Near Field Communications, Nfc, Communicators and Nfc Communications Enabled Devices

• US 20080246667A1
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Innovision Research & Technology PLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Symons, Peter Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,881,665 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0701 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for power management
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0715 the arrangement including means to regulate power transfer to the integrated circuit
• 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 7/10237 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: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0075 using inductive coupling transformers or inductances adapted for inductive coupling H01F38/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0081 with antenna coils loop aerials H01Q7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A NFC communicator or NFC communications enabled device (100) has a data store (108) to store data, an inductive coupler (102) to couple inductively with the magnetic field of a radio frequency signal and a signal supplier (109) to supply a radio frequency signal to the inductive coupler. A modulator (110) is provided to modulate a radio frequency signal in accordance with data and a demodulator (114) is provided to extract data from a modulated radio frequency signal inductively coupled to the coupler A controller (107) enables the NFC communicator or NFC communications enabled device both to initiate near field radio frequency communication with another near field RF communicator and to respond to near field radio frequency communication initiated by another near field RF communicator. The inductive coupler (102) has an antenna (120) and a variable impedance element (200) and the controller (107) is operable to control the variable impedance element (200) to control a magnetic field strength associated with a radio frequency signal supplied by the signal supplier.

Claims

1. An NFC communicator, comprising

a data store operable to store data;

an inductive coupler operable to couple inductively with the magnetic field of a radio frequency signal;

a signal supplier operable to supply a radio frequency signal to the inductive coupler;

a modulator operable to modulate a radio frequency signal in accordance with data;

a demodulator operable to extract data from a modulated radio frequency signal inductively coupled to the coupler;

a controller operable to enable the NFC communicator both to initiate near field radio frequency communication with another near field RF communicator and to respond to near field radio frequency communication initiated by another near field RF communicator, wherein the inductive coupler comprises an antenna and a variable impedance element and the controller is operable to control the variable impedance element to control a magnetic field strength associated with a radio frequency signal supplied by the signal supplier.

2. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the variable impedance element is a gain-controlled impedance element and the controller is operable to control the gain.

3. An NFC communicator according to claim 2, wherein the gain-controlled impedance element comprises a variable gain amplifier and at least one impedance and the controller is operable to control the gain of the variable gain amplifier.

4. An NFC communicator according to claim 2, wherein the gain-controlled impedance element comprises an amplifier having a—

variable feedback element and the controller is operable to control the variable feedback element to control the gain of the amplifier.

5. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the variable impedance element has a variable impedance element input and a variable impedance element output and comprises:

an amplifier having an amplifier input and an amplifier output;

a negative feedback around the amplifier; and

an impedance coupled between the amplifier output and the variable impedance element output and wherein the controller is operable to control the feedback provided by the variable feedback element to control the gain of the amplifier.

6. An NFC communicator according to claim 5, wherein the variable impedance element comprises a further impedance coupled in series with said impedance.

7. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the variable impedance element has a variable impedance element input and a variable impedance element output and comprises:

a subtracting amplifier having positive and negative subtracting amplifier inputs and a subtracting amplifier output;

a variable feedback element coupled between the subtracting amplifier output and one of the positive and negative amplifier inputs;

an adding amplifier having a first adding amplifier input coupled to the subtracting amplifier, a second adding amplifier input coupled to one of positive and negative subtracting amplifier inputs and an adding amplifier output;

a first impedance coupled between the adding amplifier output and the other of the positive and negative subtracting amplifier inputs; and

a second impedance coupled between the positive and negative subtracting amplifier inputs.

8. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the variable impedance element is in series with the antenna to form a series tuned circuit.

9. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the variable impedance element is in parallel with the antenna to form a parallel tuned circuit.

10. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein two variable impedance elements are provided with the antenna between and in series with the two variable impedance elements.

11. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein each variable impedance element is a variable capacitance element.

12. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein each variable impedance element is a variable inductance element.

15. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the NFC communicator is operable under ISO/IEC 18092 and/or ISO/IEC 21481.

16. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the NFC communicator is operable to communicate with at least one of:

another NFC communicator, an RF transceiver;

an RF transponder;

an RF transceiver fully or partially compliant with ISO/IEC 14443 or ISO/IEC 15693; and

an RF transponder fully or partially compliant with ISO/IEC 14443 or ISO/IEC 15693.

17. An NFC communicator according to claim 1, wherein the NFC communicator is provided within:

a housing attachable to another device;

a housing portion of another device;

an access card;

or a housing shaped or configured to look like a smart card.

18. An electrical device comprising an NFC communicator according to claim 1.

19. An electrical device according to claim 18, wherein the NFC communicator is integrated within or dispersed within the functionality of the electrical device.

20. An electrical device according to claim 18, wherein the NFC communicator comprises at least one integrated circuit within the electrical device.

21. An electrical device according to claim 18, wherein the device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone device, a portable computing device, a personal or desk top computer, a computer peripheral, or a portable audio and/or video player.

22. An electrical device according to claim 18, further comprising a user interface for enabling a user to input instructions to control at least one of communication of data by the NFC communicator.

13. An NFC communicator, comprising:

a data store operable to store data;

an inductive coupler operable to couple inductively with the magnetic field of a radio frequency signal;

a signal supplier operable to supply a radio frequency signal to the inductive coupler;

a modulator operable to modulate a radio frequency signal in accordance with data;

a demodulator operable to extract data from a modulated radio frequency signal inductively coupled to the coupler;

a controller operable to enable the NFC communicator both to initiate near field radio frequency communication with another near field RF communicator and to respond to near field radio frequency communication initiated by another near field RF communicator, wherein at least one of the signal supplier, the modulator, the demodulator and the inductive coupler comprises a variable impedance element and the controller is operable to control the variable impedance.

14. An NFC communicator according to claim 13, wherein the variable impedance element is a gain-controlled impedance element and the controller is operable to control the gain.

23. An NFC communicator, comprising:

data storing means for storing data;

inductive coupling means for coupling inductively with the magnetic field of a radio frequency signal;

signal generating means for supplying a radio frequency signal to the inductive coupling means;

modulating means for modulating a radio frequency signal in accordance with data;

demodulating means for extracting data from a modulated radio frequency signal inductively coupled to the coupling means; and

controlling means for enabling the NFC communicator both to initiate near field radio frequency communication with another near field RF communicator and to respond to near field radio frequency communication initiated by another near field RF communicator, wherein the inductive coupling means comprises antenna means and variable impedance means and the controlling means is operable to control the variable impedance means to control a magnetic field strength associated with a radio frequency signal supplied by the signal supplying means.