Apparatus and method for controlling diverse short-range antennas of a near field communications circuit

• US 7,541,930 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2006
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 3, LLC
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Viitaniemi, Pekka K., Saarisalo, Mikko
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullen; Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US11/363,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20070008140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/277.1, 340/572.1, 340/572.7, 340/505, 340/10.1, 340/539.11, 343878-881, 343741-742, 343866-867, 235/375
• US Class Current: 340/572.7
• 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 7/10178 including auxiliary means for focusing, repeating or boosting the electromagnetic interrogation field comparable booster antennas integrated on the record carrier itself G06K19/07794
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10237 the reader and the record carrier being capable of selectively switching between reader and record carrier appearance, e.g. in near field communication [NFC] devices where the NFC device may function as an RFID reader or as an RFID tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22

Abstract

An intelligent antenna system for extending the effective communication range of a machine-readable passive tag. The system may include intelligence that allows one of a plurality of extension antennas in an antenna network to be active at any given time. The machine-readable tag and antenna network may further be embedded in a structure. For example, the system may include multiple passive tags that are active in correspondence to a display or advertisement currently being exhibited. The system may include means for operatively coupling the corresponding machine-readable tag to the embedded antenna network.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an antenna selector in a near field communications circuit, coupled to a first short-range antenna and to a second short-range antenna, programmed with antenna selection control software; and

a near field communications logic chip selectively coupled through the antenna selector to either the first antenna or the second antenna, in response to programmed control of the antenna selector by the antenna selection control software.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

an activity detector coupled to the antenna selector, to the first antenna and to the second antenna, for detecting proximity of a reader with either the first antenna or the second antenna and signaling the antenna selector to couple the near field communications chip to the antenna detected as proximate to the reader.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

said first antenna being a reader-writer short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at short distances for near field communications functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the reader-writer antenna, for RFID functionality.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

said first antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at a first distance for a first RFID functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the first antenna, for a second RFID functionality.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

a first antenna matching circuit coupled to the first antenna, for tuning a resonant frequency of the first antenna to a frequency of a first reader; and

a second antenna matching circuit coupled to the second antenna, for tuning a resonant frequency of the second antenna to a frequency of a second reader.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

said antenna selector, first short-range antenna, second short-range antenna, and near field communications chip being integrated in a wireless phone.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

said antenna selector, first short-range antenna, second short-range antenna, and near field communications chip being integrated in a wireless phone having a moveable cover;

at least said first short-range antenna being selectively shielded by closing the moveable cover forming a Faraday cage around the first short-range antenna to prevent unauthorized electromagnetic access to the first antenna.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a wireless handheld device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is wireless phone.

10. A method, comprising:

detecting proximity of a reader with either a first antenna or a second antenna; and

signaling an antenna selector to couple a near field communications chip to an antenna detected as proximate to the reader.

11. The method of claim 10, which further comprises:

tuning a resonant frequency of the first antenna to a frequency of a first reader; and

tuning a resonant frequency of the second antenna to a frequency of a second reader.

12. The method of claim 10, which farther comprises:

said first antenna being a reader-writer short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at short distances for near field communications functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the reader-writer antenna, for RFID functionality.

13. The method of claim 10, which further comprises:

said first antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at a first distance for a first RFID functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the first antenna, for a second RFID functionality.

14. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer readable program code comprising:

a computer readable program code for detecting proximity of a reader with either a first antenna or a second antenna; and

a computer readable program code for signaling an antenna selector to couple a near field communications chip to an antenna detected as proximate to the reader.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, which further comprises:

a computer readable program code for tuning a resonant frequency of the first antenna to a frequency of a first reader; and

a computer readable program code for tuning a resonant frequency of the second antenna to a frequency of a second reader.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, which further comprises:

said first antenna being a reader-writer short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at short distances for near field communications functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the reader-writer antenna, for RFID functionality.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, which further comprises:

said first antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at a first distance for a first RFID functionality; and

said second antenna being a listening short-range antenna configured for optimum performance at longer distances than that for the first antenna, for a second RFID functionality.