KR20210099958A - Cell phone case having nfc reader - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile phone case having an NFC reader and a card loss detection device using the same and, more specifically, to a mobile phone case which extends NFC power of a mobile phone to a cover of a mobile phone case through a coupling antenna and an extension antenna and has an NFC reader on the extension antenna. According to the present invention, the mobile phone case having an NFC reader can minimize power consumption by detecting a card only when a cover is opened by turning on/off an extension antenna through an NFC reader by detecting whether the cover is opened. According to the present invention, the mobile phone case having an NFC reader can detect whether a card is lost only by a mobile phone case without intervention of a mobile phone by having an NFC reader on the mobile phone case. According to the present invention, the mobile phone case having an NFC reader can determine whether a card is lost by recognizing a tag provided on the card without separate power by extending NFC power of a mobile phone to a cover of a mobile phone case. Also, according to the present invention, the mobile phone case having an NFC reader and the card loss detection device using the same can minimize mobile phone battery consumption by detecting a tag of a card by an extension antenna only when opening a cover or moving a mobile phone by using an NFC reader.

Description

Mobile phone case with NFC reader {CELL PHONE CASE HAVING NFC READER}

The present invention relates to a mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader and a card loss detection device using the same. In particular, the NFC power of the mobile phone is extended to the cover of the mobile phone case through a coupling antenna and an extension antenna, but the extension antenna includes an NFC reader. It's about cell phone cases.

In general, a mobile phone has an outer case made of metal or plastic and a screen made of glass. Therefore, it is vulnerable to an external shock, and in order to compensate for this, a mobile phone case that wraps and protects the mobile phone is used. In addition, there are many cases of using a card storage cell phone case for storing cards, etc. in addition to simply protecting the cell phone. Such a card storage cell phone case includes a cell phone mounting frame on which the cell phone is mounted, a diary type comprising a cover having a card storage pocket to cover the cell phone screen, and a card bumper case type in which a card storage pocket is formed on the rear side of the cell phone mounting frame.

However, the aforementioned card storage cell phone case is difficult to recognize the loss of the card before the user visually confirms it, and in particular, in the case of the card bumper case, it collides with the NFC function of the cell phone and generates an error. Moreover, even in the case of the diary form, there is a problem in that it is difficult to recognize the card located in the card storage pocket of the cover, that is, in the direction of the mobile phone screen.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0015315 (published on February 13, 2018)

An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader capable of detecting whether a card is lost without conflicting with the NFC function of the mobile phone and a card loss detection device using the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader capable of detecting whether a card is lost, but minimizing battery consumption of the mobile phone, and a card loss detection device using the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader that can reliably detect whether a card stored in the cover of the mobile phone case is lost with a simple structure and a card loss detection device using the same.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned object, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. Moreover, it will be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

A mobile phone case with an NFC reader according to the present invention is a mobile phone case including a mobile phone mounting frame on which the mobile phone is mounted, and a cover covering the upper part of the mobile phone, and is provided in the mobile phone mounting frame to couple the NFC power of the mobile phone. It includes a ring antenna, an extended antenna provided on the cover and connected to the coupling antenna, and an NFC reader connected to the extended antenna.

It includes a controller for controlling whether the NFC reader operates according to whether the cover is opened or closed.

A rectifier circuit that rectifies the power applied from the coupling antenna, a regulator that regulates the power rectified by the rectifier circuit, an authentication IC that performs authentication to access a mobile phone by receiving power from the regulator, and the regulator is connected to the controller connected connector.

The controller includes an MCU (MicroController Unit) connected to a connector and an NFC reader to control the NFC reader, and an LED that is connected to the MCU to display cell phone status information of the cell phone and receives a cell phone control command from the user through touch to control the cell phone. /Include display controller with touch panel.

The extended antenna includes a link antenna connected to the coupling antenna and forming one loop, and a plurality of loop antennas spaced apart from each other while forming a multi-loop in a partial region of the link antenna.

The mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader according to the present invention can reduce power consumption by detecting the card only when the cover is opened or closed by turning on/off the extended antenna through the NFC reader according to detecting whether the cover is opened or closed.

The mobile phone case provided with an NFC reader according to the present invention can detect whether the card is lost only by the mobile phone case without the intervention of the mobile phone by providing the NFC reader in the mobile phone case.

The mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader according to the present invention can determine whether the card is lost by extending the NFC power of the mobile phone to the cover of the mobile phone case and recognizing the tag provided on the card without a separate power supply.

In addition, the mobile phone case equipped with an NFC reader according to the present invention and the card loss detection device using the same can minimize the battery consumption of the mobile phone by detecting the tag of the card with the extended antenna only when the cover is opened or the mobile phone is moved using the NFC reader. .

In addition to the above-described effects, the specific effects of the present invention will be described together while describing specific details for carrying out the invention below.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a mobile phone case according to the present invention.
2 is a schematic plan view of an antenna in a mobile phone case according to the present invention.
3 is a plan view for explaining the number of loop antennas in the mobile phone case according to the present invention.
4 is a plan view for explaining the shape of a loop antenna in a mobile phone case according to the present invention.
5 is a block diagram of an MCU in a mobile phone case according to the present invention.

The above-described objects, features and advantages will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar components.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a mobile phone case according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone case according to the present invention includes a case body 100 having a mobile phone mounting frame 110 and a cover 120, and NFC power from the mobile phone mounting frame 110 to the cover 120. An antenna 200 for coupling the, a controller 400 for displaying mobile phone information or controlling the mobile phone by communicating with the mobile phone mounted on the mobile phone mounting frame 110, and provided between the antenna 200 and the controller 400 and an NFC reader 500 .

The case body 100 is for storing and protecting the mobile phone, and is connected to the mobile phone mounting frame 110 that directly houses the mobile phone to protect the rear and side surfaces of the mobile phone, and the mobile phone mounting frame 110 to protect the mobile phone screen. and a cover 120 that does.

The mobile phone mounting frame 110 is formed in the shape of a rectangular frame with an open upper portion to correspond to the shape of the mobile phone to protect the rear and side surfaces of the mobile phone. In addition, the mobile phone mounting frame 110 may be formed to press the side of the mobile phone or to surround the upper edge of the mobile phone to prevent the stored mobile phone from being separated by impact or the like.

The cover 120 is connected to the mobile phone mounting frame 110 and is provided so that it can be opened and closed. The cover 120 is preferably formed in a rectangular plate shape to protect the upper part of the mobile phone. In addition, one or more card storage pockets 121 for accommodating cards are formed in the cover 120 .

2 is a schematic plan view of an antenna in a mobile phone case according to the present invention.

The antenna 200 couples the NFC (Near Field Communication) power of the mobile phone and delivers it to the cover 120 . To this end, the antenna 200 includes a coupling antenna 210 and an extended antenna 220 extending from the coupling antenna 210 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The coupling antenna 210 is provided on the mobile phone mounting frame 110 to couple the NFC power of the mobile phone. This embodiment illustrates that the coupling antenna 210 is provided on the mobile phone mounting frame 110 in a rectangular frame shape based on a plan view. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the coupling antenna 210 according to the present invention may be formed in a polygonal frame shape including a circular frame shape, an elliptical frame shape, and a triangular frame shape based on a plan view.

The extended antenna 220 is connected to the coupling antenna 210 or extends from the coupling antenna 210 to receive NFC power of the mobile phone through the coupling antenna 210 . The extended antenna 220 is connected to the coupling antenna 210 or extends from the coupling antenna 210 and is located on the cover 120 of the mobile phone case. The extended antenna 220 includes a link antenna 221 and a loop antenna 222 formed on the link antenna 221 .

The link antenna 221 is connected to the coupling antenna 210 and forms one loop in the cover 120 of the mobile phone case. Here, the present embodiment exemplifies that the link antenna 221 has a rectangular loop shape to correspond to the shape of the card accommodated in the card storage pocket 121 . In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 , the link antenna 221 is provided for each card storage pocket 121 and attaches a tag attached to each card stored in each card storage pocket 121 to a loop antenna 222 to be described later. ), it is desirable to detect each of them. Here, the tag may be separately manufactured and attached to the card or may be formed on the card when the card is manufactured.

Figure 3 is a plan view for explaining the number of loop antennas in the mobile phone case according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a plan view for explaining the shape of the loop antenna in the mobile phone case according to the present invention.

The loop antenna 222 is for recognizing the tag provided in the card, and is formed by making a part of the link antenna 221 in the form of a multi-loop. This embodiment exemplifies the loop antenna 222 formed in the form of multiple loops in the form of concentric circles as the loop antenna 222 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the loop antenna 222 may be formed in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 4(a) or a triangular shape as shown in FIG. 4(b). . Furthermore, the loop antenna 222 may be formed in an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 4(c) or a pentagonal loop antenna 222 as shown in FIG. 4(d). That is, according to the present invention, the loop antenna 222 can be formed in any shape as long as the tag provided in the card can be recognized. However, even in this case, the loop antenna 222 is preferably in the form of a multi-loop. Of course, in the drawings, it is shown that the multi-loop form is not electrically connected to each other, but in reality, the loop antenna 222 is a form in which the link antenna 221 is wound in a coil form in a plane.

On the other hand, the tag is preferably made as small as possible in order to minimize the interference between the tag and the tag and the NFC card, for example, the tag is smaller than the diameter of the loop antenna 222 or the loop antenna 222 ) and may be formed in a size corresponding to the Also, according to the present invention, a plurality of loop antennas 222 are provided in the link antenna 221 in order to recognize a tag of a small size.

In the present invention, a plurality of loop antennas 222 may be formed to be spaced apart from each other in the link antenna 221 , and in this embodiment, the link antenna 221 has four loop antennas 222 , that is, a first loop antenna ( 222a), the second loop antenna 222b, the third loop antenna 222c, and the fourth loop antenna 222d are provided to be spaced apart from each other. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and two or more loop antennas 222 of the present invention may be provided in the link antenna 221 to be spaced apart from each other. Here, when the link antenna 221 is provided with two loop antennas 222, the loop antenna 222 is preferably positioned at the corner of the link antenna 221 having a rectangular loop shape, which is shown in FIG. As such, it may be located at ① and ②, which are upper corners of the link antenna 221 . Of course, the loop antenna 222 may be positioned at the lower corners of the link antenna 221, ③ and ④, the sides ② and ③, or ① and ④. Furthermore, the loop antenna 222 may be located at ① and ③, or ② and ④ of the link antenna 221 . In addition, when three loop antennas 222 are provided, they may be located at the other corners except for any one of the four corners of the link antenna 221 . Meanwhile, five loop antennas 222 of the present invention may be provided, and in this case, the four corners of the link antenna 221 and the center of the four corners may be located. In addition, when five loop antennas 222 are provided, the link antenna 221 is preferably connected to the coupling antenna 210 via the center of the four corners.

On the other hand, when the above-described two loop antennas 222 are provided, the recognition rate of the tag varies according to the storage direction of the card stored in the card storage pocket 121 , so the storage direction of the card stored in the card storage pocket 121 is changed. It is preferable to guide That is, when the tag is located on one upper side of the card, when the card is stored in the card receiving pocket 121, the tag recognition rate is high only when the loop antenna 222 is located in the area where the tag is located. Therefore, when two loop antennas 222 are provided, guiding the storage direction of the card is effective to increase the recognition rate of the tag.

However, when the four loop antennas 222 are provided, the tag can be detected at any of the four corners of the card, so a card receiving direction guide is unnecessary. In addition, it is effective that the antenna 200 of the present invention is made of a flexible material such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or a coil.

The controller 400 connects the cell phone case and the cell phone to display the cell phone state through the cell phone case or controls the cell phone through the cell phone case, and detects a tag through the NFC reader 500 . To this end, the controller 400 includes a mobile phone connector 410 provided in the mobile phone mounting frame 110 , and a display controller 420 provided in the cover 120 .

The mobile phone connector 410 is provided in the mobile phone mounting frame and receives power through the coupling antenna 210 and is connected to the mobile phone. To this end, the mobile phone connector 410 includes a rectifier circuit 411 for receiving power from the coupling antenna 210 and rectifying it, a regulator 412 for regulating the power rectified by the rectifier circuit 411, and a regulator 412 ) and an authentication IC 413 for performing mobile phone authentication by receiving power from the ), and a connector 414 connected to the display controller 420 and connected to the regulator 412 .

The rectifier circuit 411 rectifies the power applied from the coupling antenna 210 by half-wave. In addition, the power rectified by the rectifying circuit 411 is applied to a regulator 412 to be described later.

The regulator 412 regulates the power rectified by the rectifier circuit 411 and applies it to the display controller 420 and the authentication IC 413 . To this end, the regulator 412 includes a first regulator 412a regulating the power rectified by the rectifier circuit 411 and applying it to the display controller 420 through the connector 414 , and the rectification circuit 411 . and a second regulator 412b for regulating the applied power and applying it to the authentication IC 413 . Here, the present embodiment exemplifies a low-dropout (LDO) as the regulator 412 .

The authentication IC 413 receives power from the second regulator 412b and performs authentication with the mobile phone. In addition, the controller 400 may access the mobile phone by authentication of the mobile phone through the authentication IC 413 .

The display controller 420 displays mobile phone status information and controls the mobile phone. To this end, the display controller 420 displays the mobile phone status information and receives a mobile phone control command from the user through a touch input to control the mobile phone LED/touch panel 421 and the MCU for controlling the LED/touch panel 421 (MicroController Unit, 422).

The LED/touch panel 421 displays mobile phone status information and controls the mobile phone by receiving a command from the user through touch. The cell phone status information displayed on the LED/touch panel 421 may include, for example, current time, received phone information, currently played music information, and the like, and the present invention provides card storage in the card storage pocket 121 . indicate whether In addition, the LED/touch panel 421 may perform functions such as receiving a command from a user through a touch, receiving a call, or controlling currently played music. This is, for example, the cell phone case according to the present invention may be a form in which the antenna 200 and the controller 400 are provided on the Samsung LED view cover. In this case, the basic function of the Samsung LED view cover is the card according to the present invention. It can perform a loss detection function.

5 is a block diagram of an MCU in a mobile phone case according to the present invention.

The MCU 422 controls the LED/touch panel 421 and the NFC reader 500 . To this end, the MCU 422 includes an LED/touch panel controller 422a for controlling the LED/touch panel 421 and an NFC reader controller 422b for controlling the NFC reader 500, as shown in FIG. 5 . includes

The LED/touch panel controller 422a controls the LED/touch panel to display cell phone status information or a card loss warning.

The NFC reader controller 422b controls the NFC reader 500 according to whether the cover 120 is opened or closed and whether the mobile phone is moved. To this end, the NFC reader controller 422b includes a cover opening and closing sensor 422ba for detecting the opening and closing of the cover 120 from the cover opening and closing sensing means, and a mobile phone movement detector for detecting the movement of the mobile phone from the mobile phone movement detecting means for detecting the movement of the mobile phone ( 422bb), the tag detection signal receiver 422bc for receiving the tag detection signal from the extended antenna 220 by operating the NFC reader 500 when the cover 120 is opened or the mobile phone is moved, and based on the received tag detection signal A card loss detector 422bd to determine whether a card is stored in the card storage pocket 121, and a warning indicator 422be to display a warning when the mobile phone moves more than a preset distance in a state where the tag detection signal is not received. include

The cover opening/closing sensor 422ba detects opening and closing of the cover 120 . Here, the cover opening/closing detector 422ba may detect the opening/closing of the cover 120 using a magnet and a magnetic force sensor. The magnetic force sensor is provided on the cover 120 or the mobile phone mounting frame 110, and when the cover 120 is closed, it can detect a magnet that the cover 120 is attached to the mobile phone mounting frame 110. For example, when a magnet is provided in the cover 120 and a metal plate attached to the magnet is provided in the mobile phone mounting frame 110, a magnetic force sensor is provided on the metal plate and whether the magnet is close according to the opening and closing of the cover 120 By sensing, it is possible to detect whether the cover 120 is opened or closed. Of course, this is only an example, and an opening/closing switch (not shown) is provided on the mobile phone mounting frame 110 , and the cover 120 is turned on/off according to the opening and closing of the cover 120 through the opening/closing switch. It is also possible to detect whether the door is open or closed. That is, the configuration for detecting the opening of the cover 120 in the present invention may be any configuration as long as the cover opening/closing sensor 422ba detects the opening of the cover 120 to operate the NFC reader 500 .

The mobile phone movement detector 422bb detects the mobile phone's movement state. That is, the mobile phone movement detector 422bb detects whether the mobile phone is in a stationary state or in a moving state. To this end, the mobile phone movement detector 422bb may detect the movement of the mobile phone by using a gyro sensor provided in the mobile phone or by adding a gyro sensor to the mobile phone case. That is, the mobile phone movement detector 422bb detects the user's movement, that is, the movement of the mobile phone case, regardless of whether the cover 120 is opened or not, for example, through a gyro sensor provided in the mobile phone or mobile phone case. The reader 500 may be turned on. In this case, the gyro sensor turns on/off the NFC reader 500 by detecting various situations, such as when moving after stopping, moving for a predetermined time or a predetermined distance, and moving for a predetermined time or a predetermined distance after stopping. Off) can be turned off. Here, the predetermined time or the predetermined distance may be input from a user or may be input in advance when manufacturing a mobile phone case.

The tag detection signal receiver 422bc receives the tag detection signal transmitted through the extended antenna 220 and the NFC reader 500 . In addition, the tag detection signal receiver 422ba transfers the received tag detection signal to a card loss detector 422bb to be described later. Here, the tag detection signal receiver 422bc turns on the NFC reader 500 when it detects that the cover 120 is opened by the cover open/close detector 422ba or detects the movement of the mobile phone from the mobile phone movement detector 422bb. ) to operate the extended antenna 220 . That is, since the loss of the card stored in the card storage pocket 121 is most likely to occur when the cover 120 is opened or the mobile phone is moved, the present invention is expanded only when the opening of the cover 120 or movement of the mobile phone is detected. By operating the antenna 220, the mobile phone battery consumption is minimized.

The card loss detector 422bd detects whether the card is lost based on the tag detection signal received from the tag detection signal receiver 422bc. To this end, the card loss detector 422bd recognizes and registers the tag of the card stored in the card storage pocket 121, and registers the tag of the registered card through the extended antenna 220 provided in the card storage pocket 121. detect Here, the card loss detector 422bd is a warning indicator to be described later when the tag of the registered card is not detected for a preset time, or movement of the mobile phone is detected through the GPS module of the mobile phone but the tag of the registered card is not detected. 422be) can transmit a card loss signal.

The warning indicator 422be displays a warning when the card loss detector 422bd does not detect the card so that the user can recognize it. As described above, this may be performed by receiving a card loss signal from the card loss detector 422bd, and the warning indicator 422be may display a warning through the LED/touch panel 420 of the cover 120. . Of course, the warning indicator 422be may also display a warning sound through the speaker of the cell phone and vibration through the vibration module of the cell phone. Here, when a warning is displayed through the LED/touch panel 420 of the cover 120, the warning indicator 422be is omitted and the card loss detector 422bd displays a warning through the LED/touch panel 420. may be

On the other hand, the function of the above-described NFC reader controller 422b may be implemented in the form of an application in the mobile phone.

The NFC reader 500 detects a tag provided in the card through the extended antenna 220 . As described above, when the cover 120 is opened, the NFC reader 500 is turned on by the MCU 422 to operate the extended antenna 220 . Here, the coupling antenna 210 and the extended antenna 220 are connected through the NFC reader 500 and the MCU 422 and the mobile phone connector 410, and accordingly, when the NFC reader 500 is turned off (Off) The extended antenna 220 also does not operate because it does not receive power.

As described above, the present invention can reduce power consumption by detecting the card only when the cover is opened or closed by turning on/off the extended antenna through the NFC reader according to whether the cover is opened or closed. In addition, the present invention can detect whether the card is lost with only the mobile phone case without the intervention of the mobile phone by providing an NFC reader in the mobile phone case.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed in the present specification. It is obvious that variations can be made. In addition, although the effects according to the configuration of the present invention are not explicitly described and described while describing the embodiments of the present invention, it is natural that the effects predictable by the configuration should also be recognized.

100: mobile phone case body 110: mobile phone mounting frame
120: cover 121: card storage pocket
200: antenna 210: coupling antenna
220: extended antenna 221: link antenna
222: loop antenna 222a: first loop antenna
222b: second loop antenna 222c: third loop antenna
222d: fourth loop antenna 400: controller
410: cell phone connector 411: rectifier circuit
412: regulator 412a: first regulator
412b: second regulator 413: authentication IC
414: connector 420: display controller
421: LED/touch panel 422: MCU
422a: LED/touch panel controller 422b: NFC reader controller
422ba: cover open/close detector 422bb: mobile phone movement detector
422bc: tag detection signal receiver 422bd: lost card detector
422be: warning indicator 500: NFC reader

Claims (5)

A mobile phone case comprising a mobile phone mounting frame on which the mobile phone is mounted, and a cover covering the upper part of the mobile phone,
A coupling antenna provided in the mobile phone mounting frame for coupling the NFC power of the mobile phone;
An extended antenna provided on the cover and connected to the coupling antenna, and
A mobile phone case including an NFC reader connected to the extended antenna.
According to claim 1,
A cell phone case comprising a controller for controlling whether the NFC reader operates according to whether the cover is opened or closed.
3. The method of claim 2,
a rectifying circuit for rectifying the power applied from the coupling antenna;
a regulator for regulating the power rectified in the rectification circuit;
an authentication IC that receives power from the regulator and performs authentication for access to the mobile phone;
and a connector connected to the regulator and connected to the controller.
4. The method of claim 3,
The controller is
an MCU (MicroController Unit) connected to the connector and the NFC reader to control the NFC reader;
and a display controller having an LED/touch panel connected to the MCU to display the mobile phone status information of the mobile phone and control the mobile phone by receiving a mobile phone control command from a user through touch.
5. The method of claim 4,
The extended antenna is
a link antenna connected to the coupling antenna and forming one loop;
A mobile phone case including a plurality of loop antennas spaced apart from each other and forming a multi-loop in a portion of the link antenna.

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