Card reader with shim attack detecton

#This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. EP 19 171 484.9 filed on Apr. 29, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated in full by this reference.

#The present invention relates to a card reader for data exchange with a chip card that has been inserted into a card reader housing up to a data exchange position, comprising at least one electrical contact that is arranged fixedly in the card reader housing or displaceably in the card insertion direction and that, in the data exchange position, projects into the card path of the inserted chip card by way of a contact area.

#Such card readers are well known.

#In the figures:

#FIGS. 1a, 1b show a longitudinal sectional view of the card reader according to the invention with a detector device embodied as a one-way light barrier (FIG. 1a) and a plan view from above of a contact carrier of the card reader (FIG. 1b);

#FIGS. 2a-2c show the card reader shown in FIG. 1 with a chip card that has not yet reached its data exchange position in FIG. 2a and is shown in its data exchange position in FIG. 2b, and with a manipulation foil (FIG. 2c); and

#The card reader 1 shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b serves for the data exchange with a chip card 3 that has been inserted into a card reader housing 2 up to a data exchange position and is often also referred to as a smartcard or an integrated circuit card (ICC). The chip card 3 carries a microchip (not shown) for storing the data, the contacts of which are provided in the form of electrical contact fields (not shown) on the card surface.

#For making contact with the contact fields of the chip card 3, the card reader 1 has a plurality of contacts 4 (in this case eight contacts over two rows having four contacts each) in the form of elastically deformable contact springs, which, in the data exchange position, project into the card path by way of their free contact ends (contact faces) 4a. In this case, the actual data exchange with the microchip of the chip card 3 takes place only via one of the contacts 4, specifically via the so-called I/O contact 4′. The contacts 4 are attached to a contact carrier 5, which is guided in the card reader housing 2 so as to be displaceable in the insertion direction 6 of the chip card 3 between a starting position (FIG. 2a) and an end position (FIG. 2b) and is carried along by a chip card 3 that is inserted up into the end position counter to the action of a restoring spring (not shown). In the data exchange position, the chip card 3 bears against a housing-side bearing face 7 having a through-opening 8 for each of the contacts 4 through which the contacts 4 are lifted for bearing against the inserted chip card 3. Owing to the inserted chip card 3, the contact faces 4a are deflected out of the card path and make contact with the electrical contact fields of the chip card 3 in the data exchange position.

#As is shown in FIG. 1b, the contact carrier 5 has on both its sides in each case two guiding pins 9, which are guided in a slotted guide 10, which rises at an angle with respect to the insertion direction 6, of the card reader housing 2 for lifting the contact carrier 5 which is carried along by the chip card 3 in the insertion direction 6 until the contacts 4 have been lifted, in the data exchange position, through the through-openings 8 for bearing against the inserted chip card 3. A card stop 11 at the front of the contact carrier 5 projects up into the card path, with the result that the contact carrier 5 is carried along by the inserted chip card 3 in the insertion direction 6 up to its end position and is lifted thereby to lift the contacts 4 through the through-openings 8 thereof for bearing against the inserted chip card 3 (FIG. 2b). After the data exchange, the chip card 3 is moved back counter to the insertion direction 6, as a result of which the contact carrier 5, driven by the restoring spring, is pushed back into its starting position.