EA043310B1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING DEVICES USING THE "RADIO FREQUENCY TAGGER FIRST" PROTOCOL - Google Patents

Description

Claiming priority

This patent application claims priority based on provisional application no.

61/719725, entitled METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DISCOVERING TAG TALKS FIRST DEVICES, filed October 29, 2012, the copyright of which is owned by the copyright holder of this application and is therefore expressly incorporated herein by reference.

State of the art

The disclosed aspects generally relate to communication between and/or within devices, and in particular to methods and systems for enhancing the capabilities of a near field communication (NFC) device with respect to device discovery using a tag-first (TTF) protocol.

Technological improvements have led to smaller, more powerful personal computing devices. For example, there are many portable personal computing devices available today, including wireless computing devices such as portable cordless phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and paging devices that are small, lightweight, and conveniently worn by users. More specifically, portable wireless telephones, for example, further include cellular telephones that transmit voice and data packets over wireless networks. Many of these cell phones are being manufactured with relatively significant increases in computing capabilities, essentially becoming equivalent to small personal computers and pocket PDAs. Additionally, such devices are manufactured to provide communications using multiple frequencies and applicable coverage areas, such as cellular, wireless local area network (WLAN), NFC, etc.

Currently, the NFC Forum specifications only specify mechanisms for communicating with remote NFC devices (eg, RFID tags) that wait for a command before communicating with an NFC-enabled interrogator device. In addition, there is a class of NFC-enabled devices called Tag First (TTF) devices. A TTF device, when exposed to the appropriate radio frequency (RF) field, begins transmitting data without waiting for a command from the device that created the RF field. Therefore, if an NFC-enabled interrogator is configured to use the current NFC Forum specifications, the presence of a TTF device in the work area is either recognized as interference or not recognized at all.

Thus, improved devices and methods are required to enable an NFC-enabled device to detect and/or communicate with a TTF device.

The essence of the invention

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of those aspects. This summary is not a comprehensive overview of all aspects covered, and it is not intended to define the key or critical elements of all aspects, nor to outline the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

In accordance with one or more aspects and their respective disclosures, various aspects are described in connection with enabling an NFC-enabled device to detect and/or communicate with a TTF device. In one example, the NFC-enabled device is equipped with the ability to initiate an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device as part of the technology discovery process, monitor the RF field for at least a portion of the wait duration, determine whether it is modulated or no, during the wait duration, the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology, and terminate the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology.

In related aspects, a method is provided for allowing an NFC-enabled device to detect and/or communicate with a TTF device. The method may include initiating, in the NFC-enabled device, an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device as part of a technology discovery process. Additionally, the method may include monitoring the RF field for at least a portion of the sleep duration. Additionally, the method may include determining whether or not, during the wait duration, the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of NFC technology. Additionally, the method may include completing a technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology.

Another aspect relates to a communication device with capabilities to detect and/or communicate with a TTF device. The communication device may include means for initiating, at the NFC-enabled device, an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device as part of the technology discovery process. Additionally, the communication device can

- 1 043310 include means for monitoring the RF field during at least part of the wait duration. Additionally, the communication device may include means for determining whether or not, during the wait duration, the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of NFC technology.

In addition, the communication device may include means for completing the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology.

Another aspect relates to the communication device. The device may include a transceiver configured to receive data, a storage device, an NFC technology sensing module coupled to at least one of the storage device or processor, and configured to initiate a radio frequency (RF) field that is not modulated. through an NFC-enabled device, as part of the technology discovery process, monitor the RF field during at least a portion of the latency duration, determine whether or not, during the latency duration, the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the NFC modulation characteristics. technology, and complete the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology.

Yet another aspect relates to a computer program product that may have a computer-readable medium including code for initiating, in an NFC-enabled device, an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device as part of a technology detection process. Additionally, the computer-readable medium may include code for monitoring the RF field during at least a portion of the latency duration. Additionally, the computer-readable medium may include code for determining whether or not, during the latency, the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of NFC technology. In addition, the computer-readable medium may include code for completing the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology.

To achieve the above and related objects, one or more aspects contain features further fully described and specifically identified in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features indicate only a few of the many different ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be used, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Brief description of drawings

The disclosed aspects are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are provided to illustrate and not limit the disclosed aspects, in which like symbols denote like elements, and in which FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to an aspect;

fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of a wireless communication system according to an aspect;

fig. 3 is a block diagram of an NFC environment according to an aspect;

fig. 4 is a flowchart describing an example for detecting a TTF device according to an aspect;

fig. 5 is a flowchart describing an example for performing a technology discovery process according to an aspect;

fig. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication device architecture according to an aspect;

fig. 7 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating data flow between various modules/means/components in an exemplary device; and fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a device using a processing system.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Various aspects are described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it may be obvious that such aspects may be applied in practice without these specific details.

Typically, as specified in the NFC Forum practical specifications, during Technology Discovery (TD), an NFC-enabled device can poll and/or respond to responses from remote NFC devices. Prior to each initial polling command, the NFC-enabled device can maintain a suitable RF field for the specified minimum guard time. Traditional RFID tags, when exposed to this field, may wait for a command from an NFC-enabled interrogator before responding. In contrast, a TTF device may not wait for a command from an NFC-enabled device before starting transmissions. As described in more detail in this document, an NFC-enabled polling device can also listen to the incoming frame for

- 2 043310 guard time, which allows it to detect a TTF device. In an aspect, an NFC-enabled device may be allowed to listen during a guard time by setting one or more parameters. In another aspect, depending at least in part on the characteristics of the TTF device of interest, the guard time may be extended to allow the NFC-enabled polling device to detect the initial transmission from the TTF device. In a functional aspect, if, during the wait duration (eg, guard time), at least a portion of the frame is received by an NFC-enabled polling device, then the NFC-enabled polling device may choose to terminate the TD process and notify an adjacent upper layer that that the frame has been accepted. In such an aspect, an adjacent upper layer may pass the frame to an application (eg, a registered message listener) for processing. After this, the NFC-enabled device can decide to reconfigure or terminate the TD process. In another functional aspect, if the frame is not received by the end of the timeout duration, the NFC-enabled polling device may continue to poll for traditional remote NFC devices, as specified in the current NFC Forum practice specifications.

Fig. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Input power 102 is provided to transmitter 104 to form radiation field 106 to provide energy transmission. The receiving device 108 communicates with the radiation field 106 and generates output power 110 for storage or consumption by a device (not shown) coupled to the output power 110. Both the transmitting device 104 and the receiving device 108 are separated by a distance 112. In one exemplary embodiment , the transmitting device 104 and the receiving device 108 are configured according to a mutual resonant relationship, and when the resonant frequency of the receiving device 108 and the resonant frequency of the transmitting device 104 are very close, the transmission loss between the transmitting device 104 and the receiving device 108 is minimal when the receiving device 108 is located at in the near field relative to the radiation field 106.

The transmitting device 104 further includes a transmitting antenna 114 for providing means for transmitting power, and the receiving device 108 further includes a receiving antenna 118 for providing means for receiving power. The transmitting and receiving antennas are sized according to the applications and devices that must be associated with them. As stated, efficient energy transfer occurs by coupling a significant portion of the near-field energy of the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna instead of distributing most of the energy in electromagnetic waves to the far field. In this near-field coupling mode, a coupling mode may develop between the transmitting antenna 114 and the receiving antenna 118. The region around the antennas 114 and 118 in which this near-field coupling may occur is referred to herein as a coupling mode region.

Fig. 2 shows a simplified circuit diagram of a near field wireless communication system. The transmitter 204 includes an oscillator 222, a power amplifier 224, and a filter and matching circuit 226. The oscillator is configured to generate a signal at a desired frequency that can be adjusted in response to the control signal 223. The oscillator signal may be amplified by a power amplifier 224 with an amount of gain in response to the control signal 225. A filter and matching circuit 226 may be included to filter out harmonics or other spurious frequencies and match the impedance of the transmitter 204 to the transmit antenna 214.

Receiver 208 may include matching circuit 2 32 and rectifier and switching circuit 234 to generate DC power output to charge battery 236, as shown in FIG. 2, or to power a device connected to a receiving device (not shown). A matching circuit 232 may be included to match the impedance of the receiver device 208 to the receive antenna 218. The receiver device 208 and the transmitter device 204 may communicate on a separate communication channel 219 (eg, Bluetooth, ZigBee, cellular, etc.).

With reference to FIG. 3, a block diagram of a communication network 300 according to an aspect is illustrated. The communications network 300 may include communications devices 310 that, through an antenna 324, can communicate with a remote NFC device 330 that is located in the operating area 328. The communications device 310 may use one or more NFC RF technologies 326 (e.g., NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F, etc.). In an aspect, communication device 310 may use NFC technology detection module 350 to interrogate work area 328 to attempt to detect the presence of and identify remote NFC device 330. In an aspect, remote NFC device (e.g., RFID tag, card, peer target node, etc.) may be configured to communicate in response to the presence of an RF field. For example, remote NFC device 330 may be a TTF device. In an aspect, the remote NFC device 330 may be, but is not limited to, an RFID tag, a reader/writer, a peer initiator, a remote peer target, etc.

The communication device 310 may include an NCI 320. In an aspect, the NCI 320 may be configured to provide communication between a device host (DH) 340 and an NFC controller 312.

The communication device 310 may include an NFC controller 312 (NFCC). In an aspect, NFCC 312 may include an RF detection module 314. RF detection module 314 may be configured to perform RF detection using a detection process. One aspect of the discovery process may include polling for the presence of a remote NFC device. The DH 340 may be configured to issue a command to direct the NFCC 312 to perform various functions associated with RF detection.

The communication device 310 may include an NFC technology detection module 350. The NFC detection module 350 may be configured to detect the presence of and/or receive data from a remote NFC device 330 in the work area 328. The NFC detection module 350 may include an RF field generation module 352 and an RF monitoring module 354 -fields. In an aspect, the RF field generation module 352 may be configured to generate an unmodulated RF field in the operating area 328 during the sleep duration. In an aspect, the waiting duration may be set as a guard time specified in the NFC Forum specifications. In another aspect, the RF field generation module 352 may generate an unmodulated RF field for a wait duration specified by the TTF device. In yet another aspect, the wait duration may be selected as the greater of the NFC Forum standard-specified guard time and the TTF device-specified duration. In response to the generated RF field, the remote NFC device 330 may send TTF data 338. As used herein, TTF data may refer to any content accessible from the TTF device, which content may be transmitted in response to the presence of the RF field. , instead of waiting for a command to transmit. In another aspect, RF field monitoring module 354 may be configured to monitor the generated RF field for any load modulations that may be consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology. In an aspect, the NFC technology may be NFC type A RF technology, NFC type B RF technology, NFC type F RF technology. In an aspect, the type of NFC technology monitored by the RF field monitoring module 354 may be based on what type of NFC technology the communication device 310 intends to use during subsequent communications during the technology discovery process. In another aspect, RF field monitoring module 354 may be configured to monitor for RF field modulations indicative of several types of NFC technologies. In another aspect, the RF field monitoring module 354 may determine that the RF field is modulated once the load modulation exceeds a threshold level. In a functional aspect, when the RF field monitoring module 354 determines that there are RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology, then the NFC technology detection module 350 may complete the technology detection process. Additionally, NFC detection module 350 may receive TTF data 338 and transmit TTF data 338 to one or more applications of interest. In an aspect, NFC detection module 350 may transmit received TTF data 338 by notifying an adjacent upper layer that TTF data 338 (eg, a frame) has been received. In another functional aspect, in which the RF field monitoring module 354 does not detect the RF field modulation during the wait duration, then the NFC technology detection module 350 may continue the technology detection process. Although fig. 3 illustrates that the NFC detection module 350 is a separate module, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functionality associated with the NFC detection module 350 may be included in one or more components, for example, but not only, in NFCC 312, DH 340, etc.

The communication device 310 may further include a storage device 360 that may be configured to store received data and/or make the received data available to one or more applications associated with the communication device 310.

Accordingly, a system and method for detecting and/or communicating with TTF devices is disclosed.

Fig. 4, 5 illustrate various technologies in accordance with various aspects of the presented subject matter. Although, for ease of explanation, technologies are shown and described as a sequence of actions or sequential steps, it should be understood and taken into account that the claimed subject matter of the invention is not limited to the order of actions, since some actions may be carried out in a different order and/or in parallel with actions other than the actions shown and described in this document. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that technology may alternatively be represented as a sequence of interrelated states or events, for example, in a state diagram. Moreover, not all of the illustrated steps may be required in order to implement the technology in

- 4 043310 in accordance with the claimed subject of the invention. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the technologies disclosed below and throughout the detailed description are capable of being stored in a product to facilitate the transfer and transfer of these technologies to computers. The term product, as used herein, is intended to include a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, media, or environment.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram describing a process 400 for allowing an NFC-enabled device to discover and/or communicate with a TTF device.

At step 402, the NFC-enabled device may initiate an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device as part of the technology discovery process.

At step 404, the NFC-enabled device may monitor the RF field for at least a portion of the sleep duration. In an aspect, the wait duration may be a guard time specified as part of the technology discovery process. In an aspect in which the NFC-enabled device is configured to detect a TTF device, the wait duration may be a duration set by the TTF device. In another aspect, the wait duration may be selected as the greater of a guard time specified as part of the technology discovery process or a duration specified by a TTF device.

At step 406, the NFC-enabled device determines whether the timeout has expired or not. If, at step 406, the NFC-enabled device determines that the timeout has expired, then at step 408, the technology discovery process may continue. In such an aspect, the determination may further include receiving at least a portion of the data frame during the sleep duration and, at optional step 414, processing the received data frame and/or notifying a higher layer regarding the received data.

In contrast, if at step 406, the NFC-enabled device determines that the timeout has not expired, then at step 410, the NFC-enabled device determines whether or not load modulation indicating NFC technology is detected. In an aspect, the RF field may be determined to be modulated when load modulation above a threshold is detected. In another aspect, the RF field may be modulated due to the presence of a TTF device in the operating area of the NFC-enabled device.

If, at step 410, the NFC-enabled device determines that no relevant load modulation is detected, then process 400 may return to step 406.

In contrast, if at step 410, the NFC-enabled device determines that load modulation indicative of NFC technology is detected, then at step 412, the technology detection process may be completed.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example flowchart describing another process 500 for performing technology discovery, according to an aspect.

At step 502, the NFC-enabled device may initialize technology discovery flags to zero. In such an aspect, the technology detection flags may be FOUND_A, FOUND_B, FOUND_F.

At step 504, the NFC-enabled device may determine whether or not it is capable of polling for NFC-A technology (eg, CON_POLL_A=1). If it is determined at step 504 that the NFC-enabled device is not configured to interrogate for NFC A, then at step 506 the technology discovery process may continue for the NFC technology type for which the NFC-enabled device is configured to interrogate.

In contrast, if at step 504, the NFC-enabled device determines that it is configured to interrogate for NFC-A, then at step 508, the NFC-enabled device may support the RF field at least in duration of the waiting time (eg guard time (GT)). In an aspect, the waiting duration is a specific time for the type of NFC technology (eg, GTA). In another aspect, the wait duration may be configured to be a duration specified by the TTF device. In yet another aspect, the wait duration may be a large time from the GTA and a duration specified by the TTF device.

At step 510, the NFC-enabled device may monitor the RF field during the sleep duration.

At step 512, the NFC-enabled device determines whether or not load modulation indicating the presence of a remote NFC device (eg, a TTF device) is detected within the guard time. In an aspect, load modulation may be above a threshold before it is considered relevant.

If, at step 512, the NFC-enabled device determines that a load modulation indicating the presence of a remote NFC device is detected within the timeout duration, then at step 514, the NFC-enabled device may complete the technology discovery process.

In contrast, if at step 512, the NFC-enabled device determines that a relevant load modulation is not detected in the RF field during the wait duration, then at step 516, the NFC-enabled device may send an ALL_REQ command or a SENS_REQ command and may wait for an answer.

Referring to FIG. 3, but now also referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary architecture of a communications device 600 is illustrated. As illustrated in FIG. 6, communication device 600 includes a receiving device 602 that receives a signal, such as from a receiving antenna (not shown), performs typical operations (eg, filters, amplifies, downconverts, etc.) on the received signal, and digitizes a signal reduced to the required parameters in order to receive samples. Receiver 602 may include a demodulator 604 that can demodulate received symbols and provide them to processor 606 for channel estimation.

Processor 606 may be a processor configured to analyze information received by receiver 602 and/or generate information for transmission by transmitter 620, a processor that controls one or more components of communication device 600, and/or a processor that analyzes the information received by the receiving device 602 generates information for transmission by the transmitting device 620 and controls one or more components of the communication device 600. Additionally, the signals may be prepared for transmission by the transmitter 620 through a modulator 618, which may modulate the signals processed by the processor 606.

The communication device 600 may further include a storage device 608 that is operably coupled to various components, such as, but not limited to, the processor 606, and that can store data to be transmitted, received data, information associated with available channels, TCP streams , data associated with the analyzed signal and/or interference strength, information associated with the assigned channel, power, speed, etc., and any other suitable information to assist with NFC-based communications.

Additionally, processor 606, device host 634, NFCC 630, and/or NFC technology detection module 660 may provide a means for initiating an RF field that is not modulated by an NFC-enabled device as part of the technology discovery process, means for monitoring the RF. fields during at least a portion of the wait duration, means for determining whether or not the RF field is modulated during the wait duration in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology, and means for completing a technology detection process in determining whether that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of NFC technology.

It will be appreciated that the data store (eg, storage device 608) described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile storage, or may include both volatile and non-volatile storage. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile storage device may include random access memory (RAM) that acts as an external cache. By way of illustration, but not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), DRAM using Synchlink technology (SLDRAM) and RAM using Direct Rambus technology (DRRAM). Storage device 608 of the present systems and methods may comprise, without limitation, these and any other suitable types of storage device.

The communication device 600 may include an NFC controller 630 and a device host 634 . In an aspect, NFCC 630 may include an RF detection module 632. The RF detection module 632 may be configured to perform a detection process. One aspect of the discovery process may include polling for the presence of one or more remote NFC devices. The DH 634 may be configured to issue a command to direct the NFCC 630 to perform various functions associated with RF detection.

In another aspect, communication device 600 may include an NCI 650. In an aspect, the NCI 650 may be configured to provide communication between the NFC controller 630 and the DH 634. The NCI 650 may be configured to operate in a listening mode and/or a survey.

In another aspect, the communication device 600 may include an NFC technology detection module 660. The NFC technology detection module 660 may be configured to detect the presence of and/or receive data from a remote NFC device in the work area. The NFC detection module 660 may include an unmodulated RF field generation module 662 and an RF field monitoring module 664. In an aspect, the modulated RF field generating module 662 may be configured to generate an unmodulated RF field in the work area during the sleep duration. In an aspect, the waiting duration may be set as a guard time specified in the NFC Forum specifications. In another aspect, the baseband RF field generating unit 662 may generate the baseband RF field for a sleep duration specified by the TTF device. In yet another aspect, the wait duration may be selected as the greater of the NFC Forum standard-specified guard time and the TTF device-specified duration. In response to the generated RF field, the remote NFC device can send TTF data. In another aspect, RF field monitoring module 664 may be configured to monitor the generated RF field for any load modulations that may be consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology. In an aspect, the NFC technology may be NFC type A RF technology, NFC type B RF technology, NFC type F RF technology, etc. In an aspect, the type of NFC technology monitored by the RF field monitoring module 664 may be based on what type of NFC technology the communication device 600 intends to use during subsequent communication during the technology discovery process. In another aspect, RF field monitoring module 664 may be configured to monitor for RF field modulations indicative of several types of NFC technologies. In another aspect, the RF field monitoring module 664 may determine that the RF field is modulated once the load modulation exceeds a threshold level. In a functional aspect, when the RF field monitoring module 664 determines that RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are provided, then the technology detection module 660 may complete the technology detection process. Additionally, technology detection module 660 may receive data and transmit data to one or more applications of interest. In an aspect, technology detection module 660 may communicate received data by notifying an adjacent upper layer that data (eg, a frame) has been received. In another functional aspect, in which the RF field monitoring module 664 does not detect RF field modulation during the sleep duration, then the technology detection module 660 may continue the technology detection process.

Although fig. 6 reveals that the NFC detection module 660 is a separate module, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functionality associated with the NFC detection module 660 may be included in one or more components, for example, but not only, in NFCC 630, DH 634, etc. In another aspect, NFC detection module 660 is configured to communicate with TTF devices, as described with respect to FIGS. 4, 5.

In addition, the communication device 600 may include a user interface 640. The user interface 640 may include input engines 642 for generating inputs to the communication device 600 and an output engine 644 for generating information for consumption by a user of the communication device 600. For example, input mechanisms 642 may include a mechanism such as a key or keyboard, a mouse, a touch display, a microphone, etc. Additionally, for example, the output mechanism 644 may include a display, an audio speaker, a haptic feedback mechanism, a personal area network (PAN) transceiver, etc. In the illustrated aspects, output engine 644 may include a display configured to present multimedia content that is in an image format or a video format, or an audio speaker for presenting multimedia content that is in an audio format.

Fig. 7 is a conceptual data flow diagram 700 illustrating the flow of data between various modules/means/components in an exemplary device 702. The device may be a wireless device (eg, communications device 600, etc.). The device includes an NFC module 704 with a receiving module 706 and a transmitting module 708, an NFC technology detection module 710, and an application processor 712.

In a functional aspect, device 702 (eg, communications device 600), through NFC module 704 and transmitter module 708, can initiate RF field 720 as part of the technology discovery process. In an aspect, the NFC-enabled device may not modulate the RF field 720 during the sleep duration. The RF field 720 may be modulated by a remote NFC device 330 in the work area. The receiving module 706 of the NFC module 704 may monitor the RF field 720 for at least a portion of the wait duration. In an aspect, an RF field may be determined to be modulated when the load associated with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology is above a threshold value. In an aspect in which device 702 is configured to detect a TTF device, the wait duration may be a duration set by the TTF device. In another aspect, the wait duration may be a guard time specified as part of the technology discovery process. In yet another aspect, the wait duration may be selected as a longer duration from the guard time specified as part of the technology discovery process specified by the duration TTF device, etc.

The receiving module 706 of the NFC module 704 may detect modulation 722 in the RF field and provide the detected modulation 722 to the NFC detection module 710 . The NFC detection module 710 may determine whether or not, during the wait duration, the RF field 722 is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology (eg, originating from the remote NFC device 330). In an aspect, the RF field may be modulated by a TTF device. In an aspect, NFC technology may be based on NFC type A, NFC type B, NFC type F, etc. In an aspect in which the RF field is modulated 722 by a TTF device, the device may receive, via receiver module 706, data 724, process data 724, and notify an upper layer (e.g., application 713) regarding data 724.

In an aspect, the NFC technology detection module 710 may determine that the RF field is modulated 722 in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology, and may provide a termination message 726 to the NFC module 704 instructing the NFC module 704 to complete the technology detection process. . In an aspect, the determination process may be performed at an upper layer (eg, in application processor 712 and/or one or more applications 713), and a termination message 726 may be provided to NFC module 704 in response to the upper layer determination.

Additionally or alternatively, the NFC technology detection module 710 may determine that the RF field is not modulated 722 in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology and may continue the technology detection process after the timeout duration has expired. In another aspect, the NFC detection module 710 may continue the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is not modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology and after the timeout duration has expired.

In an optional functional aspect, an application 713 associated with an application processor 712 may process data 728 received from a remote NFC device 330. In an aspect, an NFC module 704, through a receiving module 706, may receive data 728 from a remote NFC device 330 using NFC RF technology (eg, NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F) determined by the NFC technology detection module 710. In another aspect, application 713 may transmit, via NFC module 704 and transmitter module 708, information to remote NFC device 330 once NFC technology detection module 710 determines the NFC RF technology used by remote NFC device 330.

The apparatus may include additional modules that perform each of the algorithm steps in the above processing flows and/or in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and 5. In this regard, each step in the above FIGS. 4 and 5 may be implemented by a module, and the device may include one or more of these modules. The modules may be one or more hardware components, particularly configured to implement established processes/algorithms, implemented by a processor configured to implement established processes/algorithms, stored on a computer-readable medium for implementation by the processor, or some combination thereof.

Fig. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating an example hardware implementation for device 702' using processing system 814. The processing system 814 may be implemented with a bus architecture, generally represented by a bus 824. The bus 824 may include any number of connecting buses and bridges depending on the particular application of the processing system 814 and overall design constraints. Bus 824 connects various circuits, including one or more processors and/or hardware modules represented by processor 804, modules 704, 706, 708, 710, 712, and computer-readable media 806. Bus 824 may also connect various other circuits, such as clock sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators and power management circuits, which are known in the art, and therefore are not described below.

The processing system 814 may be coupled to a transceiver device 810. The transceiver device 810 is coupled to one or more antennas 820. The transceiver device 810 provides a means for exchanging data with various other devices over a transmission medium. The processing system 814 includes a processor 804 coupled to a computer-readable medium 806. The processor 804 controls general processing, including execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 806. The software, when executed by the processor 804, instructs the system 814 processing to perform the various functions described above for any specific device. Computer readable medium 806 may also be used to store data that is processed by processor 804 when executing software. The processing system further includes at least one of modules 704, 706, 708, 710, and 712. The modules may be software modules executing on processor 804 resident/stored on computer readable medium 806, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 804, or some combination of the above. In an aspect, processing system 814 may be a component of communication device 600 and may include storage device 610 and/or at least one of processor 606, device host 634, NFC controller 630, and NFC detection module.

In one configuration, a wireless communication device 702/702' includes means for initiating, in the NFC-enabled device, an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device, as part of the technology discovery process, means for monitoring the RF. fields during at least a portion of the wait duration, means for determining whether or not the RF field is modulated during the wait duration in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology, and means for completing a technology detection process in determining whether that the RF field is modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of NFC technology. In an aspect, device 702/702' may further include means for continuing the technology discovery process after the timeout duration has expired. In an aspect, the device 702/702' means for continuation may be configured to continue the technology detection process upon determining that the RF field is not modulated in a manner compatible with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology and after the timeout duration has expired. In an aspect, the determination device 702/702' may be further configured to receive data, at least a portion of the data is received before the timeout period expires, process the data, and notify a higher layer regarding the data.

In another configuration, a wireless communication device 702/702' includes means for receiving, from a recording device application, a complete NDEF message that includes an NDEF header and data and is intended to be written to a remote NFC device, means for determining, based on one or more contextual factors, that the remote NFC device is configured to receive a modified version of the full NDEF message, and means for generating a modified version of the full NDEF message by removing at least a portion of the NDEF header from the full NDEF message. messages. In an aspect, device 702/702' may further include means for transmitting a modified version of the complete NDEF message to the remote NFC device. In an aspect, the generation means 702/702' may be further configured to remove at least a portion of the NDEF header from the complete NDEF message.

As described above, the processing system 814 may include a processor 606, a device host 634, an NFC controller 630, and/or an NFC technology detection module 660. Accordingly, in one configuration, the foregoing means may be a processor 606, a device host 634, an NFC controller 630, and/or an NFC detection module 660 configured to perform the functions set forth by the above means.

As used herein, the terms component, module, system, and the like are used. are intended to include a computer-related object such as, but not limited to, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or runtime software. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component may be localized on a computer and/or distributed across two or more computers. In addition, these components may be executed from a variety of computer-readable media storing different data structures. Components may exchange data through local and/or remote processes, for example, in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets, for example, data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system and/or over a network, for example, over the Internet, with other systems via a signal.

In addition, various aspects are described herein in connection with a terminal, which may be a wired terminal or a wireless terminal. A terminal may also be referred to as a system, device, subscriber module, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile apparatus, mobile device, remote station, mobile equipment (ME), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, terminal, communications device, user agent, user device or user equipment (UE). The wireless device may be a cellular telephone, a satellite telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) telephone, a wireless subscriber station (WLL), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless-enabled handheld device, a computing device, or other processing devices. devices connected to a wireless modem. In addition, various aspects are described herein in connection with the base station. A base station may be used to communicate with wireless terminal(s) and may also be referred to as an access point, Node B, or some other term.

Moreover, the term or is intended to mean inclusive or instead of exclusive or. Thus, unless otherwise stated or obvious from the context, X uses A or B is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. Thus, the phrase X uses A or B is satisfied by any of the following cases: X uses A; X uses B; or X uses both A and B. In addition, the articles a and an, when used in this invention and the appended claims, are generally to be construed to mean one or more, unless otherwise indicated or the context is not obvious. that it is aimed at the singular form.

The technologies described in this document can be used for various wireless communication systems, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms system and network are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Additionally, cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement radio technology such as Enhanced UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Band (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. d. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is a version of UMTS that uses EUTRA, which applies OFDMA in the downlink and SC-FDMA in the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Additionally, cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). In addition, these wireless communication systems may additionally include ad-hoc network systems between peers (for example, between mobile stations), often using unpaired unlicensed spectrum, wireless LAN according to the 802.xx standard, Bluetooth technology, types of NFC technologies ( NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F, etc.) and any other short- or long-range wireless communication technologies.

Various aspects or features are presented with respect to systems, which may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It should be understood and appreciated that various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc., explained in connection with the drawings. A combination of these approaches can also be used.

Various illustrative logic gates, blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or implemented by a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete logic element or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the foregoing designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors together with a DSP core, or any other similar configuration. Additionally, the at least one processor may comprise one or more modules configured to perform one or more of the steps and/or actions described above.

Additionally, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with aspects disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination thereof. The software module may reside in random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. in this field of technology. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to a processor, wherein the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. Additionally, in some aspects, the processor and storage media may reside in the ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may be permanently located in the user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may

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Claims (25)

permanently located as discrete components in the user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm may be resided as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a computer-readable medium and/or a computer-readable medium that may be included in a computer program product . In one or more aspects, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any transmission medium that facilitates movement of a computer program from one location to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, these computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage device, magnetic disk storage device or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection can be called a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a Web site, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave media, then the coaxial cable fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave media are included in the definition of media. Disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, wherein disc ) typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs (discs) typically reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included among computer-readable media. While the foregoing disclosure explains illustrative aspects and/or aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the described aspects and/or aspects as defined by the appended claims. Additionally, although elements of the described aspects and/or aspects may be described or stated in the singular, the plural is implied unless a limitation on the singular is expressly stated. Additionally, all or part of any aspect and/or aspect may be used with all or part of any other aspect and/or aspect unless otherwise stated. CLAIM 1. A method for wirelessly communicating a device using a tag-first (TTF) protocol with a near-field communication (NFC)-enabled device, comprising the steps of generating, in the NFC-enabled device, a radio frequency (RF) field that is not modulated by NFC-enabled devices, for a waiting duration as part of the NFC technology discovery process, wherein the waiting duration is a guard time set as part of the technology discovery process; when generating an RF field that is not modulated, by the NFC-enabled device, and before generating polling commands, monitor, through the NFC-enabled device, the generated RF field during a wait duration to detect RF field modulations received in response to the RF shaping fields that are not modulated; determining whether or not, during the wait duration, RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected, wherein the RF field is determined to be modulated when a load associated with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology is above a threshold; completing the NFC technology detection process after determining that RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology have been detected, or after the end of the wait duration; and after completion of the NFC technology detection process, generating polling commands when no RF field modulation consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology was detected during the waiting period. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of continuing the NFC technology discovery process after the waiting period has expired. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of continuing the NFC technology detection process after determining that no RF field modulations consistent with the - 11 043310 duplication characteristics of NFC technology, and after the waiting period has expired. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the RF field is modulated by the device using a tag-first (TTF) protocol. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the wait duration is a guard time set as part of the NFC detection process. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the wait duration is selected as the greater of either a guard time specified as part of the NFC discovery process or a duration specified by the TTF device. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination further comprises: receiving data, wherein at least a portion of the data is received before the timeout period expires; process data; and notify the upper level regarding the data. 8. A computer-readable medium containing code for implementing a method of wirelessly communicating a device using a tag-first (TTF) protocol with a near-field communication (NFC)-enabled device, comprising the steps of forming, in the NFC-enabled device for a timeout duration, a radio frequency (RF) field that is not modulated by an NFC-enabled device as part of an NFC technology discovery process in the form of a TTF device, wherein the wait duration is a guard time set as part of the technology discovery process; when generating an RF field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device, and before generating polling commands, monitoring the generated RF field during a wait duration to detect RF field modulations received in response to generating the RF field that is not modulated; determining whether or not, during the wait duration, RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected, wherein the RF field is determined to be modulated when a load associated with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology is above a threshold; completing the NFC detection process after determining that RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology have been detected, or after expiring the wait duration; and after completion of the NFC technology detection process, generating a polling command when no RF field modulation consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology was detected during the waiting period. 9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for continuing the NFC detection process after the timeout period has expired. 10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for continuing the NFC detection process after determining that no RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected and after the timeout period has expired . 11. The computer readable medium according to claim 8, wherein the RF field is modulated by a TTF device. 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the wait duration is a guard time set as part of the NFC detection process. 13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the wait duration is selected as the greater of either a guard time specified as part of the NFC detection process or a duration specified by the TTF device. 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises code for receiving data, wherein at least a portion of the data is received before the timeout period expires; data processing; and top-level notifications regarding the data. 15. The device's wireless communication device uses a protocol first to contact a radio frequency tag (TTF) with a near field communication (NFC) device, comprising means for generating, in the NFC device, a radio frequency (RF) field that is not modulated by the device with supporting NFC for a wait duration as part of the NFC technology discovery process, wherein the wait duration is a guard time set as part of the technology discovery process; means for monitoring, when an RF field is generated that is not modulated, by an NFC-enabled device, and before polling commands are generated, the RF field for a duration - 12 043310 wait to detect RF field modulations received in response to generation of an RF field that is not modulated; means for determining whether or not, during the wait duration, RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected, wherein the RF field is determined to be modulated when the load associated with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology is above a threshold value ; means for completing the NFC detection process after determining that RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology have been detected, or after expiration of the wait duration; and means for generating a polling command, after completion of the NFC technology detection process, when no RF field modulation consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology has been detected during the waiting time. 16. The device of claim 15, further comprising means for continuing the NFC discovery process after the timeout period has expired. 17. The device of claim 15, further comprising means for continuing the NFC technology detection process after determining that no RF field modulations consistent with the NFC technology modulation characteristics are detected and after the timeout period has expired. 18. The device according to claim 15, wherein the RF field is modulated by a TTF device. 19. The device of claim 15, wherein the wait duration is a guard time set as part of the NFC detection process. 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the wait duration is selected as the greater of either a guard time specified as part of the NFC technology discovery process or a duration specified by the TTF device. 21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determination means is further configured to receive data, wherein at least a portion of the data is received before the timeout period expires; process data; and notify the upper level regarding the data. 22. Near Field Communication (NFC) device uses a tag-first (TTF) protocol with an NFC-enabled device, containing: transceiver device; Memory device; a processor coupled to a storage device; and an NFC detection module coupled to at least one of the storage device or processor and configured to: generating a radio frequency (RF) field that is not modulated by the NFC-enabled device for a waiting duration as part of the NFC technology discovery process, wherein the waiting duration is a guard time set as part of the technology discovery process; when generating an RF field that is not modulated by an NFC-enabled device, and before generating polling commands, monitor the generated RF field during a wait duration to detect RF field modulations received in response to generating the RF field that is not modulated; determine whether or not, during the wait duration, RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected, wherein the RF field is determined to be modulated when a load associated with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology is above a threshold; and ending the NFC technology detection process after determining that RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected, or after the waiting duration has ended; and after completion of the NFC technology detection process, generate a polling command when no RF field modulation consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology was detected during the waiting period. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the NFC detection module is further configured to continue the NFC detection process after the timeout period has expired. 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the NFC detection module is further configured to continue the NFC detection process after determining that no RF field modulations consistent with the modulation characteristics of the NFC technology are detected and after the timeout duration has expired. 25. The device according to claim 22, wherein the RF field is modulated by a TTF device. -