Smartcard with integrated location determination system

ES 2 201 678 T3

DESCRIPTION

Chip card with integrated time determination system.

The present invention refers to a smart card with an integrated time determination system. The present invention also relates to a smart card, for example a SIM card, with an integrated time determination system. The invention also relates to a billing procedure that can be carried out with the corresponding chip card.

In telecommunication networks, for example, in telecommunication networks with the GSM standard, the rate of a connection to be billed depends on different factors, among others, the duration of the connection, the time it is carried out and the geographical place where the interlocutors are located. In most cases, these parameters are calculated in the network infrastructure, for example, in a central billing office. From these parameters, the cost of the connection is calculated and this is charged to the user's account, either from the network provider or from a financial institution. This billing procedure is extremely costly and expensive for the network provider and requires a complex billing system and many manual and semi-automatic operations.

Patent document EP656733 describes a billing system for mobile phones, in which all the connection parameters, necessary to calculate the tariff to be billed, are recorded in the memory of the mobile phone. This amount can thus be seen on the mobile phone screen for information purposes. However, this patent document does not describe how the calculated fee can be billed automatically. Furthermore, the duration of the connection and the time of the connection are determined using the internal clock of the mobile phone. The network provider does not control the accuracy of the clock of mobile phones offered by other manufacturers. In most mobile phones, this clock can be configured by the user, which makes it possible to incorrectly adjust the clock settings at a time when the rate is cheaper.

Patent document FR2680261 describes a chip card for telephones comprising a prepaid account as well as tariff lists. The rate to be billed for connections is determined from the prepaid account depending on the duration of the connection and the stored rates. Also, the time and duration of the connection is calculated on an external device.

Patent application PCT / CH97 / 00472 describes a billing procedure for billing a call to a user identified by a user card in a telecommunications network. In this billing procedure, the duration of the call is measured by a quartz oscillator integrated in the user card. The amount billed is thus calculated depending on the duration of the call and on at least one of the tariff lists stored on the user card.

In this way, the most important parameters necessary for calculating the invoiced amount are determined directly on the card, so that the amount can be invoiced directly at source. The calculated amount can thus be charged directly to the prepaid account of the user card and / or be communicated by means of a receipt to an upload server in the telecommunications network.

Chip cards with a built-in quartz oscillator are, however, difficult to manufacture and have a short lifespan and are therefore also expensive. Furthermore, the chip cards described in this application only allow the time and duration of the call to be determined, but not the place where the user making the call is located.

Document WO97 / 40616 describes another SIM card with a prepaid account as well as a clock that determines the duration of the call. A variant makes it possible for the prepaid account to be charged in pulses from the network. The clock is powered by means of a current source external to the chip card; consequently, the time can be manipulated while the chip card is temporarily not loaded.

Patent application CH98 / 00367 describes a user card for mobile phone users that comprises all the components of a time measurement device except for quartz. This integrated time measurement device is synchronized with an external step signal, for example from the quartz of the mobile. Furthermore, the time settings can be verified at any time by the network's time server and can be corrected if necessary. In this way, different mechanisms make it possible to verify the accuracy and operation of the time measurement device from the network time server.

This procedure cannot prevent the user from manipulating the time between two corrections. Furthermore, the chip card described in this application only allows to determine the time and duration of the call, but not the location of the interlocutors.

USS'546'445 describes a mobile phone with an integrated GPS receiver. The information regarding the location of the interlocutors is sent to a switchboard and thus used to determine the amount to be billed. This system is not suitable for prepaid solutions.

Therefore one of the aims of the invention is to propose a smart card with an integrated improved time measurement device.

Another objective is to propose a new chip card with an integrated time measurement device that can be used with a safer use when it is required that the hour calculation cannot be manipulated.

In accordance with the invention, these objectives are achieved by the method described in method claim 1 and with the aid of the devices described in the independent device claims 11 to 27, different variants being described in the dependent claims.

These objectives are achieved, in particular, by means of a procedure, in which the duration of the connections or the duration of other billable processes, is determined with the time information, which is calculated by a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver consists of, for example, an antenna, a high-frequency switch and a digital processing switch, all or only some of these components being integrated on the chip card.

In this way, all the parameters necessary to determine the amount billed can be calculated directly on the card, so that billing can be done at the origin to the user. GPS signals are very difficult to falsify, thanks to

ES 2 201 678 T3 which, the system is in a position to guarantee a high level of security.

The present invention can be better understood with the aid of the description which is made by way of example and which is represented in the figures. Of them:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the first embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the second embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the third embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 4 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the fourth embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 5 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the fifth embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 6 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the sixth embodiment of the invention and a conventional terminal unit.

Figure 7 shows a block diagram with an identification card of the seventh embodiment of the invention, a conventional terminal unit and an additional device.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a system with a terminal unit 1 and an identification card 2. The terminal unit 1 can be, for example, a digital mobile phone, for example a GSM or UMTS mobile phone, or a phonebook computing or laptop with a communications interface and a chip card reader. The terminal unit 1 could also be a telecommunications terminal, such as a telephone or a computer that is connected to a public telephone network or a PLC (Power Line Communication) network, in which users are identified with a card personal chip.

The identification card 2, for example a SIM card 2 (Subscriber Identity Module), can be connected to the terminal unit, to identify the user of a telecommunications network. Among other applications, conventional SIM cards are already used in GSM and UMTS mobiles. The SIM card will preferably be a Full-Size (ISO) card; this is connected to the terminal unit 1 via the contact area 27 on the surface of the card. However, within the framework of this invention, other card formats can also be used, as well as cards that do not need contact for use. The SIM card 2 comprises a data processing unit 21, for example a known GSM-SIM microcontroller. SIM cards are described, for example, in the technical specification GSM 11.11 and GSM 11.14, which, since 1995 and / or 1996 respectively, can be obtained from the secretariat of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, F-06921, Sophia Antipolis. Other identification cards can also be used with this invention, such as for example the multipurpose cards known under the name Opencard, or Java cards.

According to the invention, the SIM card 2 additionally comprises a receiver for signals that are emitted from a fleet of satellites integrated in a geographic position location system, for example a GPS system. The receiver comprises a radio frequency front end 24, an integrated digital processor 23, and an integrated GPS antenna. Both the digital processor 23 and the front circuit 24 are integrated respectively in a chip. The circuits 23 and 24 are preferably powered by an energy accumulator 20 (for example a battery or a capacitor) located on the card 2, at least while the terminal unit 1 is disconnected. The supply voltage is 3.3 volts or less to keep power consumption limited.

The front circuit 24 is preferably composed of an ASIC, which converts the GPS signal with its frequency of approximately 1.575 GHz into a signal with a lower frequency, which can be processed by the digital processor 23. The circuit 24 is preferably manufactured with transistors bipolar or other fast technology. The front switch can also, if necessary, incorporate an amplifier for the signal from the antenna 25.

The digital circuit 23 consists, for example, of a universal processor or, preferably, a signal processor (DSP), which can be equipped, for example, with CMOS or other energy-saving technology, as well as a ROM memory, a RAM memory and, if necessary, some correlators. With a program, according to known techniques, in the ROM memory, the processor of circuit 23 is able to process the signals of circuit 24 and calculate, from these signals, the time information, as well as, if necessary, the information on the geographical position.

Oscillator 22, for example a quartz oscillator, an LC oscillator or an oscillator that can generate an electrical frequency from an interference between two optical frequencies of a laser, is also integrated in this variant on the card 2. The frequency generated by oscillator 22 is used, among other things, for scanning the GPS frequencies.

The antenna 25 is also integrated in the chip card in this embodiment. In this variant, the card includes all the components of a GPS receiver and can calculate both the time and the geographical position, if it is connected to the mobile phone. Furthermore, since all the components of the GPS receiver are integrated in the card 2, it is very difficult for a counterfeiter to alter the time or the geographical position.

The digital switch 23 is connected to a conventional GSM processor 21. The time and geographical information that has been calculated by the GSM receiver is supplied to the GSM processor 21. With this information about time, the processor 21 is able to calculate the absolute time and the duration of certain processes of the card 2, for example, the duration of a telephone connection. Furthermore, the GSM processor 21 will preferably contain lists of rates, with which it will be in a position to calculate telecommunications rates, depending on the time, the duration of the connection and / or the geographical position of the user. The remote upload of these rate lists will be carried out on the network, preferably from a managed rate server

ES 2 201 678 T3 by its operator, by means of SMS or USSD messages marked and encrypted cryptographically and will be stored in a protected area 210 of the processor 21, so that they cannot be modified by the user. The processor will check whether the tariff lists it receives have actually been marked by an authorized network operator. Swiss patent application No. 367/98 describes different procedures, to set the time when connecting the SIM card in the communication network.

In this way, the calculated amount can be immediately displayed on the screen of the mobile phone 21 and loaded into the prepaid account of a SIM card paid in advance, or communicated through a signed receipt to a credit institution (bank or network operator ). The card, as described in the present invention, can also be used to measure the duration of other processes on card 2, for example, the duration of use made of certain services or applications or the use of non-existent resources. related to the realization of communications traffic.

Furthermore, it is possible to use the chip card, as described in the present invention, for applications other than mobile telephony. Chip cards of this type can also be used, for example, in pay television systems or in computer networks, for, for example, billing, when this depends on the time of use, the duration of use and / or the geographical position of the user. The chip card 2 can also be used as an identification card in a fixed network or in a PLC (Power Line Communication) network, in which users are identified with personal chip cards.

Within the framework of the present invention, the processor 21 can also be a Java processor, according to known techniques, which can also contain, for example, a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) module, to connect the card 2 to the Internet. It is also possible within the framework of the present invention, for example, to integrate the GSM processor 21 and the digital circuit 23 on a single chip.

The GPS circuit preferably uses the time and geographical information that it receives from the mobile phone and the mobile phone network, to synchronize with the received GPS signal, more quickly and in situations of poor coverage.

In a variant, the SIM card 2 uses the temporal and geographical information from the mobile telephone or the mobile telephone network, for example from the base station, when it cannot receive any GPS signal, for example inside buildings. In that case, the time will not be adjusted automatically, until the card receives new temporary information from a GPS satellite. The use of the card can be blocked with a special application, if the card has not been adjusted within a certain period of time.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of an identification card of a second embodiment of the invention. In this variant, card 2 does not include its own oscillator for scanning the GPS frequencies, but uses quartz oscillator 12 for this purpose, which, in any case, is included in most mobile phones 1. In This variant, the card can not work, if it is not connected with a mobile phone. However, the calculated time cannot be falsified with a simple manipulation of the mobile phone or a replacement of the quartz oscillator 12, so that this embodiment guarantees the same level of security as the first embodiment set forth.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of an identification card 2 of the third embodiment of the invention. In this variant, the card also uses the quartz oscillator 12 of the mobile phone. Furthermore, it does not comprise a GPS antenna, but uses the antenna integrated in the mobile phone 1, with which the received signal is transmitted to the radio frequency circuit 24 through the contact area.

27. This variant makes it possible to use a better and larger antenna and, in addition, to mount it outside of the mobile phone case or in the snap-on battery case, so that the problem of the attenuation of the GPS signal inside the camera is solved. Case. However, this variant only works with mobile phones that have a GPS antenna.

Figure 4 shows a block diagram of an identification card 2 of the fourth embodiment of the invention. In this variant, the card also uses the quartz oscillator 12 and the GPS antenna 15 of the mobile phone. In addition, it uses a radio frequency circuit14, which is also found in mobile phone 1. Signals between circuit 14 and digital circuit 23 are also transmitted through contact area 27. Since GPS signals are encoded, it is very difficult to generate false signals, so this variant also offers a high level of security.

Since, in this case, the card consists solely of the low-power consumption components 21 and 23, it is also possible to dispense with the battery 20 and use only the mobile battery.

Figure 5 shows a block diagram of an identification card 2 of the fifth embodiment of the invention. In this variant, the card also uses the quartz oscillator 12, the GPS antenna 15 and the radio frequency circuit 14 of the mobile phone 1. In addition, it makes use of at least certain functions of a GPS digital circuit built into the mobile phone 1 , so that the card only executes some GPS operations of extreme importance for security. These operations can also be carried out, for example, by the GSM processor 21. In this embodiment, the card 2 receives from the circuit 13 digital signals, preferably electronically marked and encoded, which are difficult to generate with these characteristics and calculates From them, the information about the time and the geographical position.

This variant has the advantage of not requiring any kind of hardware adaptation. It can be used, for example, with a conventional SIM card, a Java card or an Opencard, which has been programmed with a new application, which allows the card to access certain signals of the circuit 14.

Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of an identification card 2 of the sixth embodiment of this invention. This variant corresponds to the variant of figure 1, except that the card is equipped with an additional interface 26 that does not need contact, for example, an electromagnetic interface, as described in patent application PCT / CH97 / 00237 or a high-frequency interface, such as a bluetooth interface. With this interface, the SIM card can communicate without the need for contact with external devices, for,

ES 2 201 678 T3 for example, carry out process billing of those devices.

The chip cards corresponding to the embodiments of Figures 2 to 5 can also be equipped with a non-contact interface 26.

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a system with an identification card 2, corresponding to a seventh embodiment of the invention. In this variant, the card consists of a conventional processor 21, for example a GSM processor or a multipurpose Java processor, as well as a non-contact interface 26, preferably an electromagnetic interface, such as, for example, a bluetooth interface. The SIM card can be connected through this non-contact interface with external devices 3, which have a GPS receiver. In the example shown, the external device 3 is composed of a non-contact interface 36, for example an RFID interface, which works with a frequency of 135 Khz, 13.65 Mhz, 2.45 Ghz or 5.8 Ghz, or a bluetooth interface, a GPS antenna 35, a front radio frequency circuit 34, a GPS digital circuit 33 and an oscillator 32. It is preferable that the external device 3 also has an authenticated system not represented, to authenticate the temporary and geographical information that reaches the GPS receiver, record it in receipts and send them, through the interface 36-26 to the chip card 2 .

The chip card 2 is capable of receiving these receipts and checking whether they have been authenticated by a device 3 authorized by the network provider. In this case, the card can bill processes with the help of the rate tables stored in the protected zone 210 and on the basis of the time and geographical information received.

The external device may preferably have communication systems not shown, which allow it to receive digital data from a network not shown. Device 3 may be equipped, for example, with a modem or a router, which enable it to connect to the Internet. Device 3 preferably consists of a DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) receiver, with which it can receive digital signals in broadcast mode. This data can also be transmitted through interface 26-36. In this way, it is possible to load up-to-date tariff lists on SIM card 2 in this way.