CN106656278B

CN106656278B - A kind of near field communication device and terminal device

Info

Publication number: CN106656278B
Application number: CN201611076215.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吕森
Original assignee: Nubia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nubia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-29
Filing date: 2016-11-29
Publication date: 2019-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 2036-11-29
Also published as: CN106656278A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a kind of near field communication device and terminal devices.Wireless near field communication (NFC) device provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes: NFC antenna and NFC controller；Wherein, NFC antenna includes mutiple antennas branch, and each antenna branch is connected with NFC controller respectively；The NFC controller, for when NFC device is in idle condition, control section antenna branch to execute detection operation.The embodiment of the present invention solves the NFC device in current techniques, due to its NFC antenna problem that is in running order always, and causing the power consumption of NFC device larger；And solve when being configured at the NFC device in current techniques in terminal device, since NFC antenna is in running order always, interference can be generated to the terminal device, and cause terminal device can not normal use the problem of.

Description

Short-distance wireless communication device and terminal equipment

Technical Field

The present application relates to, but not limited to, the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a terminal device.

Background

With the development and the change of Communication technologies, Communication modes of different modes are gradually evolved, and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology based on non-contact Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) gradually becomes a common Communication mode in daily life of people due to its convenient Communication mode and widely adaptable working mode.

In the NFC device in the prior art, because the NFC antenna is always in the operating mode, the power consumption of the NFC device is large; in addition, when the NFC device in the prior art is configured in the terminal device, the NFC antenna may be relatively close to the device in the terminal device, which may cause interference to the terminal device, and thus the terminal device may not be normally used.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a near field communication device and a terminal device, so as to solve the problem that an NFC device in the prior art has a large power consumption because an NFC antenna of the NFC device is always in a working state; the problem that when an NFC device in the prior art is configured in terminal equipment, due to the fact that an NFC antenna is always in a working state, interference is generated on the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment cannot be normally used is solved.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an NFC apparatus, including: an NFC antenna and an NFC controller;

the NFC antenna comprises a plurality of antenna branches, and each antenna branch is connected with the NFC controller;

the NFC controller is configured to control a part of antenna branches to perform a detection operation when the NFC device is in an idle state, where the part of antenna branches are antenna branches for detecting a data signal preset in the NFC antenna.

Optionally, in the NFC apparatus as described above, each antenna branch of the partial antenna branches is configured to send, when detecting a data signal, the data signal detected by the antenna branch to the NFC controller;

the NFC controller is further configured to control all antenna branches in the NFC antenna to perform NFC communication when receiving the data signal sent by one antenna branch.

Optionally, in the NFC device as described above, a plurality of antenna branches in the NFC antenna are connected in series, and each antenna branch is electrically connected to an adjacent antenna branch; or,

a plurality of antenna branches in the NFC antenna are connected in parallel, one end of each antenna branch is connected to the first port, and the other end of each antenna branch is connected to the second port.

Optionally, in the NFC apparatus as described above, the NFC antenna includes a first antenna component in a series structure and a second antenna component in a parallel structure;

wherein each antenna branch of the first antenna assembly is electrically connected to an adjacent antenna branch, one end of each antenna branch of the second antenna assembly is connected to the third port, and the other end of each antenna branch is connected to the fourth port.

Optionally, in the NFC device as described above, the first antenna component and the second antenna component are electrically connected in series; or,

one end of the first antenna component is connected with the third port of the second antenna component, and the other end of the first antenna component is connected with the fourth port of the second antenna component.

Optionally, in the NFC apparatus as described above, a switch is disposed between each antenna branch in the NFC antenna and the NFC controller;

the NFC controller is further configured to connect or disconnect a path of an antenna branch corresponding to the switch through the switch disposed between the NFC controller and each antenna branch.

Optionally, in the NFC apparatus as described above, the NFC controller is configured to control the partial antenna branches to perform a detection operation when the NFC apparatus is in an idle state, and the method includes:

and when the NFC device is in an idle state, communicating the paths of the antenna branches corresponding to part of the switches, and controlling the antenna branches to execute detection operation.

Optionally, in the NFC apparatus as described above, the NFC controller is configured to control all antenna branches in the NFC antenna to perform NFC communication when receiving the data signal sent by one antenna branch, and the NFC controller includes:

and when the data signal sent by one antenna branch is received, communicating the path of the antenna branch corresponding to each switch, and controlling all the antenna branches in the NFC antenna to carry out the NFC communication.

The embodiment of the invention also provides terminal equipment, wherein the terminal equipment is provided with the NFC device.

Optionally, in the terminal device as described above, a part of the antenna branches of the NFC apparatus for performing the detection operation is disposed at a position of a device in the terminal device away from the terminal device.

The NFC device and the terminal equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention comprise an NFC antenna and an NFC controller, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a plurality of antenna branches, each antenna branch is respectively connected with the NFC controller, and when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of the antenna branches are controlled by the NFC controller to execute detection operation; according to the device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the NFC antenna is designed into the distributed antenna branches, and the NFC controller can independently control each antenna branch, so that when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of the antenna branches in the NFC antenna can be controlled to execute detection operation, the working area of the antenna is reduced under most conditions, and the power consumption of the NFC device is reduced; further, when the NFC apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a terminal device, because the working area of the antenna is smaller in most cases, the interference of the NFC antenna on a device of the terminal device is reduced to a great extent, that is, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention solves the problem that the power consumption of the NFC device is large because the NFC antenna of the NFC device in the prior art is always in the working state, and accordingly, also solves the problem that when the NFC device in the prior art is configured in the terminal device, the NFC antenna is always in the working state, the interference is generated on the terminal device, and the terminal device cannot be normally used.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the example serve to explain the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic hardware structure of an alternative mobile terminal for implementing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a communication system in which a mobile terminal according to the present invention is capable of operating;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an NFC apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an NFC antenna in an NFC device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in the NFC device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in the NFC device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in an NFC device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

A mobile terminal implementing various embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, suffixes used to represent elements such as "module", "means", or "unit" are used only for the convenience of description of the present invention, and have no specific meaning in themselves. Thus, "module" and "component" may be used in a mixture.

The mobile terminal may be implemented in various forms. For example, the terminal described in the present invention may include a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a notebook computer, a digital broadcast receiver, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a PAD (tablet computer), a PMP (portable multimedia player), a navigation device, and the like, and a stationary terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like. In the following, it is assumed that the terminal is a mobile terminal. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a fixed type terminal in addition to elements particularly used for moving purposes.

Fig. 1 is a schematic hardware structure of an optional mobile terminal for implementing various embodiments of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 may include a wireless communication unit 110, an a/V (audio/video) input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, an interface unit 170, a controller 180, and a power supply unit 190, etc. Fig. 1 illustrates a mobile terminal having various components, but it is to be understood that not all illustrated components are required to be implemented. More or fewer components may alternatively be implemented. Elements of the mobile terminal will be described in detail below.

The wireless communication unit 110 typically includes one or more components that allow radio communication between the mobile terminal 100 and a wireless communication system or network. For example, the wireless communication unit may include at least one of a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless internet module 113, a short-range communication module 114, and a location information module 115.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management server via a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and/or a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may be a server that generates and transmits a broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information or a server that receives a previously generated broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information and transmits it to a terminal. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and the like. Also, the broadcast signal may further include a broadcast signal combined with a TV or radio broadcast signal. The broadcast associated information may also be provided via a mobile communication network, and in this case, the broadcast associated information may be received by the mobile communication module 112. The broadcast signal may exist in various forms, for example, it may exist in the form of an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), an Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H), and the like. The broadcast receiving module 111 may receive a signal broadcast by using various types of broadcasting systems. In particular, the broadcast receiving module 111 may receive digital broadcasting by using a digital broadcasting system such as a data broadcasting system of multimedia broadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T), digital multimedia broadcasting-satellite (DMB-S), digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H), forward link media (MediaFLO @), terrestrial digital broadcasting integrated service (ISDB-T), and the like. The broadcast receiving module 111 may be constructed to be suitable for various broadcasting systems that provide broadcast signals as well as the above-mentioned digital broadcasting systems. The broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information received via the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160 (or other type of storage medium).

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and/or receives radio signals to and/or from at least one of a base station (e.g., access point, node B, etc.), an external terminal, and a server. Such radio signals may include voice call signals, video call signals, or various types of data transmitted and/or received according to text and/or multimedia messages.

The wireless internet module 113 supports wireless internet access of the mobile terminal. The module may be internally or externally coupled to the terminal. The wireless internet access technology to which the module relates may include WLAN (wireless LAN) (Wi-Fi), Wibro (wireless broadband), Wimax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access), HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access), and the like.

The short-range communication module 114 is a module for supporting short-range communication. Some examples of short-range communication technologies include bluetooth (TM), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), zigbee (TM), and the like.

The location information module 115 is a module for checking or acquiring location information of the mobile terminal. A typical example of the location information module is a GPS (global positioning system). According to the current technology, the GPS module 115 calculates distance information and accurate time information from three or more satellites and applies triangulation to the calculated information, thereby accurately calculating three-dimensional current location information according to longitude, latitude, and altitude. Currently, a method for calculating position and time information uses three satellites and corrects an error of the calculated position and time information by using another satellite. In addition, the GPS module 115 can calculate speed information by continuously calculating current position information in real time.

The a/V input unit 120 is used to receive an audio or video signal. The a/V input unit 120 may include a camera 121 and a microphone 1220, and the camera 121 processes image data of still pictures or video obtained by an image capturing apparatus in a video capturing mode or an image capturing mode. The processed image frames may be displayed on the display module 151. The image frames processed by the cameras 121 may be stored in the memory 160 (or other storage medium) or transmitted via the wireless communication unit 110, and two or more cameras 121 may be provided according to the construction of the mobile terminal. The microphone 122 may receive sounds (audio data) via the microphone in a phone call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and can process such sounds into audio data. The processed audio (voice) data may be converted into a format output transmittable to a mobile communication base station via the mobile communication module 112 in case of a phone call mode. The microphone 122 may implement various types of noise cancellation (or suppression) algorithms to cancel (or suppress) noise or interference generated in the course of receiving and transmitting audio signals.

The user input unit 130 may generate key input data according to a command input by a user to control various operations of the mobile terminal. The user input unit 130 allows a user to input various types of information, and may include a keyboard, dome sheet, touch pad (e.g., a touch-sensitive member that detects changes in resistance, pressure, capacitance, and the like due to being touched), scroll wheel, joystick, and the like. In particular, when the touch pad is superimposed on the display module 151 in the form of a layer, a touch screen may be formed.

The sensing unit 140 detects a current state of the mobile terminal 100 (e.g., an open or closed state of the mobile terminal 100), a position of the mobile terminal 100, presence or absence of contact (i.e., touch input) by a user with the mobile terminal 100, an orientation of the mobile terminal 100, acceleration or deceleration movement and direction of the mobile terminal 100, and the like, and generates a command or signal for controlling an operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is implemented as a slide-type mobile phone, the sensing unit 140 may sense whether the slide-type phone is opened or closed. In addition, the sensing unit 140 can detect whether the power supply unit 190 supplies power or whether the interface unit 170 is coupled with an external device.

The interface unit 170 serves as an interface through which at least one external device is connected to the mobile terminal 100. For example, the external device may include a wired or wireless headset port, an external power supply (or battery charger) port, a wired or wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio input/output (I/O) port, a video I/O port, an earphone port, and the like. The identification module may store various information for authenticating a user using the mobile terminal 100 and may include a User Identity Module (UIM), a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. In addition, a device having an identification module (hereinafter, referred to as an "identification device") may take the form of a smart card, and thus, the identification device may be connected with the mobile terminal 100 via a port or other connection means. The interface unit 170 may be used to receive input (e.g., data information, power, etc.) from an external device and transmit the received input to one or more elements within the mobile terminal 100 or may be used to transmit data between the mobile terminal and the external device.

In addition, when the mobile terminal 100 is connected with an external cradle, the interface unit 170 may serve as a path through which power is supplied from the cradle to the mobile terminal 100 or may serve as a path through which various command signals input from the cradle are transmitted to the mobile terminal. Various command signals or power input from the cradle may be used as signals for recognizing whether the mobile terminal is accurately mounted on the cradle. The output unit 150 is configured to provide output signals (e.g., audio signals, video signals, alarm signals, vibration signals, etc.) in a visual, audio, and/or tactile manner. The output unit 150 may include a display module 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm module 153, and the like.

The display module 151 may display information processed in the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in a phone call mode, the display module 151 may display a User Interface (UI) or a Graphical User Interface (GUI) related to a call or other communication (e.g., text messaging, multimedia file downloading, etc.). When the mobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or an image capturing mode, the display module 151 may display a captured image and/or a received image, a UI or GUI showing a video or an image and related functions, and the like.

Meanwhile, when the display module 151 and the touch pad are stacked on each other in the form of layers to form a touch screen, the display module 151 may serve as an input device and an output device. The display module 151 may include at least one of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a thin film transistor LCD (TFT-LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a three-dimensional (3D) display, and the like. Some of these displays may be configured to be transparent to allow a user to view from the outside, which may be referred to as transparent displays, and a typical transparent display may be, for example, a TOLED (transparent organic light emitting diode) display or the like. Depending on the particular desired implementation, the mobile terminal 100 may include two or more display units (or other display devices), for example, the mobile terminal may include an external display unit (not shown) and an internal display unit (not shown). The touch screen may be used to detect a touch input pressure as well as a touch input position and a touch input area.

The audio output module 152 may convert audio data received by the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 into an audio signal and output as sound when the mobile terminal is in a call signal reception mode, a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, or the like. Also, the audio output module 152 may provide audio output related to a specific function performed by the mobile terminal 100 (e.g., a call signal reception sound, a message reception sound, etc.). The audio output module 152 may include a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm module 153 may provide an output to notify the mobile terminal 100 of the occurrence of an event. Typical events may include call reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. In addition to audio or video output, the alarm module 153 may provide output in different ways to notify the occurrence of an event. For example, the alarm module 153 may provide an output in the form of a vibration, and when a call, a message, or some other incoming communication (incomingmunication) is received, the alarm module 153 may provide a tactile output (i.e., a vibration) to inform the user thereof. By providing such a tactile output, the user can recognize the occurrence of various events even when the user's mobile phone is in the user's pocket. The alarm module 153 may also provide an output notifying the occurrence of an event via the display module 151 or the audio output module 152.

The memory 160 may store software programs and the like for processing and controlling operations performed by the controller 180, or may temporarily store data (e.g., a phonebook, messages, still images, videos, and the like) that has been or will be output. Also, the memory 160 may store data regarding various ways of vibration and audio signals output when a touch is applied to the touch screen.

The memory 160 may include at least one type of storage medium including a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card, a card-type memory (e.g., SD or DX memory, etc.), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and the like. Also, the mobile terminal 100 may cooperate with a network storage device that performs a storage function of the memory 160 through a network connection.

The controller 180 generally controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, the controller 180 performs control and processing related to voice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like. In addition, the controller 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for reproducing (or playing back) multimedia data, and the multimedia module 181 may be constructed within the controller 180 or may be constructed separately from the controller 180. The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process to recognize a handwriting input or a picture drawing input performed on the touch screen as a character or an image.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power or internal power and provides appropriate power required to operate various elements and components under the control of the controller 180.

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented in a computer-readable medium using, for example, computer software, hardware, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may be implemented using at least one of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Digital Signal Processing Device (DSPD), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, an electronic unit designed to perform the functions described herein, and in some cases, such embodiments may be implemented in the controller 180. For a software implementation, the implementation such as a process or a function may be implemented with a separate software module that allows performing at least one function or operation. The software codes may be implemented by software applications (or programs) written in any suitable programming language, which may be stored in the memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

Up to this point, mobile terminals have been described in terms of their functionality. Hereinafter, a slide-type mobile terminal among various types of mobile terminals, such as a folder-type, bar-type, swing-type, slide-type mobile terminal, and the like, will be described as an example for the sake of brevity. Accordingly, the present invention can be applied to any type of mobile terminal, and is not limited to a slide type mobile terminal.

The mobile terminal 100 as shown in fig. 1 may be configured to operate with communication systems such as wired and wireless communication systems and satellite-based communication systems that transmit data via frames or packets.

A communication system in which a mobile terminal according to the present invention is operable will now be described with reference to fig. 2.

Such communication systems may use different air interfaces and/or physical layers. For example, the air interface used by the communication system includes, for example, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (in particular, Long Term Evolution (LTE)), global system for mobile communications (GSM), and the like. By way of non-limiting example, the following description relates to a CDMA communication system, but such teachings are equally applicable to other types of systems.

Referring to fig. 2, the CDMA wireless communication system may include a plurality of mobile terminals 100, a plurality of Base Stations (BSs) 270, Base Station Controllers (BSCs) 275, and a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 280. The MSC280 is configured to interface with a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 290. The MSC280 is also configured to interface with a BSC275, which may be coupled to the base station 270 via a backhaul. The backhaul may be constructed according to any of several known interfaces including, for example, E1/T1, ATM, IP, PPP, frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL. It will be understood that a system as shown in fig. 2 may include multiple BSCs 2750.

Each BS270 may serve one or more sectors (or regions), each sector covered by a multi-directional antenna or an antenna pointing in a particular direction being radially distant from the BS 270. Alternatively, each partition may be covered by two or more antennas for diversity reception. Each BS270 may be configured to support multiple frequency allocations, with each frequency allocation having a particular frequency spectrum (e.g., 1.25MHz,5MHz, etc.).

The intersection of partitions with frequency allocations may be referred to as a CDMA channel. The BS270 may also be referred to as a Base Transceiver Subsystem (BTS) or other equivalent terminology. In such a case, the term "base station" may be used to generically refer to a single BSC275 and at least one BS 270. The base stations may also be referred to as "cells". Alternatively, each sector of a particular BS270 may be referred to as a plurality of cell sites.

As shown in fig. 2, a Broadcast Transmitter (BT)295 transmits a broadcast signal to the mobile terminal 100 operating within the system. A broadcast receiving module 111 as shown in fig. 1 is provided at the mobile terminal 100 to receive a broadcast signal transmitted by the BT 295. In fig. 2, several Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites 300 are shown. The satellite 300 assists in locating at least one of the plurality of mobile terminals 100.

In fig. 2, a plurality of satellites 300 are depicted, but it is understood that useful positioning information may be obtained with any number of satellites. The GPS module 115 as shown in fig. 1 is generally configured to cooperate with satellites 300 to obtain desired positioning information. Other techniques that can track the location of the mobile terminal may be used instead of or in addition to GPS tracking techniques. In addition, at least one GPS satellite 300 may selectively or additionally process satellite DMB transmission.

As a typical operation of the wireless communication system, the BS270 receives reverse link signals from various mobile terminals 100. The mobile terminal 100 is generally engaged in conversations, messaging, and other types of communications. Each reverse link signal received by a particular base station 270 is processed within the particular BS 270. The obtained data is forwarded to the associated BSC 275. The BSC provides call resource allocation and mobility management functions including coordination of soft handoff procedures between BSs 270. The BSCs 275 also route the received data to the MSC280, which provides additional routing services for interfacing with the PSTN 290. Similarly, the PSTN290 interfaces with the MSC280, the MSC interfaces with the BSCs 275, and the BSCs 275 accordingly control the BS270 to transmit forward link signals to the mobile terminal 100.

Based on the above mobile terminal hardware structure and communication system, various embodiments of the apparatus and method of the present invention are proposed. In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be arbitrarily combined with each other without conflict.

The steps illustrated in the flow charts of the figures may be performed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Also, while a logical order is shown in the flow diagrams, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in an order different than here.

In the prior art, an NFC device is generally configured with an independent NFC antenna, and the NFC antenna is designed as a whole, and the NFC antenna is controlled by a controller to implement communication tasks in the above-mentioned multiple operating modes; in addition, an NFC antenna in an NFC device in the prior art is always in a working state, so that power consumption of the NFC device is high. On the other hand, as NFC communication is becoming more and more popular, NFC devices in the current technology can be applied to terminal devices, so that the terminal devices configured with the NFC devices can realize the NFC communication function, for example, if an NFC device is configured in a smart phone, the smart phone can be used as a card reader or a data card for NFC communication, and can also realize peer-to-peer communication with another terminal device configured with an NFC device. However, due to the requirement of the terminal device for portability, when an NFC device is configured in the terminal device, an NFC antenna of the NFC device may be closer to a device in the terminal device, and since the NFC antenna is always in an operating state, interference may be generated on the device of the terminal device, so that normal use of the terminal device is affected. Therefore, how to reduce the power consumption of the NFC device and how to reduce the interference of the NFC device to the terminal device when the NFC device is configured in the terminal device become problems that need to be solved at present.

The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below with specific embodiments, and the terminal device in the following embodiments of the present invention may be a mobile terminal, such as a smart phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, or the like. The following specific embodiments of the present invention may be combined, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an NFC apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The NFC apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention is suitable for use in the case of performing near field communication, and is generally implemented by a method combining hardware and software, and the apparatus may be integrated in a controller of a terminal device and may be invoked by the controller. As shown in fig. 3, the NFC apparatus 300 provided in this embodiment may include: NFC antenna 310 and NFC controller 320.

The NFC antenna 310 includes a plurality of antenna branches 311, and each antenna branch 311 is connected to the controller; an NFC controller 320 configured to control the partial antenna branch 311 to perform a detection operation when the NFC device 300 is in an idle state; the partial antenna branch is an antenna branch preset in the NFC antenna and used for detecting data signals.

The NFC apparatus 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention provides a specific structure of a device for implementing NFC communication. The NFC device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention is also configured with the independent NFC antenna 310, so that the NFC device 300 can implement various operating modes of NFC communication through the independent NFC antenna 310. NFC communication includes three modes of operation, which are: read/write mode, Peer-to-Peer mode (P2P mode), and Card mode. The following briefly introduces three operation modes of NFC communication:

(1) read/write mode (Reader/writer mode): the NFC device 300 may be used as a contactless reader, for example, to read relevant information from a poster or an electronic tag for display information; data exchange between terminal devices configured with the NFC function can also be realized, which brings great convenience to file sharing in an enterprise environment or to a game application of multiple players.

(2) Point-to-point mode (P2P mode): this mode is similar to infrared and bluetooth, and the NFC device 300 can be used for data exchange, but with shorter transmission distance, faster transmission creation speed, faster transmission speed, and lower power consumption; the wireless link of two terminal devices with NFC function can realize point-to-point data transmission, such as music downloading, picture exchange or device address book synchronization. Therefore, through the NFC function, data or services can be exchanged between a plurality of terminal devices such as a digital camera, a PDA, a computer, and a cellular phone.

(3) Card mode (Card emulation): in this mode, the NFC device 300 is equivalent to an Integrated Circuit Card (IC Card) using RFID technology, and may be used instead of a large number of IC cards, such as a shopping Card, a bus Card, an access control Card, a ticket Card, an entrance ticket Card, and a credit Card used in a shopping mall. In this operation mode, there is a great advantage that the card (i.e., the NFC device 300) can be powered by a Radio Frequency (RF) region of the contactless card reader, so that the NFC communication function can be realized even when the terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone) equipped with the NFC device 300 is powered off.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the NFC antenna 310 is not designed as a whole, but the NFC antenna 310 is designed as a plurality of antenna branches 311, and each antenna branch 311 is connected to the NFC controller 320 as an independent individual, that is, the NFC controller 320 can control each antenna branch 311 separately, so that each antenna branch 311 of the NFC antenna 310 in the embodiment of the present invention can implement an independent operation task when performing NFC communication. For example, partial antenna branch 311 is used to detect whether a data signal of NFC communication is received; the partial antenna branch 311 is used for implementing read-write operation on the data card in a read-write mode when performing NFC communication; the partial antenna branch 311 is used for implementing data transmission in a peer-to-peer mode when performing NFC communication; the partial antenna branch 311 is used to modify data information in the NFC device 300 as a card in the card mode when performing NFC communication. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, a specific structure of the multiple antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 is not limited, the layout of the multiple antenna branches 311 may be designed as a distributed antenna in multiple forms, and the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 3 is only a schematic illustration of that each antenna branch 311 is connected to the NFC controller 320.

It has been described above that since the NFC antenna 310 is designed as a structure with a plurality of antenna branches 311 in the embodiment of the present invention, and each antenna branch 311 is connected to the NFC controller 320, each antenna branch 311 can be controlled independently by the NFC controller 320. In a common application scenario, the NFC device 300 processes an idle state, which means that the NFC device 300 does not currently have data traffic that needs to be executed. It can be understood that the NFC device 300 performs NFC communication only when there is a data service requirement, that is, performs the data service in the three operating modes, and if all the antennas in the NFC device 300 are always in an operating state, that is, the operating area of the antennas is always the total area of the NFC antenna 310, the power consumption of the NFC device 300 is high; in view of the above problem, in the NFC device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the NFC controller 320 may control only some antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform the detection operation and control other antenna branches 311 not to be in the operating state when the NFC device 300 is in the idle state. Obviously, the operating mode of the NFC antenna 310 in the NFC device 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention may bring about an effect that when the NFC device 300 is in the idle state, the operating area of the antenna is much smaller than the total area of the NFC antenna 310, and therefore, the power consumption of the NFC device 300 may be reduced to a great extent.

When designing the partial antenna branch 311 for performing the detection operation, considering that the partial antenna branch 311 always performs the detection operation and also interferes with the device of the terminal equipment, the partial antenna branch 311 may be disposed at a position far from the device of the terminal equipment, thereby reducing the influence on the terminal equipment.

Optionally, in an application scenario of the embodiment of the present invention, an implementation manner of controlling, by the NFC controller 320, a part of the antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform a detection operation may be that the part of the antenna branches 311 is used to detect data signals in three operation modes at the same time, for example, in a read-write mode, whether a data card approaches the NFC device 300 is detected at the same time, in a card mode, whether the NFC device 300 approaches a card reader is detected at the same time, and in a point-to-point mode, whether the NFC device 300 approaches another NFC device 300 having a data transmission requirement is detected at the same time. In this application scenario, since the partial antenna branch 311 performing the detection operation is used to perform the same detection operation, the partial antenna branch 311 may be one or more antenna branches 311.

Optionally, in an application scenario of the embodiment of the present invention, an implementation manner of controlling, by the NFC controller 320, a part of the antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform a detection operation may be that, in the part of the antenna branches 311 performing the detection operation, a first antenna branch 311 is used to detect a data signal in a read-write mode, a second antenna branch 311 is used to detect a data signal in a card mode, and a third antenna branch 311 is used to detect a data signal in a peer-to-peer mode. In this application scenario, since the partial antenna branch 311 performing the detection operation is used for performing the detection operation in three different operation modes, the partial antenna branch 311 includes at least three antenna branches 311.

It should be noted that the above implementation manner in which the NFC controller 320 controls the partial antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform the detection operation is only an illustrative illustration, and the NFC controller 320 in the embodiment of the present invention may also control the partial antenna branches 311 to perform the detection operation in other classification manners, and as long as the NFC controller 320 can control the partial antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform the detection operation in the idle state of the NFC device 300, so as to achieve an effect of reducing the working area of the antenna, the implementation manner may be used as a manner in which the NFC controller 320 controls the partial antenna branches 311 to perform the detection operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the use process of the NFC device in the prior art, the NFC antenna 310 is always in a working state, that is, the working area of the antenna is always the total area of the NFC antenna 310, so that the power consumption of the NFC apparatus 300 is high; on the other hand, when the NFC device in the prior art is applied to a terminal device, because the NFC antenna 310 of the NFC device is closer to the device of the terminal device, for example, because the volume of the smart phone is smaller, when the NFC device is set in the smart phone, the NFC antenna 310 may be closer to the camera, the display screen, the touch screen of the smart phone, and the antenna of the terminal device, and because the working area of the NFC antenna 310 is larger, the NFC antenna 310 may interfere with the device of the smart phone, thereby affecting the normal use of the terminal device.

Compared with the NFC device in the prior art, according to the NFC apparatus 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, by designing the NFC antenna 310 as the distributed plurality of antenna branches 311 and connecting each antenna branch 311 with the NFC controller 320, each antenna branch 311 can be independently controlled by the NFC controller 320, so that when the NFC apparatus 300 is in the idle state, only the controller portion of the antenna branch 311 is controlled to perform the detection operation, that is, the working area of the antenna is much smaller than the total area of the NFC antenna 310 in most of time and also much smaller than the working area of the antenna in the NFC device in the prior art, which greatly reduces the power consumption of the NFC apparatus 300. On the other hand, when the NFC apparatus 300 provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a terminal device, since the working area of the antenna is smaller in the idle state of the NFC apparatus 300, that is, the working area of the antenna is smaller in most cases, the interference generated by the NFC antenna 310 on the device of the terminal device can be reduced to a great extent.

The NFC device provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises an NFC antenna and an NFC controller, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a plurality of antenna branches, each antenna branch is respectively connected with the NFC controller, and when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of the antenna branches are controlled by the NFC controller to execute detection operation; according to the device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the NFC antenna is designed into the distributed antenna branches, and the NFC controller can independently control each antenna branch, so that when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of the antenna branches in the NFC antenna can be controlled to execute detection operation, the working area of the antenna is reduced under most conditions, and the power consumption of the NFC device is reduced; further, when the NFC apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a terminal device, because the working area of the antenna is smaller in most cases, the interference of the NFC antenna on a device of the terminal device is reduced to a great extent, that is, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention solves the problem that the power consumption of the NFC device is large because the NFC antenna of the NFC device in the prior art is always in the working state, and accordingly, also solves the problem that when the NFC device in the prior art is configured in the terminal device, the NFC antenna is always in the working state, the interference is generated on the terminal device, and the terminal device cannot be normally used.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, each antenna branch 311 in the partial antenna branches 311 used for performing the detection operation in the NFC device 300 is configured to send, when detecting a data signal, the data signal detected by the antenna branch 311 to the NFC controller 320;

accordingly, the NFC controller 320 is further configured to control all antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform a communication operation when receiving a data signal transmitted by one antenna branch 311.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the antenna branch 311 configured to perform the detection operation in the NFC antenna 310 is used to detect whether there is a data signal in three operating modes when the NFC device 300 is in an idle state, and if one of the antenna branches 311 detects the data signal, it is described that the NFC device 300 in the card mode approaches a card reader, or the NFC device 300 in the read-write mode approaches a data card, or the NFC device 300 in the peer-to-peer mode approaches another NFC device 300 with a data service, and then NFC communication needs to be performed, so when the NFC controller 320 receives the data signal sent by one of the antenna branches 311, NFC communication is ready to be performed, that is, all antennas in the NFC antenna 310 are controlled to perform NFC communication.

Optionally, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an NFC antenna in the NFC device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 of the present embodiment are designed as a serial connection, wherein each antenna branch 311 is electrically connected to an adjacent antenna branch 311.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of antenna branches 311 are connected in series in a sequentially connected manner, and a connection between adjacent antenna branches 311 may be directly connected or coupled, as long as all antenna branches 311 can form the NFC antenna 310 in a series manner, and each antenna branch 311 is an independent and individual antenna structure. The specific structure of each antenna branch 311 in the NFC antenna 310 is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention, and the NFC antenna 310 in the NFC device 300 shown in fig. 4 is only schematically illustrated.

Optionally, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in the NFC device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 of the present embodiment are designed in a parallel connection manner, wherein one end of each antenna branch 311 is connected to the first port 312, and the other end of each antenna branch 311 is connected to the second port 313.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of antenna branches 311 form an integral structure of the NFC antenna 310 in parallel, and each antenna branch 311 is an independent entity, and the NFC antenna 310 may be connected to the NFC controller 320 through the first port 312 or the second port 313, in fact, each antenna branch 311 is connected to the NFC controller 320. The specific structure of each antenna branch 311 in the NFC antenna 310 is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention, and the NFC antenna 310 in the NFC device 300 shown in fig. 5 is only schematically illustrated.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, a structure of the NFC antenna 310 is further provided, that is, the NFC antenna 310 of this embodiment includes a first antenna component 330 in a series structure and a second antenna component 340 in a parallel structure, where each antenna branch 311 in the first antenna component 330 is electrically connected to an adjacent antenna branch 311, one end of each antenna branch 311 in the second antenna component 340 is connected to a third port, and the other end of each antenna branch 311 is connected to a fourth port. In this embodiment, the structure of the first antenna component 330 may refer to the NFC antenna 310 in fig. 4, and the structure of the second antenna component 340 may refer to the NFC antenna 310 in fig. 5.

In an implementation manner of this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in an NFC device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 6, the first antenna component 330 and the second antenna component 340 are electrically connected in series. The embodiment shown in fig. 6 is illustrated by taking the first antenna element 330 as the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 4 and the second antenna element 340 as the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 5, but the specific structures of the first antenna element 330 and the second antenna element 340 are not limited in this embodiment.

In an implementation manner of this embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, a schematic structural diagram of another NFC antenna in an NFC device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 7, the first antenna component 330 and the second antenna component 340 are connected in parallel, that is, one end of the first antenna component 330 is connected to the third port 314 of the second antenna component 340, and the other end of the first antenna component 330 is connected to the fourth port 315 of the second antenna component 340. The embodiment shown in fig. 7 is illustrated by taking the first antenna component 330 as the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 3, and taking the second antenna component 340 as the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 5 as an example, and illustrates a connection relationship between the first antenna component 330 and the second antenna component 340, which is not limited by the specific structure of the first antenna component 330 and the second antenna component 340.

It should be noted that the structures of the various NFC antennas 310 shown in fig. 4 to fig. 7 are only optional implementations of the NFC antenna 310 in the NFC device 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the specific structure of the NFC antenna 310 in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited in this way.

Optionally, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another NFC device according to an embodiment of the present invention. On the basis of the above embodiments, the present embodiment provides the NFC device 300, wherein a switch 316 is disposed between each antenna branch 311 in the NFC antenna 310 and the NFC controller 320.

The NFC controller 320 in this embodiment is further configured to connect the path of the antenna branch 311 corresponding to the present switch 316 or disconnect the path of the antenna branch 311 corresponding to the present switch 316 through the switch 316 provided between the NFC controller 320 and each antenna branch 311.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an implementation manner is provided in which the NFC controller 320 respectively controls different antenna branches 311, that is, a switch 316 is disposed between each antenna branch 311 and the NFC controller 320, if the controller controls to close a certain switch 316, that is, the antenna branch 311 corresponding to the switch is connected, and the antenna branch 311 is in a working state; if the controller controls to turn off a certain switch 316, that is, turn off the antenna branch 311 corresponding to the switch 316, the antenna branch 311 is not in the working state.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in fig. 8 is illustrated based on the structure of the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 5 as an example. In practical applications, the NFC antenna 310 in the NFC device 300 shown in fig. 8 may be replaced by the NFC antenna 310 shown in fig. 4, 6 or 7, wherein the setting principle of the switch 316 is unchanged, that is, the switch 316 is arranged between each antenna branch 311 and the NFC controller 320.

Optionally, in this embodiment, an implementation manner that the NFC controller 320 is configured to control the partial antenna branch 311 to perform the detection operation when the NFC apparatus 300 is in the idle state may include: when the NFC device 300 is in the idle state, the passage of the antenna branch 311 corresponding to the partial switch 316 is communicated, and the partial antenna branch 311 is controlled to perform the detection operation.

In this embodiment, since the NFC controller 320 controls the operating state of each antenna branch 311 through the switch 316 disposed between the NFC controller 320 and each antenna branch 311, that is, when the NFC controller 320 needs to control some antenna branches 311 to perform a detection operation, the paths of the antenna branches 311 and the NFC controller 320 may be connected, and actually, the switches 316 corresponding to the antenna branches 311 are closed.

Optionally, in this embodiment, an implementation manner that the NFC controller 320 is configured to control all antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform NFC communication when receiving a data signal sent by one antenna branch 311 may include: when receiving a data signal transmitted by one antenna branch 311, the path of the antenna branch 311 corresponding to each switch 316 is connected, and all antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 are controlled to perform NFC communication.

In this embodiment, since the NFC controller 320 controls the operating state of each antenna branch 311 through the switch 316 disposed between each antenna branch 311, that is, when the NFC controller 320 receives a data signal, it indicates that data traffic of NFC communication needs to be provided currently, for example, the NFC device 300 in the card mode approaches a card reader, or the NFC device 300 in the read-write mode approaches a data card, or the NFC device 300 in the peer-to-peer mode approaches another NFC device 300, at this time, the NFC controller 320 needs to control all the antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 to perform NFC communication, and the switches 316 corresponding to all the antenna branches 311 may be closed actually by communicating all the antenna branches 311 with the NFC controller 320.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a terminal device, and fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention is suitable for the situation of executing the near field communication. As shown in fig. 9, the terminal device 30 provided in the present embodiment is provided with the NFC apparatus 300 as shown in any one of fig. 4 to 8.

The terminal device 30 provided by the embodiment of the present invention may be a mobile terminal, for example, a smart phone, a PDA, a tablet computer, or other devices, and as long as the terminal device 30 is convenient for a user to carry, the terminal device may be used in performing NFC communication in a card mode, a read-write mode, and a peer-to-peer mode; the terminal device 30 provided in the embodiment of the present invention may also be a Personal Computer (PC) or a card reader device, and may be used in performing NFC communication in a read-write mode and a peer-to-peer mode.

The terminal device provided by the embodiment of the invention is configured with an NFC device comprising an NFC antenna and an NFC controller, wherein the NFC antenna comprises a plurality of antenna branches, each antenna branch is respectively connected with the NFC controller, and when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of the antenna branches are controlled by the NFC controller to execute detection operation; in the NFC device of the terminal device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the NFC antenna is designed as a distributed antenna branch, and the NFC controller can independently control each antenna branch, so that when the NFC device is in an idle state, part of antenna branches in the NFC antenna can be controlled to perform a detection operation, and a working area of the antenna is reduced in most cases, thereby reducing power consumption of the NFC device; in addition, the terminal device provided in the embodiment of the present invention greatly reduces interference of the NFC antenna with a device of the terminal device due to a small working area of the antenna of the NFC device in most cases, that is, the terminal device provided in the embodiment of the present invention solves a problem that the power consumption of the NFC device is large due to the NFC antenna of the NFC device in the prior art being always in a working state, and accordingly, also solves a problem that the terminal device cannot be normally used due to interference of the NFC antenna of the NFC device in the prior art due to the NFC antenna being always in the working state when the NFC device in the prior art is configured in the terminal device.

Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present invention, the part of antenna branch 311 used for performing the detection operation in NFC apparatus 300 may be disposed at a position far from the device of terminal device 30 in terminal device 30. For example, when the work of the NFC antenna 310 causes a large interference to the camera, the display, the touch panel, and the antenna of the terminal device 30, the designer may configure the NFC antenna 310 at a position far from the above-mentioned devices of the terminal device 30 when designing the NFC antenna 310, further, since the majority of the antenna branches 311 in the NFC antenna 310 are not in the working state when the NFC apparatus 300 is in the idle state, the device of the terminal device 30 is not interfered, only a part of the antenna branches 311 used for performing the detection operation in the NFC apparatus 300 is always in the working state, although the antenna area of the part of the antenna branches 311 is small, the interference to the devices of the terminal device 30 may be reduced to a large extent, and when designing the layout position of the part of the antenna branches 311 used for performing the detection operation, the designer may further configure the part of the antenna branches 311 at a position far from the devices of the terminal device 30, thereby reducing the interference generated to the terminal device 30 even further.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above description is only for the convenience of understanding the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A Near Field Communication (NFC) apparatus, comprising: an NFC antenna and an NFC controller;

the NFC antenna comprises a plurality of antenna branches, and each antenna branch is connected with the NFC controller through a switch;

the NFC controller is configured to connect or disconnect a path of an antenna branch corresponding to the switch through the switch provided between the NFC controller and each antenna branch;

and the NFC controller is used for communicating part of paths of the antenna branches corresponding to the switches when the NFC device is in an idle state, and controlling part of the antenna branches to execute detection operation, wherein the part of the antenna branches are antenna branches which are preset in the NFC antenna and used for detecting data signals.

2. The close proximity wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the partial antenna branches is configured to transmit a data signal detected by the antenna branch to the NFC controller when the data signal is detected;

3. The near field communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna branches of the NFC antenna are connected in series, and each antenna branch is electrically connected to an adjacent antenna branch; or,

4. The close proximity wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the NFC antenna includes a first antenna component of a series configuration and a second antenna component of a parallel configuration therein;

5. The short-range wireless communication device according to claim 4, wherein the first antenna assembly and the second antenna assembly are electrically connected in series; or,

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the NFC controller is configured to control all antenna branches of the NFC antenna to perform NFC communication when receiving the data signal transmitted by one antenna branch, and the NFC controller comprises:

7. A terminal device, characterized in that the NFC apparatus of any one of claims 1-6 is arranged in the terminal device.

8. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the part of the antenna branches of the NFC apparatus for performing the detection operation is disposed at a location of a component of the terminal device remote from the terminal device.