Short-range wireless communication apparatus and cellular phone terminal

• US 7,762,469 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsushima, Takaaki, Sueoka, Takashi, Chiba, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mai; Thien T
• Application Number:
  US11/319,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20060160488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 235/493, 235/492, 455/566, 455/127.1, 455/324, 455/425, 455/227, 455/90.1, 455/7, 455/67.7, 455/67.13, 455/455, 455/76, 455/436, 455/552.1, 455/41.2, 340/568.1, 340/573.1, 340/539.13, 340/539.23, 340/458, 340/468, 340/572.8, 340/531
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0707 the arrangement being capable of collecting energy from external energy sources, e.g. thermocouples, vibration, electromagnetic radiation G06K19/0702 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• 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 19/07703 the interface being visual
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

There is provided a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a cellular phone terminal that can surely and immediately notify a user of the optimum distance between a contactless IC card reader/writer and a contactless IC card not through an MPU or a CPU and if the contactless IC card function is locked, surely notify the user as such. In an RFID card, a magnetic field strength/brightness conversion section adjusts the brightness of two LEDs in accordance with the detected magnetic field strength of a carrier wave. A blink generation circuit detects whether the RFID card is in a communication state and blinks the LEDs if so. A function combining section combines the functions to indicate the magnetic field strength and the communication state with the brightness and blinking of the LEDs. An LED with another color illuminates only when an RFID function LSI is in a lock state.

Claims

1. A short-range wireless communication apparatus comprising:

a control unit configured to control cellular phone functions;

a magnetic field strength detector detecting magnetic field strength from a carrier wave by extracting direct-current potential from the carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication;

a lock detector detecting that a short-range wireless communication function is locked into at least a disabled state when the magnetic field strength detector detects the magnetic field strength from the carrier wave;

a lock notification device notifying a user that the lock detector has detected the disabled state, the lock notification device including a light-emitting device which emits light with a brightness which varies based on a detected signal strength; and

a lock notification signal generator generating a lock notification signal for operating the lock notification device in accordance with the disabled state detected by the lock detector, the lock notification signal generator converting the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a brightness adjustment signal for the light-emitting device and providing the brightness adjustment signal of the magnetic field strength notification signal to the light-emitting device.

2. The short-range wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lock notification device has a light-emitting device, and the short-range wireless communication apparatus lights the light-emitting device when the lock detector detects the disabled state.

3. A short-range wireless communication apparatus comprising:

a control unit configured to control cellular phone functions;

a magnetic field strength detector detecting magnetic field strength from a carrier wave by extracting direct-current potential from the carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication;

a communication detector detecting signal communication from a carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication;

a lock detector detecting that a short-range wireless communication function is locked into at least a disabled state when the magnetic field strength detector detects the magnetic field strength from the carrier wave;

a notification device notifying a user of the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector, the signal communication detected by the communication detector, and the disabled state detected by the lock detector, the notification device including a light-emitting device which emits light with a brightness which varies based on a detected signal strength;

a first notification signal generator generating a first notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector, the first notification signal generator converting the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a brightness adjustment signal for the light-emitting device and providing the brightness adjustment signal of the magnetic field strength notification signal to the light-emitting device;

a second notification signal generator generating a second notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the signal communication detected by the communication detector; and

a third notification signal generator generating a third notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the disabled state detected by the lock detector.

4. The short-range wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the notification device has a light-emitting device, the first notification signal generator converts the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a brightness adjustment signal for the light-emitting device and provides the brightness adjustment signal of the first notification signal to the light-emitting device, the second notification signal generator generates a blink signal for blinking the light-emitting device while the communication detector detects the signal communication, and provides the blink signal of the second notification signal to the light-emitting device, and the third notification signal generator generates a light emission signal for lighting the light-emitting device in a predetermined color when the lock detector detects the disabled state, and provides the light emission signal of the third notification signal to the light-emitting device.

5. The short-range wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first notification signal generator converts the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a duty signal indicative of a lighting/extinguishing ratio of the light-emitting device and provides the duty signal of the brightness adjustment signal to the light-emitting device.

6. The short-range wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second notification signal generator holds a detection state of the signal communication by the communication detector for a fixed time and generates the blink signal for the fixed time.

7. The short-range wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light-emitting device of the notification device has light-emitting elements that illuminate in at least two light-emitting colors other than the predetermined color, the first notification signal generator converts the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into at least two different brightness adjustment signals, provides one of the brightness adjustment signals to a light-emitting element having one of the light-emitting colors, and provides the other brightness adjustment signal to a light-emitting element having the other light-emitting color.

8. A cellular phone terminal comprising:

a control unit configured to control cellular phone functions;

a short-range wireless communication unit, wherein the short-range wireless communication unit having,

a magnetic field strength detector detecting magnetic field strength from a carrier wave by extracting direct-current potential from the carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication,

a lock detector detecting that a short-range wireless communication function is locked into at least a disabled state when the magnetic field strength detector detects the magnetic field strength from the carrier wave,

a lock notification device notifying a user that the lock detector has detected the disabled state, the lock notification device including a light-emitting device which emits light with a brightness which varies based on a detected signal strength, and

a lock notification signal generator generating a lock notification signal for operating the lock notification device in accordance with the disabled state detected by the lock detector, the lock notification signal generator converting the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a brightness adjustment signal for the light-emitting device and providing the brightness adjustment signal of the magnetic field strength notification signal to the light-emitting device.

9. A cellular phone terminal comprising:

a control unit configured to control cellular phone functions;

a short-range wireless communication unit, wherein the short-range wireless communication unit having,

a magnetic field strength detector detecting magnetic field strength from a carrier wave by extracting direct-current potential from the carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication,

a communication detector detecting signal communication from a carrier wave used for short-range wireless communication,

a lock detector detecting that a short-range wireless communication function is locked into at least a disabled state when the magnetic field strength detector detects the magnetic field strength from the carrier wave,

a notification device notifying a user of the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector, the signal communication detected by the communication detector, and the disabled state detected by the lock detector, the notification device including a light-emitting device which emits light with a brightness which varies based on a detected signal strength,

a first notification signal generator generating a first notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector, the first notification signal generator converting the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetic field strength detector into a brightness adjustment signal for the light-emitting device and providing the brightness adjustment signal of the magnetic field strength notification signal to the light-emitting device,

a second notification signal generator generating a second notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the signal communication detected by the communication detector, and

a third notification signal generator generating a third notification signal for operating the notification device in accordance with the disabled state detected by the lock detector.