RFID DEVICE, HOST, RFID-EMBEDDED APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING RFID DEVICE

• US 20130063253A1
• Filed: 03/29/2012
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Rashid, Mahbub, Matsumoto, Michihiro, Yamaoka, Masaru, Kurimoto, Kazunori, Kuroyama, Kazuhiro, Sadayuki, Eiichi, Yoshimura, Yasuo, Morimoto, Shigeru, Nakatani, Naofumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,141,904 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07769 the further communication means being a galvanic interface, e.g. hybrid or mixed smart cards having a contact and a non-contact interface

Abstract

A radio frequency identification (RFID) device includes: a contact interface for wired communication with a host; a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer; a command processing unit that obtains a command from the reader/writer in the contactless communication and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and a memory that holds data. The command processing unit determines a communication mode, and (i) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the memory, when the communication mode is determined as a first communication mode, and (ii) executes the data access instructed in the command between the reader/writer and the host, when the communication mode is determined as a second communication mode.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A radio frequency identification (RFID) device comprising:

a contact interface for wired communication with a host outside the RFID device;

a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer outside the RFID device;

a command processing unit configured to obtain a command from the reader/writer via the contactless interface and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and

a memory that holds data,

wherein the command processing unit is configured to selectively switch the data access between a first data access and a second data access, based on address information that is included in the obtained command and that designates an access destination of the data access,

the first data access being performed between the reader/writer and the memory by connecting the RFID device to the reader/writer via the contactless interface, and

the second data access being performed between the reader/writer and the host via the RFID device by connecting the RFID device to the reader/writer via the contactless interface and connecting the RFID device to the host via the contact interface.

23. The RFID device according to claim 22,

wherein the command processing unit is configured, when the command processing unit obtains, from the host, the command instructing to read data, to read the data from a region in the memory used in the first data access between the reader/writer and the memory.

24. The RFID device according to claim 22,

wherein the command processing unit is configured, when the command processing unit obtains, from the host, the command instructing to write data, to write the data into a predetermined region in the memory.

25. The RFID device according to claim 22,

wherein the memory further holds flag information indicating whether the second data access from the reader/writer to the host is permitted or prohibited, and

the command processing unit is configured to transmit the flag information to the reader/writer, and after the transmission, perform the second data access between the reader/writer and the host.

27. The RFID device according to claim 25,

wherein the flag information is updated by the host based on an operation state of the host.

28. The RFID device according to claim 27,

wherein the command processing unit is configured to prohibit the data access from the reader/writer to the host, when the flag information indicates that the data access from the outside to the host is prohibited.

29. The RFID device according to claim 27,

wherein, when the flag information indicates that at least one of a data access for writing data into the host and a data access for reading data from the host is prohibited from among data accesses to the host, the command processing unit is configured to prohibit the data access prohibited in the flag information from among the data accesses from the reader/writer to the host.

30. The RFID device according to claim 22,

wherein the address information includes access destination information indicating whether or not to use encryption in a data access between the reader/writer and the RFID device, and

the command processing unit is configured to encrypt data to be transmitted in the contactless communication between the reader/writer and the RFID device and decode received data, when the command processing unit obtains, from the reader/writer, a command including the access destination information indicating that encryption is to use in the data access.

26. An RFID device comprising:

a contact interface for wired communication with a host outside the RFID device;

a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer outside the RFID device;

a memory that holds data and flag information, the flag information indicating whether a data access from the reader/writer to the host is permitted or prohibited; and

a command processing unit configured to (i) obtain the command from the reader/writer in the contactless communication, the command instructing a data access, and (ii) based on the obtained command, selectively switch (ii-1) the data access between a data access between the reader/writer and the memory and (ii-2) a data access between the reader/writer and the host,

wherein the command processing unit is configured to transmit the flag information to the reader/writer, and after the transmission, perform the data access to the host.

31. An RFID-embedded apparatus comprising:

a host unit; and

an RFID unit,

wherein the RFID unit includes;

a contact interface for wired communication between the RFID unit and the host unit;

a contactless interface for contactless communication between the RFID unit and a reader/writer outside the RFID-embedded apparatus;

a command processing unit configured to obtain a command from the reader/writer via the contactless interface and process the command, the command instructing a data access; and

a memory that holds data,

wherein the command processing unit is configured to selectively switch the data access between a first data access and a second data access, based on address information that is included in the obtained command and that designates an access destination of the data access,

the first data access being performed between the reader/writer and the memory by connecting the RFID unit to the reader/writer via the contactless interface, and

the second data access being performed between the reader/writer and the host via the RFID device by connecting the RFID unit to the reader/writer via the contactless interface and connecting the RFID unit to the host via the contact interface.

32. The RFID-embedded apparatus according to claim 31,

wherein the command processing unit is configured, when the address information designating the access destination indicates that the second data access between the reader/writer and the host is to be selected, to notify the host unit via the contact interface of that the second data access is to be performed, and

the host unit is configured to supply driving power to the RFID unit, when the host unit obtains the notification.

33. The RFID-embedded apparatus according to claim 31,

wherein the contactless interface (a) obtains first driving power from the reader/writer by electromagnetic induction, (b) detects existence of an electromagnetical field stronger than a predetermined threshold, and when the existence is detected, notifies a result of the detection to the host unit via the contact interface, and

the host unit is configured to supply second driving power different from the first driving power to the RFID unit, when the host unit obtains the notification.

34. A host that performs contactless communication with a reader/writer via an RFID device connected by wire to the host, the host comprising:

a communication interface for wired communication with the RFID device;

an operation state determination unit configured to determine whether an operation mode indicating an internal state of the host that is operating is a normal mode or a low power consumption mode, the low power consumption mode being for reducing power consumption during the operation of the host to be lower than power consumption in the normal mode; and

an acceptance possibility information control unit configured to set, into a memory in the RFID device, the information indicating that a data access to the host is prohibited, when the operation state determination unit determines that the operation mode of the host is the low power consumption mode.

35. A host that performs contactless communication with a reader/writer via an RFID device connected by wire to the host, the host comprising:

a communication interface for wired communication with the RFID device;

an operation mode switch unit configured to change an operation mode indicating an internal state of the host that is operating to a normal mode, when the host receives, from the RFID device, a notification signal indicating that the reader/writer writes information into the RFID device while the host is operating at a low power consumption as the operation mode, the low power consumption mode being a mode for reducing power consumption during the operation of the host to be lower than power consumption in the normal mode; and

an acceptance possibility information control unit configured to set information into a memory in the RFID device when the host is at a predetermined operation state, the information being associated with the predetermined operation state and indicating whether a data access to the host is prohibited or permitted,

wherein the acceptance possibility information control unit is configured, when the operation mode of the host is changed to the normal mode, to perform one of (a) processing of setting, into the memory in the RFID device, information indicating that the data access to the host is permitted and (b) processing of deleting, from the memory in the RFID device, information indicating that the data access to the host is prohibited.

36. A reader/writer that performs contactless communication with a RFID device outside the reader/writer and performs communication with a host outside the reader/writer via the RFID device, the reader/writer comprising:

a control unit configured to generate a command to be transmitted to the RFID device;

a communication unit configured to transmit the command to the RFID device in the contactless communication, and receive a response to the transmitted command from the RFID device in the contactless communication; and

a display unit configured to display, on a display device, information corresponding to the received response,

wherein the control unit is configured to generate a command including address information indicating one of (a) a data access to the memory that is a storage region in the RFID device and (b) a data access to the host.

37. The reader/writer according to claim 36,

wherein the control unit is configured to generate the address information including access destination information indicating whether or not to use encryption in a data access between the reader/writer and the RFID device.

38. The reader/writer according to claim 36,

wherein the control unit is configured to (i) obtain flag information from the memory in the RFID device before the command including the address information is transmitted to the RFID device, the flag information indicating whether a data access from the reader/writer to the host is permitted or prohibited, and the address information designating the data access to the host, and (ii) causes the communication unit to transmit the command to the RFID device only when the data access designated in the command to be transmitted to the RFID device is permitted.

39. A method of controlling an RFID device, the RFID device including:

a contact interface for wired communication with a host outside the RFID device;

a contactless interface for contactless communication with a reader/writer outside the RFID device; and

a memory that holds data, and the method comprising;

obtaining a command from the reader/writer via the contactless interface, the command instructing a data access; and

selectively switching the data access between a first data access and a second data access, based on address information that is included in the command obtained in the obtaining and that designates an access destination of the data access, thereby performing the selected data access,

wherein the first data access is performed between the reader/writer and the memory by connecting the RFID device to the reader/writer via the contactless interface, and

the second data access is performed between the reader/writer and the host via the RFID device by connecting the RFID device to the reader/writer via the contactless interface and connecting the RFID device to the host via the contact interface.

40. A method of controlling a reader/writer including a memory holding data, the reader/writer performing contactless communication with a RFID device outside the reader/writer and performing communication with a host outside the reader/writer via the RFID device, and the method comprising:

generating a command including address information indicating one of (a) a data access to the memory in the RFID device and (b) a data access to the host;

transmitting the generated command to the RFID device in the contactless communication;

receiving a response to the transmitted command from the RFID device in the contactless communication; and

displaying information corresponding to the received response.

41. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for use in a computer, said recording medium having a computer program recorded thereon for controlling a reader/writer which (i) includes a memory holding data, and (ii) performs contactless communication with a RFID device outside the reader/writer and performs communication with a host outside the reader/writer via the RFID device, and the program causing the computer to execute:

generating a command including address information indicating one of (a) a data access to the memory in the RFID device and (b) a data access to the host;

transmitting the generated command to the RFID device in the contactless communication;

receiving a response to the transmitted command from the RFID device in the contactless communication; and

displaying information corresponding to the received response.