The original idea of IC card was put forward by the Japanese. 1969 65438+in February, Mr. Kotaka Muramura of Japan proposed a method to make a safe and reliable credit card, and obtained a patent in 1970. At that time, it was called an ID card. 1974, Roland Murrella of France invented the plastic card with integrated circuit chip, that is, the early ic card, and obtained the patent right, but it has not been put into practical use yet. In 1983, this invention has attracted the attention of the French government, which stepped forward and promoted the practical application of IC cards.
According to the different functions of embedded integrated circuits used in cards, IC cards can be divided into contact IC cards and contactless IC cards. The contact IC card has copper contacts with standard shapes, and the information exchange with external reconciliation equipment is realized by connecting with the contacts of the cardholder. It is divided into the following four sub-categories: first, memory cards-with storage and memory functions, without encryption logic, suitable for application systems where internal information does not need to be encrypted, such as health cards; The second type is an encrypted memory card-the card has multiple passwords, and only after the passwords are correctly entered can the information content in the corresponding area be read or written. If the password is entered incorrectly for a certain number of times, the card will be automatically blocked and become a dead card. This card is suitable for application systems that need encryption, such as canteen meal cards; 3. Smart Card-There is also an information processor (CPU) on the card, which is a single chip microcomputer system with an operating system, strictly preventing illegal users from accessing the information in the card. An information area can also be locked after several illegal accesses are found, but it can be unlocked by advanced commands, so that the information in the card is absolutely safe and the system reliability is high. This card is used in top secret systems, such as bank financial cards; Fourth, Super Card-a smart card with keyboard, LCD screen and power supply. This card is also used in top secret systems, such as bank financial cards or wartime security cards.
Contactless IC card, in a closed package, transmits information through radio frequency and external equipment. It uses externally emitted high-frequency electromagnetic wave energy and signal source to erase and store.
In practical use, contact IC card is the most widely used. Bank cards were first used in France. By 1992, there are 2 1 10,000 such bank cards in France. The card reader in the store establishes the contact between the card and the bank, and the cardholder enters the personal identification number to prove that he has the right to use the card. If the PIN does not match the code on the stored-value card, the card reader will inform the clerk to collect the card, and soon after that, the card reader can use electrical signals to invalidate the fraudulent card. Contactless IC cards are generally used for external contacts, such as IC cards for expressway toll collection being developed by the Ministry of Construction of Japan. As long as the driver has this IC card in his pocket, he can automatically charge the card to the account of the toll booth without stopping at high speed. The principle is to use light waves and electric waves to automatically settle accounts through a microcomputer.
Compared with previous identification cards, IC cards have the following characteristics: First, they are highly reliable-IC cards have the abilities of anti-magnetism, anti-static, anti-mechanical damage and anti-chemical damage, the information retention period is over 100 years, the reading and writing times are over 10000 times, and they can be used for at least10 years; Second, the security is good; Third, the storage capacity is large; Fourth, the reader is easy to implement; Fifth, there are many types. As a new type of identity card, IC card naturally needs its special equipment to support it. IC card system consists of computer, card holder, card reader, application system and IC card. Among them, the main function of the card holder is to provide mechanical support and electrical contact for the card; The basic function of card reader is to read and write cards, and some can also process and encrypt data. The main functions of application software should be card reading and writing control, result display, data processing, system encryption and system communication. The quality of software design will directly affect the running effect of the whole system.
From a global perspective, the application scope of IC card is no longer limited to the early communication field, but widely used in finance, social insurance, transportation and tourism, medical and health care, government administration, commodity retail, leisure and entertainment, school management and other fields. In the information society, IC cards have a bright future. From the perspective of IC card technology, the general development trend is to develop in the direction of high function and large capacity.