Method and apparatus for improving NFC activation and data exchange reporting mechanismsPriority requirements according to 35U.S.C. § 119
This patent application claims priority from provisional application No.61/491,788 entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS for improving NFC ACTIVATION mechanism" filed on 31/5/2011, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application AND is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Background
FIELD
The disclosed aspects relate generally to communication between devices, and more particularly, to methods and systems for improving mechanisms to report activation in Near Field Communication (NFC) devices.
Background
Technological advances have resulted in smaller and more powerful personal computing devices. For example, there currently exist a wide variety of portable personal computing devices, including wireless computing devices such as portable wireless telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and paging devices that are each small and light and therefore easily carried by users. More specifically, for example, portable wireless telephones further include cellular telephones that communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Many such cellular telephones are being manufactured with ever increasing computing capabilities and, as such, are becoming tantamount to small personal computers and hand-held PDAs. Further, such devices are capable of enabling communications using a wide variety of frequencies and applicable coverage areas, such as cellular communications, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) communications, NFC, and so forth.
An NFC-enabled device may initially detect a remote NFC device (e.g., NFC tag, target device, etc.). Thereafter, a notification may be generated in the NFC-enabled device to provide information associated with the remote NFC device. An example notification (e.g., RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF message) is provided with reference to table 1. Note that the tables referred to in table 1 correspond to the tables described in the NFC standard (not included).
Table 1: example NFC Notification
As is apparent from table 1, the notification contains information such as "NFC RF technology and mode" and "NFC RF technology specific parameters". Once enough information is collected, the notification may be generated and sent along with information about which NFC RF technology (e.g., NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F, etc.) was used to collect the information. Currently, there is no means to include in the notification information about the bit rate used for data exchange and/or the NFCRF technology different from the bit rate and/or the NFC RF technology used in the information collection. Notifications based on table 1 may require the device to assume that what happens during activation will remain intact during the data exchange. As one example, information gathering may be done using NFC-A at 106kbit/s, but data exchange may be switched to NFC-F at 212 or 424 kbit/s. The notification as depicted in table 1 does not provide a way to report NFC RF technology changes or report the actual bit rate that may be selected for subsequent data exchanges.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide improved apparatus and methods for reporting NFC RF technology usage of NFC devices in activation and data exchange.
SUMMARY
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Aspects are described in connection with improving mechanisms for reporting NFC RF technology usage of NFC devices in activation and data exchange. In one example, with an NFC device, an NFCC may be configured to obtain a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using the first NFC RF technology. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. The NFCC may be further configured to configure communications to be supported by the second NFCRF technology for use during a data exchange phase of the communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
According to related aspects, a method provides a mechanism for reporting NFC RF technology usage by NFC devices in activation and data exchange. The method can comprise the following steps: a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using a first NFC RF technology are acquired. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. Additionally, the method may include configuring communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of the communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
Another aspect relates to a communication device. The wireless communication device may include: means for obtaining a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using a first NFC RF technology. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. Additionally, the communications device may include means for configuring communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of the communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
Another aspect relates to a communication device. The apparatus may include: an NFC controller (NFCC) configured to acquire a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using the first NFC RF technology. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. The NFCC may also be configured to configure communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of a communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
Another aspect relates to a computer program product, which may have a computer-readable medium including code for: a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using a first NFC RF technology are acquired. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. The computer-readable medium may also include code for configuring communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of a communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed and the present description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.
Brief description of the drawings
The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which:
fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with an aspect.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with an aspect.
Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an NFC environment in accordance with an aspect.
Fig. 4 is a flow diagram describing one example of a mechanism for improving the reporting of NFC RF technology usage by NFC devices in activation and data exchange, according to one aspect.
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram example architecture of a communication device according to an aspect; and
fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of an example communication system for improving a mechanism to report NFC RF technology usage by NFC devices in activation and data exchange, according to one aspect.
Detailed Description
Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It should be understood, however, that aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details.
In general, a device may identify a target NFC device and/or tag when the device is within the coverage area of the target NFC device, reader/writer, card, and/or tag. Thereafter, the NFC device may retrieve sufficient information to allow communication to be established. As described herein, communication between NFC devices may be accomplished through a variety of NFC technologies, such as, but not limited to, NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F, and the like. Further, different NFC technologies may be enabled during different phases of communication (e.g., an activation phase, a data exchange phase, etc.).
The term "wireless power source" as used in this document means any form of energy associated with an electric field, a magnetic field, an electromagnetic field, or a field that is otherwise transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver without the use of a physical electromagnetic conductor.
Fig. 1 illustrates a wireless transmission or charging system 100 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the invention. Input power 102 is provided to a transmitter 104 to generate a radiated field 106 for providing energy transfer. The receiver 108 couples to the radiated field 106 and generates an output power 110 for storage or consumption by a device (not shown) coupled to the output power 110. Both the transmitter 104 and the receiver 108 are separated by a distance 112. In an exemplary embodiment, the transmitter 104 and receiver 108 are configured according to a mutual resonant relationship, and where the resonant frequency of the receiver 108 is very close to the resonant frequency of the transmitter 104, transmission losses between the transmitter 104 and receiver 108 are minimal when the receiver 108 is located within the "near field" of the radiated field 106.
The transmitter 104 further comprises a transmit antenna 114 for providing means for energy transmission. The receiver 108 comprises a receive antenna 118 as means for energy reception. The transmit and receive antennas are sized according to the applications and devices associated therewith. As mentioned, efficient energy transfer occurs by coupling most of the energy in the near field of the transmit antenna to the receive antenna rather than propagating most of the energy in the electromagnetic wave to the far field. When in the near field, a coupling mode may be generated between the transmit antenna 114 and the receive antenna 118. The area around the antennas 114 and 118 where this near-field coupling may occur is referred to herein as a coupling-mode region.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example near field wireless communication system. The transmitter 204 includes an oscillator 222, a power amplifier 224, and a filtering and matching circuit 226. The oscillator is configured to generate a signal of a desired frequency, which is adjustable in response to the adjustment signal 223. The oscillator signal may be amplified by a power amplifier 224, the power amplifier 224 having an amount of amplification responsive to a control signal 225. A filtering and matching circuit 226 may be included to filter out harmonics or other unwanted frequencies and match the impedance of the transmitter 204 to the transmit antenna 214.
The receiver 108 may include a matching circuit 132 and a rectifier and switching circuit 134 to generate a DC power output to charge a battery 136 as shown in fig. 2 or to power a device (not shown) coupled to the receiver. A matching circuit 132 may be included to match the impedance of the receiver 108 to the receive antenna 118. The receiver 108 and the transmitter 104 may communicate over separate communication channels 119 (e.g., bluetooth, zigbee, cellular, etc.).
Referring to fig. 3, a block diagram of a communication network 300 according to an aspect is illustrated. The communication network 300 may include a communication device 310, the communication device 310 may communicate with a remote NFC device 330 using one or more NFC technologies 326 (e.g., NFC-A, NFC-B, NFC-F, etc.) through an antenna 324. In another aspect, the communication device 310 may be configured to connect to an access network and/or a core network (e.g., a CDMA network, a GPRS network, a UMTS network, and other types of wired and wireless communication networks).
In one aspect, communication device 310 may include an NFC controller 312, an NFC Controller Interface (NCI) 322, and a device host 340. In one aspect, device host 340 may be configured to obtain information from remote NFC endpoint 330 through NCI322 and NFC controller 312 via NFC module 332 associated with remote NFC endpoint 330.
As part of establishing the communication link, NFC controller 312 may obtain information from remote NFC device 330 through NCI 322. Such information may include a first RF technology and mode value 314, a second RF technology and mode value 316, a data transmission rate 318 associated with the second NFC RF technology, and a data reception rate 320 associated with the second NFC RF technology. Further, in an aspect, NFC controller 312 can be configured to aggregate the acquired NFC information into a notification (e.g., an RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF message). By way of example and not limitation, table 2 provides notification messages that NFC controller 312 may generate. The differences between table 1 and table 2 are indicated using bold in table 2.
Table 2: example Notification messages
As used herein, a polling mode may be defined as a mode during which the communication device 310 is transmitting, while a listener mode may be defined as a mode during which the communication device 310 is capable of receiving communications. As mentioned above, the tables referenced in table 2 correspond to the tables described in the NFC standard (not included).
Referring to table 2 in comparison to table 1, the additional parameters included in the notification allow reporting of information about the values that have been selected for use after activation. Thus, the notification can be extended to include both information collected during activation and parameters negotiated for the next activation (e.g., during a data exchange). Further, depending on the selected target handle/RF protocol, NFC controller 312 may perform a protocol activation process prior to activating the RF interface. Protocol activation may be different for each RF interface. In general, the target handle value conveyed in RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF is valid until the state is changed to an IDLE state (e.g., RFST _ IDLE).
When all phases before the RF interface activation are successfully performed, the NFC controller 312 may send a notification (e.g., RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF) to the device host 340 with information about the activated RF interface (RF interface type). The NFC controller 312 can also include activation parameters in the notification. The activation parameters may be different for each RF interface, while the other parameters in the RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF may be the same as those used in the RF _ DISCOVER _ NTF message. The NFC controller 312 can include the NFC RF technology and mode used during the activation process in the notification (e.g., activate the NFC RF technology and mode). NFC controller 312 may also include any NFC RF technology specific parameters that may have been collected during the activation process. These included parameters may be defined for the RF technology and mode values used during the activation process. If the RF PROTOCOL is progress _ NFC _ DEP or progress _ ISO _ DEP, NFC controller 312 may include bit rates for poll-to-listen and listen-to-poll that are established during activation, as well as bit rates for poll-to-listen and listen-to-poll that may be used for subsequent data exchanges. If the RF PROTOCOL is a PROTOCOL other than PROTOCOL _ NFC _ DEP or PROTOCOL _ ISO _ DEP, NFC controller 312 may include bit rates for poll-to-listen and snoop-to-poll that may be used for subsequent data exchanges.
In one aspect, NFC controller 312 also supports the possibility of providing information related to a change from a passive communication link (e.g., ISO18092 passive communication link) to an active communication link (e.g., ISO18092 active communication link) by explicitly including information such as first RF technology and mode value 314 and second RF technology and mode value 316 in the notification. ISO18092 active communication links may provide better range than ISO18092 passive communication links. Such additional scope may be useful for applications and/or modules associated with communication device 310 that may receive activation notifications.
In an operational aspect, if the RF PROTOCOL is PROTOCOL _ NFC _ DEP, NFC controller 312 may include NFC RF technologies and modes established during activation, as well as NFC RF technologies and modes available for subsequent data exchange. Note that if the bit rate is changed during activation due to the value specified in BITR NFC DEP, the NFC RF technology and mode may be different from the NFC RF technology and mode that defines the nature of the NFC RF technology specific parameters. If the RF PROTOCOL is determined to be other than PROTOCOL _ NFC _ DEP, NFC controller 312 may include RF technology and mode values that may be used for subsequent data exchanges.
NFC controller 312 can provide information to device host 340 for both the activation phase and the data exchange phase. Accordingly, enhanced notifications such as depicted in table 2 may resolve ambiguities in data collected during activation that may not be synchronized with conditions experienced by NFC controller 312 during data exchange.
Further, the notification generated by NFC controller 312 can provide information to device host 340 regarding the selected receive and transmit data rates available for subsequent data exchanges. In operation, by way of example and not limitation, information associated with the receive and transmit data rates may enable the communication device 310 to calculate an estimated time value for transmitting a given amount of data. In such an aspect, the estimated time value may be used by an application on the communication device 310 that provides a message, such as a pop-up message, before beginning data transmission. Such a message may prompt the user to determine whether to continue data transmission. For example, the message may indicate "you chose to transfer the file will take about 15 minutes to transfer. Is it intended to continue (Y/N)? "the suggestive scheme may improve user experience, especially for those users unfamiliar with the speed associated with NFC.
For example, if the first RF technology and mode value indicates communication at 106kbps, the communication device 310 may use NFC-a, and if 424kbps is used, the communication device 310 may use NFC-F. These values are provided as examples of future versions that may allow NFC-a to be used for bit rates other than 106 kbps. In another example, if NFC-a is used for activation, but the data exchange is configured to occur at 212 or 424kbps, the NFC RF technology used for the data exchange may be NFC-F. Conversely, if NFC-F is used for activation, but the data exchange is configured to occur at 106kbps, the NFC RF technology used for the data exchange may be NFC-A.
Accordingly, communication system 300 provides an environment in which remote NFC device 330 may communicate information to enable communication device 310 to provide an improved mechanism for NFC controller 312 to report activation and NFC RF technology usage in data exchange to device host 340.
FIG. 4 illustrates various methodologies in accordance with various aspects of the presented subject matter. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of acts or sequence steps, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the claimed subject matter. It should be further appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinafter and throughout this specification are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to computers. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media.
Referring now to fig. 4, a flow diagram is illustrated depicting an example process 400 for enabling NFCC improved reporting of activation and data exchange parameters in an NFC device.
At block 402, the presence of a remote NFC device may be detected by a communication device. In one aspect, the remote NFC device may include an NFC tag, a writer device, a reader device, an NFC card, a target peer device, and the like. In another aspect, a remote NFC device may be detected using a first NFCRF technology (e.g., an active mode NFC RF technology).
At block 404, a NFCC associated with a communication device may obtain a value associated with a first NFC RF technology. In one aspect, values associated with the first NFC RF technology may be described with reference to table 1. In an aspect, the first NFC RF technology may be one of NFC-a technology, NFC-B technology, or NFC-F technology. Further, a value associated with the second NFC RF technology may be obtained. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology is different from the first NFC RF technology. In such an aspect, the first and second RF technologies may be configured to communicate using different data rates. In another aspect, values associated with the second NFC RF technology may be described with reference to table 2. In an aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be one of NFC-a technology, NFC-B technology, or NFC-F technology. Further, in another aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be used during a data exchange phase, while the first NFC RF technology may be used during an activation phase.
At block 406, the NFCC may obtain NFC RF technology specific values. For example, a data rate for the first and/or second RF technology to be used during the polling mode and the listening mode may be obtained.
At block 408, the NFCC may configure the notification message to report at least a portion of the obtained values associated with the communication link. In one aspect, the notification message may be formatted as described in table 2. In another aspect, the notification message may be communicated to the device host.
In an optional aspect, the communication device may evaluate one or more values associated with the communication link at block 410. In one aspect, a communication device may estimate a time duration for transmitting a data packet of a first size based on a data rate associated with a second NFC RF technology. In such an aspect, the communication device may further prompt with an option to continue data packet transmission based on the estimated duration of time and receive a response from the user indicating whether to continue the data packet transmission. In another aspect, the communication device may estimate the available coverage of the second NFC RF technology based on whether the second NFC RF technology uses a passive communication link or an active communication link. In such an aspect, the communication device may be prompted with a notification indicating a potential change in the communication link and a change in the estimated available coverage associated with the change.
Turning now also to fig. 5, with reference to fig. 3, an example architecture of a communication device 510 is illustrated. As depicted in fig. 5, communication device 500 includes a receiver 502 that receives a signal from, for instance, a receive antenna (not shown), performs typical actions on (e.g., filters, amplifies, downconverts, etc.) the received signal, and digitizes the conditioned signal to obtain samples. Receiver 502 can comprise a demodulator 504 that can demodulate received symbols and provide them to a processor 506 for channel estimation. Processor 506 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing information received by receiver 502 and/or generating information for transmission by a transmitter 520, a processor that controls one or more components of device 500, and/or a processor that both analyzes information received by receiver 502, generates information for transmission by transmitter 520, and controls one or more components of communication device 500. In addition, signals may be prepared for transmission by a transmitter 520 through a modulator 518, which modulator 518 may modulate the signals for processing by processor 506.
Communication device 500 may additionally comprise memory 508, memory 508 being operatively coupled to processor 506 and capable of storing data to be transmitted, received data, information related to available channels, TCP flows, data associated with analyzed signal and/or interference strength, information related to an assigned channel, power, rate, or the like, and any other information suitable for estimating a channel and communicating via a channel.
Further, at least one of the processor 506 or the NFC controller 530 may provide means for obtaining a first Radio Frequency (RF) technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF-specific parameters associated with a remote Near Field Communication (NFC) device during an activation phase of a communication link using the first NFC RF technology, and means for configuring communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of the communication link. In an aspect, the one or more RF specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on the first RF technology and the mode value. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value.
It will be appreciated that the data store (e.g., memory 508) described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include Read Only Memory (ROM), programmable ROM (prom), electrically programmable ROM (eprom), electrically erasable prom (eeprom), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as Synchronous RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus (Rambus) RAM (DRRAM). The memory 508 of the subject systems and methods may include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.
Communication device 500 may include NFC controller 530. In one aspect, NFC controller 530 may obtain information from other devices, such as remote NFC device 330, through NCI 550. Such information may be associated with the first NFC RF technology 534 and/or the second NFC RF technology 536. For example, the information may include a first RF technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, a data transmission rate associated with the second NFC RF technology, and a data reception rate associated with the second NFC RF technology. Further, in one aspect, NFC controller 530 may aggregate the acquired NFC information into a notification (e.g., an RF _ ACTIVATE _ NTF message). The notification may be communicated to the device host 560. As mentioned above, table 2 provides, by way of example and not limitation, notification messages that NFC controller 530 may generate.
In another aspect, the communication device 500 may include an NFC Controller Interface (NCI) 550. In one aspect, NCI550 may be configured to enable communication between NFC-enabled antennas (e.g., 502, 520), NFC controller 530, and device host 560.
Additionally, the communication device 500 may include a user interface 540. The user interface 540 may include input mechanisms 542 for generating inputs into the communication device 500, and output mechanisms 544 for generating information for consumption by a user of the communication device 500. For example, input mechanism 542 may include mechanisms such as a key or keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen display, a microphone, and so forth. Further, for example, output mechanism 544 may include a display, an audio speaker, a haptic feedback mechanism, a Personal Area Network (PAN) transceiver, and so forth. In the illustrated aspect, the output mechanism 544 may include a display configured to present media content in an image or video format, or an audio speaker to present media content in an audio format. In operation, by way of example and not limitation, information associated with the receive and transmit data rates may enable the communication device 500 to calculate an estimated time value for transmitting a given amount of data. In such an aspect, the estimated time value may be used by an application that provides a message, such as a pop-up message, through output mechanism 544 before beginning data transmission. Such a message may prompt the user to determine whether to continue data transmission. For example, the message may indicate "you chose to transfer the file will take about 15 minutes to transfer. Is it intended to continue (Y/N)? "the user may be provided with one or more response options using input mechanism 542. This suggestive approach may improve the user experience, especially for those users who are unfamiliar with the speeds associated with NFC.
Fig. 6 is a block diagram depicting an example communication system 600 configured to provide a mechanism for reporting NFC RF technology usage by NFC devices in activation and data exchange, according to an aspect. For example, system 600 can reside at least partially within a communication device (e.g., communication device 500). It is to be appreciated that system 600 is represented as including functional blocks, which can be functional blocks that represent functions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware). System 600 includes a logical grouping 602 of electrical components that can act in conjunction.
For example, the logical grouping 602 can include an electrical component 604 that can provide a means for obtaining a first RF technology and mode value, a second RF technology and mode value, and one or more RF specific parameters associated with a remote NFC device during an activation phase of a communication link using the first NFC RF technology. In an aspect, the RF-specific parameters and the first NFC RF technology may be based on a first RF technology and a mode value. In one aspect, the remote NFC device may include a remote NFC tag, a reader device, a writer device, an NFC card, a remote peer destination device, and the like. In one aspect, the first FC RF technology may be different from the second NFC RF technology. In such an aspect, the second NFC RF technology may support different data rate communications than the first NFC RF technology. In one aspect, each of the first and second RF technologies may include NFC-a technology, NFC-B technology, NFC-F technology, and the like. In one aspect, the communication link may be an active communication link or a passive communication link. In another aspect, electrical component 604 can further provide means for obtaining a data exchange phase transmit bit rate and a data exchange phase receive bit rate. In such an aspect, the data exchange phase transmit bit rate and the data exchange phase receive bit rate may be associated with the second RF technology and mode value and may be used during the data exchange phase.
Further, logical grouping 602 can include an electrical component 606 that can provide a means for configuring communications to be supported by the second NFC RF technology for use during a data exchange phase of a communication link. In one aspect, the second NFC RF technology may be based on the second RF technology and the mode value. In one aspect, electrical component 606 can provide means for determining a start of a data exchange phase and means for enabling supported communications using a second NFC RF technology.
Further, in an optional aspect, logical grouping 602 can include an electrical component 608 that can provide a means for generating a RF activation notification message including the obtained values and parameters.
Further, in an optional aspect, logical grouping 602 can include an electrical component 610 that can provide a means for estimating a time duration for transmitting the data packet and/or an available coverage range of the second NFC RF technology. In one aspect, optional electrical component 610 may provide means for estimating a time duration for transmitting a data packet of a first size based on a data rate associated with a second NFC RF technology. In another aspect, where the communication link is either a passive communication link or an active communication link, optional electrical component 610 may provide means for estimating an available coverage area of the second NFC RF technology based on whether the passive communication link or the active communication link is used by the second NFC RF technology.
Further, in an optional aspect, logical grouping 602 can include an electrical component 612 that can provide a means for prompting with an option to continue data grouping and/or with a notification indicating a potential change in the communication link. In one aspect, optional electrical component 612 may provide means for prompting with an option to continue data packet transmission based on the estimated duration of time, and means for receiving a response from a user indicating whether to continue the data packet transmission. In another aspect, optional electrical component 612 can provide means for prompting with a notification indicating a potential change in the communication link and a change in the estimated available coverage associated with the change.
Additionally, system 600 can include a memory 614 that retains instructions for executing functions associated with electrical components 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612, storing data used or retrieved by electrical components 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612, and the like. While shown as being external to memory 614, it is to be understood that one or more of electrical components 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612 can exist within memory 614. In one example, electrical components 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612 can include at least one processor, or each electrical component 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612 can be a respective module of at least one processor. Additionally, in additional or alternative examples, electrical components 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612 can be a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium, wherein each electrical component 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612 can be respective code.
As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to include a computer-related entity, such as but not limited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets, such as data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal.
In addition, various aspects are described herein in connection with a terminal, which may be a wired terminal or a wireless terminal. A terminal can also be called a system, device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile device, remote station, remote equipment (ME), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, communication device, user agent, user device, or User Equipment (UE). A wireless terminal may be a cellular telephone, a satellite telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. Moreover, various aspects are described herein in connection with a base station. A base station may be utilized for communicating with wireless terminal(s) and may also be referred to as an access point, node B, or some other terminology.
Furthermore, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, the phrase "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase "X employs a or B" is satisfied by any of the following examples: x is A; x is B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles "and" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, and so on. Further, cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA, which employs OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in literature from an organization named "third Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). In addition, cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). Further, such wireless communication systems may additionally include peer-to-peer (e.g., mobile-mobile) ad hoc (ad hoc) network systems that often use unpaired unlicensed spectrum, 802.xx wireless LANs, bluetooth, near field communication (NFC-A, NFC-B, NFD-f, etc.), and any other short-range or long-range wireless communication technologies.
Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Combinations of these approaches may also be used.
The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Further, at least one processor may comprise one or more modules configured to perform one or more of the steps and/or actions described above.
Further, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. In addition, in some aspects, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal. Additionally, in some aspects, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machine readable medium and/or computer readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.
In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Any connection is also known as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks (disks) usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs (discs) usually reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and/or aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the described aspects and/or aspects as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/or modalities may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or aspect may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or aspect, unless stated otherwise.