Card, card reader and method for protocol selection.

摘要

In a lot of cases memory-cards or smart-cards operate with two protocols, whereby the first protocol informs the smart-card reader of the kind of the second protocol. If the smart-card reader is equipped with a sequence of light emitting diodes and photoreceptors, and holes (11) coding the protocol type are done in the plastic support (12) of the card, direct operating with the second protocol is possible. When a card is inserted into the reader, the photoreceptors detect the existence or the absence of the said holes and transmits to the reader this information. The geometrical position of the holes directly codes the protocol type(s) that the card supports and the communication is initiated directly according to the said protocol(s). <IMAGE>