Patents by Inventor Markus Wobak

Markus Wobak has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12119892
    Abstract: There is described a method of determining an initial transmission phase offset in an NFC device configured to operate in NFC card mode only, wherein the NFC device comprises an NFC chip and a matching circuit. The method comprises: determining an initial RF matching resonance frequency of the NFC device utilizing an internal oscillator of the NFC chip; reading correction data from a non-volatile memory of the NFC chip, the correction data being indicative of a frequency offset of the internal oscillator relative to a nominal oscillator frequency; determining a corrected RF matching resonance frequency of the NFC device based on the initial RF matching resonance frequency and the correction data; and determining the initial transmission phase offset based on the corrected RF matching resonance frequency. Furthermore, a device and a method of manufacturing an NFC device are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventor: Markus Wobak
  • Patent number: 12119893
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader; a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications; a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader, wherein the polling profile represents a sequence of predefined radio frequency (RF) transmission events, and wherein the profile determination unit is configured to determine said polling profile by comparing a detected sequence of RF transmission events with one or more predetermined sequences; a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit. In another embodiment, a corresponding method of operating an NFC device is conceived.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Spiss, Markus Wobak, Abu Syed Firoz Ismail
  • Publication number: 20240266843
    Abstract: A method for charging a fully depleted battery of a wireless charging (WLC) device is provided. An RF controller and a read-only non-volatile memory of the WLC device is powered with the RF field of a WLC charger device. The RF controller controls charging of the battery by the RF field using a first charging program stored in the read-only non-volatile memory. A microcontroller of the WLC device is booted up after the battery has reached a predetermined voltage level. The microcontroller loads a second more complex dynamic charging program into a volatile random-access memory (RAM) of the WLC device for execution by the RF controller. The RF controller transitions code execution from the first charging program in the read-only non-volatile memory to the second charging program in the RAM. In another embodiment, the WLC device is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2023
    Publication date: August 8, 2024
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Ulrich Neffe
  • Publication number: 20240146357
    Abstract: A system includes a signal processing unit including an antenna configured to receive a radio frequency signal as a received radio frequency signal, and a baseband amplifier coupled to the antenna. The system includes a processor configured to cause the communication unit to stop generating a radio frequency polling signal, set an amplification gain of the baseband amplifier to a first gain value, periodically record, at a sample rate, an indication of a magnitude of the amplified radio frequency signal to generate a plurality of sample values, at a predetermined time interval after the communication unit stopped generating the radio frequency polling signal, set the amplification gain of the baseband amplifier to a second gain value, and transmit the plurality of sample values to a classifier module to determine whether the radio frequency signal is received from a near-field communication-enabled device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2022
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Mark Feichtinger, Johannes Stahl, Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann, Markus Wobak
  • Publication number: 20240113564
    Abstract: A wireless charging (WLC) poller device and WLC listener device are provided. A method for performing a presence check of the WLC listener device includes providing a radio frequency (RF) presence check signal. An input signal from the antenna by the poller device is received concurrently with the transmission of the RF presence check signal. A rate of change of a magnitude of the input signal is measured during the transmission of the presence check signal. A difference between the input signal and an expected input signal is determined. A presence of the listener device is detected if an absolute value of the measured rate of change of the input signal is above a threshold rate of change, and the difference between the input signal and the expected input signal is within a predetermined distance. Prior to the presence check, a capacitor of the WLC listener device may be discharged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Erich Merlin, Ulrich Neffe
  • Patent number: 11916616
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: an NFC unit configured to charge an external device under charge by transferring power to said device under charge through an NFC channel; a detection unit configured to detect predefined events occurring on the NFC channel when said power is being transferred to the device under charge; a processing unit configured to control the transferring of power to the device under charge in dependence on the events detected by the detection unit. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device is conceived.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Tushar Nagrare, Olivier Jérôme Célestin Jamin
  • Patent number: 11848725
    Abstract: Near field communication (NFC) methods, systems, and devices are disclosed herein. In an example embodiment, the method includes providing a first NFC device including a NFC antenna, and transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal including a RF carrier signal by way of the NFC antenna. Also, the method includes receiving a first resonant signal after the transmitting has ceased, and processing the first resonant signal to generate a first portion of transformed signal information. Further, the method includes identifying one or both of a first state and a first event based at least in part upon or associated with the first portion of the transformed signal information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Johannes Stahl, Markus Wobak, Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann
  • Patent number: 11784681
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising: a first antenna configured to receive and transmit a first set of near field communication (NFC) signals, wherein said first set of NFC signals relates to NFC transactions; a second antenna configured to receive and transmit a second set of NFC signals, wherein said second set of NFC signals relates to wireless charging operations; a controller; a first interface between the controller and the first and second antenna, the first interface comprising an antenna selection unit configured to select the first antenna or the second antenna in response to a selection signal received from said controller; a second interface between the controller and the first antenna; wherein the controller is configured to detect whether an external communication device is within communication range of the first antenna using the second interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Ulrich Neffe
  • Publication number: 20230291437
    Abstract: Near field communication (NFC) methods, systems, and devices are disclosed herein. In an example embodiment, the method includes providing a first NFC device including a NFC antenna, and transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal including a RF carrier signal by way of the NFC antenna. Also, the method includes receiving a first resonant signal after the transmitting has ceased, and processing the first resonant signal to generate a first portion of transformed signal information. Further, the method includes identifying one or both of a first state and a first event based at least in part upon or associated with the first portion of the transformed signal information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Inventors: Johannes Stahl, Markus Wobak, Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann
  • Patent number: 11757491
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit one or more radio frequency signal pulses to an external communication device; a receiver configured to receive one or more response signals in response to the radio frequency signal pulses transmitted by the transmitter; a signal analyzer configured to detect one or more characteristics of the response signals, to compare the detected characteristics with predefined reference characteristics and to generate an output indicative of a result of comparing the detected characteristics with the predefined reference characteristics; a processing unit configured to determine at least one category to which the external communication device belongs based on the output generated by the signal analyzer. In accordance with a second aspect, a corresponding method of operating a communication device is conceived. In accordance with a third aspect, a corresponding computer program is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Johannes Stahl, Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann
  • Patent number: 11637591
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader; a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications; a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader; and a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device is conceived. In accordance with a third aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding computer program is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Thomas Spiss, Abu Syed Firoz Ismail, Markus Wobak
  • Publication number: 20230065694
    Abstract: Described is a method for guiding a user for positioning a first RFID-enabled device relative to a second RFID-enabled device for allowing a robust RFID communication between the two RFID-enabled devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2022
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Thomas Spiss, Abu Syed Firoz Ismail
  • Publication number: 20220407565
    Abstract: There is described a method of determining an initial transmission phase offset in an NFC device configured to operate in NFC card mode only, wherein the NFC device comprises an NFC chip and a matching circuit. The method comprises: determining an initial RF matching resonance frequency of the NFC device utilizing an internal oscillator of the NFC chip; reading correction data from a non-volatile memory of the NFC chip, the correction data being indicative of a frequency offset of the internal oscillator relative to a nominal oscillator frequency; determining a corrected RF matching resonance frequency of the NFC device based on the initial RF matching resonance frequency and the correction data; and determining the initial transmission phase offset based on the corrected RF matching resonance frequency. Furthermore, a device and a method of manufacturing an NFC device are described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Publication date: December 22, 2022
    Inventor: Markus WOBAK
  • Publication number: 20220321173
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader; a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications; a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader, wherein the polling profile represents a sequence of predefined radio frequency (RF) transmission events, and wherein the profile determination unit is configured to determine said polling profile by comparing a detected sequence of RF transmission events with one or more predetermined sequences; a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit. In another embodiment, a corresponding method of operating an NFC device is conceived.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventors: Thomas Spiss, Markus Wobak, Abu Syed Firoz Ismail
  • Publication number: 20220271798
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: an NFC unit configured to charge an external device under charge by transferring power to said device under charge through an NFC channel; a detection unit configured to detect predefined events occurring on the NFC channel when said power is being transferred to the device under charge; a processing unit configured to control the transferring of power to the device under charge in dependence on the events detected by the detection unit. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device is conceived.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2022
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Tushar Nagrare, Olivier Jérôme Célestin Jamin
  • Patent number: 11411611
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising: a first antenna configured to receive and transmit a first set of NFC signals, wherein said first set of NFC signals relates to NFC transactions; a second antenna configured to receive and transmit a second set of NFC signals, wherein said second set of NFC signals relates to wireless charging operations; a controller; and an antenna selection unit configured to select the first antenna or the second antenna in response to a selection signal received from said controller. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method for operating a communication device is conceived.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Ulrich Neffe
  • Publication number: 20220231728
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit one or more radio frequency signal pulses to an external communication device; a receiver configured to receive one or more response signals in response to the radio frequency signal pulses transmitted by the transmitter; a signal analyzer configured to detect one or more characteristics of the response signals, to compare the detected characteristics with predefined reference characteristics and to generate an output indicative of a result of comparing the detected characteristics with the predefined reference characteristics; a processing unit configured to determine at least one category to which the external communication device belongs based on the output generated by the signal analyzer. In accordance with a second aspect, a corresponding method of operating a communication device is conceived. In accordance with a third aspect, a corresponding computer program is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Inventors: Markus Wobak, Johannes Stahl, Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann
  • Publication number: 20220141772
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a radio frequency (RF) communication device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to generate an RF field; a detection unit configured to detect a beacon signal transmitted by a further RF communication device when said further RF communication device is within the range of the RF field; a processing unit configured to determine a reception strength of said beacon signal; and a wake-up unit configured to wake up the RF communication device if the difference between the reception strength of the beacon signal and a predefined reference value exceeds a predefined threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Publication date: May 5, 2022
    Inventors: Ulrich Andreas Muehlmann, Markus Wobak
  • Publication number: 20220116076
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader; a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications; a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader; and a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device is conceived. In accordance with a third aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding computer program is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Inventors: Thomas Spiss, Abu Syed Firoz Ismail, Markus Wobak
  • Publication number: 20210314028
    Abstract: In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising: a first antenna configured to receive and transmit a first set of near field communication (NFC) signals, wherein said first set of NFC signals relates to NFC transactions; a second antenna configured to receive and transmit a second set of NFC signals, wherein said second set of NFC signals relates to wireless charging operations; a controller; a first interface between the controller and the first and second antenna, the first interface comprising an antenna selection unit configured to select the first antenna or the second antenna in response to a selection signal received from said controller; a second interface between the controller and the first antenna; wherein the controller is configured to detect whether an external communication device is within communication range of the first antenna using the second interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Inventors: Markus WOBAK, Ulrich Neffe