US006045.043A United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 6,045,043 Bashan et al. (45) Date of Patent: Apr. 4, 2000 54 CONTACTICONTACTLESS DATA 5,847,372 12/1998 Kreft ....................................... 235/492 TRANSACTION CARD FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 75 Inventors: Oded Bashan, Carmiel; Nehemya Itay, O 534 559 3/1993 European Pat. Off.. Kibbutz Kfar Giladi; Ronnie Gilboa, 43 10 334 10/1994 Germany. Moshav Beit Hillel; Moshe Aduk, 9638814 12/1996 WIPO. Korazim, all of Israel Primary Examiner. Thien M. Le Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Helfgott & Karas, P.C. 73 Assignee: On Track Innovations Ltd., Rosh Pina, Israel 57 ABSTRACT A data transaction device having contact and contactleSS 21 Appl. No.: 09/001,240 modes of operation, comprises a Semiconductor device for 22 Filed: Dec. 30, 1997 operating in contact and contactleSS modes in accordance with a respective contact or contactleSS data communica 30 Foreign Application Priority Data tions protocol. A contact field includes contacts fixedly Dec. 31, 1996 IL Israel ........................................ 119943 connected to the Semiconductor device for allowing data transmission between the contacts and the Semiconductor 51 Int. Cl." ............................. G06K 19/06; G06K 7/06 device in accordance with the contact data communications 52 U.S. Cl. ............................................. 235/.441; 235/492 protocol, whilst a coil antenna allows contactleSS data trans 58 Field of Search ............................... 235/492, 382.05, mission between the coil antenna and the Semiconductor 235/382, 375, 487 device, in accordance with the contactleSS data communi cations protocol. An antenna interface coupled to the coil 56) References Cited antenna, to the Semiconductor device and to at least Some of the contacts in the contact field is responsive to an electro U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS magnetic field acroSS the coil antenna for effecting contact 5,122,646 6/1992 Taeymans et al. leSS data transmission. 5,206,495 4/1993 Kreft. 5,773,812 6/1998 Kreft ....................................... 235/492 27 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets 13 14 "CONTACT DATA" CONTACT U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 1 of 10 6,045,043 }}OLOTICINOOIWES EO!/\EO (LHVHORJd)|(6- |)]©NIHOLIWAS ILNEWEITE LOVLNOO LOVLNOO U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 2 of 10 6,045,043 ANTENNA INTERFACE 35 20 iHe 38 ( Bi-directional data K.Vdd-Ve) CommS. Circuit 47 DAA Modulator Coil (20,21 Y w E2 2it i? as "L.A. 52 y 45 Y 46 O Contact Coil Y C.M. mode 5 Vold r detecto (20) 1. Vref O d RST s 2 RST E2(EEPROM E2 53 CLK C.M. Prog PG Clock (263Coil unit 51 PROG 54 (25) (26) U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 3 of 10 6,045,043 RST 1\ Vodd MICROPROCESSOR ANTENNA INTERFACE CONTACT CONTACTLESS CONTACT CONTACTLESS MODE MODE MODE MODE Vdd = Vdd = / Vdd = Vdd = / RST = RST = RST, CLK = RST = CLK = Ll CLK = Ul TRISTATE CLK = W IO = 0 =>C.M IO = 1 > CIL E1 MFIELD OFFI E1 MFIELD ON DATA via IO DATA via IO2 > C.M. MODE | > C/L. MODE C.M. dairis CIL (daitials DATA TRANS ISO 7816 CONTACTLESS ACTION via IO2 PROTOCOL Fig. 5 U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 4 of 10 6,045,043 CONTACT CONTACTLESS MODE MODE DATA via IO DATA via IO2 PROTOCOL. PROTOCOL. ISO 7816 CONTACTLESS Fig. 6 U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet S of 10 6,045,043 CONTACT MODE CONTACTLESS MODE CLK, RST CLK = f/N TRISTATE IO2 = DATA B-DIRECTIONAL Fig. 7 U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 6 of 10 6,045,043 GND Fig. 8 b U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 7 of 10 6,045,043 DATA i? of DATA COMMS. COIL(20, 21) CIRCUIT E2 1. O DATIN 65 CO CfO FILCAP 2 O V4- E O DATOUT 1. O 1. O d R CLK DATA i?o (25) (26) U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 8 of 10 6,045,043 DATA if oATA COMMS. COIL(20, 21) CIRCUIT E2 Y O 66 DATIN 65 VO CO O 68 FILCAP AA E? 52 O Y 67 DATOUT Contact Coil n Vodd C.M. mode G O detecto Y Vref O 50 s C.M. E2 53 a C.M f Prog. PG Clock 262 1 PROG 54 2 E CLK DATA i?o 70 (25) (26) PULIN U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 9 of 10 6,045,043 10 ? 84 76 77 21 DATA illo DATA COMMS. COIL(20, 21) CIRCUIT E2 . DATIN 65 FILCAP AA E2 52 16 DATOUT Contact Coil Vodd C.M. mode (20) Vref detecto 50 C.M. R RST E2-EEPROM E2 53 2 c325 CLK c... ItProg. ifPG Coil C8 CLK DATA i?o 71 (25) (26) fuLOUT PULIN 7 GKD Fig.11 GKD U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2000 Sheet 10 0f 10 6,045,043 87 / 77 WOTAGE 80 76 2- REDUCTION / g i LREGULATOR Z S 86 87 C11 aa-ky6 A g 75 aC V, si-'88, a ANTENNA INTERFACE 35 21 DATA illo DATA COMMS. COIL(20, 21) s CIRCUIT E2 É PA7 DATIN 65 52 : "Hy-F Ontactis 5 PA6 Vold C.M. mode -E 1. 67 V detecto s 5 O e C22 2 4 (25) (26) PULOUT 21 PULIN GKD G K D Fig. 12 6,045,043 1 2 CONTACT/CONTACTLESS DATA without in any way modifying the microprocessor. On the TRANSACTION CARD other hand, Such an approach exacts a price in the efficiency of data transfer owing to the inherent differences between FIELD OF THE INVENTION contactless data protocols and the ISO 7816 contact protocol, which thus requires that the card include a data The invention relates to a data transaction device having conversion facility if the microprocessor is to perceive the an on-board processor for effecting both “contact” and Same protocol in both contact and contactleSS modes. The “contactless” modes of data transfer. use of two coils is also considered a retrograde Step remi BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION niscent of the early U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,424 (Vinding) wherein multiple coils were employed: a trend which has Both “contact” and “contactless” devices are known per long been abandoned in favor of the use of a Single coil only. Se. Generally, Such devices are in the form of Smart cards Yet a further consideration associated with the increasing provided either with electrical contacts for effecting direct use of Smart cards is the need to customize each Smart card electrical contact with a card reader, or else they are pro for the particular application for which it is destined. Vided with a coil antenna for effecting contactless 15 Obviously, the provision of both contact and contactless bi-directional communication with a remote card reader. modes of data transfer increases the card's versatility since U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,495 for a Chip Card in the name of H.D. the actual mode of data transfer may then be Selected Kreft discloses a chip card allowing both contact and according to user requirements. However, in practice, there contactleSS communication in a Single Smart card. are many other features associated with Smart cards which Contactless Smart cards are particularly Suited for also must be optimized for each Specific application, be it applications, Such as mass transport Systems, wherein data contactless access control or mass transportation or contact communication must be effected very is quickly without mode bank applications and So on. imposing the overhead incurred in manually introducing the Smart card into the slot of a card reader. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,495 has as a principal object thereof 25 It is an object of the invention to provide a data transac the provision of a contact/contactleSS chip card having a tion card having contact and contactleSS modes of operation microprocessor Selectively coupled either to a contact field each conforming to different communications protocols. or to a coil. A further declared feature is that the micropro It is a further object of the invention, to provide such a cessor operates according to contact mode protocol (ISO data transaction card wherein operating parameters associ Standard 7816) regardless of the mode of data transfer, such ated with the communications protocols can be set by the that the microprocessor 14 perceives no difference between manufacturer or user in accordance with customer require contact and contact-free use of the chip card. mentS. Such chip cards employ an on-board microcomputer In accordance with a broad aspect of the invention there including memory and processing capability for effecting is provided a data transaction card having contact and the desired bi-directional data transmission and data Storage. 35 contactleSS modes of operation, comprising: In the case where “contact' data transmission is required, a Semiconductor device for operating in Said contact and there is provided a So-called “contact field' having a plu contactleSS modes in accordance with a respective rality of contacts, each of which is connected to the micro contact or contactleSS data communications protocol, computer by means of a respective electrical connection. 40 a contact field including contacts fixedly connected to the Data transmission with an external reader is then effected by Semiconductor device for allowing data transmission inserting the card into a Suitable reader having Spring-loaded between the contacts and the Semiconductor device in contacts which bear on respective contacts in the contact accordance with Said contact data communications field of the chip card. protocol, Alternatively, when contactleSS data transmission is 45 a coil antenna for allowing contactleSS data transmission required, a coil antenna in the chip card is adapted to receive between the coil antenna and the Semiconductor device, data from and transmit data to a reading device having a in accordance with Said contactleSS data communica Similar antenna.