Apparatus And Method For Near Field Communication

• US 20130101149A1
• Filed: 10/19/2011
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Maenpaa, Ossi Ensio
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,303 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/45 Transponders
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/51 Aspects of antennas or their circuitry in or for hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils

Abstract

An apparatus including a near field communication (NFC) system and a hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system. The near field communication system includes a near field communication antenna. The hearing aid compatibility system is configured to generate a magnetic field to be received by a hearing aid. The hearing aid compatibility system includes the near field communication antenna. Thus, both the near field communication system and the hearing aid compatibility system include the near field communication antenna as at least a portion of a common communication component for both of the systems.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a near field communication (NFC) system, where the near field communication system comprises a near field communication antenna; and

a hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system, where the hearing aid compatibility system is configured to generate a magnetic field to be received by a hearing aid, where the hearing aid compatibility system comprises the near field communication antenna,

where both the near field communication system and the hearing aid compatibility system comprise the near field communication antenna as at least a portion of a common communication component for both of the systems.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 comprising means for generating magnetic fields from the near field communication antenna during a telephone call with the apparatus.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the hearing aid compatibility system comprises the near field communication antenna as a sole coil for the hearing aid compatibility system.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication antenna is a loop antenna.

5. An apparatus as in claim 4 where the loop antenna is configured to form an air-core transformer with a loop antenna of the device for the near field communication system.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication antenna is located proximate a rear side of the apparatus and the apparatus comprises a sound transducer proximate a sound hole through a front side of a housing of the apparatus.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication system is configured to operate in at least two communication modes with the near field communication antenna, where the at least two communication modes comprise:

a passive communication mode where the apparatus and the device form an initiator device and a target device, where the initiator device provides a carrier field and the target device answers by modulating the existing field, where the target device draws at least some of its operating power from an initiator-provided electromagnetic field, thus making the target device a transponder, and

an active communication mode where both the initiator device and the target device communicate by alternately generating their own fields.

8. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication system is configured to use two different codings to transfer data with the near field communication antenna.

9. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication system is configured to receive and transmit data at a same time with the near field communication antenna.

10. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a controller configured to control use of the near field communication antenna alternatively by the near field communication system and the hearing aid compatibility system based, at least partially, upon whether the apparatus is being used as a telephone during a telephone call.

11. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the apparatus further comprises a short range, wireless radio frequency communication system which does not use the near field communication antenna.

12. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication antenna is a part of a longer coil.

13. An apparatus as in claim 12 where the coil has a first section with a first line width forming the near field communication antenna, and a second section with a second narrower line width.

14. An apparatus as in claim 12 further comprising ferrite along a side of the coil at a first coil section of the coil, but the ferrite not being at a second coil section of the coil.

15. An apparatus as in claim 12 further comprising a camera extending through the coil.

16. An apparatus as in claim 12 where the coil comprises at least three tap locations at different lengths on the coil.

17. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication antenna forms at least part of an induction coil with at least one of:

a single layer comprising at least two loops of conductive material; and

at least two connected layers, each layer comprising at least one loop of conductive material,

where the at least two loops or the loops of the at least two connected layers are configured, relative to usage of both systems, such that a total coil impedance increases when the loops are used with the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system versus use of less than all of the loops with the near field communication (NFC) system.

18. An apparatus as in claim 17 where at least one of the at least two layers is configured to have a higher resistance than another one of the at least two layers.

19. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the near field communication system is configured to communicate with another device at a range of only about 4 centimeters or less.

20. A method comprising:

providing an apparatus comprising a near field communication (NFC) system including a near field communication antenna; and

providing the apparatus with a hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system, where the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system comprises the near field communication antenna such that the hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system is configured to use the near field communication antenna to generate a magnetic field.

21. A method as in claim 20 where the hearing aid compatibility system comprises the near field communication antenna as a sole coil for the hearing aid compatibility system.

22. A method as in claim 20 further comprising providing the near field communication antenna as a loop antenna.

23. A method as in claim 22 further comprising providing the loop antenna as configured to form an air-core transformer with a loop antenna of another device for the near field communication system.

24. A method as in claim 20 further comprising locating the antenna proximate a rear side of the apparatus, and the apparatus comprising a sound transducer proximate a sound hole through a front side of a housing of the apparatus.

25. A method as in claim 20 where the near field communication system is configured to communicate with another device at a range of only about 4 centimeters or less using the near field communication antenna.

26. A method comprising:

using a near field communication (NFC) system of an apparatus to communicate with another device, where the near field communication (NFC) system comprises a near field communication antenna; and

using the near field communication antenna as part of a hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system to generate a magnetic field.

27. A method as in claim 26 where the near field communication system is configured to communicate with the device at a range of only about 4 centimeters or less using the near field communication antenna.

28. A method as in claim 26 further comprising locating the apparatus proximate the hearing aid such that the near field communication antenna provides an enlarged hot spot with the hear aid for the hearing aid compatibility system to be more readily positioned relative to the hearing aid for use in a hearing aid compatibility mode.

29. A non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine, the operations comprising:

communicating by an apparatus with a device by use of a near field communication (NFC) system of the apparatus; and

communicating with a hearing aid by the apparatus with use of a hearing aid compatibility (HAC) system of the apparatus, where the hearing aid compatibility system comprises use of the near field communication antenna to generate a magnetic field to be received by the hearing aid.