MOBILE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING FUNCTION BASED ON SHORT-RANGE COMMUNICATION

• US 20120208461A1
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHOI, Jong Mu, LEE, Jun Ho
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,279 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• 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

Abstract

A mobile device and method for performing a function using a short-range communication tag are provided. In the method, the mobile device inputs function-related information into a short-range communication tag, and recognizes proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag. Then the mobile device reads the function-related information from the short-range communication tag, and performs a function correlated with the function-related information. This allows performing various functions of the mobile device, only depending on a user'"'"'s action to bring the mobile device in proximity to or contact with the Near Field Communication (NFC) tag.

Claims

1. A method for performing a function of a mobile device by using a short-range communication, the method comprising:

inputting function-related information into a short-range communication tag;

recognizing proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag;

reading the function-related information from the short-range communication tag; and

performing a function correlated with the function-related information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputting of the function-related information includes:

recognizing that a menu item for the registration of a short-range communication device is selected in a tag menu;

determining whether the mobile device is currently connected to any short-range communication device;

if there is any short-range communication device currently connected, displaying a list of the connected short-range communication devices;

recognizing that at least one of the short-range communication devices is selected in the list; and

when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting connection information about the selected short-range communication device into the short-range communication tag.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the inputting of the function-related information further includes:

if there is no short-range communication device currently connected, displaying an input window;

receiving connection information about a short-range communication device through the input window; and

when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting the received connection information about the short-range communication device into the short-range communication tag.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the connection information about the short-range communication device includes:

a Bluetooth address and a Personal Identity Number (PIN) code if the short-range communication device is a Bluetooth device; and

a Service Set IDentifier (SSID), a security type, and a password if the short-range communication device is a Wi-Fi device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the reading of the function-related information includes reading the connection information about the short-range communication device from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the performing of the function includes performing a connection with the short-range communication device according to the connection information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputting of the function-related information includes:

recognizing that a menu item for data synchronization is selected in a tag menu;

displaying a list of applications installed in the mobile device;

recognizing that at least one of the applications is selected in the list; and

when recognizing proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting identification information about the selected application and a web address to be accessed into the short-range communication tag.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the reading of the function-related information includes reading the application identification information and the web address from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the performing of the function includes:

executing the application according to the application identification information;

accessing a web server according to the web address;

determining whether application-related data stored in the mobile device is identical to application-related data registered in the web server;

if both data are not identical to each other, receiving the application-related data from the web server to update the data; and

if both data are identical to each other, ending a data synchronization process.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputting of the function-related information includes:

recognizing that a menu item for data synchronization is selected in a tag menu;

displaying a list of applications installed in the mobile device;

recognizing that at least one of the applications is selected in the list;

determining whether the mobile device is currently connected to any access point;

if there is any access point currently connected, displaying connection information about the connected access point; and

when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting identification information about the selected application, a web address to be accessed, and the connection information about the access point into the short-range communication tag.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the inputting of the function-related information further includes:

if there is no access point currently connected, displaying an input window;

receiving connection information about an access point through the input window; and

when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting the identification information about the selected application, the web address to be accessed, and the received connection information about the access point into the short-range communication tag.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the reading of the function-related information includes reading the access point connection information, the application identification information and the web address from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the performing of the function includes:

performing a connection with the access point according to the access point connection information;

executing the application according to the application identification information;

accessing a web server according to the web address;

determining whether application-related data stored in the mobile device is identical to application-related data registered in the web server;

if both data are not identical to each other, receiving the application-related data from the web server to update the data; and

if both data are identical to each other, ending a data synchronization process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputting of the function-related information includes:

performing a connection with an access point;

recognizing that a menu item for the registration of an electronic device is selected in a tag menu;

displaying a list of the electronic devices connected to the connected access point;

recognizing that at least one of the electronic devices is selected in the list; and

when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, inputting connection information about the connected access point and identification information about the selected electronic device into the short-range communication tag.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

after the inputting of the function-related information, executing contents stored in the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the reading of the function-related information includes reading the access point connection information and the electronic device identification information from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the performing of the function includes:

performing a connection with the access point according to the access point connection information;

searching for the electronic device according to the electronic device identification information; and

sending the executed contents to the electronic device.

14. A mobile device for performing a function thereof by using a short-range communication, the mobile device comprising:

an information inputting unit configured to input function-related information into a short-range communication tag;

a short-range communication module unit configured to detect proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag;

an information reading unit configured to read the function-related information from the short-range communication tag; and

a function performing unit configured to perform a function correlated with the function-related information.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, further comprising:

an input unit configured to receive a selection of a menu item for data synchronization in a tag menu; and

a display unit configured to display a list of applications installed in the mobile device,

wherein the information inputting unit is further configured to recognize that at least one of the applications is selected in the list, and to input identification information about the selected application and a web address to be accessed into the short-range communication tag when the short-range communication module unit detects the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the information inputting unit is further configured to read the application identification information and the web address from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the function performing unit is further configured to execute the application according to the application identification information, to access a web server according to the web address, to determine whether application-related data stored in the mobile device is identical to application-related data registered in the web server, if both data are not identical to each other, to receive the application-related data from the web server to update the data, and if both data are identical to each other, to end a data synchronization process.

17. The mobile device of claim 14, further comprising:

an input unit configured to receive a selection of a menu item for the registration of a short-range communication device in a tag menu;

a mobile communication unit configured to determine whether the mobile device is currently connected to any short-range communication device; and

a display unit configured to, if there is any short-range communication device currently connected, display a list of the connected short-range communication devices,

wherein the information inputting unit is further configured to recognize that at least one of the short-range communication devices is selected in the list, and, when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, to input connection information about the selected short-range communication device into the short-range communication tag.

18. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the display unit is configured to, if there is no short-range communication device currently connected, display an input window, and

wherein the information inputting unit is further configured to receive connection information about a short-range communication device through the input window, and, when recognizing the proximity to or contact with the short-range communication tag, to input the received connection information about the short-range communication device into the short-range communication tag.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the connection information about the short-range communication device includes:

a Bluetooth address and a Personal Identity Number (PIN) code if the short-range communication device is a Bluetooth device; and

a Service Set IDentifier (SSID), a security type, and a password if the short-range communication device is a Wi-Fi device.

20. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the information reading unit is further configured to read the connection information about the short-range communication device from the short-range communication tag, and

wherein the function performing unit is further configured to performing a connection with the short-range communication device according to the connection information.