prior to the receiving step.

9. A method of controlling an electronic entity comprising means for contact communication, means for contactless communication, and a rewritable non-volatile memory storing activation information, the method comprising:

receiving an activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information;

authorizing the exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication by setting the activation information to the predetermined value on reception of said activation instruction, subject to the configuration information; and

inhibiting the exchange of said data at a particular time.

14. A method of controlling an electronic entity comprising means for contact communication, means for contactless communication, and a rewritable non-volatile memory storing activation information, the method comprising:

receiving an activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information; and

authorizing the exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication by setting the activation information to the predetermined value on reception of said activation instruction, subject to the configuration information,

wherein the activation information is adapted to be modified when a code received with said activation instruction corresponds to a code stored in the electronic entity.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the electronic entity is locked when the received code is incorrect after a predetermined number of attempts.

18. An electronic entity, comprising:

a contact communication module;

a contactless communication module;

a rewritable nonvolatile memory storing activation information; and

wherein the electronic entity is configured for an activation instruction to be received via the contact communication module, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information,

said activation information has by default a value inhibiting a communication via the contactless communication module, and

said activation information is modifiable at the rewritable nonvolatile memory, upon receipt of the activation instruction via the contact communication module, subject to the configuration information, to authorize a communication via the contactless communication module.

20. An electronic entity, comprising:

means for contact communication;

means for contactless communication;

a rewritable non-volatile memory storing activation information;

a microcircuit configured to set the activation information to a predetermined value upon receipt of an activation instruction via the means for contact communication,

the microcircuit receives the activation instruction via the means for contact communication, the activation instruction causing the activation information to be set to a predetermined value in the rewritable non-volatile memory authorizing an exchange of certain data at least via the means for contactless communication, the activation information being set based on the activation instruction subject to configuration information written in the rewritable non-volatile memory, the configuration information indicating access rights to control setting of the activation information, and

the microcircuit authorizes the exchange of certain data via the means for contactless communication in the presence of the predetermined value of said activation information,

wherein the access rights include conditional access rights in which the activation information is modifiable subject to a conditional requirement.

21. The electronic entity of claim 20, wherein the conditional requirement is authentication of a card reader, the electronic entity having entered a field of the card reader, or authentication by use of a code entered at the card reader.