Portable handheld strong authentication token having parallel-serial battery switching and voltage regulating circuit

1. A portable handheld strong authentication token having multiple modes of operation, the token comprising:

an electronic power supplying circuit capable of supplying at least a first voltage level and a second voltage level that is less than said first voltage level, the first and second voltage levels not equal to zero, the electronic power supplying circuit comprising:

a positive terminal;

a negative terminal;

an ordered plurality of electrical power sources including a first power source and a last power source, each source having a negative pole and a positive pole, the negative pole of the first power source coupled to the negative terminal and the positive pole of the last power source coupled to the positive terminal;

a first set of at least one one-way conductors, each conductor having an anode and a cathode, the cathode connected to the positive terminal;

a second set of at least one one-way conductors, each conductor having an anode and a cathode, the anode connected to the negative terminal; and

a set of at least one electronic switches, each switch having a first terminal and a second terminal;

wherein:

the positive pole of each of the plurality of electrical power sources, except the last power source, is connected to the anode of a corresponding one-way conductor of the first set of at least one one-way conductors;

the negative pole of each of the plurality of electrical power sources, except the first power source, is connected to the cathode of a corresponding one-way conductor of the second set of at least one one-way conductors; and

the positive pole of each of the plurality electrical power sources, except the last power source, is connected to the first terminal of a corresponding one of said plurality of electronic switches and the second terminal of the corresponding one of said plurality of electronic switches is connected to the negative pole of a next electrical power source of the ordered plurality of electrical power sources, wherein each of said electronic switches permits current flow between the first and second terminals of the switch when closed and prohibits current flow between the first and second terminals of the switch when open;

said token further comprising:

a first set of components requiring at least in some modes of operation of said token said first voltage level to function,

a second set of components capable of functioning with both said first and said second voltage levels, and

a control sub-circuit adapted to control the voltage level supplied by said electronic power supplying circuit;

said control sub-circuit further adapted

to determine whether said token is in a mode of operation in which at least one of said components of said first set of components requires said first voltage level electrical power supply, and

to control said electronic power supplying circuit to supply said first voltage level when said token is in the determined mode of operation in which at least one of said components of said first set of components requires said first voltage level of electrical power supply, and

to control said electronic power supplying circuit to supply said second voltage level of electrical power supply at least when said token is in one of some other modes of operation in which no components of said first set of components require said first voltage level.

2. The token of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrical power sources consists of the first power source and the last power source.

3. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the electronic power supplying circuit further comprises a sub-circuit adapted to control the state of said plurality of electronic switches of said electronic power supplying circuit to repeatedly switch said electronic power supplying circuit back and forth between supplying one voltage level for a first period of time and supplying another voltage level for a second period of time wherein an average voltage level is supplied based on a ratio of the first period of time to the second period of time.

4. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said first set of components comprises at least a display or a smart card reader.

5. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said second set of components comprises at least a real-time clock or a RAM memory.

6. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein the negative pole of the first power source is coupled to the negative terminal via a first additional one-way conductor and the positive pole of the last power source is coupled to the positive terminal via a second additional one-way conductor.

7. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , further comprising a control sub-circuit adapted to actuate the appropriate plurality of electronic switches as a function of a desired supply voltage.

8. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein the electronic power supplying circuit further comprises a low-pass filter adapted to suppress a high frequency ripple on the supplied level.

9. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein each of said one-way conductors comprise a diode.

10. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein each of said plurality of electronic switches comprises a PNP transistor having an emitter connected to the positive pole of one of said plurality of electrical power sources and a collector connected to the negative pole of another of said plurality of electrical power sources.

11. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein each of said plurality of electrical power sources comprises a DC voltage source.

12. The token of either claim 1 or claim 2 adapted to generate dynamic passwords or electronic signatures and further comprising a memory adapted to store secret data and a microprocessor adapted to perform cryptographic algorithms to generate said dynamic passwords or electronic signatures.

13. The token of claim 1 or claim 2 , further comprising at least one other one-way conductor for coupling at least one of the negative pole of the first power source to the negative terminal or the positive pole of the last power source to the positive terminal.

14. The token of claim 2 , wherein the set of at least one electronic switches comprises a first electronic switch and wherein the conductivity of said first electronic switch can be regulated and wherein said electronic power supplying circuit further comprises a voltage regulating sub-circuit connected to said electronic switch and adapted to regulate, when activated, the conductivity of said first electronic switch such that the voltage supplied by said electronic power supplying circuit has a desired value.

15. The token of claim 14 wherein said voltage regulating sub-circuit comprises a voltage reference sub-circuit, a voltage feedback sub-circuit and a voltage comparing sub-circuit connected to said first electronic switch whereby, when said voltage regulating sub-circuit is activated:

said voltage reference sub-circuit is adapted to supply a reference voltage to said voltage comparing sub-circuit;

said voltage feedback sub-circuit is adapted to supply a feedback voltage to said voltage comparing sub-circuit; wherein said feedback voltage is indicative of the value of the voltage supplied by said electronic power supplying circuit;

said voltage comparing sub-circuit is adapted to compare said reference voltage and said feedback voltage and is furthermore adapted to regulate the conductivity of said first electronic switch so as to reduce the difference between said reference voltage and said feedback voltage.