WO2007144392A1

WO2007144392A1 - Processing device comprising a transponder interface

Info

Publication number: WO2007144392A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/055860
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthijs Raymond Vonder; Bram Dirk Van Der Waaij; Kristian Alexander Helmholt; Erik Alle Fokko Langius; Jan Sipke Van Der Veen
Original assignee: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO
Current assignee: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO
Priority date: 2006-06-13
Filing date: 2007-06-13
Publication date: 2007-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2008-12-13
Also published as: EP1868085A1

Abstract

A processing device (1) comprises a processor (11), a memory (12) and a interface unit (13). The interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder (2). The memory (12) of the processing device contains an interpreter for converting program lines read from the transponder into machine code that is executable by the processor (11). The processing device (1) may be embedded in another device (3), such as a consumer device (3), so as to control the other device. The program lines may define a new function and/or a new setting of the processing device (1) or the other device (3).

Description

Processing Device comprising a Transponder Interface

The present invention relates to processing devices comprising a transponder interface. More in particular, the present invention relates to a processing device comprising a processor, a memory and a interface unit, which interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a method of automatic identification, involving storage and remote retrieval of information using so-called RFID tags, also known as transponders. Typical transponders contain an integrated circuit (IC) and an antenna. The antenna is designed for radio frequency (RF) communication while the integrated circuit comprises a processor for processing information and a memory for storing information. The memory of RFID tags is mostly used for storing a globally unique random identifier (GUID).

Transponders may be "active" or "passive". Active transponders are typically battery-operated and can transmit a relatively powerful response to a received information request signal. Passive transponders send a response by converting the energy of the incident radio waves into transmitted radio waves.

There are transponders in which a certain amount of data can be stored in addition to a single identifier, which data can be read out from these transponders later. These data are typically used for storing product information (production date and time, batch number, material, etc.) of a product.

United States Patent US 6 177 860 discloses a method of asset control and workstation deployment that utilizes an RFID tag to hold serial number and hardware and software configuration profiles as well as user information. The configuration profiles are data and commands that may be used by a suitable program to set or alter configuration settings. However, this known method can only apply a limited number of settings, it is not possible to add new functions.

United States Patent Application US 2001/0017322 discloses a product care label for garments which contains a transponder. Machine readable care instructions are stored in the transponder, which care instructions can be used by a washing machine or a laundry dryer to select a suitable care operation. These known care instructions allow one of a fixed number of care operations to be selected but does not allow to alter the operations or to add operations or functions.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other problems of the Prior Art and to provide a device and method which allow new functions to be added or existing functions to be altered.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a processing device comprising a processor, a memory and a interface unit, which interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder, which processing device is characterised in that the memory contains an interpreter for converting program lines read from the transponder into machine code instructions executable by the processor.

By reading a program from the transponder, which program can be converted into machine language and be executed by the processor, new functions can be added by adding programs or program sections (subroutines) for those functions. In addition, existing functions can be altered by replacing parts of a program with the new program lines.

While the prior art discloses the use of transponders to store and convey data, such as settings data and other data including configuration commands, the present invention proposes to use transponders to load program lines into processing devices. Settings data are used by an existing program to adjust settings, while configuration commands are used by a suitable existing program to run an appropriate configuration routine. In other words, the prior art uses programs which were previously stored in a processing device to process data (settings data and configuration commands) received from a transponder. In contrast, the present invention proposes to receive a program from the transponder, which program may add new functions that were not available in the program originally present in the processing device. In other words, while the prior art uses a transponder to load data which can be processed by programs already present in the device, the present invention uses a transponder to load a program that was not previously present in the device, and which may in turn process data. The interface unit of the device according to the present invention may be arranged for wireless communication, preferably radio frequency communication. This allows wireless communication between the processing device and the transponder. However, wired communication using a suitable connector and cable is also possible.

The processing device according to the present invention may be an independent (that is, stand-alone) processing device, but may also be a control device for controlling another device, such as a consumer device. More in particular, the device may be arranged to be embedded in another device, such as a consumer device, and thus be part of the other device.

Advantageously, the program lines may define a new function of the other device. This allows new functions to be added to the other device which were previously not available. For example, if the other device is a washing machine, the new function could be a new laundry program: a new series of steps taken by the washing machine to carry out the washing operation.

Alternatively, or additionally, the program lines may define a new setting of the other device. Accordingly, the program may be designed to produce new settings, that is, a new configuration of the device.

Instead of, or in addition to defining a new function of the other device, the program lines may define a new function of the programming device itself. Similarly, the program lines may define a new setting of the programming device itself. The present invention also provides a consumer device, comprising a processing device as defined above, as well as a transponder containing program lines for use in the processing device defined above.

The present invention further provides a method of operating a processing device comprising a processor, a memory and a interface unit, which interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder, which method is characterised by the steps of:

- storing an interpreter in the memory,

- reading program lines from the transponder, and using the interpreter to convert the program lines into machine code instructions that are executable by the processor.

The method provides substantially the same advantages as the programming device defined above. The program lines may define a new function or a new setting of another device, preferably a consumer device in which the processing device is embedded. Alternatively, or additionally, the program lines may define a new function or a new setting of the processing device itself.

The method may further comprise the step of storing a setting of the processing device or the other device in the transponder.

The present invention additionally provides an interpreter program product for carrying out the method as defined above. A computer program product may comprise a set of computer executable instructions stored on a data carrier, such as a CD or a DVD. The set of computer executable instructions, which allow a programmable computer to carry out the method as defined above, may also be available for downloading from a remote server, for example via the Internet.

The present invention will further be explained below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically shows a processing device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a memory structure in the device of the present invention.

The processing device 1 shown merely by way of non-limiting example in Fig. 1 comprises a (micro)processor 11, a memory 12 and an interface 13. In the example shown, the processing device 1 is embedded in another device 3 and acts as a control device for the other device 3.

The interface 13 of the processing device 1 is arranged for communication with an RFID tag or transponder 2. The communication between the transponder 2 and the interface 13 is preferably wireless and may take place using radio frequency (RF) waves, but may utilize other transmission techniques instead, for example techniques involving infrared light.

The transponder 2 typically comprises a memory, a processor and an antenna. In accordance with the present invention, the memory of the transponder 2 contains a program written in a programming language, preferably a high-level language such as BASIC. The program consists of program lines (that is, programming language instructions or statements), such as INPUT A and LET X = 3.14159* A. These program lines can be read from the transponder by the interface 13. Conventional techniques can be used for this purpose: the interface 13 may transmit RF waves which prompt the transponder 2 to transmit a reply containing data and/or program lines.

The program lines (programming language instructions) transmitted by the transponder 2 are received by the interface 13. Optionally, the processor 11 may carry out a test to determine whether the information received from the transponder constitutes program lines or data, such as identification data and configuration data. The processor 11 stores the received program lines in the memory 12. The memory also contains an interpreter program, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The processor instructions read from the transponder preferably have the form of program lines written in a high-level computer language, e.g. JAVA or

BASIC, which, by means of the so-called interpreter, translates and runs the program about simultaneously: the interpreter translates one program line into machine language (machine code), executes it and steps to next line, etc. This differs from regular executable programs that are loaded in the computer as binary-coded instructions, so-called executables.

Interpreted programs run slower than similar compiled programs. Whereas a compiler program translates the whole program before running it, interpreters translate one line at a time when the program is executed. It is, however, easy to write and test such an interpreted program, as each single program line can be tested interactively. Some languages (for example JIT compilers) are able to be both interpreted and compiled; programs written in these languages can be developed with the interpreter for easier testing and debugging, and compiled later for production use. Interpreted programs must always be executed with the interpreter program, often called runtime module. In order to run for example a BASIC or JAVA program there must always be a BASIC or JAVA interpreter active.

In Fig. 2, part of the contents 120 of the memory 12 is schematically shown. In the example illustrated in Fig. 2, the memory contents 120 comprise program lines 122, an interpreter 123 and machine code (processor instructions) 124. The program lines 122 are obtained from the transponder 2 as described above. The interpreter program 123 is previously stored in the memory 12.

In accordance with the present invention, the processor 11 runs the interpreter program to convert the program lines 122, which are written in a (preferably high- level) programming language, into machine code 124. This machine code consists of machine code instructions, such as 11100101 00111101 (e.g. representing the processor operation MOVE A, B). As interpreters typically convert a only a single program line into machine code before letting the processor execute this machine code, the number of machine code instructions 124 stored in memory will therefore be small. In fact, the memory 124 only serves to temporarily store the machine code produced by the interpreter before execution; this temporary storage may instead be carried out in the processor 11.

The machine code executed by the processor 11 may implement a new function of the processing device 1. It will be understood that additional program lines and/or machine code may be stored in the memory 12 to allow the processing device 1 to carry out other functions.

It is noted that the program lines 122, the interpreter 123 and the machine code 124 need not be stored in contiguous areas of the memory 12. In fact, the memory 12 may comprise a permanent memory part (e.g. a ROM - Read Only

Memory - section) in which the interpreter is stored, and a volatile memory part (e.g. a RAM - Random Access Memory - section) in which the program lines and the machine code is stored. In some embodiments, the interpreter may be stored in a memory section of the processor 11, or a hardware interpreter unit may be provided. In some embodiments, the interpreter program 123 may also be received from a transponder. This may be the transponder storing the program lines or a separate transponder. Reading the interpreter from a transponder allows a greater flexibility: not only can updated versions of the interpreter be loaded into the memory, but it is also possible to load an interpreter for a new programming language. If the processing device 1 was originally arranged for executing programs written in the programming language BASIC, it may then become possible by allowing programs written in JAVA to be executed by loading a JAVA interpreter. Although the invention has been described with reference to embodiments in which high-level programming language instructions were read from a transponder to be converted into machine language instructions, embodiments can be envisaged in which the interpreter may be omitted as the machine language statements are read from the transponder. In other embodiments, the interpreter is replaced with a compiler, resulting in machine code that can be executed independent of the compiler.

The present invention may be used for adding new functions to both processing devices, such as computers and computer systems, and other devices comprising an (embedded) processing device, such as consumer devices. Examples of consumer devices in which the present invention can be utilized are mobile telephones, landline telephones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), game computers, washing machines, microwaves ovens, regular ovens, video recorders, home security apparatus, sound (e.g. stereo and so-called 5.1) systems, and television sets.

The present invention is based upon the insight that a transponder may not only be used for storing and transmitting data but also for storing and transmitting programs. By loading program lines from a transponder, new functions can be added to existing devices. It is noted that any terms used in this document should not be construed so as to limit the scope of the present invention. In particular, the words "comprise(s)" and "comprising" are not meant to exclude any elements not specifically stated. Single (circuit) elements may be substituted with multiple (circuit) elements or with their equivalents. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above and that many modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.

Claims

1. A processing device (1) comprising a processor (11), a memory (12) and a interface unit (13), which interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder (T), characterised in that the memory (12) contains an interpreter (123) for converting program lines (122) read from the transponder into machine code instructions (124) executable by the processor (11).

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the interface unit (13) is arranged for wireless communication, preferably radio frequency communication.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, which is a control device for controlling another device (3), such as a consumer device.

4. The device according to claim 3, which is arranged to be embedded in the other device (3).

5. The device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the program lines (122) define a new function of the other device (3).

6. The device according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the program lines (122) define a new setting of the other device (3).

7. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the program lines (122) define a new function of the programming device (1) itself.

8. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the program lines (122) define a new setting of the programming device (1) itself.

9. A consumer device (3), comprising a processing device (1) according to any of the preceding claims.

10. A transponder (2) containing program lines (122) for use in the processing device (1) according to any of claims 1-8 or the consumer device (3) according to claim 9.

11. A method of operating a processing device (1) comprising a processor (11), a memory (12) and a interface unit (13), which interface unit is arranged for reading data from a transponder (2), which method is characterised by the steps of:

- storing an interpreter (123) in the memory (12),

- reading program lines (122) from the transponder (2), and - using the interpreter (123) to convert the program lines (122) into machine code instructions (124) that are executable by the processor (11).

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the program lines (122) define a new function or a new setting of another device (3), preferably a consumer device in which the processing device (1) is embedded.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the program lines (122) define a new function or a new setting of the processing device (1) itself.

14. The method according to claim 11, 12 or 13, further comprising the step of storing a setting of the processing device (1) or the other device (3) in the transponder (2).

15. An interpreter program product (123) for use in the method according to any of claims 11-14.