Method for operating a near field communication system

• US 20060044153A1
• Filed: 08/22/2005
• Published: 03/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Dawidowsky, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/825.220
• 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

Abstract

A method for operating a near field communication system (10) of at least a first and a second near field communication device (21, 22) is proposed. It is a basic aspect of the inventive method to provide a step (S10) of supplying action data (AD) from at least one near field communication device (22) to another one second near field communication device (21), wherein said action data (AD) are descriptive for at least one action or application to be performed within a processing section (PR) of the inventive method.

Claims

1. Method for operating a near field communication system (10) of at least a first and a second communication device (21, 22), comprising

an initialization section (IN) in order to establish and to set-up a connection and a communication between at least said first and said second near field communication devices (21, 22), and

a processing section (PR) in order to select and perform (S7) an action by at least said first and said second near field communication devices (21, 22) based on said communication between at least said first and said second near field communication devices (21, 22),

wherein said initialization section (IN) comprises a step (S10) of providing action data (AD) from at least one of at least said first and said second near field communication devices (21, 22) to another one of at least said first and said second near field communication devices (21, 22) and

wherein said action data (AD) are descriptive for at least one action or application to be performed within said processing section (PR).

2. Method according to claim 1,

wherein said action data (AD) are given as an action list (AL).

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said action data (AD) contain information with respect to at least one or any arbitrary plurality of a group of items which consists of an application to be performed, data to be used, data to be generated or supplied, devices to be involved, processing parameters to be taken into account.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said initialization section (IN) comprises a step (S1) of device discovery in order to determine which devices are present and/or available in the near field communication system for a near field communication or connection, in particular according to a NFCIP standard.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein said initialization section (IN) comprises a step (S2) of initiator/target assignment in order to set-up a single device (21) of at least said first and second near field communication devices (21, 22) as initiator device (I).

6. Method according to claim 5,

wherein within said step (S2) of initiator/target assignment a device (22) of at least said first and second near field communication devices (21, 22) is at most set-up as a target device (T) if and only if it is not set-up as an initiator device (I).

7. Method according to claim 5,

wherein all devices (22) of at least said first and second near field communication devices (21, 22) are set-up as target devices (T) unless they are set-up as an initiator device (I).

8. Method according to claim 5,

wherein respective action data (AD) are provided/supplied by target devices (T) only, in particular to initiator devices (I) only.

9. Method according to claim 5,

wherein respective action data (AD) are exchanged between target devices (T) and initiator devices (I), in particular an initiator device (I) provides its action data (AD) or action list (AL) to other devices and in particular to one or a plurality of target devices (T), whereas a target device (T) provides its action data (AD) or action list (AL) to other devices and in particular to one or a plurality of initiator devices (I).

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein said initiation section (IN) comprises a step (S4) of providing and/or of supplying application directory data (ADD), in particular by target devices (T).

11. Method according to claim 10,

wherein said application directory data (ADD) are provided and/or are supplied upon a step (S3) of requesting said application directory data (ADD) within said initialization section (IN), in particular by said initiator devices (I).

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein a step (S10) of providing and/or of supplying action data (AD) is carried out upon a step (S5) of requesting said action data (AD) within said initialization section (IN), in particular by said initiator devices (I).

13. Method according to claim 5,

wherein a process (E) of exchanging roles is performed under certain role change conditions, in order to exchange the roles of an initiator device (I) and a target device (T).

14. Method according to claim 13,

wherein said role change condition is given if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

a given target device (T) does not respond to request of an initiator device (I),

an action to be preformed requires a role exchange in order to be performed appropriately,

a user request for a role exchange is given.

15. Method according to claim 13,

wherein said process (E) of exchanging roles is started by providing/supplying respective action data (AD), in particular to at least said target device (T) which are descriptive for said process of role exchange and its sub-processes.

16. Method according to claim 13,

wherein said process (E) of exchanging roles comprises consecutive steps of:

(E1) shutting down the present initiator device (I) and the target devices, the roles of which are not to be exchanged, if any,

(E2) shutting-down and restarting said target device (T) to be role-exchanged or repeating said process (S1) of device discovery for said target device (T) to be role-exchanged, thereby setting-up said target device (T) to be role-exchanged as any initiator device (I′

), and

(E3) restarting the former initiator device (I), thereby changing its role in order to be a new target device (T′

).

17. System or apparatus for operating a near field communication system which is adapted and/or arranged and which comprises means for carrying out a method for operating a near field communication system according to claim 1 and the steps thereof.

18. Near field communication device which is adapted and/or arranged in order to perform or participate in a method for operating a near field communication system according to claim 1.

19. Computer program product comprising computer program means which is adapted and/or arranged in order to perform a method for operating a near field communication system according to claim 1 and the steps thereof.

20. Computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program product according to claim 19.