Portable body used in two way, communication system, communication method, terminal, computer-readable recorded medium on which program is recorded

• US 6,704,608 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Azuma, Masamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, RAMESH B
• Application Number:
  US09/744,901
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 700/35, 700/65, 700/66, 700/90, 340/5.1, 340/5.65, 340/5.66, 340/10.33, 340/825.29, 340/825.69, 340/825.59, 340/825.39, 340/825.72, 340/505, 340/510
• US Class Current: 700/66
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0707 the arrangement being capable of collecting energy from external energy sources, e.g. thermocouples, vibration, electromagnetic radiation G06K19/0702 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

An IC card 1 (portable card) having an integrated device. The IC card 1 includes a nonvolatile memory 12 and an encryption circuit 10. The nonvolatile memory 12 is accessed after the IC card 1 is placed in a radio wave zone to receive a power supply from a terminal apparatus through a radio wave. The encryption circuit 10 coordinates with a first terminal apparatus to perform a mutual authentication. The integrated device includes a nonvolatile memory 13 and an encryption circuit 11. The nonvolatile memory 13 is accessed after the IC card 1 is placed at a location close to an antenna in the first terminal apparatus and only after the IC card 1 receives a higher-level power supply from the antenna. The encryption circuit 11 coordinates with the terminal apparatus to perform a mutual authentication. Personal information that requires high security is stored in the nonvolatile memory 13 and the encryption circuit 11 performs a mutual authentication whenever the nonvolatile memory 13 is accessed. This provides a high-level security of the personal information.

Claims

1. A dual-purpose portable card, the portable card comprising an integrated device which includes:

an identifying unit operable to, when the portable card approaches a terminal apparatus, identify either a first purpose or a second purpose for which the portable card is used, according to an output level of a radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus;

a processing unit operable to perform a first process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the first purpose and perform a second process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the second purpose; and

a communicating unit operable to perform a non-contact-type data input/output between the terminal apparatus and the processing unit by performing radio communication with the terminal apparatus when the portable card is used for either of the first purpose and the second purpose.

2. The portable card of claim 1, wherein the identifying unit includes:

a judging unit operable to judge according to the output level of the radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus that the portable card is used for the second purpose when the portable card is a first distance or shorter away from the terminal apparatus, and judge according to the output level of the radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus that the portable card is used for the first purpose when a distance between the portable card and the terminal apparatus is in a range of a second distance to a third distance.

3. The portable card of claim 2, wherein

the integrated device receives a power supply from the terminal apparatus,

the power the terminal apparatus supplies to the integrated device changes according to the distance between the portable card and the terminal apparatus,

the identifying unit includes

a comparing unit operable to compare a received voltage of a radio wave received by an antenna with a predetermined threshold value, and

the judging unit judges that the portable card is the first distance or shorter away from the terminal apparatus when the received voltage is higher than the predetermined threshold value, and judges that the distance between the portable card and the terminal apparatus is in the range of the second distance to the third distance when the received voltage is lower than the predetermined threshold value.

4. The portable card of claim 3, wherein

the terminal apparatus is either a first terminal apparatus that outputs a radio wave having power lower than a first power level to the portable card, or

a second terminal apparatus that has an antenna in an electromagnetically shielded box and outputs a radio wave having power of a second power level that is twice the first power level or higher, to the portable card in the box, and

the predetermined threshold value is determined based on (1) received power of a radio wave that has power of the first power level and is received when the distance between the portable card and the terminal apparatus is in the range of the second distance to the third distance and (2) received power of a radio wave that has power of the second power level and is received when the distance between the portable card and the terminal apparatus is the first distance or shorter.

5. The portable card of claim 4, wherein

the second purpose deals with more confidential data than the first purpose,

the first process includes at least one of an encryption process for encrypting data using a first encryption key, a decryption process for decrypting data using the first encryption key, a certification process for certifying, in response to an authentication process performed by the terminal apparatus, authenticity of the portable card using the first encryption key, and an authentication process for authenticating the terminal apparatus using the first encryption key,

the second process includes at least one of an encryption process for encrypting data using a second encryption key which provides higher security than the first encryption key, a decryption process for decrypting data using the second encryption key, a certification process for certifying, in response to an authentication process performed by the terminal apparatus, authenticity of the portable card using the second encryption key, and an authentication process for authenticating the terminal apparatus using the second encryption key,

the second process has a heavier processing load than the first process, and

the second power level is determined based on an amount of power consumed when the processing unit performs the second process.

6. The portable card of claim 5, wherein the integrated device includes

a storage unit which includes (1) a first area for storing data that is used only for the first purpose and (2) a second area for storing data that is used only for the second purpose,

communicating unit includes

a transmission/reception unit operable to receive a command issued by the terminal apparatus and transmit data to the terminal apparatus using wireless communication,

the processing unit includes

an access managing unit operable to, when the identifying unit has identified either the first or second purpose, permit either the first or second area corresponding to the identified purpose to be accessed and prohibit the other areas from being accessed,

a decoding unit operable to decode the command received by the transmission/reception unit, and

a memory access unit operable to, when the decoding unit detects that the command is a read command as a result of the decoding, read a piece of data specified by the read command from either the first or second area and instruct the transmission/reception unit to transmit the piece of data, and operable to, when the decoding unit detects that the command is a write command as a result of the decoding, write a piece of data specified in the write command to the first or second area.

7. The portable card of claim 4, wherein the integrated device includes

a synchronization clock signal generation unit operable to, when the first terminal apparatus supplies power of the first power level to the portable card, send to the processing unit a synchronization clock signal having a first frequency that is generated in accordance with a frequency of a carrier of a received signal, and operable to, when the second terminal apparatus supplies power of the second power level to the portable card, send to the processing unit a synchronization clock signal having a second frequency that is higher than the first frequency.

8. The portable card of claim 1, wherein

the terminal apparatus is either

a first terminal apparatus that performs a polling by outputting a radio wave that includes a first polling command, and

a second terminal apparatus that Performs a polling by outputting a radio wave that includes a second polling command,

the first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus transmit radio waves of different output levels,

the identifying unit includes

a judging unit operable to, when the portable card approaches either the first terminal apparatus or the second terminal apparatus which is performing a polling by transmitting a radio wave, judge whether the transmitted radio wave includes the first polling command or the second polling command, and

a detection unit operable to detect which of the first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus the portable card is approaching, according to the output level of the radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus,

the identifying unit identifies the first purpose when the judging unit judges that the radio wave includes the first polling command and when the detection unit detects that the portable card is approaching the first terminal apparatus, and identifies the second purpose when the judging unit judges that the radio wave includes the second polling command and when the detection unit detects that the portable card is approaching the second terminal apparatus.

9. A dual-purpose portable card, the portable card comprising an integrated device which includes:

an identifying unit operable to, when the portable card approaches a terminal apparatus, identify either a first purpose or a second purpose for which the portable card is used, according to a radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus;

a processing unit operable to perform a first process when the portable card is used for the first purpose and perform a second process when the portable card is used for the second purpose; and

a communicating unit operable to perform a non-contact-type data input/output between the terminal apparatus and the processing unit by performing radio communication with the terminal apparatus including a mutual authentication sequence which differs according to a difference between the first purpose and the second purpose.

10. A dual-purpose portable card, the portable card comprising an integrated device which includes:

an identifying unit operable to, when the portable card approaches a terminal apparatus, identify either a first purpose or a second purpose for which the portable card is used, according to an output level of a radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus;

a processing unit operable to perform a first process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the first purpose and perform a second process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the second purpose; and

a communicating unit operable to perform a non-contact-type data input/output between the terminal apparatus and the processing unit by performing radio communication with terminal apparatus including a mutual authentication sequence which differs according to a difference between the first purpose and the second purpose.

11. A dual-purpose portable card, the portable card comprising an integrated device which includes:

an identifying unit operable, when the portable card approaches a terminal apparatus, identify either a first purpose or a second purpose for which the portable card is used, according to an output level of a radio wave transmitted from the terminal apparatus;

a processing unit operable to perform a first process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the first purpose and perform a second process using the radio wave when the portable card is used for the second purpose; and

a communicating unit operable to perform a non-contact type data input/output between the terminal apparatus and the processing unit by performing radio communication with the terminal apparatus when the portable card is used for either of (1) when the processing unit needs to input or output data to/from the terminal apparatus to perform the first process, and (2) when the processing unit needs to input or output data to/from the terminal apparatus to perform the second process.