NFC routing method

• US 9,967,798 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2017
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: STMicroelectronics International N.V. (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: Proton World Lnternational NV
• Inventors: Van Nieuwenhuyze, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): WEST, LEWIS G
• Application Number:
  US15/421,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20170141817A1
• Time in Patent Office: 462 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/45 Transponders
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• 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 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing

Abstract

A near field communication (NFC) router of a mobile device receives a first message from an external NFC device and, in accordance with a first active rule, processes the first message as being targeted to a first host processing device of the mobile device. When the NFC router receives a second message from the external NFC device and detects a bit pattern in the second message indicating that the first host processing device is not an intended target of the second message, the NFC router activates a second rule. When the NFC router receives a further first message from the external NFC device, the NFC router processes the further first message as being targeted to a target host processing device in accordance with the second active rule.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving by a near field communication (NFC) circuit of a mobile device, a first message from an external NFC device and, in accordance with a first rule, processing said first message as being targeted to a first processing device of said mobile device;

receiving by said NFC circuit a second message from said external NFC device;

detecting by said NFC circuit a bit pattern in said second message indicating that said first processing device is not an intended target of said second message and, when it is detected that the first processing device in not the intended target of said second message, activating a second rule; and

receiving by said NFC circuit a further first message from said external NFC device, and in accordance with said second rule, processing said further first message as being targeted to said intended target processing device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein activating said second rule comprises at least one of:

storing in a memory an indication that said second rule is active; and

storing in the memory an indication that said first rule is deactivated.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising accessing by said NFC circuit, in response to receiving said first message, a lookup table identifying, based on at least some of the data bits forming said first message and on whether the first or second rule is active, the first processing device.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising accessing by said NFC circuit, in response to receiving said further first message, said lookup table, wherein said lookup table further identifies, based on at least some of the data bits forming said further first message and on whether the first or second rule is active, the intended target processing device.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting by said NFC circuit, in response to said first message, a response message to said external device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said response message comprises an identifier of said first processing device, and wherein said bit pattern is a combination in said second message of at least part of the identifier of said first processing device and of one or more bits indicating an NFC application type incompatible with said first processing device.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving via said NFC circuit a further second message from said external NFC device and in accordance with said second active rule, routing said further second message to said intended target processing device.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising, prior to receiving said further second message:

transmitting by said NFC circuit, in response to said further first message, a further response message to said external device, said further response message comprising an identifier of said intended target processing device, wherein said further second message comprises said identifier of said intended target processing device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said intended target processing device is a secure element of said mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said intended target processing device emulates the behavior of a contactless integrated circuit card.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said first message and said further first message are polling messages of NFC RF transmission type F.

12. A mobile device, comprising:

a plurality of processing devices; and

near field communication (NFC) circuitry, which, in operation;

receives a first message from an external NFC device and, in accordance with a first rule, processes said first message as targeted to a first processing device of said mobile device;

receives a second message from said external NFC device;

detects a bit pattern in said second message indicating that said first processing device is not an intended target processing device of said second message and, when the bit pattern indicating said first processing device is not the intended target processing device, activates a second rule; and

receives a further first message from said external NFC device, and in accordance with said second rule, processes said further first message as targeted to said intended target processing device.

13. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein said intended target processing device is a secure element of said mobile device.

14. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein said intended target processing device is one of a subscriber identification module (SIM) circuit and a universal SIM of said mobile device.

15. The mobile device of claim 12, comprising a memory storing a lookup table, wherein, in operation, the NFC circuitry selects an intended processing device based on the lookup table and at least some of the bits forming each of said first messages and on whether the first or second rule is active.

16. A device, comprising:

one or more memories; and

processing circuitry, which, in operation;

receives a first message from an external near field communication (NFC) device and, in accordance with a first rule, processes said first message as targeted to a first processing device of a plurality of processing devices;

receives a second message from said external NFC device;

determines, based on a bit pattern in said second message, whether said first processing device is an intended target processing device of said second message and, when the bit pattern indicates said first processing device is not the intended target processing device, activates a second rule; and

receives a third message from said external NFC device, and in accordance with said second rule, processes said third message as targeted to said intended target processing device.

17. The device of claim 16, comprising an NFC router including the processing circuitry and the one or more memories.

18. The device of claim 16 wherein the memory stores a look-up table and the processing circuitry, in operation, identifies intended processing devices of the plurality of processing devices using the look-up table.

19. The device of claim 16 wherein the first and third messages are NFC polling messages.

20. The device of claim 16, comprising the plurality of processing devices, wherein the plurality of processing devices include a host processor of the device and at least one secure element of the device.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose contents cause near field communication (NFC) circuitry to perform a method, the method comprising:

processing a first message in accordance with a first rule as being targeted to a first processing device;

detecting, based on a bit pattern in a second message, whether said first processing device is an intended target of said second message and, when it is detected that the first processing device in not the intended target of said second message;

activating a second rule; and

processing a third message in accordance with said second rule as being targeted to the intended target processing device.

22. The medium of claim 21 wherein activating said second rule comprises at least one of:

storing in a memory an indication that said second rule is active; and

storing in the memory an indication that said first rule is deactivated.

23. The medium of claim 21 wherein the method comprises accessing by said NFC circuitry, in response to receiving a message, a lookup table and identifying, based on at least some data bits of said received message and on whether the first or second rule is active, an intended processing device of the received message.

24. The medium of claim 21 wherein the NFC circuitry is an NFC router of a mobile device and said first, second and third messages are received from an NFC device external to the mobile device.