Chip card and chip card sleeve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9626615-B2
Application number	US-201514824133-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2015
Priority date	Aug 12, 2014
Publication date	Apr 18, 2017
Grant date	Apr 18, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a chip card is provided, having a first contact area and a second contact area, a measuring circuit that is configured to measure an impedance between the first contact area and the second contact area and a control circuit that is configured to take the measured impedance as a basis for configuring a function of the chip card.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A chip card, comprising:
a first contact area and a second contact area;
a measuring circuit that is configured to measure an impedance between the first contact area and the second contact area;
a control circuit that is configured to take the measured impedance as a basis for configuring a function of the chip card; and
a chip card module configured to communicate with another device,
wherein the control circuit is set up to configure the function of the chip card on the basis of whether the measured impedance is above a prescribed threshold value,
wherein the prescribed threshold value is at least about 1 mega ohm.

2. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the measurement of the impedance is the comparison with the prescribed threshold value.

3. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the impedance is the nonreactive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, the capacitive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, the inductive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area or a combination thereof.

4. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the impedance is the nonreactive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, and the control circuit is set up to configure the function of the chip card on the basis of whether the first contact area and the second contact area are electrically conductively connected to one another.

5. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the impedance is the nonreactive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, and the control circuit is set up to configure the function of the chip card on the basis of whether the first contact area and the second contact area are electrically connected to one another at least by a human finger.

6. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the control circuit is configured to take the measured impedance as a basis for activating a function of the chip card.

7. The chip card of claim 1 , further comprising:
a contactless interface, wherein the function is a function of the contactless interface.

8. The chip card of claim 7 ,
wherein the function is a payment using the contactless interface.

9. The chip card of claim 1 , further comprising:
a chip card module, wherein the first contact area, the second contact area, the measuring circuit and the control circuit are part of the chip card module.

10. The chip card of claim 9 ,
wherein the first contact area and the second contact area are arranged on an exposed surface of the chip card module.

11. The chip card of claim 9 ,
wherein the first contact area and the second contact area are contact pads of the chip card module.

12. The chip card of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one further contact area and a further measuring circuit that is configured to measure an impedance between the first contact area and the at least one further contact area, wherein the control circuit is configured to take the measured impedances as a basis for configuring the function of the chip card.

13. The chip card of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least two further contact areas and a further measuring circuit that is configured to measure an impedance between the further contact areas, wherein the control circuit is configured to take the measured impedances as a basis for configuring the function of the chip card.

14. The chip card of claim 1 ,
wherein the chip card is a dual interface chip card.

15. The chip card of claim 1 , wherein the chip card does not have an internal power source.

16. The chip card of claim 15 , wherein the chip card module comprises a near field communication (NFC) antenna.

17. The chip card of claim 16 , wherein the NFC antenna is configured to transform an electromagnetic field received at the chip card from an external device into power for the chip card.

18. A chip card, comprising:
a first contact area and a second contact area;
a measuring circuit that is configured to measure an impedance between the first contact area and the second contact area;
a control circuit that is configured to take the measured impedance as a basis for configuring a function of the chip card; and
a chip card module configured to communicate with another device,
wherein the impedance is the nonreactive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, the capacitive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area, the inductive resistance between the first contact area and the second contact area or a combination thereof, and
wherein the chip card does not have an internal power source.

19. The chip card of claim 18 , wherein the chip card module comprises a near field communication (NFC) antenna.

20. The chip card of claim 19 , wherein the NFC antenna is configured to transform an electromagnetic field received at the chip card from an external device into power for the chip card.

Assignees

• Infineon Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Laackmann Peter

Classifications

• G06K19/0723

  the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs · CPC title

• G06K19/07794

  the record carrier comprising a booster or auxiliary antenna in addition to the antenna connected directly to the integrated circuit · CPC title

• G06K19/07716

  the record carrier comprising means for customization, e.g. being arranged for personalization in batch · CPC title

• G06K19/07749

  the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card · CPC title

• G06K19/07354

  by biometrically sensitive means, e.g. fingerprint sensitive (fingerprint sensors in general G06V40/12; biometrically activated access control G07C9/25) · CPC title