Portable device comprising a communication station configuration and a data carrier configuration

• US 20050218230A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: France Brevets SAS
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Amtmann, Franz, Breitfuss, Klemens, Meindl, Reinhard, Kunkat, Holger, Posch, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 7,185,813 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/451
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• 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 7/10386 the interrogation device being of the portable or hand-handheld type, e.g. incorporated in ubiquitous hand-held devices such as PDA or mobile phone, or in the form of a portable dedicated RFID reader

Abstract

A portable device (1) comprises a communication station configuration (10) for contactless communication with at least one external data carrier (13) and a data carrier configuration (11) for contactless communication with at least one external communication station (14), wherein a detection circuit (32) is provided which is designed to detect the presence of an external data carrier (13) and the presence of an external communication station (14) in a communication zone of the internal communication station configuration (10) and the internal data carrier configuration (11) designed for contactless communication, and wherein an activation circuit (33) cooperating with the detection circuit (32) is provided, by means of which activation circuit (33) one of the two configurations (10, 11) can be activated as a function of the detection result (INFO1, INFO2, INFO3) supplied in each case by the detection circuit (32).

Claims

1. A portable device,

comprising a communication station configuration which is provided and designed for contactless communication with at least one data carrier external to the portable device and in contactless communication connection therewith, and

comprising a data carrier configuration which is provided and designed for contactless communication with at least one communication station external to the portable device and in contactless read connection therewith, and

comprising detection means which are provided and designed to detect at least one external data carrier located in a communication zone suitable for a contactless communication connection and to detect at least one external communication station located in a communication zone suitable for a contactless communication connection, and

comprising activation means cooperating with the detection means, which activation means cooperate with the communication station configuration and with the data carrier configuration and by which means one of the two configurations can be activated as a function of the detection result supplied in each case by the detection means.

2. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection means are designed to detect at least one external data carrier and to detect at least one external communication station by means of signals, which signals have been generated by at least one external data carrier and by at least one external communication station and transmitted in a contactless manner to the detection means.

3. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a display configuration is provided to display data and wherein at least the communication station configuration is connected to the display configuration such that data contained in the communication station configuration can be displayed by means of the display configuration.

4. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portable device (1) takes the form of a cell phone (1).

5. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portable device takes the form of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

6. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portable device is designed as a card-form data carrier.