Electronic Systems

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to electronic systems. According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes: a secure element configured to implement multiple operating systems; and a near field communication module coupled to the secure element through a volatile memory.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of invention patent application No. 202010214317.0 (named "Electronic System") filed on March 24, 2020. Technical Field

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to electronic systems. Background Art

[0003] Over time, complex electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, computers, etc. integrate more and more functions and enable digital services to be integrated into daily life to the greatest extent possible. For example, some cell phones (especially smartphones) integrate digital services such as bank payment services or also integrate the use of public transport tickets, event tickets, authentication of users by remote systems (banks, public administrations, etc.). To implement such functions, the devices can integrate electronic components specific to these functions (such as security components, for example), which enable the retention / storage of identification, reference and authentication information, usually called "credentials", and assets of digital service providers, motion sensors, near field communication modules (NFC), etc.

[0004] The difficulty caused by adding new functions is that this may force some electronic components to implement multiple (at least two) operating systems. In addition, the coexistence of multiple operating systems with different components / peripherals connected to them may cause difficulties. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure are generally directed to electronic components capable of implementing multiple (at least two) different operating systems.

[0006] According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes: a secure element configured to implement multiple operating systems; and a near field communication module coupled to the secure element through multiple buses.

[0007] According to another embodiment, a method of operating an electronic device including a security element and a near field communication module coupled to the security element via multiple buses includes: executing multiple operating systems on the security element; routing data from the near field communication module to the security element via one of the multiple buses; and associating each of the multiple operating systems with a corresponding bus of the multiple buses via an interface of the security element.

[0008] According to another embodiment, a cellular telephone includes: a secure element configured to execute a first operating system for implementing a public transportation card service and a second operating system for implementing a payment card; a near field communication module; a first bus coupled between the secure element and the near field communication module; and a second bus coupled between the secure element and the near field communication module, wherein the secure element includes an interface configured to associate the first operating system with the first bus and to associate the second operating system with the second bus. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 schematically illustrates an electronic circuit of an electronic device;

[0010] Figure 2 An NFC module and a secure element of one embodiment of an electronic device are schematically shown in block form;

[0011] Figure 3 The NFC module and the security element of another embodiment of the electronic device are schematically shown in the form of a block;

[0012] Figure 4 The NFC module and the security element of another embodiment of the electronic device are schematically shown in the form of a block;

[0013] Figure 5 The NFC module and the security element of another embodiment of the electronic device are schematically shown in the form of a block; and

[0014] Figure 6 An NFC module and a security element of another embodiment of an electronic device are schematically shown in block form. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] In different drawings, the same elements are indicated by the same reference numerals. In particular, the structural and / or functional elements common to different embodiments may be designated by the same reference numerals and may have the same structure, size and material properties.

[0016] For the sake of clarity, only those steps and elements useful for understanding the described embodiments are shown and described in detail. In particular, the embodiments described below are suitable for standard near field communication (NFC) technology. This technology will not be described below.

[0017] Throughout this disclosure, the term "connected" is used to specify a direct electrical connection between circuit elements without any intermediate elements other than conductors, while the term "coupled" is used to specify a direct electrical connection between circuit elements without any intermediate elements other than conductors.

[0018] The electrical connection may be direct or may be via one or more other components.

[0019] In the following description, unless otherwise specified, when referring to terms defining absolute positions (for example, the terms "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc.) or defining relative positions,

[0020] When using terms of position (for example, the terms "above", "below", "upper", "lower", etc.) or terms defining directions (for example, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", etc.), reference is made to the orientation of the drawings.

[0021] The terms "about," "approximately," "substantially," and "in the order of" are used herein to specify a tolerance of plus or minus 10%, preferably plus or minus 5%, of the value in question.

[0022] It is desirable to be able to at least partially improve certain aspects of known complex electronic devices such as cellular telephones, and more particularly to be able to at least partially improve the ability of multiple operating systems to operate on the same

[0023] Therefore, some embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to electronic components suitable for the coexistence of multiple operating systems and their applications. Additionally, some embodiments may be directed to electronic devices including near field communication (NFC) modules suitable for the coexistence of multiple operating systems.

[0024] The present invention overcomes all or part of the disadvantages of the known electronic device including multiple operating systems and near field communication modules.

[0025] An embodiment provides an electronic device including at least one secure element capable of implementing at least two operating systems and at least one near field communication module coupled to the secure element through at least two buses.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the near field communication module is capable of directing data toward one of the bus

[0027] The secure element comprises an interface capable of associating each operating system with one of the buses.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the interface uses a routing table as a link between the operating system and the bus.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the interface uses internal information to construct and perform routing between the operating system and the bus.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the number of communication buses is equal to the number of operating systems.

[0031] According to one embodiment, when the secure element implements a first operating system, the first bus can exchange data with the secure element, and when the secure element implements a second operating system, the second bus can exchange data with the secure element.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the bus between the secure element and the near field communication module is a bus whose type and its associated protocol are selected from the following group: single wire type, MIPI DSI type, I2C type, I3C type, SPI type.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the device is a cellular telephone.

[0034] According to one embodiment, one of the operating systems is the operating system of the SIM card.

[0035] According to one embodiment, one of the operating systems is an operating system of a payment card.

[0036] According to one embodiment, one of the operating systems is an operating system of a public transport card.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the operating system of the public transportation card provides a digital application by establishing communication between a near field communication module and a secure element using a single-wire bus.

[0038] The foregoing and other features and advantages will be discussed in detail in the following non-limiting description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 Schematically shown are some of the electronic circuits of the electronic device 100. The device 100 is, for example, a cellular phone (such as a smartphone type), a touchpad or tablet computer or the like.

[0040] According to one embodiment, the device 100 includes an electronic component (107) capable of implementing multiple (e.g., at least two) operating systems. The device 100 is compatible with near field communication (NFC) technology. Therefore, the device 100 includes, among other things, at least one processor 101, at least one near field communication module (NFC controller or NFC module) 103, at least one antenna 105, and at least one security element 107.

[0041] The processor 101 is considered, for example, as the main processor of the device 100. The processor 101 is capable of executing commands transmitted, for example, by the secure element 107 or the NFC module 103. The processor 101 is also capable of executing other commands and functions of other components of the device 100.

[0042] The NFC module 103 can transmit and receive data via the antenna 105. The NFC module 103 can also transmit and receive data and / or control signals from the processor 101 and the secure element 107.

[0043] The antenna 105 is suitable for near field communication technology.

[0044] The security element 107 can receive data and transmit data to the NFC module 103 and the processor 101. The security element 107 can implement security functions of the device 100. The security element 107 is, for example, an embedded security element (eSE) or an integrated security element (iSE). The security element 107 can be implemented, for example, using a circuit device (e.g., a processor) that can execute software code (e.g., an operating system).

[0045] According to one embodiment, the security element 107 can implement multiple (at least two) operating systems. Each operating system is unaware of other operating systems that coexist with it on the same electronic component. Each operating system cannot communicate, interact or access the data of other operating systems. In other words, when the operating system is "activated", it thinks that it is the only operating system that can access the device 100 components. For example, in the case where the device 100 is a cellular phone, the main operating system or the first operating system is the operating system of the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, which stores the identification information of the owner of the phone and other information that can connect / register the device in the mobile network. The first operating system may include other services (e.g., public transportation card services). In this case, the operating system of the public transportation card can provide digital applications by using a bus (e.g., a single-wire bus) to establish communication between the NFC module 103 and the security element 107. For example, in this case, the second operating system may be the operating system of a payment card.

[0046] Therefore, in the case of using multiple operating systems, the device 100 can provide a function that links to the first operating system or the second operating system according to the use case. In other words, the device can be used as a payment card or a public transportation card, for example.

[0047] Will combine Figures 2 to 4 The different connection circuits between the security element 107 and the NFC module 103 are described in detail.

[0048] Figure 2 The diagram schematically shows the Figure 1 An embodiment of a connection circuit between an NFC module (NFC) 103 and a secure element 107 of an embodiment of the described device 100. The element 107 is capable of implementing two operating systems, each represented by a box with reference numerals (OS1) 107-1, (OS2) 107-2. The secure element 107 includes and implements an interface or interface layer or abstraction layer 108 of a communication bus.

[0049] In this embodiment, the NFC module 103 is coupled to the secure element 107 via two buses B1 and B2. Each bus B1, B2 is capable of transmitting and receiving data and control signals with respect to a single operating system or with respect to an application program executed from an application system. Figure 2In the case of, NFC module (NFC) 103 can route data toward appropriate buses B1, B2. For example, NFC module 103 can use a portion of data or control signals to know which operating system it should be directed toward. For example, buses B1 and B2 are single-wire buses using single-wire bus protocol SWP, or multi-wire buses using multi-wire bus protocols of MIPI DSI type (Mobile Industry Processor Interface Display Serial Interface), I2C type (Inter-Integrated Circuit), I3C type (Development of I3C type) or SPI type (Serial Peripheral Interface). As a variant, the bus is formed by any appropriate communication support between the near field communication module and the security element.

[0050] Abstraction layer 108, for example, enables operating system 107-1 to send control signals via the bus without worrying about whether it should use bus B1 or B2. Operating system 107-1 (itself) only sees the existence of the bus. Interface layer 108 therefore enables the establishment of a relationship between operating system / bus pairs 107-1 / B1 and 107-2 / B2 without having to let each operating system 107-1, 107-2 know that the other exists. For this purpose, one embodiment includes: modeling / creating a routing or translation table between pairs by layer 108. When operating systems 107-1 and 107-2 communicate through bus B1 or B2, they talk to the bus in a "universal" way. In other words, the two operating systems 107-1 and 107-2 do not know the existence of two buses B1 and B2. For each of them, there is a single bus. Layer 108 can, for example, limit the number of operating systems (or the number of operating systems that require access to the bus it manages) to the number of available communication buses required by the operating system, which is useful when the number of buses is less than the number of operating systems managed by the security element. According to one embodiment, the NFC module 103 contains information indicating the number of operating systems implemented by the secure element 107 .

[0051] According to an alternative embodiment, device 100 may include a security element that can implement more than two operating systems capable of receiving data from the NFC module and / or transmitting data to the NFC module. In this case, the NFC module can be connected to the security element via as many buses as the operating systems implemented by the security element.

[0052] Figure 3 The combination is schematically shown in the form of a box Figure 1 An embodiment of a connection circuit between the NFC module 103 and the security element 107 of an embodiment of the device 100 is described. Figure 2 As shown, element 107 is capable of implementing two operating systems, each represented by a box with reference numerals (OS1) 107-1, (OS2) 107-2.

[0053] In this embodiment, the NFC module 103 is coupled to the security element 107 via a single bus B3, which transmits data and control signals intended for two operating systems indiscriminately. The security element 107 includes a routing / abstract layer 120 or routing circuit that enables data and control signals to be directed toward the relevant operating system. The routing circuit 120 also allows the data and control signals transmitted by the circuit 120 to the operating system to be modified or adapted so that each operating system is unaware of the existence of other operating systems. In this way, each operating system believes or thinks that it is the only operating system operating the security element 107. The routing / abstract layer is driven by an external arbitration entity (ARBITER) 122 or arbitrator, which is controlled by, for example, the main processor 101. This arbitrator interacts with the security element 107, in particular with the routing / abstract layer 120, to indicate to it which operating system will be responsible for processing the input data. The routing / abstract layer also has the following functions: when the operating system is activated for the first time, the operating system will use its own parameters (as defined in the standard ETSI TS 102 622) to configure the NFC controller. When another operating system is activated for the first time, the NFC module must also be configured with its own parameters. Without routing circuitry, this last operation would erase the configuration of the first operating system. The routing layer should therefore "store" the configuration implemented by each operating system and replenish it into the NFC controller for each activation change of a different operating system. The routing circuitry can take multiple forms and can vary depending on the application, but the stored configuration is still available and stored internally by the routing circuitry, which can then complete it with the new configuration information provided by each operating system to the NFC controller. Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, the routing circuit is a state machine that includes an input coupled to bus B3 and two outputs that each communicate with an operating system of a secure element 107 - 1 , 107 - 2 .

[0054] According to one embodiment, device 100 may include a secure element capable of implementing more than two operating systems, in which case the routing circuit includes as many outputs as operating systems capable of receiving data from and / or transmitting data to the NFC module and implemented by secure element 107.

[0055] The routing circuit 120 uses information contained in, for example, data or control signals to determine which operating system is the address being accessed. According to one embodiment, the routing circuit can be controlled by the secure element 107 or by the NFC module 103 to direct data toward the relevant operating system 107-1, 107-2. The routing circuit is particularly used to assign pipelines to ports of the NFC router. The routing circuit created by the routing / translation layer 120 is implemented, for example, by a lookup table stored in a non-volatile memory. According to a variant, the routing circuit 120 can be implemented by a state machine.

[0056] Figure 4 The diagram schematically shows the structure for combining Figure 1 The NFC module 103 and the secure element 107 of the embodiment of the device 100 are coupled to each other. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, element 107 is capable of implementing two operating systems, each represented by a box designated by reference numerals (OS1) 107-1, (OS2) 107-2.

[0057] In this embodiment, the NFC module 103 is coupled to the secure element 107 via a single bus B3 that transmits data and control signals intended for both operating systems indiscriminately. The data and control signals are directed toward the relevant operating system by routing circuitry 121 included within the NFC module 103. Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, routing circuit 121 includes: an input for receiving data from receiving circuit 123, and an output coupled to bus B3. According to an alternative embodiment, device 100 may include a security element capable of implementing more than two operating systems, in which case routing circuit 121 includes as many outputs as the operating systems capable of receiving data from and / or transmitting data to the NFC module and implemented by the security element. According to one embodiment, routing circuit 121 is a routing table. NFC module 103 typically includes a routing table, but routing table 121 is an additional routing table. If the system supports an indeterminate number of operating systems, it is notified to the NFC module (e.g., during communication establishment with module 107 or processor 101) to target a specific operating system 107-1 or 107-2 instead of a general security element 107.

[0058] Routing circuit 121 uses information contained in data or control signals to determine which operating system is the address being accessed. Routing circuit 121 is implemented by a lookup table, which is stored in a non-volatile memory and interpreted by conversion circuits 131 and 132.

[0059] The conversion circuits 131 and 132 are data conversion circuits that are capable of converting the received data and control signals so that they become understandable and executable by the relevant operating system, and the conversion circuit removes the routing data or control signals that should have been added by the NFC controller. Similarly, if a message should be sent from a specific operating system (107-1 or 107-2), the conversion circuits 131 and 132 must add the information required for routing. For example, the conversion circuits 131 and 132 are partially or completely included in the security element 107. The conversion circuits 131, 132 therefore allow each operating system 107-1, 107-2 to think that it is the only operating system capable of operating the security element 107. In fact, each operating system only receives data and control signals that are directly intended for the operating system and can be interpreted and / or implemented.

[0060] According to an alternative embodiment, because bus B3 may be formed of multiple conductors, a first set of conductors may be designated for transmitting data and control signals related to a single operating system 107-1, and a second set of conductors may be designated for transmitting data and control signals to other operating systems.

[0061] Figure 5 The combination is schematically shown in the form of a box Figure 1 Another embodiment of the connection circuit between the NFC module 103 and the secure element 107 of the embodiment of the device 100 is described. The element 107 is capable of implementing two operating systems, namely OS1 and OS2, and is combined with Figure 2 The described element 107 is identical. Therefore, the element 107 comprises an abstraction layer 108.

[0062] The embodiments described herein are related to Figure 2 An alternative embodiment of the described embodiment, in which buses B1 and B2 are each replaced by a memory. More specifically, each bus B1, B2 is replaced by a volatile memory 141 (RAM1), 142 (RAM2). Each memory 141 (respectively 142) is coupled to the NFC module 103 via bus B41 (respectively B43), and is coupled to element 107 via bus B42 (respectively B44). Volatile memories 141 and 142 can be implemented, for example, using volatile memory circuits known in the art (including but not limited to random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM)).

[0063] In this embodiment, the NFC module (NFC) 103 is capable of routing data towards the appropriate memory 141 , 142 .

[0064] In this embodiment, data sent by NFC module 103 to element 107 and intended for operating system OS1 are first transmitted via bus B41 and then written by NFC module 103 into memory 141. Element 107 then retrieves the data from memory 141 via bus B42. The data then arrives at the Figure 2 The levels of the abstraction layer 108 are described.

[0065] Similarly, data sent by the NFC module 103 to the element 107 and intended for the operating system OS2 are first transmitted via the bus B43 and then written by the NFC module 103 into the memory 142. The element 107 then retrieves the data from the memory 142 via the bus B44. The data then arrives at the Figure 2 The levels of the abstraction layer 108 are described.

[0066] According to one embodiment, volatile memories 141 and 142 are two storage areas of the same volatile memory.

[0067] Figure 6 The diagram schematically shows the Figure 1 Another embodiment of a connection circuit between the NFC module 103 and the secure element 107 of an embodiment of the device 100 is described.

[0068] The embodiments described herein are related to Figure 3 and Figure 4 An alternative embodiment of the described embodiment, in which bus B3 is replaced by a volatile memory. More specifically, bus B3 is replaced by a volatile memory 151 (RAM3), which is coupled to NFC module 103 via bus B51 and to element 107 via bus B52.

[0069] In this variant, the data sent by the NFC module 103 to the element 107 are first transmitted by the bus B51 and then written by the NFC module 103 into the memory 151. The element 107 then retrieves the data from the memory 151 via the bus B52.

[0070] NFC module and component 107 can communicate with Figure 3 The NFC module and element 107 described above may be the same as or may be the same as Figure 4 The NFC module and element 107 described are identical.

[0071] Various embodiments and variations have been described. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain features of these various embodiments and variations may be combined, and those skilled in the art will recognize other variations.

[0072] Finally, based on the functional indications given above, the actual implementation of the described embodiments and variants is within the capabilities of a person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: a secure element configured to implement a plurality of operating systems, wherein the plurality of operating systems are configured to reside on the secure element simultaneously; a near field communication module coupled to the secure element via a volatile memory, wherein the secure element includes an abstraction layer configured to establish a relationship between each of the plurality of operating systems and the volatile memory such that each of the plurality of operating systems is unaware of other operating systems in the plurality of operating systems, Wherein the abstraction layer includes a routing circuit configured to determine which operating system of the plurality of operating systems is an address of the routing circuit by using a control signal received from the near field communication module via the volatile memory. 2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the volatile memory is coupled to the near field communication module via a first bus and is coupled to the secure element via a second bus.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the volatile memory is directly connected to the near field communication module through the first bus and directly connected to the secure element (107) through the second bus. 4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the volatile memory comprises a plurality of volatile memories, or a plurality of volatile memory regions of the same volatile memory.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The plurality of volatile memories include the same number of volatile memories as the number of operating systems in the plurality of operating systems; or The plurality of volatile memory areas include the same number of volatile memory areas as the number of operating systems among the plurality of operating systems.

6. The device of claim 4 , wherein the near field communication module is configured to route data toward one of the plurality of volatile memories or one of the plurality of volatile memory areas, and the abstraction layer comprises an interface configured to associate each of the plurality of operating systems with a corresponding one of the plurality of volatile memories or with a corresponding one of the plurality of volatile memory areas.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the interface uses a routing table as a link between the operating system and the bus.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the volatile memory comprises a single volatile memory. 9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the routing circuit is coupled between the secure element and the near field communication module, and wherein the routing circuit is configured to route data between the plurality of operating systems.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the routing circuit is a state machine. The device of claim 10 , wherein the state machine is comprised by the secure element.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the routing circuit is a routing table.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the routing table is included by the near field communication module.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the routing circuit is configured to store parameters characterizing an operating system among the plurality of operating systems.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of operating systems is an operating system of a SIM card, a payment card, or a public transportation card.

16. A method of operating an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a secure element and a near field communication module coupled to the secure element via a single bus, wherein the secure element comprises an abstraction layer, the method comprising: executing a plurality of operating systems on the secure element, wherein the plurality of operating systems are configured to reside on the secure element simultaneously; exchanging data between the plurality of operating systems executed on the secure element and the near field communication module via a volatile memory; as well as establishing a relationship between each of the plurality of operating systems and the volatile memory using the abstraction layer such that each of the plurality of operating systems is unaware of other operating systems in the plurality of operating systems, Wherein the abstraction layer includes a routing circuit configured to determine which operating system of the plurality of operating systems is an address of the routing circuit by using a control signal received from the near field communication module via the volatile memory.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein exchanging data comprises: exchanging data between the near field communication module and the volatile memory using a first bus; as well as Data is exchanged between the volatile memory and the secure element using a second bus.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein: The volatile memory includes a plurality of volatile memories; and Using the abstraction layer includes using an interface to associate each of the plurality of operating systems with a corresponding one of the plurality of volatile memories.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein exchanging data comprises: A routing circuit including a state machine is used.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein exchanging data comprises: A routing circuit including a routing table is used.

21. A cellular telephone comprising: A secure element configured to execute a first operating system implementing a public transportation card service and a second operating system implementing a payment card, wherein the first operating system and the second operating system are configured to reside on the secure element at the same time; Near field communication module; as well as a volatile memory coupled between the secure element and the near field communication module, wherein the secure element includes an abstraction layer configured to establish a relationship between the first operating system, the second operating system, and the volatile memory such that the first operating system and the second operating system are unaware of each other, The abstraction layer includes a routing circuit configured to determine which of the first operating system and the second operating system is an address of the routing circuit by using a control signal received from the near field communication module via the volatile memory.

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