CONTACTLESS INTERFACE WITHIN A TERMINAL TO SUPPORT A CONTACTLESS SERVICE

• US 20100019033A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jolivet, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,827,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07741 comprising a first part operating as a regular record carrier and a second attachable part that changes the functional appearance of said record carrier, e.g. a contact-based smart card with an adapter part which, when attached to the contact card makes the contact card function as a non-contact card
• 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: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3227 using secure elements embedded in M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/02 using transceiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/48 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/08 between user and terminal device
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations

Abstract

In a mobile terminal, a contactless interface is defined between a secure element and a contactless function (CLF) module, which allows a contactless service to be performed with an external device. The secure element may be a type of smart card and the external device may be an access gateway for transportation, a point-of-sale (PoS) terminal, or some other application for the user.

Claims

1. A terminal comprising:

a secure element that supports a contactless service;

a contactless function (CLF) module that communicates with the secure element to enable access to an external device; and

a wireless interface defined between the secure element and the CLF module to allow the contactless service to be performed with the external device.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the secure element provides secure storage for at least one of applications, parameters, and data related to the contactless service.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the secure element supports at least one of transportation access and financial transactions.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the secure element comprises at least one of a removable hardware element, a UICC, a smart card, a SIM card, a USIM card, and a storage medium.

5. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the secure element comprises embedded software and/or hardware.

6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the secure element has a limited number of physical contacts that are allocated for various functions.

7. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface allows transfer of information between the CLF module and the external device.

8. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface provides a secure and reliable communication link.

9. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface has relatively minimal interference impact on various components of the terminal.

10. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface uses a relatively minimal amount of the physical resources that are associated with physical contacts of the secure element.

11. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the external device is at least one of an access gateway and point-of-sale (PoS) terminal.

12. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the CLF module performs formatting and transferring of data with the secure element.

13. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the CLF module performs access to the external device via an ISO-based protocol standard.

14. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the CLF module has at least one additional interface that allows interfacing with additional resources within the terminal.

15. A method of wireless interfacing between elements within a terminal, the method comprising:

detecting a request for processing a contactless a transaction;

establishing a link with a secure element via a contactless interface to allow the contactless transaction to start with an external terminal; and

releasing the link after the contactless transaction is completed with the external terminal.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the link supports minimum requirements to allow data exchange using contactless protocols supported by a contactless function.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the detecting step comprises detecting at least one of a power up procedure of the terminal, a wake up procedure of the terminal, a transaction from the secure element, and a transaction from the external terminal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the wake-up procedure of the terminal is compatible with contactless application constraints.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the request is generated within the terminal or provided from the external terminal, and

wherein the secure element is at least one of a removable hardware element, a UICC, a smart card, a SIM card, a USIM card, and a storage medium, and the external terminal is an access gateway or a point-of-sale (PoS) terminal.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein after establishing the link with the secure element, one or more transaction requests and transaction responses are exchanged prior to releasing the link.

21. A mobile device comprising:

a contactless processing unit that supports a contactless function; and

an external interface cooperating with the contactless processing unit to provide a short-range wireless interface with an external contactless reader terminal.

22. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the contactless processing unit comprises:

a storage element to store information related to the contactless function;

a contactless function module cooperating with the storage element to perform processing of the contactless function with the external contactless reader terminal; and

an internal interface providing an interface between the secure element and the contactless function module.

23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the external and internal interfaces allows a contactless transaction to be performed with the external contactless reader terminal.

24. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the contactless function module has at least one additional interface that allows the contactless function module to cooperate with other resources in the mobile device.

25. A smart card comprising:

a memory to store information related to supporting contactless applications; and

a contactless interface element operatively connected with the memory to allow components of a mobile terminal to access the memory and perform a contactless function with an external terminal.

26. The smart card of claim 25, further comprising:

embedded integrated circuits that cooperate with the memory and the contactless interface element to receive inputs, process information, and deliver outputs to perform the contactless function.

27. The smart card of claim 26, wherein the contactless interface element supports near field communication technology.