Docking of short-range wireless communication tags with mobile terminals

• US 20060148404A1
• Filed: 12/30/2004
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Wakim, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,519,325 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.200
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/353 Payments by cards read by M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/751 Card based account, e.g. smart card, SIM card or USIM
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/20 with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2017/255 local at the terminal itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7209 Card based, e.g. smart card, SIM card or USIM
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/14 including a card reading device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

The invention provides for docking short-range wireless communication tags, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or near Field Communication (NFC) smart cards onto a mobile terminal having a corresponding short-range wireless communication reader device, such as an RFID reader or a NFC reader. Docking of the tag to the mobile terminal may take the form of attaching or otherwise affixing the tag to the mobile terminal via a tag holding mechanism, such that the reader device may periodically read the tag and also provide for interrogation and reading of other external short-range wireless communication tags and devices in the proximity of the mobile terminal when the reader device is not communicating with the docked tag

Claims

1. A mobile terminal device, the device comprising:

a processor;

a short-range wireless communication reader in communication with the processor; and

a short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism affixed to the mobile terminal,

wherein the reader is adapted to communicate with a tag placed in the holding mechanism while adapted to also communicate also with external short-range wireless communication capable devices.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication reader is further defined as a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication reader is further defined as a Near Field Communication (NFC) reader.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism is further defined as a tag-holding slot configured in the mobile terminal.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism is further defined as a smart card holding mechanism.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising memory in communication with the processor, wherein the memory stores information read from a tag placed in the holding mechanism.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the reader is adapted to periodically communicate with the tag placed in the holding mechanism based on frequency cycle while adapted to communicate with external short-range wireless communication capable devices during periods in which the reader is not communicating with the tag.

8. A mobile terminal device, the device comprising:

a processor;

a network service communication module in communication with the processor;

a memory unit in communication with the processor that stores network service access instructions;

a short-range wireless communication reader in communication with the processor; and

a short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism affixed to the mobile terminal,

wherein the reader is adapted to periodically interrogate a tag placed in the holding mechanism to obtain network service credit information that enables a user of the tag to access network service via the mobile terminal device while adapted to interrogate one or more external short-range wireless communication capable devices when the reader is not reading the tag.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the mobile terminal device is further defined as a mobile telephone device.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the short-range wireless communication reader is further defined as a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism is further defined as a tag-holding slot in the mobile terminal.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism is further defined as a smart card holding mechanism.

13. The device of claim 8, further comprising a second memory unit in communication with the processor, wherein the second memory unit stores prepaid network credit information read from a tag placed in the holding mechanism.

14. The device of claim 8, wherein the network service communication module is further defined as a cellular network transceiver.

15. The device of claim 8, wherein the network service communication module is further defined as a digital broadcast transceiver.

16. The device of claim 8, wherein the digital broadcast receiver module is further defined as a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) receiver.

17. A system for providing prepaid network service to a mobile terminal, the system comprising:

a short-range wireless communication tag that includes dynamic storage of prepaid mobile communication service credit information; and

a mobile terminal device that includes;

a processor,

a network service communication module in communication with the processor;

a memory unit in communication with the processor that stores network service access instructions;

a short-range wireless communication reader in communication with the processor, and

a short-range wireless communication tag holding mechanism affixed to the mobile terminal for holding the tag,

wherein the reader is adapted to communicate with one or more external short-range wireless communication capable devices while also communicating with the tag placed in the holding mechanism such that reading the tag provides mobile terminal device access to the network service if sufficient prepaid credit information is included in dynamic storage of the tag.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag is further defined as a radio frequency identification (RFID) smart card tag.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the short-range wireless communication tag is further defined as a near field communication (NFC) smart card tag.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the network service communication module is further defined as a cellular network transceiver.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the network service communication module is further defined as a digital broadcast receiver.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the digital broadcast receiver module is further defined as a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) receiver.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the prepaid credit information included in the dynamic storage of the tag is decremented as a result of the mobile terminal being provided access to the network service.

24. A method for providing prepaid network services to a mobile terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a short-range wireless communication tag that stores at least prepaid network credit information, and network service provider identification;

docking the tag at a mobile terminal that is equipped with a short-range wireless communication reader;

reading, at the mobile terminal, the at least prepaid network service credit information from the associated tag while the short-range wireless communication reader is capable of also communicating with one or more external short-range wireless communication capable devices; and

providing access to the network if the prepaid network credit information is determined to be sufficient for paying for the network service.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of decrementing the prepaid network credit information stored on the tag as a result of the mobile terminal being provided the network service.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of reading a tag identification that distinguishes the tag from the one or more external short-range wireless communication devices.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of discarding short-range responses from the one or more short-range wireless communication devices while reading the at least prepaid network service credit information from the associated tag.

28. A computer program product for providing a mobile terminal communication capabilities with a terminal-associated short-range wireless communication tag and one or more external short-range wireless communication devices, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied in the medium, the computer-readable program instructions comprising:

first instructions for providing periodic short-range wireless communication reading of a short-range wireless communication tag that is docked at the mobile terminal; and

second instructions for providing short-range wireless communication reading of external short-range wireless communication devices absent execution of the first instructions.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the first instructions further provide for periodic short-range communication of pre-paid network service access credit to allow a user of the mobile terminal to access the network service.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the first instructions for providing periodic short-range wireless communication reading of a short-range wireless communication tag further includes discarding responses from the external short-range wireless communication devices while reading the at least prepaid network credit information from the short-range wireless communication tag that is docked at the mobile terminal.

31. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the first instructions for periodic short-range communication defines a frequency for periodic short-range communication based on the billing terms of a pre-paid network service associated with the short-range wireless communication tag.

32. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the first instructions for providing periodic short-range wireless communication reading of a short-range wireless communication tag further includes instructions for reading a tag identification that distinguishes the tag from external short-range wireless communication devices.