Title: Radio frequency identification (RF-ID) based discovery for short range radio communication
Abstract: A RF-ID based wireless terminal has shortened session set-up and user identification time for conducting transactions with interactive service applications. The wireless terminal includes a terminal identification number and a user identification as a RF-ID tag. A RF-ID reader transmits a RF field for detecting the RF-ID tag in the terminal and provides an output signal when the terminal is within the reader field. The output signal establishes a connectionless communication to an access point or other terminal which initiates a wireless paging operation, in lieu of conducting a terminal discovery process, based upon the content of the RF-ID tag. The terminal initiates a wireless session between the terminal and the access point or terminal for conducting transactions with a service application linked to the access point or terminal.
Patent Number: 6,892,052 Issued on 05/10/2005 to Kotola, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Kotola; Sakari (Espoo, FI);
Hussmann; Holger (Tampere, FI)
|
| Assignee:
|
Nokia Corporation (Espoo, FI)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
105320 |
| Filed:
|
March 26, 2002 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
455/41.2; 340/10.1; 340/10.42; 455/66.1; 705/16 |
| Intern'l Class: |
H04B 007/00 |
| Field of Search: |
455/412,413,550.1,411,661
340/101,105,104.2
705/16,17,18
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 6104333 | Aug., 2000 | Wood, Jr.
| |
| 6282407 | Aug., 2001 | Vega et al.
| |
| 6456039 | Sep., 2002 | Lauper et al.
| |
| 2001/0007815 | Jul., 2001 | Philipsson.
| |
| 2002/0107742 | Aug., 2002 | Breck.
| |
| 2002/0154607 | Oct., 2002 | Forstadius et al.
| |
| 2003/0008647 | Jan., 2003 | Takatori et al.
| |
| 2003/0114104 | Jun., 2003 | Want et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| WO 0139108 | May., 2001 | WO.
| |
| WO 0145038 | Jun., 2001 | WO.
| |
| WO 0145319 | Jun., 2001 | WO.
| |
| WO 0145319 | Jun., 2001 | WO.
| |
Other References
"Radio Frequency Identification—RF-ID: A Basic Primer", Automatic Identification
Manufacturers (AIM) web site (http://www.aimglobal.org), Jan. 5, 2000, ppgs. 1-15.
Bray, et al., "Bluetooth Connect Without Cable", Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN 0-13-066106-6,
ppgs. 71-87.
Charles Arehart, et al., "Professional WAP", Wrox Press Ltd., 2000 (ISBN 1-861004-04-1)
ppgs. 1-41.
International Search Report (Oct. 17, 2003).
|
Primary Examiner: Chin; Vivian
Assistant Examiner: West; Lewis
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morgan & Finnegan, LLP, Redmond, Jr.; Joseph C.
Claims
1. A wireless terminal with shortened session set-up and identification time, comprising:
a. a processing unit coupled with a short range transceiver for controlling communication
via a first short range radio link having a first link range; and
b. an RF-ID tag operating within a second short range radio link for receiving
an interrogation signal and instantly transmitting terminal identification information
via the second short range radio link having a second link range for immediate
connection purposes, wherein the transmitted terminal identification information
includes clock information and a unique identification number of the wireless terminal
and is used for instantly establishing a wireless short range communication connection
having a shortened session set-up time with a remote transceiver communicating
on the first short range radio link by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment.
2. The wireless terminal of claim 1, further comprising:
c. a network transceiver having a third link range coupled with the processing
unit for interacting with a mobile communication network.
3. The wireless terminal of claim 1, further comprising:
c. an input/output apparatus for displaying information transmitted/received
to/from the remote transceiver via the first short-range radio link.
4. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the short-range transceiver conforms
the principles of the Bluetooth technology without an inquiry process and the first
short-range radio link is a Bluetooth link.
5. The wireless terminal of claim 4, wherein the terminal identification information
comprises a Bluetooth serial number of the wireless terminal.
6. A wireless terminal with shortened session set-up and identification time, comprising:
a. a processing unit coupled with a short range transceiver for controlling communication
via a first short range radio link having a first link range;
b. an RF-ID tag operating within a second short range radio link for receiving
an interrogation signal and instantly transmitting terminal identification information
via the second short range radio link having a second link range for immediate
connection purposes, wherein (1) the transmitted terminal identification information
is used for instantly establishing a wireless short range communication connection
having a shortened session set-up time with a remote transceiver communicating
on the first short range radio link by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment, and wherein the
RF-ID tag comprises:
a. an ID transponder for transmitting the terminal identification information
and clock information via the second short range radio link; and
b. a connection to a tag memory coupled with the ID transponder for storing and
providing the terminal identification information and the clock information to
the ID transponder.
7. The wireless terminal of claim 6, wherein the ID transponder further comprises:
a. an interrogation module for receiving energy from the interrogation signal;
and
b. a responder module for generating and transmitting the terminal identification
information and the clock information via the second short range radio link.
8. The wireless terminal of claim 7, wherein the ID transponder is a radio frequency
ID transponder and conforms the principles of the RF-ID technology.
9. The wireless terminal of claim 6, wherein the RF-ID tag is a passive tag.
10. The wireless terminal of claim 6, wherein the RF-ID tag further comprises
a data bus between the RF-ID tag and the processing unit for periodically updating
terminal identification and clock information.
11. A wireless terminal with shortened session set-up and identification time, comprising:
a. a processing unit coupled with a short range transceiver for controlling communication
via a first short range radio link having a first link range; and
b. an RF-ID tag operating within a second short range radio link for receiving
an interrogation signal and instantly transmitting terminal identification information
via the second short range radio link having a second link range for immediate
connection purposes, wherein (1) the transmitted terminal identification information
is used for instantly establishing a wireless short range communication connection
having a shortened session set-up time with a remote transceiver communicating
on the first short range radio link by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment, and (2) the RF-ID
tag is a semi-passive tag for writing into and reading from.
12. The wireless of claim 11 wherein the semi-passive RF-ID tag activates a second
transceiver module in the wireless terminal in response to receiving the interrogation signal.
13. The wireless terminal of claim 11, wherein the terminal identification information
includes a Bluetooth serial number of the wireless device, and Bluetooth Clock
Offset information of the wireless terminal.
14. The wireless terminal of claim 11, wherein the wireless connection enables
the wireless terminal to conduct transactions with a service application linked
with the remote transceiver communicating on the first short-range radio link.
15. The wireless terminal of claim 11, wherein the wireless terminal is a handheld
mobile terminal.
16. The wireless terminal of claim 15, wherein the handheld mobile terminal is
a mobile phone.
17. A wireless terminal with shortened session set-up and identification time, comprising:
a. a processing unit coupled with a short range transceiver for controlling communication
via a first short range radio link having a first link range;
b. an RF-ID tag operating within a second short range radio link for receiving
an interrogation signal and instantly transmitting terminal identification information
via the second short range radio link having a second link range for immediate
connection purposes, wherein the transmitted terminal identification information
is used for instantly establishing a wireless short range communication connection
having a shortened session set-up time with a remote transceiver communicating
on the first short range radio link by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment; and
a RF-ID reader coupled with the processing unit for communicating with remote
RF-ID tags and updating tag information.
18. The wireless terminal of claim 17, wherein the RF-ID reader communicates
with the remote RF-ID tags by transmitting an interrogation signal via the second
short range radio link and receiving a response signal including remote terminal
identification information.
19. The wireless terminal of claim 18, wherein the received remote terminal identification
information is used for establishing a wireless connection having a shortened session
set-up time by the short range transceiver communicating via the first short range
radio link with a remote transceiver linked with the remote terminal identification
information communicating on said first short range radio link.
20. The wireless terminal of claim 19, wherein the short-range transceiver conforms
the principles of the Bluetooth technology and the first short-range radio link
is a Bluetooth link.
21. The wireless terminal of claim 17 wherein the R F-ID reader conforms the
principles of the RF-ID technology.
22. A system for shortening session set-up and identification time in wireless
short range communication, comprising:
a. a first terminal equipped with a first short range transceiver operating on
a first short range radio link having a first link range, and an RF-ID tag operating
on a second short range radio link having a second link range, and adapted to transmit
at least terminal identification information of the first terminal;
b. a RF-ID reader for transmitting an interrogation signal via the second short
range radio link for rapidly detecting the RF-ID tag in the first terminal and
receiving the at least terminal identification information transmitted by the RF-ID
tag of the first terminal in response to said interrogation signal, and
c. a second terminal coupled with the RF-ID reader equipped with a second short
range radio transceiver module operating on the first short range radio link for
establishing a wireless short range connection with the first terminal in a shortened
session set-up time using the at least terminal identification information transmitted
by the RF-ID tag of the first terminal by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment, wherein the terminal
identification and clock information of the first terminal further includes a unique
identification number of the first terminal.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the first and the second transceiver modules
conform the principles of the Bluetooth technology and the first short range radio
link is a Bluetooth link.
24. A system for shortening session set-up and identification time in wireless
short range communication, comprising:
a. a first terminal equipped with a first short range transceiver operating on
a first short range radio link having a first link range, and an RF-ID tag operating
on a second short range radio link having a second link range, and adapted to transmit
at least terminal identification information of the first terminal;
b. a RF-ID reader for transmitting an interrogation signal via the second short
range radio link for rapidly detecting the RF-ID tag in the first terminal and
receiving the at least terminal identification information transmitted by the RF-ID
tag of the first terminal in response to said interrogation signal; and
c. a second terminal coupled with the RF-ID reader equipped with a second short
range radio transceiver module operating on the first short range radio link for
establishing a wireless short range connection with the first terminal in a shortened
session set-up time using the at least terminal identification information transmitted
by the RF-ID tag of the first terminal by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment, wherein (1) the
terminal identification and clock information of the first terminal further includes
a unique identification number of the first terminal, and (2) the terminal identification
and clock information of the first terminal further comprises a Bluetooth serial
number of the first terminal.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein the RF-ID tag comprises:
a. an ID transponder for transmitting the terminal identification and clock information
via the second short range radio link; and
b. a connection to a tag memory coupled with the ID transponder for storing the
terminal identification and clock information and for providing said terminal identification
and clock information to the ID transponder.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the ID transponder is a radio frequency ID
transponder and conforms the principles of the RF-ID technology.
27. The system of claim 24, wherein the ID transponder further comprises:
a. an interrogation module for receiving energy from the interrogation signal;
and
b. a responder module for generating and transmitting the terminal identification
information and clock information via the second short range radio link.
28. The system of claim 24 wherein the RF-ID tag is a passive tag.
29. A wireless terminal with shortened session set-up and identification time, comprising:
a. a processing unit coupled with a short range transceiver for controlling communication
via a first short range radio link having a first link range;
b. an RF-ID tag operating within a second short range radio link for receiving
an interrogation signal and instantly transmitting terminal identification information
via the second short range radio link having a second link range for immediate
connection purposes, wherein the transmitted terminal identification information
is used for instantly establishing a wireless short range communication connection
having a shortened session set-up time with a remote transceiver communicating
on the first short range radio link by skipping a device discovery process during
said wireless short range communication connection establishment; and
c. a data bus between the RF-ID tag and the processing unit for periodically
updating terminal identification and clock information.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the RF-ID tag is a semi-passive tag.
31. The system of claim 30, wherein the semi-passive RF-ID tag activates the
second transceiver module in the first terminal in response to receiving the interrogation signal.
32. The system of claim 29, wherein the terminal identification information includes
a Bluetooth serial number of the wireless device, and Bluetooth Clock Offset information
of the wireless terminal.
33. The system of claim 29, wherein the first terminal is a handheld mobile terminal.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the handheld mobile terminal is a mobile phone.
35. The system of claim 29, wherein the second terminal is a handheld mobile terminal.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein the handheld mobile terminal is a mobile phone.
37. The system of claim 35, wherein the second terminal is a stationary access
point connected to a communication network enabling the first terminal to conduct
transactions with service applications within the communication network via the
access point through the established short range wireless connection in a shortened
session set-up time.
38. The system of claim 37, wherein the communication network is Internet.
39. A method for shortening session set-up and identification time in wireless
short range communication, comprising the steps of:
a. incorporating within an RF-ID tag operating on a first short range radio link
having a first link range physically proximate to a first terminal at least a portion
of a terminal identification information of the first terminal;
b. maintaining the at least portion of the terminal identification information
of the first terminal within the RF-ID tag;
c. moving the first terminal and the RF-ID tag physically proximate to said first
terminal into a coverage area of an RF-ID reader operating on the first short range
radio link;
d. transmitting instantly the at least portion of the terminal identification
information of the first terminal by the RF-ID tag via the first short range radio
link in response to an interrogation signal transmitted by the RF-ID reader;
e. forwarding the received at least portion of the terminal identification information
of the first terminal to a second terminal connected to the RF-ID reader; and
f. establishing a wireless short range connection having shortened session set-up
time without conducting a device discovery process between the first terminal and
the second terminal through a second short range radio link having a second link
range using the at least portion of the terminal identification information of
the first terminal, wherein step (b) further comprises periodically updating the
at least portion of the terminal identification information of the first terminal.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the second short-range radio link is a Bluetooth
link conforming the principles of Bluetooth technology.
41. The method of claim 39, wherein the first radio link conforms the principles
of the RF-ID technology.
42. The method of claim 39, wherein the RF-ID tag is a passive tag.
43. The method of claim 39, wherein the RF-ID tag is a semi-passive tag.
44. The method of claim 39, wherein the terminal identification information of
the first terminal includes a Bluetooth serial number of the first terminal and
Bluetooth Clock Offset information of the first terminal.
45. The method of claim 39, wherein the first terminal is a handheld mobile terminal.
46. The method of claim 39, wherein the handheld mobile terminal is a mobile phone.
47. The method of claim 39, wherein the second terminal is a handheld mobile terminal.
48. The method of claim 47, wherein the handheld mobile terminal is a mobile phone.
49. The method of claim 39, wherein the second terminal is a stationary access
point connected to an infrastructure network enabling the first terminal to conduct
transactions with service applications within the communication network via the
access point through the established wireless short range connection in a the shortened
session set-up time.
50. The method of claim 49, wherein the infrastructure network is the Internet.
51. The method of claim 39, wherein the RF-ID tag is incorporated in the first terminal.
52. The method of claim 39, wherein the RF-ID reader is incorporated in the second terminal.
53. A method for providing interactive services with shortened session set-up
and identification time in short range radio communication, comprising
a. transmitting at least identification information of a mobile communications
terminal via an RF-ID radio link in response to an interrogation signal sent by
an RF-ID reader;
b. forwarding by the RF-ID reader, the at least identification information of
the terminal to an access point; and
c. receiving by the mobile communications terminal a service notification message
from the access point via a short range radio link, wherein the short range radio
link is a Bluetooth radio link and the at least identification information of the
mobile communications terminal comprises a unique Bluetooth serial number of the
terminal and a Bluetooth clock offset information of the terminal.
54. The method of claim 53, wherein step (f) further comprises:
a. transmitting by the second terminal a paging message via the second short
range radio link to the first terminal including the at least portion of the identification
information of the first terminal;
b. transmitting a page response message to the second terminal by the first terminal;
and
c. establishing the wireless connection for communication purposes between the
first terminal and the second terminal.
55. The method of claim 53, wherein the at least portion of the terminal identification
information of the first terminal includes a unique identification number of the
first terminal.
56. The method of claim 55, wherein the at least portion of the terminal identification
information of the first terminal comprises a Bluetooth serial number of the first terminal.
57. A medium, executable in a computer system for 80 for providing interactive
services with shortened session set-up and identification time in short range radio
communication, the medium comprising
a. program code for transmitting at least identification information of a mobile
communications terminal via an RF-ID radio link in response to an interrogation
signal sent by an RF-ID reader;
b. program code for forwarding by the RF-ID reader, the at least identification
information of the terminal to an access point; and
c. program code for receiving by the mobile communications terminal a service
notification message from the access point via a short range radio link, wherein
the short range radio link is a Bluetooth radio link and the at least identification
information of the mobile communications terminal comprises a unique Bluetooth
serial number of the terminal and a Bluetooth clock offset information of the terminal.
58. A method for providing interactive services with shortened session set-up
and identification time in Bluetooth communication, comprising:
a. installing at least a Bluetooth serial number and credit card information
in a Bluetooth terminal;
b. transferring at least the Bluetooth serial number and credit card information
to a RF-ID/Bluetooth access point using RF-ID technology;
c. establishing a Bluetooth session by:
(i) conducting Bluetooth paging by the access point using at least the Bluetooth
serial number to open a Bluetooth connection;
(ii) responding to the paging by the terminal to establish the Bluetooth session;
d. transmitting a PIN number request to the terminal by the access point wherein
the request contains information about a transaction with a service application;
e. transmitting the PIN number to the access point; and
f. transferring the PIN number to the service application for completion of a
transaction.
59. The method of claim 58, further comprising
g. providing a user with information and operating equipment by the service application
in response to the PIN number enabling the user to achieve the services available
from the service application.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates to short range communication devices, processes and systems.
More particularly, the invention relates to short range devices, processes and
systems utilizing radio frequency identification systems for shorter user identification
and session setup time for interactive services.
2. Description of Prior Art:
Bluetooth® is a short-range wireless communication system operating
at 2.4 GHz and designed to establish connection between two or more devices operating
within a ten-meter communication range, for nominal output power, but can be extended
up to 100 meters for 100 mW-output power. The details of Bluetooth are described
in "The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Specification Of The Bluetooth System,
Volumes 1 and 2, Core and Profiles: Version 1.1, 22nd Feb., 2001, which are fully
incorporated herein by reference. To discover another Bluetooth terminal, an inquiry
message is transmitted searching for other devices in the vicinity. Any other Bluetooth
terminal that is listening by means of conducting an inquiry scan, will recognize
the inquiry message and respond. The inquiry response is a message packet containing
the responding devices Bluetooth terminal Address (BD_ADDR). The Bluetooth terminal
address is a unique, 48-bit IEEE address, which is electronically engraved into
each Bluetooth terminal. The address is virtually guaranteed to be completely unique,
so much so that it can be reliably associated with the device's user, much as can
the user's passport number or social security number. One of the problems of Bluetooth
terminals is the long time required for discovery of a Bluetooth terminal, which
can be up to 10 seconds. In many applications, the device discovery time is too
long and restricts the usage of Bluetooth, particularly for interactive services.
Radio Frequency Identification (RF-ID) is a wireless system that automatically
identifies tracks and manages objects via a fast connection between the object
and a RF-ID reader. RF-ID principles are described in a publication entitled "Radio
Frequency Identification—RF-ID: A Basic Primer", published by the Automatic
Identification Manufacturers (AIM) web site (http: //www.aimglobal.org), Oct. 23,
2001 and fully incorporated herein by reference. The object includes a transponder,
active or passive, which when in the presence of an electromagnetic zone created
by the reader broadcasts an object identity signal. The reader senses and decodes
the broadcast signal to identify the object. The object identity is achieved by
a connectionless communication that is a connection without a logical connection
between the reader and the object. However, the RF-ID reader can not conduct interactive
sessions between the object and the reader.
What is needed in the art is a Bluetooth terminal having shortened terminal
discovery and user identification time via a connectionless connection to another
terminal or access point using RF-ID, the terminal or access point establishing
a session enabling the terminal to conduct transactions with an interactive service application.
Prior art related to short range communication systems and RF-ID includes:
1. PCT Publication WO01/39108 A1 discloses a system that includes a mobile communication
unit wherein a RF-ID identification module is added between the radio part and
an antenna in a mobile telephone that includes a Bluetooth function. The module
comprises a mixer for transposing identification messages from identification devices
in a 2.45 GHz RF-D system of the backscatter type to a baseband for further processing
in a computer part of the unit. The unit may communicate with a super ordinate
system, via a standard call channel or Bluetooth channel. The unit is also cabled
to send information to the identification devices for alerting or transmitting
data, wherein modulation and encoding can be effected in accordance with the Bluetooth
standard enabling the mixer to be included as an integral part of a standard Bluetooth radio.
2. PCT Publication WO01/45038 A2, published Jun. 21, 2001, discloses a short-range
communication system includes an interrogator, which interrogates multiple transponders
located on a person and receives information separately from the transponders.
The interrogator and/or the transponders may be held in an article of clothing
or in personal effects of the person. The system enables the close worn by a person
to communicate with a plurality of items and to obtain useful information. The
network system may be configured so that any particular transponder may communicate
with another transponder or a group of transponders of other locals to activate
functions; cause action to otherwise shared data and/or information.
3. PCT Publication WO01/45319 A1, published Jun. 21, 2001, discloses a first
short-range
radio link operating within a first link range. The first link is between a stationary
unit and a mobile communication device in a wireless network where the stationary
unit transmits an interrogation signal to the communication device, via a short-range
communication link operating within a second link range, essentially smaller than
the first link range. The mobile communication device receives the interrogation
signal from the stationary unit and transmits a response signal, including a unique
identification number of the mobile communication device to the interrogation signal.
The stationary unit receives the response signal and authenticates the identification
number. The stationary unit and the mobile communication device establish a connection,
via the first short-range radio link.
None of the prior art discloses or suggests a Bluetooth terminal having a RF-ID
identification for establishing a connectionless communication with a service application
and conducting transactions with the application on a session basis where the connection
time and user identification time are shortened relative to the standard Bluetooth
terminal discovery process for conducting sessions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other
limitations that will be apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification,
the present invention is directed to shorten session set-up and identification
time for interactive services over a short range radio link connection, more particularly
a Bluetooth connection. The terminal incorporates a RF-ID tag incorporating a Bluetooth
terminal serial number and optionally a user ID. The RF-ID tag can be a passive
or semi-passive tag. In the case of a semi-passive tag, it is possible to process
information before transmission of any messages. This enables transmission of other
valuable information such as Bluetooth clock information. If the Clock Offset value
is transmitted with Bluetooth serial number, a subsequent paging protocol is faster.
When the terminal enters the field of a combined RF-ID reader and Bluetooth access
point (RF-ID/BTH), the Bluetooth serial number and other optional parameters are
read from the RF-ID tag incorporated into the terminal. The RF-ID reader transfers
the device serial number and other optional parameters to the access node. A Bluetooth
paging operation can then be initiated by the access node using the Bluetooth serial
number received from the RF-ID reader. In response to the page, the terminal performs
a connection setup with the access node using normal Bluetooth session set-up procedure.
If the Bluetooth clock information is also transmitted, the page can be made even
faster, because the access node can use the terminal's clock information in Bluetooth
paging procedure. Alternatively, the access node performs a service notification
that includes links to local services. By transmitting the user-ID and other optional
parameters, the service notification can be personalized. The paging process shortens
the session setup time as compared to the normal Bluetooth terminal discovery process
for establishing a session. The system can also be used in communication between
two Bluetooth terminals if the terminals are respectively equipped with a RF-ID
tag and a. RF-ID reader.
In addition to the Bluetooth standard, the invention also applies to other wireless
standards. The invention applies, for example, to the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN
standards, the Japanese 3rd Generation (3G) wireless standard, the various 2G,
2.5 G, and 3G cellular telephone system standards, the Infrared Data Association
(IrDA) standard, the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard,
the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) standard, the IEEE 802.15 Wireless Personal
Area Network (WPAN) standard, the High Performance Radio Local Area Network (HIPERLAN)
standard, and the Multimedia Mobile Access Communication (MMAC) Systems standard
of the Japanese Association of Radio Industries and Businesses. For each of these
standards, the initialization parameters for establishing a communications session
between a terminal and an access point are stored in a RF-ID tag accompanying the
terminal. The parameters are transferred to the RF-ID reader at the access point
using RF-ID technology, thereby speeding up the process of initialization.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further understood from a detailed description of a preferred
embodiment taken in conjunction with an appended drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a representation of a Bluetooth terminal within the field of RF-ID
reader providing a connectionless communication to an access point in a Bluetooth
network for conducting transactions between the terminal and a service application
on a sessions basis and incorporating the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 1A is a representation of a RF coverage area for a Bluetooth terminal with
a RF-ID module;
FIG. 1B is a representation of RF-ID coverage of the Bluetooth terminal of FIG. 1A;
FIG. 1C is a representation of the Bluetooth coverage and RF-ID coverage of
the Bluetooth terminal of FIGS. 1A and B;
FIG. 2 is a representation of a Bluetooth terminal, including a passive RF-ID
tag, according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2A is a representation of the passive tag of FIG. 2;
FIG. 3 is a representation of a Bluetooth terminal, including a semi-passive
RF-ID tag, according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3A is a representation of the semi-passive or active tag of FIG. 3;
FIG. 4 is a representation of Bluetooth terminal including a RF-D reader module
for exchanging information with other RF-ID equipped devices according to one embodiment
of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a representation of an access point in the system of FIG. 1, according
to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a representation of the access point of FIG. 5 coupled to a content
provider for conducting interactive services, according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 7 is a representation of an access point of FIG. 5 coupled to the RF reader
providing terminal tag information for establishing a session with the terminal
of FIGS. 2 or 3, according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a representation of a process for reducing session setup time in the
Bluetooth network of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a representation of a process for conducting a cash transaction or
a credit card transaction with a user in the system of FIG. 1, according to one
embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 10 is a representation of a process providing a user with flight information
at an airline gate, using the system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of
the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to
the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way
of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It
is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 discloses a system
100 incorporating principles of the present
invention for RF-ID based discovery of Bluetooth terminals, which shortens the
user identification time and speeds up session setup for interactive services between
a terminal and a service application. The terminal
102 incorporates a RF-ID
tag
106, which stores ID information, such as the Bluetooth terminal serial
number of the terminal
102. The ID information including at least the Bluetooth
serial number of the user terminal is transmitted by the RF-ID tag
106 via
a radio link
108 to a RF-ID Reader
110.
In one embodiment, the RF-ID tag
106 may be a passive tag, which operates
without an internal battery source, deriving the power to operate from the radio
field
112 generated by the RF-ID reader
110. The Bluetooth terminal
serial number is transmitted by the RF-ID tag
106 to the RF-ID reader
110,
and can be forwarded to a server
116. Alternately, the RF-D reader
110
can transfer the identity information to an access point
104, which can
forward the identity information to the server
116. The server
116
can use the received terminal serial number or user ID to lookup information about
either the user or the terminal
102, and return the accessed information
to the access point
104 for transfer to the terminal via radio link
115.
In another embodiment, the RF-ID tag
106 can be a semi-passive or active
tag. A semi-passive or active tag may include a read/write storage device powered
by an internal battery allowing a greater RF communication range and higher data
transmission rates. In the case of a semi-passive tag, it is possible to process
information before message transmission. This enables transmission of other valuable
information such as the Bluetooth Clock Offset of the terminal
102. If the
Clock Offset value of the terminal
102 is transmitted with the Bluetooth
serial number, the subsequent Bluetooth paging protocol with the access point
104
is faster.
When the terminal
102 enters the radio field
112 of a combined
RF-ID reader
110 and Bluetooth access point
104 (RF-ID/BTH), the
Bluetooth serial number and other optional parameters are read by the reader
110
from the RF-ID tag
106. If the terminal has a passive tag there is no option
to update the tag information, so the information preferably includes only Bluetooth
serial number of the terminal which may be hard-coded within the RF-ID tag already
in the terminal manufacturing line. In the case of semi-passive or active RF-ID
tag, the tag information can be updated later on, so more information, such as
Clock Offset information and User ID information can be maintained in the tag.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the RF coverage
area of the RF-ID tag and the RF coverage area of the Bluetooth terminal are substantially
the same (or at least in magnitude). FIG. 1A illustrates the Bluetooth RF coverage
of the terminal. FIG. 1B illustrates RF-ID coverage of the same terminal. In FIG.
1C, the coverage areas of FIGS. 1A and B are "put together" and are substantially
the same (in the optimum case) thereby requiring the RF-ID readers to send interrogation
signals having coverage in the same magnitude as that of the Bluetooth terminal
coverage and requiring the RF-ID tag to have the same coverage as the terminal.
The combined RF-ID reader
110 and Bluetooth access point
104 may
also periodically send Bluetooth Inquiry messages to detect the terminal
102.
After receiving the Bluetooth serial number and other optional parameters by whatever
means (using RF-ID or Bluetooth), the combined RF-ID reader instantly sends a Bluetooth
paging message using the received information.
Returning to FIG. 1, the RF-ID reader
110 transfers the device serial
number; the terminal Clock Offset value, and other optional parameters including
the Clock Offset value depending upon whether the terminal has a passive or a semi-passive
RF-ID tag, to the access node
104. The access point now has enough information
about the terminal
102 to skip the usual Bluetooth inquiry stage in establishing
a Bluetooth connection, and can proceed directly to the Bluetooth paging stage.
A Bluetooth paging operation is initiated by the access node
104 using the
Bluetooth serial number of the terminal
102 received from the RF-ID reader
and possibly the Clock Offset value of the terminal
102. In response to
the page, the terminal
102 performs a connection setup with the access point
104 using normal Bluetooth session set-up procedure. Additionally, the access
point
104 can send a service notification to the server
116 to access
data, such as links to local services. By transmitting user-ID or the serial number
of the terminal
102, the service notification to the server
116 can
be personalized, and data uniquely associated with the user can be accessed. The
RF-ID discovery/paging process shortens the session setup time as compared to the
normal Bluetooth terminal discovery process for establishing a session. The system
can also be used in communication between two Bluetooth mobile terminals, if the
terminals are respectively equipped with a RF-ID tag
106 and a RF-ID reader
110.
The access point
104 uses the information transferred from the RF-ID reader
110 to prepare and send a paging message to the terminal
102. The
access point
104 invokes its link controller to enter a page state where
it will transmit paging messages to the paged terminal
102 using the access
code acquired from the RF-ID tag
106. The terminal
102 is in the
paging scanning state and can receive the paging message from the access point
104, which provides the terminal
102 with the access point's clock
timing and access code. When the access point
104 sends a paging message
to the terminal, a Frequency Hopping Synchronization (FHS) packet which includes
the terminal's address is transmitted to enable the terminal
102 to synchronize
itself with the access point
104. The terminal
102 responds to the
page with an acknowledgement packet, whereupon, the two devices form a synchronous
connectionless link (ACL) and the access point
104 and terminal
102
transition into the connection state. Since the access point has initiated the
page, it will be the master device and the terminal device will become the slave
to the access point. Additional details for establishing the connection between
the terminal and the access point are described in "The Bluetooth Special Interest
Group, Specification Of The Bluetooth System", Volumes 1 and 2, Core and Profiles:
Version 1.1, 22nd Feb., 2001.
The communications between the terminal
102 and access point
104
are passed through the reader
110, via a connection
114 to the server
116, which executes a service application
118. Alternatively, the
access point
104 may communicate directly with the server
116 via
a wired or wireless connection
119. The terminal
102 and the service
application
118 interact, via the standard Bluetooth message protocols described
in "The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Specification Of The Bluetooth System",
Volumes 1 and 2, Core and Profiles: Version 1.1, 22nd Feb., 2001.
The terminal messages are processed by the application
118. In one embodiment
the messages between the terminal
102 and the application
118 are
exchanged using the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP), allowing mobile terminals to
use data services and providing access to the Internet. WAP supports a client/server
architecture. WAP enabled client devices can use micro browsers, which are specially
designed web browsers that fit into mobile devices, such as a mobile cellular handset.
A micro browser is designed to work with a small screen and use less memory than
a browser running on a desktop computer. Additional information about the WAP standard
and the WAP client/server architecture can be found in the book by Charles Arehart,
et al. entitled, "Professional WAP", published by Wrox Press Ltd., 2000 (ISBN 1-861004-04-1).
FIG. 2 is a functional representation of the mobile terminal
102 according
to one embodiment of the present invention. Included in the terminal
102
is a display
202 for displaying messages received from the access point
104 or other terminal and entering messages and data via a keypad
203
for transmission to the access point or other terminal. A short-range transceiver
204 linked to an antenna
205 provides communication over a Bluetooth
network for messages and data. It should be noted that the antenna used in short-range
communication is not the same antenna used in communication with a mobile network.
The transceiver
204 interacts with a CPU
208 for implementing Bluetooth
protocols and processing messages exchanged between the access point
104
and the terminal
102. The CPU
208 is linked to a volatile or dynamic
random access memory (dram)
210 containing an operating system for processing
messages, protocols, etc The CPU
208 executes programs stored in a non-volatile
or read only memory
212 providing instructions for managing and controlling
the operation of the terminal
102. The CPU
208 is also connected
to a cellular telephone network transceiver
213 for interacting with a cellular
network, such as the Global System Mobile (GSM) and the like via the antenna
205.
In accordance with the invention, a RF-ID tag
214 is installed in the terminal
102. In one embodiment, the tag may be a passive device which operates without
an internal battery source, deriving the power to operate from the field
112
generated by the RF-ID reader
110 which is inductively coupled to the passive
tag. Passive tags have typically a shorter reading range and require a higher-powered
RF-ID reader
110. Passive tags are also constrained in their capacity to
store data and in the ability to perform well in a noisy electromagnetic environment.
Passive tags may contain varying amounts of information ranging from a small storage
holding only an ID number to a 128 k byte memory sufficient to hold a serial identification
number and parity bits. The RF-ID reader
110 communicates with the RF-ID
tag
214 through the use of RF energy. The transferred data between the RF-ID
tag
214 and the RF-ID reader
110 requires the data to be modulated
on a carrier wave. Carriers operate in several frequency bands ranging from 100-500
kHz to 2.4-5.8 GHz. Modulation of the carriers relies upon Amplitude Shift Key
(ASK), Frequency Shift Key (FSK) and Phase Shift Key (PSK).
FIG. 2A shows the passive RF-ID tag
214 in more detail. According to
one embodiment, the tag comprises a radio frequency ID transponder
215,
which conforms to the principles of RF-ID technology. A tag antenna
216
is connected to the transponder
215, typically a microchip using well-known
coil-on-chip technology. The chip may include a user programmable E-PROM incorporating
a user identification and Bluetooth serial number (BT_ADDR). The RF-ID tag
214
is capable of receiving an interrogation signal from the RF-ID reader
110
(see FIG. 1) and separating the RF energy from the received signal. The energy
captured by the antenna
216 is analyzed by the microchip and is sufficient
to provide a response signal to the RF-ID reader
110. The response signal
includes, at least, the Bluetooth serial number for transfer to the access point
104 to initiate a paging operation for the terminal
102.
FIG. 3 discloses the terminal
102 of FIG. 2, except that it substitutes
a semi-passive or active tag
215 for the passive tag
214. The RF-ID
tag
215 may be a read/write device powered by an internal battery allowing
greater communication range and higher data transmission rates. The RF-ID tag
215
is connected to a RF-ID memory
216, which may be a random access memory
and/or a read-only non-volatile memory. The random access memory facilitates temporary
data storage during reader interrogation and response. The read-only memory stores
the operating system and contains instructions related to terminal operation. The
RF-ID tag
215 is connected to the CPU
208 for receiving the Bluetooth
Clock Offset data of the terminal
102 and other possibly stored data required
by the access point
104 in establishing a Bluetooth connection. In the case
of a semi-passive RF-ID tag, the tag after receiving an interrogation signal may
activate the Bluetooth module of the user terminal and set it to page scanning mode.
FIG. 3A shows the RF-ID semi-passive tag
215 in greater detail. An antenna
film or coil
220 is connected to a microchip
221 including a power
supply (not shown) and analog circuit
223 for converting the RF signals
from the RF-ID reader
110 into digital signals for processing by digital
circuitry
225 in reading and writing data into the tag memory
216.
The tag
215 communicates with the CPU
208 for updating information
within the tag, e.g. Clock Offset information. Also, The tag
215 may allow
the RF-ID reader
110 to alter the data stored in the RF-ID tag
215
by writing into and reading from the tag memory
216.
FIG. 4 shows the terminal
102 of FIG. 3 further including a terminal
RF-ID reader module
220 connected to the CPU
208. The terminal
102
may use the reader module
220 using e.g. an internal battery (not shown)
as a power source to transmit an interrogation signal via the antenna
219
for receiving the Bluetooth serial number and possibly other information, such
as Bluetooth Clock Offset information of other terminals within proximity to the
reader module
220. The module disables the RF-ID tag
215 when sending
the interrogation signals to other handheld terminals. The electromagnetic coupling
of the terminal
102 and the other terminals and the RF-ID reader
110
allows non-line-of-sight communication between the terminals and with the RF-ID reader.
FIG. 5 is a representation of the access point
104 according to one embodiment
of the invention. The access point RF-ID module
503 is connected to the
RF-ID reader
110. The access point RF-ID module
503 transfers the
Bluetooth serial number and Bluetooth Clock Offset information received from the
terminal
102, to the CPU
502. The CPU
502 controls a short-range
transceiver module
504 for initiating Bluetooth inquiry and paging processes
with the terminal
102, via an antenna
505. The CPU
502 is
further connected to storage RAM
510 and the read-only memory
512,
which provide the connections and protocols to enable the terminal
102 to
interact with a content database
514. The user at terminal
102 interacts
with the content database
116 (See FIG. 1) using the WAP protocol. At the
conclusion of the user's session with the content database, the terminal-to-access
point connection is dropped.
FIG. 6 discloses the access point of FIG. 5 in which the CPU
502 is linked
to the remote content provider
116 (See FIG. 1) including the content database
514. The CPU
502 implements terminal-to-content provider signaling
using program instructions stored in the memory/ROM
512, after establishing
a connection with the terminal
102 using the access point RF-ID module
503 input.
FIG. 7 shows the RF-ID reader
110, connected to the access point
104
via a connection
710, according to one embodiment of the invention and transferring
the Bluetooth serial number and possibly the Bluetooth Clock Offset information
received from the terminal
102 via the antenna
219. The CPU
502
receives the demodulated serial number signal and clock information generated by
the RF-D reader module
716 based upon the connectionless communication between
the terminal
102 and the RF-ID reader
110. The CPU
714 packetizes
the Bluetooth serial number and Bluetooth Clock Offset information for transfer
over line
710 to the access point
104 using programs available in
the memory
718. The access point
104 initiates the Bluetooth paging
process in lieu of the Bluetooth inquiry process and the access point serves as
the master device based upon the user identification, terminal serial number and
clock information. The clock information allows the access point to speed up the
connection establishment with the mobile terminal in establishing a session with
the terminal
102 even more. By replacing the possibly time-wasting Inquiry
procedure with faster RF-ID identification method session set-up time is shortened
and also Bluetooth master-slave switching step is eliminated because the access
point automatically becomes the master in response to initiating the paging. Alternatively
the access point
104 may send a service notification message including links
to local services as described in copending application Ser. No. 09/985,044, filed
Nov. 1, 2001, assigned to the same assignee as that of the present invention and
fully incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 8 is a representation of a session setup
800 for the system of FIG.
1, where the device
1 and device
2 are portable devices and device
2 serves as the access point. Device
1 includes a Bluetooth terminal
801 and a RF-ID tag
803. The device
2 includes a RF-ID scanner
805 coupled via scanner channel
806 to a Bluetooth module
807
serving as the access point for the system. In step 1, The device RF-ID scanner
805 energizes the RF-ID tag
803 of device
1 and in step 2
at least a portion of the device
1 ID information is transmitted, via the
RF-ID scanner channel
806 to device
2. The received ID information
of the device
1 module is forwarded to the device
2 module via the
scanner channel
806 in step 3. The device
2 module sets up a connection
through a Bluetooth channel to page the Bluetooth module
801 using the ID
information of the Bluetooth module, plus other module
1 identification
stored in device
2.
The paging process can be accelerated when the device
1 transmits the
terminal clock information in the response to the device
2 scan of the device
1 tag information. Where the terminal clock time is provided with the tag
information, the paging operation scan eliminates the random backup time and the
master slave switch time, as described in Bray, et al., "Bluetooth Connect Without
Cable", at pg. 73-85.
FIG. 9 describes a service scenario
900 for a cash register transaction
initiated by the terminal
102 with a cash register system
901 connected
to the access point by a connection
903, according to one embodiment of
the invention.
In step A, the terminal
102 is subjected to a RF field by a reader/Bluetooth
access point
110 and the Bluetooth terminal serial number and user credit
card number
905 are transferred to the reader using the RF-ID inductive
coupling or electromagnetic wave propagation technology, previously described in
conjunction with FIGS. 2,
3 and
4. Alternatively, the credit card
number may be inputted to a card reader
907 coupled to the cash register
sy
