Method for discovering a plurality of NFC-B devices by a NFC-B reader and corresponding NFC-B reader

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9313713-B2
Application number	US-201514706079-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 7, 2015
Priority date	May 7, 2014
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

A discovered NFC-B listen mode device is put to SLEEP state only when there are one or more NFC-B listen mode devices yet to be discovered. An optimal value for the number of time slots indicated in a command is computed based on a combination of whether an empty time slot was detected and/or collision was detected and/or an NFC-B listen mode device was discovered in a discovery cycle. The compliance with the NFC Forum Activity Specification allows the direct activation of an NFC-B listen mode device, and thus speeds up the data transfer phase and consumes much less power.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for identifying a plurality of Near Field Communication-type B devices operating in a listen mode (NFC-B listen mode devices) by a Near Field Communication-type B device operating in a poll mode (NFC-B poll mode device) during more than one collision resolution cycles, each collision resolution cycle starting with a first command sent by the NFC-B poll mode device and including a number of time slots less than or equal to a maximum number, a first collision resolution cycle including one time slot, the method comprising:
when the NFC-B poll mode device is to start another collision resolution cycle after a current collision resolution cycle is ended, increasing, by the NFC-B poll mode device, the number of time slots with respect to the number of time slots of the ended current collision resolution cycle if and only if no NFC-B listen mode device has been identified during the ended current collision resolution cycle and no empty time slot has been detected during the ended current collision resolution cycle; and
when a NFC-B listen mode device is identified within a time slot of a current collision resolution cycle, sending, by the NFC-B poll mode device to the identified NFC-B listen mode device, a second command for putting the identified NFC-B listen mode device in a sleep state, the second command being sent within a subsequent time slot of the current collision resolution cycle except for the NFC-B listen mode device lastly identified within the last collision resolution cycle.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein within a collision resolution cycle, the NFC-B poll mode device sends the second command to the identified NFC-B listen mode device during the next time slot within which another NFC-B listen mode device is identified or within the last time slot except if the collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein a collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle when no collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices has been detected in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle or when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle when no collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices has been detected in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle or when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle when no collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices has been detected in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein a collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

7. A near Field Communication-type B device configured to operate in a poll mode (NFC-B poll mode device), comprising:
an NFC controller configured to identify a plurality of Near Field Communication-type B operating in a listen mode (NFC-B listen mode devices) during more than one collision resolution cycles;
wherein the NFC controller includes a transmitting block configured to transmit, at the beginning of each collision resolution cycle, a first command including a number of time slots lower than or equal to a maximum number, the first collision resolution cycle including one time slot;
wherein the NFC controller also includes a receiving block configured to detect the presence or the absence of any response during a time slot and to analyze such response;
wherein when the transmitting block is to send another first command for starting another collision resolution cycle after a current collision resolution cycle is ended, the transmitting block is configured to increase the number of time slots with respect to the number of time slots of the ended current collision resolution cycle if and only if the receiving block has received no response representative of an identified NFC-B listen mode device during the ended current collision resolution cycle and has detected no empty time slot during the ended current collision resolution cycle; and
wherein when the receiving block has detected a response representative of a identified NFC-B listen mode device within a time slot of a current collision resolution cycle, the transmitting block is configured to send to the identified NFC-B listen mode device a second command for putting the identified NFC-B listen mode device in a sleep state, the second command being sent, within a subsequent time slot of the current collision resolution cycle except for the NFC-B listen mode device lastly identified within the last collision resolution cycle.

8. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 7 , wherein the transmitting block is configured to send, within a collision resolution cycle, the second command to the identified NFC-B listen mode device during the next time slot within which another NFC-B listen mode device is identified or within the last time slot except if the collision resolution cycle is the last collision resolution cycle.

9. NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 8 , wherein the transmitting block is configured to consider a collision resolution cycle as the last collision resolution cycle when the receiving block does not receive any response representative of a collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle or when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

10. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 7 , wherein the transmitting block is configured to consider a collision resolution cycle as the last collision resolution cycle when the receiving block does not receive any response representative of a collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle or when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

11. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 10 , wherein the transmitting block is configured to consider the collision resolution cycle as the last collision resolution cycle when the receiving block does not receive any response representative of a collision between at least two NFC-B listen mode devices in all the time slots of the collision resolution cycle.

12. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 10 , wherein the transmitting block is configured to consider a collision resolution cycle as the last collision resolution cycle when the number of time slots of the collision resolution cycle is equal to the maximum number.

13. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 7 , wherein the NFC-B poll device is an NFC-enabled reader device.

14. The NFC-B poll mode device according to claim 13 , wherein the NFC-enable reader device is a NFC-enabled mobile phone.

15. A near Field Communication-type B device configured to operate in a poll mode (NFC-B poll mode device), comprising:
an antenna;
an NFC controller configured to control wireless communication through the antenna; and
a processor, configured to manage the NFC controller so that during operation the NFC controller performs a procedure to identify a plurality of Near Field Communication-type B devices operating in a listen mode (NFC-B listen mode devices

Assignees

• Stmicroelectronics Internat N V —Netherlands
• St Microelectronics Int Nv

Inventors

• Hussain Jafer

Classifications

• G06K7/10029 Primary

  the collision being resolved in the time domain, e.g. using binary tree search or RFID responses allocated to a random time slot · CPC title

• H04B5/20

  characterised by the transmission technique; characterised by the transmission medium · CPC title

• Y02B60/50

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H04W40/246 Primary

  Connectivity information discovery · CPC title

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title