Near field communication system, and method of operating same

• US 10,135,934 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2016
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Park, James
• Primary Examiner(s): KING, CURTIS J
• Application Number:
  US15/360,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20170078420A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0716 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising a sensor or an interface to a sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10237 the reader and the record carrier being capable of selectively switching between reader and record carrier appearance, e.g. in near field communication [NFC] devices where the NFC device may function as an RFID reader or as an RFID tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10396 the interrogation device being wearable, e.g. as a glove, bracelet, or ring wearable aerials in general H01Q1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

The present inventions, in one aspect, are directed to a system comprising a portable sensor device including a housing having a physical size/shape that is adapted to couple to a user'"'"'s body, an identification tag including identification data which is associated with the sensor device and an identification tag transmitter to responsively and wirelessly transmit the identification data according to a first communication protocol. The system further includes a portable electronic device including an identification tag receiver to wirelessly receive the identification data of the identification tag according to the first communication protocol, transceiver circuitry to wirelessly and responsively communicate with the sensor device according to a second communication protocol, and processing circuitry to instruct the transceiver circuitry, after receiving the identification data, to wirelessly request, from the sensor device the sensor data and/or data which is representative of the sensor data.

Claims

1. An activity tracking device having a size and shape adapted for physical coupling with a user, the activity tracking device comprising:

one or more sensors to generate sensor data, the sensor data including activity and/or biometric sensor data related to the user and/or environmental sensor data related to an environment around the user;

an identification tag including identification data, the identification data including information about one or more operations associated with the identification data; and

an identification tag transmitter, electrically coupled with the identification tag, to wirelessly transmit the identification data of the identification tag according to a first wireless communication protocol responsive to coming within a proximity of a wireless reader, thereby causing the wireless reader to perform, or cause a processing device in communication therewith to perform, the one or more operations associated with the identification data, wherein the one or more operations include an operation to launch an application in the processing device or the wireless reader, wherein the one or more operations include an operation to establish an association with an account registered to the user of the activity tracking device.

2. The activity tracking device of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations include an operation to display a user interface on the processing device to allow the user to pair or unpair the activity tracking device with the account registered to the user.

3. The activity tracking device of claim 1, wherein the operation to establish an association with the account registered to the user includes pairing the activity tracking device and the account registered to the user of the activity tracking device.

4. The activity tracking device of claim 3, wherein the pairing between the activity tracking device and the account registered to the user occurs automatically when the application determines that the identification data is associated with the user.

5. The activity tracking device of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations include an operation to initiate communication with the activity tracking device according to a second wireless communication protocol.

6. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause operations to be performed including:

receiving identification data from an identification tag according to a first wireless communication protocol, the identification data identifying a sensor device;

based on the receipt of the identification data, acquiring sensor data from the sensor device according to a second wireless communication protocol, the sensor data including activity data related to motion of a user with whom the sensor device is physically coupled; and

outputting the acquired sensor data, or metrics derived therefrom, for display on a display, wherein the storage media reside within a portable electronic device that includes the display, and wherein the portable electronic device further includes;

one or more processors, and

transceiver circuitry for receiving the identification data from the identification tag and acquiring the sensor data from the sensor device.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein the identification tag is within the sensor device.

8. The media of claim 6, wherein the identification tag is within a proxy device physically separate from the sensor device and from the portable electronic device.

9. The media of claim 6, wherein the operations further include transmitting the acquired sensor data, or metrics derived therefrom, to an external system according a third wireless communication protocol.

10. The media of claim 6, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is an NFC protocol and the second wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth protocol.

11. The media of claim 6, wherein the operations further include transmitting configuration data to the sensor device according to the second wireless communication protocol.

12. A processor-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a portable electronic device, identification data of an identification tag according to a first wireless communication protocol, the identification data identifying a sensor device;

based on the receipt of the identification data, acquiring, by the portable electronic device, sensor data from the sensor device according to a second wireless communication protocol, the sensor data including activity data related to motion of a user with whom the sensor device is physically coupled; and

outputting, by the portable electronic device, the acquired sensor data, or metrics derived therefrom, for display on a display of the portable electronic device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the portable electronic device further includes:

one or more processors; and

transceiver circuitry for acquiring the sensor data from the sensor device, transmitting the sensor data to the external system, receiving the identification data from the identification tag, and requesting and receiving the sensor data from the external system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the identification tag is within the sensor device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the identification tag is within a proxy device physically separate from the sensor device and from the portable electronic device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the sensor device includes a plurality of sensors for sensing the sensor data including:

one or more motion sensors for sensing the motion; and

one or more altitude sensors for sensing an altitude.

17. A system comprising:

a portable sensor device including;

a housing having a size and shape adapted for physical coupling with a user;

one or more sensors for generating sensor data, the one or more sensors including at least one motion sensor for generating activity sensor data related to motion of the user;

an identification tag including identification data for the sensor device; and

an identification tag transmitter electrically coupled with the identification tag for transmitting the identification data of the identification tag according to a first wireless communication protocol; and

a portable electronic device including;

a display;

an identification tag receiver for receiving the identification data from the identification tag transmitter according to the first communication protocol;

transceiver circuitry for;

communicating with the sensor device according to a second wireless communication protocol to acquire the generated sensor data, and

communicating with an external system according to a third wireless communication protocol to;

transmit the acquired sensor data or metrics derived therefrom to the external system, and

receive sensor data from the external system that was previously transmitted to the external system, or metrics derived therefrom; and

processing circuitry for;

instructing the transceiver circuitry to, responsive to receiving the identification data, request previously transmitted sensor data, or metrics derived therefrom, from the external system; and

outputting the requested sensor data or the requested metrics for display on the display.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more sensors further include at least one biometric sensor for generating biometric sensor data or at least one environmental sensor for generating environmental sensor data.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the first communication protocol is a Near Field Communication (NFC) protocol and wherein the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth protocol.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the processing circuitry is further for instructing the transceiver circuitry to transmit configuration data to the sensor device according to the second communication protocol.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the processing circuitry is further for instructing the transceiver circuitry to acquire configuration data from the sensor device according to the second communication protocol.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein:

the identification tag further includes configuration data for the sensor device;

the identification tag transmitter is further for transmitting the configuration data according to the first communication protocol; and

the identification tag receiver is further for receiving the configuration data from the identification tag transmitter according to the first communication protocol.

23. A system comprising:

a portable sensor device including;

a housing having a size and shape adapted for physical coupling with a user;

one or more sensors for generating sensor data, the one or more sensors including at least one motion sensor for generating activity sensor data related to motion of the user;

an identification tag including identification data for the sensor device; and

an identification tag transmitter electrically coupled with the identification tag for transmitting the identification data of the identification tag according to a first wireless communication protocol; and

a portable electronic device including;

an identification tag receiver for receiving the identification data from the identification tag transmitter according to the first communication protocol;

transceiver circuitry for communicating with the sensor device according to a second wireless communication protocol; and

processing circuitry for instructing the transceiver circuitry to, responsive to receiving the identification data, request and acquire the generated sensor data from the sensor device.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein:

the portable electronic device further includes a display; and

the processing circuitry is further for outputting the acquired sensor data, or metrics derived therefrom, for display on the display.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein:

the transceiver circuitry is further for communicating with an external system according to a third wireless communication protocol; and

the processing circuitry is further for instructing the transceiver circuitry to transmit the acquired sensor data to the external system.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein:

the transceiver circuitry is further for communicating with an external system according to a third wireless communication protocol; and

the processing circuitry is further for deriving metrics from the acquired sensor data and for instructing the transceiver circuitry to transmit the derived metrics to the external system.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein:

the identification tag further includes configuration data for the sensor device;

the identification tag transmitter is further for transmitting the configuration data according to the first communication protocol; and

the identification tag receiver is further for receiving the configuration data from the identification tag transmitter according to the first communication protocol.