WO2009068088A1 - Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit - Google Patents

Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2009068088A1
WO2009068088A1 PCT/EP2007/062921 EP2007062921W WO2009068088A1 WO 2009068088 A1 WO2009068088 A1 WO 2009068088A1 EP 2007062921 W EP2007062921 W EP 2007062921W WO 2009068088 A1 WO2009068088 A1 WO 2009068088A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
smart card
card unit
state
acts
host
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2007/062921
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Jens Ole Madsen
Peter Vestergaard
Original Assignee
Nokia Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Corporation filed Critical Nokia Corporation
Priority to PCT/EP2007/062921 priority Critical patent/WO2009068088A1/en
Publication of WO2009068088A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009068088A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
    • H04M1/724—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
    • H04B1/3816—Mechanical arrangements for accommodating identification devices, e.g. cards or chips; with connectors for programming identification devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L7/00—Arrangements for synchronising receiver with transmitter
    • H04L7/0016—Arrangements for synchronising receiver with transmitter correction of synchronization errors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/02—Power saving arrangements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W8/00—Network data management
    • H04W8/18—Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
    • H04W8/20—Transfer of user or subscriber data
    • H04W8/205—Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W8/00—Network data management
    • H04W8/18—Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
    • H04W8/183—Processing at user equipment or user record carrier
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D30/00—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
    • Y02D30/70—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks in wireless communication networks

Abstract

This invention relates to a method, a computer program product, device, smart card unit and a system for changing a role for data transmission between a apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host.

Description

Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit
FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
This invention relates to a method, a computer program product, device, smart card unit and a system for changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit.
BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION
Recently, the specification for a new Universal Serial Bus (USB) based Universal Integrated Circuits Card (UICC) terminal interface was approved by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Technical Committee (TC) Smart Card Platform (SCP) in ETSI TS 102 600. This specification is based on the Inter-Chip USB Supplement to the USB 2.0 Specification, Revision 1.0, March 13th, 2006. According to TS 102 600 the phone is the host and the UICC is the device.
This architecture implies that the device like the UICC can offer a number of services to the host like the phone; e.g. it can, very naturally, offer the service of a smart card according to the USB smart card device class. In addition it can for example offer the services of a communication device (which allows Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity between the phone and the UICC) , and/or the service of a mass storage device. But this architecture also imposes some limits. For several years now there has been a tendency to use the UICC as the control point of the system comprising the phone and the UICC. This would allow to control, to a certain extent, the phone from the UICC, and to offer to the user a set of value added services which are identical on all handsets.
One of the main tools presently used for this is the Card Application Toolkit, as specified in ETSI TS 102 223, which offers a standardized Application Programming Interface (API) allowing the UICC to control many phone features.
The Card Application Toolkit API is quite powerful, but it is not very flexible, and new features take a long time to implement because they have to be standardized first.
SUMMARY
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is described, changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is described, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform data transmission with a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host, and wherein said apparatus is configured to be switched in the first state and in the second state.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a smart card unit is described, wherein the smart unit is configured to perform data transmission with a apparatus, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host, and wherein said smart card unit is configured to be switched in the first state and in the second state.
According to a fourth aspect to the present invention, a system is described, said system comprising the apparatus and the smart card unit, wherein the apparatus and the smart card unit are configured to negotiate changing the role for data transmission.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a computer- readable medium having a computer program stored thereon is described, the computer program comprising changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host .
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a computer program is described, the computer program comprising changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an apparatus means is described, wherein the apparatus means is configured to perform data transmission with a smart card means, wherein in a first state the apparatus means acts as host and the smart card means acts as device and in a second state the apparatus means as device and the smart card means acts as host, and wherein said apparatus means is configured to be switched in the first state and in the second state.
According to a eight aspect of the present invention, a smart card means is described, wherein the smart card means is configured to perform data transmission with an apparatus means, wherein in a first state the apparatus means acts as host and the smart card means acts as device and in a second state the apparatus means acts as device and the smart card means acts as host, and wherein said smart card means is configured to be switched in the first state and in the second state .
The apparatus may for instance represent any kind of cellular phone, e.g. a second generation (2G) device like a GSM device, a third generation (3G) device like a UMTS device or any other mobile phone or mobile terminal or reception device like a digital video broadcasting receiver with a smart card unit. The smart card unit may be configured to be plugged to the apparatus and the smart card unit may be configured to give access to a network associated with the apparatus or to other functions of the apparatus by providing authentication. For instance, in case the apparatus represents a mobile device, the smart card unit may be configured to give access to the mobile device's wireless network by providing authentication. For instance, said smart card unit may- represent a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) which may for instance represent a Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) implemented according to or substantially based on ETSI TS 102 221 (Release 7, Version 7.9.0, 2007-07) .
Furthermore, for instance, the smart card unit may comprise a processing unit connected to an interface. This processing unit may represent an integrated circuit but may represent any other suited processing unit. The processing unit may be configured to carry out the described method associated with the smart card unit .
The apparatus may also comprise a processing unit and an interface for connecting to the smart card unit. The processing unit of the apparatus may also be configured to carry out the described method associated with the apparatus.
The data transmission between the apparatus and the smart card unit is associated with a first state and a second state. In the first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card acts as device and in the second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card acts as host. The roles of the apparatus and the smart card unit may be changed by switching from one out of the first and the second state into the other state.
Furthermore, any kind of device and/or host classes may be used for performing communication between the smart card unit and the apparatus. For instance, the device class for smart cards according to the Specification for the USB Integrated Circuit (s) Card Device, e.g. as described in ISO/IEC 7816 standard, may be used as a basis for this communication.
For instance, after the apparatus is turned on, the first mode may be used for data transmission between the apparatus and the smart card unit, i.e. the apparatus may represent the host and the smart card may represent the device.
During the first state, any kind of data communication may be performed between the apparatus and the smart card unit, wherein the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device.
Furthermore, for instance, any kind of device services/features/applications may be offered from the smart card unit acting as device to the apparatus acting as host. For instance, the smart card unit acting as device may offer a number of services to the apparatus acting as host; e.g. it may offer the services of smart cards according to the Specification for the USB Integrated Circuit (s) Card Device, Revision 1.0, April 22nd, 2005, and/or it may offer services of a communication device (which may allow Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity between the apparatus and the smart card) and/or services of a mass storage device and/or further device services .
Furthermore, the smart card unit may also be configured to provide other applications and/or features to the apparatus, e.g. a phone book and/or other applications. In case it is desired that the smart card unit acts as a host and the apparatus acts as a device, the roles between the smart card units and the apparatus can be changed.
Any well-suited protocol between the apparatus and the smart card unit may be used to perform the change of roles, i.e. switching into one out of the first state and the second state. Furthermore, for instance, the actual host as well as the actual device may trigger this change of roles. I.e., as an example, when the smart card unit acts as a device according to the first state, the smart card unit may request or trigger the apparatus for changing the roles into the second state, and, vice versa, when the apparatus acts as a device according to the second state, then the apparatus may request or trigger the smart unit for changing the roles into the first state. Of course, the actual host may also trigger the change of roles .
After the roles have been changed into the second state, the smart card unit may represent the control point of the system comprising the smart card unit and the apparatus and it is the apparatus which offers its services to the smart card unit. Accordingly, in this second state, the apparatus may be controlled by the smart card unit. For instance, this may be used to offer the user a set of value added services which are identical on all apparatuses.
For instance, the apparatus may be allowed to act as device according to standard device classes. For instance, at least one out of the following already existing device classes may be implemented by the apparatus: Audio class, communication device class, Imaging class, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) class, Monitor device class; and Video device class.
Of course, any other well-suited device classes may be implemented by the apparatus. For instance, such USB devices exists for many purposes without a dedicated device class, e.g. BlueTooth adapters, WLAN adapters, GPS device, various sensors etc. Such devices may be implemented using generic communication device classes.
Furthermore, for instance, the data transmission may represent any kind of a serial data transmission, e.g. the data transmission may use or may be based on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. Thus, for instance, the apparatus and the smart card may both comprise an USB interface.
For instance, said USB connection may represent an Inter-Chip USB connection, e.g. based on Inter-Chip USB Supplement to the USB 2.0 Specification (Revision 1.0, March 13th, 2006) .
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the smart card unit represents a Universal Integrated Circuit Card.
For instance, the smart card may represent a Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) implemented according to or substantially based on ETSI TS 102 221.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus may be configured to provide clock representatives to the smart card unit. For instance, these clock representatives may be provided by the apparatus both during the first state and during the second state. Thus, even when the smart card unit acts as a host the clock may be provided by the apparatus. Accordingly, no clock generation is necessary at the smart card unit. This may allow reducing power consumption of the smart card unit so that power limitations of the smart card unit can be taken into account .
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the smart card unit may be configured to perform error handling of received corrupted clock representatives.
Thus, the smart card unit is prepared to handle situations with missing and/or clock representatives received from the apparatus .
According to an embodiment of the present invention, said data transmission represents a serial data transmission.
For instance, any suited serial data transmission may be used for the communication between the apparatus and the smart card unit .
According to an embodiment of the present invention, said serial data transmission is based on USB.
For instance, any kind of suited USB connection may be implemented and/or used in order to connect the apparatus and the smart card unit. Further, for instance, the change of roles between the host and the device may be based on aspects of the USB On-The-Go (OTG) Supplement to the USB 2.0 specification (e.g. according to OTG Supplement to the USB 2.0 specification version 1.3, December 5th, 2006) .
Thus, for instance, the apparatus may represent the "A-Device" according to the USB OTG terminology, i.e. the device which is in the host role during start-up and which provides the power, and the smart card unit may represent the "B-Device" according to the USB OTG terminology, i.e. the device which is in the device role during start up. The change of roles between the A-Device and the B-Device may be performed according to or based on the USB OTG rules.
Furthermore, for instance, the apparatus may provide the clock by sending Start-Of-Frame (SOF) blocks according to the USB specification periodically. For instance, in accordance with the USB 2.0 specification, a SOF block may be send every millisecond by the apparatus, but the time period may differ depending on the applied transmission mode. Further, for instance, even when the data transmission is switched into the second state, then the apparatus, now acting as a device, may send the SOF blocks periodically to the smart card unit. Thus, in the second state the device is responsible for performing synchronization between the host and the device.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, said USB connection represents an Inter-Chip USB connection.
For instance, said Inter- Chip USB connection may be based on the Inter-Chip USB Supplement to the USB 2.0 Specification. Furthermore, the protocol of said Inter-Chip USB connection may be amended slightly in order to incorporate the change of roles between hosts and devices, e.g. based on USB OTG rules.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a change of role can be negotiated between the apparatus and the smart card unit .
For instance, in case the actual host desires to change the roles into the other state, then the actual host may send a predefined signal to the device in order to indicate and/or initiate the change of roles.
The term sending a predefined signal to indicate the change of roles has to be understood in a wide sense. I.e., any kind of signaling may be used to indicate the change of roles. For instance, said sending a predefined signal may even represent sending no signal for a predetermined time period in order to indicate or to trigger the change of roles.
Or, in case the actual device desires to change the roles, then the device may send a predefined signal to the host in order to request the change of roles.
For instance, after the apparatus and the smart card unit have negotiated a change or role, it is switched from the first state to the second state or vice versa.
Details of said negotiation concerning the change of roles may depend on the kind of transmission. According to an embodiment of the present invention, in case the smart card acts as a host, a change of role into the first state is indicated by at least one out of: sending nothing from the smart card to the apparatus for a predetermined period, and sending a predefined signal from the apparatus to the smart card.
For instance, in case a USB connection is used, the predetermined period may be approximately 3 milliseconds, but this value may vary.
Thus, in case the apparatus acts as a device, the apparatus may be configured to be switched in the first state if it receives no signal from the smart card unit for a predetermined time period.
Furthermore, the apparatus may send a predefined signal in order to request a change of role so that the apparatus takes back the role of a host.
Accordingly, in case the smart card acts as a host, the smart card may be configured to be switched in the first state if it receives this predefined signal.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, said predefined signal represents a power off message which is configured to reset the smart card unit .
For instance, in case a USB connection is used, this power off message may represent an ICC_POWER_OFF message. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the smart card unit is configured to perform a reset upon receiving the power off message and to send a reset confirmation signal to the apparatus .
For instance, in case of a USB connection said reset confirmation signal may be an Answer to Reset (ATR) .
Further, for instance, the change of roles between the apparatus and the smart card unit may only take place after the apparatus has received this reset confirmation signal.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, in case the apparatus acts as a host, a change of role into the second state is indicated by at least one out of: sending a predefined signal from the smart card to the apparatus, and sending a predefined signal from the apparatus to the smart card.
Thus, in case the apparatus acts as a host and it is desired to switch into the second state, the apparatus is configured to send a predefined signal to the smart card unit in order to indicate and/or trigger a switch into the second state.
Furthermore, in case the smart card acts as a device, the smart card may be configured to be switched in the second state if it receives the predefined signal from the apparatus.
Furthermore, in case the smart card acts as a device and the smart card desires to change the roles, the smart card may be configured to send a predefined signal to the apparatus. Accordingly, in case the apparatus acts as a host, the apparatus may be configured to be switched in the second state if it receives the predefined signal from the smart card unit. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In the figures show:
Fig. 1: a schematic flowchart of a first exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention;
Fig. 2: a schematic block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a system of the present invention;
Fig. 3: a schematic flowchart of a second exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention;
Fig. 4a: a first schematic diagram illustrating data transmission according to the present invention; and
Fig. 4b: a second schematic diagram illustrating data transmission according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 depicts a schematic flowchart of a first exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention. This exemplary method will be described in combination with the exemplary embodiment of a system depicted in Fig. 2.
This exemplary embodiment of a method is related to changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus 210 and a smart card unit 220.
The apparatus 210 may represent any kind of cellular phone 210, e.g. a second generation (2G) device like a GSM device, a third generation (3G) device like a UMTS device or any other mobile phone or mobile terminal or reception device like a digital video broadcasting receiver with a smart card unit. For instance and without any restrictions, it may be assumed that the apparatus 210 represents a mobile device 210, as exemplarily depicted in Fig. 2.
The smart card unit 220 may be configured to be plugged to the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 may be configured to give access to the mobile device's wireless network by providing authentication. For instance, said smart card unit 220 may represent a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) which may represent a Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) implemented according to ETSI TS 102 221.
Furthermore, for instance, the smart card unit 220 may comprise a processing unit 240 connected to an interface 230. This processing unit 240 may represent an integrated circuit but may represent any other suited processing unit. The processing unit 240 may be configured to carry out any of the methods associated with the smart card unit described in the sequel of this detailed description.
The mobile device 210 may also comprise a processing unit (not depicted in Fig. 2) and an interface (not depicted in Fig. 2) for connecting to the smart card unit. The processing unit of the mobile device 240 may also be configured to carry out any of the methods associated with the mobile device described in the sequel of this detailed description.
The data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 is associated with a first state and a second state. In the first state the mobile device 210 acts as host and the smart card acts 220 as device and in the second state the mobile device 210 acts as device and the smart card 220 acts as a host. The roles of the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 may be changed by switching from one out of the first and the second state into the other state.
For instance, after the mobile device 210 is turned on, the first mode may be used for data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220, i.e. the mobile device 210 represents the host and the smart card 220 represents the device, as exemplarily indicated by step 110 in Fig. 1.
Furthermore, for instance, any kind of device services/features/applications may be offered from the smart card unit 220 acting as device to the mobile device 210 acting as host . For instance, the smart card unit 220 acting as device may offer a number of services to the mobile device 210 acting as host,- e.g. it may offer the services of smart cards according to the specification for the USB Integrated Circuit (s) Card Device, Revision 1.0, April 22nd, 2005, and/or it may offer services of a communication device (which may- allow Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity between the mobile device and the smart card) and/or services of a mass storage device and/or further device services.
Then it may be determined and/or decided whether the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 should change their roles from the first state to the second state (step 120) .
After the roles have been changed into the second state, the smart card unit 220 may represent the control point of the system comprising the smart card unit 220 and the mobile device 210 and it is the mobile device 220 which offers its services to the smart card unit 210. Accordingly, in this second state, the mobile device 220 may be controlled by the smart card unit 210. For instance, this may be used to offer the user a set of value added services which are identical on all mobile devices 210.
In case it is desired to switch into the second state, then the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 change their roles so that the mobile device 210 acts as a device and the smart card unit 220 acts as a host (step 130 depicted in Fig. 1) .
After the switching into the second state has been performed, it may be determined and/or decided whether the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 should change their roles from the second state to the first state (step 140 depicted in Fig. 1) . Thus, when it is desired to switch into first state then the method may jump back to step 110 depicted in Fig. 1.
Thus, during the second state, the mobile device 210 may act as a device according to any standard device class and the smart card unit 220 may act as a host. This allows introducing new features/applications/services provided from the smart card unit 220 to the mobile phone 210 compared to the case when the mobile device 210 exclusively acts as a host and the smart card 220 exclusively acts as device.
Any well-suited protocol between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 may be used to perform the change of roles, i.e. switching into one out of the first state and the second state. Furthermore, for instance, both the actual host and the actual device may trigger this change of roles. I.e. , as an example, when the smart card unit 220 acts as a device according to the first state, then the smart card unit 220 may request or trigger the mobile device 210 for changing the roles into the second state, and, vice versa, when the mobile device 210 acts as a device according to the second state, then the mobile device 210 may request or trigger the smart unit 220 for changing the roles into the first state. Of course, the actual host may also trigger the change of roles.
Furthermore, for instance, the data transmission may represent any kind of a serial data transmission, e.g. the data transmission may use or may be based on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. Thus, for instance, the mobile device 210 and the smart card 220 may both comprise an USB interface. For instance, said USB connection may represent an Inter-Chip USB connection, e.g. based on Inter-Chip USB Supplement to the USB 2.0 Specification.
Further, for instance, the change of roles between the host and the device may be based on aspects of the USB On-The-Go (OTG) Supplement to the USB 2.0 specification.
For instance, the mobile device 210 may be configured to provide clock representatives to the smart card unit 220 used for said data transmission. These clock representatives may be provided by the mobile device 210 during the first state as well as during the second state. Thus, even when the smart card unit acts 220 as a host the clock is provided by the mobile device 210. Accordingly, no clock generation is necessary at the smart card unit 220. This may allow reducing power consumption of the smart card unit 220 so that power limitations of the smart card unit 220 can be taken into account .
In case the data transmission is based on a USB connection, then the mobile device may provide the clock by sending the Start -Of -Frame (SOF) blocks periodically. For instance, according to the USB 2.0 specification, a SOF block may be send every millisecond by the mobile device, but the time period may differ depending on the applied transmission mode. I.e., even when the data transmission is switched into the second state, then the mobile device 210, now acting as a device, may send the SOF blocks periodically to the smart card unit 220. Thus, in the second state the device is responsible for performing synchronization between the host and the device. Furthermore, any kind of device and/or host classes may be used for performing communication between the smart card unit and the mobile device. For instance, the device class for smart cards according to the Specification for the USB Integrated Circuit (a) Card Device, e.g. as described in ISO/IEC 7816, may be used as a basis for this communication.
Fig. 3 depicts a schematic flowchart of a second exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention.
This second exemplary embodiment of a method may be carried out be the mobile device 210 and/or by the smart card unit 220 in order to perform changing the role for data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220. In the sequel, without any restrictions, this second exemplary embodiment of a method will be explained when carried out by the mobile device 210.
At the beginning of the method, it may be assumed that the data transmission is associated with the first state (step 310) , i.e. the mobile device acts as host. But of course the data transmission may also start in the second state (step 350) . During the first state, any kind of data communication may be performed between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220, wherein the mobile device 210 acts as host and the smart card unit 220 acts as device.
Then it may be determined whether a change of roles is desired by the mobile device 210 (step 320) , and if this change of roles is desired then the mobile device may send a predefined signal to the smart card unit 220 (step 340) in order to indicate the change of roles. Afterwards, the mobile device 210 switches into the second state (step 350) and thus acts as device. For instance, the switching into the second state (step 350) may only be performed if the mobile device 210 receives a confirmation signal from the smart cart unit 220.
If it is not desired to change the roles by the mobile phone 210 then the mobile phone 210 may check whether a predefined signal indicating a change of role is received from the smart card unit 220 (step 330} . If such a request is received from the smart card unit 220, then the mobile device may proceed with switching into the second state (step 350) .
During the second state, any kind of data communication may be performed between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220, wherein the mobile device 210 acts as device and the smart card unit 220 acts as host.
Then it may be determined whether a change of roles is desired by the mobile device 210 (step 360) , and if this change of roles is desired then the mobile device may send a predefined signal to the smart card unit 220 (step 380) in order to indicate the change of roles. Afterwards, the mobile device 210 switches into the first state (step 310) and thus acts as host. For instance, the switching into the first state (step 310) may only be performed if the mobile device 210 receives a confirmation signal from the smart cart unit 220.
If it is not desired to change the roles (step 360) by the mobile phone 210 then the mobile phone 210 may check whether a predefined signal indicating a change of role is received from the smart card unit 220 (step 370) . If such a request is received from the smart card unit 220, then the mobile device may proceed with switching into the first state (step 310) .
The term sending a predefined signal to indicate the change of roles (steps 340, 380) has to be understood in a wide sense. I.e., any kind of signaling may be used to indicate the change of roles. For instance, said sending a predefined signal may even represent sending no signal for a predetermined time period by the smart card unit 220 or by the mobile device 210 in order to indicate or to trigger the change of roles.
Furthermore, for instance, the mobile device 210 may be configured to provide clock representatives to the smart card unit 220 used for said data transmission. These clock representatives may be provided by the mobile device 210 both during the first state and during the second state. The smart card unit 220 may be configured to receive these clock representatives, and the smart card unit 220 may be configured to handle situations with missing and/or corrupted clock representatives. Thus, in case the smart card unit 220 takes the role of host, the mobile device 210 would still be responsible for the clock representatives.
The negotiating of change of roles and the data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 may depend on the used data transmission.
In the sequel, an exemplary data transmission will be explained in view of an exemplary USB connection between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220. Fig. 4a depicts a first schematic diagram illustrating data transmission according to the present invention.
This first schematic diagram exemplarily depicts the case when the data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 is in the first state, i.e. the mobile device 210 acts as host and the smart card unit 220 acts as device .
The mobile device provides clock representatives 410 to the smart card unit. For instance and without any restrictions, it may be assumed that the data transmission is based on a USB connection. In this case, the clock representatives 410 represent Start of Frames (SOFs) which are periodically sent to the smart card device 220. For instance, the mobile device 210 may send a SOF every millisecond according to the USB 2.0 specification .
The data communication between the host and the device may be performed according to USB rules. E.g., after sending the SOF, the host may send an IN token 420 followed by a change of the direction of data, so that data 430 can be sent from the device to the host, or an OUT token 440 followed by data 450 from host to device. If the mobile device 210 has nothing to send then it may send an IN token 420 in each frame to poll the smart card unit 220.
For instance, the Smart Card device class (Device Class: Smart Card, ICCD, Specification for USB Integrated Circuit (s) Card Devices, Revision 1.0, April 22nd 2005) may be used for this data communication between the mobile device acting as a host and the smart card unit acting as a device. A change of roles between the mobile device 210 and the smart card may for instance be negotiated by one of the examples mentioned above. For instance, the mobile device may send a predefined signal to the smart card unit 220 in order trigger the change of roles into the second state, as explained in view of the second exemplary method depicted in Fig. 3 (step 340} . Or, for instance, in case the smart card unit 220 wants to request the host role, then the smart card unit 220 may send a predefined signal to the mobile device 210 in order to trigger the change of roles (step 340) . An exemplary data transmission for this second state will be explained in view of Fig. 4b.
Fig. 4b depicts a second schematic diagram illustrating data transmission according to the present invention, wherein this second schematic diagram depicts the case when the data transmission between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 is in the second state, i.e. the mobile device 210 acts as a device and the smart cart unit 220 acts as a host.
For instance and without any restrictions, it may be assumed that said data transmission is based on a USB connection. For instance, in accordance with the USB OTG rules, the mobile device 210 could be seen as a an B-Device with device functionality and the smart card unit 220 could be seen as a A-Device with host functionality, wherein the mobile device 210 provides even it is not acting as host power to the smart card unit 220. Thus, for instance, the rules of USB OTG concerning negotiating of roles between the A-Device and B-Device may be applied or may be used as a basis. Though now the mobile device acts 210 as device, the mobile device 210 still provides the clock representatives 410 to the smart card unit 220 in order to synchronize data transmission.
Compared to the first schematic diagram depicted in Fig. 4a, the roles host and device and thus of IN tokens 420' and OUT tokens 440' are inversed. I.e. , the mobile device 210 can send data 430' after receiving an IN token 420' from the smart card unit 220 and the smart card unit 220 sends data 450' after having sent an OUT token 440' . If the smart card unit 220 has nothing to send then it may send an IN token 420' in each frame to poll the mobile device 210. Thus, for instance, even when acting as a device, it is always possible for the mobile device to communicate with the smart card unit, e.g. for performing an authentication when required to do so by the network.
This data transmission between the smart card unit 220 acting as host and the mobile device 210 acting as device may for instance be performed by a modified device class according to the smart card device class mentioned above, wherein this device class can be realized by an easy modification by adding a section describing how the communication can take place if the roles of host and devices are inversed as for instance described in the USB OTG specification.
Further, for instance, upon receiving an IN token 420', the mobile device 210 may send a predefined signal as data 430' in order to trigger a change of roles into the first state (step 340) . For instance, the mobile device 430' may send an ICC_POWER_OFF message as data 430' , wherein this message will reset the smart card unit 220 and thus switches the roles of host and device so that the mobile device 210 takes back the host role.
After being reset, the smart card unit 220 may send an Answer to Reset (ATR) to the mobile device 210, and, further, for instance, the change of roles between the mobile device 210 and the smart card unit 220 may only take place after the mobile device 210 has received this ATR.
If the smart card unit 220, when acting as host according to the second state, desires to initiate a change of role, then the smart card unit 220 may stop sending anything on the bus for a predetermined time period, e.g. for 3ms or for any other suitable time period. Thus, only the SOFs 410 provided by the mobile device 210 are on the bus during this predetermined time period. Accordingly, the mobile device 210 detects this silence on the bus (step 370) and the data transmission can be switched into the first state (step 310) . This silence on the bus has to be understood that it also comprises that there is no other activity than SOF sending on the bus.
Thus, the mobile device 210 may be allowed to act as device according to standard device classes. For instance, at least one out of the following already existing device classes may be implemented by the mobile device 210:
- Audio class;
- Communication device class;
- Imaging class;
- Infrared Data Association (IrDA) class;
- Monitor device class,- and
- Video device class. Of course, any other well -suited device classes may be implemented by the apparatus. For instance, such USB devices exists for many purposes without a dedicated device class, e.g. BlueTooth adapters, WLAN adapters, GPS device, various sensors etc. Such devices may be implemented using generic communication device classes.
Furthermore, the smart card unit 220 may also be configured to provide applications and/or features to the mobile device 210, e.g. a phone book and/or other applications.
It is readily clear for a skilled person that the logical blocks in the schematic block diagrams as well as the flowchart and algorithm steps presented in the above description may at least partially be implemented in electronic hardware and/or computer software, wherein it depends on the functionality of the logical block, flowchart step and algorithm step and on design constraints imposed on the respective devices to which degree a logical block, a flowchart step or algorithm step is implemented in hardware or software. The presented logical blocks, flowchart steps and algorithm steps may for instance be implemented in one or more digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or other programmable devices. Said computer software may be stored in a variety of storage media of electric, magnetic, electro-magnetic or optic type and may be read and executed by a processor, such as for instance a microprocessor. To this end, said processor and said storage medium may be coupled to interchange information, or the storage medium may be included in the processor. The invention has been described above by means of exemplary embodiments. It should be noted that there are alternative ways and variations which are obvious to a skilled person in the art and can be implemented without deviating from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. In particular, the present invention is not limited to application in USB data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, but may also be applied to any other data transmission based on communication between a host and a device.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS;
1. A method, comprising changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host .
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the smart card unit represents a Universal Integrated Circuit Card.
3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, comprising providing clock representatives from the apparatus to the smart card unit .
4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, comprising error handling of corrupted clock representatives received at the smart card unit .
5. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein said data transmission represents a serial data transmission.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said serial data transmission is based on a USB connection.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said USB connection represents an Inter-Chip USB connection.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, comprising negotiating a change of role between the apparatus and the smart card unit.
9. The method according to claim 8, in case the smart card acts as a host, a change of role into the first state is indicated by at least one out of: sending nothing from the smart card to the apparatus for a predetermined period, and sending a predefined signal from the apparatus to the smart card.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said predefined signal represents a power off message which is configured to reset the smart card unit.
11. The method according to claim 10, comprising resetting the smart card unit when receiving said power off message at the smart card unit, sending a reset confirmation signal to the apparatus and changing the role into the first state when the apparatus has received the reset confirmation signal.
12. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, in case the apparatus acts as a host, a change of role into the second state is indicated by at least one out of: sending a predefined signal from the smart card to the apparatus, and sending a predefined signal from the apparatus to the smart card.
13. An apparatus configured to perform data transmission with a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host, and wherein said apparatus is configured to be switched between the first state and the second state.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the apparatus is configured to provide clock representatives to the smart card unit.
15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-14, wherein said data transmission represents a serial data transmission.
16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-15, wherein said serial data transmission is based on a USB connection.
17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein said USB connection represents an Inter-Chip USB connection and said apparatus comprises an Inter-Chip USB interface configured to connect with the smart card unit .
18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-17, wherein in case the apparatus acts as a device and a change of role into the first state is desired, the apparatus sends a predefined signal to the smart card.
19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said predefined signal represents a power off message which is configured to reset the smart card unit.
20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 and 19, wherein the apparatus is configured to be switched in the first state after receiving a confirmation signal from the smart card unit .
21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-20, wherein in case the apparatus acts as a device, the apparatus is configured to be switched in the first state if it receives no signal from the smart card unit for a predetermined time period.
22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-21, wherein in case the apparatus acts as a host and it is desired to switch into the second state, the apparatus is configured to send a predefined signal to the smart card unit in order to indicate a switch into the second state.
23. A smart card unit configured to perform data transmission with an apparatus, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host, and wherein said smart card unit is configured to be switched between the first state and the second state.
24. The smart card unit according to claim 24, wherein the smart card unit represents a Universal Integrated Circuit Card.
25. The smart card unit according to any one of claims 23-24, wherein the smart card unit is configured to handle corrupted clock representatives received from the apparatus .
26. The smart card unit according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein said data transmission represents a serial data transmission.
27. The smart card unit according to claim 26, wherein said serial data transmission is based on USB.
28. The smart card unit according to claim 27, wherein said USB connection represents an Inter-Chip USB connection.
29. The smart card unit according to any of claims 23-28, wherein in case the smart card acts as a host and a change of role into the first state is desired, the smart card unit is configured to send nothing to the apparatus for a predetermined time period in order to indicate a switch into the first state.
30. The smart card unit according to any of claims 23-29, wherein in case the smart card acts as a host, the smart card is configured to be switched in the first state if it receives a predefined signal from the apparatus.
31. The method according to claim 30, wherein said predefined signal represents a power off message, and wherein the smart card unit is configured to perform a reset upon receiving this power off message and to send a reset confirmation signal to the apparatus.
32. A system comprising: an apparatus according to any one of claims 13-22; a smart card unit according to any one of claims 23-31; wherein the apparatus and the smart card unit are configured to negotiate changing the role for data transmission.
33. A computer- readable medium having a computer program stored thereon is described, the computer program comprising changing a role for data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit, wherein in a first state the apparatus acts as host and the smart card unit acts as device and in a second state the apparatus acts as device and the smart card unit acts as host .
34. The method computer-readable medium according to claim 33, wherein the smart card unit represents a Universal Integrated Circuit Card.
35. An apparatus means configured to perform data transmission with a smart card means, wherein in a first state the apparatus means acts as host and the smart card means acts as device and in a second state the apparatus means as device and the smart card means acts as host, and wherein said apparatus means is configured to be switched between the first state and the second state.
36. A smart card means configured to perform data transmission with a apparatus means, wherein in a first state the apparatus means acts as host and the smart card means acts as device and in a second state the apparatus means acts as device and the smart card means acts as host, and wherein said smart card means is configured to be switched between the first state and the second state.
PCT/EP2007/062921 2007-11-28 2007-11-28 Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit WO2009068088A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2007/062921 WO2009068088A1 (en) 2007-11-28 2007-11-28 Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2007/062921 WO2009068088A1 (en) 2007-11-28 2007-11-28 Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2009068088A1 true WO2009068088A1 (en) 2009-06-04

Family

ID=39736841

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2007/062921 WO2009068088A1 (en) 2007-11-28 2007-11-28 Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2009068088A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8706875B2 (en) 2008-12-16 2014-04-22 Nokia Corporation Sharing access to application located on a smart card for clients in parallel

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6078806A (en) * 1995-02-15 2000-06-20 Nokia Mobile Phones Limited Method for using applications in a mobile station, a mobile station, and a system for effecting payments
WO2002009371A2 (en) * 2000-07-21 2002-01-31 Zucotto Wireless, Inc. Access point for wireless communications

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6078806A (en) * 1995-02-15 2000-06-20 Nokia Mobile Phones Limited Method for using applications in a mobile station, a mobile station, and a system for effecting payments
WO2002009371A2 (en) * 2000-07-21 2002-01-31 Zucotto Wireless, Inc. Access point for wireless communications

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8706875B2 (en) 2008-12-16 2014-04-22 Nokia Corporation Sharing access to application located on a smart card for clients in parallel

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8811896B2 (en) Non-volatile memory for contactless systems
EP1792257B1 (en) Generic universal serial bus device operable at low and full speed and adapted for use in a smart card device
KR101237763B1 (en) Sharing single host controller with multiple functional devices
EP2251986A1 (en) A near field communication device
CN102739634B (en) Host device suspending communication link to client device based on client device notification
US8762640B2 (en) Method for operating a memory interface with SIM functions
CA2628235A1 (en) Near field communication host controller interface
WO2009081337A1 (en) Switching between multiple coupling modes
US9262711B2 (en) NFC tag, communication method and system
WO2006071446A1 (en) System, method, and apparatus for extended serial peripheral interface
JP2003524331A (en) Interface between modem and subscriber interface module
TW201303597A (en) Techniques for facilitating interoperation between an accessory and multiple devices
WO2011103733A1 (en) Mobile terminal for supporting near field communication and near field communication method thereof
CN102421207A (en) Compatible design method of various kinds of mobile communication systems of mobile terminal and mobile terminal
CN1266973C (en) SIM card accessing apparatus of mobile terminal
US20110252172A1 (en) System and method for concurrent operation of dual interfaces between uicc and mobile device
CN100495464C (en) Digital TV set remote-controller based on bluetooth
CN103368612B (en) By switching to silence, electronic equipment communication is controlled method and apparatus
WO2022002236A1 (en) Data transmission method, multifunction card and electronic device
WO2009068088A1 (en) Data transmission between an apparatus and a smart card unit
JP5007382B2 (en) Communication device having SIM interface compatible with wireless separation
EP2462544B1 (en) Electronic circuit for interconnecting a smartcard chip
WO2016153707A1 (en) Conveying data between devices in wireless personal area network
JP2016509712A (en) Data terminal, data transmission system, and hot swap control method
WO2010072528A1 (en) Power management

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 07847446

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 07847446

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1