Communication device and communication method

• US 8,886,124 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohira, Tomoaki, Oshima, Mitsuaki, Yamaoka, Masaru, Matsumoto, Michihiro, Ohnishi, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsieh, Ping
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jia, Xin
• Application Number:
  US13/395,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20120171952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/04 including near field communication means, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A relay device performs Near Field Communication with a terminal device that is a communication terminal device, and processes information received from the terminal device. A loop antenna receives radio waves from the terminal device; an NFC unit performs Near Field Communication with the terminal device via a loop antenna, and receives from the terminal device application identification information, which identifies an application that processes the information received from the terminal device. A controller acquires an application corresponding to the received application identification information, and causes the acquired application to run.

Claims

1. A communication device which performs Near Field Communication (NFC) with a communication terminal device, processes, by software, information received from the communication terminal device, and transmits the information to a registration device connected via a communication network, the communication device comprising:

an antenna unit configured to receive radio waves from the communication terminal device;

an NFC unit configured to switch to either one of two communication modes including (i) a first mode in which the communication device acts as a reader/writer device which transmits a polling signal to the communication terminal device and receives a polling response from the communication terminal device, and (ii) a second mode in which the communication device acts as a tag device which receives a polling signal from the communication terminal device and transmits a polling response to the communication terminal device, and to perform Near Field Communication with the communication terminal device via the antenna unit so as to receive software identification information and terminal identification information from the communication terminal device, the software identification information identifying an item of software that processes the information received from the communication terminal device, and the terminal identification information identifying the communication terminal device;

a control unit configured to acquire corresponding software which is an item of software corresponding to the received software identification information, and to cause the acquired corresponding software to run so as to generate registration information containing the received terminal identification information of the communication terminal device, in accordance with an operation of the corresponding software caused to run, and to transmit the registration information to the registration device connected to the communication device via the communication network; and

a storage unit configured to store at least one item of software,

wherein the NFC unit switches the communication mode to the first mode in the case where the control unit causes the corresponding software to run,

in the case where the corresponding software is stored in the storage unit, the control unit is configured to acquire the corresponding software from the storage unit and cause the acquired corresponding software to run,

the communication device is connected via a communication network to a storage device which stores at least one item of software containing the corresponding software,

the NFC unit switches the communication mode to the second mode in the case where the NFC unit has received the polling signal from the communication terminal device, and

the communication device further comprises;

a communication unit configured to communicate with the storage device,

the control unit is configured to determine whether or not the corresponding software is stored in the storage unit, based on the software identification information,

when it is determined that the corresponding software is stored in the storage unit, the control unit is configured to acquire the corresponding software from the storage unit and cause the acquired corresponding software to run, and

when it is determined that the corresponding software is not stored in the storage unit, the control unit is configured to transmit a software transmission request signal to the storage device via the communication unit so as to acquire the corresponding software from the storage device and cause the acquired corresponding software to run, the software transmission request signal requesting transmission of the corresponding application.

2. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the NFC unit is configured to further receive storage device identification information which identifies the storage device, from the communication terminal device, and

in the case where the control unit determines that the corresponding software is not stored in the storage unit, the control unit is configured to transmit the software transmission request signal via the communication unit to a storage device indicated by the received storage device identification information so as to acquire the corresponding software from the storage device and to cause the acquired corresponding software to run, the software transmission request signal containing the software identification information and communication device identification information which identifies the communication device.

3. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the NFC unit is configured to further receive registration device identification information which identifies the registration device, from the communication terminal device, and

the control unit transmits the received terminal identification information to the registration device indicated by the registration device identification information, in accordance with an operation of the corresponding software caused to run, the received terminal identification information being associated with the communication device identification information which identifies the communication device.

4. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein in the case where the NFC unit transmits a polling signal to the communication terminal device, and receives a polling response from the communication terminal device so that Near Field Communication is established, the NFC unit is configured to request the communication terminal device to transmit the software identification information so as to receive the software identification information from the communication terminal device.

5. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein in the case where the NFC unit receives a polling signal from the communication terminal device, the NFC unit is configured to transmit a polling response to the communication terminal device so as to establish Near Field Communication and receive the software identification information from the communication terminal device.

6. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the NFC unit is configured to switch the communication mode to the second mode when the communication terminal device is the reader/writer device, and to switch the communication mode to the first mode when the communication terminal device is the tag device.

7. A communication method for performing Near Field Communication with a communication terminal device by a communication device and processing, by software, information received from the communication terminal device via an antenna unit, and transmitting the information to a registration device connected via a communication network, the communication method comprising:

performing Near Field Communication with the communication terminal device via the antenna unit so as to receive software identification information and terminal identification information from the communication terminal device by switching to either one of two communication modes including (i) a first mode in which the communication device acts as a reader/writer device which transmits a polling signal to the communication terminal device and receives a polling response from the communication terminal device, and (ii) a second mode in which the communication device acts as a tag device which receives a polling signal from the communication terminal device and transmits a polling response to the communication terminal device, the software identification information identifying a software that processes the information received from the communication terminal device, and the terminal identification information identifying the communication terminal device;

acquiring corresponding software which is an item of software corresponding to the received software identification information, causing the acquired corresponding software to run, generating registration information containing the received terminal identification information of the communication terminal device, in accordance with an operation of the corresponding software caused to run, and transmitting the registration information to the registration device connected to the communication device via the communication network; and

storing in a storage unit at least one item of software,

wherein in the performing Near Field Communication, the communication mode is switched to the first mode in the case where the corresponding software is caused to run,

in the case where the corresponding software is stored in the stored unit, the corresponding software is acquired from the storage unit and the acquired corresponding software is run,

the communication device is connected via a communication network to a storage device which stores at least one item of software containing the corresponding software,

the communication mode is switched to the second mode in the case where the polling signal from the communication terminal device has been received, and

the communication method further comprises

communicating with the storage device,

determining whether or not the corresponding software is stored in the storage unit, based on the software identification information,

when it is determined that the corresponding software is stored in the storage unit, the corresponding software is acquired from the storage unit and the acquired corresponding software is run, and

when it is determined that the corresponding software is not stored in the storage unit, a software transmission request signal is transmitted to the storage device via the communication unit so as to acquire the corresponding software from the storage device and the acquired corresponding software is run, the software transmission request signal requesting transmission of the corresponding application.