Enabling near field communications using indicators

• US 9,654,905 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bell, Mark, Boss, Gregory J., Finn, Peter G., Hamilton, II, Rick A.
• Primary Examiner(s): AYOTUNDE, AYODEJI O
• Application Number:
  US14/680,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20160302025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411, 455410, 455411
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/70 specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• 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

Embodiments of the present invention provide time-efficient and effective systems and methods for enabling near field communications (NFC) on electronic devices using one or more indicators. Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods that capture and utilize indicators such as, motion of the electronic device or of a user, electromagnetic wave signals, and audio signals to more easily establish an NFC link between a source computer system and a target computer system.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a Near Field Communications (NFC) link between a source computer and a target computer, the method comprising:

receiving, by a source computer, information for a primary user-defined indicator, including at least information describing a first movement of the source computer along at least a linear direction, and receiving a secondary user-defined indicator, including information representing a first quick-response (QR) code;

receiving, by the source computer from one or more sensors of the source computer, a first set of information, including at least information describing a second movement of the source computer along at least the linear direction;

determining, by the source computer, whether the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator;

responsive to determining that the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator, activating, by the source computer, a camera of the source computer;

receiving, by the camera of the source computer, a second set of information, including information representing a second QR code displayed by the target computer;

determining, by the source computer, whether the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator; and

responsive to determining that the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator, establishing, by the source computer, the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the second set of information does not match the secondary user-defined indicator, disabling, by the source computer, an NFC chip of the source computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer comprises:

activating, by the source computer, the NFC chip of the source computer by polling a radio signal to establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

disabling, by the source computer, the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer after a predefined time.

5. A computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media for establishing a Near Field Communications (NFC) link between a source computer and a target computer, comprising:

the one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to receive information for a primary user-defined indicator, including at least information describing a first movement of the source computer along at least a linear direction, and receive a secondary user-defined indicator, including information representing a first quick-response (QR) code;

program instructions to receive a first set of information, including at least information describing a second movement of the source computer along at least the linear direction;

program instructions to determine whether the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator;

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator, activate a camera of the source computer;

program instructions to receive a second set of information, including information representing a second QR code displayed on the target computer;

program instructions to determine whether the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator; and

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator, establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media further comprise:

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the second set of information does not match the secondary user-defined indicator, disable an NFC chip of the source computer.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the program instructions to establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer comprise:

program instructions to activate the NFC chip of the source computer by polling a radio signal to establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media further comprise:

program instructions to disable the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer after a predefined time.

9. A computer system for establishing a Near Field Communications (NFC) link between a source computer and a target computer, comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media;

program instructions stored on the computer readable media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to receive information for a primary user-defined indicator, including at least information describing a first movement of the source computer along at least a linear direction, and receive a secondary user-defined indicator, including information representing a first quick-response (QR) code;

program instructions to receive a first set of information, including at least information describing a second movement of the source computer along at least the linear direction;

program instructions to determine whether the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator;

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the first set of information matches the primary user-defined indicator, activate a camera of the source computer;

program instructions to receive a second set of information, including information representing a second QR code displayed on the target computer;

program instructions to determine whether the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator; and

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the second set of information matches the secondary user-defined indicator, establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media further comprise:

program instructions to, responsive to determining that the second set of information does not match the secondary user-defined indicator, disable an NFC chip of the source computer.

11. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer comprise:

program instructions to activate the NFC chip of the source computer by polling a radio signal to establish the NFC link between the source computer and the target computer.