CONTROL METHOD, CONTROLLED DEVICE, USER INTERACTION DEVICE AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20130271268A1
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Brandsma, Ewout, Pennings, Maarten Christiaan, van Roermund, Timotheus Arthur
• Granted Patent: US 9,514,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0716 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising a sensor or an interface to a sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• 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 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves

Abstract

A method for controlling a controlled device is disclosed, wherein the controlled device has a host connection to an RFID tag, the method comprising the following steps: (s1) the controlled device writes operational parameters to the RFID tag through the host connection; (s2) a user interaction device reads the operational parameters from the RFID tag through an RFID connection; (s3) a user changes the operational parameters via a user interface comprised in the user interaction device; (s4) the user interaction device writes the operational parameters to the RFID tag through the RFID connection; (s5) the controlled device reads the operational parameters from the RFID tag through the host connection and adapts its behavior based on the operational parameters. Furthermore, a corresponding controlled device, a user interaction device and a computer program product are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a controlled device, wherein the controlled device comprises an RFID tag and a host controller, wherein the RFID tag is connected to the host controller via a wired host connection, the method comprising the following steps:

(s1) the host controller writes operational parameters to the RFID tag through the host connection;

(s2) a user interaction device reads the operational parameters from the RFID tag through an RFID connection;

(s3) a user changes the operational parameters via a user interface comprised in the user interaction device;

(s4) the user interaction device writes the operational parameters to the RFID tag through the RFID connection;

(s5) the host controller reads the operational parameters from the RFID tag through the host connection and adapts the behavior of the controlled device by configuring a set of controlled functions based on the operational parameter. parameters.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the RFID tag sends a wake-up signal to the controlled device upon a predetermined event, such that the controlled device wakes up from an off state or low-power state.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the predetermined event is a detection of an RF field by the RFID tag or the establishment of the RFID connection.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the predetermined event is the writing of the operational parameters to the RFID tag in step (s4) or the disappearance of the RF field or the RFID connection in step (s4).

6. A method as claimed in claim 3,

wherein a handshake protocol is executed between the user interaction device and the controlled device via the RFID tag, such that the controlled device may return to the off state or low-power state if it does not need to perform a step of the method.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6,

wherein the handshake protocol comprises that the user interaction device changes a signaling flag comprised in the RFID tag;

wherein the signaling flag indicates whether or not the controlled device needs to perform a specific step of the method;

wherein, upon waking up, the controlled device reads the signaling flag and returns to the off state or low-power state if the signaling flag indicates that it does not need to perform any specific step of the method.

8. A method as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the RFID tag only provides the wake-up signal to the controlled device if predetermined sections of a memory comprised in the RFID tag are read from and/or written to by the user interaction device;

wherein the predetermined sections of the memory contain operational parameters relating to operations that require a wake-up of the controlled device.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the operational parameters include a description of the user interface comprised in the user interaction device.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the description of the user interface embeds operational parameters which directly relate to the functioning of the controlled device.

11. A method as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the description of the user interface is provided by reference, in particular by a URL pointing to a website from which the description of the user interface is retrievable.

12. A controlled device comprising a host controller, said host controller being arranged to perform steps (s1) and (s5) of the method as claimed in claim 1.

13. A controlled device as claimed in claim 12, the controlled device being one of the group of:

an energy-frugal sensor node, a household appliance, a time-controlled electric plug, an electronic watch.

14. A user interaction device, in particular a portable user interaction device, in which is arranged to perform steps (s2) and (s4) of the method as claimed claim 1, and which comprises a user interface, said user interface enabling a user to change the operational parameters in step of (s3) said method.

15. A user interaction device as claimed in claim 14, the user interaction device being an NFC-enabled smart phone or a web tablet.

16. A computer program product comprising program elements executable by a controlled device or a user interaction device, wherein each program element comprises program instructions which, when being executed by the controlled device or the user interaction device, cause said controlled device and user interaction device to carry out or control respective steps of a method as claim 1 wherein the program elements executable by the controlled device comprise program instructions which implement steps (s1) and (s5) of said method, and wherein the program elements executable by the user interaction device comprise program instructions which implement steps (s2), (s3) and (s4) of said method but not steps (s1) and (s5) of said method.

2. (canceled)