Feedback-Based Adaptive Load Modulation (ALM) for a Near Field Communication (NFC) Device

• US 20160072556A1
• Filed: 07/27/2015
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Dong-U, Jain, Divyanshu
• Granted Patent: US 9,590,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication

Abstract

A first near field communication (NFC) device or a first NFC-enabled device utilizes a feedback based approach to allow for dynamic adjusting of one or more operating characteristics. The feedback based approach can be a direct feedback based approach or an indirect feedback based approach. In the direct feedback based approach, a second NFC device or a second NFC-enabled device can communicate information to the first NFC device or the first NFC-enabled device to cause the first NFC device or the first NFC-enabled device to dynamically adjust the one or more operating characteristics. In the indirect feedback based approach, the first NFC device or the first NFC-enabled device can dynamically adjust the one or more operating characteristics in response to the non-occurrence of an event, such as receiving a response command from the second NFC device or the second NFC-enabled device to provide an example.

Claims

1. A near field communication (NFC) device, comprising:

a modulator configured to modulate information onto a carrier wave; and

a controller module configured to;

activate a response timer upon transmission of the modulated information to a second NFC device, and

cause the NFC device to dynamically adjust an operating characteristic of the NFC device when a response to the modulated information is not received from the second NIT device before expiration of the response timer.

2. The NFC device of claim 1, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

a mode of operation of the NFC device;

a phase of the carrier wave;

an amplitude of the carrier wave;

a shape of the carrier wave;

or

a frame delay time.

3. The NFC device of claim 1, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

an active load modulation (ALM) mode of operation, or

a passive load modulation (PLM) mode of operation.

4. The NFC device of claim 1, further comprising:

an antenna module configured to apply the modulated information to an inductive coupling element to provide a magnetic field to transfer the information to the second NFC device.

5. The NFC device of claim 1, wherein the carrier wave is inductively received from the second NFC device.

6. The NFC device of claim 1, wherein the modulator is configured to generate the carrier wave.

7. The NFC device of claim 1, wherein the NFC device is coupled to an electrical device or a host device to form an NFC-enabled device.

8. The NFC, device of claim 1, wherein the operating characteristic is not adjusted when the response is received from the second NFC device before expiration of the response timer.

14. The NFC device of claim 8, wherein the first command and the second command comprise:

a command from the second NFC device to wake-up.

9. A near field communication (NFC) device, comprising:

a demodulator configured to recover a first command from a first communication signal inductively received from a second NFC device and a second command from a second communication signal inductively received from the second device; and

a controller module configured to adjust an operating characteristic of the NFC device when the first command is the same as the second command.

10. The NFC device of claim 9, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

a mode of operation of the NFC device;

a phase of a carrier wave;

an amplitude of the carrier wave;

a shape of the carrier wave;

or

a frame delay time.

11. The NFC device of claim 9, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

an active load modulation (ALM) mode of operation, or

a passive load modulation (PLM) mode of operation.

12. The NFC device of claim 9, further comprising:

an antenna module configured to inductively receive the first communication signal and the second communication signal.

13. The NFC device of claim 9, wherein the NFC device is coupled to an electrical device or a host device to form an NFC-enabled device.

15. The NFC device of claim 9, wherein the operating characteristic is not adjusted when the first command differs from the second command.

16. A near field communication (NFC) device, comprising:

a signal metric module configured to determine a signal metric of a communication signal inductively received from a second NFC device; and

a controller module configured to adjust an operating characteristic of the NFC device based upon a comparison of the signal metric and an operating threshold.

17. The NFC device of claim 16, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

a mode of operation of the NFC device;

a phase of a carrier wave;

an amplitude of the carrier wave;

a shape of the carrier wave;

or

a frame delay time.

18. The NFC device of claim 16, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

a mode of operation of the NFC device, and

wherein the controller module is configured to adjust the mode of operation of the NFC device from an active load modulation (ALM) mode of operation to a passive load modulation (PLM) mode of operation when the signal metric is greater than the operating threshold.

19. The NFC device of claim 16, wherein the operating characteristic comprises:

a mode of operation of the NFC device,

wherein the controller module is configured to adjust the mode of operation of the NFC device from a passive load modulation (PLM) mode of operation to an active load modulation (ALM) mode of operation to when the signal metric is less than the operating threshold.

20. The NFC device of claim 16, further comprising:

an antenna module configured to inductively receive the first communication signal and the second communication signal.