Patent Document

This disclosure is based upon, and claims priority from French Patent Application No. 98/00859, filed Jan. 27, 1998, and International Application No. PCT/FR99/00062, filed Jan. 15, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to smart cards, i.e. cards including essentially a memory as well as its addressing circuits for data or information recording and reading. 
     The memory of these cards is recorded and/or read using a terminal, such as a card reader, which communicates with the memory via electric signals applied through contacts. The electric signals are prepared by the terminal according to particular normative protocols whose main feature lies in the fact that they are indirect addressing synchronous protocols. 
     With such protocols, the transaction sequence is as follows: 
     resetting the card, notably the memory address counter, either at power-up or via a reset signal on a dedicated pin; 
     positioning the memory address counter at the right address by applying a determined plurality of pulses onto a pin corresponding to the clock pulses; 
     a recording or reading command in the memory via a combination of signals applied on an Input/Output pin and on another pin which can be the reset pin, the clock pin or any other pin. 
     The shortcomings of such a smart card functioning according to such an operating mode are summed up hereinafter. 
     As the communication between a reader and a card, notably for a financial transaction, is sensitive to electric noises (voltage drop, faulty electric contacts, spurious pulses, etc., the accuracy of the message exchanged is not guaranteed. 
     This implies notably to repeat the communication one or several times in order to make sure that the transaction has been completed correctly. 
     Repeating the messages lengthens the time necessary to a transaction. 
     Moreover, it is possible to get faulty transactions further to the said electric noises. 
     Memory addressing is performed via a pulse counter which counts the series of pulses applied to the said counter and the code displayed by the counter at the end of the said series constitutes the address code of the memory. This so-called indirect addressing calls for a certain duration further to pulse counting and may be a source of error, for instance if a given pulse is not taken into account for various reasons. 
     Neither the data nor the command received are checked for integrity, hence a certain lack of security. 
     The transaction protocol is of synchronous type, which implies rigorous synchronism between the terminal and the smart card, a synchronism which is sometimes difficult to obtain and to maintain during the transaction because of external disturbances. 
     No acknowledgement of receipt is given when receiving the data or the command received. 
     Correct operation of the command is not checked. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a smart card which does not exhibit the shortcomings afore mentioned. 
     This objective is satisfied by modifying the signals applied to the smart card as well as the access circuits to the card memory so that: 
     communication between the terminal and the smart card is performed using an asynchronous communication protocol; 
     memory addressing is direct addressing; 
     the information received by the card and relating to an address, a command or a data, can be checked; 
     the smart card returns an acknowledgement of receipt to the terminal, to confirm that the information was received in full; 
     the smart card transmits to the terminal a piece of information stating that the command was executed correctly. 
     The invention relates to a contact smart card comprising a memory capable of working together with a terminal via access circuits comprising an addressing circuit and a control circuit, characterised in that the access circuits to the said memory further comprise: 
     a circuit for receiving and analysing electric signals applied to the contacts of the smart card by the terminal, whereas the said reception and analysis circuit provides messages and codes; 
     a circuit for interpreting and switching the codes supplied by the analysis circuit according to whether it is a memory address code, a data code or a control code; 
     an address register which records the address code supplied by the interpretation and switch circuit to make it available to the addressing circuit; 
     at least one data register which records the control code of the operation to be performed on the memory or the data code, possibly to be recorded therein, in order to make the said codes available to the control circuit with a view to performing the operation indicated by the control code, 
     at least one output register which records the code read in the memory or the execution status code of the control, supplied by the control circuit, and 
     a circuit for transmitting to the contacts, the codes supplied by the output register and messages supplied by the reception and analysis circuit in order to transmit them to the terminal. 
     The card according to the invention is advantageously, after a few minor improvements, in addition to the wired functions mentioned above, totally compatible with readers of the existing stock. In particular, it is especially advantageous to be able to use the microprocessor card readers, which is currently impossible with the present smart cards. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The invention will be better understood when reading the following description of a peculiar embodiment, whereas the said description refers to the appended drawing in which the sole FIGURE is a block diagram of a smart card according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The smart card  40  comprises as already known: 
     a memory  10  of the type enabling to read and to record data in the form of binary figures in elementary cells, 
     an addressing circuit  12  of the memory  10  in order to select one or several groups of elementary cells, each corresponding to a data to be read or to be recorded, 
     a control circuit  14  of the memory  10  and of the addressing circuit  12  to record or read the cells of the memory  10  at an address specified in the addressing circuit  12 , and 
     a plurality of contacts  16  arranged on one side of the card in order to establish the electric links between a terminal  18  and the smart card. 
     According to the invention, the smart card comprises, besides the elements indicated above, a device  20  which establishes the link between, on the one hand the plurality of contacts  16  and, on the other hand, the addressing circuit  12  and the control circuit  14 . 
     This device  20  comprises: 
     a reception and analysis circuit  22  for the electric signals received on the contacts  16  in order to analyse the electric signals and to supply, on the one hand, messages to the terminal  18  and, on the other hand, codes which are representative of data, memory cell addresses and commands or instructions to be carried out, 
     an interpretation and switch circuit  24  for the codes supplied by the reception and analysis circuit  22 , 
     an address register  26  to record the address code transmitted by the terminal and to make it available to the addressing circuit  12 , 
     at least one data register  28  to record the data code or the instruction code transmitted by the terminal and to make it available to the control circuit  14 , 
     at least one output register  32  in order to record the code read in the memory  10  or the execution status of the instruction, and 
     a transmission circuit  34  for the code contained in the output register  32  to the terminal  18  via the contacts  16 . 
     The link between the terminal  18  and the card  40  uses the plurality of contacts  16  while applying on the said contacts, electric signals which have been standardised according to so-called asynchronous communication protocols. These protocols can be of different known types and notably those known under the designation RS232 as regards a series link commonly used between a personal computer and its peripherals or the designations V 22 , V 23 , etc. as regards modem link. 
     The protocol selected is implemented by the terminal and must be understood by the smart card at the reception and analysis circuit  22 . 
     The latter circuit  22  receives the electric signals from the terminal and analyses them to check their integrity. 
     To this end, the terminal is set up to add a redundant piece of information in the signals transmitted, information that the reception and analysis circuit  22  is able to check for availability and value. This may be the presence of a parity bit or of a redundant cyclic code. It should be noted that numerous communication protocols provide with such a redundancy in order to check the integrity of the information transmitted. 
     In case when this verification is fruitless, the instruction is not executed. 
     Beside this non-execution of the command, the reception and analysis circuit  22  is laid out to supply to the terminal an acknowledgement of receipt such as a code indicating that the card has indeed received the information and its integrity is correct. Should this not be the case, it sends an error code. Such acknowledgements of receipt are provided in certain communication protocols. 
     According to the invention, the memory  10  is addressed directly by an address code which is received and analysed by the reception and analysis circuit  22 . 
     Such direct addressing can be done by implementing a protocol known under the abbreviation I 2 C, a protocol used for running computer peripherals. 
     This address code is detected by the interpretation and switch circuit  24  which transmits it to the address register  26 . 
     The interpretation and switch circuit  24  also detects the data and instruction codes and transmits them to one or several registers  28 , whereas the codes contained in the register  28  are made available to the control circuit  14 . 
     Once the instruction has been carried out, the control circuit  14  is set up to generate a status code indicating that the instruction has been performed or an error code showing that the instruction has not been performed. This code is transmitted to the terminal  18  via the output register  32  receiving the code from the control circuit  14  and from the transmission circuit  34 . 
     When the instruction consists in reading, the code read in the memory is transmitted to the terminal via the output register  32  and the transmission circuit  34 . 
     Obviously, the output register  32  can be in the form of two registers, one for the status codes and the other for the data read in the memory  10 . 
     In the smart card that we have just described, a transaction is carried out with a terminal as follows: 
     the terminal generates an instruction according to an application programme suited to the smart card according to the invention, whereby this instruction includes at least one instruction code, one address code and one data code, whereas the assembly constitutes a message, 
     the terminal prepares redundancy information such as a parity figure or a redundant cyclic code and introduces the said piece of information into the message composed of the codes to be transmitted, 
     the terminal transmits these codes to the smart card in asynchronous mode via the contacts  16 , 
     the reception and analysis circuit  22  validates the message received by the smart card, 
     the reception and analysis circuit  22  transmits an acknowledgement of receipt of the message to the terminal via the transmission circuit while indicating by a code whether the message has been received correctly or not, 
     the control circuit  14  carries out the instruction, and 
     the control circuit  14  transmits to the terminal a message certifying that the instruction has indeed been carried out or has not, via the output register  32  and via the transmission circuit  34 .

Technology Category: g