NFC device and communication method

• US 9,236,914 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2013
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Hendricksen, Ruud, Moonen, Oswald
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US14/072,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20140127995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 235/487, 235/492
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 7/10148 the step consisting of dynamically tuning the resonant circuit of the interrogation device that is emitting the interrogation signal, e.g. for impedance matching inside of the interrogation device for tuning related to loop aerials in general H01Q7/00
• 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: H04B 5/77 for interrogation

Abstract

According to an aspect of the invention, an NFC device for communicating with an NFC reader is conceived, the NFC device comprising an NFC integrated circuit, an antenna unit connected to said NFC integrated circuit, and a detuning circuit, wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to cause a periodic detuning of the antenna unit to a detuned state, such that data transmission between the NFC device and the NFC reader may take place periodically while the NFC device and the NFC reader remain within communication range of each other.

Claims

1. An NFC device for communicating with an NFC reader, the NFC device comprising

an NFC integrated circuit,

an antenna unit connected to said NFC integrated circuit,

wherein the NFC device further comprises a detuning circuit,

wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to cause a periodic detuning of the antenna unit to a detuned state, such that data transmission between the NFC device and the NFC reader may take place periodically while the NFC device and the NFC reader remain within communication range of each other;

wherein the detuning circuit does not switch the antenna unit off during the periodic detuning;

wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to receive a detuning signal from a processing unit, and

wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to detune the antenna unit in response to receiving said detuning signal.

2. An NFC device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the detuning circuit causes said periodic detuning of the antenna unit to a detuned state by periodically short-circuiting a coil of said antenna unit.

3. An NFC device as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the detuning circuit comprises a first capacitor connected to a tuning capacitance and to a first input of the antenna unit, a second capacitor connected to a second input of the antenna unit, a first transistor connected to the first capacitor and to ground (GND), a second transistor connected to the second capacitor and to ground (GND),

wherein the base of the first transistor and the base of the second transistor are connected to an output of the processing unit via a first resistor and a second resistor, respectively, such that the first transistor and the second transistor are arranged to be activated by the detuning signal (NFC_DEAD) from the processing unit, thereby enabling said short-circuiting of the coil of the antenna unit.

4. An NFC device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the antenna unit is in the detuned state when it has an operating frequency that substantially deviates from 13.56 MHz.

5. A cover comprising an NFC device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said cover is arranged to accommodate a mobile device comprising said NFC reader.

6. A cover as claimed in claim 5,

wherein said cover comprises at least one sensor which is arranged to measure one or more physical phenomena, and

wherein the NFC device is arranged to transmit measurement results produced by said sensor to the NFC reader when the antenna unit is not in the detuned state.

7. A method of communication between an NFC device and an NFC reader, the NFC device comprising an NFC integrated circuit, an antenna unit connected to said NFC integrated circuit, characterized in that the NFC device further comprises a detuning circuit,

wherein the detuning circuit causes a periodic detuning of the antenna unit to a detuned state, such that data transmission between the NFC device and the NFC reader takes place periodically while the NFC device and the NFC reader remain within communication range of each other;

wherein the detuning circuit does not switch the antenna unit off during the periodic detuning;

wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to receive a detuning signal from a processing unit, and

wherein the detuning circuit is arranged to detune the antenna unit in response to receiving said detuning signal.