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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit (IC) card containing
integrated circuits such as a microcomputer and a memory unit, and
particularly, to an IC card provided with indication means for indicating
history or curriculum information or updated information to thereby avoid
wasteful recording of varying data, obtain a rapid access and enable a
versatile application, and capable of not reading unnecessary information.
An IC card or so-called smart card is produced in various shapes, for
example, there exist a flat card, a key-shaped card, and a rod-shaped
card. The IC card of the present invention covers all of these cards.
An IC card contains elements such as a microprocessor (CPU) and a memory
unit and hence is a smallsized information processing system having
functions of decision and storage. Consequently, the data integrity and
security can be further enhanced as compared with the conventional
magnetic card such as a credit card or a bank card. Furthermore, since the
storage capacity has been greatly increased through the advance of the IC
technology, the IC card is regarded as efficient for the information
storage card.
For the memory unit of an IC card, a nonvolatile IC memory such as an
erasable, programmable read-only memory, EPROM in which stored data can be
erased by ultraviolet radiation or an electrical, erasable, programmable
read-only memory, EEPROM is used, and hence the storage contents can be
kept therein without requiring a power source to be integrated in the
card. Consequently, the memory unit can be produced in a simple structure
and is thus adopted as the primary storage means of the IC card at
present. However, a volatile IC memory such as a random access memory, RAM
can also be used as the memory of the IC card if a long-life power supply
such as a battery is built in the IC card to keep the contents thereof, or
as means for temporarily saving storage contents therein from another
memory without integrating a power supply in the card.
In the past, data is generally stored in the IC memory as follows. A
storage area having an appropriate size is allocated in the IC memory, and
then the information of data is sequentially written beginning from an end
thereof.
The entire information thus stored is conventionally read out at a time; or
various information items are respectively stored in a plurality of
storage areas, and a desired information is read by specifying the storage
area number associated with the infromation, thereby retrieving the
information from each storage area.
Information stored in the memory of an IC card is subjected to renewal or
change at times. However, once information is written in a certain storage
area of a ROM used as a memory unit, erasing the writen information and
re-writing data to be renewed or changed in that area are not possible.
Therefore, information should be written one after another in the order of
time sequence beginning from one end of the storage area. Consequently, to
read a desired information from those written in such a manner, it is
necessary to read the information sequentially in writing history until
the desired information is read.
With the IC crd whose information is read in the units of storage area, it
is necessary to read the entire contents of a storage area sequentially in
time (or in the order of history) from the beginning even if only a
portion of the information in the storage area, e.g., the latest
information thereof, is required. Therefore, there arise some problems
that it takes a substantial time to read the desired information and that
unnecessary information is sequentially read until the desired information
is read, which impedes data sequrity.
Apart from the above, it is desirable in some cases to read the written
information sequentially in time depending upon the types or applications
of the information. Thus, an IC card has been desired which is capable of
both reading only the latest information quickly and reading the
information sequentially in the order of history. In addition, in case
where erroneous or incomplete information has been written or in case
where particular past information is desired not to be read, these
unnecessary information should not be read in case of one of the above two
methods reading the information sequentially in the order of history since
it takes a waste time for reading necessary information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an IC card capable of
selectively reading an updated information and reading a history
information sequentially in time, and not reading unnecessary information
in case of reading sequentially in the order of history.
To achieve the above object of the present invention, in an IC card
containing an electronic circuit including at least a CPU and a memory
unit constituted by a plurality of storage areas wherein an information
can be sequentially recorded and read out therefrom, there are provided:
indication means for selectively indicating either that said information
recorded in a plurality of storage areas of the memory unit is an updated
information or a history information, only a latest information being read
from said updated information and the information being sequentially read
in the order of history from said history information; updated information
readout means for reading only the latest information among those written
in a storage area when the information written in said storage area has
been indicated as an updated information; and history information readout
means for reading sequentially in a predetermined order the information
stored in a storage area when the information stored in said storage area
has been indicated as a history information.
In the storage area indicated as of an updated information, the updated
information is not read sequentially starting from one end of the storage
area as conventional, but the latest information only is accessed to be
read. In the storage area not indicated as of an updated information, the
information within a predetermined range is sequentially read for
accomplishing the history information readout. The indication of the
history information readout or the updated information readout may be
performed with two methods: one is to selectively indicate by means of an
indication input from the external and the other is to previously give
information as to which readout is to beuused for each storage area.
According to the present invention, there is provided indication means for
indicating that the information written in a plurality of storage areas is
an updated information or a history information. Therefore, in case of the
updated information readout requiring only the latest information, only
the latest information can be accessed and read without reading the old
information, thereby shortening the access time. Alternatively, in case of
the history information readout, it is possible to read only the
information within a predetermined range among those written to date.
Thus, the access time becomes short, and the proper information can be
quickly obtained, which is suitable for use in such as confirmation of
information change in time, causes of change, or analysis of future
tendency As above, for the updated information of which only the latest
information is required to be read therefrom, an updated information
readout is carried out. Alternatively, for the history information of
which the information within a predetermined range among those written to
date is required to be read therefrom, a history information readout is
carried out by indicating the specific range of the storage area.
Therefore, the information readout efficiency can be improved and the
information processing can be made quickly, thus making good use of the IC
card.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC card;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along II--II line of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the circuit arrangement of the IC card;
FIG. 4 shows the outline of an IC card reader/writer to be used by
inserting the IC card therein and a host computer;
FIG. 5 shows the structure of the memory of the IC card;
FIG. 6 shows the structure of the data memory area;
FIG. 7 shows the structure of the storage area;
FIG. 8 shows the structure of the index area;
FIG. 9 shows an example of the structure of the memory;
FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the information write operation according
to the present invention;
FIGS. 11 and 12 are flow charts showing a procedure for reading written
information according to the present invention;
FIG. 13 shows the structure of the index area according to another
embodiment of the invention; and
FIGS. 14 and 15 are flow charts showing a procedure for reading written
information according to another embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an IC card
according to the present invention, whereas FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional
view illustrating an internal configuration of the IC card. The IC card 1
includes a card core 2 formed with a material, for example, plastics
having a cavity 3 as a portion thereof, and an IC module 4 is housed in
the cavity 3. The IC module 4 contains one or two large-scale integration
(LSI) chips and is provided with eight connecting terminals 5, which are
used to electrically connect external circuits to electronic circuits
included in the IC module 4.
To protect the IC module 4, the cavity 3 is filled with a packing material
6, print layers 7, 7' are fixed onto the upper and lower surfaces of the
card core 2, and graphic images, characters and the like are printed on
the surfaces of the print layers in many cases. The print layers are
covered with surface layers 8, 8' for protection thereof.
In FIG. 2, the thickness of the IC card 1 is particularly exaggerated,
namely, in the actual card, the card core 2, the print layer, and the
surface layer have thickness of 0.55 mm, 0.1 mm, and 0.2 mm, respectively
and the entire thickness of the IC card is about 0.8 mm.
In this diagram, a magnetic stripe 9 and embossed characters 10 are to be
added depending on the usage of the IC card, that is, these items are not
indispensable for the IC card.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of ICs included in the IC
module 4, wherein two-chip arrangement of a CPU chip 40 and a memory chip
41 is adopted. CPU 401 included in the CPU chip 40 controls programs, ROM
402 stores the programs, and RAM 403 serves to temporarily store data
during the program steps. PROM included in the memory chip 41 mainly
stores data. Of various types of PROMs, an EPROM using ultraviolet
radiation for erasure (if used with the IC card, data erasure is possible
only when a window for passing ultraviolet radiation is formed on the IC
card), an EEPROM which can electrically erase data, or the like may be
used.
If the memory chip 41 is not used and the IC card is constituted by a
single chip IC module, the CPU chip 40 may include therein a CPU, ROM, RAM
and the like.
The IC card is used by connecting it to a host computer via an IC card
reader/writer as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 shows the structure of the memory according to an embodiment of the
present invention, the memory including: a data memory area for storing
data; a password area; a security mark area for storing erroneous password
inputs; and a memory format mark area for indicating the presence of
information in the memory.
FIG. 6 shows the structure of the data memory area of FIG. 5 in more
detail. The data memory area includes a plurality of storage areas
starting from No. 1 to No. Y and a plurality of index areas starting from
No. 1 to No. Y and corresponding to the respective storage areas. History
information or updated information is sotred in respective specified
storage areas depending on the predetermined items of necessary
information. The index areas are provided in correspondence to the storage
areas and used for access to the corresponding storage areas.
FIG. 7 shows the structure of one (No. N) of the storage areas shown in
FIG. 6 in more detail. In the storage area No. N, there are X records or
unit record areas capable of storing information starting from a first
storage to an N-th storage, and flag bits for storage of the number of
records (unit storage areas) used for storage of the information. In
addition, each record is added with a check byte for checking errors
during reading written information and a record status byte. The record
status byte constitutes a bit area for an identification mark which
identifies an attribute (record status) of the information written on a
record. For instance, if the information is erroneously written in the
record, bits representative of disabling reading the information are
written in the bit area.
Information is sequentially written starting from the first record. If the
first record has already been used, the next latest information to be
recorded is written in the second record. Thus, the m-th latest
information is written in the m-th record. Simultaneously with storage of
the information, a necessary information is written in the check byte.
Writing in the record status byte is arbitrary. For instance, in case
where incorrect information has been written in a certain record, written
information has become unnecessary for some reason, or incomplete
information has been written, bits (record status) are written in the
record status byte for indicating that such information in the record is
not permitted to be read.
The flag bits of a storage area have at least the same number as of the
maximum number of records of the storage area. All of the bits are
initially set at "1" and sequentially inverted to "0" one bit after
another each time new information is written in each record. Management of
the number of inverted bits enables a check of the numbers of used and
unused records for storage of the latest information.
In the example of FIG. 7, although the flag bits are allocated in each
storage area at the top address thereof, they may be allocated separately
in the records by substituting them by respective one bits of the record
status bytes.
FIG. 8 shows the structure of one (No. N) of the index areas shown in FIG.
7 in more detail. The index area includes: an eight-bit area for storing
the start address of the storage area No. N or the top address thereof in
an ordinary case; an area for storing "a record length" of the storage
area No. N in units of byte; an H/U bit of one bit configuration in which
"0" is allocated for updated information and "1" is allocated for history
information; an area for storing "a maximum number of records"
representative of the number of records allocated to the storage area No.
N; and an area for storing "the number of assigned bytes" to the flag bits
located at the top address portion of the sotrage area No. N.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, an index area corresponding to
information to be read is first read. In case where the corresponding
"H/U" bit indicates the updated information, the flag bits of the
corresponding storage area are read in accordance with the top address
stored in the index area. A record sotring the updated information is then
directly accessed from the count of the flag bits. On the other hand, in
case where the corresponding "H/U" bit indicates the history information,
the readout start and end records in the storage area to be read are
identified to sequentially read the identified information in the order of
history. In this case, if there are records not permitted to be read,
these records are passed without performing a readout.
A case where the IC card of the present invention is applied to use in
medical facilities will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Assuming
now that information used in medical facilities is grouped in 7 items such
as personal information, medical insurance information and so on. In this
example, personal information is indexed by the index area No. 1 and the
content thereof is stored in the storage area No. 1. The personal
information includes, for example name, address, birthday and telephone
number, which are not generally renewed except the telephone number.
Therefore, reading only the latest information can suffice so that the
personal information can be considered as belonging to the category of the
updated information as noted at the outside right of the storage area No.
1. The medical insurance information noted in the storage area No. 2 and
including the types of insurance, company name, name of a place of
business, date of qualification can generally suffice if only the latest
information is obtained therefrom. Therefore, the medical insurance
information can be considered as the updated information.
Allergy information noted in the storage area No. 3 and including the types
and causes of allergy can be considered as the history information since
the allergy information or past information can be used as a reference
information for medical diagnosis. Other information, i.e., doctor
information I and II, medical technician information and nurse information
can be considered as the history information. However, in these cases, to
maintain the medical management and patients in privacy, only the
information necessary for the doctor or nurse handling the medical case
concerned is made accessible limiting the readout content to a
predetermined range.
Other applications of the invention may be bank deposit management, stock
information and the like.
Next, the information write procedure will be described with reference to
the flow chart of FIG. 10.
First, at step 100 a counter C, registers R1, R2 and an address pointer AP
(respectively contained in the CPU 401) are reset for initialization.
Next, when the item number, e.g., No. N of the information required to be
written is designated from the external, the item number is received at
step 101 to search the index area No. N at step 102. If No. N is not
found, an error processing is performed at step 103 and the item number is
again designated. If found at step 102, the top address portion of the
storage area No. N is read at step 104 based on the top address stored in
the index area No. N. Succeedingly at step 105, data to be written in the
storage area No. N is inputted. At step 106, the number of flag bits
inverted to "0" in the storage area No. N are counted. The count is then
set to the register R1 in the CPU. At step 107, the bit next to the last
inverted bit of the flag bits of the storage area No. N, e.g., the m-th
bit is made inverted to thereafter write the inputted data in the m-th
record of the storage area No. N. At step 109, check codes in conformity
with the inputted data are calculated and they are written as the check
byte. A test is carried out as to whether the written data is correct or
not. If incorrect, step 103 follows to perform an error processing, while
if correct, the write procedure is terminated. In other words, at step 110
the written data is compared with the information inputted at step 105 as
to whether they are coincident, and if correct the write procedure is
terminated, while if not correct, the error processing is performed at
step 103.
The readout of the information thus written in the IC card is carried out
in accordance with the procedure shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 11 and
12. When the start of readout is initiated, first at step 201 the counter
C and the address pointer AP are reset for initialization.
Next, at step 202 the number of the item to be read, which has been
inputted from the external, e.g., No. N, is received. At step 203 the
index area No. N is searched. If the index area No. N is not found, an
error processing is performed at step 204. If found, the top address
portion of the storage area No. N is read at step 205 based on the top
address stored in the index area No. N. At step 206 the H/U bit of the
index area No. N is read, and at step 207 it is judged if the readout is
for history information or for updated information. In case of the updated
information readout, at step 208 the position of the flag bit last written
in the flag bit area is identified to access the record storing the latest
information and output it at step 209. Then, at step 210 the record status
byte is outputted at step 210 to confirm the presence or absence of
erroneous information and the like before the readout is terminated.
Alternately, if it is judged at step 207 as the history information
readout, the number of records in which information has been written is
counted from the flag bits of the storage area No. N and the number is
outputted and displayed for confirmation purpose. Next, at step 212, the
numbers of readout start and end records, No. n and No. m, are designated.
In an ordinary case of the history information readout, the sequential
readout starting from the first (No. 1) record to the latest record is
carried out. However, depending upon the usage of the information, a
sequential readout starting from a desired record No. n to a desired
record No. m or to the latest record may be carried out. Next, at step 213
it is checked if there exist the desingated records. If not present, an
error processing is performed at step 214. While if present, the number of
records to be read is obtained at step 215. Particularly, this number is
obtained by counting the number of bits having inverted "0s" among those
starting from the n-th bit to the m-th bit in the flag bits of the storage
area No. N. The count is loaded in the counter C. Next, the address of the
start record No. n is set to the address pointer AP at step 216. Then, at
step 217, the record and the record status byte designated by the address
pointer AP are read. The read-out information is not outputted externally
of the IC card but temporarily stored in RAMs or the like in the IC card.
Next, it is checked if any status bit representative of disabling a
readout is contained in the record status byte. If there is no such bit,
the information temporarily stored in the IC card is outputted to the
external at step 219. On the other hand, if there is such a bit, step 219
is bypassed and the information in the record is never outputted. At step
220, the value loaded in the counter C is decremented by 1 and checked if
the resultant count is 0 (the informatin in the designated records is all
read out) or not. If the count is 0, the readout is terminated. If not, at
step 222 the set value of the address pointer AP is incremented by 1 to
return to step 217 for repeating the similar procedure as above.
There is a case where the history information portion or only the updated
portion of the same information is desired to be read. Assume that such
information is indexed by the index area No. 3 of FIG. 6 for example and
read from the storage area No. 3, that the H/U bit of the index area No. 3
is set at "0" for indicating that the information is an updated
information, and that the information in the storage area No. N is desired
to be read as a history information. In this case, another index area No.
3' other than the index area No. 3 is additionally provided such that the
H/U bit of the other index area No. 3' is stored with "1" and the
remaining portion thereof is stored with the same contents as of No. 3.
With this construction, it is possible to perform an updated information
readout from the storage area No. N through indication of the index area
No. 3, and a history information readout through the index area No. 3'.
FIG. 13 shows the structure of the index area according to another
embodiment of the present invention, wherein both updated information
readout and history information readout for the same information can be
attained. In this embodiment, a history information readout bit H and an
updated information readout bit U are each provided in the index area.
Initially the two bits are set at "1", respectively. In case of the
history information readout, only the bit H is inverted to "0", while in
case of the updated information readout, only the bit U is inverted to
"0". In case of both history and updated information readout, the two bits
H and U are both inverted to "0".
The information read procedure for the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 will now
be described. The procedure is basically similar to the procedure
described with FIGS. 11 and 12 so that only the differenct contents
thereof are described to avoid reiterative description.
In the flow chart of FIG. 11, after the top address of the storage area is
read from the index area at step 205, a history information readout or an
updated information readout is indicated. It is then judged if the
indicated readout is represented by the bit H or the bit U. If not, an
input error processing is performed. If affirmative, after confirming that
the indicated readout is either for the history information or for the
updated information, step 211 or 208 follows respectively.
According to another embodiments, the updated information and the history
information can be selectively indicated without providing the designation
bits such as H and U bits in the storage area by externally commanding to
read out the latest information or commanding to read out a designated
range of the records at each time reading is commanded. This selective
operation is performed, for example, in accordance with the flow chart of
FIG. 14. The steps up to step 205 of FIG. 14 is the same as of FIG. 11 so
that the description therefor is omitted. At step 211, the number of
written records is obtained by counting the flag bits in the storage area
No. N and displayed. At step 225, considering the displayed record number,
the record number of the latest information is appointed both as the
readout start and end numbers to read only the latest information.
Alternatively, in case of the history information readout, the readout
start and end numbers are respectively appointed to sequentially read the
history information. Obviously, if the readout start number is designated
as 1 and the end number as that of the record last written, all of the
records (except those unable to read) in the storage area are read
sequentially in the order of history. The steps following step 213 in FIG.
14 are the same as those in FIG. 12 so that the description therefor is
omitted.
A still further embodiment will be described wherein although the H and U
bits are not provided in the storage area, the updated or history
information readout can substantially be selected. Particularly, in the
procedure of FIG. 15, next to step 201, there is provided step 240 where
an updated information readout or a history information readout is
indicated from the external. Further, at step 241, it is judged if the
indicated one is the updated information readout or the history
information readout. In both cases, the storage area No. N is accessed at
steps 202 to 205. Thereafter, step 208 of FIG. 11 follows in case of the
updated information readout, or step 211 of FIG. 11 follows in case of the
history information readout.
In the above two embodiments, the H and U bits are not provided in the
storage area but the updated information readout and the history
information readout are selectively designated to thereby attain similar
advantageous effects to those of the embodiments of FIGS. 12 and 14.
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