An example embodiment relates generally to interaction between a mobile terminal and a radio frequency identification (RFID) communications circuit and, more particularly, to interaction between a mobile terminal and an RFID communications circuit carried by the mobile terminal.
Mobile terminals, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or the like, include a wide variety of functionality. Nevertheless, following the manufacture and deployment of the mobile terminal, it may be desirable to enhance or otherwise change the functionality offered by the mobile terminal. Some of the functionality may be enhanced or changed by downloading additional or different software, applications or the like to the mobile terminal with the downloaded software or applications configuring the mobile terminal to perform other functionality.
However, it may be sometimes be desirable to enhance or otherwise modify the functionality of a mobile terminal in a manner that may not be accommodated by downloading additional software to the mobile terminal. For example, it may be desirable for a mobile terminal to provide additional functionality that would require additional hardware, such as one or more additional sensors. In these instances, it may be challenging to modify the mobile terminal in such as a manner as to provide the hardware necessary to perform the enhanced functionality, thereby potentially limiting the functionality that may be supported by the mobile terminal.
A method and apparatus are therefore provided to allow the functionality offered by a mobile terminal to be enhanced, even in instances in which the additional functionality requires additional hardware. In this regard, the method and apparatus may facilitate the interaction of a mobile terminal and an RFID communications circuit carried by or otherwise associated with the mobile terminal such that the RFID communications circuit facilitates the provision of the additional functionality following the manufacture and deployment of the mobile terminal. Moreover, the method and apparatus of an example embodiment may permit the mobile terminal to interact with a plurality of RFID communications circuits, either concurrently or at different instances of time, so as to permit the functionality provided by a mobile terminal to more readily modified.
In one embodiment, a method is provided that includes causing power to be provided to an RFID communications circuit carried by a mobile terminal following activation of the RFID communications circuit. The method of this embodiment also receives information from the RFID communications circuit and causes an operation to be performed with a processor based upon the information received from the RFID communications circuit.
In another embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code with the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to cause power to be provided to an RFID communications circuit carried by a mobile terminal following activation of the RFID communications circuit. The at least one memory and the computer program code of this embodiment are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive information from the RFID communications circuit and to cause an operation to be performed upon the information received from the RFID communications circuit.
In a further embodiment, a computer program product is provided that includes at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein. The computer-executable program code portions include program instructions configured to cause power to be provided to an RFID communications circuit carried by a mobile terminal following activation of the RFID communications circuit. The computer-executable program code portions of this embodiment also include program instructions configured to receive information from the RFID communications circuit and program instructions configured to cause an operation to be performed with a processor based upon the information received from the RFID communications circuit.
In yet another embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes means for causing power to be provided to an RFID communications circuit carried by a mobile terminal following activation of the RFID communications circuit. The apparatus of this embodiment also includes means for receiving information from the RFID communications circuit and means for causing an operation to be performed with a processor based upon the information received from the RFID communications circuit.
In the foregoing embodiments, various operations may be caused to be performed based upon the information received from the RFID communications circuit including, for example, causing the RFID communications circuit to be programmed for subsequent operation including, for example, opening a browser application to facilitate programming of the RFID communications circuit. In one embodiment, the information received from the information circuit may include an identification of the RFID communications circuit, such that the operation that is caused to be performed is based upon the identification of the RFID communications circuit. Further, the operation that is caused to be performed may include causing a display to be presented upon a user interface of the mobile terminal.
In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes an antenna and a plurality of RFID communications circuit elements switchably connected to the antenna. Each RFID communications circuit element of this embodiment is configurable to perform a respective function. Each of the RFID communications circuit elements of this embodiment is also configured to receive power from a mobile terminal via the antenna following the switchable connection of the respective RFID communications circuit element to the antenna. Each of the RFID communications circuit elements of this embodiment is also configured to provide information to the mobile terminal following the switchable connection of the respective RFID communications circuit element to the antenna. The apparatus of this embodiment is also configured to be carried by a mobile terminal.
The apparatus of one embodiment may also include a cover for the mobile terminal that includes the antenna and the plurality of RFID communications circuit elements. The RFID communications circuit elements of one embodiment may include respective tags configured to be attached to the mobile terminal. In one embodiment, an RFID communications circuit element is configured to be programmed by the mobile terminal following provision of the information to the mobile terminal. The apparatus may also include a plurality of switches, each of which is associated with a respective RFID communications circuit element in order to switchably connect the respective RFID communications circuit element to the antenna. At least one of the switches may be responsive to user input. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus may include a sensor such that at least one of the switches is responsive to the sensor. In this embodiment, the sensor may include a multi-level sensor operably connected to one or more switches.
Having thus described certain embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and/or stored in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention.
Additionally, as used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ refers to (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analog circuitry and/or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits and computer program product(s) comprising software and/or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ also includes an implementation comprising one or more processors and/or portion(s) thereof and accompanying software and/or firmware. As another example, the term ‘circuitry’ as used herein also includes, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, other network device, and/or other computing device.
As defined herein a “computer-readable storage medium,” which refers to a non-transitory, physical storage medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory device), can be differentiated from a “computer-readable transmission medium,” which refers to an electromagnetic signal.
Referring now to
The mobile terminal 10 may be embodied in various manners including as a PDA, pager, mobile television, mobile telephone, gaming device, camera, camera phone, video recorder, audio/video player, radio, global positioning system (GPS) device, navigation device, or any combination of the aforementioned, and other types of voice and text communications systems. Regardless of the type of mobile terminal, the mobile terminal may include or otherwise embody an apparatus 20 as shown, for example, in
In this embodiment, the apparatus 20 may include or otherwise be in communication with a processor 22, a memory 24, a communication interface 26 and a user interface 28. In some embodiments, the processor (and/or co-processors or any other processing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated with the processor) may be in communication with the memory via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus. The memory may include, for example, one or more non-transitory volatile and/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory device may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) comprising gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processor). The memory may be configured to store information, data, applications, instructions or the like for enabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention. For example, the memory could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processor. Additionally or alternatively, the memory could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processor.
As noted above, the apparatus 20 may, in some embodiments, be a mobile terminal 10 configured to employ an example embodiment of the present invention. However, in some embodiments, the apparatus may be embodied as a chip or chip set. In other words, the apparatus may comprise one or more physical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and/or wires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide physical strength, conservation of size, and/or limitation of electrical interaction for component circuitry included thereon. The apparatus may therefore, in some cases, be configured to implement an embodiment of the present invention on a single chip or as a single “system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipset may constitute means for performing one or more operations for providing the functionalities described herein.
The processor 22 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processor may be embodied as one or more of various processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing circuitry including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processor may include one or more processing cores configured to perform independently. A multi-core processor may enable multiprocessing within a single physical package. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the bus to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining and/or multithreading.
In an example embodiment, the processor 22 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 24 or otherwise accessible to the processor. Alternatively or additionally, the processor may be configured to execute hard coded functionality. As such, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof, the processor may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodiment of the present invention while configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processor is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processor may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processor is embodied as an executor of software instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor to perform the algorithms and/or operations described herein when the instructions are executed. However, in some cases, the processor may be a processor of a specific device (e.g., a computing device) adapted for employing an embodiment of the present invention by further configuration of the processor by instructions for performing the algorithms and/or operations described herein. The processor may include, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to support operation of the processor.
The user interface 28 may be in communication with the processor 22 to receive an indication of a user input at the user interface and/or to provide information, such as an audible, visual, mechanical or other output, to the user. As shown in
The apparatus 20 of the illustrated embodiment is configured to communicate with other devices including, but not limited to, RFID communications circuits 14 and, as such, may include a communication interface 26. In these embodiments, the communications interface may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to the devices that are interacting. In this regard, the communication interface may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and/or software for enabling communications with a wireless communication network. Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface may include an antenna and supporting hardware and/or software for supporting RFID communications, such as with one or more RFID communications circuits. In some environments, the communication interface may alternatively or also support wired communication. As such, for example, the communication interface may include a communication modem and/or other hardware/software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.
The RFID communications circuit 14 may be embodied in various manners. See
The RFID communications circuit 14 may be configured to transmit and/or receive various types of RFID signals. In one embodiment, the RFID communications circuit is embodied as a near field communications (NFC) circuit and is correspondingly configured to transmit and/or receive NFC signals. By way of example, but not of limitation, the RFID communications circuit is hereinafter described as an NFC circuit having an antenna 32, NFC circuit element 36 and switch 34, although other types of RFID communications circuits may be employed in other embodiments.
The switch 34 may be a mechanical switch configured to be responsive to user input so as to be manually actuated in order to be closed and opened. In the illustrated embodiment, the switch would be closed in order to permit the mobile terminal 10 to communicate with the NFC circuit 14, and would be open in order to prevent communications between the mobile terminal and the NFC circuit. In another embodiment, the switch may be actuated based upon one or more parameters. In an embodiment in which the NFC circuit elements includes one or more sensors, for example, the switch may be responsive to the output of a respective sensor so as to be actuated, such as to be closed, in an instance in which the output of the sensor satisfies a predefined threshold. For example, the switch may be responsive to a temperature sensor so as to be actuated in instances in which the temperature is above a predefined threshold. Alternatively, the switch may be responsive to a light sensor so as to be actuated in instances in which the mobile terminal is exposed to daylight. In another embodiment, the switch may be responsive to an accelerometer so as to be actuated in instances in which the mobile terminal is in motion. Still further, the switch may be responsive to a plurality of sensors so as to be actuated in instances in which a combination of the outputs provided by the sensors satisfies respective predefined thresholds. In yet another embodiment, the switch may be responsive to a combination of manual actuation attributable, for example, to user input and the parameters measured or sensed by one or more sensors.
Regardless of the manner of actuation, once the switch 34 is actuated such that the antenna 32 is in communication with the NFC circuit element 34, the mobile terminal 10 may communicate with the NFC circuit 14 and may perform various operations in response to and based upon the functionality that is supported by the NFC circuit. For example, in instances in which the NFC circuit includes one or more sensors, the mobile terminal may be configured to perform various functions based upon the outputs provided or the parameters measured by the sensor(s), such as by providing functionality that is conditioned upon the satisfaction of predefined criteria by the outputs provided or the parameters measured by the sensor.
By way of example, the operations performed by an apparatus 20 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention taken from the perspective of the mobile terminal 10 are illustrated in
Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions and combinations of operations for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
Referring now to block 40 of
As shown in more detail in
Once the NFC circuit 14 has been provided power, the apparatus 20 may include means, such as the processor 22, the communication interface 26 or the like, for receiving information from the NFC circuit. See block 42 of
The NFC circuit 14 may provide a variety of information. For example, the NFC circuit may provide information, such as an identifier, that identifies the NFC circuit. Additionally, or alternatively, the NFC circuit may provide information that includes one or more measured parameters, such as temperature, humidity, the presence of light, acceleration or the like. In this regard, the information regarding the various parameters may be provided in terms of the actual measurement and/or in terms of the satisfaction of one or more thresholds by the measurements. Additionally or alternatively, the NFC circuit may provide a link or an address, e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), to a webpage, information about an application that is to be activated by the mobile terminal 10, program instructions to be executed by the mobile terminal or the like. Still further, the NFC circuit may be configured to provide other types of information in other embodiments.
As shown in block 44 of
In another embodiment in which the information provided by the NFC circuit 14 includes the identification of the NFC circuit, the apparatus 20, such as the processor 22 or the like, may be configured to cause an operation to be performed based upon the identification of the NFC circuit. In this regard, the apparatus, such as the processor, the memory 24 or the like, may include or store a plurality of predefined operations or features, each associated with one or more NFC circuits. In response to the identification of a respective NFC circuit, the apparatus, such as the processor, may determine the predefined operation or feature associated with the respective NFC circuit and may, in turn, activate and commence performance of the operation or feature that had been previously disabled or otherwise inactive.
Still further, the apparatus 20, such as the processor 22, the user interface 28 or the like, may cause an operation to be performed based upon the information received from the NFC circuit 14 by presenting information upon the display 12 of the mobile terminal 10. As described above, the information presented upon the display may solicit input from the user that may, in turn, be utilized to configure or otherwise program the NFC circuit or the information that is presented upon the display may be provided for other purposes, such as to provide information to the user including, for example, information provided by the NFC circuit, e.g., parameters measured by the sensor(s), such as temperature, humidity, acceleration or the like.
The mobile terminal 10 and the NFC circuit 14 may be configured to repeatedly communicate via NFC. For example, the mobile terminal may repeatedly query the NFC circuit for information, such as on a periodic or other basis. Additionally, or alternatively, the NFC circuit may provide information to the mobile terminal in instances in which the information has not been solicited, such as in response to the satisfaction of a predefined threshold, upon the expiration of a timer, upon detection of a predefined event or the like. In some instances in which the switch 34 is configured to remain “on” following activation, the NFC circuit may be deactivated, such as by opening the switch 34 in response to user input and/or in response to the failure of one or more parameters that are measured by the NFC circuit element 36 to satisfy a predefined threshold and/or after a predefined time delay. In other embodiments, the switch may be configured to remain activated for only a period of time following its initial activation and will then be deactivated, thereby allowing for communications with the mobile terminal without any meaningful interruption. For example, a user may mechanically actuate the switch, which then remains activated so long as the user continues the mechanical actuation, but which is deactivated upon cessation of the mechanical actuation. As another example, the NFC circuit element may include a temperature sensor such that the switch is activated for only a predefined time period in response to the temperature satisfying a threshold so as to permit the NFC circuit to report the temperature to the mobile terminal. Thereafter, the mobile terminal and the NFC circuit may cease communications while the NFC circuit is deactivated, with such communication commencing again upon reactivation of the NFC circuit.
As noted above, the NFC circuit 14 may be removed or otherwise disassociated from the mobile terminal 10, such as by detaching the NFC circuit from the mobile terminal. A different NFC circuit may then be attached to the mobile terminal and may interact with the mobile terminal in the manner described above. In one embodiment, a plurality of NFC circuits may be carried by the mobile terminal, such as by being attached to different portions of the housing of the mobile terminal. Each NFC circuit may provide different functionality to the mobile terminal. In this embodiment, each of the NFC circuits may independently communicate with the mobile terminal. In one embodiment illustrated in
In one embodiment shown in
While NFC circuits 14 are described to be carried by and to interact with a mobile terminal 10 by being either attached to a mobile terminal or included within a cover 60 of a mobile terminal, the NFC circuits may be carried proximate the mobile terminal in other manners. For example, the NFC circuits may be embedded within an item of clothing, such as a jacket. In this regard, the NFC circuit may be positioned in a jacket or other article of clothing proximate a pocket in which a mobile terminal will be placed so as to permit the mobile terminal and the NFC circuit to interact in the manner described above.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.