Compact type electronic information card

What is claimed is:

1. A compact electric apparatus having predetermined upper and lower surfaces and a substantially uniform thickness comprising:

an electronic component assembly including a plurality of key input contacts for inputtting numeral data and collation instruction data, integrated circuit means having memory means for prestoring identification data and control means for collating said identification data with numeral data according to said collation instruction data and for generating a collation result signal, display means connected to said integrated circuit means for displaying a collation result, and battery means for supplying a drive voltage to said integrated circuit means; said electronic component assembly having first and second surfaces;

upper cover means for covering said first surface of said electronic component assembly and including a plurality of key operation portions having means for inputting numeral data and collation instruction data through said key input contacts;

lower cover means for covering said second surface of said electronic component assembly and having a cavity for disposing said electronic component assembly; and

fixing means for fixing said electronic component assembly, said upper cover means and said lower cover means together.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said fixing means is adhesive.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sizes of said upper and lower surfaces of said apparatus are substantially the same as that of a credit card.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said thickness of said apparatus is substantially the same as that of a credit card.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further has a key input means for inputting arithmetic instruction data, and said integrated circuit means includes arithmetic calculation means for executing an arithmetic operation of numeral data according to said arithmetic instruction data.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sizes of said upper and lower surfaces of said apparatus are substantially the same as that of a credit card.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of said apparatus is substantially the same as that of said credit card.

8. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said integrated circuit means is constituted by at least two solid chips, one of which includes said arithmetic calculation means and the other of which includes said memory means prestoring the identification data.

9. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said integrated circuit means is constituted by a single solid chip.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said upper cover means includes a flexible sheet having key indicia, and a rigid sheet having openings for key operation.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said assembly has an insulating board for carrying electric conductive leads which connects said integrated circuit means, said display means and said battery means so as to comprise a predetermined circuit.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said assembly further has a number of metal contacts respectively connected to said leads, and one of said upper and lower cover means has openings through which said contacts are externally exposed.

13. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said lower cover means includes a frame member for disposing said insulating board of said assembly, and a rigid sheet on which a cavity for disposing said integrated circuit means and said display means of said assembly is formed.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said lower cover means has an identification code on an outer surface.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said identification data is formed with an embossment.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the thickness of said apparatus is substantially the same as that of a credit card.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said lower cover means has a magnetic stripe on an outer surface of which identification data is recorded.

18. A compact electronic apparatus comprising:

an electronic component assembly including an insulating substrate having predetermined electric conductive leads, an integrated circuit chip mounted on said insulating substrate and having terminals respectively connected to said conductive leads, and a plurality of metal contacts respectively connected to said terminals of said integrated circuit chip;

case body means for disposing said electronic component assembly, and having a first cavity, a second cavity, an opening for connecting said first cavity to said second cavity, and a thick portion projecting from said first and second cavities; said insulating substrate being disposed in said first cavity;

first cover means for covering one surface of said case body means and including a first reinforcing sheet and a first outer sheet; said first reinforcing sheet having an opening for receiving said thick portion projecting from said first cavity; said first outer sheet covering an outer surface of said first reinforcing sheet; and

second cover means for covering the other surface of said case body means and including a second reinforcing sheet and a second outer sheet; said second reinforcing sheet having an opening for receiving said thick portion projecting from said second cavity; said second outer sheet covering an outer surface of said second reinforcing sheet; one of said first and second cover means having an opening for exposing said metal contacts to the outside of said apparatus;

wherein said first outer sheet, said thick portion of said case body, and said second outer sheet are laminated excluding said first and second reinforcing sheets from a region corresponding to said thick portion such that an embossment formed on said thick portion of said case body means is also formed on corresponding portions of said first and second outer sheets.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein a plurality of key input contacts are formed on said insulating substrate and one of said first and second cover means has key operation portions corresponding to said key input contacts, respectively.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said electronic component assembly includes an insulating sheet carried on said insulating substrate, and said integrated circuit chip is mounted on said insulating sheet.

21. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said electronic component assembly further includes a display device and a battery cell which are respectively connected to said electric conductive leads and disposed in said opening of said case body means.

22. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the size of said apparatus is substantially the same as that of a credit card.

23. A compact electronic apparatus comprising:

an electronic component assembly including a thin insulating substrate, a plurality of metal foil contacts formed on said insulating substrate, an integrated circuit chip having a plurality of terminals some of which are connected to said metal foil contacts, a plurality of key input contacts, a display device, a battery cell and electric conductive leads which connect the rest of said terminals of said integrated circuit chip, said key contacts, said display device and said battery cell so as to comprise a predetermined circuit;

upper cover means for covering an upper surface of said electronic component assembly and including an uppermost sheet with a plurality of key input portions which are depressible toward said key contacts, respectively, and key indicia each of which is printed on each of said key input portions; and

lower cover means for covering a lower surface of said electronic component assembly; one of said upper and lower cover means having an opening for exposing said metal foil contacts to the outside of said apparatus.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said integrated circuit chip includes an identification circuit means for identifying prestored identification data with input data inputtted through said key input contacts and for generating a collation result signal, and control circuit means for instructing said display device to provide a display corresponding to the collation result signal.

25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said key input portions include an arithmetic key input means for inputting arithmetic instruction data, and said integrated circuit chip includes arithmetic calculation means for executing an arithmetic operation of numeral data according to said arithmetic instruction data.

26. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said electronic component assembly includes two integrated circuit chips, one of which includes said identification circuit means and the other of which includes said arithmetic calculation means.

27. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said key input contacts and said electric conductive leads are formed on said insulating substrate.

28. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said electronic component assembly includes an insulating sheet carried by said insulating substrate, and said integrated circuit chip is mounted on said insulating sheet.

29. An apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said electronic component assembly includes anisotropically electric conductive adhesive which electrically connects said terminals of said integrated circuit chip to said electric conductive leads.

30. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said upper cover means includes a metal sheet which is disposed between said uppermost sheet and said electronic component assembly; said metal sheet having an opening opposed to said display device.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said opening for exposing said metal foil contacts to the outside of the apparatus is formed in said metal sheet and said uppermost sheet.

32. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said lower cover means includes a metal sheet in which an opening exposes the metal foil contacts to the outside of said apparatus.

Description Submit all comments and votes

The present invention relates to an intelligent card which can identify the authenticity of its holder.

In so-called cash and credit cards, embossed characters and a magnetic recording coating are formed on the surface of a plastic plate. However, since these conventional cards have a poor identification capability for determining whether or not a user is valid, they can be used by people other than the authorized card holders. For this reason, a card (i.e., an IC card) having a higher identification capability has been developed and used in practice. An IC chip is embedded in the IC card to effectively prevent people other than the authorized card holder from using the card or counterfeiting it. A connecting terminal is arranged on the surface or edge of the IC card. When the IC card is set in a terminal device installed at, for example, a bank, the IC chip in the IC card is electrically connected to the terminal device through the connecting terminal. The IC chip is energized from the terminal device through the connecting terminal, and an identification number is entered at the keyboard in the terminal device. The identification number prestored in the IC chip is read out and compared with the entered identification number in the terminal device so as to determine whether or not the current card user corresponds to the authorized card holder.

However, in a conventional IC card, the IC chip is simply embedded in the card body, so that the terminal device must be used to identify the card user. Terminal device costs are relatively high and impose a load on a retail store with a relatively small capital. In addition to this disadvantage, the card holder must enter the identification number in the presence of a store clerk, so that secrecy of the identification number cannot be guaranteed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an intelligent card which can identify a card holder and can prevent use of the card by people other than the authorized card holder and prevent counterfeiting of the card.

According to the present invention, there is provided an intelligent card comprising: upper cover means having a plurality of key operation sections for inputting numeral data and collation instruction data; an electronic component assembly includng integrated circuit means having memory means prestoring identification data for collating the identification data with numeral data input from said key input portions and generating a signal indicating the collation result, display means connected to said integrated circuit means for displaying the collation result, and battery means for supplying a power source voltage to said integrated circuit means; and lower cover means, having substantially the same surface size as that of said upper cover means for carrying said electronic component assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views showing the upper and lower surfaces of an intelligent card according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit of the intelligent card shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the function blocks of the circuit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation associated with the user;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of an intelligent card according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views of the intelligent card taken along the lines I--I and II--II of FIG. 5, respectively;

FIGS. 8A to 8H are respectively exploded perspective views showing the internal structure of the intelligent card of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a battery shown in FIG. 8E;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the circuit of the intelligent card shown in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are respectively perspective views showing outer appearances of an intelligent card according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are exploded perspective views showing the internal structure of the intelligent card shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the intelligent card taken along line III--III in FIG. 11A;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of the intelligent card taken along line IV--IV in FIG. 11A; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the intelligent card shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are respectively perspective views showing the upper and lower surfaces of an intelligent card which adapts the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a card body. Characters are embossed in an uppermost sheet 11 to represent an identification code 11A, a card holder name 11B and the like. A receipt can be issued by an emboss-in-printer or the like after the card as shown in FIG. 1A is set in the printer.

A keyboard 12, an LC (liquid crystal) display device 13 and a solar cell 40 are mounted on a lowermost sheet 20, and an LSI (to be described later) is incorporated in the card body 10 to constitute a compact electronic calculator.

A collation function key (i.e., a CF key) 12C is arranged in the keyboard 12 to enter an identification number, in addition to numeric keys 12A and function keys 12B.

The intelligent card has substantially the same thickness as that (0.8 mm) of a cash card and a size complying with ISO standards. The intelligent card has both cash card and calculator functions.

The internal structure of the body 10 will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the circuit of the intelligent card described above. Reference numeral 120 denotes a key input section including the keyboard 12. The section 120 supplies a key input signal to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301 in an LSI 30.

The CPU 301 is connected to a clock & calendar circuit 302, a ROM 303, a RAM 304, an EEP-ROM (Electronic Erasable Programmable ROM) 305, and a display driving circuit 306, thereby constituting the LSI 30.

The ROM 303 stores microinstructions for executing various types of instructions. The RAM 304 has an arithmetic register and other temporary storage registers. Various types of operations such as arithmetic calculations are performed between the CPU 301 and the RAM 304 on the basis of control by the ROM 303.

An arithmetic result obtained by the arithmetic calculation described above and numeric data entered at the section 120 are converted by the display driving circuit 306 so that the converted data are displayed on the device 13.

The clock & calendar circuit 302 includes a quartz oscillator and a frequency divider and measures the current time. At the same time, the circuit 302 calculates year, month and day in accordance with a date change signal. Therefore, the specific year, month and day can be displayed on the device 13.

The EEP-ROM 305 is a ROM whose data can be changed upon application of a predetermined high voltage thereto. When data is written in the EEP-ROM 305, data can be held without a back-up battery in the same manner as in a static ROM.

For this reason, identification data representing an identification number or a membership number is prestored in the EEP-ROM 305. The identification number entered by the card user at the keyboard 12 is compared with the identification number prestored in the EEP-ROM 305 to determine whether or not the current card user corresponds to the authorized card holder. This comparison operation will be described in detail later.

The CPU 301, the circuit 302, the ROM 303, the RAM 304, the EEP-ROM 305 and the circuit 306 are integrated as the one-chip LSI 30.

The LSI 30 is energized by a secondary battery 41 which is powered by the solar cell 40.

Even during shielding of the cell 40 from external light or during nighttime, the battery 41 energizes the LSI 30, so that the LSI 30 will not fail to provide prescribed functions.

In order to best understand the present invention, the function blocks of the LSI 30 of FIG. 2 are illustrated in FIG. 3. The same reference numerals in FIG. 3 denote the same parts as in FIG. 2.

An operation key discriminator 310 is connected to the section 120 to decode a key input signal entered at the section 120, thereby discriminating the depressed key. When the CF key 12C is depressed, the discriminator 310 generates an output signal from a line a. However, when another key such as the key 12A or 12B is depressed, the discriminator 310 supplies a corresponding output signal to a control section 311 through a bus line b.

The section 311 is connected to a memory section 312 of the RAM 304, an arithmetic circuit 313 and the EEP-ROM 305.

The EEP-ROM 305 comprises a step-up circuit 305a for boosting a supply voltage to a high voltage, 21 volts, in this case, to write data, an area N (305b) for storing a predetermined identification number, an area M (305c) for storing the number of times of noncoincidence as a result of comparison between the number entered at the keyboard 12 and the prestored identification number, and an area L (305d) for storing an invalid flag representing that the card is invalidated.

The identification number stored in the area N (305b) is stored in an encrypted form so as to prevent counterfeiting. The encrypted data is decrypted by a decryption section 314 to binary coded decimal data. The binary coded decimal data is temporarily stored buffer 314a. The encrypted identification number is decrypted by an encoder comprising the ROM 303. When the binary coded decimal data is coded by an RSA method and the like, the data is decrypted in accordance with an algorism by using a prescribed decryption key.

The section 311 controls read/write access and addressing of the EEP-ROM 305 through bus lines c and d.

The memory section 312 comprises arithmetic registers consisting of X, Y and Z registers and a temporary storage register including A to D registers. The section 312 exchanges data with the EEP-ROM 305 through bus lines e and f. The section 312 receives register instructions from the section 311 and numeric data and code data (constant) through bus lines g and h.

In the section 312, the A register stores the numeric data (i.e., input identification number) entered at the section 120, the B register stores the number of times of noncoincidence as a result of comparison between the input identification number and the identification number stored in the area N (305c) of the EEP-ROM 305, and the C register stores a flag which is set upon invalidation of the card. The section 312 is connected to a display processing section 315, so that the display data stored in the section 312 is properly processed by the section 315 and is displayed on the device 13.

The arithmetic circuit 313 is connected to the sections 311 and 312 to perform various arithmetic calculations using the X, Y and Z registers. The circuit 313 also increments the content of the B register by one so as to update the number of times of noncoincidence between the input identification number and the stored identification number. These calculations are performed under the control of the section 311 through a bus line i.

Reference numerals 316 and 317 denote comparators, respectively. The comparator 316 compares the content of the buffer 314a with the content of the A register. The comparator 317 compares the content of the B register with the constant "5" supplied from the section 311 and checks whether or not the number of times of noncoincidence has reached "5". Comparison results from the comparators 316 and 317 are supplied to the section 311.

The section 311 is also connected to a counter 318. The counter 318 serves to display a 10-second display of "OK" when the input identification number is identical with the stored identification number. The counter 318 is started in response to a start signal supplied from the section 311 through a line j and generates a carry signal to the section 311 through a line k, so that the section 311 can determine that 10 seconds have elapsed.

The operation of the intelligent card according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 shows an operation of a card user when the input identification number is to be collated with the stored identification number. Assume that the card user uses the intelligent card as a credit card at a store, instead of paying cash when he purchases an item. The user depresses an AC key (i.e., all clear key) 12D in the keyboard 12 to clear the display (step A1). The user then enters an identification number by using the keys 12A on the keyboard 12 (step A2). This key input operation must be performed without being observed by a store clerk.

When the user completely enters the identification number, the input number is displayed. The collation function key (CF key) 12C is depressed to clear the number displayed on the screen (step A3). The input identification number is compared by an internal circuit of the LSI 30 with the stored identification number. When a coincidence between these identification number is established, "OK" is displayed on the device 13. The card user shows the "OK" mark to the store clerk, thereby identifying that the card user is the authorized card holder (step A4).

When the "OK" mark is displayed, the clerk identifies that the card user corresponds to the authorized card holder. The clerk then sets the card in the emboss-in-printer in the same manner as a regular credit card, thereby issuing a receipt.

However, when the identification number entered at the keyboard 12 does not correspond to that stored in the memory 305, the "OK" mark is not displayed. In this case, the card user must reenter the identification number (step A2).

When the input identification number does not coincide with the stored identification number five consecutive times, the card is invalidated since the terminal device determines that the card user does not correspond to the authorized card holder. At the same time, "EE . . . E" is displayed on the device 13 to indicate that the card is invalidated (step A5).

In the above card, the function of causing a store clerk to check a collation result of the identification numbers can include a function of transmitting the collation result to a card terminal to determine if the credit sales is allowed. A card of this type as a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10. FIG. 5 shows the detailed outer appearance of the upper surface structure of the intelligent card of this embodiment. The upper surface of a case body 10 is covered with a flexible uppermost sheet 11 of transparent polyester or the like. A key input section 12 having a numeric data input section 12A, an arithmetic function data input section 12B and a collation instruction input section 12C is constituted such that corresponding characters are printed on the lower surface of the uppermost sheet 11. A transparent window of a display section 13 and contact openings 14 are formed in the uppermost sheet 11. Distal ends of a plurality of metal contacts 15 are exposed in the openings 14. The contacts 15 constitute a matrix of 2 columns.times.4 rows. The distal end of each rectangular contact 15 has a length L=2 mm and a width W=1.7 mm. The contacts 15 are arranged in units of 4 at intervals of 2.54 mm along the width of the case body 10 in two columns. A distance between the contact columns is set to be 7.62 mm. A distance S between the left short side of the case 10 and the left column contacts 15 is 10.25 mm, and a distance t between the upper long side of the case body 10 and the uppermost contacts 15 is 19.23 mm. The dimensions preferably comply with TC97/SC17 in the ISO standards. It should be noted that the contacts 15 are not indispensable to the present invention and can be arranged as needed. The outer dimensions of the case 10 are the same as those (i.e., a thickness of 0.8 mm, a length of 85.5 mm and a width of 54 mm) of a credit card which has embossed characters (to be described) and which complies with the ISO 2894.

The internal structure of the intelligent card shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8A to 8H and 9. Referring to these figures, an upper sheet 16, a frame 17, an adhesive sheet 18, a lower sheet 19 and a lowermost sheet 20 are sequentially bonded under the sheet 11 to constitute the case body 10. A spacer 21 and a wiring board 22 overlap each other and are disposed in a space A in the frame 17 defined by the sheets 16 and 18. A liquid crystal display device 23 is inserted in a space B. A paper-like battery 24 is inserted in a space C. A through hole 161 is formed in a portion of the sheet 16 which corresponds to the device 23. A recess 191 is formed in a portion of the sheet 19 which corresponds to the through hole 161. A recess 192 is formed in the sheet 19 so as to correspond to the battery 24. A partially punched projection 193 is formed in the recess 192 so as to extend toward the battery 24. A partially punched projection 162 is formed in a portion of the sheet 16 which corresponds to the projection 193 and extends toward the battery 24.

The eight contacts 15 formed on the board 22 extend therefrom. These contacts 15 are sequentially inserted in contact holes 211 formed in the spacer 21, contact holes 163 formed in the sheet 16 and openings formed in the sheet 11.

The board 22 is made of a flexible material such as glass epoxy resin having relatively large rigidity. A plurality of fixed contact pairs 221 each having a pair of contacts 221a and