Apparatus and method for controling power in a short-range communication device

• US 9,749,953 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2013
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Kwang-Won, Moon, Young-Sin, Jeong, Khi-Soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzales, April G
• Application Number:
  US14/049,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20140099889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411, 455 412
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method for controlling power in a short-range communication device are configured such that when the short-range wireless communication device is connected to a portable terminal by Near Field Communication (NFC), a link key request message requesting a link key is transmitted to the portable terminal, and upon receipt of a link key confirm message from the portable terminal in response to the link key request message, the short-range wireless communication device is powered on.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a second Bluetooth (BT) unit configured to establish a BT connection with a first BT unit of a portable terminal; and

a second Near Field Communication (NFC) unit configured to;

transmit a link key request message, requesting a link key used for establishing the BT connection with the portable terminal, to the portable terminal if the second NFC unit is connected to a first NFC unit of the portable terminal by NFC while the electronic device is powered off, and

power on the electronic device upon receipt of a link key confirm message from the portable terminal in response to the link key request message.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second NFC unit is configured to perform NFC using induced current as power.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the link key request message includes an Identifier (ID) of the electronic device.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the link key confirm message includes an instruction indicating whether the portable terminal includes a link key corresponding to the ID of the electronic device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the BT connection is established using an included link key when the link key confirm message includes the link key.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second BT unit is further configured to:

compare the link key with one or more pre-stored link keys; and

if the link key is identical to any of the pre-stored link keys, transmit a connection request message to the first BT unit.

7. An apparatus for controlling power of an electronic device, comprising:

a first Near Field Communication (NFC) unit configured to receive a link key request message, requesting a link key used for establishing a Bluetooth (BT) connection with the electronic device, from the electronic device, and to transmit a link key confirm message to the electronic device in response to the link key request message when the first NFC unit is connected to a second NFC unit of the electronic device by NFC while the electronic device is powered off; and

a first Bluetooth (BT) unit configured, upon receipt of the link key request message from the first NFC unit, to search for a link key corresponding to the electronic device in one or more pre-stored link keys and to generate the link key confirm message based on a search result,

wherein the electronic device is powered on upon receipt of the link key confirm message.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the NFC is performed using induced current as power.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the link key request message includes an Identifier (ID) of the electronic device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the link key confirm message includes an instruction indicating whether a portable terminal includes a link key corresponding to the ID of the electronic device.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first BT unit is configured to establish a BT connection with a second BT unit of the electronic device using detected link key upon receipt of a connection request message from the electronic device.

12. A power control method in an electronic device, comprising:

transmitting a link key request message, requesting a link key used for establishing a Bluetooth (BT) connection with a portable terminal via a BT unit, to the portable terminal when the electronic device is connected to the portable terminal by Near Field Communication (NFC) while the electronic device is powered off; and

powering on the electronic device, upon receipt of a link key confirm message from the portable terminal in response to the link key request message.

13. The power control method of claim 12, wherein NFC is performed using induced current as power.

14. The power control method of claim 12, wherein the link key request message includes an Identifier (ID) of the electronic device.

15. The power control method of claim 14, wherein the link key confirm message includes an instruction indicating whether the portable terminal includes a link key corresponding to the ID of the electronic device.

16. The power control method of claim 12, further comprising, when the link key confirm message includes a link key, establishing the BT connection with the portable terminal using the link key.

17. A method for controlling power of an electronic device in a portable terminal, comprising:

receiving a link key request message, requesting a link key used for establishing a Bluetooth (BT) connection with the electronic device, from the electronic device when the portable terminal is connected to the electronic device by Near Field Communication (NFC) while the electronic device is powered off;

searching for a link key corresponding to the electronic device among one or more pre-stored link keys and generating a link key confirm message based on a search result; and

transmitting the link key confirm message to the electronic device by NFC,

wherein the electronic device is powered on upon receipt of the link key confirm message.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein NFC is performed using induced current as power.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the link key request message includes an Identifier (ID) of the electronic device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the link key confirm message includes an instruction indicating whether the portable terminal includes a link key corresponding to the ID of the electronic device.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising, upon receipt of a connection request message from the electronic device, establishing a BT connection with the electronic device using detected link key.