WO2014037888A1 - Rétroaction d'utilisateur pour des communications en champ proche - Google Patents

Rétroaction d'utilisateur pour des communications en champ proche Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014037888A1
WO2014037888A1 PCT/IB2013/058294 IB2013058294W WO2014037888A1 WO 2014037888 A1 WO2014037888 A1 WO 2014037888A1 IB 2013058294 W IB2013058294 W IB 2013058294W WO 2014037888 A1 WO2014037888 A1 WO 2014037888A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
indication
signal strength
user feedback
nfc
response
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2013/058294
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Alan James Davie
Jan Hendrik POESSE
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koninklijke Philips N.V. filed Critical Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Publication of WO2014037888A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014037888A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B5/00—Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive loop type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/20—Monitoring; Testing of receivers
    • H04B17/23—Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/20—Monitoring; Testing of receivers
    • H04B17/27—Monitoring; Testing of receivers for locating or positioning the transmitter
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/30—Monitoring; Testing of propagation channels
    • H04B17/309—Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
    • H04B17/318—Received signal strength
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B17/00—Monitoring; Testing
    • H04B17/30—Monitoring; Testing of propagation channels
    • H04B17/309—Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
    • H04B17/318—Received signal strength
    • H04B17/327—Received signal code power [RSCP]

Definitions

  • the invention relates to provision of a user feedback indication for near field communications, and in particular, but not exclusively, to provision of visual user feedback indications in consumer devices and appliances.
  • Near field communication is a communication technique that utilizes near field magnetic coupling to transfer data, and if necessary power, between suitably enabled devices.
  • a Near Field Communication standard has been developed by ISO/ IEC (the International Organization for Standardization/ International Electrotechnical
  • the operating range is typically in the order of just a few centimeters.
  • Near field communication has been around for a number of years, and has so far mainly found application in areas such as secure payment, public transportation ticketing or for providing a means of associating (pairing) devices via the mechanism of a single touch. More recently near field communication has been gaining popularity and has started to appear in mainstream mobile phones (Smartphones). This gives owners the ability to conveniently and securely exchange data with either other suitably enabled phones, or with other items of consumer equipment with embedded near field communication capability. Because the operating range of the technology is so relatively small, it can have significant advantages over other longer range technologies. For example, communication standards such as Bluetooth require complex pairing procedures before data exchange can begin.
  • near field communication may be exploited to remove the need for physical controls (e.g. switches, display indicators and connection points) from the outer casing of consumer appliances.
  • a simple near field communication module can be hidden under the surface of the appliance and used to provide a link with an external device that can then be used to provide a user interface. This may e.g. allow consumer appliances to have a much cleaner, less cluttered exterior design.
  • the consumer device can be reduced in size since the user interface resides in a separate device (such as a Smartphone). The approach may in many cases reduce cost as no or reduced user input and output functionality need to be implemented in the device.
  • an external near field communication device to control e.g. an appliance
  • the external device must be positioned fairly accurately for optimum operation and reliability.
  • the user may typically be uncertain about the optimum positioning thereby resulting in a potentially degraded and less reliable service.
  • the problem may be exacerbated by the sensitivity of the magnetic coupling between near field communication enabled devices to orientation.
  • the user may not be sufficient that the user holds the external device close to the device that is being controlled, but it may also be required that the external device is oriented such that the near field communication antenna is positioned towards the controlled device.
  • an improved approach would be advantageous and in particular an approach allowing increased flexibility, improved reliability, facilitated implementation, an improved user experience and/or improved performance would be advantageous.
  • the Invention seeks to preferably mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages singly or in any combination.
  • a device comprising: a receiver for receiving instructions from an external controlling device via a near field communication link; a controller arranged to control an operation of the device in response to the instructions; a signal strength processor for determining a signal strength indication for near field communication transmissions from the controlling device by a receive antenna; a user feedback indicator; and an indication controller for changing a characteristic of a user feedback indication provided by the user feedback indicator in response to the signal strength indication.
  • the invention may provide an improved user experience in many scenarios. In many cases, it may provide an improved and/or more reliable communication.
  • the approach may be implemented with low complexity and may provide a cost efficient improvement.
  • the device may provide user feedback that assists the user in positioning the external controlling device for optimum performance.
  • the user feedback indication may be used to guide or draw in the external device for optimum positioning.
  • the approach may not only result in an improved positioning of the external controlling device but may also provide an improved and less uncertain user experience.
  • the near field communication link may typically have a range for data communication of a maximum of 20, 10 or even 5 cm. In many embodiments the range for data communication is up to around 5 cm, but the system will typically exhibit a much greater range, e.g. of up to around 20cm, for providing a user feedback indication (without being able to exchange data at the longer distances)).
  • the user feedback indicator may in many embodiments advantageously be a visual user feedback indicator and the user feedback indication may be a visual user feedback indication. This may provide a particularly suitable user experience and is particularly suitable for guiding the user to bring the controlling device towards the optimal position.
  • the user feedback indicator may advantageously be an audio user feedback indicator and the user feedback indication may be an audio user feedback indication.
  • the indication controller is arranged to process the received signal strength indication to provide a gradual user feedback indication.
  • the gradual feedback may be a continuous feedback.
  • the characteristic may have a value which can be continuously varied and which specifically may be a continuous function of the signal strength indication of the magnetic field.
  • the signal strength indication may be a continuous value.
  • a gradual user feedback indication provides a non-binary indication, i.e. it provides further indications than a simple on/off indication.
  • the gradual user feedback indication may specifically indicate a signal strength/ distance to the external controlling device having no less than five or in some cases ten different possible values.
  • the signal strength indication is a discrete indication and the indication controller is arranged to generate a gradual user feedback indication which is more gradual than the signal strength indication.
  • the signal strength indication may be a discrete parameter which is converted into a more continuous parameter (either fully continuous or with lower resolution/more steps) than the signal strength indication. This may provide improved feedback, and thus an improved user experience/ performance.
  • the indication controller is arranged to generate a more gradual user feedback indication compared to the user feedback indication using the received signal strength indication.
  • the indication controller may for example apply filtering, prediction, interpolation or extrapolation to the signal strength indication values to improve performance.
  • the device is arranged to change the user feedback indication in response to the signal strength indication for signal strengths that are insufficient for the receiver to receive the instructions.
  • This may in particular improve the user experience and may for example allow the user to be guided towards an optimum positioning (and orientation) of the controlling device even when the controlling device is not sufficiently close to communicate with the near field communication receiver.
  • changing the characteristic of the user feedback indication in response to the signal strength indication occurs at least at a farther range than required for receiving the instructions (i.e. for receiving data).
  • the user feedback may accordingly be provided (e.g. also) when the external controlling device cannot be used to control the device but with the signal strength still being detectable. This may be used to guide the user when trying to move the control device towards the optimum spot for establishing the near field communication.
  • the approach does not require data communication between the devices to be performed, or even to be possible, for the user feedback to be provided.
  • the signal strength processor is arranged to determine the signal strength indication to reflect a total received power in a predetermined frequency interval.
  • This may in particular improve the user experience and may for example allow the user to be guided towards an optimum positioning (and orientation) of the controlling device even when the controlling device is not sufficiently close to communicate with the near field communication receiver.
  • the determination of the signal strength indication may in many embodiments be performed without any demodulation of any near field communication.
  • the approach may reduce complexity of the device and may reduce cost.
  • the predetermined frequency interval may advantageously have a center frequency of 13.56 MHz and a bandwidth of no more than 500 kHz.
  • the approach may in many scenarios allow the characteristic of the user feedback indication to be changed in response to the signal strength indication for at least a range that exceeds the maximum range at which the instructions (or indeed any data) can be received.
  • the user feedback may accordingly be provided when the external controlling device cannot be used to control the device and can in this case provide guidance to the user seeking to establish such a control arrangement.
  • the approach does not require data communication between the devices to be performed, or even to be possible, for the user feedback to be provided.
  • the signal strength processor is arranged to generate the signal strength indication in response to an asymmetric smoothing of signal strength measurements.
  • This may provide particularly advantageous operation in many scenarios. In particular, it may provide improved performance for systems wherein the signal strength from the external controlling device varies substantially.
  • the inventors have in particular realized that transmissions from near field communication devices can be pulsed during certain phases, and that improved user feedback can be achieved by an asymmetric smoothing/filtering in such scenarios.
  • An asymmetric smoothing or filtering has different time constants for increasing and decreasing amplitudes.
  • the time constant for increasing signal strengths may be lower than for decreasing signal strengths.
  • the time constant for decreasing amplitude may be no less than five times the time constant for increasing amplitudes.
  • the asymmetric smoothing may specifically be provided by a peak- ho Id or peak detection circuit.
  • the signal strength processor is arranged to generate the signal strength indication in response to a smoothing of signal strength measurements with a time constant of no less than 200 msec.
  • it may allow smoothing to take into account pulsed transmissions from the external controlling device.
  • the smoothing may be designed to reflect the
  • the signal strength processor is arranged to generate the signal strength indication in response to a smoothing of signal strength measurements with a time constant of no less than 500 msec.
  • the time constant may be one time constant of an asymmetric smoothing and may specifically be the time constant for decreasing amplitude values.
  • the device further comprises a timer and wherein the indication controller is arranged to reset the timer in response to a detection of a signal strength indication above a threshold, and to change the characteristic of the user feedback indication in response to the timer expiring.
  • This may provide improved operation in many embodiments, and in particular for external controlling devices using pulsed transmissions.
  • the user feedback indicator is indicative of a position of the receive antenna.
  • the indication controller is arranged to change at least one of a light intensity and a color of the user feedback indication.
  • the indication controller is arranged to change the characteristic of the user feedback indication in response to an operational characteristic of the device.
  • the user feedback indication may have different characteristics (e.g. color or change of color) depending on the current operational mode of the device.
  • the controller is further arranged to control the operation of the device in response to the signal strength indication.
  • This may provide an improved user experience and may provide for a novel and intuitive way of controlling a device.
  • the user feedback indicator is powered by the signal received by the receive antenna.
  • This may in many scenarios facilitate implementation, and especially it may facilitate retrofitting of the functionality into existing devices.
  • the indication controller is further arranged to change a further characteristic of the user feedback indication in response to a variation characteristic of the signal strength indication.
  • the variation may be a derivative, and specifically the further characteristic may be changed to reflect a sign of the derivative.
  • the further characteristic may for example be a color (with the first characteristic being a light intensity).
  • a user feedback indication may be provided with a light intensity indicating a distance to an optimal position, and a color indicating whether the external controlling device is being moved towards or away from the optimal position. The color could change when a preset value is reached which enables optimal data communication.
  • a method of operation for a device comprising: receiving instructions from an external controlling device via a near field communication link; controlling an operation of the device in response to the instructions; determining a signal strength indication for near field communication transmissions from the controlling device by a receive antenna; and changing a characteristic of a user feedback indication in response to the signal strength indication.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention
  • Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a possible use of a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention
  • Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a visual indicator for a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention
  • Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate examples of induced voltage in a near field communication antenna
  • Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a driving of a visual indicator for a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention
  • Fig. 7 illustrates an example of pulsed near field communication transmissions in a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • Fig. 8 illustrates an example of an analog peak-hold circuit for a control system in accordance with some embodiments of the invention
  • the following description will focus on embodiments wherein a visual user feedback indication is provided to assist a user.
  • the user feedback indication may alternatively or additionally be an audio user feedback indication.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system wherein one device is controlled by another device via a Near Field Communication (NFC) link.
  • NFC Near Field Communication
  • a first device henceforth referred to as the controlled device 101, is controlled by instructions
  • controlling device 103 communicated to it over a near field communication link from an external controlling device, henceforth referred to as a controlling device 103.
  • the controlled device 101 may specifically be a consumer electronics device, such as a television, audio amplifier, DVD player, radio etc., or may e.g. be a consumer appliance, such as a coffee machine, dishwasher, cooker, refrigerator, washing machine, electric toothbrush, other appliances like home healthcare device, like CPAP, Blood pressure and professional healthcare devices like intensive care and patient care equipment or consumer and professional lighting systems, etc.
  • the controlling device 103 may typically be a mobile phone (Smartphone), tablet or other portable (typically handheld) device.
  • the controlled device 101 comprises an NFC antenna 105 which is tuned to the frequency range for NFC transmissions from the controlling device 103.
  • the NFC antenna 105 is a planer helical antenna construction tuned to an approximate frequency of 13.56 MHz.
  • the NFC antenna 105 is coupled to an NFC receiver 107 which is fed the received signals from the NFC antenna 105.
  • the NFC receiver 107 is arranged to receive NFC data transmissions from the controlling device 103 and accordingly comprises functionality for demodulating and decoding the received NFC signals to provide the data communicated from the controlling device 103.
  • the NFC receiver 107 is coupled to a device controller 109 which controls the operation of the controlled device 101.
  • the device controller 109 receives the data extracted by the NFC receiver 107 and is able to process this data as appropriate.
  • the controlling device 103 uses the NFC transmissions to transmit control instructions to the controlled device 101.
  • the data provided to the device controller 109 accordingly corresponds to control instructions which are interpreted by the device controller 109.
  • the device controller 109 then controls the operation of the controlled device 101 in accordance with the received instructions.
  • the operations that are controlled include functions that are not part of the NFC receiving (or of the driving of the visual user feedback indicator to be described).
  • the controlled device 101 may also communicate data to the controlling device 103. This communication may also be via NFC communication, and specifically the established NFC communication link may be a bidirectional link.
  • the controlled device 101 may comprise an NFC transmitter for modulating and transmitting data to the controlling device 103 in accordance with the NFC specifications.
  • the controlling device 103 may comprise an NFC receiver for demodulating the NFC transmissions from the controlled device 101.
  • a consumer device or appliance may accordingly be controlled by an external device using NFC communications.
  • the external device 103 may e.g. provide a user interface, and in many scenarios the only user interface, to the consumer device/appliance.
  • a device such as a coffee machine or an AV receiver, can be controlled from an NFC equipped Smartphone when this is positioned sufficiently close to the device.
  • Such an approach may e.g. remove the need for physical controls (e.g.
  • a simple NFC communication module can be hidden under the surface of the appliance, and this can provide the primary (or only) control interface into and out of the product.
  • the control can be provided by a portable NFC enabled device which may e.g. be a multifunction device that can also be used for controlling other devices (when being brought into close proximity of these devices) or indeed provide other functions.
  • a Smartphone which is typically always carried by a user may be used to control appliances simply by bringing them close to the appliance to be controlled. Indeed, bringing the Smartphone close to a device may be the only operation required to establish the connection between the Smartphone and the device.
  • the appropriate user interface application may also automatically result in the appropriate user interface application being initialized on the Smartphone.
  • the application for controlling the coffee machine may be automatically initialized resulting in the display showing the appropriate user interface. The user then controls the device through this user interface.
  • the application is automatically terminated. If the Smartphone is then brought next to a cooking device, the cooking device user interface may automatically appear on the display, thereby allowing the user to control the cooking device using the same Smartphone.
  • Such an approach may allow consumer appliances to be more aesthetically pleasing by allowing them to have a much cleaner, less cluttered exterior design.
  • the appliances may be reduced in size, since the user interface now resides in a separate device. This may also reduce complexity and cost of the appliance.
  • it may provide additional flexibility as the user interface can be easily changed or adapted when being provided by e.g. a Smartphone.
  • the user interface of the controlled device 101 is specifically provided by the controlling device 103.
  • the user may use a user interface of the controlling device 103 to input commands.
  • the controlling device 103 converts this into suitable instructions that are communicated as appropriate data over a NFC communication link.
  • the transmissions are received by the NFC antenna 105 and demodulated by the NFC receiver 107.
  • the demodulated data is fed to the device controller 109 which proceeds to control the controlled device 101 to operate in accordance with the instructions represented by this data.
  • the NFC communication link requires that the distance between the controlled device 101 and the controlling device 103 is sufficiently small. Indeed, in many scenarios, it is preferred that the distance between the transmitting antenna of the controlling device 103 and the NFC antenna 105 of the controlled device 101 is only a couple of centimeters. This results in quite strict requirements for the manual positioning of the controlling device 103 by the user. Furthermore, the positioning may often be complicated by uncertainty of the user about exactly where the NFC antenna 105 is positioned in the controlled device 101, and indeed about where the transmitting antenna of the controlling device 103 is positioned. Typically, this transmitting antenna may be at one end of the controlling device 103 and therefore the orientation of the controlling device 103 also becomes important.
  • one of the main drawbacks of using an external device as the user interface to a fixed appliance is that it may not always be obvious to the user where the "sweet spot" is located on the appliance, i.e. where the NFC link can be reliably established. Also, due to the sensitivity of the magnetic coupling between NFC enabled devices to the orientation of the controlling device and the relative orientations of the antennae, the user may not hold/position the controlling device optimally resulting in reduced reliability of the NFC communication link.
  • the controlled device 101 comprises functionality which provides guidance to the user when positioning (including orientating) the controlling device 103 such that it can control the controlled device 101.
  • the controlled device 101 comprises a user feedback indicator, which provides feedback to the user on the positioning of the controlling device 103.
  • the user feedback indicator is a visual user feedback indicator, and it will henceforth for brevity be referred to as the visual indicator 111.
  • the controlled device 101 specifically provides a visual user feedback indication which reflects the distance to the controlling device 103.
  • the visual user feedback is generated in response to the signal strength of NFC transmissions and may accordingly reflect how well coupled the transmitting antenna of the controlling device 103 and the NFC antenna 105 of the controlled device 101 are. Furthermore, in the example, the user feedback reflects this coupling even at coupling strengths that do not allow any NFC communication link to be established or any data to be communicated between the controlled device 101 and the controlling device 103.
  • the NFC antenna 105 is further coupled to a signal strength processor 113 which receives the received signal from the NFC antenna 105.
  • the signal strength processor 113 is arranged to generate a signal strength indication for the NFC transmissions from the controlling device 103.
  • the signal strength processor 113 is further coupled to an indication controller 115 which is further coupled to the visual indicator 111.
  • the indication controller 115 is arranged to control a characteristic of the visual user feedback indication provided by the visual indicator 111 in response to the signal strength indication received from the signal strength processor 113.
  • the visual indicator 111 is a single light source, such as e.g. a LED or a lamp, and the characteristic being controlled is the light intensity of the light source.
  • the light output intensity of the visual indicator 111 may be a monotonic function of the signal strength (as reflected by the signal strength indication).
  • the controlling device 103 is gradually brought closer to the NFC antenna 105, the signal strength increases and the light intensity increases.
  • the controlling device 103 is gradually removed from the NFC antenna 105, the signal strength decreases and the light intensity accordingly also decreases.
  • the single light source accordingly provides a visual guide allowing the user to accurately and securely optimize the position of the controlling device 103 relative to the NFC antenna 105.
  • the characteristic being modified according to the signal strength indication may for example be a color of the single light source.
  • the controlling device 103 is brought closer to the NFC antenna 105, the light may gradually change from red to green.
  • the characteristic may be a composite characteristic. For example, both color and intensity may be adjusted.
  • the approach can according help guide the user when trying to establish an NFC link between the controlling device 103 and the controlled device 101 , such as e.g. between an NFC enabled handheld device and an appliance.
  • the visual indicator 111 may indicate to the user where the intended touch spot is on the controlled device 101. Indeed, the approach may provide a gradual feedback to the user indicating if he is pointing/ touching in the right direction.
  • the visual feedback can increase the confidence level of the user that he/she is taking the right action. By seeing the light feedback level increased, the user confidence becomes higher that he/she can indeed communicate with the appliance.
  • the approach also helps the user to instinctively hold the device in the right orientation for effective
  • the communication e.g. the user may wiggle the smartphone to get the optimal position as indicated by the visual feedback.
  • the approach may further include an indication of when the controlling device 103 is within a range that allows the establishment of an NFC link and data transfer between the devices. This may for example be indicated by the color of the visual indicator 111 changing. This indication may for example be determined in response to a detection of the signal strength reaching a threshold, or more accurately by detecting that data is successfully demodulated.
  • the visual user feedback indicator may be indicative of a position of the NFC antenna 105 and specifically may be positioned proximal to the NFC antenna 105.
  • the visual indicator 109 can be positioned at the optimal NFC point (i.e. closest to the NFC antenna 105) and thus the mere position of the indicator provides guidance to the user which is then further supplemented and nuanced by the adaptation of the visual appearance of the visual indicator 109 depending on the signal strength indication.
  • the visual indicator 109 may e.g. merely be a light whereas in other embodiments the visual indicator 109 may be formed to provide a graphical representation, such as for example a logo for NFC or a proprietary logo indicating the remote control functionality.
  • the user experience that can be provided may be illustrated by Fig. 2.
  • the user may hold an NFC equipped Smartphone close to a device, such as the espresso machine of the specific example.
  • a device such as the espresso machine of the specific example.
  • the logo or part of it
  • the logo lights up and the light intensity increases as the Smartphone is moved towards the optimal position.
  • the logo may be, or comprise, a light emitting object that changes characteristics depending on the detected signal strength. It will be appreciated that the logo of course could have many different forms.
  • a circular or other shaped light guide could be provided around the optimal position for the establishing the NFC link (i.e. the point that should be touched by the controlling device 103).
  • the NFC receiver 107 and the signal strength processor 113 are shown as two separate functional identities which are both coupled to the NFC antenna 105. However, it will be appreciated that in many embodiments the two functions may be combined. For example, in many scenarios the NFC receiver 107 may generate a signal strength estimate as part of the process of (trying to) receive NFC
  • the signal strength processor 113 may receive the input signal from the NFC receiver 107.
  • the NFC receiver 107 may
  • IF Intermediate Frequency
  • the NFC receiver 107 and the signal strength processor 113 may receive signals from two different antennas, i.e. the signal strength estimate may be generated from a second NFC antenna.
  • the two antennas will generally be positioned in close proximity (less than say 2 cm apart). Indeed, in many embodiments, two such antennas may be positioned within each other, such as e.g. concentrically within each other.
  • all functionality of the controlled device 101 is powered from the same power source, such as an external power source or batteries.
  • some (or possibly all) of the functionality may be powered from the NFC signal received by the NFC antenna 105.
  • the visual indicator 109 can in some embodiments be powered by the signal received by the NFC antenna 105. This will allow the user feedback guidance to be active without requiring any additional power source.
  • the controlled device 101 may typically be in a power down mode where no power is provided to any functionality.
  • the controlled device 101 may in such scenarios wake up and be powered when the signal strength exceeds a threshold sufficient to allow NFC data communications.
  • the visual indicator 109 may be used to guide the user to the specific point where NFC data communication is actually possible.
  • Near field communication denotes communication that uses magnetic induction between two antennas located within each other's near field, effectively forming an air-core transformer.
  • the communication is a short range communication wherein the maximum range at which data can be communicated is restricted to short distances.
  • the maximum range for a near field communication system may typically be no more than 20 cm, 10 cm or even 5 cm.
  • a specific NFC communication standard has been developed by ISO/IEC to allow communication between devices over distances of typically only a couple of centimeters and with a typical maximum range of no more than 10 cm.
  • the communication may be a master/slave configuration, or may in many scenarios and embodiments be a peer- to-peer communication.
  • NFC allows a relatively high data rate of up to 424kbits/s.
  • the NFC standard encompasses the conventional RFID technology wherein passive RFID tags can be read by external RFID readers being brought into close proximity with the tags.
  • NFC is designed to provide very short range communication between devices and unlike other wireless connectivity standards it is only able to transfer data when within a very close proximity (typically less than 10cm) of another NFC device Accordingly NFC provides a number of distinct advantages over conventional data communication approaches, including:
  • NFC communication may be established as peer-to-peer communication or may be established with one device being the dominant active master device and the other being the passive slave device.
  • Such communication is in particular used for RFID tags where an NFC communication device may establish contact and receive data transmitted from the tag in response to the signal from the NFC communication device.
  • both the external controller 103 and the controlled device 101 need to be powered. Both sides can take the initiative to initiate communication and become master of the system.
  • the visual indicator 111 might show the signal availability even before the peer-to-peer mode for communication has been established.
  • NFC NFC Activity Specification NFCForum-TS- Activity-1.0 amongst others.
  • the indication controller 115 is arranged to drive the visual indicator 111 to provide a gradual visual indication.
  • the visual indicator 111 provides more than two values, i.e. it is not a mere binary indication, but rather provides an indication that reflects the actual distance.
  • the gradual indication may be a fully continuous rather than a discrete indication.
  • the visual indication may be discrete to some extent but will typically have no less than five or advantageously in many scenarios ten levels. In most embodiments, a discrete visual indication will have sufficiently small steps for the discrete visual indication to be perceived as substantially continuous by the (casual) user.
  • the visual indicator 111 does not merely provide an indication of whether the controlling device 103 is within range of the controlled device 101 or not, but rather provides a visual indication that reflects the actual distance, and specifically which varies as a function of distance. This provides increased user guidance which not only informs the user of when communication is possible but also assists him in moving the device towards the optimum spot in order to allow communication.
  • the signal strength indication may be a discrete indication having a first number of possible levels.
  • the signal strength indication may be represented by a low number of bits, such as e.g. three bits corresponding to eight possible levels.
  • the indication controller 115 may be arranged to generate a more gradual visual user feedback than provided by the signal strength indication.
  • the system may provide more gradual user feedback indication compared to the user feedback indication resulting from directly using the received signal strength indication.
  • the visual feedback indication may thus have more levels than provided for the signal strength indication. This may provide an improved user feedback and an improved user experience.
  • the indication controller 115 may for example achieve this by a filtering or prediction being applied to the signal strength indication.
  • the signal strength indication may e.g. be fed to a prediction filter which is operated with a lower quantization and longer word lengths than provided for the signal strength indication.
  • the filter may be an adaptive filter with filter coefficients that are continuously adapted (e.g. using Minimum Square Error adaptation techniques as will be known to the skilled person).
  • the controlled device 101 is arranged to provide a visual feedback indication indicative of the signal strength/ distance when the signal strengths are insufficient to allow for the instructions from the external device 115 to be decoded.
  • the controlled device 101 is still able to provide a visual feedback indication that varies as a function of the signal strength indication.
  • the light intensity of the visual indicator 1 11 may vary depending on the distance even when the signal strength is so low (and the distance to the controlling device 103 is so high) that no NFC data can be demodulated.
  • the changing of the characteristic of the visual user feedback indication in response to the signal strength indication occurs at least for a range that exceeds the range in which the instructions can be received.
  • the signal strength processor 113 determining the signal strength indication without requiring any demodulation or decoding of any NFC communications (at least for some of the time, and in particular at least when such demodulation/ decoding is not possible).
  • the signal strength processor 113 may determine the signal strength indication to reflect a total received power in a predetermined frequency interval. Specifically, the signal strength processor 113 may apply a band pass filter to the signal received from the NFC antenna 105. The signal energy of the resulting output may then be estimated (e.g. by rectification and low pass filtering) and used as a signal strength indication.
  • the frequency interval is selected to correspond to the frequency interval in which NFC communications are performed, and is typically set to have a center frequency of around 13.56 MHz and a bandwidth of around 500 kHz.
  • a rectification and low pass filtering of the output of the filter provides a signal that slowly varies in line with the signal energy in the frequency interval, and this provides a good indication of the signal strength for NFC transmissions.
  • the signal energy will be measured at a low level corresponding to the amount of noise and interference in the frequency interval.
  • the signal will gradually increase as the signal energy in the frequency interval rises. This increase can be detected even at low levels, and specifically at levels that do not allow demodulation. Accordingly, as the controlling device 103 approaches the NFC antenna 105, the visual indicator 109 will increase in brightness to reflect the increased signal energy in the measured frequency interval. At some stage, the controlling device 103 may be sufficiently close to allow data to be demodulated.
  • the signal strength processor 113 may proceed to determine the signal strength indication based simply on the energy level in the frequency interval, and thus the intensity of the visual indicator 109 may continue to be set according to the same criterion (and thus without any perceived discontinuity).
  • the color of the visual indicator 109 may change to reflect that the controlling device 103 can now be used to control the controlled device 101.
  • Such an approach may allow both low complexity and a very advantageous user experience where the user is guided towards the optimum positioning of the controlling device 103 relative to the NFC antenna 105.
  • the system may compensate for noise and interference, e.g. by having a suitably set threshold before any visual feedback is given (e.g. before the visual indicator 111 begins to light up).
  • Such compensation may in some embodiments be adaptive, e.g. the threshold may be set to exceed a 95% percentile value for the measured signal energy for times when the controlled device 101 is not being controlled by an external device.
  • the NFC reader generates a magnetic field (typically operating at the standardized frequency of 13.56MHz) that induces a voltage into the passive tag coil.
  • This magnetically coupled interaction is similar to the way that a transformer operates, coupling primary coil to secondary coil.
  • the passive tag coil in this example is usually bonded directly to the pads on an integrated circuit, which in turn, is capable of rectifying the received 13.56MHz magnetic field to provide power for its own internal circuitry (hence the ability to operate without a power source).
  • This same 13.56MHz magnetic field can also be amplitude modulated to carry data from the reader to the tag (and from tag to reader by the known technique of load modulation).
  • a minimum voltage level needs to be present on the pads of the integrated circuit. This is derived from the magnetic field coming from the NFC module. This minimum activation voltage for this integrated circuit can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but a typical activation voltage is in the order of 4V.
  • the passive tag coil voltage is largely dependent upon the mutual inductance between itself and the NFC coil it is magnetically coupled to. This mutual inductance is itself a function of both coil geometries and the spacing between them.
  • Vo Induced rms voltage on passive tag coil (from NFC reader)
  • f operating frequency
  • the current required in the NFC device coil to generate this magnetic field can then be calculated. This is a function of the separation distance between NFC device coil and passive tag coil. Again, the standard equation that describes the magnetic field produced by a circular loop antenna can be used:
  • N 6 (typical value of NFC coils)
  • the controlling device 103 can be assumed to operate with operating characteristics similar to those determined above. However, it is now desired the visual indication is provided for the same operating characteristics for the controlling device 103 but at substantially further distances.
  • the signal strength processor 113, indication controller 115 and visual indicator 109 should operate with received voltages that are below the full activation voltage required by a passive tag. This is in particular possible as this operation does not require any exchange of data but only an indication of proximity of the controlling device 103.
  • the induced voltage for difference distances can be calculated from the provided equations and are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 (in Volts and dBV respectively, i.e. linearly and logarithmically).
  • the NFC antenna 105 is coupled to a differential voltage amplifier 601 which amplifies the received signal level to a suitable value (e.g. for driving a LED).
  • the resulting signal is rectified by a rectifier 603, which in some examples may be a single diode.
  • the resulting rectified voltage is then low pass filtered by a low pass filter 605 to generate a slowly varying signal representing the received signal level. This signal can directly be used to drive a LED implementing the visual indicator 111.
  • the circuitry may e.g. be powered from a battery or other power source 607.
  • the approach measures the signal energy in a frequency interval despite not incorporating any specific filter in the signal path. This is due to the use of a tuned antenna which is tuned to the NFC frequency interval and which accordingly is frequency selective. It should also be noted that the exact mapping between the functionality of the functional blocks of Fig. 6 and the signal strength processor 113 and indication controller 115 of Fig. 1 may be done in different equivalent ways.
  • the differential voltage amplifier 601, the rectifier 603, and the low pass filter 605 may be considered part of the signal strength processor 113 or part of the indication controller 115, or may be considered to be distributed between these.
  • the approach thus provides a range for the visual indication which exceeds the range for data communication.
  • communications and visual indications may depend on the characteristics and preferences of the individual embodiment.
  • the following table provides indications of ranges that may be particularly suitable for various embodiments depending on how optimized the specific implementation is required to be:
  • the visual indication range preferably exceeds the data communication range. In many embodiments, the visual indication range is no less than twice the data
  • the signal strength processor 113 is arranged to generate the signal strength indication in response to an asymmetric smoothing of signal strength measurements.
  • the asymmetric smoothing may be an asymmetric filtering, such as e.g. a peak and hold circuit.
  • the asymmetric smoothing is such that the time constant is different for increasing signal strength than for decreasing signal strength, and typically the time constant for decreasing signal strength is higher than for increasing signal strength.
  • the signal strength indication changes substantially quicker to reflect increasing signal strengths than it does to reflect decreasing signal strengths.
  • Such an approach may provide an improved user experience in many scenarios, and may in particular focus on providing fast indications and feedback for the process of the user moving the controlling device 103 towards the controlled device 101 to establish contact.
  • the Inventors have realized that providing an asymmetric smoothing provides an improved visual user feedback while allowing a pulsed NFC transmission from the controlling device 103.
  • the visual user feedback indication can be used with such pulsed transmissions by introducing asymmetric smoothing.
  • Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a pulsed NFC transmission that may e.g. be provided by a Smartphone when scanning for other NFC devices in order to reduce power consumption.
  • One option is to filter the signal strength indication to provide a low pass (e.g. moving average) signal strength indication that results in a more constant light.
  • the distance between pulses may be in the order of up to a second. This will result in very slow feedback to the user which will reduce the benefit of the visual indication.
  • the application of an asymmetric smoothing may improve performance and in particular provide an improved user experience.
  • the signal strength indication may be generated using a peak hold arrangement with a fast rise time, but slow decay time.
  • a peak-hold circuit which has a short time constant for rising signals, but a long time constant for falling signals
  • time constants When choosing the time constants, a balance has to be struck between making the visual feedback indication as constant as possible, while at the same time allowing the indicator to be as responsive as possible. It has been found that particular advantageous performance is often found for a time constant of no less than 500 msec. In case of two time constants (i.e. asymmetric smoothing), the longest time constant is in many embodiments advantageously no less than 500 msec, whereas the other time constant (typically for rising signal strengths) may be substantially shorter.
  • FIG. 8 An example of an analog peak-hold circuit is illustrated in Fig. 8.
  • the source "VI" represents the rectified 13.56MHz signal envelope from a preceding circuit arrangement.
  • the short time constant (increasing signal strengths) is formed by R2 (800 ⁇ ) and CI (2.2 ⁇ ) when the diode D3 is forward biased, while the long time constant (decreasing time constants) is formed by R3 (3 ⁇ ) and CI (2.2 ⁇ ) when the diode is reversed biased.
  • Fig. 7 also shows the resulting smoothed output that is used to provide the visual indication (the dotted line).
  • more complex approaches may be used to provide a more constant light output for pulsed transmissions.
  • some pulsed transmissions may be very short and may not be detected in a filtered approach.
  • the controlled device 101 may comprise a timer which is reset whenever it is detected that the signal strength indication exceeds a given timer. Furthermore, when the timer expires (e.g. reaches a preset value for an up-counting timer or zero for a down-counting timer), the controlled device 101 in response changes a characteristics of the visual indicator 111. For example, the visual indicator 111 may be changed to indicate a lower value of signal strength only when the timer expires. In this case, very short pulsed transmissions are sufficient to avoid the visual indicator 111 indicating an absence of the controlling device 103.
  • heuristics can be built-in to deal with various characteristics of NFC pulsed transmissions of smartphones and tablets.
  • adaptive learning algorithms can be applied. A particular pattern can be recognized and a smoothing filter can be applied.
  • the visual indicator 111 is driven so that it provides an indication of the signal strength level, and thus of the distance to the controlling device 103.
  • the indication controller 115 may further drive the visual indicator 111 such that another characteristic provides an indication of a variation of the signal strength indication. This variation may for example be a degree of variation, i.e.
  • the indication controller 115 may drive the visual indicator 111 to provide an indication of the degree of change of the signal strength indication.
  • the visual indicator 111 may be driven to reflect the sign of the derivative of the signal strength indication with respect to time.
  • the visual indicator 111 may be driven to indicate whether the signal strength indication increases or decreases. This may provide an indication of the whether the controlling device 103 is moved towards or away from the desired operational point.
  • the second characteristic may for example be a color of the visual user feedback indication.
  • the visual indicator 109 may be green when the controlling device 103 moves towards the optimal position (signal strength increases) and red when it moves away (signal strength decreases).
  • the brightness of the visual indicator 109 can be given by the absolute signal strength, i.e. it reflects how close the controlling device 103 is to the NFC antenna 105. The approach may thus provide a very intuitive and precise guidance for the user when positioning the controlling device 103.
  • the visual indicator 111 may furthermore be used to provide additional information to a user.
  • the indication controller 115 is arranged to change a characteristic of the visual user feedback indication in response to an operational characteristic of the device.
  • the color of the visual indicator 111 may be adapted to reflect the current operational mode of the device, such as whether a washing machine is in standby, is performing a prewash, is performing a spin operation etc.
  • the color or e.g. graphical representation may be changed to indicate a current operational setting, such as which input is selected on an amplifier, the program selected on a coffee maker etc.
  • the color may be changed to indicate the availability of device data in the controlled device. As such the attention of the user might be raised for a possible maintenance task, the need for a replacement part, etc.
  • the visual indication can be driven to reflect the specific purpose of the appliance at the moment of interaction.
  • the specific feedback colors can e.g. be adapted to the intended action, the specific category of the appliance and the neighborhood of the interaction device.
  • the device controller 109 is further arranged to control the operation of the controlled device 101 in response to the signal strength indication.
  • operation of the controlled device 101 may be modified depending on the signal strength indication.
  • the signal strength indication value when a message is received from the controlling device 103 may be used to set a value for an operating parameter of the controlled device 101.
  • the volume of the amplifier may be set to reflect the signal strength indication when a message is received which indicates that a user input has been provided to the controlling device 103.
  • the signal strength indication at the time of activation is accordingly used to set the volume level. This may allow a very user friendly control of the amplifier where the user merely moves the controlling device 103 towards the amplifier resulting in the volume increasing and decreasing to reflect the distance.
  • the desired volume is reached, the user presses a button and the amplifier then proceeds to maintain this volume level.
  • the operation is furthermore assisted by the visual indicator 111 reflecting the signal strength indication, and thus the volume level.
  • the user feedback indicator is a visual user feedback indicator. This is particularly advantageous in many applications and scenarios as it allows a very user friendly and accurate feedback. Furthermore, it allows for a very precise feedback that can easily be perceived. It may also allow a more complicated user feedback, e.g. with changing graphic symbols or both light intensity and color variations.
  • other user feedback indicators may be used.
  • the visual indicator 111 may be replaced by an audio output indicator, for example for a visual impaired person.
  • the system can provide a varying output depending on the signal strength but rather than (or indeed as well as in some embodiments) a visual output, the output will be a varying sound. E.g. an increase in sound pitch or sound volume can indicate that the controlling device 103 is approaching, and a decrease of sound pitch or sound volume can indicate that the controlling device 103 is moving farther away.
  • a particular sound pitch can be activated when the controlling device is within range for data communication.
  • At least part of the controlled device 101 may be switched off when the instructions are received.
  • at least some of the functionality controlled in response to the instructions may be off when the instructions are received. This may e.g. allow the device to be programmed to perform a specific function during a standby phase. When the device is then powered on, it may proceed to operate in accordance with the received instructions.
  • the device may for example be completely or substantially powered on except for the circuitry required for executing the NFC
  • This power may for example be provided from a main power supply or may e.g. be provided by a local and possibly short term energy store (such as a battery or capacitor) which is charged during normal operation. In some embodiments, the power may even be provided by the NFC field generated by the controlling device (103).
  • a washing machine may be switched off.
  • the user may enter a series of settings for a washing program using an Application on his Smartphone when away from the washing program. He may then touch his Smartphone on the washing machine (as guided by the user feedback indicator) while this is still switched off.
  • the NFC functionality may be powered to receive the instructions and may store these instructions (specifically it may store the instructions for washing machine program). When the washing machine is then switched on, it can proceed to execute a washing sequence in accordance with the received instructions.
  • a frying device such as the PhilipsTM AirfryerTM, may be equipped with NFC functionality for being controlled from an external device. In such an example, the AirfryerTM may operate in a low power standby phase where only the NFC communication functionality is powered.
  • the AirfryerTM may provide a user feedback indication when a NFC device is brought into the vicinity.
  • the NFC device When the NFC device is sufficiently close it can provide instructions on how to perform the frying sequence/program and these instructions are received and stored by the AirfryerTM (e.g. in powered or nonvolatile memory).
  • the AirfryerTM When the AirfryerTM is powered on, it reads the stored instructions and proceeds to perform a frying operation in accordance with these instructions.
  • the invention can be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these.
  • the invention may optionally be
  • an embodiment of the invention may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the invention may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuits and processors.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif commandé (101) qui comprend un récepteur (107) qui reçoit des instructions à partir d'un dispositif de commande (103) externe par l'intermédiaire d'une liaison de communication en champ proche. Un contrôleur (109) commande le fonctionnement du dispositif en réponse aux instructions et un processeur de puissance de signal (113) détermine une indication de puissance de signal pour des transmissions de communication en champ proche à partir du dispositif de commande (103). Un contrôleur d'indication (115) change une caractéristique d'une indication de rétroaction d'utilisateur fournie par un indicateur de rétroaction d'utilisateur (111) en réponse à l'indication de puissance de signal. L'indication de rétroaction d'utilisateur peut fournir une rétroaction à l'utilisateur indicative de la distance entre le dispositif de commande (103) et la position optimale pour commander le dispositif commandé (101). Elle peut ainsi aider et guider lors de l'utilisation d'un dispositif de commande externe. L'indicateur de rétroaction d'utilisateur (111) peut typiquement être un indicateur de rétroaction d'utilisateur (111) visuel.
PCT/IB2013/058294 2012-09-07 2013-09-05 Rétroaction d'utilisateur pour des communications en champ proche WO2014037888A1 (fr)

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EP3275087A4 (fr) * 2015-03-24 2019-01-02 AB Transistor Sweden Dispositif indicateur pour boucle magnétique auditive
DE102016210414B4 (de) 2016-06-13 2021-09-23 Zumtobel Lighting Gmbh Adresszuweisung und Konfigurierung von Komponenten eines Beleuchtungssystems mittels Transponder
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WO2020050815A1 (fr) * 2018-09-04 2020-03-12 Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. Détection de la position de composants électroniques de fond de trou
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