1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an integrated circuits card (IC card) having an input means such as switches, etc.
2. Related Art
An IC card (smart card) has an integrated circuit (IC) chip embedded therein. Compared to magnetic stripe cards, IC cards are capable of providing a high information capacity, an improved security against forgery or unauthorized use, an ability to support diverse range of applications, and a reduced load for hosts (an ability of offline processing). Hence, IC cards have been applied in credit cards, cashing cards, and have started to be widely deployed in the fields of electric money, electric commerce, medical and health care, public transportation system, such as railways and busses, and building security system in entrance/exit controls. Further, in recent years, IC cards with switches, which allow the user to input specific information or select various applications, have been suggested. Such technologies are described, for instance, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-338273 and No. 2003-270676.
IC cards, which have advantages of having prominent convenience and portability, on the other hand, are easy to be lost because of user's incaution. Therefore, it is common that users place IC cards in a pocket or a card case when not in use, and carry them along.
However, IC cards provided with switches involved the problem of false operation, caused because the switch is pressed unintentionally by the user during the carriage of the IC cards, or by unexpected contact to the switch.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds