阅读说明：本技术 生物特征接口 (Biometric interface ) 是由 彼得·科林 阿德里安·菲利普·怀斯 于 2019-08-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种用于与终端通信的设备。该设备包括：用于与终端进行通信的通信单元；以及生物特征单元,该生物特征单元包括用于感测生物特征数据的生物特征传感器；用于将设备连接到终端的接触器；生物特征单元与接触器之间的第一物理接口,该第一物理接口被配置为使得能够在生物特征单元和终端之间进行接触式通信；通信单元与生物特征单元之间的第二物理接口,该第二物理接口被配置为使得能够在通信单元与生物特征单元之间进行接触式通信。该设备被配置为使得终端与通信单元之间的所有接触式通信都经由第一和第二物理接口通过生物特征单元被路由。(An apparatus for communicating with a terminal is disclosed. The apparatus comprises: a communication unit for communicating with a terminal; and a biometric unit comprising a biometric sensor for sensing biometric data; a contactor for connecting the device to a terminal; a first physical interface between the biometric unit and the contactor, the first physical interface configured to enable contact communication between the biometric unit and the terminal; a second physical interface between the communication unit and the biometric unit, the second physical interface configured to enable contact communication between the communication unit and the biometric unit. The device is configured such that all contact communications between the terminal and the communication unit are routed through the biometric unit via the first and second physical interfaces.)

1. An apparatus for communicating with a terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with the terminal;

a biometric unit comprising a biometric sensor for sensing biometric data;

a contactor for connecting the device to the terminal;

a first physical interface between the biometric unit and the contactor, the first physical interface configured to enable contact communication between the biometric unit and the terminal; and

a second physical interface between the communication unit and the biometric unit, the second physical interface configured to enable contact communication between the communication unit and the biometric unit;

the device is configured such that all contact communications between the terminal and the communication unit are routed through the biometric unit via the first physical interface and the second physical interface.

2. The device of claim 1, configured such that the second physical interface carries both a biometric communication originating from the biometric unit and destined for the communication unit or originating from the communication unit and destined for the biometric unit, and a primary communication originating from the terminal and destined for the communication unit or originating from the communication unit and destined for the terminal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, the biometric unit comprising a biometric controller for controlling operation of the biometric unit.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the biometric unit comprises a multiplexer configured to:

receiving inputs from the contactor and from the biometric controller, and multiplexing these received inputs onto the second physical interface; and is

Inputs from the communication unit are received on the second physical interface and these received inputs are directed to the contactor or the biometric controller.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the biometric controller comprises the multiplexer.

6. The device of claim 4 or 5, wherein the biometric controller is configured to:

monitoring a primary communication between the terminal and the communication unit for a marker;

upon identification of the tag, control the multiplexer to switch from routing primary communications between the contactor and the communication unit to routing biometric communications between the biometric controller and the communication unit.

7. The device of any preceding claim, wherein the device is configured to electrically isolate the contactor from biometric communication between the biometric unit and the communication unit.

8. The device of claim 7 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the first physical interface comprises an I/O signal line comprising an isolator for isolating the contactor from biometric communications on the second physical interface.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the isolator is a pass transistor having a gate connected to a supply voltage of the biometric controller.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 or 8, wherein the isolator is a unidirectional isolator.

11. The device of claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the I/O signal line further comprises a resistive pullup on a biometric controller side of the isolator.

12. The device of claim 7 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the first physical interface comprises a reset signal line comprising a unidirectional isolator for isolating the contactor from biometric communication on the second physical interface.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the unidirectional isolator is a pass transistor having a gate connected to a supply voltage of the biometric controller.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the unidirectional isolator is a diode.

15. The device of claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the reset signal line further comprises a resistive pullup on a biometric controller side of the unidirectional isolator.

16. The device of claim 7 when dependent on claim 3, configured to output a clock signal from the biometric controller onto a clock signal line on the second physical interface to isolate the contactor from biometric communications on the second physical interface.

17. The apparatus of claim 3 or any one of claims 4 to 15 when dependent on claim 3, the biometric controller being configured to output as the clock interface signal one of: (i) a voltage-calibrated version of a terminal clock signal from the terminal; and (ii) an internally generated clock signal from the biometric controller.

18. The device of claim 16 or 17, wherein the biometric controller is configured to select a baud rate of biometric communication with the communication unit to be proportional to a frequency of the clock interface signal.

19. The device of any preceding claim, configured to enable contact communication between the communications unit and the biometric unit according to a first communications protocol, and contact communication between the biometric unit and the terminal according to a second communications protocol.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the first communication protocol is the same as the second communication protocol.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the biometric unit and the communication unit are configured to embed biometric communications within messages of the first communication protocol.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the biometric unit and the communication unit are configured to utilize at least one different communication parameter for biometric communication and primary communication.

23. The device of claim 21 or 22, wherein the biometric unit and the communication unit are configured to perform biometric communication using a higher baud rate than the primary communication.

24. The device of any preceding claim, wherein the first communication protocol is ISO 7816.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein the biometric unit and the communication unit are configured to set a most significant nibble of a CLA-like field of a header of each Application Protocol Data Unit (APDU) of ISO7816 to a predetermined value to identify the APDU as carrying the biometric communication.

26. The device of any preceding claim, the arrangement being such that when the device is in contact with the terminal, power is received through the contactor and routed to the communication unit via the biometric unit.

27. The apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising:

an antenna; and

a third physical interface between the antenna and the communication unit, the third physical interface being configured to enable contactless communication between the terminal and the communication unit according to a third communication protocol;

the device is configured to: when the antenna is receiving communications from the terminal, power is taken from a radio frequency field received at the antenna and power is routed from the antenna to the communication unit via the biometric unit.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the third communication protocol is ISO 14443.

29. The device of claim 27 or 28, wherein the biometric controller is configured to: and when the communication unit is performing the non-contact communication with the terminal, controlling the communication unit to perform the biometric communication with the biometric controller through the second physical interface according to the second communication protocol.

30. The device of any of claims 27-29, wherein the communication unit is configured to: (i) detect that the device is in a contact mode of operation if the communication received by the communication unit over the second physical interface originates from the contactor, (ii) detect that the device is in a contactless mode of operation if the communication received by the communication unit over the second physical interface originates from the biometric unit.

31. The device of any of claims 27 to 30, wherein the communication unit is configured to: detecting that the device is in a contactless mode of operation if the communication unit senses traffic on the third physical interface.

32. The device of any of claims 27 to 31, wherein the biometric unit is configured to: detecting that the device is in a contact mode of operation if the biometric unit senses power on the first physical interface.

33. The device of any of claims 27 to 32, wherein the biometric unit is configured to: detecting that the device is in a contact mode of operation if the biometric unit senses a clock signal on the first physical interface.

34. The device of any of claims 27 to 33, wherein the biometric unit is configured to: detecting that the device is in a contactless mode of operation if the biometric unit senses power on a fourth physical interface between the antenna and the biometric unit.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to interface communications between modules of a multifunction device. An example of such a device is a smartcard with biometric (biometric) functionality.

Background

A smart card may refer to a device that includes an embedded integrated circuit chip and internal memory. The internal memory may be located on an integrated circuit chip or may be a separate chip embedded within the card. The smart card may be a contact card, a contactless card, or can function as both a contact card and a contactless card. Smart cards exist in various forms including plastic cards, key fobs, watches, wearable devices, electronic passports and USB-based tokens, and Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) used in mobile phones.

The contact card communicates with the terminal by being physically connected to the terminal (e.g., a card reader). For example, a contact card may include one or more contacts that provide electrical connection to a terminal when the card and the terminal are brought into proper physical contact (e.g., by inserting the card into a slot in the terminal). When the contact card is physically connected to the terminal, the contact card is powered by the terminal.

The contactless card can communicate with the terminal without direct physical contact. Generally, contactless cards communicate with terminals through radio waves. The contactless card may include an antenna for receiving an electromagnetic signal (e.g., an RF signal) transmitted from the terminal. Likewise, data from the card may be transmitted back to the terminal through the card's antenna. Contactless cards derive power from RF signals to supply power.

Smart card technology is used for implementation in a variety of devices that perform increasingly diverse functions, such as performing payments, granting users physical access to areas of the environment, storing personal identification information of users, identifying or authenticating users, and the like.

A device may be capable of performing a number of different functions and of coupling these different functions. For example, it is known to incorporate biometric sensors into smart cards in order to identify the user of the smart card and for other actions such as authorizing payment based on the identification. In this case, the main function of the card is to perform payment. The embedded chip performs the payment function of the card. A chip, commonly referred to as a Secure Element, provides a Secure encrypted data path for communication between the smart card and the terminal and for user authentication. Authenticating the user via the sensed biometric information is a complementary function of the card. A biometric unit incorporating a biometric sensor senses biometric information of a user. A dedicated physical interface between the chip and the biometric unit enables biometric communication between the two. Thus, in order to adapt a payment card to enable biometric authentication of a user and to incorporate a biometric unit into the card, the embedded chip in the card needs to be modified to interface with the biometric unit.

It is desirable for a device to be able to incorporate biometric functions in addition to its primary function without having to modify the physical characteristics of the embedded chip that performs the primary function.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus for communicating with a terminal, the apparatus comprising: a communication unit for communicating with a terminal; a biometric unit comprising a biometric sensor for sensing biometric data; a contactor for connecting the device to a terminal; a first physical interface between the biometric unit and the contactor is configured to enable contact communication between the biometric unit and the terminal; the second physical interface between the communication unit and the biometric unit is configured to enable contact communication between the communication unit and the biometric unit. The device is configured such that all contact communications between the terminal and the communication unit are routed through the biometric unit via the first and second physical interfaces.

The second physical interface may carry both biometric communication originating from the biometric unit and destined for the communication unit or originating from the communication unit and destined for the biometric unit, and primary communication originating from the terminal and destined for the communication unit or originating from the communication unit and destined for the terminal.

The biometric unit may include a biometric controller for controlling operation of the biometric unit.

The biometric unit may include: a multiplexer configured to: receiving inputs from the contactor and from the biometric controller, and multiplexing these received inputs onto the second physical interface; and receiving inputs from the communication unit on the second physical interface and directing those received inputs to the contactor or biometric controller. The biometric controller may include a multiplexer.

The biometric controller may be configured to: monitoring a primary communication between the terminal and the communication unit for the indicia; and upon identification of the marker, control the multiplexer to switch from routing the master communication between the contactor and the communication unit to routing the biometric communication between the biometric controller and the communication unit.

The device may be configured to electrically isolate the contactor from biometric communications between the biometric unit and the communication unit.

The first physical interface may include an I/O signal line including an isolator for isolating the contactor from biometric communications on the second physical interface. The isolator may be a pass transistor (pass transistor) having a gate connected to the supply voltage of the biometric controller. The isolator may be a one-way isolator. The I/O signal line may also include a resistive pullup on the biometric controller side of the isolator.

The first physical interface may include a reset signal line including a unidirectional isolator for isolating the contactor from biometric communication on the second physical interface. The unidirectional isolator may be a pass transistor having a gate connected to a supply voltage of the biometric controller. The unidirectional isolator may be a diode. The reset signal line may also include a resistive pullup on the biometric controller side of the unidirectional isolator.

The device may output a clock signal from the biometric controller onto a clock signal line on the second physical interface to isolate the contactor from biometric communications on the second physical interface.

The biometric controller may output as the clock interface signal one of: (i) a voltage-calibrated version of a terminal clock signal from the terminal; and (ii) an internally generated clock signal from the biometric controller.

The biometric controller may select a baud rate of biometric communications with the communication unit to be proportional to a frequency of the clock interface signal.

The device may enable contact communication between the communication unit and the biometric unit according to a first communication protocol and between the biometric unit and the terminal according to a second communication protocol. The first communication protocol may be the same as the second communication protocol.

The biometric unit and the communication unit may be configured to embed the biometric communication within a message of the first communication protocol.

The biometric unit and the communication unit may be configured to utilize at least one different communication parameter for the biometric communication and the primary communication. The biometric unit and the communication unit may be configured to perform the biometric communication using a higher baud rate than the primary communication.

The first communication protocol may be ISO 7816.

The biometric unit and the communication unit may be configured to set a most significant nibble of a CLA-like field of a header of each Application Protocol Data Unit (APDU) of ISO7816 to a predetermined value to identify the APDU as carrying the biometric communication.

When the device is in contact with the terminal, power can be received by the contactor and routed to the communication unit via the biometric unit.

The apparatus may further comprise: an antenna; and a third physical interface between the antenna and the communication unit is configured to enable contactless communication between the terminal and the communication unit according to a third communication protocol; the device is configured to: when the antenna receives a communication from the terminal, power is taken from the radio frequency field received at the antenna and routed from the antenna to the communication unit via the biometric unit.

The third communication protocol may be ISO 14443.

The biometric controller may control the communication unit to perform the biometric communication with the biometric controller through the second physical interface according to the second communication protocol while the communication unit performs the contactless communication with the terminal.

The communication unit may: (i) detecting that the device is in a contact mode of operation in case a communication received by the communication unit over the second physical interface originates from a contactor; and (ii) detect that the device is in the contactless operating mode if the communication received by the communication unit over the second physical interface originates from the biometric unit. The communication unit may be configured to detect that the device is in the contactless operation mode in case the communication unit senses traffic on the third physical interface. The biometric unit may be configured to detect that the device is in the contact mode of operation if the biometric unit senses power on the first physical interface. The biometric unit may be configured to detect that the device is in the contact mode of operation if the biometric unit senses a clock signal on the first physical interface. The biometric unit may be configured to detect that the device is in the contactless operating mode if the biometric unit senses power on a fourth physical interface between the antenna and the biometric unit.

Drawings

The present disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates the architecture of a smart card;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of a smart card according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate exemplary structures of a biometric unit and an interface of the smart card of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a illustrates an exemplary structure of the level shifter (level shifter) and multiplexer of FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4b illustrates an exemplary structure of the level shifter and multiplexer of FIG. 3 b;

FIG. 5 illustrates a state diagram of the biometric controller and the communication unit; and is

Fig. 6 illustrates the format of an ISO7816 APDU.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a smart card capable of both contact and contactless communication. The smart card 100 comprises a contact 101, an antenna 102, a biometric unit 103 incorporating a biometric sensor 104, and a chip 105 for performing the main functions of the card. The chip 105 comprises an ISO14443 interface 107 for contactless communication via the antenna 102, an ISO7816 interface 108 for contact communication via the contactor 101, and a dedicated interface 109 for communication with the biometric unit 103. The dedicated interface 109 may be an SPI bus, an I2C bus, or other mechanism.

The following description relates to a device, such as a smart card, in which a chip for performing the main function of the device communicates in contact with a terminal using the same physical interface as that used for biometric communication with a biometric unit. Thus, no dedicated physical interface dedicated to biometric communication between the chip and the biometric unit is required. In the case of smart cards, this enables card integrators to use a wider variety of secure elements when assembling biometric-enabled smart cards. Since the security element used is unmodified, no additional industry authentication of the security element is required, which shortens the time required to market a biometric-enabled smart card.

The following figures illustrate exemplary architectures for multifunction devices. In each of these examples, the device takes the form of a smart card and the terminal with which it communicates takes the form of a card reader. This is for illustrative purposes only, and it will be understood that each of the following examples may be implemented in any suitable device capable of performing contact and/or contactless communication with a terminal. For example, the following examples may be implemented within a device that employs a non-card form factor, such as a key fob, a dongle, a security token (e.g., a USB token), or a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Alternatively, the following examples may be implemented within a device integrated into: a communication device such as a mobile phone or smart phone; a wearable device (e.g., a bracelet, a watch, a glove/pair of gloves, a pin (e.g., a brooch), a badge), or some other contactless wearable device.

Fig. 2 illustrates a card 200 comprising a contact 201, a biometric unit 202 and a communication unit 203. A first physical interface 205 connects the contactor 201 to the biometric unit 202. The second physical interface 206 connects the biometric unit 202 to the communication unit 203. There is no physical interface directly connecting the contactor 201 to the communication unit 203.

The card body of the card may have the same size and shape as a conventional smart card. Alternatively, the card body may have a different size and/or shape than a conventional smart card. The card may be in the shape of a cuboid, with one dimension being substantially smaller than the other two, for example less than 10% of either of the other dimensions. The thickness of the card may be between 0.5mm and 2.0 mm. The card may meet the physical dimensions specified for an ID-1 card in ISO 7810, 30 th edition, 8/2018.

The communication unit 203 performs the main function of the card. This may be, for example, generating data to communicate with a terminal regarding a financial transaction. Alternatively, the communication unit may be used to provide some other functionality associated with the card needing to communicate with the terminal, such as: providing physical access (e.g., building access) to the environmental area by the card user; identifying or authenticating a user; retrieve personal user information (e.g., medical information and records), and the like. The communication unit may be an embedded chip, such as a 1C chip. The communication unit may conveniently be implemented as a single integrated circuit. The communication unit may be a secure element. The communication unit includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores code in a non-transitory manner that is executable by the processor to perform the logical functions described herein of the communication unit. The communication unit may further comprise a transient memory for short-term storage of data. For example, data collected by the biometric sensor is stored for a short period of time after initial processing by the biometric controller.

The biometric unit may conveniently be implemented as a single integrated circuit. Suitably, the biometric unit 202 comprises a biometric controller 211 for controlling the operation of the biometric unit. The biometric controller 211 includes a processor and a memory. The memory has a region that stores code in a non-transitory manner that is executable by the processor to perform the logical functions described herein of the biometric unit. The memory may also have an area to store biometric authentication data.

The biometric unit 202 includes a biometric sensor 204. The biometric sensor 204 senses biometric data of the user. The nature of the biometric sensor 204 will depend on the type of biometric data to be used. Some examples are: a fingerprint sensor for capturing a fingerprint; a camera for capturing a face image, a retina image, or an iris image; a vein pattern sensor for capturing a vein pattern; a microphone for capturing a speech pattern; or an accelerometer for capturing motion data. The biometric unit may include multiple sensors for capturing multiple types of biometric data, or multiple sensors for capturing multiple instances of the same type of biometric data: for example for capturing fingerprints on both sides of the card simultaneously.

The biometric verification data represents reference biometric data of an authorized user of the card. Alternatively, such biometric verification data may be stored in the communication unit. The biometric data captured by the biometric sensor may be used in a biometric identification or authentication process. In such a process, the biometric data is compared with the verification data, for example by one of the following processes, to assess whether the biometric data is representative of an authorized user: fingerprint identification; iris recognition; vein recognition; retina recognition; performing voice recognition; behavior recognition; face recognition, and the like. In one example, the comparison may be performed in a biometric unit, for example, by a processor. In another example, the comparison may be done by a processor in the communication unit.

The biometric unit may be (logically and/or physically) independent of the communication unit. For example, the biometric unit and the communication unit may be different components (e.g., separate 1C chips) that are each embedded within the card.

Biometric communications are exchanged between the biometric unit and the communication unit via the second physical interface 206 according to the first communication protocol. The main communication related to the main function of the card is exchanged between the contactor 201 and the communication unit 203. These primary communications are routed through the biometric unit 202 via the first physical interface 205 and the second physical interface 206 according to a second communication protocol. Thus, the second physical interface 206 transmits both the primary communication and the biometric communication between the biometric unit 202 and the communication unit 203. The first and second communication protocols may be the same. Alternatively, the first and second communication protocols may be different.

The card 200 is capable of communicating with the terminal 207 in a contact mode of operation. In the contact mode, the card 200 is brought into physical contact with the terminal 207, for example, by inserting the card into a slot of the terminal. The contacts 201 of the card are physically connected to the contacts of the terminal. The first and second physical interfaces are conductive links. Thus, in the contact mode, the card is electrically connected to the terminal. Thus, the card draws power from the terminal through the contactor 201. Thus, in the contact mode, the biometric unit and the communication unit are powered by the terminal. In the contact mode, the communication unit 203 may communicate with the terminal 207 according to the ISO7816 standard. In other words, in this embodiment, the second communication protocol is ISO 7816. The biometric unit 202 may also communicate with the communication unit 203 according to the ISO7816 standard. In this case, the first communication protocol is also ISO 7816.

The card 200 may also be capable of contactless communication. In this case, the card 200 includes an antenna 208. The antenna may comprise one or more coils of conductive material. A third physical interface 209 connects the antenna 208 to the communication unit 203. A fourth physical interface 210 connects the antenna 208 to the biometric unit 202. In the contactless operation mode, the communication unit 203 communicates with the terminal 207 via a third communication protocol (which is a kind of wireless communication protocol). The antenna 208 receives wireless signals, such as RF signals, from the terminal. These wireless signals contain data according to a third communication protocol. These signals are routed to the communication unit 203 on the third physical interface. The communication unit 203 sends a signal back to the terminal via the antenna 208. The biometric unit 202 is also connected to the antenna via a fourth physical interface 210. While antenna 208 receives communications from the terminal, the card draws power from the RF field at antenna 208. Thus, in the contactless mode, the biometric unit and the communication unit are powered by the terminal. In the contactless mode, the communication unit 203 can communicate with the terminal 207 according to the ISO14443 standard. In other words, in this embodiment, the third communication protocol is ISO 14443.

If the card 200 is capable of contact and contactless communication with the terminal 207, it is a dual interface card because it has a physical communication interface and a contactless communication interface.

FIG. 3a illustrates an embodiment of the generic card architecture shown in FIG. 2. The biometric unit 202 includes a Multiplexer (MUX)305 that receives two items: a signal input from the biometric controller 211 according to a first communication protocol; and a signal input from the contactor 201 according to a second communication protocol. The MUX multiplexes these received inputs onto the second physical interface for reception by the communication unit 203. The MUX also receives input from the communication unit 203 and directs it to the contactor 201 or biometric controller 211 as appropriate.

The MUX operates under the control of the multiplexer controller 306, and the multiplexer controller 306 in turn operates under the control of the biometric controller 211. The biometric controller 211 may detect that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation. The biometric controller 211 may detect this by detecting power on the first physical interface, in other words, detecting that the supply rail voltage is greater than zero (i.e., VCC > 0). The biometric controller 211 thus controls the MUX controller 306 to control the MUX305 to operate in a dynamic mode in which the MUX305 multiplexes communication between the contactor 201 and the communication unit 203 and communication between the biometric unit 202 and the communication unit 203. The biometric controller 211 may determine that the card is operating in a contactless mode of operation. This may be determined if the biometric controller 211 does not detect power on the first physical interface (in other words, the supply rail voltage is zero (i.e., VCC-0)). The biometric controller 211 thus controls the MUX controller 306 to control the MUX305 to operate in a static mode in which the MUX305 directs all communications from the communication unit 203 to the biometric controller 211 and vice versa.

When MUX305 operates in the dynamic mode, biometric controller 211 controls when MUX305 routes communications from the communication unit to contactor 201 via the second physical interface and to the biometric unit. Similarly, the biometric controller 211 controls when the MUX305 routes communications from the contactor 201 to the communication unit via the second physical interface and when to route communications from the biometric unit to the communication unit via the second physical interface. The biometric controller may do this by monitoring the communication between the contactor 201 and the communication unit 203. In particular, the biometric controller may monitor for a flag/token in the primary communication sent between the terminal and the communication unit. Suitably, the flag/marking indicates that no further primary communication takes place between the terminal and the communication unit within a predetermined period of time or until communication is again initiated by either the terminal or the communication unit. Before the token is detected, the biometric controller controls the MUX305 to route the main communication between the contactor 201 and the communication unit 203 over the second physical interface. In response to detecting the marker, the biometric controller controls the MUX305 to switch to routing biometric communications between the biometric controller and the communication unit 203 over the second physical interface. Once the biometric communication has been completed, the biometric controller controls the MUX to switch again to routing the communication between the contactor 201 and the communication unit 203 over the second physical interface. If the biometric controller detects that the terminal is attempting to initiate a primary communication with the communication unit while conducting the biometric communication, the biometric controller may stop the biometric communication and control the MUX to switch to routing the primary communication on the second physical interface. The flag may be a contact mode latency Extension (Waiting Time Extension) command from the communication unit to the terminal.

The communication unit or biometric unit may initiate the biometric verification process without involving the terminal. The biometric controller may activate the biometric sensor 204. In response, the biometric sensor senses biometric data of the user. For example, if the biometric sensor is a fingerprint sensor, it may capture a fingerprint image, such as a grayscale fingerprint image. The biometric controller then extracts the fingerprint features. These fingerprint features are biometric data. The biometric data is compared with stored biometric verification data. If they match, for example, if enough fingerprint features match the stored fingerprint features, the user is authenticated. Otherwise, the user cannot be authenticated.

The matching step may occur at the biometric controller or the communication unit. If the matching step occurs at the biometric controller, the biometric controller sends the result of the matching step to the communication unit through the second physical interface. The biometric controller sends the biometric data to the communication unit through the second physical interface if the matching step occurs at the communication unit.

The communication unit may send the result of the biometric verification process to a host application on the communication unit. The master application may take an action based on the result of the biometric verification. For example, if the primary application is a payment application, the primary application may respond to a successful biometric verification by sending a communication to the terminal. The terminal routes the communication to a back-end banking system that can approve the financial transaction based on the success of the biometric verification. Suitably, no further user authentication is required. If the biometric authentication fails, the host application may trigger additional user authentication. Further user authentication may be e.g. the user entering a PIN code in a card reader/payment terminal. Additional user authentication may be required for other reasons, for example, if the maximum amount authorized by biometric authentication is exceeded.

FIG. 3b illustrates another embodiment of the universal card architecture shown in FIG. 2. The difference between fig. 3a and fig. 3b is that the multiplexing function in fig. 3b is incorporated within the biometric controller 211. The multiplexer in fig. 3a operates at level. The multiplexing function in fig. 3b operates at a higher level. For example, the multiplexer may be implemented in software and may operate on larger data items (e.g., data bytes). Thus, the biometric controller is connected to the contactor 201 via the first physical interface. The primary communication between the terminal and the communication unit is routed through a multiplexer in the biometric controller. Thus, the biometric controller acts as a bridge between the contactor and the communication unit.

As described above, the biometric controller 211 may determine whether the card is communicating with the terminal in a contact or contactless mode of operation by evaluating whether power is present on the first physical interface. Referring to fig. 3a and 3b, the power lines of the first physical interface are the high level rail 308 and the ground rail 309 at VCC. These power lines connect the contactor 201 to the power management unit PMU 310 of the biometric unit 202. Sense line 311 connects the PMU to the biometric controller 211. If the sense line indicates VCC > 0, the biometric controller determines that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation. If the sense line indicates VCC is 0, the biometric controller determines that the card is operating in a contactless mode of operation. The biometric controller 211 may determine whether the card is communicating with the terminal in a contact or contactless mode of operation by evaluating whether an active clock is present on the clock line 312 on the first physical interface. If the biometric controller detects the presence of a clock on the clock line 312, it determines that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation. If the biometric controller does not detect the clock on the clock line 312, it determines that the card is operating in a contactless mode of operation.

The communication unit 203 may determine whether the card is communicating with the terminal in a contact or contactless mode of operation by determining the origin of the message it receives on the second physical interface. If the message originates from the terminal 207, the communication unit 203 determines that the card is operating in a contact operation mode. If the message originates from the biometric unit 202, the communication unit determines that the card is operating in a contactless operating mode. In an alternative approach, the communication unit 203 may listen for traffic on a third physical interface connected to the antenna 208. If the communication unit 203 detects traffic on the third physical interface via the signal lines 331, 332, it is determined that the card is operating in the contactless operating mode. If the communication unit does not detect any traffic on the third physical interface, it determines that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation. Optionally, the communication unit may conclude that the card is operating in the contactless operating mode by evaluating the signals on the clock line 313 and the optional reset line 314 on the second physical interface. The communication unit may determine that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation if the ordering of the clock and reset signals conforms to a second communication protocol. If the ordering of the clock and reset signals does not meet the requirements of the second communication protocol, the communication unit may conclude that the second physical interface is being used to send biometric communications and, from this, that the card is operating in a contactless mode of operation.

When the card is operating in the contact mode of operation, the user may switch the card to the contactless mode. For example, a user may remove their card from the terminal and keep it within wireless reception range. Suitably, in this case, the communication unit 203 resets the card.

When the card is operating in the contactless operating mode, the user can switch the card to the contact mode. For example, a user may insert their card into a terminal. The MUX controller 306, operating under the control of the biometric controller 211, can detect the presence of power on the power lines 308, 309. The MUX controller may respond to the detection by controlling the MUX to change state from the static mode of operation to the dynamic mode. The terminal may perform a reset of the communication unit 203. Suitably, this is a warm reset without interrupting the power of the communication unit.

In the example of fig. 3a and 3b, the power of both the biometric unit and the communication unit is drawn from the terminal. In both contact and contactless modes of operation, power is provided to the components of the biometric unit and the communication unit from the biometric unit's power management unit PMU 310. In the contact mode of operation, PMU 310 receives power from contactor 201 on power lines 308, 309 of the first physical interface. The voltage on the power line may be 5V + -10% (class A), 3V + -10% (class B), or 1.8V + -10% (class C). Regulator 315 regulates the input voltage to the operating voltage of the biometric unit and the communication unit. The operating voltage of the biometric unit and the communication unit may be 2.5V. For class C operation, the operating voltage of the biometric unit and the communication unit may be < 1.8V. In the contactless mode of operation, the contactless front-end CLF316 of the biometric unit takes power from the RF field at the antenna while the antenna is receiving the primary communication from the terminal. CLF316 directs the received power to the PMU on line 319. The PMU regulator 315 then regulates the input voltage to the operating voltages of the biometric unit and the communication unit. In both contact and contactless modes of operation, PMU 310 outputs to both biometric controller 211 and communication unit 203: (i) a high level rail VCC 320, and (ii) a ground rail GND. These supply rails are each compliant with the second communication protocol.

The biometric controller 211 may determine whether the card is operating in a contact or contactless mode of operation by evaluating whether power is present on the fourth physical interface. A sense line 322 from the CLF316 to the biometric controller 211 indicates whether power is present on the fourth physical interface. If the sense line indicates that the voltage from the antenna is greater than 0, the biometric controller determines that the card is operating in a contactless mode of operation. If the sense line indicates that the voltage from the antenna is 0, the biometric controller determines that the card is operating in a contact mode of operation.

The input/output signal I/O323, the clock signal CLK 312, and the reset signal RST 324 entering from the terminal over the first physical interface may be at a higher voltage than the operating voltage of the biometric unit and the communication unit. The biometric unit 202 includes a level shifter in the first physical interface. The Level Shifter (LS)307 down-converts the voltage of the signal received from the contactor 201 into the operating voltage of the communication unit and outputs it to the MUX. The Level Shifter (LS)307 also up-converts the voltage of the signal received from the communication unit 203 via the MUX305 to the voltage of the terminal.

In the preferred embodiment of the card in fig. 3a and 3b, level shifters LS 307 and MUX305 are configured to electrically isolate contactor 201 from biometric communications between biometric unit 202 and communication unit 203. FIG. 4a illustrates an exemplary structure of the LS 307 and MUX305 of FIG. 3a implementing this electrical isolation. Fig. 4b illustrates an exemplary structure of fig. 3b implementing the electrically isolated LS 307 and multiplexing functions. The second communication protocol defines the input-output signal I/O, the clock signal CLK, and the reset signal RST. The first and second physical interfaces each include a signal line for each of these signals. A signal is transmitted when the signal line is driven low. Example embodiments of each of these signal lines on the first and second physical interfaces as shown in fig. 4a and 4b are discussed below.

The I/O signal line on the first physical interface is provided with an isolator for isolating the contactor 201 from the biometric communication on the second physical interface. The isolator is directly connected to the I/O contactor 201 on one side. In fig. 4a, the isolator is directly connected to the communication unit and the biometric controller on the other side. In fig. 4b, the isolator is directly connected to the biometric controller on the other side. It is not directly connected to the communication unit. The isolator may be a one-way isolator. The isolator may be a pass transistor 401. For example, the pass transistor may be a FET. The gate of the pass transistor is connected to a supply voltage of the biometric controller when the contactor is not isolated from communication on the second physical interface. The voltage on the biometric unit/communication unit side of the transistor is limited to the supply voltage of the biometric unit (e.g. 2.5V) minus the threshold voltage of the transistor, so the isolation transistor also provides a level shifting function (307 in fig. 3a and 3 b).

The I/O signal line also has a resistive pull-up (resistive pull-up) on the biometric controller/communication unit side of the transistor. The resistive pullup pulls the signal on the biometric unit/communication unit side of the transistor to the supply voltage (e.g., 2.5V) of the biometric unit 202. In fig. 4a, the resistive pullup on the biometric controller/communication unit side of the transistor may be provided by an integrated pullup 402 in the GPIO structure of the biometric controller. Alternatively, the resistive pullup may be provided by a discrete resistor 410. In fig. 4b, a resistive pullup between the transistor and the biometric controller may be provided by an integrated pullup 402 in the GPIO structure of the biometric controller. Alternatively, a resistive pullup between the transistor and the biometric controller may be provided by the discrete resistor 410. A resistive pullup is also present between the communication unit and the biometric controller. This may be provided by an integrated pullup 413 in the GPIO structure of the biometric controller. Alternatively, a resistive pullup between the communication unit and the biometric controller may be provided by a discrete resistor 414. The termination also provides a resistive pullup on the termination side of the transistor (signal 323). The resistive pullup pulls up the signal at the terminal side of the transistor to the supply voltage (e.g., 5V) at the terminal.

Thus, the I/O signal is an open collector (drain) signal with a resistive pullup. In fig. 4a, the UART or USART module 403 in the biometric controller may manage asynchronous serial transmission over the I/O signal line. In fig. 4b, two UART/USART modules 403 and 412 in the biometric controller manage asynchronous serial transmission on the I/O signal line. The UART/USART module 403 is connected to the I/O line 323 of the contactor via transistor 401. The UART/USART module 412 is connected to the I/O line 313 of the communication unit. The signal to the gate of the transistor may be used to isolate the contactor 201 from communications on the second physical interface. The gate of the transistor is driven low by the biometric controller. This prevents the contactor side 323 of the transistor from being driven low when the I/O line 313 on the second physical interface is driven low by the biometric controller or communication unit. Thus, the terminals connected to the I/O contactor do not see the communication between the biometric unit and the communication unit on the I/O line. The isolation may be unidirectional. In other words, if the terminal drives the I/O signal line of the transistor on the contactor 201 side low, the I/O signal lines 326, 313 of the transistor on the biometric unit/communication unit side will also be driven low. Thus, the architecture enables isolation of the terminal from traffic on the I/O signal lines between the communications unit and the biometric unit, but not the biometric unit/communications unit from traffic on the I/O signal lines of the contactor/terminal.

The RST signal line on the first physical interface can include the same components as the I/O signal line, i.e., the series isolator 404 and the resistive pullup (internal to the biometric controller, i.e., 405, or discrete resistor 411). The implementation of the isolator and resistive pullup may be as described above with respect to the I/O signal line. Alternatively, instead of a pass transistor, the isolator may be a diode on the RST line of the first physical interface. The diode is directly connected to the RST contact 324 on one side. On the other side, the diode is connected to the RST line of the communications unit 314 and the biometric unit 328. Suitably, the diode has a low forward voltage drop to ensure that when signal 324 is pulled low by the terminal, the voltage on signal 328 (as seen by the communications unit and the biometric controller) is considered a logic low level. Whether the isolator is implemented by a diode or a FET (note the parasitic diode between the source and drain), the terminals are able to drive the RST signal line 328 low when connected to the contactor. In other words, the terminal can force the card to reset. This is true even when the terminal is isolated from data traffic between the biometric unit and the communication unit on the I/O line of the second physical interface. If the isolator is implemented by a diode, neither the biometric unit nor the communication unit can drive the RST signal line 324 on the contactor side of the diode low. Therefore, neither the biometric controller nor the communication unit can force the terminal to reset. As with the I/O signal lines, the resistive pullup pulls the signal on the biometric controller/communication unit side of the isolator to the supply voltage of the biometric controller 202.

The termination provides the CLK signal on CLK signal line 312 of the first physical interface. The signal is input to a biometric unit. The biometric unit converts the voltage of the CLK signal from the terminal to an operating voltage (e.g., from 5V to 2.5V) for the biometric unit. Suitably, the CLK input signal to the biometric unit on the first physical interface is a 5V tolerant input. The first physical interface may include a voltage limiting circuit to reduce a voltage of the CLK signal from the terminal. The voltage limiting circuit may be, for example, a voltage divider 407 or other voltage limiting device. The first physical interface includes such circuitry in the event that a maximum voltage offset (extension) provided by the terminal exceeds an operational limit of the biometric controller.

The biometric unit outputs the clock signal received by the communication unit onto the CLK signal line of the second physical interface. The multiplexing circuit 408 in the biometric controller outputs a clock signal onto the second physical interface selected from: (i) a (voltage limited) terminal clock signal, and (ii) a clock signal generated internally to the biometric controller. Suitably, the UART/USART 403 in fig. 4a (UART/USART 412 in fig. 4 b) provides an internally generated clock signal. The biometric controller controls the multiplexing circuit to:

(i) a voltage limited terminal clock signal is output if the card is operating in a contact mode and the terminal is not isolated from the biometric unit/communication unit. For example, in the case where the main communication is exchanged between the terminal and the communication unit through the contactor 201.

(ii) In the case where the card operates in the contactless mode, an internally generated clock signal is output. In this case, since no terminal is electrically connected to the card at the contactor 201, no clock signal is received from the terminal.

(iii) In case the card is operated in contact mode and the terminal is to be isolated from the biometric unit/communication unit, an internally generated clock signal is output. For example, in the case where the biometric communication is exchanged between the biometric unit and the communication unit at a data rate that is not related to the data rate of the terminal.

Once the master communication is established between the terminal and the communication unit, the biometric controller selects the baud rate of the UART/USART 403 in fig. 4a (UART/USART 412 in fig. 4 b) to be proportional to the terminal clock frequency on the clock signal line of the first physical interface. This enables the biometric controller to synchronize with the master communication between the terminal and the communication unit and thus enables the biometric controller to listen to these communications. In case the first communication protocol is ISO 7816-3, the relation between baud rate and terminal clock frequency is defined by this protocol. This relationship is based on the F and D communication parameter settings established during the reset Answer (ATR) and Protocol and Parameter Selection (PPS) exchanges when the card is inserted into the terminal. The biometric controller may control the baud rate of the UART/USART to track changes in the terminal clock frequency in real time. Alternatively, the terminal clock signal on the first physical interface may be input to the timer module 409 in the biometric controller. The timer module 409 determines the frequency ratio between the terminal clock signal and the internal system clock of the biometric controller. In response to the frequency ratio, the controller sets a baud rate of the UART/USART. The baud rate is a baud rate for main communication between the terminal (card reader) and the communication unit.

The biometric controller and the communication unit may set at least one communication parameter of the biometric communication to be different from a communication parameter of the primary communication when the biometric communication between the terminal and the biometric unit and the communication unit is isolated. For example, they may use a higher baud rate for biometric communications than for primary communications.

Initially, when the card is powered up, the biometric controller drives the gate of transistor 401 high. The passive pull-ups on both the I/O signal line and the RST signal line are activated. The clock signal from the terminal is routed to the communication unit via the biometric controller. The communication unit and the terminal are thereby able to exchange primary communications via the biometric controller.

When the communication unit performs contactless communication with the terminal via the antenna and the third physical interface according to the third communication protocol, the biometric controller may perform biometric communication with the communication unit through the second physical interface according to the second communication protocol.

Fig. 5 illustrates a state diagram of both the biometric controller and the communication unit when biometric communication is established and performed in an example where both the first and second communication protocols are ISO 7816.

Initially, the card is in contactless mode (501) and the biometric controller is idle (502). The biometric controller powers up and detects that the card is in contactless mode (503). The biometric controller responds by initiating a start sequence. In this startup sequence, power management unit 310 directs power from contactless frontend 316 to communication unit 203. In other words, ISO _ VCC is applied to the communication unit 504. The biometric controller activates a second physical interface, i.e. an ISO7816 interface, between the biometric controller and the communication unit. This places the communication unit in a pseudo-contact mode in which the communication unit communicates with the biometric controller instead of the terminal using the ISO7816 interface. The biometric controller activates the ISO7816 interface by sending the cold reset 505 to the communication unit via the ISO7816 interface according to the ISO 7816-3 standard. The communication unit responds to the cold reset by generating 506 and sending 507 an answer to the reset ATR message. The biometric controller captures the ATR message 508 and determines from the ATR message 508 that an ISO7816 link with the communication unit has been established. The biometric controller and the communication unit may establish the communication parameters for the biometric data exchange by one of the following means:

(i) once the ISO7816 interface is activated, protocol negotiation 509, 510 is performed. This may be done using a Protocol and Parameter Selection (PPS) exchange;

(ii) sending an ATR message 507 by the communication unit identifying the particular protocol and/or parameter set to be used; and

(iii) the communication parameters for the biometric exchange are predetermined and thus compiled as code stored in the memory and executed by the processors of both the biometric controller and the communication unit.

Once the ISO 7816-3 communication link has been established, the biometric controller and the communication unit perform a biometric exchange by embedding the biometric communication in an ISO 7816-3 message.

The ISO7816 protocol requires data to be carried in Application Protocol Data Units (APDUs). Thus, the biometric controller and the communication unit each embed the biometric communication within an APDU and send APDUs 511, 512, 513 to each other over the ISO7816 interface. Fig. 6 illustrates the format of an ISO7816 APDU. The header 601 includes a class CLA field 603. This is the most significant byte of the header. In an exemplary embodiment, the biometric controller and the communication unit each set the most significant nibble of the CLA field to a predetermined value. The biometric controller and the communication unit are configured to interpret the predetermined value as indicating that the APDU comprises an embedded biometric communication. For non-banking (inter-industry) applications, the most significant nibble is typically set to 0. For bank cards, the most significant nibble is typically set to 8. Suitably, the predetermined values for the most significant nibbles are values other than 0 and 8. For example, the predetermined value for the most significant nibble may be C.

The header 601 of the APDU also includes an instruction INS field 604. The INS field is one byte in length. The contents of the INS field are not defined by the ISO7816 protocol. Thus, the biometric controller and the communication unit use the predetermined value of the INS field to represent to each other certain instructions as follows. A predetermined value in the INS field in the APDU is sent from the biometric controller to the communication unit to communicate one of:

(i) requesting polling of the communication unit for the biometric command;

(ii) sending a latency extension WTX event notification to the communication unit;

(iii) requesting a biometric command from the communication unit; and

(iv) a response is sent from the biometric controller to the communication unit.

A predetermined value in the INS field in the APDU is sent from the communication unit to the biometric controller to communicate one of:

(i) a response to the biometric command request poll;

(ii) the WTX event has completed; and

(iii) the biometric command will be processed by the biometric controller.

The biometric data is included in the payload/data field 605 of the body of the APDU.

In the contact operation mode, the terminal may be a master device that performs an ISO7816 interface protocol with the communication unit, and the communication unit is a slave device. As shown in fig. 3b, if the master communication is routed through the biometric controller, the biometric controller is a slave 329 device in ISO7816 interface protocol with the terminal and is a master 330 in ISO7816 interface protocol with the communication unit.

The communication unit may be a master device in ISO7816 interface protocol with the biometric controller, and the biometric controller is a slave device. Alternatively, the biometric controller may be a master device in ISO7816 interface protocol with the communication unit, and the communication unit is a slave device.

In the described architecture, no dedicated physical interface between the communication unit and the biometric unit is required, such as an SPI or I2C interface. The communication unit only needs to support a typical contact (e.g. ISO 7816) interface in order to implement the biometric function on the card. In any case, the communication unit supports the interface for contact communication with the terminal. Thus, it is convenient to use the same interface for biometric communication with the biometric unit. The communication unit does not require an additional interface to perform the biometric functions described herein. If the card additionally has a typical contactless (e.g. ISO14443) interface, the communication unit can communicate wirelessly with the terminal via an antenna, while also processing the biometric APDUs received from the biometric unit over the contactor interface.

In the described architecture, the protocol stack of the communication unit, which has been implemented for ISO7816 contact communication with the terminal, is reused for ISO7816 biometric communication with the biometric controller, thereby enabling a direct, fast implementation. Furthermore, the card operating system may already extract APDUs from the ISO7816 physical layer. By minimizing the required changes to the operating system and software running on the communication unit (by reusing the ISO7816 interface for biometric communication), it is possible to more easily achieve secure authentication of cards incorporating biometric functionality. Furthermore, the APDU structure using the ISO7816 protocol enables the use of a well established encryption protocol to ensure a secure channel between the biometric controller and the communication unit.

The biometric communication between the biometric unit and the communication unit is "private" by electrically isolating the contactor 201, and thus the terminal 207, from the data traffic on the second physical interface. Since the terminal is isolated from the biometric communication, the terminal does not need to be modified to allow the biometric communication. Therefore, the terminal does not erroneously operate due to the biometric function of the card.

Since biometric communications are private from biometric unit to communication unit, they do not require the use of the same communication protocol or parameters agreed upon for primary communication between the communication unit and the terminal. Although ISO 7816-3 is used for primary communication, biometric communication need not follow the ISO 7816-3 protocol, whether at the time the biometric protocol is established and negotiated or in the ongoing communication. If the ISO 7816-3 protocol is used, the clock frequency on the second physical interface and the ratio between the clock frequency and the baud rate of the biometric data may be freely selected by the biometric controller and/or the communication unit. Since the physically smaller I/O signal lines between the biometric unit and the communication unit are decoupled from the larger I/O signal lines to the terminal, biometric communication may be achieved at higher data rates than expected by the ISO 7816-3 standard.

Although the snap-fit and biometric functions are described herein, the card may operate in both contact and contactless modes without activation of the biometric functions. If the biometric function is not activated, the biometric controller will control the PMU 310 to route power to the communication unit. If the biometric function is not activated, the biometric controller will control MUX305 to route the main communication from contactor 201 to the communication unit.

The card architecture described herein enables compliance with industry standards governing contactless communication between a smart card and a terminal. Compliance with these industry standards allows, among other benefits, biometric-enabled smart cards to operate with terminals without modification of the terminals. Taking the payment card as an example, this enables biometric smart cards to be used with existing terminals, such as point of sale terminals and ATMs. The architecture described herein supports a power control and scheduling mechanism that ensures that the primary communication between the communication unit and the terminal is not interrupted by adding biometric functions to the card, even if the biometric unit is also drawing power from the terminal and communicating with the communication unit.

The power control mechanism supported by the architecture described herein is as described in applicant's co-pending application GB1803938.8, which is incorporated herein by reference. These power control mechanisms ensure that sufficient power is available to accomplish both the main function of the communication unit and the biometric function of the card. When the biometric system is in the active state, the communication unit complies with the power management constraints by entering a low power consumption state (e.g., drawing power <1.5 mA). Similarly, while the communication unit is exchanging primary communications with the terminal, the biometric system is in a low power (e.g., drawing power < 3mA) and low noise state.

The scheduling mechanism supported by the architecture described herein is as described in applicant's co-pending application GB1803935.4, which is incorporated herein by reference. Those signaling mechanisms between the biometric unit and the communication unit ensure that the biometric function operation timing does not interfere with the operation timing of the main function of the communication unit and the terminal. In the case of transmitting biometric communications over an ISO7816 interface, WTX timing events are communicated between the communications unit and the biometric controller. The communication unit or biometric controller is the WTX timing master. The WTX timing on the biometric controller is configurable (e.g., between 20 and 4000 ms). As mentioned above, all biometric communications can be embedded in ISO7816 APDUs. For example, software-based handshaking and signaling may be mapped into the INS field of the APDU shown in fig. 6. Similarly, all biometric communications related to power management are embedded in APDUs.

In the examples given above, the term power should be understood to refer to any characteristic related to energy availability. Examples include available energy, voltage, current, and power, or any combination thereof.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein to the following extent and any combination of two or more such features: such features or combinations of features, whether or not they solve any problems disclosed herein and without limiting the scope of the claims, can be carried out based on the present specification as a whole in accordance with the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present invention may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.