Portable Apparatus for Supporting Electronic Wallet

• US 20110294418A1
• Filed: 05/24/2011
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Original Assignee: MStar Semiconductor Incorporated (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: CHEN, CHIEN-SHENG
• Granted Patent: US 8,615,196 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.1
• 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 7/10198 setting parameters for the interrogator, e.g. programming parameters and operating modes
• 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: G06Q 20/3226 Use of secure elements separate from M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/352 Contactless payments by cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0873 Details of the card reader
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0893 the card reader reading the card in a contactless manner
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID

Abstract

A portable apparatus is capable of switching between a plurality of smart cards and associated circuits to provide a user various independent electronic wallet functions via a single portable apparatus, thereby increasing utilization flexibility and convenience. The portable apparatus includes at least a first smart card and a second smart cart, a near-field communication (NFC) unit, and a control circuit. The first smart card and the second smart card respectively include a first interface and a second interface. The NFC unit is coupled to the first smart card and the second smart card via the first interface and the second interface, respectively. The NFC unit is capable of performing NFC with external apparatuses. The control circuit controls the NFC unit to communicate with either the first smart card or the second smart card using control signals.

Claims

1. A portable apparatus, comprising:

a first smart card, comprising a first interface;

a second smart card, comprising a second interface;

a near-field communication (NFC) unit, coupled to the first smart card via the first interface and coupled to the second smart card via the second interface; and

a control circuit, for controlling the NFC unit to communicate with either the first smart card or the second smart card.

2. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first interface is a Single Wire Protocol (SWP) interface, and the second interface is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7816 interface.

3. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, the second interface being an ISO 7816 interface, the portable apparatus further comprising:

a switch, for switching the ISO 7816 interface of the second smart card between the control circuit and the NFC unit according to a control signal of the control circuit.

4. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portable apparatus is a mobile phone.

5. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first smart card supports an electronic wallet function.

6. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the NFC unit performs electronic transaction on either the first smart card or the second smart card according to an access command of an NFC reader.

7. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first smart card supports a mobile telecommunication function, and the portable apparatus communicates with a telecommunication network via the first smart card and is connected to an electronic wallet service provider on the Internet via the telecommunication network to perform electronic transaction on the first smart card.

8. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control circuit generates the control signal according to a user command.

9. A portable apparatus, comprising:

an NFC unit;

a first smart card and a second smart card each comprising an interface;

a control circuit, for generating a control signal; and

a switch, for selectively connecting the NFC unit to either the interface of the first smart card or the interface of the second smart card according to the control signal.

10. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the interfaces are SWP interfaces.

11. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the switch comprises:

a first switch unit, for switching the interface of the first smart card between the NFC unit and the control circuit according to the control signal; and

a second switch unit, for switching the interface of the second smart card between the NFC unit and the control circuit according to the control signal.

12. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the interfaces are ISO 7816 interfaces.

13. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the portable apparatus is a mobile phone.

14. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first smart card supports an electronic wallet function.

15. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the NFC unit performs electronic transaction on either the first smart card or the second smart card according to an access command of an NFC reader.

16. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first smart card supports a mobile telecommunication function, and the portable apparatus communicates with a telecommunication network via the first smart card and is connected to an electronic wallet service provider on the Internet via the telecommunication network to perform electronic transaction on the first smart card.

17. The portable apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control circuit generates the control signal according to a user command.